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the-witty-pen-name · 3 years

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Mando x Reader (F)

Warnings: smut, unprotected sex, fluff (18+ only, please and thank you!)

Mando’a Translations:

mesh’la = beautiful

sarad = flower

kair’ta= my desperate heart

Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum = I love you

A/N: This is only my second one shot I have ever written and my first attempt at smut. This is also unedited. Hopefully you enjoy!

You often wondered if Mando knew the effect he had on the women around him, especially you. Underneath the stone cold stare of the beskar, was there a man completely aware of the way his presence made you quiver and your heartbeat quicken? Did he smirk taking in your flustered state and pride himself watching you fumble over your words?

He had to see the way eyes would follow him when he walked. His outward appearance demanded the attention of the whole room effortlessly. Everyone was on edge, eyes wide and whispers hushed wherever he went.

And you felt the stares. The jealousy and spite directed towards you as you followed closely behind. The glorious specimen of a man, covered head to toe in the beskar armor, always turned heads. The pure charisma and energy he radiated without showing any of his face was astounding. The small child traveled beside you in his floating pram. Oftentimes, your relationship to the Mandolorian was misinterpreted, making it the topic of conversation whenever someone approached the two of you.

You worked for him. Hired as a nanny on board the Razorcrest. That was the extent of the relationship as far as you were aware. Over the weeks of staying on the ship, perhaps he could now also call you a friend, but you doubted you’d ever be more.

About a month after you had joined the very small crew (your presence actually making it a crew) he heard you from your bunk in the middle of the night. He had been woken up by a nightmare, and was heading to the ‘fresher when he heard the muffled moans from the other side of the door to your bunk.

He would be lying if he said he hadn’t done the same most nights. Despite the way the armor portrayed him, the man was severely touch starved and also quite the hopeless romantic. He’d never had someone whom he co-existed with on this level and everyday the two of you grew closer and closer. He loved to watch you, hidden under the protection of the helmet, take care of the child. It was something he longed for, both of you to be his- his clan, his family. The idea was his long harbored dream to have people who he could share his life with and care for.

However, he feared the aspects of what attracted you to him were not actually him. He feared you were attracted and wanted the Mandolorian and Din Djarin would pale in comparison to the bounty hunter in the beskar. You’d never seen him without any of his armor, except maybe no gloves sometimes in passing. In comparison to the man he knew he presented outwardly, there was no way he thought what lied underneath would be enough.

But there he stood, frozen in place at the sounds coming from your bunk. The door was sealed shut, but he stood there regardless- his eyes staring intently at the door like he’d somehow be able to see through. The sounds were muffled by the doorway but he could still hear faintly the moans and curses leaving your lips. He felt his pants tighten and he strained to hold back a moan himself when his name escaped your lips. He wished it was his own, but the nickname was enough to drive him crazy.

When he snapped out of his trance, he realized he had been standing there for far too long. He became aware at how hard he was, and it was almost painful. He let out a soft, wanting groan, and headed back to his own bunk finishing himself off alone that night like usual.

The next week, you noticed how Mando was keeping his distance. Usually, the silences were never awkward like they once were. You both had reached the point of being able to share a silence. The comfortable quiet of the night on the razorcrest are now gone again. The rigidness of his demeanor followed him back home when he usually reserved that for the outside world. The only time now he seemed to be at ease was when he was handling the kid. The paternal love was unwavering. However, as soon as you were in the vicinity, his demeanor changed again.

That went on for about a week before you mustered up the courage to confront him. The child was asleep in his orb and you watched as Mando closed the lid.

“Did I do something?” You ask hesitantly, wrapping your arms around yourself. You heard him let out a sigh, distorted slightly by the modulator.

“No.” He walked by you and avoided further conversation by climbing up the ladder.

You waited a moment, just staring at the ladder, a little dumbfounded. It wasn’t like he was a man of many words but he at least could’ve been a little more compassionate. Over the weeks you’d spent on the ship, you knew he wasn’t acting like himself. He was keeping on the front he kept up outside the ship. You couldn’t figure out why.

“Can you please talk to me?” You asked, climbing up the ladder. The door in front of you opened and you took you seat in the copilots chair. He abruptly stopped everything and turned to face you immediately.

“What?” He asked shortly, the modulator making it sound especially more intimidating. His legs spread apart and he rested his elbows on his thighs, clasping his gloved hands together. If it wasn’t the hottest thing you’d ever seen.

“I-I,” you began, getting flustered and suddenly unable to confront him in the put together state you had wanted. “I noticed you’re acting differently... and I just- I just want to fix whatever I did wrong so we... we can go back to normal.”

Although you couldn’t see his eyes, his gaze felt incredibly heavy. He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, his thighs spreading a little more. The helmet tilted to the side slightly, looking like he was trying to figure out what to say or do to you.

“I don’t think we can go back to normal,” he responds finally. You can’t hear that he’s messing with you. You’re convinced he’s going to drop you off at the next planet. Oh gods what did you do? You must’ve look horrified because you hear a low chuckle coming from the Mandolorian.

“Maybe we could,” he said standing up. He walked slowly over to you. He placed his hands on the armrests, his body towering over yours. “But I don’t know about you, mesh’la, but I definitely do not want that.”

“Y-you don’t?” You asked tentatively. You felt so small. Despite the visor you could just feel him staring right through you like you were as thin as paper. His gaze was burning a hole right through you.

“I don’t” he said, his amusement evident in his voice. “And I don’t think you want that either.”

“Oh..?” You questioned, a little shocked. You couldn’t think straight. You were sure he could see your legs shake at your nervousness. He was so close. And the way he was towering over you made your knees weak.

“I heard you, mesh’la,” he whispers huskily. “Please... tell me if this is okay...” His gloves fingers moving from where they gripped the armrest to ghost up your arm until the palm of his hand settled to cup your cheek. “Do you want this too?”

“Yes,” you breathed shakily. You couldn’t believe this was happening. You were scared to move, like you’d wake yourself up and you’d find yourself alone in your bunk. “Mando- gods yes.”

“You’re so perfect, mesh’la,” he mumbles, his hands sliding down your body. You feel goosebumps rise on your skin following his touch. “Always so good to me.”

In a swift motion, he suddenly grips your waist and he effortlessly pulls you up so you are on his shoulder. You were shocked at how easily he was able to accomplish this. His large hand gripped the back of your thighs and somehow carried you down the ladder to his bunk fairly seamlessly.

When the door to his bunk slid closed, the room became pitch black as he carefully placed you on his bunk. You couldn’t see anything in the darkness. But you heard the rustlings of Mando taking off the beskar armor and the clicks of releasing his helmet.

You felt the mattress dip and his larger frame climb over you. His hands held him up and you felt the tickle of a mustache and stubble as his soft lips peppered kisses up your neck and jaw.

Your hands instinctively reached to run through his hair. You couldn’t specify a color of course but you could feel his gorgeously messy curls.

“So long I’ve wanted you just like this,” Mando groaned in your ear. It was the first time hearing his voice without the hindrance of the helmet. His hands moved to the hem of your shirt and you helped him strip you of it before attaching his lips to yours.

You felt him smiling against your lips and the feeling of his hands wandering your body was enough to drive you crazy. His hands were large and soft, but still you could feel a few callouses on the palms. He basked in the feeling of your skin against his.

Breaking away from the kiss, he pulled off his remaining clothes and you did the same, both of you just desperately trying to have as much skin touching as physically possible. Mando loved the feeling of your skin and he showed you by using his hands to touch every part of you.

Just the feeling of his hands drove you crazy. It was intoxicating just like the rest of the man hovering above you. Your fingers grazed his back and left small scratches, the sensation making him moan softly against your lips. One hand slipped down to your thighs and instinctively you spread your legs for him.

“Good girl,” he mumbled against your neck, his breath hot. You let out a moan as a response and then a gasp when his fingers found your clit. “You’re so wet for me mesh’la.”

“Mando- please,” you manage to breathe, your head falling back into his pillow as he rubs your clit teasingly slow. “I need you.”

He leans down and leaves a trail of kisses from your neck to your chest. He begins to suck tantalizingly on your hardened nipple and then places two fingers inside you. You moan out his name in pure ecstasy when he begins pumping them in and out, switching his lips to suck on your other breast.

His fingers were magic. The way they moved so effortlessly to your body just felt perfect. Like he had touched you a million times and knew just how to treat it. It was amazing. “I-I’m close..,” you managed to moan out and he pulled away at your words. The detachment made you groan, at the sudden feeling.

He connected his lips to yours in a passionate kiss as he slid his hardened cock into you. “F-fuck,” he moans against your lips, “you’re so tight, mesh’la. It feels so right.”

You wrap your leg around his waist, pulling him closer to you. Your hands wrap around his neck pulling him into another passionate kiss. You savor every moan he makes and your own moans fill the small space as he moves in and out of you.

The moment is so full of love and intimacy. He’s treating you with such care and unwavering affection. This isn’t like your fantasy, but this to you was so much better. The moments you fantasized about were based on the armor, not the man underneath. The armor was all you knew, but now in his own way, he’s baring himself to you as much as he could in the way he knew how. He loved you and if he couldn’t say all that he wanted to say, he would show you.

“Mando,” you moaned as his lips trailed down from yours to kiss and bite your neck. “You feel incredible.”

“You’re so tight, sarad,” he moans, his breath hot against your ear. “Oh kair’ta..”

“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum,” you whisper, your Mando’a broken and you weren’t sure you were even pronouncing it right.

“Fuck,” he groaned at your words. The sound of his language on your lips affecting him in such a way. He could listen to you speak that way forever. “I love you too,” he moans, “I love you so much.”

As you feel your getting close to your release, you feel his strides become more sloppy and you know he’s close too. Your head sinks into the pillow and your back arches at the sensation.

“I-I’m close,” you manage to say amongst the other noises you release.

“Cum for me, mesh’la,” he states feeling his own orgasm fast approaching. He grips your hips tightly, and continues his thrusts, the feeling of you tightening around him, sending him over the edge. “Fuck,” he gasps, as he reaches his orgasm. The feeling of him as overwhelming as the sensation triggers your own release.

When you are both finish, he pulls out of you and you sigh at the lack of contact. He lays down and pulls you into his chest, holding you closely. You can feel his heartbeat and his heavy breathing. You rest your head in the crook of his neck, wanting to be just as close to him.

“Can this be our new normal?” You ask softly, and you feel his chest rumble as he laughs gently.

“I want you like this everyday for the rest of my life,” he confesses, his hands comfortingly rubbing your back. The two of you just enjoy the moments of peace in your new found bliss before getting up to clean yourselves.

“I love you,” he whispers, kissing your forehead tenderly.

With you in his arms, his son sleeping soundly in another part of his ship, he realized his dream was unfolding for him in these moments of quiet you both shared together in darkness. He’d one day show you his face, and share his real name- and give you everything you could ever want. He intends to marry you, and give you a better life than the one you currently share on the crest. As he lays there, with you in his arms, he finds so much comfort in the feeling- knowing it’s something he can allow himself to get used to.

#mando x you #mandolorian imagine #the mandolorian #mando #mando x reader #din djarin x reader #reader insert #mando smut #smut #fluff #pedro pascal #one shot #mando x y/n #star wars imagine #star wars one shot #din djarin x y/n #din djarin x you

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jaceyneedsabetterusername · 3 years

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Ni Kar'tayl Gar Darasuum

Pairing: Din Djarin x Pregnant! Reader

Summary: When you finally wake up, Din knows it’s time to break the news. (Part 2 of Aliit Be Cuur)

Warnings: Pregnancy, Mild Description of Injuries

Word Count: 3700

A/N: The much requested part 2 to Aliit Be Cuur! I took some inspiration from a comment by @linkpk88. My apologies for the long ass name. I just wanted to keep up with the Mando’a theme.

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“M-mando?” Your voice shook and cracked from having gone so long without being used. You were trying to reach towards him but in reality, your fingers only lifted off the medical cot ever so slightly.

Mando looked as if he’d possibly fallen asleep at your bedside, though it was difficult to know for sure with the helmet and the way he had a habit of sitting so still, even when he was awake. At your words, though, he immediately stood up, shooting to attention and coming to your bedside, “Cyar’ika? How are you feeling?”

“W-water? Please?” Your mouth was dry and throat stiff. It felt like you’d been breathing in hot sand and it had sucked all the moisture from your body.

Mando reached down to a water pack he had for himself on the ground by the crate he’d been residing on, unscrewing the lid, and tilting it slightly at your lips. The liquid felt like the best thing you’d ever drank, life suddenly coming back to your body at the small amount of water. “Thank you,” You said as he put the lid back on.

Mando sighed, his gloved hand coming down to rub over your knuckles gently, careful to avoid anywhere covered with bandages, “Why would you run in like that?”

“I thought you were dead. I was ready to kill the damn thing with my own two hands. I certainly can tell you I wasn’t expecting it to explode.” You attempted to chuckle weakly but you flinched, hand reaching for your torso in a poor attempt at soothing the pain of the broken ribs and burns.

Mando noticed the way your fingers grazed unassumingly over your belly that held the secret everyone but you knew about and he stiffened beneath the beskar armor. “How long have I been out?”

“About a day. The attack was yesterday.” He answered, pulling the crate closer to your bedside so he could sit beside you while you spoke.

You groaned at the thought of being unconscious for so long, “Am I dying?” You asked in an attempt at making a joke to lighten the mood. You could practically feel the anxiety and stress radiating off Mando and you wanted to try to lighten the mood but clearly it hadn’t helped. Your grip on his fingers tightened slightly, reassuring him. “Hey, I’m kidding. It’s gonna be alright.”

Mando’s silence was not something you were unaccustomed to. Even now that your relationship was much closer than professional, he was a man of few words. You still couldn’t help the way your face a little when you felt like your joke may have caused more harm than good.

Little did you know that Mando had glanced up over your shoulder and made eye contact with the nurse from yesterday, the one who had shown him the unborn child within your womb. Of course, the nurse couldn’t tell that the Mandolorian was looking at him but he still sent the masked man a knowing, almost pushing look.

As selfish as it made Mando feel, because obviously he was very concerned for your wellbeing and wanted nothing more than for you to be awake and okay, he was relieved when you remained asleep through the night. It gave him time to get his own thoughts straight, how he felt and how he would tell you.

Children were sacred in Mandolorian culture. With depleted numbers, many of the Alor had encouraged child rearing amongst Mandolorians or the adoption of Foundlings to save the Way. Even so, Mando had honestly never actually seriously considered being a father, at least not at this stage of his life. He had Grogu, to whom he was a father by the Creed, but physically rearing his own genetic children felt different to him, even if it wasn’t supposed to. He lived a dangerous life full of criminals and skeezy backwater planets and he was comfortable that way. Even if it was preferred that Mandolorians reproduce, he was one of the few that had been called more to a life of service. Besides, after losing everyone he’d ever loved, from his birth parents to his clan, he was used to being alone. A part of him was scared to bring more people into his life because he didn’t want to keep losing them. Even accepting the fact that he loved you took a long time.

But Mando was nothing if not a man of duty and honor and, as the leader of his clan of two, your lover, a father to Grogu, and now a father to your unborn child, he had a responsibility to protect and care for all within his clan, which was now about to expand to a clan of four. It was a responsibility that he had actually come to almost look forward to in some aspects in the early morning hours when he allowed his mind to move from the hardships that you were sure to face to the happy memories you were all sure to make together.

“There’s-there’s something you need to know.” He began directly, his modulated voice sounding strained.

Your smile faded at his tone and you gave him a concerned look, “Wait, am I actually dying?”

His helmet shook side to side in a moment of silence before he continued, struggling to find the right words. All the words he’d spent all night rehearsing in his head were failing him now. “No. They said you’re going to be fine.” He began, another pause between words as the actual confession was so much harder to get out than he imagined it would be. Mando had never been a man of many words but suddenly there were no words at all that seemed fitting.

Your eyebrows raised and you shook your head a little, indicating for him to continue. Nerves buzzed through your body. Mando was never like this. Sure, he had never been very talkative but he was concise and straight to the point when he did. He was never one to beat around the bush or draw out information for dramatic effect. Whatever he had on his mind must have been serious if he were struggling this badly. “What’s wrong, Mando? What happened?”

“The nurse came by while you were out. He said you’re pregnant.” The words came out clear and blunt, straight to the point. It was the only way he could process the information himself and he struggled to find a more delicate way to put it to you.

Your jaw went slack at the news, “What?”

“You didn’t know?” It wasn’t so much a question as much as it was a confirmation of what he had hoped. You hadn’t known. You weren’t keeping secrets from him. That alone made him feel better.

You shook your head, looking a little offended at the suggestion, “No, of course not. I- I wouldn’t have-” Your brain was moving a million miles a minute and cohesive sentences were difficult to form. “You have to trust me that I would have told you if I knew.”

The sentiment let out a floodgate of relief in Mando’s chest. “What do you want to do?” He asked simply. Throughout the night, he had thought about this long and hard and the more he thought, the more he was actually excited about the prospect of having a baby. An actual baby. He knew that this wasn’t just his decision though.

You swallowed hard, looking down at your stomach that you had just noticed was covered with Mando’s cape. “I-I don’t know. I need some time to think. This is just… a lot.”

You didn’t talk about it for a while. You barely spoke at all for almost an hour. After he knew you were alright, Mando had left your side to take Grogu outside. The poor kid had been cooped up inside for almost two days. It also allowed you time to think without the pressure of him being right beside you. Mando didn’t know if you needed time alone to process the information or if you needed him there to talk it through but he knew that he preferred to have time to himself to figure things out and it was the best thing he could think of to help you.

The nurse had stopped by while Mando was gone, just to ensure that the Mandolorian had in fact informed you that you were pregnant. He went over your vitals, important basic information about being pregnant, answered any questions you had, and reapplied bacta to all your wounds, which were estimated to be fully healed up within the next few hours with minimal scarring, thanks to the miracle medicine. You felt better after he left, physically and emotionally.

When Mando returned a few hours later, you were sitting up in bed, having made nearly a full recovery. “You’re looking better.” He commented as he walked over to you.

You gave a small smile of acknowledgement before looking down at your hands and flexing your wrists. You stretched out your torso a little bit. Your back was certainly achy but at least you didn’t feel like you had been hit by a flaming X-wing anymore. Mando felt better now that he could see the burns and abrasions that had littered so much of your body fading away to your natural skin color, only a few looking like they might possibly even leave a scar.

“I’m feeling better.” You responded and it was clear that you meant it about everything.

Grogu toddled towards the bed and reached his tiny arms out in an attempt to reach the frame and climb his way up to you but couldn’t reach. With an amused chuckle, you bent down and lifted the baby effortlessly.

Mando didn’t want to press you about the matter but he was desperate to know what exactly your future held. He stood in waiting silence until you spoke again, “How do you feel about this?”

Despite the fact that you were often concerned for others before yourself, he hadn’t been expecting that question. It also just wasn’t a question he had ever been used to being asked. Nobody usually cared. “How do I feel?”

You nodded, looking up to him, “Yeah.”

Mando sighed before sitting on the medical cot beside you, the thin mattress dipping more under his weight and the weight of his armor. He struggled to find the right answer to this question. Not just the right answer that you wanted to hear but the right answer that was truthful to himself. “Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum.”

“What does that mean?” You asked, gently stroking Grogu’s soft head while you glanced to your left at Mando. You had tried to pick up on Mando’a since you’d been travelling with Mando but he rarely spoke it unless it was a knee-jerk expletive, which you too were now an expert on.

“It means I love you. I know you. But it’s much deeper than those words mean in this language. But… that’s how I feel.” It took a lot for Mando to admit his feelings for you. Words of affection were seldom exchanged between the two of you. Your love for each other manifested more as just a mutual feeling of love, protection, and honesty with each other that extended beyond platonic friendship. Mando especially had a hard time expressing his feelings so when the words left his mouth, you couldn’t take your eyes off the visor in his helmet that hid those eyes you wished so badly you could finally see.

“I love you too,” You started, wishing you could repeat those words in his tongue but knowing you would do them no justice. There was a brief pause while you inhaled a deep thoughtful breath before you continued, vulnerably honest, “I would like to raise this child with you, Mando.”

Again, another pause. The silence hung thick and uncomfortable in the air, at least for you. You wished so deeply you could see his face so you could at least try to get a glimpse of something that might be going on in his head. You swallowed hard, attempting to get rid of the lump in your throat that was forming in the midst of his pensive silence. You took your eyes off his helmet that seemed to be pointed towards your knees or the ground just below them, though you could never tell exactly where his gaze ever actually was, and stared at your lap where you began to pick at your fingers with your thumb nail.

“Din.”

“What?”

You looked back over to the Mandalorian to see his visor turn towards you and this time you were sure his gaze matched. “If we’re going to have a child together, I want you to know my name. It’s Din. Din Djarin.”

You smiled, knowing how important this was to him. Mandalorian culture was still something you were learning about and you hadn’t met any other than Man- Din - but he had never told you his name before so you assumed that perhaps it was like his face, where you couldn’t know it in its true form. “Din Djarin,” You tested the name on your tongue, “I like it. It suits you.”

Din’s mouth fell in disbelief beneath his helmet at the way his name rolled so sweetly off your tongue and he let out a little sigh of happiness when you had said you liked it. Though saying his name was not breaking the Creed, it was something he very seldom told anyone. It reminded him of his home planet and his birth parents, good memories tainted by tragedy that he preferred to avoid. It was also a way that he kept people at an arm’s length, a habit he’d developed quickly as a distrusting bounty hunter. But he didn’t want to be called Mando by you anymore. If you were going to give him the gift of a child, a literal human being to call his own, the least he could give in return was as much of him as he had to give.

“There’s one more thing,” He began, reaching into his pocket. You stayed silent but waiting as you watched him pull a long chain from his pants, a small pearlescent shard dangling from the end. He held it up for you to see, the jagged and unrefined edges to the uniquely beautiful stone swaying in his grip. “I would like you to become my riduur.”

Your mouth fell into an ‘o’ shape. That word you knew. The Armorer had asked Din if you were his riduur back on Navarro all those months ago, to which he honestly answered no to. “I love you, Din, but I don’t want you to marry me just because I’m pregnant.”

“In my culture, we come to have our own children in several ways but marriage is not necessary in any. Like I said earlier, mesh’la: Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum. And I would be extremely grateful if you would do me the honor of joining me in riduurok, baby or not.” He confessed, pressing the necklace into your hands.

The edges, though jagged, were not sharp by any means. Simply unrefined but there was a beauty in it. The light created the illusions of different textures across the small stone. The chain was thin and of a material that you didn’t recognize, a dark grey metal that definitely was not silver, beskar, gold, or steel. “Usually betrothal tokens are rings. I know this is not a ring but Cobb had managed to scour a few broken pieces of Krayt pearl from the dragon yesterday and should you accept my offer, I will replace that chain with one made of beskar.”

You shook your head, trying to shake away any doubt as to how perfect his gesture could be, “It’s beautiful. I love it.”

“You don’t have to decide now.”

“I would be an honor to be your riduur.”

“Really?” He asked, sounding genuinely surprised. “You’ve never even seen my face and you’re willing to marry me?”

You reached a hand out to rest on his helmet, just where it curved inwards where his cheek should be, “I know that I love the heart of the man behind this armor and I know what you feel like without it in the dark. I am willing to marry you without knowing what you look like beneath that helmet because I know I love you regardless.”

Din’s hand came to press against yours, holding it against his helmet. Inside, his face was pressed against the interior, wishing he could feel more than just mere knowledge that your hand was there. He wished he could feel your skin against his again. “When we are bound in riduurok, I can finally remove my helmet for you and for you alone.”

Your heart picked up with excitement, “You mean I can really see your face one day?”

His helmet nodded up and down.

“I can’t wait to look you in the eye and kiss you one day.” You closed your eyes and leaned your forehead against the beskar shielding Din’s face but he was mirroring the action beneath. A smile crept up on your lips and you handed him back the necklace, “Would you mind?”

He reached around your neck and clasped the necklace together, pulling your hair gently to lay over the thin metal cord. “How’s it look?” You asked, straightening out the pearl over your chest.

“Like it was meant to be there.”

His arm fell to rest comfortable behind your back and you leaned over to rest your head on his shoulder. It was uncomfortable from the beskar that pressed hard into your cheek but you would still rest like that for the rest of time and then some if it meant you could be with Din. Grogu sat between you, a tiny leg on each of your legs and your hand pressing against his stomach gently to keep him from falling forward.

When he startled wiggling around in your grasp, making tiny grunts of effort, it drew both yours and Din’s attention down to see what the kid was doing. He twisted to face your stomach, your hand now firmly keeping him from tumbling backwards. Neither you or Din were sure quite how much of your language he understood but it would have appeared that he somehow understood that there was now a new addition to your clan because his small three-fingered hand stretched out to rest against your lower belly and he closed his eyes, leaning back into your hand slightly.

At first, you thought he was just trying to feel for the baby, which of course was far from being large enough at this stage to feel, especially from the outside. “Hey, hey! What’re you doing?” Din asked, not angrily but definitely concerned for what Grogu could be doing to the new baby. Though he wasn't a malicious child, Din had seen him choke Cara with the Force once before and he couldn't be sure what was going on within your womb from the outside. All he knew was that the kid was definitely using the Force.

Grogu kept his eyes shut, ignoring his father, but a look of contentment spread over his face. That was when you felt it. You weren't even quite sure what it was that you were feeling but it felt positive, like an awareness of the life inside you that had been previously unbeknownst. It was more than that though. You could feel your connection to it and, though you knew it sounded absolutely insane, you could have sworn you could feel Grogu connecting to the fetus as well.

Din made a move to lift the child from your lap but you put your hand on his forearm to stop him, “Wait, it’s alright.” You nodded in reassurance, looking down to Grogu. “Can you feel them?”

Grogu reached out his other hand for Din’s, his entire hand only able to wrap around a single gloved finger. That was when Din felt it too. Again, it was a sensation he couldn’t describe. It was almost like an awareness of life but it was clearly emanating from within your womb. Grogu was merely acting as a bridge for Din.

“Do you feel it too?” You asked, looking up at Din.

Beneath his helmet, his mouth was agape as he struggled to process the feeling of life and light that seemed to radiate from where his body met Grogu’s and that his mind was able to just innately comprehend that this was the life you and he had created. “Yeah, I feel it.” He breathed out in amazement. “Is that the baby?” Din asked, the idea sounding preposterous but at the same time he had no idea of the capabilities of this new thing he’d learned of called the Force. He didn’t know the limits of Grogu’s power or his connection to it.

Grogu’s hands fell from both your stomach and Din’s hand as he flopped onto his butt on your knee with an exhausted plop. Nevertheless, his disproportionate green ears wiggled happily and the rosiness in his cheeks made you fairly certain the answer was yes.

Your hand came to cover where Grogu’s hand had just been, no longer feeling that same light feeling you had when he was touching you. Din no longer felt that connection either since Grogu sat down. “I don’t know what that was but it was kind of amazing.” You let out a breathy chuckle, “We’re going to be an actual family. Can you believe it, Din?”

“Y’know, deep down, I think a part of me always wanted to have a family. A riduur and a youngling all of my own. I just got so used to being alone that I didn’t think I would ever find someone I’d want that with. But now I have you and Grogu and,” his hand came around your front to gently rest on your stomach, “this. I promise you that I will care for you and protect you both until the day you give birth and every day after.”

You lifted your hand to Din’s helmet, gently turning him to face you, “Trillions of men in this universe and I got lucky enough to find you.” Grogu squealed in your lap and you laughed, stroking his ears, “And you.” Your hand dropped to Din’s lap and you laid your head against his chest plate, “I love you, Din. I cannot wait to spend the rest of our lives together.”

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warrioreowynofrohan · 3 years

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Headcanons - Maeglin

I suppose after my last post I might as well put this together. I would prefer it in the form of a post-canon fic, specifically a very uncomfortable conversation/confession between Maeglin and Tuor and Idril in (or more specifically, directly off the coast of) Valinor, but it’s not like the chances of that ever coming together are very high.

I go with what The Silmarillion says: that Maeglin did desire Idril and hate Tuor, and that that was a contributing factor in his betrayal of Gondolin to Morgoth; and that fear was also an element in it but, since the narrative says he isn’t a coward, the fear was not specifically of physical torture.

Additionally, because active and knowing collaboration with Morgoth is something otherwise unknown among the elves, by the time he came to the Halls Maeglin’s soul was, in effect, a orc. (This likewise applies to various of the Fëanorians, but somewhat less obviously visibly. They can still lie to themselves about what they are. Maeglin can’t. In some ways that gives him a better possibility of changing. Going by Celegorm’s clear hatred of Dior, it’s evident that he’s managed to rationalize himself as somehow the victim of the whole course of events in the Leithian and is pretty determinedly locked into that perspective of seeing himself as the wronged part rather than as one who did anything wrong. Whereas it’s nigh impossible for Maeglin to look at the product of his decisions and go yes, that went well; it is now patently obvious that Morgoth was never going to keep any agreement.)

So here is Maeglin’s story, featuring a scary and manipulative Morgoth.

He is captured and brought before Morgoth, and Morgoth does not torture him. Instead, Morgoth shows him visions of all that his curse did to Túrin and his family, the endless destruction of all that Túrin cared for, strove for, or sought to achieve or protect. And he says, “I have no intention of killing you. I will let you go, and I will do this to you. Your city, your friends, the woman you love, your reputation, all will be destroyed. It does not matter if you deny me; everyone will still think you betrayed the city, and loathe you. I have my own ways of finding things out. The city has no chance.” And he shows Maeglin the power of Angband, and last of all shows him the winged dragons, which could easily fly over the mountains looking for a hidden city. Morgoth’s not ready to reveal them outside Angband yet, but Maeglin doesn’t know that.

And then Morgoth says, “If you refuse me, the city will still fall, and every one of them will blame you. But, if you reveal it to me, I will spare you, and the king’s daughter, and some others that you may choose, and you may rule them. But I claim the life of the king, and of the would-be prophet; that must be your sacrifice.” And the last line twists the knife excellently, because Maeglin genuinely loves Turgon as a father, but he has no objection at all to Tuor’s death or capture by Morgoth; that’s a feature, not a bug, and Morgoth knows it.

So Maeglin’s fall to temptation proceeds from two things. First, given the choice between doing right and being percieved by all as having done evil, and doing evil but being percieved as good, he chooses is the latter. [Is this partly inspired by Plato’s discussion of that concept in The Republic - the just man seen as unjust or the unjust man seen as just? A bit.] Second, the same cause as Anakin’s fall in the Star Wars prequels: valuing one’s ability to possess a desired person rather than valuing that person’s own beliefs, convictions, and desires. Idril would never wish to preserve her life at the cost of Gondolin, and would (and does) despise Maeglin for seeking to make such a choice on her behalf. Padmé would never wish to preserve her own life at the cost of the Republic, or of the lives of innocents, or of Anakin’s soul. But the men who desire them are seeing them not as individuals with meaningful choices, but as treasured objects to be clung to at all costs. (Obviously, the lack of reciprocation in Maeglin—>Idril is one of the things that makes it worse than Anakin/Padme.)

So Maeglin agrees to Morgoth’s terms, and betrays Gondolin. And having made that agreement, he has given Morgoth an inroad into his soul. His thoughts, his desires, his choices, are all more susceptible to corruption than they would otherwise be. Over the following years, he has intermittent doubts and regrets about his choice, but he can’t break away. It’s not impossible - he could - but only if he could bring himself banish all selfishness, to care solely about saving what can be saved of Gondolin, and not at all about the consequences to himself or what anyone would think of him. And he can’t muster that kind of purse sense of purpose. The way he descibes it in this conversation is as if an indolent man, without any prior exercise, set out to climb a mountain; unpractised and unready, he would be unable to muster the physucal strength to do it. Maeglin lacks moral exercise; he did not cultivate the needed qualities when he had the chance; he did not seek to restrain his negative impulses (desire for Idril, though she is a married woman with no interest in him; hatred for Tuor, though he has done nothing to deserve it); and now, when he needs that strength, he lacks it.

And the more the years go by, the more Morgoth’s power creeps into his spirit. (Do you know, Maeglin asks, what it is to feel you soul rot within you?) By the time the city falls, he retains little beyond his worst impulses: desire for Idril, and hatred for anything other than himself that she might love.

At this point in the post-canon confession/conversation, Maeglin turns to Tuor and Idril in turn. Thank you, he says to Tuor. Thank you for ending it. And to Idril: Thank you for saving what could be saved from my treachery.

And Tuor asks: What do you think would have happened, if you had lived?

Maeglin: He would have taken me, and completed in body what he had already achieved in spirit.

Tuor: You think he would have....would have made you an orc?

Maeglin: In the Halls of Mandos, the fëa, shorn of flesh, can no longer disguise itself. In every way that mattered, I already was.

The conversation goes beyond there, in bits and pieces, and Maeglin explains the nature of his recivery from orc-ness in the Halls, and they reach a form of reconciliation, but the part I describe is the part I’ve envisioned most clearly.

A bit of my other headcanon around post-Mandos Maeglin is that he is deeply, deeply uncomfortable around the Valar and Maiar, which tends to manifest in abrasiveness and apparent lack of respect about/towards them. After all, he hasn’t lived among them as the Noldor did; the only Vala he’s ever met is Morgoth, and that didn’t go well; and on top of that, he’s traitor; so the Valar flat-out terrify him, and since that makes him feel like a coward - which he already regards himself as - he compensates with some hostility towards them. He can’t offer anything like an apology to them because of the standing question (unresolved even in Maeglin’s mind) as to whether such an apology would be out of genuine contrition or abject terror. The Valar largely understand this and are willing to give him time and space, but some Gondolindrim (Ecthelion, particularly), take it as insolence and an indication that he’s not sincerely repentant.

The above conversation with Idril and Tuor takes place entirely upon boats, which only adds to Maeglin’s discomfort, since he’s particularly scared of Ulmo (as patron of Gondolin, Ulmo has particular reason to be displeased with him).

Okay, one final headcanon. Maeglin is literally the only person who Eärendil dislikes. This makes Eärendil very uncomfortable, as he’s not accustomed to disliking people. He doesn’t wish any harm to Maeglin, he wishes him well, but he would vastly prefer that Maeglin could have that good life somewhere with no reference or proximity whatsoever to Eärendil. Since Idril and Tuor’s situation and typical location is...peculiar, Eärendil is the one who - with great misgivings - arranges for Maeglin to have the opportunity to talk to them.

#tolkien #the silmarillion #maeglin #idril #tuor #gondolin #redemption #morgoth

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raiseyourcups · 3 years

Text

Cabur

Chapter Fourteen

Pairing: Din Djarin x OFC (AIli Verdella) Warnings: canon-typical violence, cursing, sexual-references (I think), Word Count: 5k (and we’re still not finished with the episode) Also on AO3

Masterlist

Summary: Surprise, the job goes sideways as so many of Mando’s ideas do. Only this time there's a countdown involved making it more pressing than ever for them to get the job done as quickly as possible. Too bad the crew decides it would be the best idea to cross Mando and Aili...

“All right, we’re on the clock,” Mayfeld said once everyone was on the prison ship. “The second we engage those droids, they’re gonna be all over us.”

“I know the drill,” Mando said shortly.

“Bio trackers activated for all but one but I’ve got eyes otherwise,” Zero said over Mayfeld’s comlink and everyone took a moment to look at each other in confusion.

“That would be me, sorry,” Aili said, shrugging when everyone looked at her. The Empire hadn’t wanted their prized secret to be traceable by anyone but them so they had used a different method to track them for when they were sent out on missions. One that Aili had been quick to remove from herself and the girls she was able to get out before destroying the base. It was one of the reasons the New Republic hadn’t been able to find her yet. She and everyone she got out were effectively ghosts just like the Razor Crest.

“How do you not-”

“Are we breaking someone out of prison or talking?” Aili questioned, looking at Mayfeld with a raised brow.

“All right, let’s just get going,” Mayfeld said before he took off for the hallway. Mando was right behind him, followed by Aili, with Xi’an and Burg in back of her. They went down several turns, more than half the prisoners coming up to look at them through the bars at the top of their cells. Aili kept her eyes forward, ignoring them all and she almost shifted into the walk she had used to use when on the base.

“I don’t like this,” Mando finally said.

“You were always paranoid.”

“Is that true, Mando? Were you always paranoid?” Mayfeld mocked before getting scared by a prisoner banging against his cell door.

“There’s usually a reason for being paranoid, like staging a prison break on a ship manned by droids,” Aili said. She wasn’t enjoying this job and it wasn’t just because of the shitty company that she didn’t trust for anything.

“You saying you’re paranoid too?”

“No because I have a plan for everything that could go wrong,” Aili made sure to stare at Mayfeld in the eye as she spoke, just in case he had figured out who she was. She was also hoping that the way she had taken down Burg in under a minute in a tight space was enough to convince them to not cross her and Mando. She smirked a little when he flinched under her gaze and looked away quickly.

“Approaching control room. Make a left at the next juncture.” Zero’s voice broke the silent staring contest between Aili and Mayfeld. They hugged the wall, Mayfeld at the front as he peeked around the corner. He gestured for Mando to move to the next small alcove who did as quickly and quietly as he could, gesturing for Mayfeld to move as well. When nothing came down the hallway, they started walking down the center when a small droid came down the hall.

Everyone stopped and stared at the droid, unsure what kind it was. Aili couldn’t see it very well but it wasn’t shooting at them yet so she assumed it was a--

“It’s just a little mousey,” Burg said, chuckling at the way everyone had been prepared to shoot or throw a knife at it. Repair droid, if they didn’t alarm it, it shouldn’t call for the guard droids. Burg leaned down, pulling a blaster from a holster as he did. “Come here little mousey.”

“Burg, come on, Burg.” Mayfeld tried to get the Devaronian to leave the small droid alone. They were wasting time and it was a repair droid.

“Hey, leave it alone,” Aili said in a hushed tone when Burg kept going after the retreating droid. Burg growled and stood to his full height before shooting the droid. Aili threw her hands up and immediately moved for cover, dragging Mando along with her.

“What?” Mando whispered to her while still letting her pull him along. He stood behind her as if that would protect her from what was going to be coming their way soon.

“He just fucked us, is what.” Aili said, getting her blaster ready.

“Burg, what are you doing?” Mayfeld questioned.

“What?” Burg shrugged like the giant idiot he was and that was when the security droids came from the other end of the hallway.

“Intruder alert. Open fire.” The lead droid said and the four droids started firing on them. Mando and Aili were already behind cover and they started shooting at the droids to give the others time to make it behind cover as well. They didn’t do any damage, the droids own blaster shots blocking theirs.

“We’re too exposed here!” Xi’an exclaimed.

“If they get a signal out, it’s not gonna matter!” Mayfeld tried to shoot the droid closest to his side again but it did nothing. A blaster arm extended from his back and started shooting so he could stay in cover. “Mando, let’s go! You’re supposed to be somethin’ special.”

Aili turned slightly to look up at Mando and was taken aback to see empty space. She hadn’t even heard him leave nor had he told her. “What the kriff?”

She growled and peeked over the edge of the wall to see how close the droids were and her brow furrowed when she saw Mando come out from behind them. He took out his vibroblade and rushed forward, sliding down on his side to slice one of the droid's feet which sent it to the ground. He got up, kicking another droid down before shooting the third from up close.

The droid he had cut shot him in the back but the shot glanced off the beskar and Mando turned to shoot it instead. One of the remaining droids pushed Mando against a cell door, aiming a punch at his helmet but he moved to the side in time for it to completely miss him, hitting the cell instead. He ducked several more punches before he pulled out the vibroblade that Aili hadn’t even noticed in the droid’s torso and he threw it into another droid’s head.

Aili would never admit to anyone who asked but she was impressed...and a little turned on. She stood back and watched as Mando took down the droids solo, mouth open a little as she stared. She hadn't really been able to see him actually fight since joining him on the Razor Crest. Sorgan didn't count since it had been so dark and he had been giving Cara cover fire. And obviously he hadn’t even gotten close to Fennec Shand before she took her down. The longer she watched the worse the growing feeling in her chest got.

One of the droids knocked him down but he released his whipcord and pulled the droid in. It knocked against the other one as he did and they both went down. He pulled on the cord and the droid’s head came off rolling past Xi’an and Mayfeld. The last two droids came towards him, getting a few shots off before Mando turned on his flamethrower and used his whipcord again to pull one down, take it’s blaster and hit the last droid over the head, followed by slamming the blaster into its knee joint. Once it was down, he shot a hole clean through the droid's head.

“Fuck,” Aili whispered to herself right as Mando took down the last droid. She didn't have time for this, they had a job to do. But she did have a bottle of whiskey on the Crest that she would be hitting after this. Nothing drowned away inappropriate feelings like alcohol did.

“Make sure you clean up your mess,” Mayfeld said as he walked past Mando. Burg made sure to knock against his shoulder as he went past making Aili roll her eyes once again. She walked over to Mando, stepping over a few droid pieces as she did.

“You did not hear this from me but, um, good job.” She didn’t wait to see if Mando said anything before she took off after the rest of the crew. Maybe not seeing him in front of her would help the now inappropriate thoughts she was having go away.

“It seems your presence has been detected. Redirecting security alert away from your position.” Zero said over the comms.

Seems the useless droid was done being utterly useless now. They turned one last corner and met a closed door. “Z, open the door!”

“But I am detecting an organic lifeform.”

“All right, all right, open the door anyway!”

The door opened and they all rushed in only to stop in their tracks. “Stop! Just stop right there.” It was a New Republic soldier and he was holding a blaster towards them. Aili slowly put her blaster away and held her hands up in a placating manner, lightly nudging Mando to do the same. He didn’t do as she wanted and she let out an annoyed sigh.

“You put the blasters away right now,” he said, hand and voice shaking. Mayfeld started to mock the man’s uniform, Xi’an and Burg laughing at his lame jokes.

“There were only supposed to be droids on this ship,” Mando said. Aili side stepped around Mando so she could catch the soldier’s eyes.

“Hey, we’re just looking for someone and then we’ll be gone. Won’t even know we were here,” Aili said gently. She kept her hands up so he could see she was unarmed and she hoped that would calm him down enough. She wasn’t paying attention to Mayfeld getting the cell location or the way that everyone still had their weapons out. She only cared about making sure this man stayed alive. This hadn’t been part of the job description. He looked at her, eyes still wide in fear but he did lower his blaster just a little.

And then Mayfeld had to screw it up by turning around. “And now for our well-dressed friend.”

Aili closed her eyes for half a second when the soldier pulled out a tracking beacon. “Please don’t do that.”

“Put it down now!” Mayfeld shouted, pulling a blaster out and aiming it at the soldier. Aili pulled out her own blaster and aimed it at Mayfeld, Mando doing the same.

“Easy. Nobody has to get hurt here, just calm down,” Mando said as if that was going to calm either Mayfeld or the soldier down.

“What is that thing?” Burg asked.

“A tracking beacon, honestly you call yourself a merc,” Aili muttered the last part to herself once again wondering how she had gotten herself into this situation.

“He presses that thing and we’re all done. A New Republic attack squad will hone in on the signal and blow us all to hell,” Mayfeld hissed out, finger moving closer to the trigger before pausing.

“Are you serious?” Xi’an questioned.

“Yes, so maybe everyone here needs to calm down and put the blasters away!” Aili exclaimed, despite the fact that she still had hers on Mayfeld. She didn’t trust him to not shoot the soldier and she subtly tried to move between the two men when Mando’s t-visor turned to her and he slowly shook his head. She pursed her lips in annoyance but stayed where she was for now.

“You didn’t think we needed to know that tiny little detail?” Xi’an aimed the question at Mayfeld.

“I didn’t think we’d get to this point,” Mayfeld said, his voice taking on an angrier tone and Aili hoped that he just kept his finger off the trigger for a little while longer.

“Yet here we are,” Xi’an said, continuing to egg him on.

“Are you questioning my managerial skills, Xi’an?” Mayfeld asked, turning away from the soldier which gave Aili the opening she needed to get between the soldier and Mayfeld, blaster still aiming at Mayfeld as she moved. Thankfully the soldier didn’t take that as a threat and he didn’t press down on the button. She ignored the way that Mando whispered her name to get her to stop.

“Look, listen to me. You do not have to do this, okay? I want you to get out of this alive,” Aili said, slowly putting her blaster away again and gesturing for Mando to do the same. This time he listened to her and did as she asked. “Everyone is going to put their weapons away, right?”

“Are you crazy?” Mayfeld asked, turning back to face her, his blaster still out and now pointed at her. He had it aimed mostly towards her chest so she wasn’t too worried about getting shot just yet since it would hopefully glance off her beskar cuirass.

“Are you?” Aili asked Mayfeld before turning back to the soldier, he looked like a kid to her, “What’s your name?”

He stuttered a few times before he could answer her clearly, “It’s Davan.”

“Davan. That’s a nice name, right Mando?” She turned her head slightly to look at the Mandalorian with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes and a eyes a little wider than normal. She knew they had to de-escalate the situation now, she was the only one who was close enough to see the beacon in his hands. If anyone that was threatening him so much as got too close to him...

“Yeah,” Mando said a little awkwardly. “Listen, Davan, we’re not here for you. We’re just here for a prisoner. You let us get him, you can walk away with your life.”

“No he won’t.” Mayfeld pulled his blaster out again which made the soldier aim his blaster at Mayfeld as well as lift the beacon.

“Yes he will,” Aili spun to face Mayfeld, standing side by side with the soldier now. “Or I will take you down just as fast as I took down Burg only you won’t be getting up.”

Mayfeld stared at Aili for a second before aiming his blaster at her instead. It would be too close for even her beskar to help her from having some kind of injury. Mando brought his own blaster back up and pointed it at Mayfeld who brought out his second one to aim at Mando.

“You realize what you’re going to bring down on us?” Mando asked, voice low with anger. No one could see the look in his eyes, the rage at the sight of Mayfeld pointing his blaster at Aili. It brought back the anger he had felt on Tatooine when facing down Toro and he didn’t know where Aili was. This was worse, seeing a blaster actually pointed at her.

“You think I care about that?”

“We’re not killing anybody. You understand?” Mando wasn’t actually asking Mayfeld, he was telling him now even if Mayfeld didn’t know it.

“Get that blaster outta my face, Mando, and call off your loth-cat before I shoot you both,” Mayfeld growled out.

“I can’t do that,” Mando replied shortly. He barely held back from pulling the trigger right that second. Aili let out a huff under her breath and pulled her blaster out again, aiming it towards Mayfeld’s stomach. It was his mistake not wearing any armor or any kind.

“Get that blaster outta my face Mando!” Mayfeld shouted, not even noticing that Aili now had her own on him.

“Hey don’t even think about it,” Mando said when Burg pulled his own blaster on him.

Aili was about to just shoot Mayfeld when Xi’an threw her knife and killed the soldier, the blade grazing against Aili’s arm before it hit it’s target. “You idiot!” Aili shouted, kneeling down to see if the soldier was dead or alive. She cursed when she checked for a pulse and found none.

“What, princess? Sad a New Republic soldier is dead?” Xi’an questioned, a smirk on her face as she watched Aili check for a pulse. She wouldn’t find one, Xi’an knew where to aim to kill in one shot.

“No you moron, he already had the beacon activated with a dead man’s switch so now we have fuck knows how long to get the hell off this ship or we’re all dead,” Aili explained, pointing to where the beacon had fallen when the soldier had.

They all looked down at the beacon that was now blinking red. “Was that thing blinking before?” Mayfeld asked, looking at everyone other than Aili in the room.

Aili growled under her breath and picked up the tracking beacon, hoping that they could make it back to the ship and toss it out in the middle of space before they jumped into hyperspace. That would throw the New Republic off their trail. Mando came over to her and silently gestured for her to hold her arm out. She looked at him in confusion until he pointed to her arm.

“Kriff,” she said under her breath. She hadn’t even noticed that Xi’an had cut her too when she tossed the knife. It had gone clean through her sleeve too. She held her arm out for Mando to put a bacta patch on the cut, thankfully it wasn’t a big cut or very deep but it was still bleeding. Neither of them said anything while Mando placed the patch, and neither of them commented on the way Aili took in a breath when his fingers paused while making sure it was secure.

“Zero to Mayfeld, Zero to Mayfeld.”

“What?” Mayfeld said harshly into his comm.

“I've detected a New Republic distress signal homing in on your location, you have approximately twenty minutes.”

“We only need five,” Xi’an said as if she hadn’t just royally screwed them. She all but skipped out of the room, Mayfeld and Burg rushing after her. Aili grabbed Mando by the arm before he could leave as well.

“They’re going to screw us over, I know they are. Take this.” She shoved the beacon in his hands before running in the direction the others had gone in. She could hear him run after her and they caught up with the others quickly. There was a hover security droid and Aili winced knowing those weren’t easy to take down.

Burg rushed forward and took down the one hover security droid with no problem, tossing it into a second one and just smiling as they both exploded. They kept going down the hallway until Mayfeld stopped at the cell they were looking for. He got Zero to work on opening it.

“You have fifteen minutes remaining.”

“Open it up!”

Despite Zero’s slight protest, he still opened up the cell to reveal the associate of the crew that had been arrested. It was another Twi’lek and Aili watched as Mando stepped forward a little to get a better look. “Qin.”

The Twi’lek let out a sort of dark chuckle as he stood up. “Funny, the man who left me behind is now my savior.”

Aili didn’t like this, didn’t like how close Mando was to the open cell, didn’t like the way that Burg had tried and failed to subtly shift closer to her. She took another glance at Qin, taking in all of his scars and she shifted her feet as quietly as she could.

“Mando,” Qin said, looking the Mandalorian up and down with a smirk on his face. Mando didn’t say anything in reply which didn’t surprise Aili.

“Imagine how much money we’ll get,” Xi’an suddenly giggled out.

“Rescuing your brother from here?” Aili questioned, raising an eyebrow. She had quickly seen the similarities between Xi’an and this Qin guy.

“No, when we sell you two out,” Mayfeld stated.

Aili ducked under Burg’s arms before he could grab her and did a quick roll away from someone’s blaster shot. She heard Mando let out a grunt followed by the sound of the cell shutting again. Kriff. They locked him in there and now she was on her own. Good thing she had memorized all of the turns they had made before then. She didn’t spare a glance at anyone before she shot up to her feet and took off.

She found an alcove that would keep her hidden from them just in time. She heard several pounding footsteps come to a stop nearby and she stood as still as possible. “Find her! We’re not leaving until she’s in that cell too! She's worth more than Mando!” That was Mayfeld and now Aili knew he had figured her out back before they even made it to the ship.

Aili waited until she heard everyone go in a different direction before pulling her comlink out of her pocket. “Mando, do you read me?” She kept her voice hushed but loud enough that he should be able to hear her clearly in his helmet comm.

There was a long silence that she hoped was just him trying to remember where he put the button to operate his own comlink.

“I read you." From the other end of the comlink, Mando let out a small sigh knowing that they hadn't grabbed Aili yet. He didn’t know if they would even try to get her in the same cell as him or just shove her into the nearest one. He didn’t even want to think about the other prisoners locked up on the ship.

“Can you get out of that cell or should I head back that way?”

“I’m already out. Get back to the ship, I can handle them.”

“Copy that,” Aili didn’t wait another moment, running out of the alcove and retracing her steps as best as she could. The problem was that she could hear the others ahead of her and she silently cursed, hiding behind a wall. They were arguing about Mando getting out and Xi’an shouted at Mayfeld that they should’ve just ended the two of them sooner.

She let out a breath when they were suddenly moving again, further away from her but now she heard hallways getting blocked off. “Kriffin’ hell, Mando. I’m not even back to the ship yet.” The lights suddenly shut off, the backup generator kicking on soon after and bathing everything in red light. She partially hoped that the others had made it through but then she heard Xi’an and Burg both let out shouts. She silently cursed to herself knowing that they would be on high alert, she glanced around before she looked up and smirked.

“Zero! We need a path.” Xi’an paused but got no reply causing her and Burg to yell out again. Aili smiled to herself, Mando must have done something to mess with their comlinks meaning they were flying blind now. She doubted any of them had even bothered to remember which way was which, figuring they could rely on the droid.

It didn’t take long for her to run back down the hall and find a spot where she could climb up into the vents. She had just gotten her feet up when Xi’an and Burg started walking down the hallway.

“You get Mando, I’ll find the little loth-cat,” Xi’an said, pulling out one of her many knives. Aili rolled her eyes knowing that Mando would be able to handle Burg so she’d just have to take on Xi’an. And then it would only be Mayfeld and Qin left but if they were smart, they wouldn’t attempt to fight them.

Aili followed after Xi’an from above, waiting for her moment when she heard Mando and Burg fighting. She raised an eyebrow because how Mando didn’t get the jump on Burg was a mystery to her when everything was obviously so perfectly lined up to do so. She saw Xi’an flip her knife into a different hold and knew she didn’t have any more time to waste.

“Hey! Looking for me?” Aili shouted, smiling down at Xi’an when she looked up in surprise. Aili didn’t wait for Xi’an to respond before she took off down the hallway, away from Mando and back towards where she had left herself an opening. She could hear Xi’an following after her like the idiot she clearly was and she was quick to swing herself back down, boots hitting Xi’an square in the chest and sending her to the floor.

Aili landed on her feet and waited for Xi’an to get back up, pulling out a small vibroblade of her own. “That was a mistake, loth-cat. I was going to let you live,” Xi’an said as she finally stood up straight.

“Funny, I didn’t get that impression,” Aili stated, flipping her blade around to hold it in a reverse grip. She chose to keep talking in an attempt to throw Xi’an off and she knew exactly what to say to piss her off the most even if it wasn’t necessarily true. “In fact, you seem to want me dead, why is that? Is it because Mando has someone not crazy in his bed now?”

Xi’an let out a snarl before rushing towards Aili, throwing a punch that Aili easily blocked with her forearm. She threw her own punch with the hand not holding the blade, landing a hit which seemed to just make the Twi’lek even more angry as the punch made her bring a hand up to her jaw. She tried to kick out at Aili who blocked it easily before blocking the following punch as well before she backhanded Xi’an who looked at her in shocked anger.

There was another kick aimed at Aili who used her height to her advantage as she ducked under and away from Xi’an without trouble. Aili grabbed at Xi’an’s wrist, spinning around before throwing her elbow into the Twi’lek’s face, turning back around to pull her arm out before bringing a knee up into Xi’an’s chest. Xi’an tried to throw another punch at Aili’s but she simply used her grip on Xi’an’s arm to come behind her, kneeing her in the back and sending her forward.

Aili rushed forward, a slightly stupid move on her part, as Xi’an held her arm out to hit Aili in the throat and sent her to the ground. Aili rolled over and got to her feet just in time to block a kick from Xi’an, aiming her own at the Twi’lek but she moved to the side and hit Aili on the back with enough force to send her into a wall.

Aili turned to throw a punch at Xi’an but winced when the Twi’lek grabbed her arm tightly and started to twist it. Aili tried to throw her other arm out to hit Xi’an but missed when the Twi’lek ducked under and pushed her into the wall behind them, her arm across Aili’s throat and a knife too close to cutting her.

“You think you’re so special,” Xi’an snarled out. “Because you’re a Dragon? Because you’ve got Mando teaching you? I’m gonna kill you and then I’m going to get back to the ship and get that little green thing.”

“You think he really has anything to teach me that I don’t already know?” Aili questioned before shoving Xi’an off of her, a hand gripping one of theTwi’lek’s hands. She brought her elbow down into Xi’an’s face before she spun and did a partial cartwheel which led to Xi’an being forced into a flip of her own. The only difference was that Aili landed on her feet while Xi’an ended up on her back. Aili barely waited for Xi’an to get back up before she kicked the Twi’lek straight in the chest and sent her further down the hallway groaning in pain. That was what she got for not wearing any kind of armor.

Aili walked over to where Xi’an was just picking herself up from the floor. The Twi’lek was baring her teeth as she pulled out a second knife. “I’m going to make you wish you had stayed away from Mando.”

“Oh believe me, I already was,” Aili replied as she blocked both of Xi’an’s knives, gripping her wrists and twisting until the Twi’lek had no choice but to drop her weapons. “See now you’ve pissed me off, I don’t give a kriff what you try to do to me but you threaten the kid?”

She pushed Xi’an away just enough to let her turn the Twi’lek away from her, giving Aili the chance to wrap her arm around Xi’an’s neck. She ignored the way Xi’an tried to claw at her arm, her nails barely doing any damage. Aili was barely paying any attention to that or her surroundings anyway.

“Aili, stop!” Mando shouted as he turned the corner right before Xi’an lost consciousness. She had stopped fighting a few seconds ago but was still hanging on to being aware.

“Why?”

“I’d like to avoid anyone else dying,” Mando explained. The New Republic soldier was the only death he wanted on the ship and even that was more than he had wanted on this job.

“Fine, where do you want her?” AIli asked, loosening the arm around Xi’an’s neck before she grabbed the Twi’lek’s arms instead to keep her from grabbing any weapons.

"I'll take her."

Aili pursed her lips but pushed Xi’an into Mando’s arms anyway, watching as he turned to take her away from the hallway.

Xi’an let out a crazed giggle, not able to stop herself from making one last comment, “Seems you haven’t changed one bit, Mando. Still prefer an animal to a human in bed.”

Aili’s head snapped up and she barely restrained herself from lunging at the Twi’lek again. Her words made an old memory come to the front of Aili's mind and she felt the heat of anger on her cheeks. Mando knocked his blaster across Xi’an’s head, knocking her out before she could say anything else. She barely noticed as Mando disappeared around the corner and she was still staring at a spot on the wall when he got back.

"We need to get back to the ship," Mando said as soon as he got back to where he had left Aili. He was a little surprised that she hadn't so much as moved a muscle. He placed a hand on her shoulder but pulled it away when she flinched away more violently than she ever had before.

#din djarin x reader #din djarin x original character #din djarin imagine #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x oc

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aregebidan · 4 years

Link

Word Count: 1781 words

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Fandoms: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth

Characters: Elrond Peredhel, Elros Tar-Minyatur, Maglor | Makalaure, Maedhros | Maitimo

Additional Tags: One-Shot Collection, Non-Linear Narrative, Elrond-centric, Maglor-centric, Character Study, Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everyone Needs a Hug, let Elrond not lose anyone 2k20

Summary: Scenes of the kidnap family through Elrond and Elros' childhood, featuring difficult questions, buried feelings, and the fragile hope of a happy ending.

Can also be read below the cut

“Is it true what they say?”

Maglor raises an eyebrow at the twin crouched in the corner of his tent- twin, singular, he notes. Whatever little Elrond is going to ask, his brother either does not approve of the question, or does not know he is here.

That is interesting; Elros was always Maedhros’ mirror, so careful with his words and protective of his family. It has been two weeks since they took the twins, and for all that time they had been inseparable, clutching each other’s hands and dressing in identical, oversized tunics that they’d somehow stolen off Maedhros’ guards (the twins having long established him as the less frightening one, the one who didn’t make mistakes.)

You don’t go anywhere without me, they had overheard Elros telling his brother. You don’t say anything to them. They are dangerous, every single one.

But this time, Elrond had deemed it safe to come to him alone…

Maglor bites down a smile as he sets his book aside. “What do they say, little one?”

He leans forward unconsciously in his chair, and the child fails miserably in hiding his flinch.

Maglor could hit himself if it wouldn’t scare him more. Two weeks in and he has already forgotten what they are, his young captives, to the point that he has seriously contemplated trying to teach Elrond about the Music. Certainly there is none of that happening on the twins’ side, no fondness in Elrond’s eyes as he shuffles awkwardly to his feet.

Instead, Maglor hears on him the familiar tune of curiosity overlaid with fear, each pulling him in opposite directions. It is a few moments before the child finally approaches the desk, only to freeze at the sight of the two swords leaning against its side.

This was a mistake.

In the night, the world is quiet, and such thoughts can be discerned through the empty wind as a real voice. There is rarely anything so specific as dates or faces, but he has so far tolerated the rumors that he can read minds; if anything, it is useful for frightening away Orcs. Tonight, he is quite sure he would throw it all away in a heartbeat if it meant he never had to listen to Elrond wonder which of the blades he’d use on him first again.

He has fantasized about it for centuries- of being brought to Mandos and demanding that they take his curse away, of ridding himself of both of them, of taking the Silmarils in hand and throwing them into the ocean, and never looking back once, finally free-

Stop wandering around in your head, he remembers Celegorm snapping at him, and takes a deep breath, leans back again.

“You can ask me anything, you know.” He gives Elrond a tired grin. “What reason would I have to hurt you now? You are valuable hostages, you and your brother.”

It’s cold, unfeeling logic, and the child seems to trust it more than he does any living thing. He is cleverer than you by far, Maglor scolds himself. Outside there is the sound of his soldiers and the wildlife alike drifting off to sleep, and the calls of the night-birds in the forest overlap with the quiet, high notes of panic coming from Maedhros’ quarters; Elros has noticed his brother’s absence. They must be quick, then.

As if sensing this, Elrond takes a few more dragging steps until, finally, there is triumph: the child even looks him in the eye as he asks in a trembling voice, “Do you mean that?”

“Anything,” he promises. Then, in a last-ditch attempt to lessen the guilt in those two pale, thin faces reflected in the glass of his lamp, “It’s the least I owe you, after all this.”

All this. It is the closest they have ever come to discussing what happened at the Havens of Sirion. Maedhros has so far been unusually tight-lipped about the occasion, and Maglor is reluctant to speak of the Ambarussa aloud. Two weeks have been spent dancing around the subject, not least because they had no idea how the twins would react.

Maglor briefly wonders what Maedhros would think if he ever heard that they have spoken of it, and how it could have come up so easily; true, he has never been able to restrain his words in the late hours, but that was before the Nirnaeth. That was Makalaurë.

He waits on Elrond’s reaction, his chest already tightening in regret- regret that increases tenfold when the child only looks at him blankly, and he can hear nothing from him.

“Elrond,” he says softly and, he thinks to himself, more than a little desperately.

The little one has shrunk into himself, shoulders curling. He shivers and clenches his teeth, as if the question is fighting him on its way out.

“It’s alright,” Elrond says thickly. “I was about to bring it up anyways…”

Wind whistles in through the entrance of the tent, and between that and the shivering Maglor finds it impossible to stay still. He takes care to stand up as quietly as possible, recalling that the loudest sound in the caverns in Sirion had been his own footsteps. Elrond seems to relax slightly at that, more so when the heavy red cloth comes down between him and the night. He swallows hard, licks his lips carefully.

“It is about the Oath, Maglor.”

Maglor pauses. Well. He wants to call it a pause, but what he does is more akin to a flinch, as if their positions have been reversed- as if he still has a right to be wounded by the words of his hostage. He stares down at him, belatedly notices that his expression may be frightening, tries to adjust his face, and then decides it shouldn't matter; shouldn't matter, because Elrond is crying and there are more important things to worry about than vanity, and why is it that he looks so much like Amras when he cries?

“Did you choose to listen to it? Did you try to fight it?” Elrond bites his cheek, sudden tears shining in the lamplight. “Could you have broken it, if you chose?”

Could you have chosen not to attack our home?

And there it is, out there in the open. Maglor fights the urge to go and put his arms around the child, comfort him the way he did his brothers. Elrond is not Amras or Amrod or Curufin- Elrond wants nothing from him besides answers.

"I do not wish to lie to you..." he says haltingly, then stops at the panic building up inside the room; panic, then anger, then an utterly morose kind of resignation. Elrond had not wanted to believe it was his choice to pursue them.

He wanted to believe the best of him and Maedhros, he realizes, and he must be very careful not to let this affect his next words.

Maglor takes a deep breath and begins again.

"The answer to your question is yes, Elrond, and yet no; and there is no way to know for certain. There has been very little research done on this matter, and all I have to go on is my... personal experience."

He purposely mimics the tone of a lecturing tutor, a familiar voice, assuming Elwing had time and people enough to educate her children as they did in Tirion. This indeed appears to calm Elrond, and Maglor makes a mental note to start on a list of what alarms and does not alarm the twins. If Maedhros objects, he will make the point on valuable hostages and hope for the best.

"Yes, I suppose we could have tried to resist it. Maedhros could have held out a little longer, this I know. But it would have ended in utter failure for the rest of us, and in time for Maedhros as well. An oath gone unfulfilled, Elrond," he explains, "near as I can tell, manifests in the mind of the oath-taker as a permanent pain, sight or sound or thought, whatever it would take to drive them to keep their word. Eventually it was inevitable that we would have to seek the Silmarilli once more. For me the effect was doubled because of my music, and the fact that the Oath was first brought into the world by the sound of Fëanáro's voice; it was all that I could hear."

(And, he adds in his mind, the worst part was that I can no longer be sure Atya would not have said those things to me.)

Elrond nods mutely, and Maglor is suddenly glad that he never used his more practical songs at the Havens.

"And there was the matter of..." He pauses, feeling a headache coming, the sound of dying stars echoing in his mind. Speaking of the Oath, it seems, has brought it down on him again.

This is nothing compared to what the twins have gone through, he reminds himself, and continues on. "To be truthful, little one, the Ambarussa wished to avenge their" -a catch in his breath, remember the way Maedhros does it, how he distances himself from his words- "fallen brothers. They were very close to the three."

Elrond's mouth opens slightly, his lips in the shape of a silent oh.

"I will not say that it had to be the Havens, for we are not blameless; far from it. We are the only ones to blame. But nor can I say that we had the full choice." Maglor moves his weary gaze to the lamp, and speaks to empty air. "Does that answer your question, Elrond?"

Elrond blinks up at him, and for a long while the silence thickens, like snow piling up outside the windows in Himring. Maglor absently wonders if this child has ever heard of Himring- was he born after its fall? Did he ever hear of the Gap, the grand tales they made of the flight of the Bragollach's survivors? What does he think of him now, this son of Elwing's? It does not matter; at least, it should not, but Maglor has never been good at doing what he should.

Both of them startle when Elros' voice and panicked feet pierce the silence: "Elrond! Elrond!"

Elros, Elrond starts to say, then glances quickly up at Maglor, as if asking permission to leave.

"Go," he says with a wave of his hand, and collapses as much as he can in his hard wooden seat as he watches the two small figures make their hasty way from the kinslayer's tent, one of whom now knows everything that matters.

Ai, Káno, what have you brought upon yourself now?

#my writing #my fic #tolkien #silmarillion #maglor #elrond

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iwriteforthetincanman · 4 years

Text

Mandoctover Day 15: Jetpack

WOAHHHHH WE’RE HALFWAY THERE OHHHHHHH LIVIN’ ON A PRAYER!

(or alt. livin’ on pedro’s Din Hair~)

ALSO GENDER NEUTRAL READER BROUGHT TO YOU BY @kiwi-the-first

@dindjarindiaries @leo-moon

Warnings of physical harm, mild to severe concussion (up to you but Din’s basically drunk on pain meds) Also there is a hetero couple in this that I LOOSELY based off of my high-school music teachers but oh well.

(I had to use this gif, I know it’s not a Frankie fic but you’ll get it once you’ve read it XD) Somedays you thanked both the Maker and the Armorer for Din’s jetpack.

Today...wasn’t one of those days, if this morning was any sort of example.

Firstly Din had grabbed you with no warning whatsoever, picked you up like you were a ragdoll, and to top it off, he thought it was okay for him to launch into the air with you completely unaware of the complications of flying.

Y’know...with no armor on to cushion your breakable body.

Maybe he knew this in the back of his mind. But his carelessness towards the situation pissed you off more than you cared to admit.

That all came crashing down when he shielded your body with his against a crumbling mountainside.

Tearing recklessly through the rubble you screamed his name until your throat was scratchy. When you could no longer speak let alone shout, tears blurred your vision. Rubble, boulders and stone. You didn’t know how much longer he would be okay for...he didn’t know your true feelings for him, romantic or otherwise. You couldn’t do this alone.

That’s when you heard him rasp against the stone destruction.

“Cyare-”

This time you were crying in happiness, hope yet the searing pain was still there as you could only just make out the outline of his visor. It was cracked in some places. You hoped he had suffered any brain damage...thank the gods, at least he recognised you.

“Mando! Din! Are you okay? Can you hear me?” You shouted quietly this time. Not wanting to bring any unwanted attention back to yourselves. You were both running out of time.

Din was in no shape to use his jetpack...or to fly the Crest.

Which meant only one thing...either you let the baby drive, or you would end up destroying his precious Crest one way or another.

You knew what he would say if he were half conscious.

“Get out of here, go. I don’t care about the Crest-” The romantic part of your brain effectively cut you off as his hand wrapped around your wrist.

Nothing was broken thank god but you had no clue about his vital organs, his ribs or, gods forbid, his lungs.

You had no idea how to treat a punctured lung. Not only was this mission’s time coming to a close alarmingly fast. You also needed to race to the next safest planet just to find the best medical care the both of you could afford.

---

“Y/N Djarin?”

“...Y/N Djarin?”

Preparing for a fight as you had fallen into an uncomfortable yet fitful sleep next to his bedside, you could only cry with relief as you saw a doctor and a nurse standing in front of you.

“We have a few mandatory questions for you. Heh, Mandatory questions for the Mandalorian that is.”

Any other day you would’ve found that funny, maybe Din too if it was a good day.

A babble of laughter erupted from your lap. Ad’ika was wide awake.

“Thank you...for cheering him up when I couldn’t.”

An exhausted sigh left your mind as you glanced over your beloved Mandalorian...what a mess.

A beautiful mess to you...but to a doctor. You had no idea how you were going to afford this.

“I have a few questions too if you don’t mind answering them doctor…” trailing off you hadn’t caught the medical duo’s names

“Dr.Pavan, Dash Pavan. And this is not only my wife but my assistant doctor/nurse Pana Pavan.” Wow, this couple was all about repetition huh.

“Uh...I’ll call you by your first names if you don’t mind.”

“Oh everybody does dearie don’t worry about it.” The female doctor was built very similarly to you, which scared you in a way because of how put together her life was in comparison to your...well, at least yours right now.

“I...don’t know how I can afford the medical treatment he needs. It’s true that his line of work isn’t good to him but I can’t just let him die either.” Attempting to keep yourself together, you saw pain and sympathy flash through the couples’ eyes.

“We know exactly what you’re talking about. If we didn’t make nearly as much as we did last year I could’ve died myself...I was expecting y’see and well, we lost our daughter.” Pain rang through your heart as your hands tightened around Ad’ika’s slouched form. He was tired but he refused to sleep, just like his buir.

“I’m so sorry...I can’t imagine what that must be like. I’m scared too.”

“If the force is on your side dear, you never will, and the husband is always the biggest of help, I love Pav with all my heart and I knew that when we married we'll stick together no matter what. Which is why I married him in the first place. It was tough...it still is sometimes when we face similar cases today....which is why we offer free medical care to those who need it the most.”

You couldn’t help sobbing into your son’s head as they told you this. They were so kind when the rest of the universe had been so cruel to all three of you. It was a race for the little moments...moments like these when all you could do was watch as Din got better more and more every day. Yet you continued to lie just so you were allowed in.

It wasn’t your fault they mistook you for his wife. You cared about him a great deal, you weren’t afraid to show that now. Not after this accident. You knew when he woke up...you were gonna tell him how you felt. Whether he reciprocated or not.

It was...one of those moments

---

“Good morning Djarin.”

“Hello Pana. Please, call me Y/N.”

“Oh shucks. Alright Y/N. That’s such a badass name, Y/N Djarin.”

“I guess so.” you chuckled.

“So...how did you two meet?”

Oh no...now you had to lie for real.

“Well...he saved me. I was all alone with only an Ugnaught named Kuill to guide me, he was like a father to me. Then, late last year, he was killed. Protecting the little one from imperial troops.”

“Oh my!”

“I know...sounds way more dramatic than it actually was, believe me. Well...in my case anyway, I’m...just a mechanic. I’m nothing special.”

“Dear listen to me. Everyone is special in this universe. My mum taught me that. When she passed away I was devastated for years. Then I met Pav and...everything just fell into place.”

“...it was like that with me and Din. Although...I’m not afraid to admit it was puppy love. When I walked into Kuill’s hut that night I wasn’t expecting another...bounty hunter to show up. Let alone a Mandalorian. I wanted to ask him so many questions, yet I didn’t want to pry about his culture...his past. There’s still some things to this day I don’t know about him...but I remember when I started falling in love…”

“Aw...You sound like you’ve come straight out of one of my western novels!”

You blushed at this admission. Not wanting to sound like the starry eyed waif that you were. You fell in love with the man...not the helmet or the blasters and definitely not that infernal jet pack.

“One night...Ad’ika was fussing and I just snapped. I couldn’t cope, it felt like the stars were imploding on me. I couldn’t sleep, my hormones were going crazy (this isn’t aimed at a specific gender btw) I refused to eat until after I slept so my stomach hurt. I was going through the paces of newfound buirhood it seemed.” You laughed to yourself.

“Buir?”

“It’s Mando’a for parent.”

“Oh, they are a very gender neutral race aren’t they?”

“Yes...it was also one of the many reasons I didn’t know if he was gonna love me back. I was scared. To say the least. When he startled me awake I realised I had been close to dropping Ad’ika on his head. It hurt me...that I wasn’t being a good mother. It was so unexpected...I didn’t have any heads up whatsoever.” Laughing to yourself at the memory now, you realised how fond of the both of them you really are. They were your Aliit.

“I love them both so damn much…” Reaching over to Din’s bed side, you grabbed his bandaged hand. Rubbing the newly discovered yet so ardently him, tattoo with a smile on your face.

“I will always love him...I know that now.”

---

You were standing in line for some caf at the hospital canteen when you ran into Pana again.

Or...more accurately she ran into you.

“DJARIN! Y/N! I FOUND YOU!”

“Yes Pana you found me.” You were way too grumpy and sleep deprived for this much energy, which is probably why you missed the cheshire cat grin on her face.

“YOUR HUSBAND IS FINALLY AWAKE! DON’T STAND THERE WAITING AROUND FOR SOME CRAPPY CAF!” Yanking the empty plastic cup out of your hand she yeeted it as hard as she could towards the bin.

“That’s so bad for the enviro-wait...what did you just say?”

---

You had never run so fast in your life, you didn’t think it was possible for your lungs to burn.

Dashing through the door, your heart warmed at the familiar sight. Ad’ika was babbling up at his father happily once more, his helmet resting in his son’s hands as they talked in hushed tones. Clearing your throat playfully yet with your eyes full of tears.

“Din...you’re awake.” You tried so hard not to cry, you really did.

You didn’t even notice both the doctors step out of the room to give you both some privacy.

“Good morning...my love.”

Then everything froze.

“...Pana told you didn’t she.”

Deadpan tone returning to your voice...you knew he was never going to let this one go.

“Actually I kind of like it.”

“You, you do?”

What the kriff was going on?”

“Yeah, I mean I always hated your last name.”

“Djarin that’s so unfair how could you say-”

“Only because I’d happily give you mine.”

Was he….proposing?

---

When Pana and Pav next entered the room you didn’t even realise that you had gained a concussion from keldabe kissing him so hard.

They gave you a pink and blue bandage though…

Besides the modest wedding band on your finger, it was a badge of pride that you were now happily married to Din Djarin.

Although getting married in a hospital wasn’t unconventional, you adored the fact that Pana and Pav happily agreed to be your best man and woman. Seeing as they brought you two together of course. They easily forgave and forgot the common lie of pretending to be someone’s wife/husband/partner just to see them.

A couple months later you were buzzing with joy about telling Pana about the daughter you had named after her.

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notes-from-sarah · 3 years

Text

The Thimblerig Plot

Link on Fanfiction.net

Link on Archive of Our Own

Rating: T

Summary: Anakin is captured by Count Dooku and slated for execution. This is a problem for Sidious who must quickly free Anakin without arousing his current place-holder apprentice’s suspicions. Hiring a Mandalorian might be the only solution. Set during Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Lucas era canon compliant.

Chapter 1 - A Small Problem

A/N: Set after Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 5, Episode 16. The Clone Wars Season 7/The Final Season is not considered canon for this work.

*****

"Master," Darth Tyranus' dulcet tones filtered through the static filled holo connection, "I have tremendous news to report."

The recorded message had been sent some hours ago by this point, Sidious had only just now been able to tear himself away from his duties and find out how the battle had gone. He had foreseen Tyranus' victory at Cressill and he knew that the message would contain news of the Separatist conquest. The Dark Side was a swift friend, bringing him news sometimes even years before an event.

"I have brought an end to Republic interference on Cressill. The system is now under the loving guidance of the Confederacy."

Good, thought Sidious. The fall of Cressill would weaken the entire sector and spread the Jedi even thinner than before. Soon, the Republic would be so weak that the slightest pressure would bring the whole corrupt, bloated mass tumbling down. A dark smile broke over his features.

"I am also pleased to report that I have captured alive the Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker, the so-called Hero of the Republic. I am en route to Raxus now where a highly publicized execution at the Separatist capital will take place. I think such a move will be sufficiently demoralizing for Republic forces." Tyranus' bluish holo projection waved and sputtered as the signal struggled to maintain strength.

Sidious blinked, trying to make sense of what Tyranus had said. If he executed Anakin–

"Skywalker is regularly a thorn in the side of the Separatist forces. His capture and death will put us on the path to victory." Tyranus' image looked smug and his tone was self-congratulatory. The hazy holo image somehow not managing to hide the odious man's victorious smirk.

Sidious couldn't wait to be rid of the fool.

"I will contact you when I have reached Raxus." Tyranus vanished, his curt holo transmission ending with no revelation of the count's plans once he reached the planet.

Sidious twisted his lip, this couldn't have come at a worse time. Things had to be orchestrated just so, there was no room for error in this endeavor. He needed Anakin alive, and until Anakin was his apprentice, he needed Tyranus alive. He couldn't, at this moment, be without either of them. Somehow, Anakin had to escape and Tyranus had to allow it and neither of them be any the wiser to his true role in all of this. He would have to play this round very carefully, he knew all too well that a slighted apprentice was a dangerous thing.

Sidious submerged himself in the Dark Side, only it could tell him what to do.

*****

Dooku paced back and forth in front of the cell where Anakin was held, his luxurious cape just sweeping over the floor panels of the ship. The young Jedi was currently being restrained with a combination of electro-cuffs and a few tranquilizers. No need to tempt fate, after all. The young man had been something of an ever-present pest since that day in Geonosis, now he would be rid of him for good. Kenobi's former padawan was about to deal a severe blow to the Republic's morale. Once they landed on Raxus the war would be all but over. Had he realized on Geonosis how troublesome Skywalker would eventually prove to be Dooku would have ended him immediately back then.

Anakin grunted, the tranquilizers starting to wear off.

"Awake at last," said Dooku, "I was afraid you'd be asleep for hours."

"Dooku," Anakin started to struggle to his feet, but feeling the effects of the drugs seemed to think better of it. "What slimy hole did you slither out of? You always take great pains to be as far from the front as possible, I was surprised to find you on Cressill."

"Isn't that why you were on Cressill in the first place, young Jedi? Weren't you there to capture me and bring an end to this war?" Dooku leaned on the word young knowing how provocative it would be.

Anakin scowled. "I suppose you think you have the upper hand here, don't you?"

Dooku looked pointedly at the bars and cell walls before returning his gaze to Anakin. "Yes, I do."

"Well, I wouldn't get comfortable if I were you." Anakin pulled against his cuffs a bit, but promptly stopped when the electro-cuffs began to crackle. "As usual, you play the part of the coward."

"Young one," said Dooku, brushing aside the accusation of cowardice, "you have no idea how happy your impending death makes me." It would be a delicious moment when the stupid fool met his fate. Some part of Dooku knew that destroying Anakin was the single greatest thing he could do to change the course of the war. His master would be so pleased.

Anakin shook his hair out of his eyes. "Is that supposed to scare me? You're nothing but a feeble old man, you're never going to get away with this. I'll be out of here before you know it and on my way back with my legion before you even realize I'm gone."

Dooku smirked. "I got away last time you and I went head to head, I don't see how you've changed any. Even with a thousand clone slaves I don't know what you could possibly do against the power of the Dark Side."

Anakin scowled even deeper. "Mark my words, Dooku, this will end on my terms."

"Somehow, I don't think so, young one." Dooku raised a hand to summon a droid. "Now, I think you'd best go back to sleep." Punching in a code the cell door opened enough to permit the robot entry.

The round droid hovered into the cell carrying with it a long, sharp needle.

Anakin flinched as the needle found its mark. "You're never going to win, Dooku," he managed to say as the tranquilizers took effect.

"Such a childish sentiment. Goodnight, sweet prince."

*****

Bo-Katan rose at the sound of the lock to her cell door being disengaged. True to his word, Kenobi had raised the alarm about the anarchy on Mandalore. The resulting military action on the planet had swiftly resulted in her capture and confinement. She didn't know if the Republic had quashed the violence, but she rather suspected they had not. It was most certainly still ongoing and would continue to until the day the last Mando had been bled dry.

The door slid open and a Republic guard stepped into the room, two more hovered in the corridor outside the cell. All were armed and armored. "You are summoned for an audience. Turn around so that I can cuff you and bring you to the chamber."

"Who wants to talk to me?" Bo-Katan was suspicious. She'd been here for weeks already and so far no one had given a damn that she was in custody. The fighting must not being going well. Undoubtedly they wanted her to give them information on the inner workings of Mando culture, or Death Watch in particular. Whatever they wanted was sure to strip away even more of Mandalore's independence. She had told Kenobi to tell the Republic when her sister died, she regretted doing that.

"I'm not permitted to say for security reasons. You will find out soon enough." The guard motioned for Bo-Katan to turn around, the cuffs ready in her hand.

Bo-Katan turned, holding her hands behind her back. The guard cuffed her securely and led her out of the cell.

"Don't try anything extreme," warned the guard as she brandished her weapon, "I know you Mandalorians all have a death wish and I'm not about to get in trouble because of some suicidal heroics."

…

Bo-Katan was led into a spacious room with a huge picture window. Coruscant was big on a scale that was almost unimaginable. Mandalore seemed like a child's dollhouse in comparison. She stared at the traffic flow in the twilight sky, it was almost mesmerizing.

"Hello, Lady Kryze, it's good to see you finally."

Bo-Katan turned to see none other than the supreme chancellor. His neat hair and velvet robes the polar opposite of her own far shabbier appearance. She glanced the elderly man up and down as he strode across the room to his desk where he took a seat. She was fairly certain she could take him and escape custody if she really wanted too. She was a Mandalorian warrior, after all. And he? Just a withered prune. "Chancellor," her voice was cool, but not nearly as cold as Satine's would have been, her sister had had a talent for bone-chilling iciness. "To what do I owe the honor?"

The chancellor smiled blandly at her. "No need for the hostile tone, Lady Kryze. I apologize that I have not looked into your predicament till now. Your plight is a most stirring one, but I'm afraid the labors of the war have kept my every moment busy until just now."

Bo-Katan despised being patronized. "I thought the Republic would be ecstatic that they have a chance to grab another system for their side." She took a step closer to the desk. Asking Kenobi to bring in the Republic had certainly been a mistake. "Unless the Republic's takeover isn't going well and you've decided that you need my help." She would never forgive those offworlders who had killed everyone she loved and tore her planet to pieces.

"That is not quite why I asked you here today." Palpatine gave her a watery, meaningless smile. "In fact, I do believe the outside forces on Mandalore have expelled, much of the current fighting is between various factions of Mandalorians. I actually wanted to speak to you about you." Palpatine leaned back in his chair and observed her for a long moment.

Bo-Katan waited for him to continue. The cuffs chafed against her wrists and she twisted her hands uncomfortably in the silence.

"You, Lady Kryze, are a bit of an enigma." Palpatine folded his hands together. "Ostensibly, you are fighting against Separatist forces on Mandalore, and are in line with the Republic, so really you should go free and lead the anti-Separatist faction on Mandalore."

Bo-Katan was certain there was a however coming up somewhere.

"However," Palpatine continued, "that does not absolve you of your affiliation with Death Watch and it's anti-democratic activities. Death Watch has committed serious crimes against the Republic."

Here comes the deal, thought Bo-Katan. Whatever he offered she would very likely have to accept it. It wasn't so easy to get to Mandalore from the inside of a cell.

Palpatine rose and walked behind her. Releasing the lock on the cuffs he freed her hands. "I think the Republic will be able to overlook your past indiscretions on account of services rendered."

Bo-Katan turned to face the old man again. "And what services are those?"

"The Republic needs you, Lady Kryze. This war has too many fronts, it's impossible for the Jedi or the Grand Army to be everywhere they are needed. The Republic has need of a stealthy and cunning warrior, such as yourself, to complete an urgent mission behind enemy lines."

"What's in it for me, why should I risk my neck for a government I don't believe in?" Bo-Katan wasn't going to mince words. He had better have something good to offer.

"If you complete this task then you have my word that the Republic will back you to reclaim the throne of Mandalore. I can offer you money, troops, weapons, whatever you need to take back what is yours." Palpatine placed the cuffs on his desk. "However, if you are unable to accomplish the mission, then I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to appoint a provisional council to govern Mandalore. Regrettably, such a council is unlikely to have any Mandalorian members, after all, most of them are caught up in a civil war and are of dubious loyalty to the Republic."

There it was, as neat a deal as could be offered. Bo-Katan crossed her arms over her chest. The Republic couldn't get away with this forever. For now, though, she'd have to acquiesce. She looked the old man square in the eye. "So, what's the mission?"

#Star Wars #Star Wars: The Clone Wars #Bo-Katan Kryze #Boba Fett #Asajj Ventress #Anakin Skywalker #Fanfiction #Fanfic #Rescue Mission #Action/Adventure #Mandalorians #Jedi #Sith #Pic from the official Star Wars website

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