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beskarhearts · 4 years ago

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Partners (Din Djarin x oc/reader)

Recluse series pt. 1

Pairing: Din Djarin x oc!bountyhunter/f!reader hybrid (no use of Y/N)

Warnings: before events of season 1, cursing, mentions of sexual harassment, canon typical violence/death (let me know if I missed any!)

Word count: over 7.4 K

Summary: Din Djarin was one of the best hunters in the Guild but when bounties aren’t abundant and someone appears to one-up him, he resorts to something that differed from everything he preferred.

Notes: This idea hit me and I HAD to write it. I am not sure how many parts this is going to be yet but I am very excited for the dynamic between these two characters! Let me know what you think and I will be making a tag list for this series, so let me know if you want to be added.

Next Part

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Almost on the same day, every week for years now, Din Djarin did the same thing. He landed the Razor Crest on the planet of Nevarro, traveled into town, and went to the same cantina he had gone to every single time.

Life was just a constant, repetitive cycle. Go to Nevarro. Get the credits and new fobs. Hunt the bounties. Back to Nevarro. An endless habit he had formed. And Din was content with that, perhaps even happy with it. It was a peaceful existence, at least as peaceful as it got for a man whose profession was being a bounty hunter. Bounties for him provided a challenge sometimes, almost like a puzzle, but never took too much out of him. Though he wouldn’t admit it and was never one to brag like many other bounty hunters, he was exceedingly talented at his job and hunting bounties was never the hardest part of his job. He could do it for years and probably never think twice about it. It was just who he was, had been for longer than he cared to remember. Hunting bounties was something he could do with his eyes closed. It was familiar and a task he did spectacularly and with ease.

The part that was the most difficult for Din Djarin was landing on Nevarro and getting his credits. He could spend days searching for a bounty. He could get into dirty brawls with them. He could even sustain injuries from his job. But he always swore that the days he went to Nevarro were always the most tiresome and draining.

He wasn’t good with people. Never had been and never really cared to be. He was a Mandalorian and a bounty hunter, a pairing that didn’t seem to go well with socializing and certainly didn’t lead to one becoming a ‘people person’. He supposed the only people he allowed in were other Mandalorians, the ones hidden in the covert on Nevarro. But even they weren’t what he would consider to be friends, per say. Just merely acquaintances solely because they could understand each other’s lifestyle and swore by the same Creed. And maybe if walking into the cantina that the Guild used had meant he would have sit down with a Mandalorian, it would be tolerable and less tiresome. But it didn’t. Every time he strolled in, he was met with the booming voice and greedy smile of Greef Karga, along with the fleeting glances and whispered words of the other bounty hunters who took frequent refuge within the walls of the cantina.

Din supposed he was bizarre in some ways but it never become so glaringly obvious until he walked into the cantina. These were supposed to be his people. These were men and women and people and creatures who worked the same job he did, though most didn’t do it with as much skill or dedication as he did. But he watched these bounty hunters in this bar every week, sharing drinks and light conversations. Saw the way their faces would light up when they saw a friend or familiar face. How they laughed and talked to each other like it was the easiest thing in the galaxy. And Din never understood how or why they did it. Sometimes he felt like the very droids he despised. Like he was merely a machine with a limited scope of emotion, except for the anger and hurt that secretly plagued him for so many years. All he did was work, because work brought him peace. And it was something he could do alone. But this... people stuff was something he couldn’t even begin to attempt. Instead of trying, he gave his short answers and frequently responded in silence, probably making those around him uneasy. And perhaps he could blame it on his past or on being raised by Mandalorians, but it was just who Din Djarin was at this point and nothing was changing that.

So as always, he felt his mind become weary and his body more tired as he entered the cantina. He paid as little attention to his surroundings as possible, at least as little as a man whose job required one to be so aware. He didn’t look at the people or nod in their direction. His eyes just landed upon the only man he needed to talk to, to find him enthusiastically speaking to a Twi’lek. He marched over to the booth where Greef Karga sat, his booming voice getting louder and louder as he neared. He paid no mind to the conversation, not taking note of the person whom Greef was conversing with as he reached the table and dropped his tracking fobs onto it. The array of multiple fobs clattered on the metal of the table, all of which had lights that were no longer blinking. The conversation between the Guild agent and the creature paused and both looked up at the Mandalorian before them.

“Welcome back, Mando.” Greef chuckled, trying to ease the uncomfortable tension that settled into the booth as Din started blankly down at him. The Twi’lek awkwardly rose from her seat, giving Karga a nod to say goodbye and not giving a second glance to Din. He didn’t mind though. He was used to it. People in general weren’t too fond of Mandalorians, or bounty hunters for that matter. But even the bounty hunters here never went out of their way to converse with Din, the rare ones who had ever tried quickly giving up at the wall Din had surrounded around him.

Din gave no response, not even an indication that he had heard Kargas words. He simply brought his body down to the booth, his hands pressed flat against the smooth metal table as he lowered his heavy body weight into the seat. He sat directly across from Karga and brought his hand to push the tracking fobs closer to the man.

Karga let out a sigh and reached out to look at them, giving a nod. “You have to kill any of them?” He asked, and Din found himself grateful that he was sticking to business. Karga was one to push his buttons, often trying to spark conversation with Din about a variety of topics, whether it be his own travels or the fragile balance of the galaxy. Sometimes he considered that Karga did it on purpose, just to annoy him, but Din thought that in reality it was just the kind of person the man was.

“One of them.” Din answer plainly. Karga looked up at him, as if waiting for an explanation but Din didn’t add anything else.

“Well, good job.” Karga brought the fobs closer to him and put them on the seat besides him. He then brought a satchel out from one of his inner pockets of his vest, bringing it out. “Now, I’ve got a deal for you. I can give you twice the amount of credits if you want these Imperial ones I have.”

Din almost sighed, showed a hint of the immense exasperation he felt. Karga did this nearly every week, and Din was sure he wasn’t the only one he did it to. After the fall of the Empire, he had a surplus of Imperial credits that were no longer valid for the most part, only a few very rare and shady places taking them, either because they were desperate or believed the Empire would return. Ever since then, Karga spent week after week hoping some poor schmuck would take them off his hands. “Those credits are useless now.” Din said, giving the same response he always did.

Karga nodded, already expecting the usual reply. He put the one satchel back in his pocket before pulling a smaller one out and placing it down on the table, sliding it to Din. One of his gloved hands grabbed the bag, grasping it completely in his hands and feeling the weight of it.

Greef once again reached into his pocket, pulling out a variety of fobs before putting them down on the middle of the table. Din looked down at them. One... two... three. “What is this?”

The man sat across from him shrugged and gave Din a small smile, the same one that always seemed to be on his face. “Mando, you aren’t my only hunter. I don’t have a lot of bounties this week. It’s going to be a light one for you.”

Din now let out a sigh, wanting Greef to be aware of how inconvenient this was for him. “Do you know how expensive gasoline is alone?”

Karga nodded slowly, as if he understood but Din highly doubted he did. If his demeaning and arrogant attitude wasn’t enough to give him away, the fine fabrics he always wore were. The Guild paid agents like the one Din sat with now very generously, giving Karga a percentage of each bounty he gave even though he did no work besides handing the fob to the hands of one more capable than him. Din supposed a job like that made sense for a man like Greef, having heard rumors that he was a banished politician with a shady background. “I’m sorry, Mando. I don’t know what you want me to do.”

“I want you to give me more bounties.”

“As I said, you aren’t my only-“

The mans word were broken by a familiar sound. One that was familiar to Din, one he had made himself only moments ago. He didn’t raise his head to find the source of it, merely looking into the middle of the table where a pile of fobs now had landed. All without their red lights blinking away. And six of them. Six fobs from what Din was hoping was not one person.

“Well, you are three days early.” Greek responded, his classic grin back on his face as he looked to his right and upwards, at the person standing before them. Three days early and they took down six bounties? Din allowed his helmet to tilt in the direction Greef was looking, just as a horrible screeching rang out through the cantina. Everyone paused as the sound of a metal chair scraping against the ground rang out for what seemed like several seconds, though it was only a couple. As soon as the chair stopped in front of the table and the person who had moved it plopped down into their seat, the background noise of the cantina resumed. Din looked at the person sat between himself and Karga and found himself confused. Though Din wasn’t a people person, he recognized many of the hunters. After years of coming here, if only once a week for a handful of minutes, you still came to recognize people. But the face of the woman was not one he recognized.

She didn’t turn to look at Din, just staring back at Karga as she brought her hands up to cross at her chest. She had a rough expression, one that Din thought probably eerily matched the one he wore whenever he sat with Karga. She didn’t reciprocate the smile that the Guild agent gave her or show any indication that she cared. She simply stared back down at him in what Din must have guessed was an intimidating look. Though Din himself wasn’t intimidated. Just intrigued. Intrigued by the large scar that ran across her face but mostly by the six tracking fobs laid out on the table for him to count over and over again. Karga had always told him the most he could give out at a time was five bounties. Yet here he was handing six over to a woman he didn’t even recognize.

“Give me harder bounties and maybe I will only be two days early next week.” She plainly responded, no tinge of amusement to her words.

Karga cleared his throat. He was used to the rough types and used to the silence that Din treated him with every week, but Din could tell that the man didn’t know what to do with a normal bounty hunter, particularly a woman, not giving him any attention.

Greef simply looked back at Din and brought the smile that had just slightly faded back to its usual. “Mando, have you ever met my friend here? This is Bullet. Bullet, this is Mando.” He gestured a hand between Din and the woman who now quirked up an eyebrow but didn’t spare a glance over at the Mandalorian. Karga had clearly been hoping for an introduction of sorts, at least a slight nod in each other’s direction but both parties just looked back at him. They were both here for the same thing: bounties.

“I need my credits. And don’t try to hand off any of that Imperial shit like you do every week.” Din almost, just almost, wanted to chuckle at her words and the mutual disdain they held for Karga’s sleazy Imperial credits but he just stared straight ahead.

Karga pulled another pouch from inside his vest. one that Din noted was visibly larger than the one he had been handed. He finally let his gaze wander back to the woman, who snatched the bag from Kargas hands and pulled the draw strings of it, looking in for a minute before giving out a satisfied hum. “Good. Now I need more bounties.”

“As I was explaining to Mando here, I don’t have a lot of bounties this week.” Karga began but the woman, who must of been called Bullet, let out a pfft and shook her head.

“Did the galaxy run out of criminals or something? Everyone decided to be on good behavior this week?” For the first time, a bit of sarcasm swirled around her words.

“No. But less people want to pay the price for a clean job.” Karga explained and Din supposed that was probably one thing that he could trust from the agents mouth. People were less and less willing to pay good credits for a bounty hunter to cleanly do the job, not when they figured they could hire someone with little to no experience to do the job. If the bounty is most likely going to end up dead in the end, what was the point of a clean job?

“How many bounties are we talking?” She asked.

“Three.”

“Fuck.” She hissed and finally she looked over at Din, her eyes just narrowing slightly. “How many is he offering you?”

“Three.” Din responded and she shook her head before turning back to Karga.

“I’ll take his three.”

“What?” Din asked, his voice rising just slightly. Who the kriff did this woman think she was?

“I can’t give you his bounties, Bullet.” Karga explained and for once, Din found himself grateful for the man.

“I’ve heard about this Mandalorian. He’s been doing the job for years, right?” Karga slowly nodded. “Big boy here can take a break for a week. Right?

“No.” Din hissed through his modulator but the woman paid him no mind.

“I’m not giving you his bounties.” Karga repeated and she let out a huff, beginning to slouch in her chair.

“This is bullshit. I would use almost all the credits from three bounties for gasoline and upkeep of my ship alone.” Din wanted to nod in agreement but didn’t want to give the woman who tried to steal his credits any fuel to continue on.

“I’m sorry.” The man said with a small shrug. But the woman just leaned forward, a strand of hair falling in front of her face as she brought her hands to the table.

“Come on. You’ve always got a secret bounty hidden somewhere. What is it this week?”

Din found himself intrigued, having never known about secret bounties. He leaned forward and watched as Karga slowly looked between the two bounty hunters, feeling their eagerness.

“There is one.”

“Fucking bingo.” She muttered but any hope she may of felt dissipated with the sharp shake of Kargas head.

“You won’t be interested. Neither of you will.”

Din couldn’t think of much he wouldn’t do and the woman must of felt the same, scoffing. “Screw off, Karga. What is it?”

“I have one very expensive bounty. Worth more than the bounties I have for both of you combined.”

That sounded good to Din. “What’s the catch?” The woman asked.

“They want two people on this job. Requires partners.”

There was one of the things Din wouldn’t do. “I don’t work with people.” Din finally spoke again.

“Neither do I. Pretty sure you said it was for best too.” The woman said, giving Karga a knowing look.

“I agree with that, Bullet. That’s why I wasn’t going to mention it.”

“I can do the job on my own. Just tell the client you sent two. They don’t have to know.” The woman explained. Din’s head lolled over to look at her, aimed right at her and she finally looked back up at him. But there was no hesitance, fear, or discomfort. She couldn’t see his expression but her face matched his own as she sharply looked back at him. What was with this lady?

“Bullet, I will not-”

“Give him my three bounties. That way he can have six. And I’ll take this job.”

“Or you can take the six and I’ll do this job.” Din responded and the woman finally let out a laugh, though it sounded more dry and raspy like there was absolutely nothing she found even remotely funny.

“I’ve heard about you, Mando. Apparently you’re good. But I’m better.” She said cockily and Din tilted his helmet at her.

At this point, Din probably should have taken the six bounties and let her take the big one. It probably wasn’t that much more and in all honesty, Din never was one who needed an exuberant amount of credits in his pocket. Enough for food, his ship, and a few things here and there. Din was a natural minimalist with a lifestyle that was by no means lavish. Six bounties would be more than enough, more than he usually got in fact.

But he didn’t like the way this woman was looking at him. How she was demanding everything for herself. Din usually let things slide, but he was feeling stubborn. He wanted this job. Just to prove the point.

“Well, neither of you are getting it on your own. The client wants partners so the job will be given to partners. I have somebody in mind already.”

“Let me guess: the two idiots at the bar.” the lady muttered in response as she briefly looked behind her, in the direction of the bar. Din looked the same way, finding two men sat at the bar looking completely inebriated and frankly idiotic as they chuckled away stupidly.

“I owe them a favor after what you did to their friend.” Karga said and Din turned back to the woman just in time to find her rolling her eyes dramatically.

“That wasn’t my fault.”

“They wanted your head on a spike.”

“Maybe they should of taught their friend some damn manners.” She spat, now looking beyond pissed at this point. She then stilled, taking a deep breath with her eyes closed before looking back up at Karga. “You and I both know those guys are idiots. And if the job is so important that it requires two people, you don’t want to give it to those bantha fodders.”

Karga stilled and Din knew that he knew she was right. If Din had to guess, Karga was never even going to give the bounties to the two men sat at the bar. He’d be putting his reputation on the line just by doing so. He just wanted Bullet to drop the topic.

Din let out a sigh and adjusted in his seat, leaning forward. “How many credits is it?”

The woman joined him, also leaning forward. “Yeah, is this some bullshit where it’s barely more than what I usually get?”

“No. It’s worth ten thousand credits. Each.”

Din’s jaw dropped just slightly within the helmet and he watched the woman’s eyes widen and her mind begin to process the ridiculous amount. Din couldn’t recall a time he had ever been offered that much money for a single bounty. “Fuck. What did someone do to earn a twenty thousand credit bounty on their head?” the woman said, asking the very same question running through his own mind.

“The guy was from Coruscant. Worked with some very powerful men and decided to steal a lot of credits from them. Worth a lot more than the high bounty on his head. They want the man alive, along with all the credits.” Karga explained.

“Where is he?” Din asked. He couldn’t believe he was considering it, but it was an enticing offer. Not just because of the credits. Hell, the credits weren’t even the biggest part of it though he wouldn’t admit it. Perhaps it was because he wanted to see this woman in action. See if she really was someone worthy of six bounties in one week, just to get them all done days early. And maybe he also was hoping he was better and she would have to swallow her snarky words about how she was better.

“Rumored he is on Tatooine. Name is Ceradov. No last name.”

“I can do this easy. You know I’ve got connections on Tatooine.” The woman responded and now Din wanted to force her to shut up. Everybody had connections on Tatooine. He himself had been there several times. It was a very common place for criminals to run to and had quiet the group of bounty hunters there itself if rumors were true about underground crime lords that ran things there. Of course any bounty hunter, at least any one worth anything, would know Tatooine relatively well.

“I know. Which is why you would be a good fit. So would Mando. But like I said, it would require-”

“That I play nice with the Mandalorian here.” She finished his sentence and Karga nodded. She let out a loud sigh and brought a hand to rub at her head before peaking over at the Mandalorian, eyeing him with a suspicious expression. “Ten thousand credits sounds nice to me.”

Din nodded slowly. “Not bad.”

She rolled her eyes at his plain answer and leaned towards him a little. “I can play nice if you can keep up with me.”

Din considered his options. The first of which was the simplest and probably the one he should choose. He should say no, take the three bounties, and just deal with the light week. Stick to himself like he always did. The prices of these bounties weren’t worth much but half of the reason Din did this job was too simply keep his mind and body busy. It wasn’t what he wanted but he could deal.

The other option was to give in to the twinge of curiosity that thrummed within him. See what this woman was made of and get a very generous bounty out of it. It required working with a person, which he never did. And never did he once think he would consider working with someone like her - someone so cocky and sure of themselves. But six bounty fobs meant there had to be some talent behind the ego. And Karga knew of his status and Din hoped he wouldn’t let him pair up with someone who wasn’t capable.

He looked back at her face, at how her eyebrows were scrunched and her eyes were narrowed in on him. He could see it, how badly she wanted the bounty. Ten thousands credits was enough for her to push her own hesitation aside and he could see how she couldn’t say no. She wanted this. Badly.

And maybe secretly, Din wanted it just as badly.

“Fine.”

She let out a small grin and nodded, rising from her seat and looking back at Karga. “Give him the fob. I’m going to get a drink before we go.”

“Don’t bother those guys over there. I can’t save your ass again.” Karga said and she let out a snort.

“Me? Bother someone? Why would I do that?” She sarcastically responded and turned away from the table, walking to the bar and sitting directly next to the two men who gave her a weary but also very angry look.

“What did she do to them?” Din didn’t even realize he was asking the question until his lips began to move and the words began to spill out. He never asked questions like that and could see Kargas slight shock pass over his face for a split second.

“I figure I should warn you. Though you are certainly smarter than the kriffing idiot that those two were friends with.” Karga leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I only ever paired Bullet with someone one other time. He was the third member of that group over there and he was dumb but had brute force. Figured she could use it to her advantage because the bounty I gave them was a big, mean creature. This was before I knew... how she worked and I didn’t want to send her in alone.”

Din nodded, following along. Karga sighed and continued on after taking a small sip from the drink he had on the table. “Turns out this guy was a little handsy and figured having a partner meant they wouldn’t just be working together. I sent the two out and she comes back with the bounty tied back with just some rope and the man dead. Bullet has a bit of a... temper.”

Din let out a sigh. Wonderful. That was exactly what he needed in a partner. He suddenly felt some regret settle into him but perhaps it was stubbornness or maybe it was just curiosity that stopped him from backing out while he had the chance. If she did try anything, Din would be able to handle it. Throw her in some carbonite and leave her with Karga. “Great...” Din let out.

“If she tries anything, just try your best not to kill her. I am guessing you aren’t the type to try anything so you should be okay.” Din tried to detect the small hint of something that dwelled in Kargas tone. It was subtle but Din was used to picking up on the little things. He watched as his eyes drifted over to the woman who threw back a drink before slamming the glass down, waving for another from the bartender.

“Okay.” Din agreed and the agent nodded. He watched his shoulders sag a little and his face drop into a plain one, unlike the usual smile he always had on for show. Was that relief Din sensed? Or perhaps worry? And either way, why did Karga care?

Before he could consider it more, he watched as Karga pulled a fob out of a pocket and held it out for Mando to grab. Din reached his hands out and grasped it, looking at the red button that blinked away very slowly on it, showing that the bounty was not close by. “Good luck, Mando.”

Just as Karga finished speaking, the woman walked over and look down at Din. “You ready to go?”

Din only rose in response, putting the fob away in a pocket as he began to make his way towards the exit of the cantina. The woman followed behind him, the sound of her boots echoing on the floor of the building. She eventually made her way besides Din, walking next to him as they made their way out of the building and into the town. The air on this planet was never crisp or light and airy, not that Din would really be able to tell. But he could see the sky and see how it looked muddled and tainted, like it had been stained and soiled. The people here usually kept their heads down, keeping to themselves. And while they were used to the presence of bounty hunters, they still gave them suspicious looks and accusatory glances.

“We will take your ship. Mine needs some maintenance and won’t be available for a couple days.” The woman finally spoke up and Din looked over just for a second to find her hand at rest on the blaster on her hip, her eyes fiercely staring into the groups of people as if threatening them. Din didn’t understand the need for such an expression and domineering stance, but he didn’t say anything about it. He only turned away and nodded as he began to lead her to the area where he parked the Razor Crest every week.

Once the ship finally came into view, the woman stopped and looked at it, her fierce expression now replaced with a repulsed one. “This is your ship?” she asked.

Din only grunted and continued walking away, not bothering to give her a response. She let out a sigh and continued to slowly walk up to it. “Maker, this has to be.... what? Pre-Empire?” she didn’t even seem to be directing the question at Din as she looked up at the large ship. Din had heard many things about his ship, most of which were commenting on its age and less-than-grand appearance. Sure, it was old and didn’t have the newest and greatest technology. It definitely looked its age, worn and rusted in many areas. But it got the job done, and Din had it for far too many years now to turn it in for an upgrade. “Is this thing going to kill us? It doesn’t even look safe.”

They had just reached the hatch to the ship that was drawn down. The woman was standing still, arms crossed over her chest and head tilted. Din finally faced her and gave another drawn-out sigh, hoping to express just how exasperated he was with her demanding tone. “If you don’t feel comfortable, I can get this bounty on my own.”

Her eyes seemed to darken and narrow as she shook her head at him. She took a page out of Din’s book, not responding verbally but just beginning to walk up the ramp, her boots clanging against the metal of it. Din followed her in, bringing the door shut behind them. He paused for a moment, watching as she looked around curiously and suspiciously, as if searching for a hint of faulty play.

It was in that moment that Din realized he didn’t even consider how bizarre it would be for someone to be inside the Razor Crest with him, a place that was the closest thing to home he had. Besides the bounties he hunted, he didn’t bring people to his ship. No friends or family, not even late-night companions. It was always just him here, living in solitude and silence. Having someone inspecting his space was an incredibly uncomfortable situation to be in.

He waited for her to say something but she didn’t seemed compelled to share her opinion on the ship. She just made her way over to the carbonite freezers, inspecting them.

Din cleared his throat, trying to put himself at ease, but it only caused her to look over at him and make him want to clam up and be alone. He willed himself to say something and finally did so. “I am going to fly us there. You stay down here.”

“I have to stay down here?” she questioned.

Din nodded and she shook her head, seeming to comply with the new rule he set. “Just don’t touch anything.”

She finally grinned a little, but not a welcoming one. More of a stand-offish one. “I won’t break any of your toys.” she said.

Without another word, Din climbed into the ladder of the cockpit and led out an audible sigh of relief at being alone.

________________

It was much later when Din finally climbed down from the cockpit. The woman was sat on the floor of the hull, intensely focusing on the blaster in her hand that she seemed to be tinkering with. She didn’t look up from where her attention was focused, even when his boots slammed down onto the metal and the sound reverberated through the small space. “I like you better than the last guy Karga tried to get me to work with.” she said plainly.

“The one you killed?”

She looked up at that question and a grin that matched the one from earlier popped up on her face once again. “Karga told you about that?”

“Yeah. Figured he’d warn me.”

She let out a hearty chuckle at that, shaking her head. “Don’t worry. I haven’t wanted to kill you once yet so I’d say this going exceptionally well.”

Din didn’t know how to react, with the joke seeming to be more for herself then for him. He just stood in the same space and she looked back down at her blaster. Din cleared his throat, prepared to change the topic. “I have some rules.”

“Rules?” she questioned, an eyebrow quirking up and seeming intrigued.

“Yes. About tonight.”

She froze and grasped the blaster in her hand a little tighter. “I’m not sleeping with you.” she calmly stated.

Din nearly choked from the shock that overcame him. “I don’t want to sleep with you.” he sternly stated, nearly tumbling over his words.

“Good.” she said, appearing to be unfazed by the awkwardness that resulted from her words.

Din shook his head and took a small breath in before continuing on. “You will sleep down here. I will sleep in the cockpit with the door shut.”

“Don’t you have a cot right there?”

“Yes.”

She was satisfied with that answer, not questioning further into why he wasn’t using it. “Okay.”

“And I will hold all your weapons for the night.” Din stated.

That caused a fire to begin burning in her eyes as she jumped up from her spot where she had been sitting, placing the blaster back at her side. “Fuck off.” she hissed.

Din assumed she wouldn’t be a fan of the rule, probably rather angered by it in fact. But Din didn’t know this woman. He didn’t know her past or her story. Had never heard her name or anything about a woman pulling in six bounties a week for the Guild. Karga hadn’t uttered her name once in the years he had known him, and he was a man who liked to brag about what he thought to be his own little fortunes and discoveries. She could be anyone, with any goal and any underlying motives. “I don’t know you.”

She scoffed at that and if looks could kill, Din would’ve dropped dead. “I don’t know you yet I am on this damn ship where you have an arsenal of weapons over there.” Her hand waived over to the area where Din kept all his guns and weapons. The cover was on it so none of the weapons could be seen but he hadn’t locked it, which was probably a mistake on his part. That meant she had been looking through his things and touching them.

“I told you not to touch anything.”

She rolled her eyes. “I am a woman on a ship with a man I don’t know. Of course I was going to look around and see what little surprises you had hidden.”

Din suddenly felt stupid at assuming she would listen to him. He wanted to be angry with her but he also understood where she was coming from. If he were stuck in her position, he would of done the same thing. You can never be too careful in this galaxy and for her, she was just taking the proper precautions. “Fine. But I still need your weapons.”

“Why?” she demanded and Din let out a sigh.

“I don’t know what you want.”

“I want ten thousand damn credits, just like you. I don’t want your shit.” she said and for a moment, Din believed her. But just like her, he was taking his own precautions.

“You could want my armor.” Din stated, voicing his main concern. Sleeping in the same space with someone else came with its own set of potential dangers. Not only were there the concerns that anybody in this situation would face, like somebody wanting to kill you for your goods or wanting to take you for their own bounty. But there was even more at stake for a Mandalorian. She could try to creep on him when he slept, kill him or even worse, take off his helmet. Whether it be for the amount of credits she could get for the beskar, curiosity over what he looked like, or wanting to brag that she had bested a Mandalorian, it wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

“Oh, Maker, is this some dramatic Mandalorian shit?” she said and Din tilted his helmet, intrigued by what that meant. “I know you can’t take off your helmet or something like that. I met a Mandalorian one other time on Nevarro and he wouldn’t shut up about his damn Creed. But you don’t need to worry. I don’t want your armor or want to break your Creed and I certainly don’t care what the hell you look like under there.”

Din paused, taking in her words. She once again sounded genuine and Din thought that if he were a more trusting person, he would actually believe her and give her the benefit of the doubt. But he just shook his head. “What are your plans tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you plan on doing down here tonight?” Din asked again.

“I plan on sleeping once you stop bothering me.” She stated, staring at him incredulously as if the question he had asked was the stupidest thing she’d ever heard.

“Then you don’t need a blaster to sleep. And we are in hyper space so no one will attack us.”

The scowl on her face loosened a little but she still look at him sternly, making no attempt to hand anything over. “How do I know you won’t attack me?”

“I just want the credits, too.”

She paused and studied his helmet, probably trying to decipher what he was actually thinking. “Maybe you are the type of guy to try to take all the credits for himself and screw over someone else in the process.”

Fair point. She didn’t know him. Had no reason to assume he had no ulterior motive. Din let out a sigh. He wasn’t getting the weapon from her. “We can lock them in the area where I have my other ones.”

“So you can sneak down and open it since you are the one to lock it and only one who can open it then?”

Another fair point. Din almost resented how much of a smart thinker she was proving to be because it was making this a lot harder for him. “I don’t know what to do.” Din finally admitted with a sigh.

The woman paused for a moment before looking back at him. “Are you going to wear the armor while you sleep?”

Din paused, not knowing how that was relevant. “Yes.” He didn’t usually do so, but with a random stranger on his ship, it was his only option.

“Fine. We will lock both of our weapons away in the fresher. And we will both sleep in the cockpit with the door locked. That way if anyone tries to get out, we will know. And anyways, you are at an advantage with your armor so I would consider this more than fair.”

Din didn’t like the idea. The cockpit was his safe space, an area where he sat alone and could think or sometimes do anything but think. Just stare into the vastness of space with no concerns. It was also the only space he could lock himself in for right now and be alone. He didn’t want her invading that area, inhabiting it. But it was a solid plan. It wasn’t perfect, but he figured it was going to be as close as they got to it. It was a good idea that left both of them in the same position and with a little more sense of security. Din slowly, and rather reluctantly, nodded.

The woman shook her head at that, grabbing the blaster off her waist along with a knife she had hidden on her ankle and a smaller blaster she had hidden behind her back that was covered by the jacket she wore. She walked over to the fresher, opening the door to it and tossing the weapons onto the floor. “Your turn, big boy.”

She stood in place, watching as Din began to strip himself of the various weapons he had on his person. She gave him a good look up and down as he finished and placed the items down next to her. She brought her hands out to him and started patting his shoulders when Din jumped back. “What are you doing?” he barked, his heart rate spiking up.

“I was patting you down for weapons.” She said, giving him a bewildered expression. Her head tilted just slightly as she looked at the spot where he stood, taking note of the way his chest heaved.

Din didn’t like that. It was bad enough having a person in his space. In his home. He didn’t need them to touch him and put their hands on him. Besides instances where he had to engage in hand-to-hand combat, he couldn’t clearly remember the last time he had been touched by another person. Perhaps a pat on the shoulder by the Armorer on Nevarro, but even that seemed against her nature and unlikely. Physical contact was just inherently not a part of Mandalorian culture nor was Din one to seek it out like others sometimes did.

For the first time since he had seen her, the stern and unruly expression on her face seemed to soften. It was still rough and the scar that ran across her face didn’t help, but Din could see the way the fire in her eyes faded and her eyebrows dropped down a little. And somehow, that expression was even worse. Because to Din, all it looked like was pity and he didn’t need anyone pitying him. He was used to be people giving him looks of fear, disgust, confusion, sometimes even dangerous wonder. But never pity.

“Don’t do that ever again.” Din stated, trying to sound more in control than he felt. But he could still feel the way his chest rose and fell a little faster than normal and the hitch in his breathe when he first began speaking. And he knew she sensed it too.

But she didn’t mention it or give him a look to show that she had found a weak spot. She just nodded slowly. “Okay.”

She closed the door the the fresher, placing a couple crates in front of it so if anybody moved it, it would most likely be heard by the other. She then gave Din a fleeting glance before making her way up the ladder that led to the cockpit. Din gave himself a moment to straighten himself up and calm down, burying back into himself, before he climbed up the ladder.

When he made it up to the top, she was already sat in the passengers seat where her legs hiked up on it, her arms holding onto them as if to cradle herself. Her back leaned into the seat, letting it envelop her. Her eyes were closed, though Din could tell she was just relaxing and not yet asleep. Looking at her like this made Din think of what he would of thought of her if he had only spared a glance at her. If she hadn’t dropped the six fobs on the table and hadn’t spoken so aggressively. If she had just been sitting there peacefully. Din thought he would have probably taken no notice in reality but if he had, he would of just seen a woman. A woman with scars and a weight on her shoulders you couldn’t understand but could see.

Din finally looked away from her as he plopped down into the drivers seat of the pit, letting his legs spread slightly as he leaned into the fabric of the seat. Sleeping in the armor was always uncomfortable and spending the night in this chair rather than his bed would only make it worse, but Din was exhausted.

After all, he always found the days he traveled to Nevarro to be the most tiresome.

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