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seijorhi · 3 years

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Inescapable

Part 2 of Always - another soulmate au with extra angst!

Oikawa Tooru x female reader, Miya Atsumu x female reader

TW toxic relationships, implied abuse, blind reader

“Stay here,” he murmurs, soft lips brushing briefly against your cheek before you feel his warmth retreat.

It’s an effort to quell the fleeting panic that rises in his absence. Japan is your home – was your home – but Tokyo… You’re not supposed to be in the village. Only the athletes, trainers and the support crew for the national team were supposed to stay there. It kept out distractions, made it easier for security, gave the athletes the space to focus on what they’re there for; to compete. To win.

You don’t know how he did it, what strings he had to pull, but somehow he’d managed.

A room for the two of you. Just the two of you.

“You’re staying with me,” he’d told you when you’d brought up the possibility of going home to Miyagi to visit your family, or even spend a few days with Makki and Mattsun. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

The words had been whispered, a soft, teasing purr as lips curled into a smirk at your neck, but you know what he’s like when he’s competing. The focus and obsession he’ll throw himself into.

Especially when you both know who he’ll be competing against.

Nevertheless, you’re here. Alone now, standing in a sea of strangers talking too loud in a cacophony of foreign tongues while Tooru left to go find his team–

Strong, familiar arms encircle your waist, a kiss pressed to the top of your head.

– but only for a moment.

“C’mon, cutie. Let’s get going – Coach gave us twenty before he wants us at the gym.”

—

You know one or two of the players on the national team from San Juan. They’re friendly enough, and they’ll stop and chat with you on the odd nights you venture out into the cafeterias dotted around the village for dinner. But for the most part they’re focused on other things and Tooru–

Tooru’s possessive enough of your attention at the best of times.

Which means that you’re either with him, tucked carefully under his arm as he guides you around the village, or you’re stuck in the room, bored out of your mind waiting for him to come home to you. And for lack of anything better to do, you have the games playing on the TV.

Just for the sound of your mother tongue filling the room around you. Just so you won’t be alone with your thoughts for too long.

It’s different, back home in San Juan. But you understand it – why he brought you.

“Where I go, you go, always.”

“Always.”

And the loneliness is worth it, you think, when he sinks down into the mattress beside you after a long day’s training and pulls you close, nuzzling into your side. This is better than being left behind. You’re here to support the man you love. Your soulmate, the name on your arm be damned.

His good luck charm, he hums, kissing you in the early hours of the morning before slipping away.

But even you can’t just sit around the apartment all day long. It’s good to stretch your legs, even when you’re in strange, unfamiliar territory. You tell yourself that what Tooru doesn’t know won’t hurt him, forgetting just for one blissful moment that your soulmate and his team are not the only ones who might catch you wandering.

Of course, that realisation doesn’t sink in until broad shoulders suddenly barrel past you, knocking you off your feet. And you would have fallen, awkwardly probably, had a pair of strong, lean arms not caught at your waist, steadying you.

“Jeeze, Bokkun! Watch where yer goin’, wouldja!”

The first voice, the thick, drawling Kansai dialect isn’t familiar, but the voice that follows is impossible to misplace.

“Thought I told you two–”

It cuts off abruptly, and in some distant part of your brain you register that the stranger’s still holding you, the warmth of his hand still braced on your hip, but all you can really focus on is the owner of that second voice.

“Iwa?”

Tooru had told you he’d be here, Hinata too and Kageyama. And of course Ushijima, but you’d assumed that – at least up until they played against one another or team Japan got knocked out of the running – they’d be busy and you wouldn’t cross paths.

There’s a surprised intake of air from your left – ‘Bokkun’, you imagine – and he asks, “Wait, you know her, dude?”

And still, the warm body holding you doesn’t move an inch. Not until a familiar, irritated huff sounds, “Get your hands off her, dumbass.”

The body behind you tenses for a split second before obeying, hands ripping themselves away from you as if he’d been scalded. “Shit, sorry!”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s fine,” you murmur with what you hope is a polite smile, only half paying attention because you can hear Iwa striding towards you. In one breath, he’s knocking back your saviour and pulling you into a one armed hug.

“Shittykawa said he’d be bringing you,” he says quietly as you squeeze him back. It’s been such a long time since you’ve been face to face with him. Tooru calls him to catch up most weeks, more often than putting him on speaker so that you can say hi, but it’s not the same. “Didn’t think he meant to the actual village, though.”

You’ve missed him, you realise. Him and Makki and Mattsun, and suddenly there’s a lump in your throat, emotions welling that you can’t name. There’s so much you want to say to him, things he knows but should be said anyway, but–

“Aren’t you gonna introduce us to your pretty friend, Iwa?”

Your cheeks heat as the two of you part, yet it’s Iwa who answers for the both of you.

“No. You two need to get your asses moving,” he says. “Back to the gym, now. Unless you wanna stay back after everyone else finishes up to run extra drills?”

It’s a clear dismissal, and the two only pause for a heartbeat before grumbling their assent – and one sheepish apology – and heading off to continue their run.

“Let me walk you back.”

Some things never change, you suppose. “Iwa, you have an Olympic team to train,” you tell him with a wry grin. ”I’m not going to risk being accused of sabotaging the Japanese national volleyball team just because you feel the need to be gentlemanly.”

It’s clearly meant as a tease, but instead of the good-natured huff you’re expecting, he sighs. “C’mon. You almost got knocked on your ass, let me walk you back.”

It’s not a suggestion, and as he takes you by the hand and starts leading you back the way you came you’re reminded of high school - he used to do exactly same thing any timeTooru wasn’t around. There’s a slight flicker of irritation at your first breath of fresh air without Oikawa’s overprotective hovering being snatched away, but you know he means well.

He always does.

So you shove those feelings down and offer him a smile. “You know I’m stupidly proud of you, right?” you tell him. “Both of you.”

And something in Iwa relaxes and he laughs, “Yeah well I’m just glad you’re gonna be here to witness me wipe the floor with Shittykawa’s ass.”

—

It’s late, and Tooru isn’t back yet.

And it wouldn’t bother you except that lunch had been hours ago, and your stomach is starting to growl, hunger settling in.

Tooru works hard, he pushes himself and stays late when he should be home resting, you know that, but even if you did want to go and find him, pull him back so that he won’t push past his limits days out from competing, you wouldn’t have a clue where to find him – not in this sprawling maze of a complex.

What else can you do but wait, as fifteen minutes turns into half an hour, then an hour, and suddenly it’s almost nine.

He won’t be happy that you’ve left without him, but either he’ll meet you at the cafeteria, or you’ll get home before he’s back and you’ll have dinner waiting for him. At this time of the night it’s likely to be empty anyway, it’s not like you’re running off in the middle of the dinner rush.

Most of the athletes’ll be back in their rooms, you’re not gonna get knocked around in the mad scramble for food, nobody’s going to pay you any mind.

But once again, you’re proven wrong.

It’s not quite the roaring din that you’ve come to associate with the dining hall, but you can hear a few quiet conversations scattered throughout the room. At least none of them pay you any heed as you slowly wander the buffet, shyly asking one of the servers to help you pick out something for you and Tooru both.

It’s not until you move to take a seat, hoping that Tooru will get there before you have to try and cart his dinner back to the room that you hear the unmistakable scraping of a chair being dragged back beside you.

“Ya know, Iwaizumi never did end up telling us yer name,” a familiar voice states, settling down into the seat. “He did end up making me ‘n Bokuto run extra laps as punishment for knockin’ into ya, though.”

Out of habit, your fingers fiddle with the sleeve of your jacket – Tooru’s actually – warmth flooding your cheeks. He doesn’t sound pissed off by the fact, and you suppose he probably wouldn’t have sat down beside you if all he wanted was to pick a fight.

“Oh, I’m… sorry?” It comes out sounding more like a question than anything else.

He laughs at that, the sound surprisingly warm and pleasant. “Nah, not your fault. Iwa’s a hardass at the best of times.”

“Sounds like he hasn’t changed much since high school,” you muse.

Oikawa might’ve been Captain back then, but that never stopped Iwa from slapping him upside of the head whenever he did something particularly stupid. He was a hard ass, but he was also incredible at keeping the rest of the team in line and motivated, and he kept Tooru grounded. He kept you grounded. Aggressive, tough love was simply a part of that.

You wonder distantly if his new team realizes just how lucky they are to have somebody like him in their corner.

“High school? Ya knew him back then?” he prods.

He’s a stranger. Not just a competitor, but ‘The Enemy’ just like Kageyama and Ushiwaka. Out of all the teams that Tooru might go up against during the games, you know that they’re the ones he’s most determined to defeat. And you don’t necessarily buy into the whole ‘destined rivals’ thing – Kageyama was never anything but polite to you, but you know you’re supposed to back your soulmate up on this. You know he’d be pissed to find you casually chatting away with any one of them, except maybe Hinata.

Maybe.

But it’s nice just to indulge in a conversation – even meaningless small talk – with somebody who doesn’t know you as Tooru’s. You can’t help but relax a little, the tension easing from your shoulders, a small smile creeping across your face.

“I’ve known Iwa since I was six years old. He’s one of my best friends.”

The man hums a little, his chair creaking as he leans back, “Really? He’s never mentioned ya.”

And it’s clear from the sharp intake of his breath that he regrets the words the moment they’re said, but instead of feeling offended, you simply laugh, the sound bubbling up before you can stop it.

“It’s fine,” you say when he tries to backtrack. “Do you often have deep and meaningful’s with Iwa about his childhood friends?”

He snorts, “Yeah, point taken, I guess. So how come yer here then? Didn’t think they allowed cheerleaders in the village, even the cute ones.”

Something flutters in your stomach at his tone; it’s warm like honey, just a hint of teasing. He’s flirting, you realise, and in an instant you know you should shut it down. Harmless small talk is one thing, but you’re–

You have your soulmate.

“What makes you think I’m not staff?” you ask instead.

“No uniform,” he counters, and you can’t argue with that. It’s not your fault that you can’t see what everybody’s wandering around wearing. “And you don’t really strike me as the ‘athlete’ type, no offense.”

You don’t really know how to respond to that, so you just shrug somewhat self consciously. He’s not wrong; you don’t really belong here, but you find yourself reluctant to tell him the truth.

The only reason you’re here is because Tooru cheated the system, because he couldn’t bear to be without you.

Or maybe because he knows how much of a mess you are without him. Blind and helpless without him to guide you, even here, back in the country you’d both left behind all those years ago.

“I’m here to support my soulmate,” you tell him instead, and it’s not entirely a lie. No matter what, you’ll always support Oikawa – here, back home, to whatever ends. That was the promise you’d made to each other long before you’d ever left Japan.

There’s a short pause, and you take the opportunity to turn back to the plate of food in front of you – you’d forgotten about it entirely. You half expect that he’ll take it as the perfect opportunity to politely bow out of the conversation.

You might’ve been blind, but you’re not naive; you know exactly what athletes get up to after the sun goes down in the village. There’s a reason that your welcome packs were stuffed full of free condoms.

And you’re not interested in that. You have Tooru and he has you. If that’s all that this guy is after; some quick, meaningless fuck, then–

“Volleyball?” he asks, and you almost roll your eyes.

He’s not wrong, of course he’s not, and you suppose considering your connection with Iwa it makes sense that he’d make that leap, but still. One track mind, all of them.

“If I tell you, you might not like me very much,” you say in lieu of an answer.

He leans closer, the chair creaking once more. “So I’m right.” He sounds so smug about it, you almost wanna tell him he’s wrong just to mess with him a little. “What position does he play?”

Not what team, what position. That, more than anything else, mattered to him – and again, you understood it. The pride players took in their position within the machine.

“You first,” you shoot back instead, because you feel like you have a sneaking suspicion.

And with a little huffing laugh, he confirms it, “Setter.”

Of course.

And the smile on your face tugs wider, a strange trill running through you, “Ah, and here I thought Kageyama,” you draw the name out, “was Japan’s starting setter.”

He scoffs, dragged in by your teasing jab, “Yer kiddin’, right? Tobio’s talented an’ all, but he ain’t half the setter I am.”

Cocky and smug. You wonder if he has the skills to back it up. Yet just as you open your mouth to pry further, you’re interrupted by a voice.

Several actually.

“Talking shit again, Miya?”

“Who’s she?”

“Oh hey – Iwa’s friend!”

And your heart skips a beat, your body tensing as those voices close in, more chairs being pulled out, trays of food dumped on the table as his teammates settle down around you. It’s just a name, one name. It doesn’t mean anything, doesn’t–

“Atsumu, why don’t you shut– oh. Y/N, hey. Didn’t realise you'd be here. Isn’t the village restricted to athletes only?”

Kageyama’s blunt greeting isn’t intended to be antagonistic, but it washes over you regardless. You’re frozen, heart pounding, a sick, twisting feeling settling into your gut.

Atsumu, he’d said.

Miya Atsumu.

Two words, and your world stops spinning.

You’d promised him – Tooru – years ago that the name on your arm didn’t mean anything. It was all just a cruel cosmic mistake because from the moment you met him, you were his, and he was yours and nothing else mattered.

And you’d told yourself that, repeated it like a mantra until you started to believe it yourself. Because Tooru loved you, you were his soulmate and what kind of horrible fucking person would you be to take that gift, that bond and shove it back in his face.

Tooru isn’t perfect, and he’d freaked out and lied to you, but he’s your soulmate.

The name on your arm didn’t matter, it didn’t matter that you didn’t know whose it was, because you had Tooru. It should have been his.

And you told yourself that for six months, until some blowout fight had Tooru storming out, you following in his footsteps.

It was a stranger, some random passerby in the street. You can’t remember what prompted you to stop her and ask, why it suddenly mattered when Tooru had all but convinced you that it didn’t, but you had.

Miya Atsumu. The pronunciation had been unsure, her tongue clunky over the foreign syllables, but in that moment when you’d heard his name every lie you’d convinced yourself of had fallen apart.

It was like you’d been drowning without ever realising it, and the second you’d heard that name a hand was dragging you up to the surface and suddenly air was flooding your lungs.

Miya Atsumu.

There are voices surrounding you, somebody laughing uproariously, but it’s all just white noise.

“Y/N,” a choked, hoarse whisper that shouldn’t have been heard, but it pierces you like a knife, cutting through everything else. It’s too much.

On shaking legs you stand, knocking your chair back as you grab for your cane.

The name hadn’t mattered, until you’d heard it. He hadn’t mattered, until he was standing right there in front of you.

“I– I have to go,” you mutter, not entirely sure if they heard you, or if they even cared. You leave your food untouched on the table, stumbling as you step back.

And again, you hear that whisper of your name. There’s a hand that reaches for you – his or somebody else’s you don’t know, you shrug it off regardless. “I have to go.”

Nobody stops you as you skitter back towards the entrance, but for once the cafeteria is silent. The moment you burst out through the double doors, the brisk, summer night air hits you like a slap, and you don't realise that your cheeks are wet with tears until the breeze cuts through, the damp skin prickling uncomfortably.

And the sob that follows rips through your chest like a knife.

This isn’t what you wanted.

If there’s a god out there, he must have a cruel sense of humour, because your name is being called again, and suddenly there’s a hand on your cheek brushing at your tears, an arm wrapping around your waist, pulling you close. “Cutie, what’s wrong?”

The scent of him, all citrus and summer, invades your nose as you clutch at him tighter. You can’t speak, can’t find the words to tell him, so you just squeeze your eyes shut and burrow into him.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he repeats, not asking this time.

You take a deep, shuddering breath. “I want to go home,” you whisper, clutching at his jersey. “I wanna go home, Tooru.”

A kiss brushes against the crown of your head, and you almost miss the sound of footsteps pounding on the pavement behind you – at least until the interloper speaks.

“You–” Atsumu breaks off, his breath ragged and raw, and you don’t miss the way that Oikawa stiffens, his grip tightening, fingers digging in. “Yer my soulmate.”

Three simple words, and everything, everything just falls apart.

Tooru snarls, taking a step back and dragging you with him. “She’s not your anything, Miya. Fuck off.”

“You can’t leave me! You can’t - you’re mine!”

It hurts, the grip he has on you. He’s trembling, from rage or fear you honestly don’t know, but you can feel his heart pounding a vicious beat as his arms lock around you like a cage.

“Yeah, that’s why it’s my goddamn name on her arm. Let ‘er go, yer hurting her,” he snaps.

“She’s my soulmate, so mind your own business and run off back home.”

You can’t breathe.

“Not when yer hurting her.”

It’s like the floor’s suddenly disappeared from beneath you, and you’re in free fall, hurtling back towards god knows what. Your head’s spinning, your legs feel like jelly, and if Tooru wasn’t holding you up against him, you’re not sure you’d still be standing.

You can’t breathe.

“Leave, right now,” he hisses. “She’s mine. She always has been, and always will be mine!”

You’d promised him that much, hadn’t you?

“Ya don’t scare me, and I don’t give a flying fuck if yer wearing her name on your arm. That’s my soulmate, and you’ll take yer fucking hands off ‘a her.”

You can’t breathe, not as the shouting gets louder and Tooru’s grip gets tighter.

He takes another step back, pulling you with him, and another hiccuping sob catches in your throat. You try to speak, to stop this before it gets any worse, but the words won’t come–

“You’re hurting her!”

“I LOVE HER!” he screams. “I would never, ever hurt her!”

“T–Tooru, please…” you beg. It’s little more than a whisper, and neither one of them seems to hear it.

But somebody else does.

“Hey, hey! What the fuck are you dumbasses doing?!”

Iwa, always your second protector, your best and oldest friend, wastes no time in getting between the two of them, shoving Miya back.

“What is wrong with you both?!” he snaps, grabbing you by the wrist and ripping you from Oikawa. And you don’t fight it when he tugs you towards him, a protective arm wrapping around your waist.

You cling to him, like a scared child with tears streaming down your face.

“Iwa–”

“No, shut up. I don’t wanna hear a single word out of either one of you! Not a goddamn word!”

He doesn’t bother berating them in front of you, though you know that’ll come later. He doesn’t say anything to you either, but his hand doesn’t leave yours all the way back to his apartment. Not the one in the village, but the one just outside of the city.

“You knew, didn’t you?” you ask quietly when he drops his keys on the counter.

There’s a beat of silence, and he sighs. “Yeah, I knew.”

It’s hanging in the air between you, like a dark, stormy cloud about to unleash. “Iwa,” you whisper, your bottom lip trembling once more. “What the hell am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know,” he answers, as honestly as he can. “But you’re gonna stay here tonight, and tomorrow I’ll call Makki and Mattsun and they’ll come and take you back to Sendai for a little while if that’s what you want. You don’t have to see either one of those assholes, not until…”

Not until you figure out how you’re supposed to make this impossible choice.

He squeezes your shoulder as you sniffle. “It’s gonna be alright, whatever you decide to do.”

Neither one of you truly believes that, but what’s left to say?

He hugs you again before he leaves, makes you promise to call if you need him, but you both know you won’t.

Not tonight, not when he has other priorities.

And then you’re alone, sitting on his couch surrounded by blankets with a mug of hot chocolate warming your hands. You know you should try to get some sleep, you’re exhausted, overwhelmed, but every time you close your eyes, you can’t stop thinking about it.

About the way Tooru’s voice had shook, how you’d smiled for Atsumu, that familiar warmth blooming in your chest when the two of you talked and you’d teased him.

And you remember how it was the day Tooru first told you that he loved you, the butterflies in your stomach the first time he’d kissed you, spinning you around and laughing as his lips met yours again and again and again.

How he’d yelled and screamed and fallen apart in your arms that night, begging you not to leave him.

You love him, for better or for worse, you love him.

A loud knock echoes through the apartment, shaking you from your thoughts.

It’s almost 2am, and nobody but Iwa knows you’re here. Nobody should be knocking, and so you sit, frozen in the dark listening as your heart hammers uneasily.

One beat, then two, and then–

“I know you’re in there, just– just please. I need… I need–” he breaks off with a frustrated huff, and there’s a low thud, like his head’s fallen against the door. “Please,” he begs, quieter this time.

There’s another thud.

“I need ya. Don’t lock me out, I’m beggin’.”

#yandere haikyuu #yandere oikawa tooru x reader #yandere oikawa tooru #yandere miya atsumu #yandere miya atsumu x reader #yandere atsumu #yandere oikawa #tw toxic behavior #tw implied abuse #blind reader

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elvendara · 3 years

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Sugar and Spice Day 3

July 14th

Rock concert (Rockstar/Fan)

“Five minutes till curtains up!” the man ran backstage shouting over the din. Saeran expected a knock on his door shortly and sure enough, it came. Without waiting for an answer, the man opened the door to let him know the time limit. Saeran locked eyes with him through the mirror and nodded.

Once the door was again closed, he stared at himself. He’d long ago bleached his hair white to differentiate himself from his twin. Saeyoung worked in the shadows, it wouldn’t do to have a famous brother who looked exactly like him. He also utilized colored lenses. It served two purposes, he didn’t need to wear glasses, in fact, his fans didn’t even know he needed them, and the mint green was a stark contrast to his regular, amber-colored eyes. The pink tips were a more recent addition, but he liked them.

Black eyeliner was expertly applied, years of practice making it almost effortless. He took a sponge and smudged it, giving himself that perfect edgy look. The earrings were already in, silver crosses dangling on each side of his face. Ironic really, considering he didn’t believe in God. The thick black silver studded collar was snuggly around his neck as was the matching cuff around his right wrist. He stood and grabbed his leather jacket, sliding it on and glancing into the full-length mirror he had been given in his dressing room. He was comfortable in this persona. The music had been a way for him to deal with his life. Writing down his anger, confusion, and loneliness was a way to get it out of him. It became bigger than him pretty quickly and he found that hiding behind rock stardom meant he didn’t have to answer any real questions about his true self. It worked. Except it kept him lonely and alone. He’d come to terms with spending the rest of his life that way. It was easier than imagining being real with someone. Who could ever love the real him anyway?

He smirked at his reflection as he laced up his biker boots. Time to bring the house down!

He was soaked in sweat but didn’t feel tired. In fact, he felt invigorated, like every time he finished a concert. Feeding off the audience was one of the biggest perks to his career. Someone handed him a towel and he wiped his face with it.

“Great show Saeran!” one of the concert coordinators told him. She held a tablet to her chest and had a handful of fans behind her. Five doe eyed girls and one shy looking boy. Well, now that he looked closer, he was definitely a man, close to his own age. He looked sheepish being with the teenaged groupies. “These are the VIP’s for tonight’s afterparty. Thought I’d introduce you before you change.”

“Nice! Great to meet you, I’m glad we’ll be hanging out tonight. Hope you have a good time. Congrats on winning the backstage passes.” He regurgitated. There wasn’t always an afterparty but there were some special guests, rich, who had paid for the whole thing, so he’d been pressed to oblige them with an appearance. He hated the politics of being famous, but he did love his fans. It was because of them that he could enjoy what he did. If it was up to him, he’d fill the party with fans and not rich entitled groupies. He knew he would spend the night fending off offers to ‘get to know each other better’ all night.

“Oh my GOD! It’s really you!”

“Wow! You’re so HOT!”

“Ahhh, my friends are never gonna believe this!”

The girls were just cookie cutter versions of every other girl he’d seen. He couldn’t blame them; it’s how they sold his image. The man looked embarrassed; he wouldn’t even look him in the eye. He took the chance to check him out. He appeared to be a tad shorter than himself, with blond hair and pink clips holding back his bangs. He wore one of his concert shirts and tight-fitting skinny jeans. His nails were painted alternating pink and black with the black ones having his band’s logo on it, a mint green eye. So he really was a fan. Cute too.

“Uh, well, like the lady said, I have to go get changed for the party, I’ll see you all there. And be sure to grab your swag bags before you leave, don’t let them rip you off there! There’s a CD with a snippet of some of our new songs.” He winked and walked off. There was a lot of oohing and ahhing as he left.

He took a quick shower and dressed in a ripped black T-shirt, black jeans and his biker boots, putting all his accessories back on and reapplying his eyeliner. Taking a deep breath, he turned and walked out to the convention center next to the arena. Of course he wasn’t alone, he had security that surrounded him and paparazzi snapping pics as he made his way to the party. They screamed questions at him that he didn’t answer, he smirked, the signature look the media had come to know him by. Surrounded by so many yet feeling so alone. Making it next door took longer than it should have because of the circus around him, but make it he did.

Once he was inside he was taken by the arm by the coordinator who had introduced him to the fans, he couldn’t remember her name but she seemed nice enough. At least she didn’t flirt with him like other women did and took her job seriously.

“You’re here, great, first you should go say hi to the Han family, they’re the ones footing the bill for this afterparty, then you can have a few minutes with the fans before talking to some reporters…”

“Whoah.” He stopped in his tracks and could swear she left skid marks with her heels she’d been going so fast. “I want more than just a few minutes with those fans, and who are all these people anyway?” He saw his bandmates and some of the roadies, but everyone else was a stranger.

“Nobody you need to worry about, uh, I’ll see what I can do with the schedule.” She seemed frazzled but clicked away on her tablet while heading off again. He assumed he should follow, so he did.

“Mr. Han, I appreciate you taking the time and effort for this function.” Saeran greeted the elderly man.

“Ah, of course of course, anything for my new bride!” he had his arm around a young woman who was clearly less than half his age. The rumors about C&R’s head were obviously true. Standing on his other side was a tall and elegant man who appeared to wish he was anywhere but here. He’d seen that face plastered on magazines of all sorts. The heir apparent, Director of C&R, Jumin Han. They nodded respectfully at each other, Saeran feeling sorry for the man and having to deal with his father’s escapades, but the old man seemed like a descent sort. After a few minutes of his ‘wife’ fawning all over him, making him feel uncomfortable, the coordinator pulled him away. He was thankful to her for saving him.

She escorted him towards a section in the back, past all the dancing and the loud music, that was closed off. The music was still loud but at least he could hear himself think. In the section the fans sat, eating and drinking snacks on the coffee table. They all stood up and rushed him. Well, the girls did, touching him and giggling. Where were their parents? They didn’t look old enough to be out. They sat him down and pressed against him. The blond man sat to the side in a chair and continued to sip his cola and eat the snacks, sneaking a look now and then. He wished he could just be alone with him and have a conversation. At least he wouldn’t try to crawl on his lap like these girls seemed to want to do. Well, maybe he wouldn’t mind if the blond tried that.

After about 30 minutes, which felt like a lifetime, the coordinator gathered up the girls and took them out. It was past midnight and he guessed he had been right about their age, couldn’t have minors out at all hours of the night. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It felt like they had leached some of his life force out and he was drained.

“I guess that happens all the time to you huh?”

Saeran sat up abruptly, how could he have forgotten about the blond?

“Sorry, I’ll go if you want to be alone.” He stood and Saeran panicked.

“NO!” he stood, banging his knee on the coffee table, sending him on his ass back on the sofa. He grabbed at the knee, eyes scrunched, “Ow ow ow…”

“Let me see.” Suddenly there was a presence by him as the blond sat beside him, his fingers touching his knee. Because of the ripped jeans, it was easy to see his skin in that area. “Doesn’t look so bad, at least you didn’t break the skin. You’ll have a hell of a bruise though.” The blond raised his gaze to Saeran and he finally got to see the full view. Wow, those eyes knocked him out, was that color even natural? Maybe he was wearing amethyst-colored lenses like what he himself wore. His face was kind, a soft pink flush growing across his cheeks and bridge of his nose. It was adorable.

“Ah, that was really stupid of me. But…I’m glad you didn’t leave. We didn’t even get a chance to chat.” Saeran tried to regain his coolness but found he couldn’t seem to be bothered to try and act in front of this man. “Uh, what’s your name?”

“Yoosung. Don’t have to ask yours I guess.” He smiled, lighting up the entire room.

“Yoosung…I like it.”

“Thanks. I…uh…like you. I mean…I…your music…I…I…like your music…and…uh…I”

Saeran laughed and waved off Yoosung’s explanation.

“So you’re a fan huh? And what…a doctor?” he asked, placing his foot on the ground gently, still rubbing his knee.

“Not quite. But I am going to medical school. And yes, a BIG fan!” his eyes got large, as did his smile. “Your songs spoke to me when I was at a really low point. I don’t know, it felt like you knew what I was going through and understood my pain.” The smile faltered as his thoughts went back to those days. Saeran reached out and placed his hand on Yoosung’s, yes, he knew what it was like to be in pain, he could see it in his eyes.

Their eyes met, an understanding passing between them.

#my posts #fic #Yooran #Yoosung Kim #Saeran Choi #mysme #mystic messenger #Sugar and Spice #Day 3 #July 14th #OK #I know these are supposed to be Saeran as Spice #but damn if he isn't the sweetest baby boi!#He just wants to be loved!

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vagrantblvrd · 3 years

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thinking bout your were-cat aus and wondering bout werecat dinlukeXD

Haha, omg, yessss.

Modern AU or some such where Din helps out what he thinks is a normal stray cat and gets bitten for his trouble? Doesn’t think too much of it aside from getting the bite looked at because cat bites, right?

And then a few weeks later around the time of the full moon he wakes up somewhere he doesn’t recognize without any memory of how he got there and it’s like. Not unusual in his younger years because ~youthful shenanigans, but now, okay.

He’s a responsible (mostly???) adult with a job and bills and a kid - and thanks God Cara was watching Grogu for him, but she’s got to be worried/pissed by now, and anyway.

Last thing he remembers was going to see Boba about something and then he woke up wherever he is, so like. Not too far a stretch to think the two are connected.

(Wouldn’t be the first time, anyway.)

So he goes to get his kid and make his excuses to Cara who doesn’t buy it - Din looks too confused about things - trying to figure out what the hell happened - for it to be another Boba-related thing, but whatever. He seems okay and she’s running late for something so she’ll get the real story out of him later, right?

Meanwhile Din is telling himself this weirdness won’t happen again - can’t afford to let it, you know, because Grogu and all.

But it does.

Another month later and this time Din remembers bits and pieces of it - which don’t make sense because werecat and new instincts and such?

Also the bit before the Confusion of waking up in a weird place again where he can see better in the dark now and his senses are sharper and also he’s started making these weird noises when he’s super content???

Grogu sitting in his lap telling him about his day at school or whatever and just, yes.

Anyway.

He wakes up in a strange place and goes to talk to Boba about it, which gets him a weird look and then a concerned look and Boba looking into it for Din.

Doesn’t find a lot, but promises him he’ll keep looking and in the meantime Din has other worries to deal with between one thing and another, and before he knows it another month goes by and the full moon comes around.

He wakes up in a weird place, but it’s not the only weird thing to happen because he’s a cat???

Big thing, long dark fur and confused eyes staring back at him from the first reflective surface he can find and what the hell is going on?

And then shenanigans because he’s in a weird part of town and there are suddenly dogs chasing him and he’s a big cat, sure, but no match for the dogs, so ALL the running.

And while he’s running noise and light or something catch his eye and he looks up in this alley he’s running through, sees an open window up a few floors, handy fire escape and is like safety???

The dogs are big clumsy bastards, might be able to follow him up the fire escape but won’t fit through the window.

Might be going into a worse situation there, but better than letting the dogs catch him and anyway, too late now.

Din darting through the open window and startling the apartment’s occupant - feels a little bad about that, but more concerned about the dogs. One or two managed to follow him up the fire escape but like he’d hoped they can’t get through the window, cracked open just enough for him to get in, and anyway.

“Oh, wow,” Din hears, and turns to see the apartment’s occupant staring at the widow and the dogs who eventually give up and bumble their way down to the ground below and the rest of their little pack. “Wasn’t expecting that today.”

Which, you know, who would, is the thing?

But also new potential danger in this person who is now staring at the sudden cat in their apartment and really, not a great day for Din.

And Luke - because of course it’s Luke - is just confused and a little amused at the sudden cat-thing, but weirder things have happened to him.

Which he says to Din as he gets a little bowl and fills it with water that he sets down for Din not knowing how long he’s going to stick around, but water’s good, right? Everyone needs water and he’s probably thirsty after that chase, and anyway, don’t mind him.

Din is like ??? but Luke’s right about him being thirsty and he doesn’t seem bothered by Din’s sudden appearance, and anyway.

He drinks some water - makes a mess of it before he figures it out, and gives Luke this unimpressed look when the man has the gall to laugh at him.

And then take pictures of Din, water down his face and chest and pretty much a disaster.

“In case someone’s looking for you,” Luke says, although he’s still laughing and clearly not as nice as he seems, and anyway.

That reminds Din that oh, hey, he’s apparently a cat now and what is he going to do about it and Grogu now?

The window’s still open so he runs right on out and decides Boba is his best bet for help right now.

Not like he expects the man to know what to do, but Boba, you know? Someone Din trusts not to freak out about the whole suddenly a cat thing and might know something about it.

Bob is like, “Well, this is different,” but not in a bad way and Din gives him one of those unimpressed looks because not helpful?

But Boba is less worried about Din now that they have an explanation for the weirdness going on with him other than who the hell even knows, Djarin, you get in the weirdest situations, right?

Din turns back into a human in the mornig and Boba gives him this look, like see? weird situation, Djarin, and tells him he might know some people who can help, but for now go home and look after your kid, which Din does.

Din goes back to Boba’s the next day and meets one of his business associates, a woman by the name of Fennec Shand, and while Din is glad to meet her and all he doesn’t see what it has to do with his situation?

And then suddenly there’s a cat.

Sleek black-furred thing with bright amber eyes and oh, Din thinks, oh shit.

The cat looks a sight better than the last time he saw it - her - back in that alley caught up in a nasty little trap he helped her out of and got bitten for his trouble.

This whole thing where Fennec thanks him for his help and apologizes for biting him - “It wasn’t my best day,” she says with a little shrug, and anyway, welcome to the wonderful world of being a werecat, Djarin.

She offers to help him figure the whole thing out, teaches him what he needs to know - “Wait, so I can change when it’s not the full moon?” - and so on, and Din, okay.

Not sure he wants any part of being a werecat but left with precious little choice, and anyway, at least he knows what the hell is going on with him, you know?

Din pays close attention to what Fennec tells him, teaches him. Sighs at the fact things are going to be a little...weird through the first few full moons, but it’ll level off once he gets a hold on the whole werecat business.

And it’s like.

Weird as hell, but still not the weirdest thing to happen to him so he just. Deals with it.

Sometimes that means he ends up wandering around the part of town where he sought refuge in that one guy’s apartment, but it’s not like he plans to, okay?

And if the way Luke is like :DDDD at seeing him again means Din intentionally wanders that direction it’s no one’s business but his own, okay?

But also the thing where Din goes to see Boba one day as normal human person and there’s Luke staring Boba down and Din is like !!! and ???

Because rather than kicking Luke out of his place Boba is amused by the whole thing and it turns out he knows Luke from way back. And while the two of them aren’t going to be BFFs they are friends of a sort and anyway, Luke has some kind of problem and Boba catches Din’s eye and is like “I know just the man to help you out, Skywalker.”

Adventures in which Din is thrown together with Luke because reasons and Flirting happens.

Some baddies get the jump on them and Din lugs an injured Luke back to Luke’s apartment to get him patched up and gets all shifty-eyed when Luke asks how Din knew where he lived???

“Boba,” Din blurts, lets Luke assume Boba gave him intel on Luke or whatever after sticking the two of them together, and anyway.

Din tenderly patching Luke up and quiet confessions from Luke about not knowing what he’s even doing with his life at this point - mired in Danger and Adventure and almost, almost missing the days when he was a nobody from a backwater town.

“But then I never would have met Leia or Han and the others,” he says, this odd little smile on his face, “so, you know.”

Din does, because he got Grogu in the end, and more besides in Cara and Grief and Boba and the rest.

More shenanigans in which Luke finds out Din’s a werecat - “Huh,” and “This makes no sense, but nothing in my life does anyway,” and also “Oh,” because of course he recognizes Din’s werecat form, which.

A little embarrassing for Din afterwards when he and Luke are totally Flirting and heading towards a ~relationship and Luke gives him endless grief for Din visiting him as a cat, and anyway, yes.

Also, also, Luke giving Din the best scritches when he’s a cat, and Luke telling people he has a part-time cat - “What doe that even mean, Luke?” - to explain the fur on his clothes and other such shenanigans???

Plus cuddling, and Din whacking Luke in the face with his tail when Luke teases him or whatever and just, yes.

#star wars nonsense #dinluke #werecat au but with the star war #replies #anon #technically not a fic #vagrant fic #¯\_(ツ)_/¯#Anonymous

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jackidy · 3 years

Text

To Be Struck

Rating: T Pairings: EnnoTana Characters: Various, focus on Karasuno and Ennoshita. Universe: Canon Summary: “He has no idea, does he.” Yamaguchi states, having waited with the third years and Tsukishima for the captain to show up only to bare witness to him be accosted by a group of boys. They can’t tell for sure what’s being said only that Ennoshita seems to be surprised, hands up in mock surrender before a relaxed, more apologetic pose takes over, the tell-tale sign of nervousness as he scratches the back of his neck.

“Oh no, theres not a single thought of how handsome he actually is behind those big old brown eyes.” Narita states, earning a grunt of agreement from the other third years and something akin to a laugh from Tsukishima. “The boy is oblivious to how handsome he is.”

AO3

---

The shirt fits better than he thought it would, taking the quiet moments before the rest of the team would show up to simply get used to the new found feeling of confidence that he had gained over the school break but also seemed to multiply as soon as he’d donned the number 1 shirt. Would Daichi be proud of his progress? Probably, Sugawara? Definitely, smile tugging at his lips in memory of this morning’s phone call, the former Karasuno setter clearly running late for university but still making time to give Ennoshita a fairly out of breath pep talk about he’s got this.

He offers good mornings to Ukai as their coach yawns past, followed by the team who seem to be either the same level of tired or overly excited to either be back with the team after the long break or the potential new players who would be joining. More had signed up this year than ever before, the team’s success at nationals having attracted more attention than Ennoshita had, truthfully, expected, hating that this would happen during his tenure as captain and not to another.

But then, would he really want to inflict this on anyone else?

“We missed you at lunch today, not avoiding us now that you’re captain, are ya?” Kinoshita teases, Ennoshita laughing at the over dramatics as the tawny haired man launched into an over dramatic spiel, leaning against Narita as he lamented over being left behind on the benches, beckoning Yamaguchi in to join him only to be rejected by the second year. “Our boy gets promoted and now he’s too good for us mere bench warmers.”

“No, no, I had to go see Takeda senpai and sort out club stuff, more so since they’re planning a Miyagi based training camp this year.” Ennoshita laughs out more than speaks, pulling the team fleece on, pushing his locker closed only to pause as everything goes quiet. Staring at the team in mild confusion, they just stare back, a few slacked jaws and even a few rosy cheeks amongst them, turning to Kinoshita and Narita for help only to find them in a similar state.

“What?” He asks the silent room, looking with increasing confusion and anxiety between his teammates, hoping one of them would give in and explain just why everyone had gone quiet only to find nothing to cure his nervous curiosity. “Alright then, I need to talk to coach so I guess I’ll see you in the gym.” Ennoshita adds after a few more moments of silence, sighing and dismissing himself from the locker room.

He’s only somewhat confused and mostly annoyed when the talking almost immediately picks up again after he leaves, the team speaking in hushed whispers over something that would undoubtedly cause trouble for him later.

---

The constant giggling confuses him more than anything, Ennoshita frowning as another group of first years pass him in the corridor, the group breaking into hushed whispers, giggles with one or more cheeks flushed a pale pink. He’d assumed it was in response to one of the others, his fellow third years nothing short of attractive, his thoughts lingering on the teams ace a little too long before sighing and shaking his head.

Tanaka Ryuunosuke was a subject best not dwelled on, least he end up losing himself to a train of thought best not considered. The ace wasn’t interested in him beyond friendship, Tanaka’s romantic interests focused on cute dark-haired girls with striking features, the only part of that list Ennoshita could be associated with was the dark hair.

“Hi, Ennoshita.”

“Umm…hi?” He’s confused, more giggling before the group of third years is gone, Ennoshita’s frown deepening as he headed for the back of the class where everyone was waiting for him, food in various stages of being eaten. They hadn’t waited for him and he’s thankful for it, sliding into the chair between Kinoshita and Tanaka with a groan, sliding further into the seat as hands fumbled with his bag for his lunch, still frowning as he dug in without a word.

“You keep frowning like that and your face’ll stick.” Noya speaks around a mouthful of food, both Narita and Kinoshita grimacing before Narita smacks his arm with a comment to stop being gross. It works for the most part, the libero chewing and swallowing with such vigour the rest of the group is surprised he doesn’t choke. “What’s bothering you, cap?”

Ennoshita pauses, trying to find the words to accurately describe his issue before sighing. “People keep giggling when I walk past them, I have no idea why though.” He replies honestly, oblivious to the looks the others were giving him as he continued his train of thought. “At first I thought it was because I was with one of you guys but they continued even when it was just me.”

The shared look between Kinoshita, Narita and Nishinoya only adds to his ever growing confusion, head turning to the left with hope of getting an answer from Tanaka only to be met with a flushed yet mystified look. Why was he looking at him like that? What was he missing that everyone else was apparently so clearly aware of? Snapping his fingers in front of the others face, Ennoshita bites back a laugh as Tanaka jumps, nearly spilling his drink on himself.

“Wait, why did you think the giggling was down to one of us four?” Narita pipes up after a moment, Ennoshita looking over to him whilst the group focused on the captain once more. Ennoshita shrugs, faking a thoughtful look before grinning lazily, something teasing and mischievous in his tone.

“Because you’re all a bunch of clowns.”

---

The trip to Johzenji is by no means quiet but the din of Nishinoya and Hinata hyping up the nervous first years isn’t enough to break him from his thoughts of the incident a mere thirty minutes ago. A second year, from Yamaguchi’s class if memory serves, had confessed to him. Face flushed, voice stammering and a love letter clutched so tightly in her hands Ennoshita was surprised she hadn’t ripped the letter by accident.

He wasn’t going to return her feelings, he only just recognised her never mind the fact he didn’t know her name, but he didn’t even get a chance to politely reject her before Tanaka had come from seemingly nowhere, taken his wrist and dragged him away with a gruff comment of how they were going to be late. The girl had just seen the look on Tanaka’s fae, looked at the tan hand clamped around his wrist and just profusely apologised saying she’d misunderstood.

What had she misunderstood? There wasn’t anything to misunderstand! Sure, Tanaka had perhaps been a little more gruff than usual but hadn’t his last class of the day been maths? It wasn’t one of his stronger subjects, maybe it had just put the vice-captain into an irritable mood. But doubts had only began to settle in when the other had spent the majority of the ride sat next to Haruka, the team’s new libero, who had made it his life mission to cheer the Ace up.

“Gummy for your thoughts?” Yachi asks, voice a hushed whisper as she offers the bag of gummies to Ennoshita, looking around the seat as she checked to see if the rest of the team had heard her at all. He takes one, mulling over if he would tell her anyway, the team manager hastily shoving the sweets back into her bag as Kageyama stalked past to ask Coach Ukai something.

“This is the part where you tell me what’s troubling you.” Yachi teased when Ennoshita remained silent, Ennoshita laughing before shrugging. He’d grown close to Yachi since she’d joined the team, more so after Daichi announced him as the next captain and they started working together more frequently once the year began. It had earned no short amount of teasing over his ability to talk to girls easily from Kinoshita and the question of if they were dating from one of the overly curious first years.

“It’s nothing, I’m just a little confused about somethings is all.”

“Such as?”

Ennoshita clicks his tongue, elbow against the window frame and jaw resting in his palm, silently wishing the vibrations caused by bad suspension would perhaps shake the thoughts out so he could finally focus on things more important than everyone’s new reactions to him. “People keep paying attention to me and, just now, had a girl confess her feelings for me. Only to apologise when Tanaka grabbed me and dragged me off so we could go, saying she’d misunderstood.”

“I don’t get what there was to misunderstand.” Other than the fact she had feelings for me, he adds silently, a troubled look on his face, accepting another gummy when Yachi offered it to him, the younger blonde seemingly lost in her thoughts as he continued. “He just took my wrist and said we were running late.”

He doesn’t confess as to how he can still feel the ghost of that touch on his wrist, that he humoured the idea that Tanaka was so annoyed about the interaction because he was jealous and not because they were going to be late. That the concept of her misunderstanding was that they were dating any not something else that was more trivial than the idea of them dating.

“Maybe she thought you two were, you know, together.”

He chokes, wheezing and waving off the hand of Narita dangerously close to hitting him in the back, waiting for the middle blocker to sit back down and resume conversation with Kinoshita before turning his attention to Yachi. She looks concerned for the most part, a hint of underlying smugness so reminiscent of Kiyoko when she made an all too correct assumption about something that, for a brief moment, Ennoshita feels like he’s sat with her instead.

“Okay, even if she did think that, it doesn’t explain everything else.”

“No but I’m sure you’ll figure it out, captain.”

---

It takes only five seconds of knowing Terushima Yuuji for Ennoshita to realise the man is tenacious if not a little bit odd, leaning away as the fellow captain leaned in, the feeling of being observed by a predator becoming increasingly more present. Pregame handshakes weren’t supposed to last this long, remembering how even the tense ones between Daichi and Kuroo the year before had never seemed to be endless.

Should he be the one to let go first? The want for the contact to be over already battling against his will to not be seen as weak, the handshake finally coming to an end when one of the coaches, the Johzenji one, shouts for Terushima to stop antagonising him. Was it still antagonising someone if it felt like Terushima was wanting a reaction from him that wasn’t annoyance? Ennoshita didn’t know and wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to find out either.

“I look forward to see you play, Ennoshita.”

Hand finally free, Ennoshita wipes it on his shorts leg with theatrical disdain, snorting in vague amusement at the just as dramatic gasp from behind him as he walked back to his team. What game was he playing at? Why had he pronounced his name like that, too much emphasis on the shi that he’d drawled out for far too long for it to be anything short of annoying.

He hates that his mind goes immediately to how it would be less annoying coming from Tanaka.

The practise match goes better than expected, the boost of adrenaline in his veins from being on the court only seemingly nullified during breaks when Narita and Kinoshita began their lament of being Ennoshita leaving on the benches, managing to drag Yamaguchi into joining in, even if the second year could not keep a straight face throughout the entire thing. They win, by no means a crushing victory but enough to know what needs to be improved upon with the new team dynamic, thinking over ideas he could go over with the Coach when they got back to school when feels the arms slink over his shoulder, smells the marker and feels the hand over his shoulders take hold of his forearm almost too gently.

Strong body spray and an obnoxious shade of yellow. The feel of a sharpie against his skin as it scrawled ink and numbers across his skin, Ennoshita stood like a deer in the head lights at the hum in his ear, the pop of lips as the writing was finally done. “Call me whenever, it would be a shame to not know you better, Chikara.” His arm is released, Terushima leaving without any further contact, Ennoshita only breaking out of his stunned state when someone yells at the Johzenji captain.

What…what just happened?

His state of being is nothing short of catatonic, walking in his bemused stupor to where the rest of the team are waiting, staring at the number signed with a heart scrawled across his skin. Why had he said his name like that?! A low drawl, the rolled and extended a at the end of his name, the fact it had made his face flush rosy like he was a first year. He had no interest in the other captain in both terms of friendship and relationship. So why, why was he reacting like that?

Forgetting to pull down his sleeve has never had such dire consequences, helping Takeda to gather the team and attendance to make sure nobody was left behind, most having the wherewithal to stay quiet at the number scrawled on his arm. All bar Kendo, the would-be wing spiker’s eyes lightning up before practically yelling. “Yo, Captain! Whose number did you get?”

The drive home is too rowdy, Ennoshita wishing Ukai would wake up and bellow at them all to shut up as question after question is fired at him. Whose number is it? Terushima’s. Are you dating? No. Do you like him? Not really. Would you date him if he asked you? No. Does Tanaka become captain if you fall for another captain and die? No, Haruka, but thank you for the concern.

Perhaps it’s the sap in him but Ennoshita finds he doesn’t mind the questions so much anymore, when he notices Tanaka is no longer in a mood but laughing along with the fellow third years as Ennoshita wilts under the sheer number of questions thrown at him about his supposed affair with Terushima.

---

“He has no idea, does he.” Yamaguchi states, having waited with the third years and Tsukishima for the captain to show up only to bare witness to him be accosted by a group of boys. They can’t tell for sure what’s being said only that Ennoshita seems to be surprised, hands up in mock surrender before a relaxed, more apologetic pose takes over, the tell-tale sign of nervousness as he scratches the back of his neck.

He’d always been handsome, Tanaka thinks, it just became more obvious over the end of year break, bewildered as to how in the span of a month he had seemed to bloom in confidence and lose the stubborn bit of baby fat that clung to his cheeks and body. It’s bothersome, annoying really, how Ennoshita believed through this metamorphosis that he’s still something not worth looking twice at, Ennoshita haven’t never stated it but it was all too clear from the way he confusedly pointed out how he couldn’t understand why their fellow students seemed to linger on him.

“Also oblivious to Tanaka’s pining.” Nishinoya adds on a little too cheerfully, the libero cackling with laughter as he used Tsukishima as a shield as Tanaka attempted to grab him before running behind Ennoshita as the captain finally joined them with a humoured confused look. “Save me, captain! He’s gone feral.”

“Oh please, Noya, he’s a big puppy at worst.” Ennoshita remarks, giving the vice captain a pat on the head as he passed by, ducking past Narita to get to the gym doors before unlocking them, throwing Yamaguchi the keys so he could unlock the changing rooms with a smile. “Go get changed and help me set up the gym before the actually feral children get here.”

Tanaka is the first one back, finding Ennoshita in the middle of setting up the nets, silently thankful that the rest of the team had shown up just as he was leaving the locker room, giving him a good 5 minutes alone with Ennoshita before they were interrupted by each coach, Yachi or someone from the team announcing their arrival with utter dramatics and a slammed open door. “So, what did they want?” He asks, holding the net steady for Ennoshita as he tied it, somewhat distracted by the look of concentration on the others face. Furrowed brows and a slightly screwed mouth, he’d be ridiculous if he thought, even for a moment, that it was adorable.

“I think he was trying to confess his feelings but it came out sounding like he was asking me to marry him.” Ennoshita mused, checking how secure the knots were before moving to the other side and repeating the process there. “Rejected him, was informed he would win my heart before I graduated and his friends were very enthusiastic about this prospect.” Ennoshita seems strangely fond over this, though as to why Tanaka did not know.

“Do we have a name for your future beloved?”

“Oh, heavens no, never told me it in the time it took him to propose to me and declare he’d win me over.” Ennoshita laughed, Tanaka finding himself unable to not join in, finishing with the first net before starting work on the second one. “I named him mini Ryuu though, he reminded me of you with Kiyoko during the majority of first year.”

He flushes at that, muttering shut up under his breath and earning another laugh, wishing he had the confidence he had with Kiyoko to approach Ennoshita with the same enthusiasm. But they’re different, the same yet different. Kiyoko was an obsession, an undignified act of teenage love that he never bothered to subdue, taking some form of pleasure out of every rejection. He had the same thing with Ennoshita but he kept it close, kept it more subtle, for no other reason than the uncertainty of what would happen when he ultimately got rejected because, for the first time, he sees no weird joy in it.

“Are you planning on growing your hair out?” He ask, tying the last knot, the first few members of the team stumbling into the gym, Kageyama snapping something at Hinata and the first years as the setter is more or less shoved into the gym by the rowdy bunch. Tanaka blinks, reaching up to touch his hair, feeling fluff instead of the usual buzzcut, wondering when the last time he’d asked Saeko to cut it for him even was.

“Nah, I keep forgetting to ask Saeko to cut it for me.” Tanaka shrugs in his response, tugging at his hair gently and contemplating if he should cut it off or not, the thought of Ennoshita’s hand on it earlier halting his train of thought far too quickly for his liking. He knows it’s a crush but it was just a touch, an innocent if not somewhat patronising pat to the head, it shouldn’t have this affect on him. Shouldn’t make him wonder how it would feel if they were running through it instead.

No.

He wasn’t dwelling on the thought of calloused hands weaving through it when he’s had a stressful day, it being ruffled with amused affection whenever he was sulking over something trivial. Of fingers gripping it tight and pulling when he…

NO.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I said you should keep it longer; it looks good on you.”

He was never cutting his hair again.

---

If Tanaka sits closer to him during the study session, neither of them mention it, Ennoshita leaning in to Tanaka’s side to read over what he’d written and smiling. “You got them all right, Ryuu.” He’s not sure when he switched to using just his first name to refer to him, believing it to be around the time the member of the baseball team more or less vowed to win his heart by years end. It seemed to make sense to do as much, he had referred to the kid as mini Ryuu as opposed to mini Tanaka after all.

“It just makes more sense when you explain it.” Tanaka mumbles, scratching the back of his head bashfully, Ennoshita letting out a hum in response before looking up and at the ace when he feels eyes on him. Oh, how had he not realised how close they were? His lips were so painfully close and if he were a stronger man he’d lean forward and kiss him but, for all the confidence he had gained between the end of his second year and the start of his third, he’s not confident enough to close that gap and find out just how unrequited his crush was.

He’s all too happy to let Tanaka take the lead as he takes the initiative, warm fingers sliding between his perpetually cold ones, eyes flicking down to their linked hands before back up to the ace, swallowing thickly. Maybe he should, maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t as unreachable as he first thought, so close to kissing him when a door slams open.

The distance feels like miles, the lingering warmth on his hand from where Tanaka was holding offering only little comfort when the ace refused to look at him. He wants to ask, wants to ask what it meant, why he’d looked at him like that, if what he was feeling and what he assumed Tanaka was feeling actually aligned and it wasn’t just a fool’s folly to long for something more than friendship.

“Hey, Ryuu! Did you-” Saeko makes her presence known with a shout and the door opening, looking between the pair and going silent. Did she know? He knew Tanaka’s shared everything. Meals, food, lesser secrets about crushes and friendship dramas. Was she aware of whatever was going on between the pair of them? The panic begins to build up in his chest as he continues to overthink the situation only to let out a choked noise as he’s grabbed by the elder Tanaka and pulled to his feet.

It’s a similar situation to Terushima, Ennoshita feeling more and more like he’s being stared down by a predator only it’s welcomed this time, Saeko gripping his chin and observing his face before she turns to look at Ryuunosuke who seems to be on edge more than Ennoshita was. “I know you said he got hot over break but damn, Chika, you’re fuckin gorgeous.”

“Umm…thank you?” He doesn’t take compliments well, he never has, laughing nervously as he’s spun, her hands gripping his shoulders, feeling like he’s being presented to Ryuunosuke as a prize that he had just won. I know you said he got hot over break. What did that mean? Was that a Ennoshita thing or a Tanaka thing? Ennoshita focusing on his teammates face, noticing the familiar look he got whenever he felt Saeko was about to embarrass him.

“You gotta snap him up before someone else does, look at those cheek bones.” He feels the nails of Saeko’s right hand brush against his skin and he shudders despite himself, face still enflamed from the shared moment before and the endless compliments. “That jaw line, those sleepy brown eyes of yours. You are still single, right?”

“I…yeah?”

He chooses to not mention the plethora of confessions he had received the past few months, looking at Ryuu in hopes of a rescue only to find him shooting a look brimming with annoyed daring, baiting Saeko into continuing her commentary. Ennoshita knows the look well, one he’s been on the receiving end of from his own little brother whenever he learnt something he shouldn’t and threatened to hold it over him for the foreseeable future.

Saeko just grins, dangerous, like she is aware of something Ennoshita should be, hands clapping his shoulders, giving them a firm squeeze before she lets go and leaves. He watches he go, a thumbs up thrown in as a goodbye before she closes the door much softer than she had when she opened it. There’s a tension in the room, Ennoshita fumbling with his fingers as the silence leaves him to focus on those words.

I know you said he got hot over break. You’re fucking gorgeous.

You said he got hot. You’re fucking gorgeous.

You’re hot. You’re fucking gorgeous.

He’s ashamed as the voice morphs from Saeko’s to Ryuunosuke’s, the constant repetition of ‘you’re fucking gorgeous’ setting his cheeks aflame and his heart beating faster than a drum. He should leave, shouldn’t he? His confidence having melted away, Ennoshita feeling once again like a first year, unable to find his voice and on the brink of panicking as he over thought every possibility now laid out before him.

“Chikara,” his voice is soft, all to calming to hear, Ennoshita looking down at the other only to be met with a face of mild confusion and concern. “I’m stuck with problem ten.” Settling back down, Ennoshita goes back to helping, hoping for any distraction from the thought of Tanaka finding him attractive and the growing disappointment that he wasn’t brave enough to take Tanaka’s hand is his own again.

---

Its never brought up again but it changes their dynamic, Tanaka meeting him at lunch time, the welcome relief from being bothered by strangers with confessions. The hilarious moment of Tanaka fighting with his miniature self until Ennoshita dragged Tanaka away by the hand, the younger boy by someone Ennoshita guessed to also be on his team. It’s never brought up again but Tanaka doesn’t shake off his hand until its time to eat, despite the teasing looks sent his way by the other third years.

They sit together on the coach to practice matches, Ennoshita almost always waking up with his head on Tanaka’s shoulder, Tanaka’s head leaning against his and hands not quite touching but it always feels a little too intimate for just friends. Its how they end up travelling to the Miyagi summer camp, waking up as they pull onto the Shiratorizawa grounds only to find their fingers linked this time, it making up for the lack of head resting against his.

It’s three days before something snaps. Ennoshita in the middle of talking rotation with coach Ukai, mentioning his own anxiety in suddenly being thrust onto the court during an important match, making a joke at both Tanaka’s and Daichi’s expense as he brings up the Wakutani South match the year before. He excuses himself as he hears the arguing behind him, sighing at the sight of Tanaka and Noya shouting at a group of younger players, Karasuno’s own first years seeming to only encourage their behaviour.

Daichi had made this seem too easy, Yamaguchi was going to despise him for leaving this team in his capable hands when the year was through, Ennoshita feeling a migraine beginning to build as he made his way over. Where was Yahaba or Shirabu? He’d pray for even Futakuchi to show up to offer at least some form of assistance in dealing with the would be fight between their teams.

He more than well aware he’s not as intimidating as Daichi, Kenma having pointed this out when the teams met for a practise match a month prior, Ennoshita having simply laughed in response and returned the favour by pointing out that Kenma didn’t quite carry the same presence that Kuroo did. Any remaining tension between them had dissipated as soon as they had spotted Tanaka and Taketora, both huddled in a corner whispering conspiratorially, matching statements of “idiots” slipping out as sighs.

He��s not as intimidating but he can still command presence, hands clamping down on the shoulders of Tanaka and Nishinoya, squeezing tightly as he smiled a little too softly at the gathering who seemed to slowly sink under the weight of it. “I believe you were all returning to your teams, yes?” His tone leaves no room for argument, at least that’s what he hopes, watching with baited breath as they disperse, waiting until they had gone before finally allowing himself to relax.

“They were-”

“You don’t need to tell me.” Ennoshita sighs, cutting off Noya, already knowing that whatever reason they had to get into the fight was, it didn’t need explaining. He trusted his team enough for that. “Just…Just try not to do it again, please.”

---

It’s late on a Tuesday when everything is finally addressed, thirteen days since the incident in Tanaka’s home and thirteen days since they’ve danced around the subject, Ennoshita looking up when he feels someone sit next to him on the bench, surprised to find Tanaka sat there but not at all finding it unwelcomed. “What brings you out here?” Ennoshita asks, dog earring the page he was on and closing his book, cheek resting against his brought up knees and his hand on offer on the chance the Ace wanted to hold it.

“Was looking for the love of my life.” Tanaka states, voice subdued and its unsettling, too used to the confident and boisterous side of him that bellowed across courts and ripped his shirt off in victory. Tanaka is loud, headstrong, a focal point made flesh, he didn’t do quiet moments often, didn’t let his voice drop so low in volume it could barely be considered a whisper. It’s strange but he loves it all the same, a small selfish part of him wishing he’d be the only one to ever here the other like this.

“Did you find them?” He doesn’t try to hide the hope on his voice, too wrapped up in the idea that he might just be what Tanaka was into, be good enough to be the object of his affections even if just for a brief time. He had gained confidence since becoming the Captain, had grown into himself and learnt to become more assertive but the other was able to reduce him back to the shy mess he had been when he was younger like Tanaka was flames and he was made of matches.

Hands find each other, cold and pale meeting warm and tan, the grip loose enough to be comfortable yet firm enough to know it couldn’t be broken that easily. He would have been happy with that, cheeks flushing pink as a hand gently pried his cheek from his knees, calloused thumb brushing over his cheek before lips meet.

It’s brief but that’s all it needs to be, first kiss pressed to the corner of his lips before the second one captures them, the grip on his hand tightening briefly as they pull apart, Ennoshita admiring the flustered look of Tanaka’s cheeks, knowing full well he was in a similar state if not worse.

In his fantasies, he’d pictured Tanaka making any confession into a big affair, loud and unabashed, proclaiming his love for all of Japan to hear like he had with Kiyoko at any given moment. He’d thoroughly embarrass Ennoshita, grinning proudly without a care in the world. He hadn’t pictured it would be quietly, sat on a bench by the school gardens at Shiratorizawa, a fond smile tugging at his lips as he realises that he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“Yeah, I think I did.”

#ennotana #ennoshita chikara #tanaka ryuunosuke #haikyuu #tanaenno #karasuno #narita kazuhito #kinoshita hisashi #nishinoya yu #tanaka saeko #terushima yuuji #rating: T #yachi hitoka

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likethecities · 3 years

Text

In “Defense” of Bo-Katan in Mandalorian S2

(or, why Bo’s refusal to accept Boba as Mandalorian in 2x08, after Din did accept it in 2x06, is internally consistent with her character and view of Mandalore, and is not only because she’s a self-serving ass*)

*(although she is both of those things)

NOTE: This is a discussion of why her view of Boba is logical for her character and where I hope/think it will go in S3 and the concept of “Mandalorian”. It is NOT an endorsement for her behavior.

This is ONLY based in current, Disney canon, not Legends. In Legends, Jango was the leader of Mandalore for several years if not decades. However! that line conflicts with TCW. So we’re using the old rule of “if it conflicts, current canon wins” and tossing it out. If it gets recanonized, we can come back to it.

Okay first! Let’s break down the major Mandalorian characters/factions in the Mandalorian.

Din Djarin/Children of the Watch

Bo-Katan Kryze/Nite Owls

Boba and Jango Fett

What do they have in common? All three groups place a lot of practical and symbolic/ancestral value on their beskar armor. Bo and Din also place a lot of importance on the value of the Way, although with different interpretations. Lastly, Bo specifically cares about Mandalore as a place. Unsurprisingly, they all have different interpretations of what it means to be Mandalorian.

Let’s start with Din and the Children of the Watch (CotW). Here’s what we know about their definition of Mandalorian:

high cultural and symbolic value on Mandalorian armor

foundlings/non-Mandalorian children can be raised Mandalorian

very strict interpretation of the Way/Creed

non-Mandalorians cannot wear Mandalorian armor

As a final note, they don’t appear to have much actual beskar. Most of their armor, though forged in Mandalorian style, isn’t made of beskar, but other metals instead. It’s a big deal when Din rolls up with enough beskar to forge a whole suit; that kind of windfall doesn’t just happen.

So when S2 rolls around and Din runs into people wearing Mandalorian armor who don’t follow the Way as he knows it, he assumes they aren’t Mandalorian, with the following results:

Cobb (2x01): admits to not being Mandalorian when Din challenges him, offers to return armor to Din (standing in as a representative of all Mandalorians) once Din helps him. Din agrees, helps, and then leaves with the armor.

Bo-Katan/Nite Owls (2x03): claim a different interpretation of the Way, declare ownership over their armor through family heritage. Din recognizes their claim.

Boba (2x06): identifies himself as the rightful owner of the armor, refuses to claim clan ties or the Creed. Din (eventually) recognizes his claim.

Once Din has accepted that other Mandalorians don’t have the same interpretation of the Way that he does, he’s willing to accept proof of ownership as enough. Likely, this is because the CotW don’t have much beskar, and so they recognize prior claims much more strictly. For Din, at least, owning the beskar is enough to drop the argument about being Mandalorian or not. Now let’s move to Bo and her supporters. Here’s what we know about them:

high cultural and symbolic value on Mandalorian armor: status symbol, but not required by all members

looser interpretation of the Way

high value on clan/community membership, or connection to Mandalore as a planet

non-Mandalorians cannot (or at least shouldn’t) wear Mandalorian armor

We know from SW Rebels and TCW that Bo, her followers, and most of the Mandalore-based people that you do not have to wear armor to be Mandalorian. Sabine’s father is an artist and is never seen fighting or wearing armor, but no one questions that he’s Mandalorian. The armor and Creed alone aren’t a requirement.

How else do we know this? Because Bo spent several seasons backing Pre Viszla and the darksaber for the Mandalorian throne, but when Viszla lost the darksaber - and his head - to Maul, Bo objected. Maul wasn’t Mandalorian; he didn’t care about the place, the community, the culture, or the Way. So Bo turned to Satine, the leader that she had just deposed, as a more “Mandalorian” challenger. Satine still has her House Kryze ties and close attachment to Mandalore as a place; that was enough to make her Mandalorian and a better choice than Maul, even though she’d nearly completely broken with old Mandalorian ways.

(And, we should note, that some Mandalorians did switch their allegiance to Maul after this, because they recognized the right of the darksaber over any community or clan ties. They’re also still Mandalorian.)

So when Bo and her team meet Din, they recognize Din as Mandalorian. He’s part of a Mandalorian offshoot sect: that’s his clan/community. They think his rules are weird and antiquated*, but they recognize them as related to the Way as they know it.

*yes, Bo is a jerk about this, because Bo is a jerk about a lot of things. She does accept it, though, which is the important part for this discussion.

Okay, now let’s turn to Boba.

Boba never explicitly claims to be Mandalorian, with Din in 2x06 or in the bar 2x08. He says that Jango was a Mandalorian foundling, but despite Din giving him multiple opportunities to claim to be Mandalorian, Boba rebuffs every single one. He doesn’t have any clan or community ties, and he doesn’t care about the planet; he’s actively derisive about Bo’s goal to retake it. He doesn’t appear to follow any parts of the Way. Frankly, Boba doesn’t seem to even want to be Mandalorian, he just puts up with being associated with them because of the armor. He certainly doesn’t care who considers themselves Mandalorian or why. The only things that Boba cares about are that a) his ownership of his armor is acknowledged, and b) he’s recognized as Jango Fett’s son. That’s it.

Again, for Din, that’s enough. Boba can prove that the armor is his and he can prove that Jango obtained it properly (ie, as a Mandalorian foundling). Conflict solved, everyone move on.

For Bo and her followers, that’s not enough. The armor isn’t the sole thing that marks you as Mandalorian, and Boba (and Jango after becoming a bounty hunter, apparently for much of his adult life) has none of the clan/community ties that are part of her definition and no attachment to the planet or culture of Mandalore. Ergo, he’s not Mandalorian, and rightfully-obtained armor or not, him wearing it is against their culture. And yes, Bo is being racist (something -ist, at least) when she calls Jango his “donor”, but she also has a point. There are millions of Jango Fett clones in the galaxy, and none of them were raised in Mandalorian culture or have any connection to Mandalore except DNA. Rewatching the bar scene, she doesn’t seem to have any idea who Boba is until she recognizes his voice and identifies him as a clone. Why should he or any clone deserve to wear Mandalorian armor, especially when they don’t participate in Mandalorian culture?

(the answer, obviously, is because Jango raised Boba as his son and heir and chose to pass down his armor/ship accordingly. But Bo has no reason to know this and she wouldn’t consider him Mandalorian either way, so there’s no point in Boba proving his ownership even if he cared enough about her opinion to bother.)

This also ties into the problem of the darksaber. Gideon isn’t Mandalorian, and it seems likely he obtained the sword when the Imperial Remant “glassed” the planet, so he’s not recognized as ruler of Mandalore even when he holds the darksaber. Din

Mandalorian, and he won it in combat. That’s an undeniable claim. He’s also worked with Bo multiple times, it’s not his fault that Gideon outplayed both of them, and he’s very, very good in a fight. Bo really wants that weapon to shore up her claim, but she also knows it’s not very honorable to attack an ally who didn’t ask for this, and she probably doesn’t want to risk the possibility that she might lose. She’s in a bind.

Similarly, Din really doesn’t want the darksaber or the responsibilities that go with it, but he can’t just hand it over because that’s against the Creed. Sabine did, but she never “won” the darksaber; she just picked it up out of Maul’s garbage cave, which was vague enough for everyone to accept her passing it up. (She was also probably 17 or 18 at the time and was considered a traitor by most Mandalorians, which probably helped). But Din is also very honorable; if he can’t find a way to pass the saber off, he’ll probably feel obligated to fulfill the requirements to the best of his abilities until he either does find someone else to take them or accepts them permanently (kinda like Grogu himself HMMMMMM). We already know that Din is fairly good at diplomacy from 2x01, but he’s never worked with Mandalorians outside of his clan before, so he’s got a steep learning curve.

So my guess: S3 is going to be about reuniting the disparate Mandalorian groups, all of whom have different versions of what it means to be Mandalorian, and finding some common ground. They will either attempt to retake Mandalore or find somewhere else to make a homeland, or possibly make the decision to stay dispersed. If Bo stays as a major character, we might see her trying to recruit Din into her clan to influence him; if not, she might slink off and wait to see how he does.

Something that could be cool? Din putting a lot of effort into trying to connect with other Mandalorians and Bo admitting that he’s actually doing a pretty good job, even if she wanted to do it herself! #growth for both of them. Meanwhile Boba, who again appears to not give two shits about any of this, will probably be chilling on Tatooine, maybe throwing some info or weapons Din’s way if he thinks Din actually has a shot at something. Or ignoring all of them and taking over the Hutt empire instead, who knows.

Either way, I hope we get more discussion of what happened to Mandalore, Mandalorian identity, and Mandalorian politics in S3.

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #din djarin #bo katan kryze #boba fett #jango fett #children of the watch #nite owls #mandalore #mandalorians #meta #darksaber #star wars

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fallen420 · 3 years

Text

Rebel Spy - Chapter 15: The Goodbye

Masterlist

warning: mandalorian spoilers

One of the imperial pilots holds a blaster to the doctor that we saw on the hologram head. We need him alive because of what he knows. Seeing this I join Din in their cockpit.

“Stay back rebel scum,” says the one holding the blaster. Din and I both hold up our blasters higher.

“Easy, pal. Okay?” says the other imp. “I’m not with him. We can work something out-” before he can even finish his thought he’s getting shot in the head by the other guy.

“Alright drop the blaster,” I say

“No, no you listen to me. This is a top-tier target of the New Republic. This is a clone engineer. And if they find out that he’s dead because of you, you’re gonna wish you never left Alderaan.”

“How do you know that?”

“I see who you are, you’re Aurora Janren. Rebel Spy. Rebel Commander. Everyone in the galaxy knows who you are. You wanna know what else I saw? I saw your planet destroyed. I was on the death star.”

“What a coincidence so was I.” Din looks at me for a moment before turning his attention back to the imp.

He laughs, “Oh that’s right I remember. You and your friend were. We should have killed you both when we had the chance but destroying your plant was a small price to pay to rid the galaxy of terrorism.” Hearing enough of him calling my family and friends terrorist I aim my blaster and shoot him in the head.

The doctor holds the side of his head. His ear probably hurts from being too close to the blast. I turn to walk out but Din grabs my arm. “Why didn’t you tell me? You said you were on a rebel base when it happened.”

“I didn’t know how to explain at the time that Darth Vader and captured me and my friend and decided to blow up our home planet to get us to talk. It's not something I like to remember.” I pull my arm out of his grip and I go back to Bobas ship.

We pick up Bo and Koska from a cantina. Bo tells us that the person she lost the darksaber to is Moff Gideon which is probably the reason she agreed to help us in the first place.

We make a plan to get onto the cruiser using the imperial ship we stole from the imps that the doctor was on. Bo, Koska, and Fennec will go in first taking out the stormtroopers and make they’re way to the cockpit while Din and I go find Grogu.

Din and I walk down the ramp of the ship. Both of us have our blasters out. Din also brought the spear that he got just in case we need it. We walk through the empty imperial cruiser. Well, it's not actually empty, it just feels like this is. The feeling is eerie.

We turn down a hallway. Hearing two stormtroopers make their way towards us Din grabs my wrist pulling us into a little corridor. The troopers run-pass without seeing us. Din squeezes my wrist before letting go and checking to see if the coast is clear. Once he’s sure it is we continue on our way to find the kid.

We turn down a hallway for what feels like the millionth time. But this time we see doors open.

“No, no!” Din yells as he puts the splicer into the control panel to close it. The doors start to close but then it stops as two hands grab the doors stopping them. These two hands belong to the same things that took the kid.

It pries the door opens and we are bet with its red eyes. It punches both Din. With him having the beskar protecting him he slides across the room and hits the wall without getting knocked out. Me having none of that when the thing tosses me off to the side and I hit the wall I almost instantly get knocked out.

I’m not sure how long I’m out for but it can’t be for long because Din is still fighting the thing and is very much losing. I feel my head throbbing and warmblood coming down the side of my face.

Din is on his knees tries backing away from the thing throwing charges at it. The more he backs away the closer he gets to me. Using everything I have, which is mostly adrenaline, I stand up grabbing the spear from Dins back and driving it into the thing’s neck. Sparks fly and I push it farther causing it to fall to the ground.

Din runs back to the control panel opening the hull door so the rest get sucked into space. He runs back to me taking the spear out of my hand. He wipes the blood still dripping down my face then gently holds the back of my head, “Are you okay cyar'ika?” he says almost frantic.

I take a deep breath, “I’ve been worse trust me. Let’s just find Grogu and get the hell out of here.” This he agrees and once again we run throw these halls.

Using the spear Din takes out the stormtrooper guarding the cell with ease. Using the splicer Din opens the door to the cell. Inside is Grogu sitting on the bench with little binders to prevent him from using the force and Gideon with the darksaber pointed right at the kid.

The kid coos when he sees us and raises his hands a little.

“Drop the blaster,” Gideon says, “Slowly.” He moves the saber closer to Grogu. Doing as he says we slowly put our blasters on the ground. I ignore the throbbing in my head as I do it. “Now kick them over to me.” Again we do as we are told. “Very nice.”

“Give me the kid.”

“The kid is just fine where he is.” Gideon waves the saber above his head, “Memorizing isn’t it? Used to belong to Bo-Katan. Yes, I know you’re traveling with Bo-Katan. A friendly piece of advice, assume that I know everything. Like the fact that your wrist launcher has fired its one and only salvo, and you,” he looks at me, “Seem to be suffering from a concussion.”

“Where is this going?” I ask annoyed.

“This is where it's going. I’m guessing that Bo-Katan and her boarding party have arrived at the bridge, seeking me or, more accurately, this. But I’m not there and I imagine that they’ve killed everyone on the bridge, being the murderous savages that they are. And know they’re being to panic because she wants this. Do you know why? Because it brings power. Whoever wields this sword has the right to lay claim to the Mandalorian throne.”

“You keep it,” Din says, “I just want the kid.”

“Very well,” Gideon retracts the saber, “I’ve already got what I want from him. His blood. All I wanted to study was his blood. This child is gifted and has properties that have the potential to bring order back to the galaxy. I see you two have a bond with him. Take him but you will leave my ship immediately and we will go our separate ways.

Din and I carefully walk to the kid as Gideon moves out of our way. Before Din can pick him up I hear the darksaber ignite. I duck knowing that that weapon will cut me in half with ease. The saber hits Din’s jetpack. Din starts to back out the door blocking all the hits Gideon gives him. They take their fight out into the hallway,

Already bent down I start to undo the binders on the kid’s cuffs, “Hey Grogu.” he coos and for a second I smile knowing he’s back with us. Once the binders are off I hold him close to me.

Once I get back out into the hallway Din has the spear to Gideon's neck who is now on the ground. “Put him in binders lets go.

When we get to the bridge everyone is there. Din tries to give the saber to Bo but she refuses. Since she lost it and didn’t win it back in a battle she can’t rightfully take it.

Din tries to argue with her about it but before she can Fennec detects something entering the ship but it doesn’t show any lifeforms.

“You’re about to face off with the dark troopers,” Gideon says, “You had your hands full with one. Let’s see how you do against a platoon.” We’ve gone through too much today to just give up now. I put the kid in the safest place possible we seal the blast doors and we get into position.

The dark troopers starting punching at the door. Each punch makes a bigger dent. I start to get nervous not having any idea how we are going to face them all. With every punch, I lose a little bit of hope that we will make it out of here alive. But when all hope is lost, I hear a ship jump out of hyperspace.

“An X-wing?” I say.

Bo tries to get the ship to identify itself. The pilot doesn’t say anything as it lands on the cruiser. But I do notice that the kid's ears perk up and something tells me that whoever is this is going to save our asses.

The punching stops and the air gets tense again.

“Why did they stop?” Fennec asks.

“A Jedi’s on board,” I say walking over to where Din is looking at the cameras I don’t bother explaining myself and I watch to see what happens.

Bo is also looking at the cameras on the other control panel, “She’s right. It’s a Jedi.” There’s only so many Jedi left and I met a few in my day so something tells me this one will be a friend. On the screens, we watch as the Jedi goes cut through the dark troopers with ease. The kid climbs up on the chair and watches with me and Din.

The Jedi makes its way through all of them and gets to our door. The kid whines and Din picks up him. Din and I walk to the front “Open the doors.” No one moves, “I said open the doors.”

“Are you crazy?” Fennec says.

Din sets the kid in the chair and opens the doors.

Everyone’s eyes are on the door as the Jedi walks into the room. I see his green lightsaber and his gloved hand and I know exactly who this is.

He takes off the dark hood revealing a face I feel as if I just saw him yesterday but also a lifetime ago.

“Luke?” I say almost in disbelief.

“Aurora,” he nods, “It’s good to see you again.”

I walk towards him giving him and hug and pulling away to say, “I haven’t seen you since Endor. Leia, how is she?”

Leia was my best friend on Alderaan. She grew up in the palace and I basically did with her. Her father was a huge part of the Rebellion making us become apart of it once we got old enough. We went on missions he sent us on together. Then when the ghost crew helped out me and Leia, I stayed with them feeling like I could do more but after everything on Lothal and the Battle of Scarif I got separated from them. Leia and I ended up getting the plans for the death star then we got captured by Vader. I met Luke when he helped to rescue us, we fought alongside each other all the way up until Endor. And now I’m here.

“She’s good. Really good.”

“I miss her.”

Luke nods before motioning towards Grogu, “I take it this is the one?” I go back to stand next to Din

“Yes, everywhere I go there seem to be Jedi.” No literally Din never even heard of the Jedi before meeting the kid but somehow I befriend three? What are the chances?

The kid looks up at Din and me.

“He doesn’t want to go with you.”

“He wants your permission,” Luke says, “He is strong with the force but talent without training is nothing. I will give my life to protect the child but he will not be safe until he masters his abilities.

Din picks up Grogu and walks back over to me, “Hey go on. That's who you belong with. He’s one of your kind. Aurora knows him you’ll be safe. We’ll see you again. I promise”

I hold on to Din’s arm trying my best to hold back my tears. Grogu holds his hand up to Din’s helmet wanting to see his dad’s face before we don’t see him for who knows how long.

Dins lifts his hand up to his helmet is he gonna take it off?

The helmet is gone and in front of me is the beautiful face of the man I love. The tears fall freely down my face not being able to hold any more emotions in.

My eyes start at his brown hair. The curly, fluffy, brown hair. I've run my hands through it in the dark but stars this is better.

His brown eyes met mine. There’s a little wrinkle in the corner of his eyes I had a feeling he had. I spot the nose I love and kissed so much. And the soft lips I see form a smile for the first time.

I hold my hand to his cheek. Touching it in the dark is one thing but seeing myself touch it is a whole different feeling.

I place a kiss on his lips then one on his nose, “So handsome,” I smile a teary smile.

Both of us turn our attention back on Grogu who is staring at us. I lean my head on Din’s shoulder as I watch as Din also reaches a hand to his chin like he’s checking to see if he’s real.

“Alright pal, it’s time to go.”

I brush the kid’s ear, “It’s okay he’s a good man, don’t be afraid.”

Din places Grogu on the floor but the kid holds on tight to Din's leg. Hearing beeps I look to see the blue and white astromech droid R2-D2. This droid and I have been through a lot together first meeting on Alderaan. Lots of stories I don’t need to get into right now.

The droid looks at me and beeps excitedly, I smile, “Hey Artoo.”

The kid being curious walks up to Artoo the charismatic droid beeps excitedly too and starts to move around. It's a cute sight to see. But the happiness I feel seeing old friends again comes to a stop when Luke picks up Grogu and I realize it's actually happening the kid is going away. Din and I completed the mission we found his people. Luckily it's someone I trust with my life considering the number of times he saves it but its hurts knowing I might never see the closest thing I’ll have to a son again.

“May the force be with you.”

I nod back at Luke. They turn around back into the elevator and with that, they’re gone.

END OF SEASON 2

taglist: @tortles

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x oc #din djarin #din djarin x reader #din djarin x oc #grogu #mando #star wars #star wars x reader #Pedro Pascal #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x oc #agent whiskey x reader #oberyn martell x reader #dave york x reader #Frankie Morales #bo katan #luke skywalker

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chandelier-s-notebook · 3 years

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If anyone wants to be part of a taglist of the Vigilante AU, feel free to message me/send an ask.

Taglist: @sleepysnails @causeimfabulous @anty-kreatywna @w00d-lands

Reminder: 12-11-04 = TimeDeo 27-10-01 = Sammygreen

Ao3 link

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

Eret and DK were standing guard in the fifth wing outside of the room where they were housing the criminals. Corpse and Toast, LilyPichu and Fuslie, and Peter and Edison would occasionally come in to throw another person into the brig.

Their comms lit up. “Triage to Beta. Triage to Beta,” Tina said.

“Beta here.” Eret’s smooth voice came over comms. “What do you need Delta?”

“Some of the upper district kids are getting antsy. They don’t trust us. Some kid, 12-11-04, Deo has them staying put, but it’d really help if you were here. Ease the tensions. They aren’t very happy that the heroes aren’t here.”

“Of course they aren’t. Deo? One of the kids?”

“District 12.”

“Roger. Beta to Alpha.”

“Present,” Hafu said.

“Did you catch that?”

“Yes. I’ve already sent Dumbdog to replace you.”

“Pleasant. Thank you. Beta out.”

“Triage out.”

- - -

“Delta are you there?” Hafu asked.

“Yes Ma’am!” xChocoabrs voice flew over the wires.

“How’s the child extraction going?”

“Smoothly. There’s a lot more kids than we thought there were.”

“Is there a med-bay we need to worry about?”

“No. The kids get fixed up in the main room after their fights and get sent back to their cells.”

“Pleasant.”

“I know.”

“Alpha out.”

“Delta out.”

Hafu readjusted her grip on her shorty. She was thankful none of them had needed to fire a single shot yet. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Alpha and Charlie team had corralled all the adults into staying in their seats. Wait-staff had been instructed to continue serving dinner as normal.

T’was a hostile dinning environment to say the least.

Hafu, Wolfabelle, Steve, Koji, and Sleepy were walking around the perimeter keeping everyone in their seat and inside the main room. And Yvonnie, Elaina, and Ellum were walking around the room taking pictures of every table, so they could report everyone of them.

The high profile characters tried to hide their faces, but that didn’t really work.

Once Elaine reported that that had at least one picture of every table she stood in the middle of the ring and shouted. “Attention! We will escort you all out of the building one table at a time. You will all be free to find your cars and return to your homes. Please be patient with us as this will take some time.

Hafu grabbed Steve and they two of them stood on either side of the doors while everyone else from Alpha and Charlie starts leading groups one at a time to the door. They let remind the business men to have a nice night, and remind them that this place is very illeagal, so they should be very careful when complaining about being held hostage.

Hafu tuned her comm to the common frequency. “Beta Team? Do you have a status update?”

The team converses on comms for twenty seconds.

“We have them all in a back room. Everyone is doing final sweeps.” DK said. “We have 37 here.”

“Good. Make sure they are all in binds so we can get them onto the school bus.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

She pivoted, conversation over. “How’s extraction going?”

“It’s going good,” 5up said. “There are a few that don’t like vigilantes, but they get over it quickly.”

“How much more time do you need?”

“I’m making good time. xChocobars came finished with the level 1s and came to help me.”

“Same over here,” Rae piped in. “We’re done with level 3 and only have a few more level 4 cells.”

“Understood. Delta?”

“Yes Hafu?”

“Can you guys make sure that all the kids are groups by District?”

“We’ve been doing that. The older kids are helping us place them in little groups. Sometimes friends don’t want to leave each other, but for the most part it’s good.”

“You have everyone logged?”

“Everyone so far. We have a line piling up, but it’s going quickly.”

“Start finding out how many kids are in each District and grouping them so we can take them home.”

“Okay! And 1-30 stay together?”

“Yes. Thank you Tina.”

“No worries!”

- - -

“Hi Niki.” Eret pushed his way to the table. “Cupcake?”

She handed him one with a galaxy swirl. “The upper level kids are over there.” She pointed to a group of kids standing off to the side. “12-11-04 and 27-10-01 are trying to comfort them.”

“Do they have names?”

“Deo and Sammy. Deo actually likes you guys though.” A brunette girl handed a small child a cupcake. “Have a cupcake,” she says to another boy.

“Thanks,” Eret says before she ran off. Eret nodded to Niki before heading over to where the upper District kids where congregated.

“Oh it’s you,” Sammy says.

“It’s me.”

“Eighty-Seven.”

“If you won’t use my name, I prefer Captain Sparklez’ son, but sure. Let’s go with that.”

“Where are the heroes?”

“Not coming.”

“Told you so,” Deo muttered.

Eret gave a terse smile and opened his arms out wide. “Welcome to District 67. Were you don’t report things to Hero HQ even when you really should.”

“What do you mean don’t report?” Sammy demands.

“Someone might have reported suspicious activity at this area, but Hero HQ didn’t notice. Hafu did though.”

“Look at how many kids are here.” Sammy gestures wildly to the field. “I’ve been missing for months. My parents would have reported!”

Eret puts his hands up to calm down the rest of the group who were shouting similar concerns. “And they probably did. The news was full of kids getting snatched. The heroes just didn’t look any further than District 50.”

“What?”

“I’m very sorry to tell you this, but the reports fell off in Districts 30 to 50. No one below there bothered reporting. They don’t have enough faith in heroes, but they did have faith that word of mouth would eventually get to their local vigilantes. And the heroes probably assumed you’d be local. They never looked down here.”

“So what are you? Vigilantes?” one girl from the crowd asked.

“Yes.”

She scoffed. “I want a hero. I won’t feel safe until I have a hero.”

“Look. We’re going to get everybody out. Get all the evidence. Then we’ll go to Hero HQ. You just need to trust us all enough to get on a bus and we will get you to a hero. Those from District 1 to District 30 will go to hero HQ and everyone else will be dispersed among the vigilantes. Sound good? You just need to wait a little longer, and you should be home in 48 hours.”

“I want a hero now.”

“Well I’m the closed you’re going to get,” Eret said. “My dad’s Captain Sparklez. You know me.”

“Shouldn’t you have told your dad?” Deo asked. “Shouldn’t there still be hero back up?”

“Absolutely not. They come in here and take over.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” the girl demanded.

Eret looked her dead in the eye. “You have may have faith in heroes, but just because dad lives in 87 doesn’t mean he helps us day-to-day.”

“So you didn’t tell your dad when you found a warehouse full of kidnapped children that had been all over the news?” Sammy asked incredulously.

“I didn’t find it. And by the time I was told about it, telling dad would have hindered our ability to do anything about the warehouse. You’d have been stuck here for another few months at least. Heroes have procedures that, yes keep people safe, but they also take forever; especially with a job this big.”

“Fine.”

“I’m not asking you to like it. I’m asking you go sit tight, not run away, and wait for us to get you to where you’re going.”

Sammy huffed.

Deo put his hand on his shoulder. “Do you know how to get back to District 27 from here?”

“No,” he muttered.

“Then just deal with it okay?”

The girl from earlier asked quietly, “You’ll take us home?”

“We’ll take you back to Hero HQ once we have the place cleared out. The Heroes will take you the last leg of the journey.”

The three busses rolled up, two stayed at the field and the third drove towards the warehouse.

Eret went and stood on a box and clapped to get everybody’s attention. “As you all know, we’ve slowly been moving you all so you’re with other kids in your District. We’re going to start taking you home. As you can see we have three busses here. Two will be for the kids in the upper thirty. Everybody else will be put under the guide of one of our vigilantes. We’re crunching the numbers and later we will call out with more information. Thank you for being patient with us as we process everything and everyone. The upper thirty can make their way to Syykuno and Rae. Please remember that there are a lot of you and some seats will have to triple up.”

Deo took the lead of the upper 30 District kids. He didn’t know who Rae and Syykuno were, but some of the level 3’s did, and Deo knows the colour yellow, he knows what a school bus looks like.

Deo ran to the backseat with Sammy and they both collapsed onto the vinyl.

“Wonder where that third bus went.”

“Probably to wherever they’re keeping the dudes that stole us.”

“Oh those guys. Fuck those guys.”

#Eret #TimeDeo #Hafu #ElainaExe #Vigilante AU

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donottouchredbutton · 3 years

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aliit ori’shya tal’din

Part 2 - An Unlikely Alliance

Platonic pairing: Din Djarin x young OC

Word count: 3k (whoops)

Summary: San helps Din find work so his lil trip isn’t a total bust, but Din is still confused as to why Cara would send him to a kid

A/N: Just as a side note, does anyone have any fancasts for Cara Dune? I still really like her character and she plays a pretty significant role in this, but I just don’t want to picture G*na every time I work on this story. If you do, please send them in!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading, and let me know what you think! x

San always imagined the day she walked with a bounty hunter would be her last one. Now here she was with one, and she wasn’t even the bounty. She never thought she’d see the day. With a Mandalorian, no less. She had millions of questions - How did he know Cara? Why did she send him? Why did he do it? - however, there was one question that weighed the heaviest on her mind.

What in the world was he doing with a baby?

Maybe she just didn’t have much experience with kids, but she would suspect a parent would never want to travel to dangerous locations with their child. Especially when that parent was a bounty hunter. Did bounty hunters usually have children?

Whatever backstory the Mandalorian had, San wasn’t concerned. He had done his job to check on her, and she was returning the favor by finding him another job. A real job. She led him to the cantina nearby because that felt like the right place to take a hardened warrior and bounty hunter for work. There weren’t many people out in the streets, but the ones that were took one glance at the Mandalorian behind her and cleared the way. Maybe traveling with him would have its advantages.

The doors to the cantina were always open at this time of day, and thankfully there were never many people around either. San walked in coolly and assumed Mando was following. She leaned her rifle against the nearest booth, gesturing for the Mandalorian to sit with his kid. She then started walking toward the back room behind the counter.

“Hi, Jely,” San greeted as she went.

Jely was the woman who owned and ran the cantina. She also operated the landing hangar nearby, the main source of San’s income. The woman wasn’t much bigger than San, but her eyes showed age and experience, and her hair was grayed. She looked warily between San and the bounty hunter as he sat himself and the green child in a booth.

Din was aware of the look Jely was giving him, one he wasn’t unfamiliar with. Most people looked at him with something akin to fear, and this time was no different. He watched as she stopped San before she could go any further, speaking in hushed whispers. He turned away to instead focus on the child. His big eyes stared up at him as he settled the kid into his seat.

“We’ll be gone soon,” Din said. “Don’t worry.” Grogu cooed at him in response and smiled, and that was enough for him.

Jely left San’s side and approached Din, San disappearing behind the counter. The wary look was gone now, replaced with a mannerly smile instead.

“Is there anything I can get for you two while you’re here?” the woman asked kindly.

“Just something for the little one, please,” Din answered. She smiled again, and before she could leave Din spoke again. “Do you know where I can find work?”

The old woman briefly looked behind her. “Well, there’s not much around here. We don’t get many bounty hunters out here, but we might have some spare pucks? Other than that, repairs, but even then, Reda takes care of most of those.”

Din turned his head. “Reda?”

Jely pointed behind her. “She’s looking for those pucks right now. I’ll go get that food ready for you while you wait.”

Din sat rigid as he watched the woman walk away. She wasn’t telling the truth. To what extent he didn’t know, but he was determined to find out just who he was dealing with.

When San sat before him, Din’s question was immediate. “Which one of us are you lying to?”

Her brow furrowed. “Huh?”

“Your name,” he pressed. “Why aren’t you telling the truth?”

“I didn’t lie,” San said with a rough voice. “To either of you.”

“Then why don’t they match?”

San sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes. “Sometimes you just need a second name, okay? But my name is San.”

“You don’t trust her?”

“Of course I trust her. She knows my real name. It’s her who doesn’t trust people on my account,” San explained, leaning back heavily. “It’s better to have a second name so nobody recognizes you. It’s easy to feel unsafe when-“

Her mouth clamped shut. “Never mind.”

Instead, she pulled a bounty puck out and tossed it onto the table, simultaneously gripping the string necklace she was wearing - something Din hadn’t noticed before. The puck showed a hologram of a rhodian with a hefty bounty that would earn enough money to last them a while.

“A bounty hunter came here one day looking for this person and never came back. Do you want it?” she asked.

Din was silent for a moment, not bothering to question why they hadn’t come back. But what was she going to say before? What did she mean? Rather than ask about something that wasn’t his business, he took the puck quietly. He got up and moved toward the counter, taking the small bowl that Jely held out to him. He placed it in front of the child. “I’ll pay you to watch him while I’m gone.”

Din turned to leave, ready to find the bounty and finally get some more money, but a tinny clunk rang through his ears. Something hard had hit the back of his helmet, and it took all of his self-control not to whip around and shoot on reflex. He stopped in his tracks instead, turning to see a wrench on the ground and San standing there with an incredulous look on her face. He was acutely aware of how close Jely was watching them as he walked forward.

“I’m not going to sit here and be your babysitter,” San nearly growled. “You broke into my house. You owe me some answers.”

“I didn’t break in,” he said. He sat down again as San did the same. “The door was open.”

She rolled her eyes in response and pointed to Grogu, who had been obliviously eating the entire time. “What’s with the baby?”

“None of your business.”

“Seems dangerous for a bounty hunter to be traveling with a baby.”

“He’s seen worse.”

San didn’t know what he meant by that, and frankly, she didn’t want to know. It was none of her business, and she wasn’t going to pry if he really didn’t want to tell her. Instead of dwelling on the small green child, she asked, “Why did Cara send you?”

Din sighed. “To check on you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me.”

“Why wouldn’t she?” she asked quietly, but it sounded like she was talking to herself more than him. “It doesn’t make sense.”

It didn’t, and Din wanted his own answers. “Where did you get that?” He pointed past her toward the long rifle.

San looked behind her before facing forward. “Stole it.”

“That’s an imperial rifle.”

“And?” she shrugged. “The Empire is finished. No one’s going to miss it.”

Din’s stomach turned, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to explain just how wrong she was. He sighed deeply. “Who are you? Really.” The words that tumbled out of his mouth made him feel heavy. He and the kid needed to take a day off soon. “How do you know Cara?”

She breathed out a chuckle, but Din thought she looked… sad. The corners of her lips were turned down, and a dejected look crossed over her features. It was gone before he could blink, though, and she straightened her back and looked at him. “I grew up on Alderaan, and after it was destroyed, I just… followed her around. She was kind of like my mentor.”

Din nodded slowly, starting to understand. “How did you end up here?”

“I left,” she shrugged. “I stay because I make money doing ship repairs.”

It was something about the way she said it, the way she looked. In that moment, she looked like the kid she was - doe eyes and slumped shoulders, she looked like she hadn’t known anything else. But Din knew the voice she was using, one he had used many times before. When he was young, training to walk the way of the Manda’lore, he was the same. By then he had been a foundling for years, and he had gotten used to it. And so did she, but the disappointment was clear, even if she didn’t mean it.

“I can pay you to repair my ship,” Din said after a short silence, causing San’s eyebrows to rise in interest. “It won’t be much, but you won’t have to watch the womp rat.”

“Um… thanks, uh…” San stuttered. She sounded like she wasn’t expecting it. She shook her head, though. “You don’t... have to pay me.” She got to her feet then and picked up the wrench from the ground. “I’ll get right to it.”

Before she could walk away, Din called out, “No droids.”

“No droids. Got it.” And then she was gone.

When she was gone, Din looked beside him to check on Grogu. The kid was still happily eating from his bowl, not a care in the world. He gave him a short pat on the head before standing up, approaching the counter. Jely, who he was sure had been listening, wiped her hands on a rag. He only had one question for the woman.

“What is she doing here?”

Jely sighed heavily, leaning against the counter. “Living. As best as she can out here.”

“Why doesn’t she leave?” he pressed.

“You think a kid can just up and leave whenever they want to here? Alone?”

“Why not?”

Jely rubbed her eyes in return. “Look mister,” she narrowed her eyes, and Din didn’t know why he suddenly felt uneasy, “things are... things are complicated. There are people here like me, most people, who have always been here, and then there is everyone else. San was the last person who ever decided to stay, and I’ve been working with her for three years. No one comes here, and no one leaves. I want her too, and she should want to, but it just won’t happen. This is a junk planet, a blip on a map. We can’t.”

The older woman finished with a stifled yawn, and Din could only imagine how much she worked. He was starting to understand a bit more, but things were still unclear to him. “How old is she? If she’s still a kid, why would she choose to come to a place like this?”

“I can’t tell you that,” Jely said immediately. “She’s still my responsibility, and while I’m sure your intentions are honest, it’s my responsibility to protect her. Can you understand that?”

“Yes.” And he could.

Din practically lugged the quarry back to the cantina, and the man hadn’t stopped struggling since he was first caught. The sight of Grogu sitting at the counter with Jely made some of the tension in his shoulders lift with the thought of almost being done. The kind woman had offered to look after him while Din was off finding the bounty, and he was utterly grateful for her. The rhodian had given him a good fight. There was a nasty bruise forming on his side that screamed whenever his beskar moved against it - meaning whenever he moved - and he had a cut on his elbow that had yet to stop bleeding. He could understand why the bounty had been forgotten. Now to get his kid, stick the crook in carbonite, and get the hell out of there.

The struggling of the bounty caught the attention of both the child and the older woman. A smile spread on Grogu’s face at the sight of his father. It always warmed Din despite his cold armor. He gave a nod of solidarity and gratitude to Jely as he shoved the bounty into one of the booths, one she returned with a warm smile.

“Thank you,” Din said earnestly, lifting his son who was awaiting him with open arms and that smile that made Din feel like his life was worth living. When he adjusted him in his arms, Din asked, “How can I repay you?”

Jely waved her hand dismissively. “No need. Truly.” She was quiet for a moment before speaking again, “Actually, if you wish to pay me in credits, you can just give those to San. She needs them more.”

The woman’s eyes stared into space almost longingly, Din thought. Her words carried more weight than he knew, and he did know that. He didn’t question her words, though, instead preparing to take the rhodian back to his ship.

“You’re always welcome here, Mandalorian,” Jely called after him. “We’re here to help, should you need it.”

Din nodded once again. “Thank you,” he repeated, but he back-tracked before he could leave. The rhodian groaned in annoyance, and Din simply tightened his already iron grip on the man’s shoulder to silence him. Din was hesitant to continue, but he pushed past it. “Keep her safe.”

Jely nodded firmly with a smile that spoke thousands, understanding what he was saying. “Always.”

When they reached the landing hangar, Din pushed the bounty enough to have him stumbling over his feet to the ground. The new noise must have caught San’s attention who sat on the ramp of the Razor Crest. Her head came up at the sound, goggles around her eyes and a mask over her mouth. Din could see her eyebrows raise as she pulled the goggles down around her neck, her mask going with it. She didn’t say anything until they approached.

“Be nicer to your ship!” Her voice was incredulous. She stared at him with wide eyes, but she didn’t seem at all concerned with the bound criminal that was with him.

Like he did before, Din pushed the rhodian to sit on the ground before walking towards the young girl, adjusting the child in his arms. “What’s the damage?”

San huffed out a laugh as she stood from the ramp. She cast a softer smile at Grogu when she saw the baby in his arms. She then began what felt like a laundry list of repairs.

“For pre-empire, your ship is in good condition all things considered, but if you’re not more careful, it can’t take much more.”

“‘Careful’ isn’t really in my line of work,” Din said bluntly, but he nodded in understanding nonetheless.

San gave him another wary look. “For my sake and your kid’s, I hope that changes.”

She was right, though. With the Razor Crest, repairs would only become more frequent and more expensive. He supposed it wouldn’t be so bad getting repairs from San. Which reminded him. “Where did you learn to do this?”

She shrugged. “I have a lot of spare time.”

“How old are you?”

“Stop asking me that.”

Din sighed. It was worth a shot.

Instead of dwelling on the question any longer than he already had, he pulled the pouch of credits from his belt and fished some out. Standing before the girl, he dropped them into her hand. He then set Grogu gently on the ground before walking back to the roughed up bounty and lifted him to his feet. He started dragging him to the carbonite freezer.

“Hey, Mando,” San called.

Din shoved the rhodian into the freezer, and once the shouting stopped he exited his ship again. San’s eyes were wide once again, and she held out the credits as if it was a thermal detonator. He didn’t say anything, though, waiting for her to continue.

“You don’t have to pay me.”

“Why not?” he asked, tilting his head.

“Because,” she started, “if you’re a friend of Cara’s it’s the least I can do.”

Din regarded her for a moment. He appreciated the intent, but he didn’t feel right about it. He couldn’t not pay, especially when she clearly needed it.

“Keep it,” he said simply.

“But it’s too much.”

“Keep it.”

Din’s tone didn’t leave any room for argument. She stared at him intently for a moment longer, similar to how she did inside her little house. Finally, she averted her eyes down and clutched the credits in her hand. She took a small step back and let out a quiet “thank you,” pocketing the money inside her jacket.

Perhaps for the first time since arriving on that planet, Din allowed himself to relax. He realized just how tired he was as he felt his muscles weigh him down. He was ready to leave.

He looked around for the child, and he found him reaching out to the young girl with them. The soft smile was back on her face as she watched him, but she shook her head at him. Grogu returned her smile and continued reaching for her, even taking small steps toward her. Din wasn’t used to this.

“No, kid. We have to go,” Din said. He picked Grogu up from the ground, who only stretched his small arms further as they got closer to the Crest.

San chuckled quietly. “I guess he likes me.” She waved at the kid whose smile grew if that was even possible.

“He likes almost everyone,” Din responded, but he didn’t mean it with any ill intent.

Din halted in front of the girl once more, looking down at her. Her brown eyes almost black stared up at him in return. “Thank you for repairing my ship.”

“It’s no problem,” she replied. She hesitated a bit before shyly adding, “Sorry... for throwing a wrench at your head.”

Din had completely forgotten about it, actually. “It’s fine,” he nearly spluttered, but he cleared his throat.

“You can, uh, tell Cara that I’m doing fine, that I’m alive,” San said quietly. She turned to grab her tools before either of them could speak more, but Din understood. Her voice said it all.

Din walked up the ramp of the Razor Crest with the child, but he stopped again at the top. “Stay out of trouble, kid,” he called.

San nodded, the makings of a smile playing on her face. “If you’re ever in the sector and need help, I’m happy to help,” she said, followed by, “You take care of your dad, baby, and make sure he takes care of you.” Underneath his helmet, Din let himself smile.

Then, finally, he closed the doors of his ship, ready to leave, ready to report to Cara, and, despite what he was told, ready to not return.

Taglist: @emiliasaffron

#star wars #the mandalorian #the mandalorian imagine #the mandalorian fanfiction #the mandalorian x oc #the mandalorian x ofc #platonic mando #platonic mando x young oc #platonic din djarin #din djarin imagine #din djarin fanfiction #din djarin x oc #din djarin x ofc #platonic din djarin x young oc #dad din djarin

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cheekysos · 4 years

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The Maori Protector | Calum Hood | Bodyguard!AU x Plus Size Reader

Author’s Note: Please be kind this is the first time I’ve written in like two years. Also I’m not writing this series to exclude any body type, shape, or size because everyone’s bodies should be accepted and celebrated. So I am very sorry if this in any way excludes anyone, that is not my intention. If there’s anything you’d like to read please leave a request in my asks and I will try my best to do it justice. Depending on the response I plan to make multiple parts of this.

Summary: Y/N is a famous plus sized actress and Calum is her bodyguard.

Warnings: Swearing, breaking and entering, and some light sexual comments

From a young age you were always bigger, bigger than the girls your age and most of the time even the boys. It made your childhood rather difficult and usually pretty emotional. In spite all of those hardships the only thing that brought you solace was acting. It gave you courage and confidence, even if it was only temporary. Which brings you to now, you had stuck with acting, getting a few parts here and there, usually the stereotypical funny fat friend but then you got your big break.

You couldn’t believe that you were finally cast as the lead; a part that had nothing to do with your size and given the timing of the world it just worked out and people loved it. Your schedule was filling up and you were more popular than ever. But with all that good brings a lot of bad as well, which is why your manager had insisted on hiring you a personal body guard and wasn't taking no for an answer.

“I don’t know Carl, I still don’t see why I need a body guard.” You poked, aimlessly scrolling through your phone while Jane continued to curl your hair. You were about to make your first late night television appearance and were trying to keep your mind on something other than your nerves.

“We’ve been over this. People are starting to show up to places you’ll be at and paparazzi these days have no boundaries. It’s for your own good.” He sighed, the two of you have had this conversation multiple times already. “I interviewed like 20 dudes for this, I promise he’s the best of the best. Just please play nice.” He teased before walking out the door. It’s not like you were a mean person or anything just guarded more than anything and rightfully so. You can’t look like you do and work in show business without having some trust issues.

Jane finished up your hair with some hairspray, “you’re all set. Go get changed you’re on in ten love.”

“Thanks. Looks great, like always!” You beamed looking at yourself in mirror before walking into the green room bathroom. You squeezed yourself into your beige spanx tucking and adjusting your lumps and bumps. The dress you and your stylist decided on was a deep red ruched midi length dress with off the shoulder 3/4 length sleeves. It hugged your body in all the right ways and still managed to leave something to the imagination. You paired the dress with black strapped heels and a small gold necklace. You stepped out of the bathroom, your back zipper still open, “Jane can you zip me up?”

As you lifted your gaze your eyes landed a large figure standing between Jane and Carl. His tall frame and broad shoulders were covered in a crisp black suit. You were way too caught up in how incredibly good looking he was to remember the fact that your backside was still exposed. You probably wouldn’t have noticed Jane zipping you up if it wasn’t for her cold hands.

“Y/N, this is Calum Hood. He’s your new head of security,” Carl said. You could feel your cheeks flush as you made eye contact with him. His massive hand reached out to shake yours, you obliged taking note of the ink adorning his hand. Your mind started to wander, thinking of other parts of his body that might be cover in tattoos.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Y/L/N,” his accent catching you off guard yet again.

“Please just Y/N,” you said softly. He nodded in acknowledgment. “We can go over specifics later,” Carl interrupted. “Y/N it’s time to go.” He ushered you past Calum.

Despite your best efforts to focus on the interview you couldn’t help but think about the gorgeous brooding man waiting backstage to protect you.

It had been over a month since Calum started working for you and let’s just say it’s been a challenge. Every day you spent with him made it harder and harder to stay professional, you wanted nothing more than to jump his bones, but Calum was most of all a professional. He kept your conversations always about you and work. You tried so hard to get something from him; a lingering glance, a morsel of personal information, even a smile but have yet to be successful. Which is why you were trying so hard to stay professional, he clearly wasn’t interested and you respected that and a small part of you wasn’t surprised. Just because you were a successful actress doesn’t mean weren’t insecure and today was just one of those days.

If your mind was going to choose a day to be in a funk at least it chose one where you can stay at home cuddled on the couch with a glass of wine and a pint of ice cream while watching an unhealthy amount of rom-coms. You got up from the couch to fill your glass when you heard something like pounding. You weren’t exactly a paranoid person but living alone in a fairly decent sized home and the three glasses of wine didn’t exactly help. You paused your movie, listening just to be sure. You heard the pounding again this time louder, making you jump. Your fuzzy sock clad feet slid across the hardwood floor and grabbed your phone . The pounding started again, this time by the windows in your dinning room. You scurried into the bathroom and locked the door. You weren’t even really thinking when your fingers started to scroll through your phone book and landed on Calum’s name.

Four rings and he answered. “Hello?” His voice was soft and made you forget about your current situation for just a second.

“Y/N? Is everything okay?” He questioned.

“Y-ya-yes it’s me.” you stuttered. “I - uh didn’t know who to call. I’m home alone and someone’s pounding....I don’t know if it’s a joke or if....”

“Where are you?” He cut you off. His voice was different now stern and concerned.

“In the bathroom. I locked the door.” your hands started to shaking. “Good. Stay there until I get there.” You heard his car start. “Did you call the police?”

How could you not have thought of that first, he’s going to think you’re crazy, you thought to yourself. “No I...I wasn’t sure who to call”

“It’s fine I’ll call them right no...” he was still talking when this time you cut him off.

“Please don’t hang up.” Tears started pooling in the corners of your eyes. Your brother always teased you for being so over dramatic.

“Okay... then I need you to text Carl tell him what’s going on and that I’m on my way to you and you need him to call the police. Can you do that for me.” His voice was steady and calming. You did as you were told almost immediately. Calum kept quiet on the other end until you told him the message was sent.

“Good. I’m almost there, few more minutes. I’ll probably make it there before the police. When I get there I’m going to...”

CRASH. They shattered a window.

You couldn’t help letting a scream escape before you covered your mouth, tears flowing down your checks now.

“Y/N! What happened?!” He yelled.

“They broke a window I think.” You quietly sobbed. Your hand covering your mouth and phone as an attempt to be as quiet as possible.

“Fuck!” You heard the sound of what you assumed to be Calum beeping the horn. “It’s okay turn the light off in the bathroom and stay quiet. I promise I’m almost there.”

The rest happened so quickly. Before you knew it Calum was at your house smashing the remaining bits of glass and jumping through the window. He ran towards the bathroom calling out your name. You unlocked the bathroom door and wrapped yourself around his toned torso, silently sobbing into his chest.

He held you until the police arrived. He led you to the front door, his massive hand laid across the small of your back. He unlocked the front door and conversed with two officers while an EMT took you aside to check on you. You were fine of course just shaken up, they wrapped a blanket around you and gave you a glass of water to calm down. Another officer took your statement but you didn’t have much to tell.

You sat on your couch watching Calum intently. You couldn’t hear anything they were saying but that didn’t stop you from watching his plump pink lips move. You just realized Calum was in street clothes - black athletic joggers, a plain white tee, and Nike’s. Fuck he’s so hot and shit his hand was bleeding. You also noticed you were right...he did have more tattoos and they were glorious. By this time the Police officers picked up something put it in an evidence bag and handed it to Calum. His face dropped as he looked at it. What was it? Was he sad or angry? Calum and the officer approached you.

“Miss Y/L/N I’m Officer Callaghan. It looks like the only person to enter your home was Mr. Hood. Someone did however throw this through your window. He held out the object. It was a brick with ‘kill urself fat cow’ written on it in chalk. You didn’t everything you could to fight back the tears.

“It was most likely stupid kids, just a prank.” The officer explained.

“That’s not a prank that’s a threat.” Calum snapped. It was anger. He was definitely angry and honestly it was kind of a good look on him.

“Of course.” Officer Callaghan responded. “While Mr. hood gets his hand looked at I’ll have someone board up your window so you’re homes secure until you can get someone to come fix it. Do you have somewhere you can stay tonight?” Callaghan asked.

Maybe Jane? Carl was out of town and you really didn’t want to bother any of your friends. Maybe just a hotel.

“My hand is fine and I’ll take her wherever she wants to go,” Calum spoke.

You didn’t mean to zone out again but you did. Thank god Calum was there and dealt with everything for you. Your mind kept wandering back to the brick. Could someone really hate you that much just because you looked the way you did?

“I spoke with Carl, the window is boarded up and everyone’s gone. Just tell me what you need.” Calum sat next to you in the couch. His cut hand rested on his lap, covered in a paper towel.

“You really should have let someone look at that.” You said faintly.

“I’ve survived much worse.” He joked.

And that’s when you finally saw it. A quick subtle smile and shit he only got more attractive. You ignored the blood rushing to your cheeks, shrugging off the blanket wrapped around your shoulders before you stood up.

“Come with me.” You led Calum into the bathroom, just now realizing how ridiculous you probably looked - fuzzy socks, a massive hoodie, cotton shorts and hair messily twisted into a bun on the top of your head. At least you shaved your legs.

You got the first aid kit out of the cabinet, Calum leaned against the sink and offered you his hand. You carefully removed the paper towel to find multiple cuts in between his knuckles, his beautiful brown skin stained with dry blood.

“You really should have had this looked at by professionals. I think you might need stitches,” you meticulously started to disinfect the area, completely aware of Calum’s big brown eyes watching you.

“I-uh I’m really sorry this happened to you tonight and what they said I.... It’s not..” he sighed. “They’re cowards, scum honestly.” He winced slightly when you started cleaning the largest cut.

“People are entitles to their opinions. And like you said earlier I’ve survived much worse.” You joked, hoping Calum couldn’t pick up on hurt in your voice. But he did.

“I understand if you don’t want to talk about it but don’t try to justify their behavior or anyone else who’s mistreated you.” His voice was steady and calming again.

Dammit. Why was he like this, so perfect. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stay professional. Your body and heart ached for him. What were you supposed to say to that? You didn’t know so you changed the subject.

“Thank you for everything. I’m sorry I dragged you into all this.” You finished applying antibiotic ointment on his wounds before covering them with gauze and securing it with an ace bandage.

“It’s my job to keep you safe,” he cleared his throat. “Thanks for cleaning me up.”

So professional. Why couldn’t he just accept payment in the form of sexual favors.

You offered a half smile and nodded in acknowledgement as you cleaned up.

“Where do you want me to take you?” He questioned.

“I don’t know I’ll probably just stay here, like the police said it was just a prank.” You shrugged and turned on your heel to walk out of the bathroom.

Calum’s hand reached out for yours, turning you back to him. “You’re not staying here. It’s not safe and this wasn’t a prank, you could’ve gotten hurt.”

Your headstrong gene wanted to argue with him but his eyes looked worried and his voice was so sincere. Not to mention the fact that your hand was still intertwined with him and you were practically putty right now. His hand was soft, with the exception of a few callouses on his fingers.

“Ok..I can go to...a uh hotel,” you didn’t want to go to a hotel and you most certainly didn’t want to be alone but you lied.

Calum’s hand slipped away from yours, “if that’s where you’ll feel safe.” He replied.

“I won’t feel safe there. But the only place I think I’ll feel safe right now is with you.” Who knows what possessed you to blurt out the truth all of a sudden but you instantly regretted it. “I know you’ve already done way too much and I’ll make sure Carl compensates you for all your trouble but if you’ll just indulge me a little longer...You could stay in my guest room or I’ll pay for a room for you.” You tried to navigate yourself through this shit storm you’ve created so you could still stay with Calum but also be professional.

“Don’t be ridiculous, spending time with you is compensation enough.” He reassured. “And it’s no Ritz Carlton or anything but you’re more than welcome to stay at my place.”

Screw being professional.

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estoniacobaltpayne · 3 years

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Judgement Day

Chapter 2: Uncertainty

Summary: Desperate, a force user bargains for her freedom; if she acquires the ‘asset’ deemed top priority, she would be free from the life that has enslaved her. Years of training has prepared her, but she’s stubborn and unlucky and more often than not she’s biting off more than she can chew. Maybe pulling the long con is the only path to freedom, but if it is, there’s a Mandalorian blocking it.

Warnings: language

Parirings: Din Djarin X Reader

Prologue: Here!

Chapter 1: Here!

Sorgan, quite possibly, sucked more than Arvala-7. It wasn’t as hot, but gods was it humid, something Ragna had been ill prepared for. In the midst of her suffering and self-pitying, an interruptive voice rang out amidst the tall pine trees.

“So, what’s your name?” the Mandalorian questioned from in front of her. The child, walking next to her, looked up expectedly. Ragna knew she very well couldn’t say “Darth Ragna,” so she settled for just the latter of the part of the name.

The Mandalorian chuckled silently, the only indication of his response being the shifting of his shoulders. “Yeah, just like my name is ‘Mando.’”

Ragna let out a frown at the bounty hunter’s response; “then what’s your name, then?”

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Mando did not answer.

The child babbled up at her, letting out questioning “oh’s?” that both Ragna and her companion ignored, until they happened upon the local town’s cantina. The wicker walls of the establishment made Ragna feel like an insect trapped under a child’s basket, and she didn’t like the suffocating feeling. The improvised fight ring in the middle of the floor didn’t help the situation.

The trio was just finally settled for a bowl of broth when Ragna noticed the silent Mandalorian gone without a trace. She looked down at the child who appeared to be unfazed by this, eagerly sipping his broth. She paused. This was it- take the child and run! Situations weren’t ideal, as it would mean leaving the bounty hunter alive, but if the Mandalorian was stuck on this god forsaken planet, what did it really matter?

So she scooped up the little green kid and went to make a break for it. Finally! Freedom is within reach! She thought gleefully.

But she didn’t get far. Mando was just outside the restaurant, lying on his back, blaster in hand and aimed at the fighter from earlier, who was reciprocating the situation. The sight of Ragna and the child pulled the two out of their quarrelling state.

“Want some soup?” Mando asked his opponent. The woman he was fighting eyed Ragna warily, and Ragna had the sneaking suspicion that the woman knew what she was up to no good.

——

Luckily, Ragna didn’t have to worry about it for long; the woman, Cara, as she believed was the name she gave them, told them to up and get lost- this was her hide away planet. Mando, it appeared, wasn’t in the mood to quarrel about it, so the group returned to his ship to prepare for departure.

Mando was intensely focused on cleaning his weapons and making some minor repairs to his ship, and as Ragna sat there watching the child to ensure his wandering didn’t extend too far, she realised that this seemed like a good opportunity to catch him off guard and put a blaster bolt in the back of his neck. But, alas, she didn’t have time to put much effort into her next impromptu plan, because a cart carrying two young boys appeared on the edge of the forest clearing. As she eavesdropped on their conversation with the Mandalorian, she realised that her mission was taking too long, and she had barely a moment to herself to send updates to her senders. And when she heard the Mandalorian agree to assist the boys’ village in a fight against some local raiders, Ragna knew she was shit out of luck for the time being. Mando wanted to lay low for at least a few weeks, and killing him in the village for all to see would be instant suicide. A small community like the one they were now travelling to would allow for news to travel fast, and no one there would have motive to kill him- he was helping them. So unfortunately, her plan would have to wait until further notice. Joy.

To agitate her further, the boys who approached them pestered Ragna with questions all night. Why didn’t they do so to Mando? She was quickly growing irritated, and she wasn’t sure how much she could take of this. Mando seemed to be getting some twisted sense of humour from her torment, too. It would be a long night for sure. The morning that followed didn’t go much better. While she was pleased that their arrival to the village brought an end to the boys’ incessant questions, the putrid smell of krill that filled her nose quickly replaced the pubescent voices that filled her ears all night.

And what’s worse, the Mandalorian was grating on her nerves by giving her the job of watching over the child when he was busy with the townsfolk. Which, she gathered, he assumed was her job anyways; after all, that’s what she had told him. At least the kid was silent and sweet, even if he did eat frogs, and her ‘caring’ for the child helped her in her pursuit to gain the Mandalorian’s complete trust. The child would have almost made the whole thing bearable if it wasn’t for the man’s (quite terrible) flirting with the woman who showed them to their resting quarters. A barn. For what it’s worth, Ragna thought, at least I always had four solid walls and a bed to sleep in back on Jakku.

Omera. She wouldn’t have bothered Ragna as much if it meant that she wasn’t constantly coming around to ‘check in’ on Mando. Honestly, the two were unbearable to be around. And when Mando went back to the first village to employ the help of that Cara Dune, she would check back at the barn what felt like every other hour to see if he had returned.

But what annoyed Ragna the most was her damn self. She should have known better.

The night Mando was away fetching Cara, Ragna’s father called in for a report on the situation. Mando, thankfully, wasn’t there to witness her comm going off.

“You must hurry, girl. The council is growing impatient.”

Ragna groaned. “Yes, well, these things take time! I’m essentially being held hostage here! I’m not delaying by choice, you know!”

The voice on the other end of the comm hummed in disapproval. “That is no concern of mine or the council’s. End this charade and bring us the asset. Quickly.”

It was a short conversation, but Omera heard it in nonetheless; and she was quick to alert the Mandalorian upon his return. Which is what led to an intense argument between herself and the Mandalorian.

“You’re going behind my back! Omera heard you! I can’t believe I entrusted you with the kid!” Mando shouted that late night in the barn.

The embarrassment was what ripped the knife from the wound for Ragna. Everyone outside could undoubtedly hear them arguing. But she put that notion aside and angrily pushed back. “I’m not! She must have been eavesdropping and misinterpreted my words!”

Mando put his hands on his hips and leaned in patronisingly. “Then tell me why she overheard your contact telling you to bring the asset to them.”

Ragna paused. She had to pull herself out of this one, and quickly, otherwise she would end up with a blaster in her head before she could even reach the edge of the forest, be it by Mando, or Cara Dune, or any one of the villagers.

“I… I told you from the beginning- I was sent to care for the child!”

Mando didn’t ease up in the slightest. “That doesn’t explain who you’re bringing him to.”

Ragna supposed all lies were ingrained with the slightest of truths, so she relented and gave him a small kernel. She put on her most sympathetic face and attempted her best to sway the bounty hunter into believing her. “My father. You know what I can do. I can move objects with my mind. Just like him. I have the same powers as the child!” Mando attempted to cut her off but she persisted. “You can’t deny it! You saw it yourself! When I helped you fight off those bounty hunters on Nevarro! I helped you then, with the same powers! So why would you think I’m betraying you?”

The Mandalorian eased up in his physical stance, but his words were still as accusatory. “And what does your father want with the child?”

Here’s where she’d have to bend the truth. She honestly didn’t know what the Empire wanted with the child, she didn’t really care if she was honest, but she could give an answer based off her own experience. “He wants to train him. Just as he trained me. He has great potential.” For added sympathy, she tagged on, “he won’t be safe until he can control his abilities.”

The Mandalorian leaned back. He still wasn’t sure he could trust Ragna. But he had seen how much the child liked her. More than everyone else in the village combined. Whenever he needed to find him, he knew he need only look for the girl with the (colour) hair in the crowd of villagers. If she was as dastardly as Omera had told him, the child would surely be able to sense this- he could and had with others who proved to be enemies.

Ragna waited patiently for the bounty hunter to sort through his thoughts. She was on thin ice and she knew it. She knew she’d have to entrust him with something of hers to gain any semblance of trust back from him.

“(Y/N).”

Mando looked back up at her. “What?”

Ragna took a deep breath and looked into the dark visor of the man’s helmet. “You asked for my name, right? Well, there it is. (Y/N).”

The Mandalorian nodded his head.

“Thank you.”

——

Throughout the following weeks, Mando was extra sure to keep an eye on Ragna.

He was still on edge from what Omera had told him, and he liked Omera. Enough to push aside any semblance of reason, and trust her without question. After all, what was there to distrust? She was kind, strong, did far beyond what was required of her, and was eager to help her fellow villagers, without being asked. What’s more, she was a good mother to her daughter, Winta, and as a Mandalorian, that was something he couldn’t ignore.

Ragna, or (Y/N) as he now knew her, was… something else. She wasn’t evil; she wasn’t even particularly mean. But she wasn’t kind and gentle like Omera, either. She was… a perfect balance of opposites. She could be calculating, that Mando was certain of, but at the same time, she could be incredibly blunt. Painfully so. Sometimes, she could be so reserved, not even bothering to exit the barn upon request, and yet, other times, he’d find her with some of the villagers at dinner, passing around a jug of spotchka, freely telling stories about her and her father’s expedition to Arkanis or a childhood friend who hurt her in her youth. She was so well balanced, that, to Mando, sometimes everything seemed almost surface level; even when she was bearing herself to the world, it felt like she was barely scratching the surface of who she was.

Omera thought so too. And Cara Dune didn’t trust her, either. They were both sure to remind Mando of that daily. He couldn’t blame them, really. He didn’t know her any more than they did. Their conversations at night in the barn gave him some glimpse of who she was, but they were brief at best, and were all he had to go on. But it was watching her with the child over the passing weeks that constantly made him unsure of himself. The child didn’t even connect to Omera like he had with (Y/N), and she was a mother! Perhaps it was a special connection in their strange abilities, but the kid’s bond with her was uncanny. That had to count for something, didn’t it?

——

The night that Mando and Cara Dune were to lure the raiders to the village, Ragna was given the sole job of protecting the child. Which she saw as the perfect opportunity. No one would be watching; the villagers old enough to fight would be doing so, and those not old enough were secured away in the barn. The Mandalorian would be too pre-occupied to see her slipping away with the kid, and by the time he noticed her gone, she’d have already taken his ship and bolted.

She had the kid firmly in her arms when she began to slink towards the trees. She quickly looked around to ensure her path was clear. When she deemed it so, she went to sprint towards the tree line, but before she could, the child cooed up at her.

“Not now, kid!” Ragna hushed as she slinked between the village houses.

But, like her, he was too persistent for his own good and pulled at the collar of her shirt. She was too busy trying to quickly weave an escape route to notice the fist time, but after the third or fourth time she finally stopped and let out a curt, “what?”

He pointed one of his chubby fingers and pointed over to the fight and exclaimed “patu!”

When she looked over, she saw the Mandalorian and Cara Dune attempting to goad an AT-ST walker into one of the krill ponds. It wasn’t going well.

She tried to tell herself that it wasn’t her problem; that the Mandalorian dying would just be what it is. Nothing personal. A win, if anything, given her situation. But that wasn’t enough to stop the instincts from taking over. She rushed over to the commotion, knocking out a few raiders on the way, and with all her concentration, and with the child still tucked into one arm, stood behind Mando and Cara, stretched out the other arm, and pulled the walker’s foot into the pond below.

Mando barely had a chance to register before he rushed forward to tag a bomb onto its body. The thing went up in a ball of flames, to which the child cheered and laughed. But Ragna wasn’t focusing on that; she wasn’t even watching all the raiders fleeing the village. It was as if time slowed, and the only thing she could focus on was the Mandalorian’s visor, and, even though she couldn’t see them, she could feel their eyes lock, blocking out the world around them.

#din djarin x reader #din djarin #mando x y/n #mando fanfiction #the mandalorian #star wars #star wars fanfiction #sw #sw fanfic #baby yoda

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alpineglowx · 3 years

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I'll Do The Same {Din Djarin x OC} Chapter Eleven: Starlight

pairing: din djarin x female oc

warnings: none, except some fluff!

* * * *

“I was young. Eight, nine, I can’t remember exactly. My parents were killed in an explosion trying to hide me from the droids that invaded our village. I almost died that day; I would have if the Watch hadn’t shown up. I became a foundling that day. I was raised by the Watch, and I was happy to be in their care. They had saved me, after all.

“When I was older I joined the Tribe on Nevarro. It’s where I acquired my armor. Once I swore the Creed, it meant I could never take my helmet off again, or have it removed by another. If it was, I would never be allowed to put it back on again... I would cease to be a true Mandalorian. I was trained to be a warrior growing up, and once I was older I joined the Bounty Hunter’s Guild. It paid well, harnessed my training, and gave me something to do.”

Thell blinked slowly, processing his words.

“That was until I was assigned to kill the kid. I didn’t even know he was a child at the time. I knew as soon as I saw him that I couldn’t let him be taken... there are people out there who are risking everything trying to find him... for what, I’m not exactly sure. I just know that he’s more powerful than I understand... and he’s just a kid.

“I had always thought that all Mandalorians followed the Children of the Watch’s beliefs. I believed that all were taught to hide their faces, because our secrecy is our survival. But Bo-Katan took her’s off like it was nothing. They all did, and they told me they were true Mandalorians. I didn’t know until then that I had been raised by the Watch. Bo said it was a cult that broke off from traditional Mandalorian ways.”

“So... no one’s seen your face since you were a kid?”

He dipped his head. “Yes. When I joined the Tribe, I hid myself. My identity, my name... everything about me became a secret. It had to be that way.”

“For you to survive?”

“Yes.”

“Wasn’t it ever lonely?” Thell asked quietly. “The life of a bounty hunter doesn’t sound too glamorous.”

“It isn’t... and it is lonely. I don’t stop with the jobs. Once I finish one, I move on to the next. It’s always been like that. I don’t have time to sit and settle.”

“Hm... So that’s what you’ve been doing since you were young.”

“Yes. I stay primarily in the Outer Rim. Since the Empire fell, there hasn’t been a shortage of bounties.”

“... Don’t take this the wrong way... but if you know the Watch is a cult, and the other Mandalorians take their helmets off, why don’t you?”

“I was raised under the Watch. It’s the only thing I know.” He turned to face her, slowly. “This is the Way.”

“Well, for what’s worth,” Thell said. “You’re the nicest bounty hunter I’ve ever met.”

He chuckled, just the slightest lift of his shoulders that had Thell smiling back at him. She sat up, clasping her arms around her knees as she hugged them to her chest.

“Do you know a lot of Mando’a?” She asked.

“A bit... why?”

Thell shrugged, glancing back at the fire. “Well... I was wondering if you could teach me some.” When she sensed him looking at her, she glanced back over and tilted her head. “My dad was Mandalorian. I know that doesn’t necessarily make me Mandalorian either, but I want to know some of the language. I haven’t... I haven’t felt like I’ve had my own identity before. I guess I could start somewhere... I think we share that.”

The comment had been a risk, but after seeing how he had been over the past week, Thell didn’t expect him to get angry or storm off. In fact, it wasn’t even her first thought.

Because deep down, it was true. They were both orphans now, even the kid sleeping in his arms. They all had childhoods that were essentially stolen from them, raised in places that protected them, but under the surface, were also performing great harm. Din was a result of indoctrination, and Thell had been a slave to a cruel master. Now, as adults, they were free to choose their own paths.

He nodded anyway. “Alright. Ask away.”

Thell blinked. “Oh... um. What’s hello?”

“Su cuy'gar.”

“Say it again,” Thell asked, and he did. She tried her best at repeating it under her breath, but it only made her feel silly with Din watching her.

“Hey!” She laughed. “It’s not like I’ve ever spoken it fluently. Why don’t you give me an easier one?”

Din sighed and relaxed against the rock, the child still tucked peacefully in his arms. “Beskar'gam... can you guess what that is?”

Thell squinted, twisting her lip. “Something to do with Beskar, I’m assuming.”

“Armor,” Din told her.

And they stayed like that, talking quietly beside the fire under the canopy of stars and darkness. For a moment, it felt like they were the only people in the world, including the kid. Din taught her words, phrases, even a small bout of the history of the language, all that he knew. Their conversation slowly turned to ones of their own personal lives, sharing stories and experiences.

Thell kept finding herself smiling at him, even laughing at his dry humor. It was beginning to show itself more and more, and she had to admit that this was her favorite side of him. She had scooted closer, sitting criss crossed beside him while the kid was wrapped in a bundle of blankets just beside Din.

“And I stole it.”

“Really?” Din seemed appalled.

“Yeah,” Thell nodded, smiling proudly to herself. “Darand had a whole shipment of my favorite fruit come in, for himself of course, but I couldn’t deny sneaking myself a few when no one was looking.”

“I’ve never taken you for a thief.”

Thell rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t call myself one. It was probably just one of the most rebellious things I did back on Bespin.”

Her mind suddenly wandered back to her old home, to the neverending show of clouds and stars that was always overhead. Of nights crying herself to sleep after her mother died, of her fingers being rubbed raw from her chores as Darand’s servant.

He must have noticed that she went quiet because he spoke, just softly.

“Thell.”

She blinked, focusing back on his helmet. “Oh. Sorry...”

“What’s going on in that head of yours?”

He sounded genuinely interested, so Thell straightened. “I want to tell you something, something that happened to me while I lived on Bespin.”

His attention remained fully on her, and in the quiet of their haven on Naboo, Thell felt like he truly cared for her.

“My mom died when I was twelve. At that point, I basically fended for myself in Darand’s mansion. I had a lot of people try to take advantage of me, of my youth, of my immaturity. I was constantly being compared to my mother or being expected to be someone I knew I wasn’t... No one ever really saw me for me. When I was sixteen, I was walking back from the market when I saw a group of my friends. I had known them for a couple of years. We weren’t close or anything, but I was still glad to see them.”

Thell took a deep breath, glancing at the fire.

“Anyways, I went to go talk to them and everything seemed normal for the moment. But... I don’t know why it happened, but they attacked me. I didn’t even have anything on me. No credits, nothing.”

Thell could feel her hands trembling and clasped them together, hoping Din wouldn’t notice.

“They just left me there, in the dust of that alley. They called me names and told me I was useless and kicked me, and I didn’t do anything.... I just let it happen.”

“Why?” Din asked suddenly.

“Because somewhere deep down I felt like they were right,” Thell said, making eye contact with him again. “I felt like because everyone else had been saying those things to me, it must have been true. No one in Darand’s house liked me. No one saw me. I mean, hell, the one guy that I actually liked completely rejected me to my face and walked away like I was nothing!”

Thell leaned back, surprised and suddenly embarrassed by her disclosure. To her relief, Din didn’t seem bothered by it; he barely moved from his position. Taking it as a good sign, and inhaling deeply, Thell continued, lowering her voice.

“My only source of comfort in the world was gone and I didn’t have any else left. I was just a girl in a galaxy that looked at me like I was nothing. That’s why I was so adamant about going with you that night. Because I knew the consequences if I didn’t. I knew I had to speak up for myself. If I didn’t, I could’ve died out there, in the big world. But I always felt safe with you, even when you were standing in the middle of the hallway pointing a blaster at my face.”

To her relief, Din huffed out a laugh. “Not the best of scenarios to feel safe in.”

Thell smirked. “Maybe not. But I came along anyway.”

“I’m glad you did.”

“Really?” Thell perked up.

He dipped his head once. “It’s... nice to have someone to talk to.”

Thell smiled, feeling tears burn at the back of her eyes. “Yeah. Me too.”

“We have that in common, you know.”

“... What?”

“The thing you said... about no one seeing you.”

Thell’s eyebrows twitched, and she scrunched her fingers into her pant leg. “Oh.”

He was still looking back at her, suddenly gently in the firelight. Thell’s heart was full from their conversations and laughter, to his opening up about his own past to chuckling together about old stories. She was immensely grateful, and something about the warmth of the fire and the peace of the field were causing her barriers to fall.

“Thank you for telling me about yourself,” she said quietly. “I know it’s not easy, especially when you don’t normally share it. But thank you anyway.”

He watched her for a long moment before dipping his head softly, and Thell blinked. Taking a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart, she bent forward, clasping her hand gently around his that rested on his leg. She could feel him flinch under her palm, see how rigid he suddenly went under her touch. His hand was warm, large and secure under her hold.

Thell gulped, and her greatest fear came true when he slowly pulled away from her embrace, turning on his side to face the kid. Her hand dangling, Thell could only feel the need to smack herself, curse at how stupid and overly forward she had been. Why should she have expected it anyway, just because they were connecting over their sob stories and growing closer to reciprocate her feelings?

Frustrated with herself, Thell slowly rolled over on her side, dragging the blanket she had brought with her. She couldn’t face the Mandalorian tonight, not directly. So she let her gaze linger to the rocks casted in an orange glow, and to the darkness of the field beyond.

. . . .

“Wake up.”

Blinking steadily, Thell peered directly into the sun. She put up a hand to shield her eyes right as the Mandalorian moved in front of it, casting her in shadow. His hand was on his hip, one arm holding Grogu. He peered down at her curiously, cocking his head and looking back with dark, endearing eyes.

Thell suddenly remembered the night before, the awkward moment when he had pulled his hand out of her’s. If Din remembered too, he didn’t say anything.

Instead, he bent down, offering her a hand to help her stand.

“We’re going into town.”

Thell blinked, gathering her things from the ground. “Town? I thought we didn’t want to make ourselves known.”

“Not particularly,” Din said. “But we’re low on food. We’ll stay low profile.”

The village in Naboo that Din dragged her to was exquisite. Flowers and garlands of every color hung from pots or strung across archways. Ancient buildings soared above her view, the rounded green tops of settlements reflecting in the sun. Gardens with fountains and shining columns dotted the landscape, causing the air to have a sweet aroma. The corridors they walked through were not crowded, and the only inhabitants Thell saw were local humans called the Naboo. She couldn’t help but admire the elegant, flowing robes and dresses they wore, the ornate styles in which their hair was done.

But Din practically dragged her along, keeping her close as the kid hid in a satchel on his hip. Thell herself had worn a cloak, half covering her face. As for Din, there was only so much that could be done to hide the Mandalorian, so he stuck to sticking out in the crowd.

However, to her greatest relief, no one seemed to be bothered by them. In fact, they were more than friendly to the both of them, even the children offering them garlands of flowers as they entered the city.

But Din was meticulous, only wanting to spend as much time in the city as needed. Thell, on the other hand, wandered past vendors with crafts of things she had never seen, food she had never smelled or tasted.

And music.

The sound caught her ears immediately as Din was paying for a package of fruit. Thell turned, her ears perking up at the glorious sound. She had just taken a step forward when she felt Din’s hand on her elbow, holding her back.

“What is it?”

She looked over her shoulder, smiling widely at him. “Music. Don’t you hear it?”

“I do.”

She tugged at his arm. “Let’s go listen to it.”

“We need to go soon. It’s getting dark.”

Thell shrugged. “I know. But you were the one who said we needed a break. What’s a little pitstop?” When he didn’t move, Thell stuck out her bottom lip. “It’ll only be for a minute, and I promise I won’t drag you away again.”

When he finally nodded, Thell nearly shrieked in excitement as they followed the sound. She had heard music played on Bespin before, but only in moderation, and it had never sounded this beautiful.

They passed through corridors and dim hallways to an arched opening. It let them out onto a small balcony that overlooked a luxurious garden, surely owned by a wealthy family in the city. Thell could only tilt her head back and breath in the sweat air as she relaxed against the railing. The garden was speckled with wild flowers and trees of all varieties, twisting cobblestones paths between streams and pools that glittered like diamonds in the sunlight. Out in the distance, the sun was setting beyond the hills, casting the clouds in orange and pink glows. The railing was lined with vines that twisted around the architecture, spattering the balcony with purple flowers. Just beyond an archway in the garden Thell could spot the group of musicians playing, all holding different, beautiful instruments. A small crowd sat with their back to Thell and Din, and if Thell focused enough, it felt as if they were playing for just them.

She sensed Din moving closer, coming to rest his arms against the railing beside her. Grogu was at her feet, murmuring softly until she bent down to pick him up.

“See that, buddy?” She whispered, pointing in the direction of the musicians. “That’s a band. They’re playing music on instruments. Have you heard music before?”

He was babbling close to her ear, his eyes focused on the band. At a certain high note, his eyes widened and his ears pinned back, and Thell couldn’t help the giggle that rose in her throat. When the music settled again, Thell tucked Grogu into her arms, holding him as she began to slowly rock back and forth on her heels and hummed. Grogu seemed to enjoy it, eyes flickering to her when she pulled away from the railing, humming to the same tune as the musicians and spinning.

Grogu cooed happily, and Thell pressed her forehead to his before kissing his head. She giggled again, holding the baby in her arms and spinning while the music continued.

When she finally stopped spinning, and the music stopped, her hair was frayed and sticking to her face. But Din was looking at her, one arm resting casually against the railing and one leg kicked back. He was admiring her, not even bothering to look away when Thell paused, breathing heavily.

“Do you dance?” She asked, breathless.

She hadn’t known what came over her, except that Grogu was sliding down her arms as Din loomed over her, looking down at her through the helmet while starlight was beginning to glimmer on the Beskar.

“We have to get back. It’s late.”

Her heart sank, but she tried not to show it. “Okay.”

With one last glance at the garden, Thell turned and followed after the Mandalorian.

They returned to the ship a while later, but Thell opted to sleep outside again, under the canopy of starlight. Grogu stayed close by, choosing to sleep beside her as she settled her blanket on the ground. Din prowled the surrounding area, his blaster at his side, before coming up to Thell and Grogu. He peered down at the kid, cocking his head.

“Night, kid,” he said lowly, to which Grogu murmured softly.

Thell smiled down at the kid before glancing back at Din and asking, “How many days before we leave?”

“Two,” he said, and Thell nodded.

“It’s been nice.”

“It has.”

The silence turned to being rather uncomfortable, so Thell shifted, rocking on one knee.

“Well... I’m just going to get some water. Goodnight, Din.”

His voice was soft. “Goodnight.”

She had just returned to her makeshift bed on the ground beside Grogu, canteen in hand, when an object on her pillow caught her attention. Bending down, Thell gingerly picked up the item, rolling it over in her hand. It was one of the purple flowers from the balcony, the one that overlooked the musicians and where she had danced with Grogu. The one where she had desperately wanted to ask Din, too, as well.

“Din, did you-“

She went to look at the Mandalorian, but he was already sleeping on the other side of the fire, arms crossed over her chest. Thell let her eyes wander for a moment before settling down next to Grogu, letting her fingers brush over the petals as she drifted off.

#mandalorian #din djarin #din djarin x oc #grogu #baby yoda #pedro pascal #fanfiction #star wars #angst #fluff #soft #comfort #friends to lovers #romance

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songsformonkeys · 3 years

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Pedro Character match-up for my darling @alwaysbethewest. Written by me. Awesome banner by @yespolkadotkitty

I’m pairing you with single space dad Din Djarin:

It's a slow day at work and you're alternating between browsing the internet for baking recipes and pictures of cute B&Bs littered about Scandinavia. You sigh as you look at the various places, each one different but all fitting your dream perfectly. Imagine owning a place like that! You sigh again. Maybe one day...

The calm is suddenly interrupted by loud explosions and shots being fired. You barely have time to do anything beyond looking up from the computer before a figure covered in metal barges into your office, carrying a bag in his arms.

”What's your opinion of the Empire?!” He barks loudly, making you jump. You stutter, unsure both which Empire he's referring to and what the right answer to his question is. ”Ehum...bad?” you try, hoping it's the right answer. The tin man looks at you – at least you think he does as you can't see his face. ”...Good enough,” He says and thrusts the bag into your arms. ”Take him and run to my ship! It's parked out back! There's a device in the pocket of the bag that will allow you inside. Once you're in, press the red button and wait there! Understood?” You nod, despite not understanding at all what is going on. But the instructions seem fairly straight forward.

The stranger has left the office before you can ask any further questions and when you look down at the bag a small green face peeks out. It's the cutest thing you've ever seen!

An explosion brings you back to the here and now and you run outside with the small green creature and find a spaceship standing in the staff parking lot. You get inside and lock the doors, just as the man had instructed. Then you wait.

The green child cooes and you think he sounds worried. You have no idea how much he understands but you try and talk soothingly to him, regardless.

When the metal-covered stranger comes back, he brings the chaos and explosions with him. In the midst of the fighting there's no time to let you off the ship. As soon as the stranger is inside, he heads for the cockpit to start up the ship. You follow him, asking him what's going on. He doesn't answer. The ship leaves the ground and you tell him that you need to get home. Then he speaks, promising to bring you back once it's safe but for now you need to strap in. You do as you're told. The ship is hit by blaster fire just as you jump into hyperdrive.

As you see the stars speed by you can't help but think that this is your first time out of the country. Off the planet too apparently. The thought makes you a little dizzy.

The stranger doesn't speak much and initially, you're too shy to talk to him either. There's something about the man in the mask that scares you a bit. What's to say that you left with the good guys? But you relax a little when you see the way he interacts with the kid. Anyone that patient with the little one's antics can't be all bad, can he?

Two days into the journey you dare to ask him where you're heading and he tells you that the ship needs repairs and that it's probably safe to wait just a bit longer before dropping you back on your planet. The hyperdrive jump has damaged the ship even further and They-call-me-Mando (as he's introduced himself) doesn't dare to make another jump. So it's a slow trek to the next planet, at least by his standards. You're still amazed you're heading for a different planet!

The three of you settle into a sort of routine on the ship as you continue towards your destination. The routine mostly consists of Mando tinkering with different parts of the ship, trying to patch up certain parts from the inside, and you hanging out with the kid, trying not to bother Mando too much. Space food is a bit different from what you're used to but you like cooking and so you quickly figure it out and are glad to have another way to be useful. You're offered something like a cupboard to sleep in, while Mando and the kid sleeps in the cockpit.

One day the kid finds your handbag and, inside it, your phone. At first he tries to eat it but when you show him how to use it and shortly thereafter he manages to put some music on. Dolly Parton starts singing from the speakers. The child squeals with delight and for just a few moments you too have something familiar and safe. It makes you relax and you grab the child's tiny hands and help him dance a little, smiling at the awkward way he waves his arms.

After a while you notice the sounds of Mando's repairs have stopped and you look over to find him watching you, silently. You quickly turn off the music and apologize. Mando shrugs. ”It's fine. He seems to like it.” Then he goes back to tinkering.

Turns out that the kid likes the music so much that he hardly wants a quiet moment after that, and the battery is rapidly draining. When your phone eventually dies, he cries and throws a tantrum that no amount of finger pointing or Nos from Mando can help calm down. It takes less than a day of angry baby before Mando has managed to patch together a charger of sorts for the phone. Everyone relaxes considerably once the sweet sound of Dolly fills the air again. You even catch Mando tapping his foot to the beat every now and then over the next couple of days.

Your stoic pilot still doesn't talk much but he talks more now. You're fascinated by the star maps and Mando tells you about the different planets he's been to. You find that, while you sometimes miss home, spending time on the Razor Crest with him and the baby isn't as bad as you'd feared when you first got here.

When you finally reach your destination for repairs, you're delighted to find it's a planet with water and there's a coastline close to where Mando is landing. You beg him to let you take the kid there. He's a little reluctant at first but you reason that he'll seem more intimidating to any mechanic, and less likely to be scammed, if they don't think he's a family man. Mando does a double-take at you calling him a family man and you curse yourself, wishing you could take the word back. How bold of you to assume anyone would look at the three of you and think family.

Mando lets you go to the beach, though, and the kid loves chasing the waves, his green little butt wiggling back and forth as he runs across the sand. You walk next to him to make sure he stays safe since you don't know if he's actually able to swim. He's quite capable of catching the little crab-like creatures that sometimes scurry across the sand and the kid gulps them down before you can stop him. If anyone saw the way he ate, they would assume you and Mando were starving him.

The communications device suddenly buzzes and Mando's voice hisses ”They're here! Take the kid and hide! I'll find you!” You pick the kid up, desperately looking around for somewhere to hide. You spot some rocky outcrops a short distance away, at the edge of the water. You wrangle the kid back into his coat as you run.

You reach your hiding spot and a short time after you hear shouting voices, speaking a language you don't understand. You shiver and your teeth clatters, not only because of the cold water reaching your waist. Thankfully, the kid stays quiet too, and you hug him close. You would try and say something comforting to him but you're too worried to make any kind of noise so the hugging will have to do.

Hiding only works for so long, however, and it's only a matter of minutes before you hear the soft beeping of a tracking device - Mando has taught you to recognize the sound. There's nowhere else for you to go and you try to shield the kid with your body as best you can when an alien-looking man shows up, blaster aimed at you. He yells and waves at you. He either wants you or the baby but you don't want to give him either. He waves the blaster too and his voice gets more frantic when he continues to yell at you. You still don't move, partly because you're protecting the baby and partly because you're too scared. Then the alien man takes aim, straight between your eyes. ”Please,” you beg him, squeezing your eyes shut.

A shot rings out but it's not you that gets hit and when you open your eyes Mando is wading towards you in the water. The child cries and reaches for him. Mando plucks him from your arms and the child claws at his chest plate, making distressed noises. Mando shushes him. Then he reaches for you, a gloved hand cupping the back of your head as he leans forward to press his helmet against your forehead. It’s a new thing. He’s never touched you like this before. You bite back tears, refusing to cry in front of him, but you can't help but relax against him as he steps closer. ”You're both okay” he says and you're not sure if he's trying to reassure you or himself.

The child scratches a little at your jaw and you and Mando break apart. The kid wants back in your arms again and you let him.

Mando watches the kid settle in with its little face pressed against your neck, and then he beckons for you to move forward. ”It's safe. Let's go home.”

#pedro character match-up #din djarin #the mandalorian

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hiscyarika · 4 years

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hey! so i've been seeing a bunch of discourse regarding Omera and how she tried to remove Din's helmet without asking him, but i haven't seen anyone show the same degree of hate towards Cara as they do Omera for basically doing the same thing. i'm curious, what are your thoughts on all this? love your blog/writing! 💙✨

Me: *has not been present on Tumblr for like a week because of school*

First of all, thank you for your kind words, anon! I’m so glad that you enjoy my content and I appreciate your support! 💙

And without further ado, let me just give my two cents on the subject 😌

Let’s go ahead and start with Omera, since she’s the one that everyone seems to be so concerned about. I think that Omera is a fantastic character! She’s protected and raised her daughter on her own for some length of time. She takes charge when Din and Cara try to tell the villagers that they have no choice but to leave, and she’s absolutely badass for being the only one in the village with the skill to shoot the way she does. Awesome character, and very well developed despite only appearing for one episode. I would absolutely be open to her appearing in Season 2 as someone that Din and the child go to when they’ve hit a rough patch.

That being said, I didn’t appreciate the scene with trying to take the helmet off. Was Din seriously considering staying? Yes. Did he react much differently than when anyone else tried the same thing? Yes. And those two points have a lot of merit in this argument and I’m glad that people have brought it up. However, Omera did know that Din had not shown his face since he was a child. He says that to her very explicitly. And then he spends weeks on Sorgan never appearing to anyone in anything less than full armor and the helmet. He doesn’t eat or drink around people. To me, it’s very clear that there is a significance to his mannerisms even if Omera doesn’t know the specifics about the Creed and why Din behaves this way. My thing about this isn’t so much that she tries to remove the helmet, it’s more that she does it in front of the entire village. This whole interaction would have been much easier to swallow if it had just been the two of them in one of the little houses.

I think the bottom line here is that it’s okay for people to have disdain for this interaction between Din and Omera. I personally have not interacted with anyone whose opinion seems to be founded in the idea that she’s a potential love interest which “may threaten our own fantasies about Din” so to speak. I also have not interacted with anyone whose opinion seems to be founded in the fact that she is a character of color (which, Din is a character of color as well, so I personally wouldn’t understand this argument even if I had come in contact with it). That isn’t to say that there aren’t people with these viewpoints, but I think that it’s really important not to assume that most people who dislike Omera or this interaction do it for such egregious reasons.

As for Cara, I also mostly enjoy her as a character! She’s got a lot of spunk. She’s a badass. And Gina Carano being able to just manhandle someone like she does in Chapter 8? Phenomenal. But she has her flaws too, flaws that I don’t think I picked up on until my second or third viewing of the series. But given the way that I write Kir’manir, and especially the way that I handle Cara in that series, I’ve had to really look at the way she interacts with all the other characters in the show, and there are actually more things that bother me about Cara than there are things about Omera (which makes sense because Cara has far more screen time than Omera, but still).

One thing that really irks me about Cara is the way that she so flippantly responds to Din telling her the repercussions of taking off the helmet at the end of Chapter 4. When she says “That’s it?” she clearly has no regard for the high importance that the Creed has in Din’s life. And you could argue that’s because she doesn’t understand it. But just like with Omera, Cara has been around Din for weeks now, and I would hope that by then she would at least recognize the significance of adhering to the Creed, even if the consequences for breaking it are not fatal.

I also have a really hard time with the way that she treats Kuiil. Kuiil makes it very clear that the work that he did for the Empire was against his will, and that he had to work for a very long time to be free from his servitude. And yet she is still very hostile and refuses to recognize that he’s not an enemy. Again, you could argue that she’s got a lot of trauma from what she went through as a shock trooper, and I don’t want to invalidate that at all. But I think it would have been much better for her to recognize that Kuiil never posed a threat to her. He wasn’t a soldier, as far as I’m aware, and therefore he wasn’t someone that had any direct impact on Cara or any of the other shock troopers.

To wrap up Cara’s analysis, I have to address her attempt to take Din’s helmet off as well. And I want to be clear when I say that I actually have even less respect for Cara doing this than Omera. When Omera tried to take it off, at least to her it seemed like it was something that Din was considering going through with. With Cara, even though she was trying to save his life, she knew full well that keeping to his Creed was more important than anything else. He gave up a happy life on Sorgan with Omera and the child just to keep to his Creed. He was going to leave the child there if the other bounty hunter had not shown up. Cara probably has a much better idea of what it means for Din to be a Mandalorian than Omera ever did. And the sad thing is that if Din had been too weak to stop her in any way, she probably would have gone through with revealing him without a second thought.

Both of these female characters have flaws, and I think it’s important not only to discuss them, but to realize that other people might not feel the same way as you do about the way that these characters behave. I think we as a fandom have forgotten how to disagree without having so much aggression behind our interactions with each other, and as someone who’s been here pretty much since the beginning of The Mandalorian’s fandom, it’s really disheartening to see this so often on my dashboard. It’s the reason that I have contemplated leaving more than once in the past few months. We need to remember that not everyone is going to agree with us on certain things, and that’s okay. As long as no one is being harmed, then it’s not worth having these arguments over all the time. If you like Omera and you want to see her as Din’s love interest in Season 2? That’s fine, but you shouldn’t expect everyone to see things that way. If you think that Cara is a bad character and you want to voice your opinion about it? Great. Do that. But also please remember that this is a TV show. These are fictional characters, and in the end you do not gain anything from shaming people for their opinions on certain characters. The end.

#abigail speaks #anon #the mandalorian #cara dune #omera #din djarin #discourse #fandom discourse #guys I am so fucking tired of this #live and let live #people hating omera is not harming you #people liking omera and shipping her with din is not harming you #you can have your opinions #you can disagree with each other #but it doesn't have to be this big of a deal

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melancholicumsomnia · 3 years

Text

The Redeemers (A Mandalorian Fanfic) Chapter 3

All warnings/pairings and other info to follow per chapter. For now, this is safe reading for everyone. If there are any spelling or grammar errors, I’ll be correcting them at a later date.

Sorry I wasn’t able to post this chapter last week. I was so busy with rush deadlines.

To @pedrocentric, I know I showed you a bit of this chapter earlier. Well, here’s the whole Chapter 3. Thank you so much for your friendship!

Previous Chapters can be found here:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

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THE REDEEMERS

Rory

Chapter Three: Refuge

The deafening noise of a descending spacecraft caused Rebel General Hera Syndulla to emerge from the thatched hut that was her temporary home on the moon of Endor. Already, Ewoks were running excitedly to the clearing, which served as a rudimentary landing field.

Hurrying after the furballs, a broad smile formed on Hera’s face at the sight of the freighter and the familiar figures emerging from its open hatch. At once, she raised both arms and cried, “Ahsoka! Bo-Katan! It’s so great to see you again!”

Grinning, the two women allowed themselves to be drawn into a warm, exuberant hug.

“I wish we could say that this is a pleasure call, Hera,” Bo said with a rueful smile, giving the Twi’lek’s back a congenial pat.

“Yeah, I heard the full story from Ahsoka,” Hera replied. “You’re in luck though. I have a…friend…who is supposed to be dropping by here on Endor.” She rolled her eyes. “…Unless that bucket of bolts he calls a ship decided to call it quits and take him along with it. He’s late…as usual. But he did promise that he’d come. He’s the only person I know who is good friends with another Jedi. I don’t even know this Jedi’s name, much more seen him. From what I’ve been hearing though, he seems to be a closely guarded secret among the higher echelons of the Rebel Alliance.”

“Well, we can wait,” Ahsoka reassured her friend. “In the meantime, we can help you out with your little problem here.”

“It’s more of a pest problem actually. I thought we had completely wiped out the Imperials who are stationed on this moon. Well, those remaining Imps turned into pirates and have taken to raiding villages and capturing Ewoks to be enslaved or, worse, slaughtered and made into Ewok Jerky.” Hera couldn’t help shuddering in disgust. “We were able to track down their hideout in the far side of Endor. I need your help to free the villagers that they are holding captive there, so they can be reunited with their children and elders that we are sheltering here.”

“We’d be very happy to help you in any way we can. It will be like the old days,” Ahsoka said, reminiscing inwardly about their battles years back against the Empire.

“In fact,” Bo-Katan interjected, “I don’t think we should waste any more time waiting for your backup. I say we attack them now and get those villagers out of there.”

“Thank you, my friends. So…” the Twi’lek general’s brows lifted in anticipation, “…Where is this patient you’ve been telling me about?”

Suddenly, they heard the awed chattering of the Ewoks gathered in front of the hatchway. The little creatures then dropped to their knees and started bowing fervently, making worshipful noises, as Koska and Axe, with Dr. Pershing standing at the side of a floating gurney, descended from the freighter. Koska was carrying a bag in her right hand. Judging from the telltale silver gleam from the bag’s opening, the contents were clearly beskar armor. Seeing the patient’s helmet, she readily confirmed him to be a Mandalorian, same as Bo-Katan Kryze.

However, the reason why the Ewoks were giving the patient their profuse obeisance was because the Mandalorian was levitating a foot above the gurney’s mattress.

“Uh…whaaat…” Hera stammered, pointing to the Mandalorian as the gurney moved past her.

“We don’t know,” Ahsoka admitted with a shrug. “I’ve began calling it a form of Force sickness.”

“O…kaaaay…”

Bo took Hera’s arm. “We can discuss the matter later. I’m assuming that the Mandalorian will be safe here?”

Hera could only nod, still flabbergasted at the sight she beheld.

“Good. Once Koska and Axe have Din Djarin and Dr. Pershing settled in, they’ll come join us. Let’s go and free those Ewoks for now, and we can talk about it on the way to the Imp hideout.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Din Djarin felt like he was floating in a warm sea, calming at times but, more often than not, turbulent, the waves battering his body with scorching heat and pain. But the pain could not compare to the raw, empty hole in his chest.

Why? He would ask again and again. I know I’m not perfect, but haven’t I tried to be a good father to you?

The answer to those heartbroken questions never came. Just those merciless voices telling him “You can find him”, “We have given you the power, so use it”, “All you have to do is reach out.” The voices of two men – one older, commanding, the other younger, seducing – and a woman, kind and understanding.

He didn’t know how long he had been floating in that sea, just listening to those voices and trying to fill that gaping hole in his chest with memories of the past. Of him. The voices kept pestering him to stop dwelling on past and concentrate on the now, because he was needed. That the universe was in disorder. That he needed to restore balance again.

But he couldn’t care less about the universe. All he wanted was an answer to that simple question: Why?

And then he felt her die. It hadn’t been a quick death, that much he was sure of. He had felt the excruciating pain of merciless torture. A torture demanding an answer to the question Where?

Where what? What are you searching for?...STOP!

He had lashed out then. Sending out…something…to try to stop her agony because he knew he couldn’t save her. Couldn’t spare her from more pain. At that last moment before he had extinguished her life, she sent back one final thought to him.

Thank you. And then nothing.

Yet, he felt no comfort in those words. He had killed a comrade, a sister-in-arms, a friend.

Tap!

That sharp, metallic tap pierced through the fog of his misery. Stop it! Leave me in peace!

??? Then a softer, apprehensive, tap.

With trembling hand, he reached out, but instead of soft, fuzzy skin like a peach, what his fingers encountered was fluffy fur. As Din’s vision cleared, he gaped, surprised, at a tiny Ewok that was gazing back at him.

Groaning, Din tried to ease himself up on one elbow. The Ewok let out a squeal as it ran to a dark corner. He raised his hand again, about to tell the little creature not to be afraid of him. But then, something slipped down to his lap. His eyes widened in horror at the sight of the Darksaber lying before him. With a cry of loathing and distrust, Din flicked the sword away, letting it fall with a clatter on the floor.

At that sudden noise, a man appeared at the open doorway. Judging from the trees outside and the crudeness of his current dwellings, Din realized that he was in an Ewok village, most likely Endor if his memories served him correctly. Dressed in an Imperial uniform, Din recognized the man, but he couldn’t remember his name.

“At last, you’re finally awake!” the man said happily and with obvious relief. “Don’t worry, sir. You’re safe. I swear we are not in an Imperial base. I’m no longer with the Empire. We’re on Endor. Ooh, they will be so happy to see you when they get back.”

“Who are…”

“Oh, I’m sorry. In my excitement, I just kept blabbering away. I’m Dr. Pershing. We first met on Nevarro. You know…those lamentable circumstances with the Client…and the Child.”

“The Child is gone. The Empire will never find him.” Din fell silent at that last. He knew that Grogu was lost to him as well.

Noting the sad tone in his words, Dr. Pershing could only nod. “I know, sir. But we can at least find some comfort in that, that he is safe. He is safe, right, sir?”

Unconsciously, Din found himself reaching out with his senses. And there it was – a wink of light, before it flickered out.

Yes, Dr. Pershing was right. He is safe. Even with the bond between them gone, there was a small measure of relief in knowing that Grogu was out there somewhere.

His attention was drawn back to the Imperial scientist when the man squinted at the figure in the corner and demanded, “Chicklet, is that you? What are you doing here, little lady? Didn’t I tell you that you should let him sleep? You shouldn’t believe what the others are telling you. He’s a Mandalorian, not a god!”

The Ewok emerged shyly from the shadows. She was an adorable little thing, furry like others of her kind. But her fur was pale with dark brown patches. There were dark brown patches over her eyes, so that it looked as though she was wearing a mask.

“It’s alright,” Din reassured the scientist. “She can stay.”

Before Dr. Pershing can stop her, the Ewok clambered over the bed and curled up on Din’s lap.

“Rogue Stormtroopers attacked her village,” Dr. Pershing explained, as he ruffled the fur on the Ewok’s head. “She and her fellow survivors managed to make their way here. Ahsoka Tano, Lady Bo-Katan Kryze and her Nite Owls, and General Syndulla are heading to their hideout right now as we speak. They plan to rescue the villagers before they are shipped off-moon. They told me to stay here with you, and to await a comrade of the general’s who is arriving anytime soon.”

Din shook his head guiltily. “I should be with them. They’re the ones who saved me, right? I’ve been such a huge bother to them. I should be there to help.”

“They are worried about you, sir, but your health and safety are more important to them.”

“I don’t deserve their concern,” Din said bitterly. “I…It was I who killed Cara Dune.”

Dr. Pershing’s eyebrows raised at that confession. With a small shake, he stated, “Now is not the time to talk about that, sir. But knowing the ways of the Empire after all these years, what you did…it was necessary. You wouldn’t have wanted her to suffer.”

“It doesn’t make the pain any less though. She was my friend.”

“And a brave, loyal friend she was. You did her a great service by giving her an end that she deserved…whatever it was that you actually did do.”

Dr. Pershing sighed and leaned over, draping the blanket over the Mandalorian and the Ewok. “Please get some rest, sir. You need to heal.”

“Let me just sit up for a while, Dr. Pershing. My body feels so weak and my back is stiff from lying down for too long.” He then quickly added, “And please call me, Din. My name is Din Djarin.”

“Thank you for your trust, si-…I mean…Din.” As he straightened up, Dr. Pershing saw the Darksaber on the floor. Picking it up, he was about to give it to the Mandalorian when Din recoiled from the sword, weakly scrambling to the other side of the bed so that his back hit a thatched wall. He had wrapped his arms protectively around the Ewok, so that the little furball let out a soft ‘woof’.

“Keep it away from me!” Din hissed. “I don’t want it!”

“I know why you don’t like this sword. Bo-Katan explained to me what the Darksaber means to the Mandalorian people. But you must keep the Darksaber with you for the time being. I still don’t understand what’s happening with it because I don’t have the equipment to do the tests, but this sword, in particular, the kyber crystal inside it, has bonded with you…” Din moaned at that. “…And it is healing you.”

“I don’t understand,” Din exclaimed, forlorn. “I’m so confused!”

“Things will be clearer when Ahsoka and Bo-Katan return. In the meantime, please do take it so you can heal faster.”

Din was about to object, but the Ewok grabbed the sword and pressed her tiny form close to the Mandalorian, keeping the Darksaber wedged between their bodies.

Smiling, Dr. Pershing said, “Looks like the kid has more sense than you. Well, I’d best leave you two alone then. If you need anything, just let Chicklet come and fetch me.” He was about to go when he paused at the doorway. “You’ll rest more comfortably if you remove your helmet. You’re among friends, Din. It’s safe here.”

Even with the doctor gone, Din continued to stare at the open doorway and the trees beyond it. His attention was drawn back to the present by another soft tap on his helmet. Gazing down, he saw the Ewok looking up at him, still with that curious expression on her face. With a cautious fingertip, she stroked the helmet’s smooth, gleaming surface.

Din felt a sudden pang of loneliness. Grogu had done the same thing that last time they were together. Sighing, he slowly lifted his helmet, laying it on the bed beside him. The Ewok’s face brightened, beholding him at last. She was making sweet, high-pitched noises, like Grogu had done.

“Chicklet…” Din mused, unable to contain his amused grin. “That’s a funny name for an Ewok.”

At these words, Chicklet pressed both hands over Din’s cheeks with a loud clap. Before Din knew what was happening, the mischievous Ewok gave him a noisy smack on the lips. Ignoring the Mandalorian’s surprised sputters, Chicklet curled up in a tight ball, squeezing her form and the Darksaber into Din’s belly.

Din exhaled in defeat. Those times with Grogu reminded him that he would always surrender to the whims of a youngling. Gently, he lay back down on the bed, cradling the Ewok in his arms, and settled back to sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED

#mandalorian fanfic #fanfic #the mandalorian #din djarin #grogu #the redeemers fic

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