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Shining Lights | Din Djarin

Ship: Din Djarin x Reader Summary: Unable to celebrate Life Day as you usually would, you find a new way to celebrate in your new life on the Razor Crest Word Count: 2.9k+ Warnings: Fluff. So much. It’s somewhat suffocating lol. Melancholic and fluffy vibes all throughout. Author’s Note: This is for amazing and wonderful @maharani-radha-writes for the incredible @startrekkingaroundasgard‘s Secret Santa gift event! I’m so sorry it’s late, my life is a mess atm and I haven’t had a chance to finish this until just now. Thank you so so much for your patience and kindness!

Lights danced across your vision, an array of beautiful colours and sizes as they fluttered across the once sleepy town.

At any other time of the year, the no-name town you had found yourselves in would have been the perfect hiding spot for your little trio. People kept to themselves, didn’t bother with gossip, especially with outsiders, and no one of ‘importance’ even registered the tiny dot on the map as anything substantial, hell, it was forgotten on most maps anyway.

But the galaxy seemed to know what you needed, and was determined to ruin your new found sanctuary.

Where usually you would find peace and solitude, you instead found a budding excitement that seemed to cut through the forested civilization.

Even here, on the very edges of the galaxy, joy could be found.

It almost made you smile.

The differences between this small back-water town and the thriving cities you had once known were never ending. Where parades and holovids would once fill the day with something that bordered on madness, there was now a softer hush that still held that same heart to it. A galaxy apart, yet brought together by the love that seemed to always fill Life Day.

You could see it in the way people interacted, the patience they would give their otherwise irritating neighbours, the homemade food and gifts that were already being shared, too impatient to wait until the ‘right’ time. It may have been less glamorous than the celebrations on Naboo or Coruscant, but the same theme remained, a feeling of love that the galaxy seemed to share all too rarely.

But the lights were too bright, the music too loud. Visitors came to visit their loved ones, and the streets filled slowly but surely as those who had once left returned to see those they cared about.

It was beautiful, and it was heart-breaking.

You couldn’t stay here any longer.

Each step towards the hidden Razor Crest seemed to pull at your heartstrings, a reminder of what you had chosen to give up for a life on the run with a fifty year old child and a stoic bounty hunter.

Perhaps he meant to distract you from the pain you were certain was showing on your features, but when Din handed the child to you with some comment about making sure the way was clear ahead, it broke you a little more.

Had the child ever truly experienced Life Day, or the love it held?

Of course, you could never truly be sure, but somehow tearing him away from the possibility of seeing it now felt almost cruel, even if it was for his own safety.

And so, in a mix of anguish for both yourself and the small green child whose attention had never quite left the lights behind you, you found yourself turning.

Excitement pulled at the child’s features as a ridiculous grin took over his small face, his hands reaching up as if to capture the dazzling lights that shone in the distance.

You had to continue, you knew that.

It wasn’t safe, and Din was getting further away, but still you slowed. Each step taking far longer than it should as both you and the child let the show of lights ingrain themselves into your memories.

Words seemed to fall from your mouth without any conscious decision, stories of the origin of Life Day, of how you spent it as a child, of that time your neighbour brought over the most ridiculously spiked drink you had ever come across and you had both ended the night curled up on the couch laughing at absolutely anything.

A history of lights and people and music… music…

Somewhere along the walk, when you could no longer sidestep your way along the path for fear of falling over, when the lights no longer filled your field of view, your words had stopped. There were so many more tales to tell, beautiful and horrible and everything in between, yet words could not explain the meaning of the day any longer. And so, you began to hum.

The songs were old, a mixture of traditional and contemporary tunes that seemed to traverse the galaxy as easily as you had, filling each corner with one common thought. Half the tunes were barely there now, lost in your memory and only remaining in choruses or catchy titbits that had niggled their way into the back of your mind without even the slightest context to help you identify them.

And before you knew it, you were back. Back to the cold gun metal grey of the Razor Crest. Back to an open ramp and a low hum of the ship as the electronics came to life. Back to a home that had no music or tunes, no homemade food or gifts, and no dazzling lights.

It should have felt cold, the only place in the galaxy that Life Day hadn’t seemed to touch, and yet even without its festive garnishing, there was a sense of peace that never failed to sink into your bones whenever you climbed back up the ramp and into the safety of the ship.

The ramp closed behind you without so much as a button being pressed on your behalf, and you knew Din was watching on from above, keeping an eye out as he always did. Perhaps it wasn’t so much the ship that made you feel safe as its owner.

But you couldn’t dwell on that now, that thought was, as always, pushed aside in favour of something more practical, anything more practical that could distract you from the feelings that threatened to overtake your mind should you let them.

The child yawned in your arms, eyes fighting to remain wide as if he could fool you that his yawn was a lie, and that he didn’t really need sleep. But the soft sway of your arms as you held him, those gentle tunes hummed to your captive audience had done a job on him; something you would have to make a note of for the next time the rapscallion refused to sleep.

With a soft smile, you carefully made your way towards Din’s sleep quarters, a place that was now often left open as he grew seemingly more comfortable with you. No, it was merely a logical move, you reminded yourself. It wasn’t that he trusted you enough to open up the one last place that was his alone, it was merely a practical move, allowing you to put the kid to sleep when need be, or fetch whatever was needed without requiring his assistance or that damn floating pod that didn’t hold enough room.

It must have been the lights that were making you sentimental, you thought decisively as you tucked the little green pouting alien into the hammock carefully. And if you remained a moment longer than usual, humming once more as those big round eyes finally gave up their fight to stay awake, watching fondly as he fell to sleep despite the way the ship moved into the atmosphere, well, you could blame that on Life Day too.

It was easier here, watching the child as he fell into a peaceful slumber. Focus on the present, on the joys you had within your reach. And the child provided plenty of joy, even if it came with a handful of frustration.

The way he would smile when he saw you, the excitement when he waddled over to show you something he found (often a bolt or something you couldn’t quite identify from Din’s collections of tools), the nights you would sit up in the cockpit, in silence as he played on either your or Din’s lap, or in soft conversations about something that always seemed vital in the moment…

The joy you found in your new life was different to what you had once known, quieter, even if that included getting shot at and hunted by both bounty hunters and imperialists. A type of joy you had never quite understood before, and one you refused to ever give up again, no matter the costs it brought with it.

But still, you couldn’t bring yourself to move.

Upstairs meant facing Din, something you usually never feared, but something that you weren’t quite sure you were ready for. Din who read you like a book, who always had whatever you needed ready before you even knew it, who could tell when something was wrong.

And in that moment you couldn’t tell if something was wrong… you weren’t prepared to face him and find out just yet.

No, it was safer here, where your own emotions were hidden only to you.

But you couldn’t simply stay watching the child forever. Busying yourself with putting away the few supplies you had left with days before, you could distract yourself. Taking stock of what needed to be replaced or refilled, how long your ration packs would last… anything other than face reality.

And it worked.

For a good half hour you were busy enough that nothing else mattered. It didn’t matter that you were missing out on Life Day, or that the traditions you had once thought ridiculous now seemed to cause a hollow ache within you.

All that mattered was how the few freeze dried fruits you had splurged on were running far lower than you had expected, but the broth that was meant to be the staple of your diets was running disappointingly high. And the light that once flickered occasionally was becoming all the more frequent as it flashed precariously in the small collection of crates you now considered the ‘kitchen’.

Reality, it was what pushed you forwards, what grounded you. It was what tore away the potential heartache that often seemed just around the corner if you ever dared truly consider your emotions.

So when Din’s modulated voice called through the comms on your watch he insisted you keep on you at all times, you didn’t question it. You were on your way towards the ladder without a second thought, the melancholic thoughts of earlier long gone as you wondered what needed replacing this time.

You didn’t expect him to be right there when you pulled yourself into the cockpit. Usually he would simply wait for you, continuing on with whatever he was up to, but his sudden appearance, standing broad before you and blocking out the rest of the cockpit had your nerves on edge.

Either something was dreadfully wrong, or- your head was tilting in confusion before you could finish the thought. Or what? Nothing else made sense, and it only added to the sensation of butterflies churning within your stomach.

The ship was damaged. Bounty hunters had found you. He had been injured days ago and only now in privacy thought it safe to mention… The list of possibilities was terrifyingly long, and it had you chewing your lip as you looked him over.

But you couldn’t see any obvious damages, not with the way he created a shadow with his bulky form, covering you in darkness as lights danced behind him. Lights that caught on the shine of his beskar, catching at the edges you could see and painting an abstract array of colours upon his armoured form.

Anywhere else it would have been beautiful, but here it had you terrified.

The Razor Crest was a fairly simple ship, and it’s controls were nothing to remark about. There was no simple reason for so many to be shining so brightly, and you couldn’t help but push the surprisingly pliable Mandalorian to the side as you urged forwards.

The lights were shining brightly, too brightly. It seemed almost every dial and button that had a light was blaring with an array of colours that felt manufactured and harsh, a warning of what was to come.

The fuel warning blinked ominously as the oxygen intake flashed alongside it. Warnings of gravity and stabilisation and water… it seemed as though every single thing that could go wrong was going wrong.

But that couldn’t be right.

No, the gravity was fine, you could feel that for yourself. And you had no issue making your way towards the dazzling lights, so stabilisation clearly wasn’t affected… perhaps it was something in the computing, a malfunction in the readings… but how the hell could you even begin to fix that?

A little rewiring here and there, you could handle. Changing a bulb or recalibrating the hyperspace drive? Well, you could help Din, but you were no expert… But this- this was far beyond your area of expertise.

“I know it’s not the same,” Din’s voice seemed different, quieter than you had come to expect and an awfully lot calmer than you felt as you stared blankly at the array of lights before you. “But it’s all the lights we have.”

Fear melded into confusion as you looked out at the lights before you, hoping they would clue you into whatever you were clearly missing.

This- this alarming display… was intentional?

The meaning was lost on you, your mind whirling between confusion as to why and how? The warnings were important, and rewiring them would mean either giving away safety, or finding some incredibly convoluted way of sending through something else, which was more than a touch impractical. And yet, whichever way he had gone about it, he had deemed it important enough to go to such troubles.

Glancing behind you quickly, not quite sure you wanted him to realise how utterly lost you were, you were met with only more confusion.

If Din had seemed quiet and calm at first, it was nothing in comparison to the way he held himself now. His stance broad, arms settled on his hips, as if preparing for something. Defensive in a way you wish you didn’t know so well, a way that told you he was trying to appear an awful lot more sure of himself than he was really feeling.

“I thought-” he paused, as if second guessing every word that escaped him. “You should still be able to celebrate Life Day, the kid should be able to see what you were talking about. I know it’s not like where you came from, it’s nothing like your home-”

You shook your head quickly, desperate to dissuade him from such a thought.

This was more than intentional.

This was an act of such incredible kindness and softness… and completely unnecessary.

Din was a practical man, he did what he had to and that was that. There was no room for extravagance or materialism, his life didn’t have space for it. Yet here he was, creating an artwork of light amongst the console you relied upon, for nothing more than a sentimentality that wasn’t even his.

“No,” your voice wavered a touch more than you would have liked as you looked out at the lights once more with a new appreciation. Lights that usually blinked harshly now seemed to flash excitingly, an array of warm colours with little to separate the reds and yellows, an amalgamation of your old life and your new.

There was a beauty there that was more than just the lights. There was a beauty in the act itself, and it made the lights shine more beautifully than any firework show in the richest of cities could ever hope for.

“No, this isn’t like where I came from,” you agreed, turning to face him now, to watch as those same lights danced against him once more, capturing him in their beauty and warmth and doing nothing to soften the way your heart beat wildly as you looked at him under a new light.

“But, this is my home now,” you continued, watching as he tensed, as if expecting to find a harshness or resentment added to your words, something that never came. Instead your lips formed a fond smile, taking in the man before you.

“This is my home now, right here, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

You could see the way his shoulders shrugged slightly, his scoff half muffled by his helmet, and it hurt to think he didn’t believe you.

Taking a hesitant step closer, terrified that you were about to break the careful balance you had found yourselves on of late, you watched as he watched you. A game of cat and mouse that you were terrified to win just as much as lose.

With slow movements, giving him ample time to stop you should he want to, you raised your hand to the sharp cut of artificial cheekbones on his helmet.

“You are my home now.”

If you thought your heart was racing at the realisation of what he had done, it was nothing in comparison to the heavy thud that resided within your chest now, awaiting… something.

Rejection would hurt, but perhaps you would survive that, go back to what you once had.

Acceptance was unimaginable.

But the fear that he wouldn’t understand at all, that you would have to further explain yourself…

It surprised you that you could even hear the way he inhaled sharply, the sound almost overtaken by the overwhelming thump of your heart.

But as he lowered his head, the cold metal of his helmet meeting your forehead with more tenderness than you were sure that beskar had ever known before, hope swirled within those butterflies of fear.

“You are my home too, Cyare.”

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