A/N: Part 2 is here lovelies! I hope you all enjoy, and as always feedback and reblogs are much appreciated! Let me know if you would like to be added to the taglist! Have a beautiful day!
Summary: You’re a dangerous wanted fugitive with a hefty price on your head who escaped your home planet from persecution and picked up the job of being a bounty hunter. To keep yourself away from the eyes of those after you, you were currently hiding out in a small planet mostly ran by outlaws and bandits, that is until another certain bounty hunter lands on your trail.
You had just left the cantina much quicker than you had wanted and your mind was racing with the thoughts of what had gone down just inside. Right when you had arrived on this planet in hopes of keeping low and staying away from the eyes of those who wanted your head, those thugs had managed to ruin your plans and exposed not only your presence but also what you were capable of, which caused your stay here to be at risk. You just hoped that your little fight didn’t reach anyone outside the cantina.
It was a hot day and the air was dry, and the aroma of spices, sweet fruits, and roasted nuts from the street vendors filled the air, perfect for the desert-like climate. You wished you could rip your helmet off, indulge in the exotic smells this market had to offer and enjoy some sunlight and breeze on your skin for once. But you had your regular getup on, or your bounty hunter uniform, as you like to call it. And though the pieces of armor provided you with secrecy and protection, adding some bulk to your frame to make yourself look more masculine to conceal your feminine features, it was also a bit of a cage, confining you from the natural perception of the world. The dusty wind blew against your frame when you had stepped out on the street, making you clutch your cloak closer to you and pray that the wind didn’t pick up on speed in fear of it snatching away the helmet and revealing your face for the whole town to see. You were making your way to the edge of the town where you had parked your ship on the outskirts, your boots kicking up the sand around you with each step you took while the hem of your cloak blew behind you. A few of the townsfolk had glanced in your direction, paying no mind before going back to their business. Their town always had outsiders crossing through to the point they had become accustomed to seeing a new face or a new helmet. And as long as you weren’t causing any trouble, they did not seem to pay much mind, if anything it was more curiosity towards the travelers.
You had been focused on the path in front of you, your back straight and your head held straight forward and avoiding any type of eye contact with anyone until this uneasy sense came that someone was following you. To avoid making it known, you stopped by the nearest vendor, glancing down at the fruit laid out on the table before ever so slightly turning your head to see a glint of metal shrouded just barely behind the mass of people that walked the streets. Your eyes widened behind your helmet. You could recognize that armor from anywhere. What was a Mandalorian doing all the way here? More importantly, why was he following you and who sent him?
You cursed under your breath at the sight, turning around and thinking of the different possible strategies. You couldn’t outrun him no, as much as you would like to avoid tangling with a Mandalorian you had heard so much about, you couldn’t just run away, he’d catch up with you somehow. No. You would have to fight him, at least keep him held back while you revised a new escape plan and disappeared into a new planet. You continued to mutter fowl words under your breath, your eyes darting around trying to search for an alleyway to disappear into. You finally caught sight of one just a couple feet away, gradually picking up your pace as you headed straight towards it, sensing the Mandalorian doing the same. Some muttering of the locals had erupted around you as you pushed past them before reaching the alley. With the sound of the sand crunching beneath the soles of your feet, you made a sharp turn right around the corner, pressing on the cloaking button on your belt that made your cloak camouflage with your surroundings. Your appearance shifted in a flurry of pixelated tones before matching the colors around you, allowing you to disappear into your background. You jumped up and grabbed the nearest ledge on the wall, using a window frame to hoist yourself up on it, pressing your back flat against the wall while your feet barely balanced on the beam.
The Mandalorian had turned the corner not long after before stopping abruptly at the emptiness of the area, the positioning of the buildings blocking some of the sun’s rays and casting a shadow over him. Your eyes caught the glint of his blaster held tightly in his hand as he edged closer with careful steps, staring out at the dead end of the alley. A small curse escaped under his breath through the helmet as he scanned over the area to figure where you might’ve gone. You followed the darkness of his visor right as it passed right over you, the action making your breath hitch in your throat. You knew your cloaking device made you invisible, but for a moment you swore you felt his helmet burning right through you. Your heart was pounding in your chest from what felt to be hours as he went further into the alley, looking out for any possible place you might be hiding. From how hard your heart was beating in your chest, you feared he would hear it as he passed by in front of you.
Oh come on. Now is no time to be a coward. Fry him. You thought with your eyes closed shut as you desperately struggled to grip the sandy wall behind you in order to keep yourself from falling over.
Carefully keeping your balance, you slipped your revolver blaster out of your holster, your palms sweating beneath the leather fabric that covered them as your fingers closed tightly around the grip, making sure to be as silent as possible as you pointed it at the back of his head. You could taste the salt on your lips from the few drops of sweat that fell down from your forehead as you lowered your aim to the small opening just below his helmet where the fabric of his cloak covered the back area of his neck. Just one shot. It would be simple. Just one shot and he would no longer be a problem for you to worry about.
No, this wasn’t right. You still had some dignity left in you and shooting a Mandalorian in the back would be a cowardly move. If anything, he deserved a fair fight. But despite that, deep down, a part of you was convinced to let him go free. He was a bounty hunter, doing his job just as you were. And from the stories you heard, sure he was merciless towards his enemies and an excellent fighter at that, but he never harmed those that were innocent.
With a clenched jaw, you slipped your blaster back in your holster. You didn’t have to heart to kill him. Damn your sentiment, it was the one thing that always kept you from achieving whatever it is you could want. Sure, you weren’t going to kill him, but you were willing to knock him out, maybe even tie him down somewhere and threaten him a little to get him to back off your trail. Taking in a deep and steady breath, you jumped off the ledge and tackled the Mandalorian from behind, knocking him down to the dirt before standing back up on your feet. Luckily, you managed to catch him off guard and from the way he reacted, you could tell he was trying to figure out what the hell had just happened as he scrambled back to his feet. You watched him hold his blaster straight out, twisting his body around and pointing it at every direction but you. If this situation wasn’t threatening on your safety, you would have found this to be quite amusing and your snicker would’ve gave you away and gotten you shot on the spot. You’d bet your credits he was confused as shit under that bucket.
You could just walk away and leave, get yourself a new disguise and he would never be able to find you. But a part of you deep down wanted to fight him, test his abilities even. A part of you even found this entertaining, an amusement that you had once been told would one day get you killed.
There was an uneasy silence amongst the bustle of the town, the breeze blowing through the crevices in the building in low whistles until you felt the heat of the sun’s rays against your back, lighting up the alleyway that was once in hidden in shadow.
Oh no.
Your skin went cold as you caught sight of the Mandalorian looking down at the sand, following his gaze to find your shadow on full display at your feet. Shit. You had forgotten that the cloak was only able to camouflage instead of wiping out your solid form and making you entirely invisible, thus making you susceptible to certain factors that gave you away, like light hitting against you or dust being thrown at you.
The Mandalorian stalled for a moment, processing what he was seeing before lifting his blaster and shooting straight at you. You had managed to jump out of the way just barely in time, but not soon enough as a sharp burning sensation cut through the side of your arm. You swung your fist at him, making sure to aim under his ribs and avoid his chestplate in order to hit soft tissue instead of solid Beskar. Your opponent let out a grunt in response much to your satisfaction, but it seemed as if luck was on his side as he grabbed your outstretched arm just in time before slamming you to the ground, knocking the wind out of you. You laid there on your back for a quick second, stunned and coughing from the twisting pain in your chest until a slight static sound caught your attention, looking down to see that your cloaking device was malfunctioning, leaving you entirely visible after a short series of pixelated glitches. Not only that, but the force in which he slammed you had managed to detach your chestplate, the piece of olive green painted metal now lying a few feet away from you, leaving you in just your tunic and the soft padded vest you had on top to separate the roughness of the metal from your clothes.
You muttered a small curse under your breath, pressing a firm hand to your torso as you tried to regain your breath, twisting your body around with a grunt in a struggle to get yourself up until a pair of brown leather boots placed themselves right beside your head. Turning your head towards the sky, you were met with his blaster pointed right at you, the dark hole of the barrel staring right into your soul
“I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.”
“How about neither.” You snarked, your voice coming out in a low tone through your helmet’s speaker before swiftly propping up on your elbows and twisting yourself against the dirt, kicking his legs out from underneath him and making him fall. You tried to get up but failed as you were once again met with the rough sand as he grabbed the fabric of your tunic and slammed you down on the ground again, pressing his forearm against your chest in order to get you to stay down. The latter action made you widen your eyes in horror. You didn’t have your chestplate on and now there was nothing to conceal the flesh there. You noticed that this had confused the Mandalorian as well from the way he sat back for a moment and tilted his head.
“What the-you’re a-” He breathed out before getting cut off by the bottom of your boot slamming into his head and knocking him back.
You took this chance as a means to escape, twisting yourself around and pushing yourself up with your hands until another pair of hands yanked at your ankles, causing you to fall face first into the dirt. “Ow! son of a-” A pained grunt escaped your lips and you almost could’ve sworn your nose had been broken from the sharp pain that spread through the center of your face. The Mandalorian pulled at your legs, dragging you across the dirt while you thrashed around, feeling his knee press down on your back. Another grunt escaped between your clenched teeth, your breaths coming out in aggravated huffs as you tried to break yourself from his hold once you felt his hands wrap around your wrists and pull your arms back behind you. There was the sound of a click and a small beep, and the skin left exposed on your wrists underneath your sleeves were met with the feeling of cold metal as a pair of handcuffs locked itself around them.
Great, just great.
You rolled your eyes from underneath your helmet as you felt him grab you by your bicep and pull you up to your feet.
“Let go of me!” You huffed as he pushed you, squirming around in his grip while he refused to let go of your arm after the resistance you put up. You noticed that your voice was no longer distorted into a lower tone, which meant that the fall had somehow damaged the distorter you had set up in there, now causing you to sound like your normal self. Could your day get any worse?
“Cut it out.” You heard him order from behind you.
A scowl appeared on your lips as his grip around your bicep tightened, your eyes drifting to the ground and spotting your chestplate laying on the side up ahead. “Can I at least get my chestplate?” You let out a huff as you were only met with silence. “Oh come on. It took me a while to make that you know. Besides, I’m kinda bare right now and I feel naked without it so I really need it. I don’t know if you noticed back there but-”
“Quiet.” He cut you off, causing your nostrils to flare until you noticed him pick your chest armor off the ground, the slight action making a small smirk appear on your lips despite being handcuffed and taken in for your bounty. Of course, you weren’t to going to accept defeat that quick. You had to devise an escape plan quick and wait for the right opportune moment. Though now wasn’t it.
The watchful eyes of the locals were now trained on the shiny armor of your captor, their eyes following the two of you curiously as you went, the Mandalorian and his freshly caught bounty. You were glad you wore a helmet, relieved they couldn’t see the look of embarrassment written across your features.
It wasn’t long before you arrived at a vessel that was parked on the outskirts of town, what seemed to be most likely his ship.
“Wow. What a piece of junk.” You made a snide comment, looking up at the big junk of metal as he as opened the entrance to his ship before shoving you inside, causing you to glare at him through the visor of your helmet. “Hey, don’t manhandle me alright.”
“Keep moving.” You felt him push you forward with his hand on your back.
You took in your new surroundings, glancing around at the dullness of the interior with a distasteful look on your face. “Yikes. You could use some major redecorating, liven the place up a bit. No wonder you’re so grim.”
Silence.
“My point exactly.” You muttered under your breath.
“Sit down.” You felt him place his hand on your shoulder to try to push you down on the chair in his cockpit but you refused to budge.
“Can I at least put my armor back on?”
The Mandalorian stood quiet for a moment and you could almost feel him glaring at you through the slit in his helmet before turning you around and shoving you against the wall with your back facing him.
“Easy there will ya.” You hissed as he fumbled with the lock on the handcuffs. “Geez, is this how you treat all the ladies you bring in here?” A short second later, you felt the handcuffs around your wrist loosen up with a click after the sound of the beep went off.
“Any sudden moves and I shoot.” You heard him say beside your ear before stepping back
“Alright.” You lifted your hands up to your head, slowly turning around to see him standing a few feet away from you with his blaster pointed at you. “No need to be hasty, I’m just going to strap on my armor and that’s it.” You grabbed your chestplate that had been lying on the back of the chair before slinging the leather straps over your shoulder and fastening them, making sure that the metal covered the areas that needed protection. “Before you uh, handcuff me back up, would you mind letting me keep my arms in front of me. It’s kinda you know, uncomfortable having your hands tied behind you while you’re sitting in a chair.
There was another moment of silence, the lack of reply from the Mandalorian causing you to unconsciously shift on your feet before he finally stepped up to you and handcuffed your arms in front of you.
"Thank you for your consideration.” You smiled sarcastically even though he could not see a single inch of your expression.
“Sit down.” He directed in a monotone voice with his blaster still pointed at you, to which you plopped down on the seat in exaggeration.
You let out a scoff and a roll of your eyes as the Mandalorian lowered himself to the ground to tie your ankles to the bottom of the chair so you wouldn’t try to pull anything else. “You distrust me that much huh. Fair enough.” You leaned back in your set, twisting your body around and adjusting to make yourself comfortable as you watched him go over to his seat and start up the aircraft before taking off. You sniffled through the stuffiness in your nose, scrunching up your face from the smell of the blood that had dried up inside. Well it didn’t feel broken, and you have had broken noses before, though your body ached from your fight with the Mandalorian and the quarrel you had with the previous bounty you were after who just happened to be 8 feet tall and full of muscle. Let’s just say you didn’t like being tossed around like you were some stuffed animal. You were positive you had formed new bruises and reopened up the wounds you had just stitched earlier today from the way that some areas felt sore and tender.
“So uh….” You tried to make conversation while looking around for anything that just might help you break free and escape. You had to find a way out, one way or another, and it didn’t help that you were leaving the planet and your own ship behind. “Where we heading?” No answer. “You know, I’d like to know where I’m being sent and just who it is I am being sent off to.” Still no answer. Maybe, just maybe, if you annoyed him enough he might give up and set you free, that trick had worked once a long time ago. But sweet talking would definitely not work on him. “That’s some uh, pretty neat armor you got there. What is it, Beskar? So like how many hours do you spend polishing it?……………………….Okaayyyy then. I see you’re not much of a talker.” You nodded your head awkwardly before looking around again, edging a bit off your seat to get a better look at things.
“Quit moving around back there.”
“Oh. So you do talk, not much I presume. But you talk. I mean, you’ve gotta have said more than a few words in your lifetime, otherwise……….my goodness. Oh and by the way, you kinda messed up my gear, my voice distorter and my cloaking device are broken because of you and I believe I should receive some kind of compensation.” Ah yes more silence. You hated him already. I mean, you respected him, you’ll give him that. You just hated being with him, tied down to a chair with nothing but the sound of the aircraft and your own voice. A part of you even prayed that you would reach your destination quicker just so that you would not have to be stuck with him for who knows how long. And the fact that he wasn’t budging was pissing you off. There was one last thing you could do, one last trick. “Well then! If you don’t mind, I’d like to liven up this extremely dreadful atmosphere by singing some tunes. Maybe it’ll…..I don’t know……lift your spirits.” You cleared your throat before singing a tune you had once heard, making sure to be as exaggerated as possible.
“Aruba, Jamaica, oh I want to take you to Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go Oh I want to take you down to Kokomo, we’ll get there fast and then we’ll take it slow That’s where we want to go, way down in Kokomo……………
Tell everybody, I’m on my way! New friends and new places to see! With blue skies ahead, yes I’m on my way! And there’s nowhere else that I’d rather be!!!” You belted out before stopping at the sudden feeling of something touching your leg. “AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!” You jumped in your seat, your scream even startling the Mandalorian himself. “Yo! What the-” You looked down at your feet with a pale face to see what had grabbed you and being met with a pair of big brown eyes staring up at you, eyes belonging to a small green child with large pointy ears that reminded you of someone you once knew long before. “Oh. Hello there.”
“Grogu?” You heard the Mandalorian speak before turning his head around to face the small child that stood by your feet. “What are you doing there? Stay away from her. Go back to bed.”
The child tiled his head and let out a small blabber, his tiny fingers clutching around the fabric of your pants.
“He uh……he likes my singing.” You muttered out in sheer disbelief of there being a youngling aboard the ship, and not just any youngling. Something about him felt different, but you couldn’t quite figure it out.
“He what?” The Mandalorian now looked up to you. “You……understand him?”
“………Kind of?”
“Grogu. She’s dangerous. Go back to bed okay?”
The small child lowered his head in disappointment before waddling off as you watched him go with a softened and thoughtful look in your eyes. You tried to remember where you had seen him, if you had anyways. He reminded you so much of a mentor you once had, and you were saddened by the thought.
“What is he doing here?” You questioned before turning to stare at the back of the Mandalorian’s helmet, your reflection only staring back at you. “What purpose do you have with a youngling?” You leaned back in your seat when he provided no answer, the frown on your lips only deepening as you stared out at the stars that blanketed all around from the view outside the window. You had to find out why he had the child with him, whether it was for a bounty or whether he was just under his care, you did not know. And when you do, once you found an escape, you’d take him with you.
Summary:Din opens up about his past and learns how Amara met Ca’tra
A/N: Hello Lovelies,
Oh our poor beautiful Din and Amara, they’ve both been through so much. They’ve both lost so much, and yet it makes sense that they both understand each other so well. They’ve been trying to keep themselves from being hurt again, which is probably the main reason Din pushed Omera away.
As mentioned in the posting schedule, I may have to switch off between posting Sins of the Father and The Reunion, that will start as of next week, SOTF will be posted next week, The Reunion will be posted the following week. I realized I’m currently working on five stories, not including one offs and mini series. Once I start posting The Gym Membership, Upside Down and The Gym Membership will be on a rotating schedule as well. Sorry guys, but there’s only so much I can do.
Italics - Flashback
Bold & Italics - Auditory Enhancement
Warnings:Fluff, grief, death, explosions, innuendo, off screen violence, threats, mentions of dead bodies, flirting, kissing, I think that’s it, if I miss any please let me know.
Well Din just learned a whole lot more than he expected and he’s about to learn even more. Do you think he’ll be willing to open up more to Amara about his past?
Italics - Flashback
Warning:Grief, angst, fluff, relieving past trauma, kissing, I think that’s it, if I miss any warnings please let me know.
Do you think Xi’an was telling the truth about the bounty on Din’s head? who could have put it there. This chapter is quite angsty, just hang on. Don’t worry these two will have a deep conversation soon, but do you think Amara will tell Din everything right away or what about Din, will he reveal all his deep dark secrets to Amara?
Italics - Flashback
Warnings:Angst, violence (descriptive to a degree), beheading, unwanted flirting, grief, PTSD, mental distress, emotional distress, betrayal, anger, I think that’s all of it, if I miss any warnings please let me know.
It had been almost a year to the day since you had last laid eyes on Din Djarin and not a single day had gone by where you didn’t think of him.
For the most part you were left with the last memory you had of him - the pain that seeped through his words after you had all but questioned why he had helped you before he stormed off your ship never to be seen again. When you finally found the energy to make your way to the cockpit - around an hour after you had silently watched the Crest crash through the tops of the trees and bolt into hyperspace - you flew back to the Covert, truly believing that Din would already be there.
You fought off the unnerving feeling in the pit of your stomach as you brought your ship in to land with no sight of the Crest below, convincing yourself that Din needed to blow off some steam and had gone on another bounty. When you walked through the tunnels towards your room you never thought he would be gone longer than a few days, a week at most, and that this was just another argument that had gone too far and would be resolved by an apology before you went back to your usual teasing and taunting.
But then a week passed, and another, before it was coming up for a month and you began to panic. You had gathered your weapons and spent the following weeks searching every corner of the galaxy for a rogue Mandalorian, asking everyone if he had been seen or heard. It didn’t take long before you were begged by your parents and Adrean, the Armorer, and even your own heart that was growing exhausted from how desperately you had been searching for him, to stop.
When you returned to the Covert, empty handed and broken hearted, you threw yourself into bounty hunting and were only returning to the Covert to sleep and eat between bounties in the hope that you would have no time to think of Din… but that never worked.
Most of the time your mind went to the memory of watching him storm off your ship, his helmet refusing to turn back no matter how many times you shouted after him. Every time you thought of this moment you played out what would have happened if it had gone differently - if you had thanked him and asked him to stay with you until you had enough energy to fly home. You would have sat by side, a comfortable silence covering you both - perhaps some pleasant teasing rather the kind that left you feeling empty - and you would share out your energy bars until wishing each other a safe journey home before your ships landed side by side back on Nevarro.
Times you weren’t stuck replaying, or reimagining, this moment were filled with emotions just as painful as regret: anguish at the thought that perhaps something had gone wrong and his body was abandoned on a planet somewhere; grief at the thought of never seeing him again; and anger whenever you were having a particularly low day and let the thought pass through your mind that Din had just… ran.
Today when you looked in the mirror you no longer recognised the reflection, a once strong and powerful Mandalorian reduced to a shell of her former self after forcing your body to work to exhaustion each day in hope of going five minutes without being tormented by thoughts of him.
Even if you could go a day with your mind too distracted by a bounty to think of him - which was rare - every night when you went to sleep he was there waiting for you. Some nights you dreamt of the both of you living side by side in the Covert, sitting beside one another with pinkies brushing by each other as the Armorer spoke out to the crowd before you were both placed on armory duty together and you would silently clean the weapons, stolen glances shared. Other nights you dreamt of his first night in the Covert, the memory of sadness that had given way to a soft smile for a moment as you waved over your Father’s shoulder at him. There had even been a few dreams where you were with him free of your helmets, an image drawn up of what he could look like now - the same dark brown eyes he had as an ade and messy, dark hair with a smirk that never left his face. It didn’t matter what you dreamt of - happy or sad, simple or complex - you woke each morning in bed by yourself, a second of peace passing where you forgot that Din wasn’t here before it hit you and you had to drag your body from bed.
Last night’s dream had been a memory, a time you were injured in training and placed on armory duty until you were better. Din’s armory duty just so happened to coincide with yours for the next few weeks, your bodies that were still growing into their armor standing side by side in silence every evening for three weeks.
It was the knowledge that you wouldn’t have any more memories that made it so hard to get up from bed; that, and your aching limbs from returning after midnight after dropping your latest bounty off at the Cantina. You knew your parents and Adrean would try to dissuade you from going out again today and so you quickly washed, sneaking back out through the tunnels towards the Cantina with the sun already so high in the sky.
It was too late in the day for a decent bounty and the only ones that would be left now really wouldn’t be worth the hassle but hopefully enough to take you off planet for a few days including travel to some backwater planet.
You could feel Karga’s gaze on you from the second you stepped into the Cantina, his eyes following you carefully as you tried not to limp too much from the pain in your side after yesterday’s bounty had thrown one hell of a punch against you. You bit down on your bottom lip to stifle the pained groan as you slipped into the booth across from him, his hand hesitantly reaching for a puck.
“When was the last time you slept?”
You didn’t answer, your hands resting on your thigh and your helmet tilting back to rest against the booth as he stared into your visor. Some days Karga played this game, concern etched into his words before he finally gave in and handed you the puck. Other days he didn’t bring the subject up at all, his eyes avoiding the shawdy patched up armor that covered your body after a particularly nasty run in with a bounty.
Today was apparently the former and you stared back at him until he spoke again.
“I heard you dropped off a bounty this morning before I got here… and you’re already back for another?”
“And?”
Your word hung in the air, Karga raising an eyebrow across at you as he made a point to let his eyes drag down the armor covered in a ridiculous number of dents and scratches. With your mind almost always elsewhere - stranded wherever Din was - you had grown careless and had more close calls in the last year than ever before.
Sometimes you could convince yourself that Karga was doing this because he cared - he questioned your suitability to be taking another bounty because it could always be your last - but other days when you were particularly moody you took it as an act; he had already lost his top bounty hunter and now he could only watch as he was close to losing his second to carelessness.
Eventually Karga relented, sighing and pushing the puck the rest of the way across the table and into your hand. Your palm settled over it, scratching it along towards the edge of the table as you stood up. When you looked back down Karga was shaking his head and your hands were fidgeting with your rifle strap as you fought whether or not to ask the question that was on the tip of your tongue.
“Have you-” you cleared your throat, tapping the puck nervously on the edge of the table. “Have you heard anything?”
It had been weeks since you last asked. You knew that other than you, Karga was the next person who would have heard news of Din being back in the bounty hunting game. At first you would ask Karga on every visit but as disappointment gave way to embarrassment each time you asked you did so less and less, only bringing it up every so often.
Karga looked back at you, shaking his head with a sympathetic look in his eyes. You nodded once, turning back to the door before he could speak.
“Sorry, Kid,” he said and you shrugged, already heading for the exit before he could say any more.
The second you were on the ship you set course for Vandor - the last planet the bounty had been spotted on - before staring out of the window for the whole flight there. You didn’t even take your helmet off, the hard beskar resting back against the soft headrest as your mind was lost in the lights of time and space that whizzed by until your ship zoomed out of hyperspace and you took over the controls while bringing her in to land.
Vandor was a cold planet, even more so at this time of the cycle when the snow was starting to freeze over, and by the time you jumped down from the cockpit the cold air was already seeping through the scruffy metal of your ship. After opening and closing almost every drawer you finally found an old cloak, tying it around your neck and letting it hang over your shoulders to drape down to your calves. The hood and rim was lined with fur, stopping any heat from escaping beneath your helmet as you stepped off your ship and buried deeper into the thick material as you walked through the small forest at the edge of the city.
This part of bounty hunting had always been monotonous work but it kept your mind busy; asking for information on the bounty until you were finally led to the dark corners of the city. You had almost done a full circle, ending not far from where you had first entered the city through the thick rows of trees and as you climbed the steps towards the flashing sigh of the club you shook the snow off your boots and hood.
The doorman stood bored with his arms crossed until you pulled out enough credits for him to step aside, opening the door and letting the thumping music spill out. You dimmed the volume on your helmet as you stepped in, avoiding the busiest part of the club where the lights were flashing wildly and the dancefloor was full as you walked along the wall until finding a table at the back.
“A drink?”
You looked up from where you had been brushing the snowflakes from your cloak to two bar staff, dressed in very little and leaning across the booth.
“No,” you answered gruffly, adding a quiet “thank you,” before they walked away.
As you continued to keep your guard up and scan around the room, you couldn’t help the swirling in the bottom of your stomach. You were well past the days of bounty hunting making you nervous, the only real effect it had on your body any more being the spikes of adrenaline that made your body shake and heart race as you came down once you were safely back in the cockpit, so you weren’t sure what was causing it now.
Never one to ignore your instincts, you kept your fingers within reach of your blaster; your years upon years of training meaning you could have it out of the holster, aimed and fired within a heartbeat.
You sat at the table for a while longer, a few more people coming up to try their hand and buy you a drink or attempt to convince you to ditch the helmet and meet them in the bathroom, and just when you were about to give up hope the tracker began to buzz against your belt.
You didn’t lift it, not wanting the red flashing to draw any attention, and so you let it be as you scanned across the club for the bounty you had seen on the puck. Eventually your eyes landed on him, standing at the bar relaxed and unaware of your hunter eyes trained on him as he ordered another drink and let his head bob to the music.
It was always almost amusing to you how, despite having a bounty on their head worth a decent amount of credits, the bounties always seemed to go about living life without concern that anyone could be watching them. You smirked as your hand fell to your blaster, feet already carrying you through the sea of the bodies towards him.
But then came a flash of light.
Your eyes had instinctively begun to search out the cause that had sparked a fire in the pit of your stomach, your eyes eventually landing on the familiar beskar that knocked you breathless as you stood in the middle of the dancefloor.
The lights of the club were flashing around and every couple of seconds, if you stood in this exact spot, they would flash off a beskar helmet and blind your vision for a moment.
He was already staring at you, his arms relaxed over the back of a booth and legs spread wide as a twi’lek clung to his side. For a second - the tiniest, fraction of a second - you were relieved. Din - your Din - was alive and he was here. After months of thinking the worst, thinking that he had been killed and he would never be offered a proper Mandalorian funeral as his body lay in the depths of the outer rim - that you would never get to say goodbye - here he was, living proof that he was okay.
It didn’t take long for the relief to give way to the rage that spread through your body; he was alive and he was here, running away from you and what had happened almost a year ago to the day.
You noticed the puck on his table, reminding you of your very own, and you quickly turned, forcing your body away from the man you wanted nothing more than to run into his arms and scream “thank the maker you are alive,” no matter how angry you were; if you didn’t leave now you didn’t know what you would end up doing.
The bounty was right in front of you when you turned around, his eyes falling to the red flashing light on your belt. He was massive, his arms larger than your helmet and your helmet only coming up to the middle of his chest, but in the moment it was no match against your fury. Before he could even drop the glass in his hand and run in the other direction you had already raised your fist, his body slumping to the ground as soon as it connected with his face.
Only a few people noticed - most too busy dancing - and so you were free to wrap a rope around his legs and carry him towards the door without much fuss.
For a year you had dreamt about Din following you home, back to the Covert, but now you hoped more than anything he would stay. You didn’t trust yourself with him. You didn’t know whether you would cry and proclaim your love or shout and knock him out as quickly as the bounty.
Usually you would have taken a little more care as you brought the bounty back to the ship but you needed to get out of there as fast as possible, quickly tying his legs together and ignoring the pain in your back as you dragged him towards your ship. You had almost made it halfway, your boots dragging through the icy snow and your hands catching your falling body on more than one occasion, when you heard the familiar voice call out to you.
“Verd’ika.”
You dropped the rope from across your shoulder before turning around to face him.
“Djarin.”
It was dark now but you could just make out from under the moonlight that was fighting through the trees how he had been leaning against a trunk before pushing off it, walking slowly over to you. He held himself… differently than you had remembered; the same armor, the same voice, everything telling you that this was Din but as he stood before you, you knew that this wasn’t yourDin.
“Been a while,” you said, forcing your voice not to shake.
He didn’t reply, nodding once before coming to a stop far closer than need be so your helmet had to tilt up towards him. You refused to speak first again, tilting your helmet and waiting for him to go on.
“Miss me?” He asked.
You sighed, rolling your eyes under your helmet and reaching for the bounty who you had left - rather uncomfortably - on the ground. Fuck him - he doesn’t even see what his running off has done to you.
“Listen, I’ve got places to be but it’s nice to know you’re alive since you just disappeared off the face of the earth.”
He quickly reached for your wrist as you turned around, his leather pressing tight against yours and holding you in place as you gasped before turning to the side and looking up at him.
“Are- are you leaving now?” He asked and you wrenched your wrist from his hold; his warm touch that had almost begun to feel natural disappearing.
“Yes. Looks like you were quite busy back there anyway,” you nodded your chin over his shoulder towards the Twi’lek who was making her way through the forest towards you, shouting for “Mando”.
“I-”
“It’s fine, Din,” you said and you noticed his shoulders fall at the bite in your words, “I’m glad you’re still alive.”
You didn’t wait for an answer this time, turning on your heels and marching back to the ship as the tears that were spilling down your cheek blurred your vision.
This time it was Din who was forced to watch as you walked away and nothing about it felt good.
//
Additional notes: so there we have it, the year without Din! I will be continuing on with the main story on the 8 June however I am on holiday an out of the country on the date so if there is trouble posting it will be pushed back to the following week when I am home! I hope you all enjoyed
