#dyn x reader

(gif not mine)

Pairing: translator!reader x Din Djarin

WC: 1.6k

Summary: You get on board the Razor Crest and start to wonder if this was such a good idea, so you spend your time mentally unpacking your new companion.

Part 2 of “I Don’t Do Droids” read part one here!

* * *

You’ve walked for maybe twenty minutes through the crowded underbelly of Coruscant until the realization that you’re a colossal moron strikes like a load of duracrete. You’re following this man; a tall, menacing, Mandalorian, towards his ship with very little explanation aside from needing a translator and a trip to Devaron. And credits, which you would be the first to admit you were in desperate, desperate need of. Still, you’ve followed your fair share of strange men through dirty streets to dirtier ships, and it never ended particularly well.

Still, you think your companion this time around is… different. There’s something of a softness to his beskar edges, you heard it in his voice, saw it in the way he meandered around your belongings in your tiny room of a home. When you near what you suspect to be his ship, you see it again, as he freezes suddenly in front of you and turns on his heel to face you. “You’re uncomfortable.” He states, quite matter of factly, and you tut in response before crossing your arms over your chest. “Puhlease Mando, I’m a big girl, I can handle myself.” You reply, scrunching your face up to him in a desperate attempt to appear calm and collected. You imagine he smiles back at you and he places his hands on his hips, “You don’t trust me.”

“I don’t trust anybody.”

“Good. Then we have nothing to worry about.” He responds, and starts walking towards one of the older ships in the depot. Your eyes take in the Razor Crest, it’s an older model for sure, but something about the ship is well cared for. There’s rust in places rust ought to be, and it's shiny and new in the places it needs to be. When he presses a few buttons on his control panel along his wrist, the ramp lowers with the groan of an old ship, but you listen for squeaks and are pleasantly surprised to hear none. He takes care of this ship, you think to yourself, and he’s letting me on it. The thought sends a faint blush to your cheeks and a warmth to your chest, you don’t trust him yet, but you’re comforted by the realization that maybe, just maybe, he won’t kill you on board.

You follow heavy footsteps up the ramp and take in new surroundings. The dark, metallic echo of a ship is nothing new to you, but the outfittings of a bounty hunter’s ship surprise you. There’s a carbonite freezer to the side, an armory you watch him almost ceremoniously put his weapons in, and lock tightly with the buttons on his wrist. Next to all of this, however, you see a warm light glowing in a tiny refresher in the corner, and you can see a cot tucked in the back wall of the ship. If you squint, you can see a few folded tunics and pants along the top of a metal locker, and you feel stupid for being surprised that he owns clothes, much less folded ones. Yeah, like he just wears beskar and nothing else, that makes more sense you think to yourself, and lean back on your heels as you take it all in. He’s looking at you again, staring hard through the black T of his visor, his presence is amplified by the realization that you can’t see at all what he’s thinking. “You can throw your go bag over there,” and he gestures to a cubby just below where his own clothes lay. “I’m gonna take off, set a course for Devaron. You can come up into the cockpit whenever you’re ready” he states, and climbs up the ladder towards the controls. There’s something about the Mandalorian dialect, you think, their language is built around commands. You wonder if that's why he always sounds so confident when he speaks, so sure. Then again, you wouldn’t be surprised if years walking around in blaster proof armor just does that to people.

* * *

Up in the cockpit, it’s more crowded than you anticipated. He has four chairs up here, room for a large crew, yet only one hulking form to occupy them. Hyperspace blips in and out of existence as you seat yourself at the chair opposite him, biding your time staring out the transparisteel and into the bluewhite streaks of light that dance across your eyes. You watch him out of the corner of your eye, silent and focused, his head only jutting down for a few moments at a time to look at the nav. You hate that you’re so stiff next to him, that he can probably feel the anxiety radiating off of you across the way. He’s considerate, and you almost hate yourself for being so intimidated. “I’m sorry,” you blurt out, before you can even really realize what you’re saying. This seems to have caught him off guard, and he turns to face you after he flicks the ship in autopilot. “Sorry? For what?” he responds, elbows resting on his knees and letting his hands dangle loosely in front of him. “For being so cold I guess, I don’t know. It’s not you, it’s just-”

“I don’t expect to have your trust after an hour of knowing you,” he responds, scooting the chair a little closer to you in an attempt to make you relax. “Would it make you feel better if I told you if someone wanted you dead, you’d be dead by now?”

“I mean… It doesn’t make me feel worse?” you offer up, and you can swear you hear a metallic chuckle peeking out from underneath his modulator. “Do you owe Greef Karga anything? Money? A favor?”

“I don’t owe anyone anything”

“Well, he sent me to you, and I have no intention of letting any harm fall in the way of an… associate of his.” He says, and you swear you can hear an inkling of warmth in his voice, but it could just be you mind playing tricks on you. You hum in response before he starts up again, “Besides, I told you, you’re kind of entertaining to keep around.” And that earns him a laugh, and you lean back in the chair and allow your shoulders to remove themselves from next to your ears.

* * *

Devaronese is a weird language, nearly dead, spoken only by rich, politically inclined citizens of Devaron. You learned it for this reason, the politics behind it. The language had nearly died out during the Galactic Civil War, when people decided to just learn Basic instead. It made you sad, the thought that people would only learn one language. Sure, there were protocol droids and millions of dialects across the galaxy, but was it so hard to pick up a few? You skimmed over a few notes on your datapad before looking over at Mando, “Can I see the puck? I wanna see what kind of dialect I’ll need” and he turns to and hesitates for a moment before reaching it into his pocket and igniting it. A young humanoid male appears, a fact that makes you shake your head in response. “We’re going to Devaron to look for a politician's kid who's not Devaronese?”

“He’s from Hosnian Prime. He’s hiding out on Devaron, easy to get lost in those jungles and catch a ride on a cruiser, they’re both on the Corellian Trade Spine.” You nod, mouth making an “O” shape as you try to think like a bounty hunter, not a linguist. “So you need me to help make connections with people so you can find him quicker?” and he sends pointed fingers at you to indicate you’re spot on. “I thought you’d be smart, with all the languages. You learn quick.” You smile in response and give him a question of your own, “Try me? Quiz me on a language you think you know better than me.”

“Elek. [Ok.]” He replies. Perfect. Mando’a. You’re trying to discover bits of him, the pieces he won’t give you yet. Something about the way he lets his language slip across his lips with ease, but without the guttural sounds, keys you in on the fact that this is not his mother tongue. He learned this later in life. “You’ll be surprised how well I know Mando’a.”

“Gar serim, [You’re right] then surprise me more.” 

You spend another hour or two teasing each other, throwing insults in Mando’a back and forth and you teaching him a few basic words in Devaronese. He looks at you a little too long as your eyes grow droopy and he shoots out one last question. “What’s your native language?” and you smile to yourself as you let your eyes slip shut for a moment. You hum in response before murmuring, “Galactic Basic.” He lets out a barking laugh before replying, “So the translator comes from a planet with only one langauge? Seem’s ironic to me.” You contemplate giving him a morsel of yourself, and decide the only fair way is to let him in on what you’ve learned about him. “Naboo doesn’t have another language. We only learned the one in our education,” and you pause for a moment to let him absorb the honesty of your statement before continuing, “besides, your native language isn’t Mando’a. You learned only Basic too.” Your eyes slip shut once more, and you let out one final breathy sigh before leaning farther back in your chair. You can feel your companions eyes burning a hole into your face, but are surprised when you’re only met with a light touch to your knee. “You are smarter than you let on. Meh gar kyrayc, shuk bah ni [you’re no use to me dead, get some sleep] you’re tired. We’ll be in Devaron shortly. I need your brain fully charged.” You smile to yourself as you let your mind drift off to sleep, next to a man you don’t fully trust, the kind yet patronizing Mando’a idiom slipping into your mind. 

Maybe he does want you to stick around.

_______________________________________________________________________

A/N: this is probably the shortest chapter in the series since in this one the reader was pissed at Mando and left him.

The ride back was silent, Mando didn’t say anything to you and you didn’t say anything to him. You felt rather awkward that the situation escalated like that but you didn’t change your mind this was wrong...

Suddenly a button started ringing Mando presses a button and you see a hologram of Karga come up “Mando, Y/N. I’ve received your transmission. Wonderful news. Upon your return deliver the quarry directly to the client.” Karga lets out a chuckle “I have no idea if he wants to eat it or hang it on his wall, but he’s very antsy.”

You glance over and see the child touch one of the controls of the ship it’s probably interested in the ball you thought. You let out a soft chuckle as you watched it “safe passage! You know where to find me.” Mando turns off the hologram.

He notices your gaze looking at something, he follows your gaze and sees the child chewing on something “it’s not a toy.” He says before taking it away from the child.

You watch as Mando picks up the child from its hood before placing it back inside its carrier, you felt your heart grow heavy you didn’t want to give it to the client.

The child coos as its gaze meets yours, you smile before turning around you watch as the planet approach as Mando pushes a few buttons.

Finally he lands the ship “lets go.” He finally says to you, you quickly rush outside you didn’t want to go with him to see the client it was driving your insane how he couldn’t see how wrong this was!

Before you could make it outside the ship you felt Mando yank on your wrist making you face him.

“You’ve been acting strange.” He says to you. You let out a snarky chuckle “I just don’t want to go with you that’s all.” You tried breaking free from him but continued to hold your wrist “why?”

“You know why.”

“Because of the child? What made you change your mind?” He kept asking you questions and it only drove you more insane you finally yanked away from him.

Never once have you gotten pissed at Mando, you two always did stuff together without hesitation because you two were just great friends like that but.. now ever since you both met this child it basically drove a rift between the two of you.

“Because this is wrong Mando!” You shout at him as he continued to stare at you “this is the way.” He only says as he waits for your responses.

Your fingers trembled as you held back every curse word you could think of to call him “no that’s your way.. not mine.” You say before walking away from him, of course you’d always be there for Mando he’s.. special to you.

But this time you couldn’t stand by him you could only hope that Mando would make the right choice.

You walked away from Mando, and he watched you leave the child whimpered sadly as it looked up at Mando “she’s not coming back..” he mumbled before starting to walk inside the town.

The child stared at everything it saw, it cooed as it looked up at Mando but he didn’t look back down at it. Mando’s mind kept thinking of the things you said his eyes scanned around the town but didn’t see you.

Mando arrived to where the client’s base was, he knocked on the door as a droid popped out from a hole and asked Mando for something, Mando pulled out something and showed it to the droid who scanned it.

The droid went back inside the hole as the door finally unlocked, stormtroopers walked outside before looking down at the child who only lowered its ears.

One of the stormtroopers walked inside as Mando followed behind him the second stormtrooper followed behind Mando as the door closed behind them.

As they walked inside the stormtrooper in front pulled on the child’s carrier “easy with that.” Mando says in a threatening voice “you take it easy.” The stormtrooper barked back at Mando.

The door opened to reveal the client and the doctor, the client quickly got up as he picked up a tracking fob “yes!” He said happily as he walked over to the child.

The tracking fob beats rapidly as he gets closer to the child “yes! Yes! Yes!” Mando watches as the two men watched the child in fascination “yes.” The client said again as the doctor pulled out something to examine the child.

The bright red light reflected against Mando’s helmet as it scanned the child, the doctor smiled “very healthy. Yes.” The client looked up at Mando before giving him a confused glance.

“Where is your comrade?” He asked Mando, Mando looked down “she’s.. somewhere.” The client didn’t say anything before moving onto something else “your reputation was not unwarranted.”

“How many tracking fobs did you give out?” Mando bluntly asked him “this asset was of extreme importance to me I had to ensure its delivery.” The client walks away from Mando “but to the winner..”

The client pulls something from underneath his desk as he places it on top “go the spoils.” The client pressed a few buttons making it open to reveal Beskar, Mando leaves the side of the child as he walks over to his reward, he picks up two Beskars and examines them.

“Such a large bounty for such a small package.” The client says as he stares at Mando, the child lets out a cry as the doctor leads the carrier to another room as Mando watches.

The child only stares and Mando sadly lowering its ears before disappearing into the back room as the door closes, Mando looks down at the Beskar before looking at the client “what are your plans for it?” Mando asked.

The client’s face didn’t change “how uncharacteristic of one of your reputation you have taken both commission and payment is it not the code of the guild that these events are now forgotten?” The door from the other rooms opens as more stormtroopers pour of it and stand behind the client.

Mando eyes them “that Beskar is enough to make a handsome replacement for your armor unfortunately, finding a mandalorian in these trying times is more difficult than finding the steel.” Mando puts the Beskar back as he stares right at the client.

He closes the case of the Beskar before carrying it out the door, he walked back to the hiding place for the Mandalorians as he walked by some Mandalorians he saw that a few glanced at him he knew that they were staring at him because of the reward he was carrying.

He walk over to Armorer as she sat by a table, he placed the bounty reward on the table before opening the case to reveal all the Beskar inside, she took a few as she examines them.

Some Mandalorians walk inside the room as well “this amount can be shaped many ways.” She says to Mando as he places the Beskar on the table.

“My armor has lost its integrity, I may need to begin again.”

Armorer continues to stack the Beskar on the table “indeed I can form a full cuirass this would be an order for your station.”

“That.. would be a great honor.” Mando said to Armorer. She notices more Mandalorians come into the room “I must warn you it will draw many eyes.” She warns him.

Then heavy infantry walks up to the table he picks up one of the Beskar he looks at them before noticing a mark on them he scoffs “these were cast in an imperial smelter.” He shows the other Mandalorians “these are the spoils of the great purge.”

He turns back to Mando “the reason that we live hidden like sand rats.” He said before tossing the Beskar on the table.

Armorer picks up the Beskar as she stacks it on top of the others “our secrecy is our survival. Our survival is our strength.”

“Our strength was once in our numbers now we live in the shadows only to come above ground one at a time, our world was shattered by the empire with whom this coward shares tables.” Heavy infantry got closer to Mando, but Mando didn’t flinch or coward away.

“No wonder your comrade left you in the dust.” Heavy infantry said before going over to remove Mando’s helmet. Mando quickly smacked his hand away as the two began to fight the rest of the Mandalorians and Armorer watched.

Armorer finally got up, Mando and heavy infantry both held daggers right at each other “the empire is no longer and the Beskar has returned when one chooses to walk the Way of the mandalore, you are both hunter and prey how can one be a coward if one chooses this way of life? Have you ever removed your helmet?” She asked Mando.

“No.”

“Has it ever been removed by others?”

“Never.”

Armorer pauses for a bit before saying “this is the way.”

“This is the way.” The rest said.

Heavy infantry and Mando finally put down the dagger away from each other “this is the way.” Heavy infantry said as he stared at Mando then turning his attention to Armorer.

“What caused this damage?” She pointed at Mando’s armor.

“A mudhorn.”

“Then you have earned the mudhorn as your signet I shall craft it.” She said as she sits down.

“I can’t accept, it wasn’t a noble kill.” Mando says as he sits across from her “I was helped.. by an enemy.”

Armorer glances at Mando strangely “why would an enemy help you in battle?”

Mando remembers that day, the child had helped you and him against the mudhorn if it didn’t who know what would’ve happened that day.

“It.. did not know it was my enemy.” Armorer tilts her head “since you forgo a signet I shall use the excess to forge whistling birds.” She says placing a few Beskar aside.

“Whistling birds will do well reserve some for the foundlings.”

“As it should always be the foundlings are the future. This is the way.”

“This is the way.” The group chanted.

“This is the way.” Mando repeats.

Your POV:

You walked inside the bar where usually Karga was at, you quickly scanned the room to make sure Mando wasn’t there and he wasn’t thankfully. You let out a sigh before walking to the bartender to order something “Y/N.” You heard Karga called out to you.

You took your drink over to Karga as you sat across from him “Hey Karga.” He seemed to frown at you “where’s Mando? You two are always together.” You grip your drink in your hand “uhm.. busy.. he’s busy.” You quietly said as you took a sip from your drink.

Karga continued to stare at you, you hated when he did that you weren’t good at hiding your expressions but Karga then smiled at you as he then continued to ramble on about a few things.

After the chat with Karga you decided to leave you bid Karga goodbye as you left the bar you wondered what happened to the child and with Mando, you wanted to see him but the guilt of letting the child go back to the client was eating you away.

There were many reasons why this was bothering you so much, but you couldn’t blame Mando for not knowing things in your past you both never really talked about things like that.

You looked up at the sky it was always gray and gloomy but why did it look more sadder than it did before? You let out a sigh you didn’t want this to tear your friendship apart with Mando it meant too much for it to end.

You were going to find Mando but something odd was happening some of the people in the town were gathering together with Karga.

You got closer to them but made sure to keep yourself hidden “do you really think we’d get a reward if we bring Mando and the child back to the client?” One of the bounty hunters asked.

“Of course! If the child is away from the client that only means the hunt is on.” Karga replies to the other bounty hunter “and if Mando gets in the way just kill him.” You felt a small gasp escape you as you heard him say that.

You needed to find someone to help you! But who?! Everyone was against Mando at this point for the reward that the client would offer, but that’s when you realize the only people who would help mando would be the rest of the Mandalorians.

He told you about them because he trusted you, he always did.. you quietly snuck out of your hiding spot and went to go find the entrance to the Mandalorians. Once you found it you made your way down the stairs.

It was dark and quiet making you more nervous of your movements “hello?” You whispered trying not to spook anyone near by or make them attack you.

“What are you doing here?” You heard someone say making you flinch a bit “I.. I need help, Mando he’s in trouble.” You say you heard more footsteps but you didn’t know where it was coming from until a light shined brightly.

You saw so many Mandalorians looking at you, it surprised you usually there were never this many Mandalorians in one place but yet here they were “You’re Y/N?” You heard a voice come up from behind.

You turned around and saw another Mandalorian but she was dressed differently from the rest “how do you know my name?” You asked her.

“Mando as you call him has told me many things about you, but I’ve heard you said he needed help?” You nodded “please the entire town is against him and me helping him it won’t help him that much.” You said to her.

She glances at the rest of the Mandalorians giving them a nod “this is the way.” All of them said in unison.

“Does.. that mean you’ll help?” You asked hoping they’d said yes.

“For our own yes.” Another Mandalorian replies he was bigger than the rest making him more intimidating.

“Thank you I’m grateful.” You said smiling at him.

“Have you ever flown on a jetpack? Or know how to use one?” He asked you.

“No I haven’t.. please don’t tell me what your going to make me do.”

Third POV:

Shots rang out in the town as Mando ducked for cover, you were right he couldn’t let the child go with the client guilt ate away at him and he didn’t even know why... he wished he could’ve apologized to you but you left and it was his fault.

He looked down at the child as it opened its eyes and looked up at Mando it let out a coo, he needed to protect this child.. he can’t let it go back to the client even if everyone was trying to kill him at this point he’d risk his life for the child to have a normal life.

Suddenly he heard something fly above him as it shot at someone who was standing on top of a building, Mando looked up and saw the Mandalorians on jetpacks fly down and start shooting at the people who were shooting at him.

He was.. shocked he never thought that they would come up from hiding just to defend him.. but one question lingered in his mind how did they know he was in trouble?

He heard a loud shooting and looked up and saw heavy infantry expect.. he was holding someone and that someone was you “I’m NEVER doing that again!” You shout, even if it was for a short time you hated heights!

You saw Mando looking at you, you quickly rushed to his side “Y/N.. you came back?” You rolled your eyes “I was pissed at you Mando, but id never leave you like that.” You said giving him a warm smile.

“Get out of here! We’ll hold them off!” Heavy infantry said running to the moment between the both of you.

“You’re going to have to relocate the covert.” Mando says as he hands you the child, it gurgles in delight as it saw you “I’ve missed you too.” You said smiling.

Heavy infantry and Mando saw the bonding you had with the child “this is the way.” He said to Mando “this is the way.” Mando replies.

You felt Mando grab your hand in his “let’s go!” He shouts, you nod as the both of you start running to his ship “what made you change your mind?” You asked him.

“Things.” He says as the both of you board the ship “well I’m glad those things made you change your mind.” You say.

“Hold it.” Both of you heard Karga say, Mando protectively covered your figure with his “I didn’t want it to come to this, but then you broke the code and now your dragging Y/N into this.” You notice Mando look over at something before using his control wrist to activate the ship’s control as smoke covered the ship.

Mando quickly pushed you to cover you, as Karga shoots his blaster but missed you and Mando he was shaking trying to see through the smoke but Mando shot him right in the chest area making him fly out the ship.

“Are you alright?” Mando asked “y-yeah.. so is the child.” Mando nodded before making his way up to the ship as you followed him.

You sat right beside Mando with the child in your lap as Mando started up the ship, you could see the Mandalorians still continue to fight against the people who shot at Mando.

Mando quickly flew the ship away from the town you let out a sigh, placing the child down on the floor as it started to walk around.

“Thank you.” You heard Mando say but not face you “for what?”

“For.. telling the Mandalorians to help me.”

“You’re welcome..” you mumbled.

You looked outside and saw one of the Mandalorians fly by next to you guys on his jetpack he made a salute to Mando before flying off “I gotta get one of those.. you flew with heavy infantry didn’t you?” He asked.

“He complained about how tight I was holding onto him.” You heard Mando let out a soft chuckle suddenly you saw a small green hand reach up to small ball on the controls of the ship.

The child let out a coo to get Mando’s attention. Mando unscrewed the ball before handing it to the child it let out a giggle before disappearing underneath the controls.

“So.. can I call you daddy Mando for now on?” You joked “unless you wanna be called mommy then no.” You let out a laugh “I really missed you for those few hours Mando.”

Chapter Two: Silence in the Sand Dunes 

"So, this little thing is what caused all this fuss?" You looked over at the wrinkly baby in his arms. This thing that looked like an old green man had been shrunken down into a fun-sized toy? On some other planet, this thing could be the hottest kids' toy. Even with the recent battle that just ended, the child looked no worse for the ware. He wasn't bothered in the slightest! Instead of crying or whining, the little thing was just reaching up towards your hair with his tiny three fingered hands. Mando nodded, rifle slung over his back as you made your way back to his ship. He wasn't sure why he was allowing you to come, curiosity perhaps. When he gathered up the Child and began to travel back to his ship, you started to follow him. Even his continued silence hadn't dissuaded you. You continued to hurry alongside him, allowing the blanket of silence to cover the two of your save for the few questions you had asked. Each had been answered with a curt nod or a few gruff words. The Mandalorian was used to people giving him a wide birth when they were around him. He gave off an aura of intimidation as easy as a king gave off an aura of authority. Mandalorians were ruthless warriors who would give mercy to no one. Yet, here you were, walking side by side to one you had met no less than an hour ago. You had no reason to trust him and yet here you were, following him back to his ship. Were you brave? Stupid? There was a fine line between those two and he couldn't find which side you teetered on.  He was tempted to chide you on how dangerous your actions were but instead decided to ask something that had been bothering him. "That staff," His voice cut through the wind, bringing your attention to him instead of the child. With a simple nod of his head in your direction, he began to speak again, "-Where was it? Did you have it stashed in the cantina?"

"Oh no!" You chuckled as your hands ran across the metal of your faithful companion. It had seen you through all of your adventures since you turned eleven. It had been hard at first but you luckily grew into the weapon and learned how to use it with the ease of a fish swimming through water. It looked old but you made sure to keep it in working order. No shocking needed, it didn't work when you initially found it anyway. When you first found it, you used it as nothing more than a bridge to get across the larger gaps in the abandoned ships. "I did some tinkering on it and made it retractable. It didn't take much, just some time at the saw and strong springs. It is a lot easier to get it out than putting it back in. Can't do that as fast as I can pull it out. Same as anything retractable I guess. But, anyway, I keep it on me at all times. Never know when a staff can come in handy. Even just as a walking stick like now!" Mando glanced at you through the side of his eyes, keeping his helmet looking forward. He would rather die than be caught looking. You were small- not in the thin way. Your weight had nothing to do with what caught his attention. It looked as though someone had left clothing in a dryer for too long and it had shrunk. The electrostaff looked so big when compared to your own size. All of the Bohemians he had seen were like that. Perfect for squeezing in between people and getting lost in crowds. Had evolution turned your people this way or did they simply take advantage of their size?

Perfect for being thieves and sneaky like the weasels that inhabited deep jungles. It only crossed his mind briefly that he may be basing his thoughts on stereotypes. All of your people may not be like that. Yet, it was true what people said about Mandalorians. They were fierce fighters who were emotionless. That was what Mando was. If the rumors were true about him, why wouldn't they be about you? Just as he had been taught to fight, you had been taught to move without a sound.

Yet even with your size, you had no trouble taking on those bounty hunters. You moved with the grace of the wind itself and the force of the rapid waves of rivers. Had you been taught by someone? You looked trained but the rest of your group had fled when the first blaster shot rang out. Just like rats caught sneaking in the pantry. With a sigh quiet enough to escape his modulator, he tried to push those thoughts to the back of his mind. Perhaps he wasn't being fair. He knew his people skills could use some work.

While the man's eyes were trained on you, you instead were taken aback by the ship you were travelling to. Not because of how big it was. Not because of how fancy it was. It was neither of those things. Instead, you were surprised it continued to work. It didn't look that different from the ships you found in the graveyard out in the dunes. A patchwork job of a ship, definitely not those of fancy traders or royals. You had never been on a ship before...Well, that wasn't exactly true. You had never been on a ship that worked and actually could fly. The closest thing you had been on were hover bikes.

When you were younger, you had spent every free second pouring over books that went into exact detail on how different ships worked. You had a dream of going far away and having some grand adventure. It felt as though something in your blood pulled you somewhere far past the stars. You needed to go find it. For that to happen, you would need a ship. You learned which were the best and could take most common ships apart and back together again. With the books as well as the abandoned ships, you had perfected your skill.

That is to say, you perfected it in theory. You had never worked on a working ship so you couldn't necessarily see if your actions worked or not. With everything you knew and the diagrams from your books, it looked perfect. You were sure it was right. It had to be. Yet, never once did you see your work in action. This little detail was one you kept hidden whenever working with the townspeople. You may not have experience with ships but you had tinkered around with a few vehicles when travelers found themselves with a broken bike or car.  

"You know, when I said you were a bum, I was joking," You said as you followed him up the ramp into the heart of his ship. It wasn't much better inside than it was on the exterior. It still looked rundown but it was nowhere near as intimidating as the outside. The ship was like a porcupine with scrap metal looking like sharp quills. It was a tactic to keep others from coming near.  Yet, the body was different. It looked lived in, messy but not as if it had lost the touch of a person. It held a warmth in it that the many ships you explored lacked. Your eyes crossed the shiny armor again and wondered if the Mandalorian was just like his ship. On the outside, he seemed to have no emotions and more a weapon than a person. That couldn't be true, no matter how hard he tried to convince others that it was. An emotionless fighter wouldn't be caring for a child that brought so much trouble with it. What was left as the question then was what was hidden under all that metal and blasters? "I can still kick you out."

Nodding silently, you followed the heavy footsteps of Mando as he made his way to the cockpit of the ship. It seemed to be the best kept area which only made sense. This was where the actions of life and death resided. If something went wrong here due to rust or clutter, it could mean a useless ship all the way to the death of all of those aboard. In all the books you had read, that was repeated time and time again. Respect the ship. The child was placed in what looked to be a makeshift crib made of scraps of metal and cloth. This didn't seem to matter to the green being as he fell asleep almost as soon as his big ears hit the blanket that padded him in. With the passage of time, it was becoming more and more clear that this man didn't know what he was doing. He was on the run with this kid from dangerous people. That was all you were told but these small details expanded on the situation. It was obvious to you that this man had never dealt with children before.  At least not something so young.

I wonder if the Mandalorian ever felt some parental jealousy when The Child sets his eyes on someone else.

Here's a fan fiction prompt for you!

The Mandalorian hired you because of your skills as a mechanic among others things like combating and piloting. Soon, the Mando noticed you interact with his son. You talked to The Child about how the ship works, how to fix it, and which tools is which. This stuff makes Mando's heart melt the way you handle The Child as a 2nd parent. Keep this in mind, you're not a baby person or even a kid person. But this kid is alright. There's something pulls you towards him. Probably his adorable face or maybe something else.

Either way, you don't mind staying in the ship or taking the baby to town while Mando hunt for some bounties.

At first, the Mando finds this lack of attention from The Child refreshing. He needs time to himself.

But then...

The Child wants to be held by you more than Mando himself. One night, the baby wants to sleep in your cot when he had a nightmare. These to name a few that makes Mando uneasy about the new favorite person in this Child's life.

The kicker: Mando spots you floating a few small tools to entertain the baby while the baby does the same with a few large nuts and bolts.

How can he compete with a stranger with Force powers?

Might end with Mando clumsily express his feelings or learning that he needs to spend more time with The Child. Maybe end with you and Mando decide to co-parents and a couple of lovers.

The ball is the writer's court.

Read part 2 here!

Pairing: translator!reader x Din Djarin

Summary: Reader and Din finally make it to Devaron. She gets to use her skills as a translator and help him pick up the quarry, and she finally gets a moment to think to herself and maybe develop a crush on her Mandalorian partner. 

Warnings: firefight *very brief, no gore*, mentions of death, alcohol

WC: 2k

A/N: I think after this part i’m time jumping. I want them to develop their relationship so the *romance* can start. Also, I need yodito content. Next part is going to take place like right before/maybe during part of episode 1!

* * *

You land in Devaron not long after. You fell asleep somewhere between a gently teasing conversation and shortly before the Razor Crest sputters out of hyperspace, and you watched as Mando steered the ship towards the planet. It was lush, a warm green that seemed to light up the entire visor of the ship, with the foliage so bright it seemed to blind you beyond the transparisteel. As you neared the planet’s surface, the shapes of jungles, vines, trees, and warm duracrete temples poked out through leafy branches, and you smiled as you took in all the system had to offer. You hadn’t been off Coruscant in years, before that was spent in the hot and dry deserts of Tatooine. You were excited to stretch your mind and use the language skills you had acquired, that was a guarantee, but the promise of new travel and a new system couldn’t be ignored. Mando seemed to catch the glint in your eye as he spoke up, “Haven’t been off Coruscant in a while huh?”

“Can’t say I get out much, I’m sure you understand.” You chided back, resulting in the echoed chuckle underneath his helmet. “Sure, I suppose I do.”

He landed the ship amidst some of the heavy foliage, deep enough in the jungle that your ship was obscured by heavy branches, but not far enough that the walk to the last known location of the quarry was going to be too far a walk. You bounded down the ladder of the ship after him, and paused at the large metal doors of the armory. He paused and looked at you for a moment before handing you a small, yet powerful blaster. “Can you use this?” 

“Yes I can use it.”

“A stormtrooper can use it. But can you actually hit something?”

“I’m a better shot than a stormtrooper thank you.” “Well, let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that. You’re here to help me get information and then back on the ship.” You stared at him incredulously for a moment before sputtering a reply, “But, but I want to come! I can handle myself. What if you get stuck and can’t talk your way out?”

“I have a way with words.”

“Not in a language you don’t know you don’t.”

“Look, you’re not coming. I still don’t know if I trust you. Yet.” He added, and placed a gloved hand on your shoulder. “Just help me translate and find your way to the ship. Can I trust you to do that?”

“Fine.” You spat, crossing your arms over your chest. “Then bring me back something from the market. Since I can’t go anywhere.”

“We’ll see how you behave.” He said, and finished grabbing his blasters and shut the armory doors. He gestured toward the ramp of the ship, and opened the hatch, basking the hull in a warm sunlight. “After you.” He said, and you laughed in response and trudged out into the thick Devaron air. 

* * *

It had been not much under an hour of walking, and you’d be lying if you hadn’t let your mind wander under the silence of the walk. You watched the sunlight glint off of the beskar on his helmet and could feel your cheeks fill with a warm rosy blush, but you convinced yourself it was the humidity of the jungle. You knew that wasn’t entirely true, the warmth under your skin where he had touched you earlier had not subsided, and you spent the walk imagining the color of his eyes and the pout on his lips when you could tell he was grimacing at you. You imagined him as brown eyed, you couldn’t see him with blue or purple. Underneath the modulated beskar, his voice spoke of a warmth only brown eyes knew. You fixated on your fingers, picking dead skin around the dry spots of your nail. Mando seemed to notice you overthinking, and looked over at you. “What are you doing?”

“Keeping myself busy. Why?” “You’re dangerously quiet.”

“I’m thinking.” “Mmm,” he hummed, “not good.” You sent a scowl his way before continuing, “I’m making sure my Devaronese is fresh. I don’t want to misspeak. Devaron women are proud people.”

“Yes. I remember reading something about them, the men travel quickly after adolescence and move across the galaxy?”

“Yeah, they don’t stay too long in one place. Kinda like you.” You hushed almost as soon as you spoke. You had known this man for nearly two days, and something told you he didn’t like the tiny linguist at his side psycho-analyzing him. Instead, you were surprised when he murmured back, “Yes. Like me.”

After reaching the city, Mando was quick to pull out the fob and begin tracking his quarry. You looked around the village streets, beautiful architecture and overflowing bazaar booths sprung out at you, boasting fruits and silks as colorful as the lights you’ve seen outside your apartment days before. You smiled to yourself as you understood the lively chatter the women and older men spoke to each other, and watched as children spoke to each other in their native tongue, with bits of basic mixed in. You were brought back to reality by Mando grabbing your elbow with one leather covered hand, and gesturing to a building to your right. “It’s a bar.” You said, reading the sign above the door. “Makes sense.” He responded, and you followed him into the dark building. Inside it was cooler, a refresh from the humid air outside, and there was a large bar in the center of the room. Species of all kinds gathered around, some tucked into shaded booths while a few Twi’lek dancers turned in the corner of the room. It seemed less seedy than the bars near your home, or the ones you’ve been in on Tatooine, but the undercurrent of a dark bar was the same no matter what system you were on. Din gestured to the bartender nearest you, and you smiled sweetly up at the older Devaron man. “[Hello. Me and my partner are looking for a man. Can you help us?]” You spoke, biting your lips in anticipation, hoping you got your translation right. “[Ha! I don’t help anyone for free. You better buy a drink first.]” You looked over at Mando before saying, “He won't help until we buy a drink.” “Ok, tell him what you want.” He said, placing credits on the counter. You smiled up at him, appreciating the gesture, and also with the understanding that he couldn’t indulge in a drink in a room full of people. You wondered how hot it was under that armor. “[Green champagne. And our information please.]” The bartender smiled back at you, and poured you a tall glass of a bubbling liquid a pale mint color. You brushed it up to your lips and smiled at the refreshing, sharp taste. You passed the man the puck and illuminated it, and he looked at it for a moment before answering. “[He was just in here a few minutes ago. Younger guy. I don’t think he knows you’re here. He was talking of heading to the space port a klick up the main road.]”

“[Thank you for the information. And the drink.]” You got up after finishing what was left in your glass, and passed it back to the bartender. Before you had fully turned around, the man called back, “[Good luck! I wonder what that poor sap did to get a Mandalorian on him!]” and clutched his stomach and let out a hearty laugh. Mando looked down at you as you headed out the door. “What was that last part?”

“Nothing, I can’t tell you. Can’t let your head get too big for that helmet.”

* * *

You were headed out into the jungles, following the split of you and Mando. He headed up towards the spaceport to catch the quarry and you were to go wait in the ship. Behave. He seemed grateful enough for your help, and you had to admit, the rush of traveling with a Mandalorian was indescribable. The way people stared at you as you followed in his hulking shadow made you feel both tiny and invincible. You hadn’t known your counterpart very long, but you had the feeling while you were in his good graces, no harm would come to you. As you bounded into the ship, you busied yourself with flicking the comm Mando had given you open and closed, and spinning his captain’s chair in circles. You ran your hands along the controls of the ship, imagining how it must feel to fly it. You hadn’t flown in far too long, not counting the rusted up yellow speeder you had for a short while in Coruscant before some drunk Corellian crashed into it. It was amazing to feel this free, even in the confines of this metallic ship, Mando was the closest thing you had to a friend in a while. You were eager to find more work, and hoped it would lead you to follow your short-humoured and strangely alluring counterpart.

A while later, around a few hours maybe, the comm on the control panel blinged. You starred at it in disbelief. The comm he had given you was to be used only for emergencies, and Mando didn’t seem like the kinda guy who sat on his comm and turned it on. After clicking it open, you were startled to hear blasterfire and his voice. “Y/N. I’m sending you coordinates, meet me here now.” He said, sounding remarkably calm under what sounded like intense fire. “Ok, ok I can do that.”

“I know you can. Sending coordinates now.”

You looked down at what he had sent you, and plugged them in quickly to the ships nav system. It wasn’t far, would take only a few minutes to fly over and you realized it must have been the space port. After starting up the ship, you apprehensively used the controls you had watched him use earlier to slowly rise the ship up, then forward, and then you were flying, flying quickly towards the coordinates. You approached the port, and weren’t surprised to see Mando standing alone, a few scattered bodies lay around him, the quarry right beside him, arms cuffed. You smiled to yourself. In some weird, probably sick way, you were kinda impressed. Sure, you knew he was a Mandalorian, but you didn’t realize he was this deadly. And he was nice to you. You pressed the button to open the hatch and felt the ship dip under the added weight of the two men. There was a muffled commotion in the hull, and then a sound you quickly realized was the carbonite freezer. Mando climbed up the ladder and walked through the door into the cockpit, and you scooted over to the seat behind him. “I told you you weren’t so good with words.” You said, and he scoffed as he plugged in the coordinates to Nevarro. “Yeah, s’pose you’re right about one thing.” He said as he pulled you out of the system’s atmosphere. “You did good though. With the speaking, and the flying.” he started, and you cocked an eyebrow and crossed your arms over your chest, “I told you I’m good at this stuff.” You said, and placed the ship in autopilot before spinning towards you, “Yeah, I get it. Look, I could use another hand around here. For talking and flying. I can teach you to defend yourself. What do you think about sticking around? I can pay well enough.” You beamed bright pink and looked down at the floor for a moment, before looking up at the T in his visor. Being this close to him and under this much scrutiny was intense, the feeling that he could see you but you couldn’t see him was electrifying. “Yeah, I’d like that. Someone’s gotta keep you out of trouble.” You said, and patted him on the shoulder as you moved towards the door of the cockpit. “Oh here,” he called and you turned around. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brown parcel and tossed it to you. You unwrapped the brown canvas and inside was a long piece of fuschia and blue silk, a hair scarf. “You didn’t think I’d forget did you?” He laughed, and turned towards the transparisteel in the front of the ship, leaving you with the beautiful scarf and your emotions behind him. Kriff. He was good.

_______________________________________________________________________

Tag list!!

A few weeks had passed by since you started this journey with the Mandalorian. The Child had quickly formed an attachment to you, which wasn't shocking. Mando was fine at taking care of him but he didn't show as much affection as a kid that age craves. This was his first time having to take care of a child, at least you assumed. Everyone had to start somewhere and he seemed to have done a well enough job before you joined. He kept the kid alive and happy which was more than a lot of parents you had seen. It was endearing to see how hard he was trying, he knew he wasn't the best caretaker. You could see his shoulders lose the tension in them when you took the kid when he was crying, able to immediately calm him back down.

At the moment, nothing was calm or endearing. The ship shot through the air like a bullet, a smaller yet still dangerous ship on your tail. Mando was up in the cockpit with the Child while you were in the body of the ship, rushing around to repair on the go. There still was only so much you could do while the ship was in flight. There were repairs that would have been dealt with when the ship was docked somewhere. You couldn't give a full feedback report on the status of the ship without looking outside. At the moment, you were making sure the blasters still were in working condition. One of the ships had torn some of the wires but as long as you hold the two ends together, it was enough to work.

"Mando, what's taking so long up there? I can only do this for so long!" You shouted, back against the cold floor of the ship, torso through a panel so you were able to reach the wires. Your helmet was strapped tight to your head, keeping your face as protected as possible. It was uncomfortable and you only wore it when working inside of the ship. You learned that the hard way when working on one of the ships in the graveyard. It jerked and you ended up hitting your head on one of the iron pipes, knocking you out for fifteen minutes.

"I'm working on it! Hang onto something!" That didn't sound good for you.

The ship came to an abrupt stop, your body hitting the side of the panel. Your ribs would be bruised but it was better than dying in a ship explosion. This was why you needed to wear a helmet! The lights went out for a few moments before the red emergency lights came on. This couldn't be good. You pushed yourself out of the nook you were working in, moving back up to the cockpit to figure out what was going on.

"Guess Mandalorians aren't the best pilots, huh?" You joked, sitting down in the copilot seat that you had claimed as your own. Mando would sit in the pilot's, you would sit in the copilot's, and the Child would be in his makeshift crib behind the two of you. A routine was forming for the three of you, Mando no longer seeming as scary as he was before.

"You want to try your hand at steering this thing? I got us out of their alive and that's all that matters."

"The ship isn't going to be alive for long if we don't get some repairs." You leaned back, eyes trained on his figure.

"I know. We're landing on this planet for a pitstop."

...

Peli was strange, that was for sure, but you looked up to her. She treated you almost like an apprentice since Mando didn't want any of her bots working on his ship. When you brought up your own experience, Peli was more than happy to have the assistance. Out of the two of you, she was the more experienced but you were eager to learn anything new. What you lacked in skill, you made up for in enthusiasm.  That was more than could be said about most people. No one was willing to learn how to do things by hand anymore, they just relied on technology to make even more technology. Didn't they want a special touch in things?

"Peli, this goes under the wing, right?" You called out from your position under the ship, just your head peeking out at the woman. She saw your face covered in oil and grease yet you wore it just like a debutante would wear glamour makeup. If you weren't part of that man's crew already, she would offer you a job here with her.

"Yeah, you got it! You gonna run me out of business if you keep learning this fast. That Mandalorian ain't paying you enough hun!"

"He isn't paying me anything." You joked as you crawled back into the small area that you were working on. It was good that you weren't afraid of small spaces or else you wouldn't be able o do internal repairs such as this.

"That's even worse then!"

Comparing you to Mando was like seeing night and day. Peli saw the Mandalorian as some gruff man who was all work and no play while you were more likely to take the lighter side of a situation, even if that meant that the job took a bit longer. Mando was able to keep you focused if you truly began to get distracted and you were able to make sure there was some joy in his life. He may not say anything but Peli was smart enough to see past his mask. The chiding and the sighing weren't as threatening as he wanted people to believe, not with you anyway. She couldn't say what it was but he didn't hate you like he wanted people to think. He was trying to put distance between the two of you, he didn't want to get close. The older woman kept her mouth quiet, knowing that it wasn't her place to bring it up to you. You would learn in time, as long as you weren't as oblivious as Mando made you out to be. He made it sound like you were a helpless crewmate that he had to protect just as much as the child. As you worked with Peli, she was able to see the truth of who you were. You were hard working and weren't afraid to stand up to the intimidating man you called a pilot.  

From the looks of it, he liked that. Peli couldn't help but wonder what else the man liked about you. Perhaps there was something more developing within him than just respect. Even if anything did form, would the Mandalorian be strong enough to accept his feelings? How long had it been since he had a friend? Did he ever have one? What happened to make him so withdrawn from forming any attachment?

...

When the Mandalorian got back from the strange job, he was greeted with a sight he was afraid of. Peli and her robots were up in her glass room, blaster in hand. She wanted to help but she knew well enough that she would only end up making it worse. As he approached his ship, Toro walked out with a gun pressed to your head and the Child wrapped in your arms. It made his stomach drop and his pulse quicken though he made sure to keep those feelings hidden.

"Now, I'm sure you know why this is happening, don't you Mando?" His voice dripped with pride, obviously believing he was the smartest man in the whole star system. Your mind tuned out of the conversation enough to allow you to think of a plan. While in the ship, you had thought over some options but there was nothing you could know for sure until Mando got here.

Though just a glimpse, you saw a flashbang stuffed into the man's jacket pocket. You had never used one before but you knew enough about them to know how they worked. That would be enough of a distraction for you to get yourself and The Child out of harm's way. The man would loosen his grip and you could get out of his hold. The only issue would be what would happen afterward. You would have enough time to get to a safe place but Mando would be just as taken aback as Toro. With a knot in your stomach, you hoped he would live up to his expectations.

"You know," You spoke up, drawing the attention of both men to your voice allowing you to pickpocket the flashbang, "It doesn't seem very bounty hunter like to have to take a hostage. It seems kinda like you can't do your job by yourself so you have to resort to threatening people, including a baby. Bet the ladies love that."

"Shut up bitch!" He shoved you in the shoulder with the butt of the blaster while still having a loose hand around your waist. You could see the twitch of Mando's hand, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. There was a dull pain radiating from your shoulder blade but it was worth it to allow you to get the item without notice. Now palming the small machine, you just had to wait for the right moment. It had to be far enough away so as not to hit you or the baby but close enough not to hit Mando.

The man focused on Mando again, going on some speech about joining the bounty guild. With both arms wrapped around the baby, you would be able to shoot forward into the dirt. If you were ready for the blast, you could get out of the way even with the blinding light. Mando was staring in your direction, though you couldn't tell what had his focus. Was he staring at Toro or was he watching you? Was he worried or was he just trying to kill this man like any other threat to him? It was hard to tell with his helmet. With the few weeks you had spent with him, you were learning to translate his body language. He wasn't very good at concealing his feelings through his movements. He was lucky his face was hidden or else everyone would be able to read him like an open.

You stared directly at him, waiting a long enough time until you were certain he had to be paying attention to you. You could at least hope. While still holding the flashbang with two fingers, you showed him what was in your hand. It was the most you could do to prepare him before using it. Sending a prayer to any deity of Luck that was listening, you aimed at the ground and pressed the button.

There was no time to prepare or even notice before the burst of light exploded. With all the force you could muster, you pulled away and tumbled off of the loading dock ramp. A blaster shot rang out as you landed on your knee, pushing yourself behind one of the many wooden crates. Dust and smoke began to fill the air as the light faded away, the outcome of the fight unknown to you. A gentle hand placed itself on your shoulder, causing you to quickly spin around. A throbbing pain radiated from your knee, had you hit it that hard?

"Hey, it's alright, you're fine. That fighter of yours took care of that guy." Peli leaned down, taking the Child from your arms, "Now that must have been loud for those big ears of yours, huh? Yeah, I bet it was."

As Peli walked away, another more hulking figure came to stand in front of you. All you could do was smile sheepishly, knowing that whatever was coming was going to be a scolding. You could have done it perfectly but the Mandalorian would still find something wrong with it. He was such a narcissist, thinking he could do everything the best. He didn't need the help of others.  Yet here you were and you had made it your goal to prove to him that companionship wasn't always a nuisance.

"Do you realize how dangerous that was?" He asked, hands resting on his hips as he looked you over.

"Why aren't you getting up?"

"I think I may have hurt my knee when I fell but I'll be fine. I just need to rest it for a second and then I'll be as good as new."

A loud sigh escaped his helmet, quiet enough to keep from going through his modulator. As you were just about to go on this long speak of how you were alright, you were instead silenced when two strong arms lifted you in a bridal style carry. Your arms reactively wrapped around his neck, eyes widening at the new height and loss of control. You had never been picked up like this before. When anyone tried to pick you up at your home ended up with a black eye or bloody nose. This felt different. Where others picked you up to joke around and tease you, Mando didn't seem the type to follow that pattern. A quick flutter filled your chest but you pushed it to the side. You couldn't focus on that, not now.

"Well, it seems like I'm interrupting something," Peli joked as Mando carried you back towards the ship. He only gave her a silent stare in response, prompting her to give the child over to you. He could be intimidating at times but he seemed to have two types of intimidation. There was the one no-nonsense type which he gave to those he had a semblance of trust in and then there was the type he gave his enemies. Today had been the first day you had ever seen the second type in action.

The Child cooed for your attention, wanting to play. How was he able to be so calm after something so chaotic occurred? That would be a gift for him in the future. With the amount of trouble that had followed him already, there would only be more as he grew. Being adaptable would be his only chance at happiness in this life. You knew that all too well.  

The sun was just beginning to peek over the edge of the dunes when Mando started up his ship. It rumbled under you as it began its ascent into the air and journey into the stars. It was strange as the ship began to sail in the sea of stars. Everything was dark up here. An ocean of an abyss filled with gem shards of stars. Your eyes scanned the vast landscape before you, hands gripping the armrests lightly to contain your excitement. It was everything you had dreamed about and more. "Have you never seen stars before?" Mando's gruff voice broke the silence, only stealing your attention away for a moment before you were focusing back on the stars.

"From the ground but never this close up. It is amazing."

"Are you telling me-" The chair turned to face yours, armored arms crossed over his beskar chest, "-that you have never been on a ship flying before? You said you were a skilled mechanic. Did you lie to me? I can still go back down to that sand-covered hole you call home and go on without you."

"No! I mean, I haven't but I've worked on a lot of ships before. They just...didn't fly. I could get them to turn on and I could have flown them if I knew how. I'm a mechanic, Mr.Mando, not a pilot. I never lied to you." Sitting up straight, you looked at where you assumed his eyes were. You wouldn't let his Mandalorian act get to you. He wanted you to feel intimidated, yet for a man to take in a băiat (baby boy), he couldn't be that terrible. You had been told you trusted people too quickly but you didn't let their words stop you. "Don't call me Mr.Mando." With the huff, he spun his chair back to focus on the controls. There was an alto pilot for backup at the moment but he still was plotting a course to find the next best planet to go to. You didn't care where he wanted to go as long as he took you away from your planet. What would you see? What was out there that you had never seen? Just the thought excited you. With one final glance at the vast unknown in front of you, you turned your attention to the newest book you had found. When you went scavenging, it was a rare treat to find pieces of literature. Sometimes they would be manuals or fiction but this was different. This was a notebook or diary someone had filled in. It was the first time you had ever found something like this. It was covered in wreckage from the ship when you found it but after a good brushing over, the only hint to the past was the aged pages and slightly worn cover.

The coffee-colored pages were held together by a leather cover with what looked to be two swords crossing on the cover. There was no way for you to tell how old it was. You had flipped through it quickly when you first found it and there weren't any dates listed. Perhaps it would be hidden in the entries and you could figure it out yourself. If there were any big or famous events, you should be able to put a small timeline together. The time didn't matter in reality. You had simply taken the book because it seemed interesting. There was nothing you were expecting to learn, unlike the other manuals you had taken from other ships.

As you opened the journal, you could feel how rough the pages were against your fingers. It had to be at least ten years old, probably older. You were surprised that it had lasted with how it looked to be on its last leg. A few more years and it may have begun to wear away, leaving broken pages and a worn leather cover. Who knows what kind of secrets would have been lost if you hadn't found it? Your eyes began to scan over the words, escaping into the diary to allow the Mandalorian the quiet which he seemed to prefer. The only time he did was when he reprimanded you. You pushed those thoughts to the side, making yourself focus on what was written on the pages. -Entry One-

I'm not sure why I'm writing this.

I've never kept a diary before but now I have so much I can't tell others. It is not due to a lack of trust per se but I know that I will only end up being scolded or taught some deep lesson if I do say anything. I could always talk to Skyguy about some of this stuff but he already has so much on his plate. I've ranted to R2 but it is still a lot different ranting to him. I know he is way smart and advanced for a droid but he still is a droid. Plus, what if he goes and tells Master? I can't risk that happening. It's nothing serious, I don't think anyway. R2 said it was just girl troubles and normal as I started to reach puberty. Yuck! Just the idea of R2 knowing and understanding puberty feels weird...Like he is a textbook of what happens during it. He can't fully understand how it feels. Robots don't go through puberty...Do they?

Anyway, he probably is right. There aren't many other fourteen-year-olds fightings in the rebellion. Plus, I am surrounded by guys all the time! There was the rare occasion of seeing Padme or some of the other female rebels but most of the time it is all guys. If I did have any questions, how could I ask them!? I'm not changing that much, right? I should just write down some of my questions about that and ask the next time Padme is around. She seems close to Master so she tends to pop up unexpectedly. I can feel how much he trusts her. I trust her, though I don't spend that much time with her. Still, she has some type of maternal aura around her when I'm near? Is it because she is so used to dealing with C3PO? That would be a handful. I'm glad we have R2 instead.

I also have some questions about the Jedi but I don't dare ask any of them just yet. Maybe I can ask Skyguy one day but not now. I just...Recently there was an attack and it was unknown if there were any survivors that needed help. Obi-wan said it was too risky to do a search and believed we should have left them. How could he think like that? They are a part of this rebellion as much as we are. I know he is just worried but is that how a Jedi is supposed to feel? I've heard him scolding Master at times for being so close to R2. Jedi's don't make attachments. Like, seriously? Why is that a rule we are supposed to follow?

Master doesn't think like that. It's hard to figure out what he believes because he always pretends when he wants to do something that Obi-wan doesn't believe in. He agreed about the search mission at first but once we left the base, he decided we had to go and find them. Does he get how confusing that is? He calls me reckless at times but he is thinking the same thing. He just acts like that because I'm younger than him. That has to be it.

I know both of them are good people but I just can't understand why they aren't as willing to take chances. We are the Jedi. We help people, it's what we do. Right? I'm not so sure anymore what we are supposed to stand for.

It's so confusing. I just want to help people and take down the bad ones. That sounds simple enough. Maybe it is just because they're old and need a young person to remind them what we need to do. They praised my determination for the search mission after it was all done. That has to be a good sign. Yet I dare not ask these questions yet and risk my padawanship. I still have so much to learn before I can do anything to help. I'm going to change the Jedi way one day. No one is going to have to follow those stupid rules...Oh, Gods, I'm starting to sound like Master now. Was he this way when he was a Padawan? Maybe we are more alike then I think.

As the entry drew to a close, you heard cooing and felt the child climbing up your leg to get on your lap. You had wondered where he was when the ship first took off. You assumed he was off taking a nap somewhere, maybe he was. Kids need a lot of sleep when they are that young. Well, when they are in that life-stage anyway. You couldn't call this child young when he was as old as your grandfather. It was interesting to see in person how different races can differ in such important life matters such as aging.

Shutting the book and placing it aside, you turned your attention to the little green ball of energy. With how he was acting, he just woke up from a nap and was ready to play. You doubted that the Mandalorian played with him a lot. He seemed to even keep himself from touching the little thing as much as possible. Did he not want to get attached? Just like in the entry, did he believe he couldn't form attachments?

To you, that was utter nonsense. Your people put relationships, platonic or romantic, above everything else in your beliefs. Being raised that way had made you able to express your feelings easily and let people know that you cared about them. Did this tough warrior have anyone? Did he ever have someone? This life seemed one filled with loneliness and solitude. As you had gotten on the ship, it was easy to figure out he was a bounty hunter with the carbonite freezer he had. Finding this kid was good for him...Who could keep themselves from getting close to the baby? He was so cute and adorable. You loved children to begin with but this one was the cutest you had ever seen. It hit those evolutionary instincts to take care of him with those big eyes. It was easy enough to entertain the child since he found your fingers to be just as interesting as any toy he could have. His tiny hands reached up and grasped at your fingers which threatened to tickle him. Could he laugh? You were curious if he was just like a normal baby in that regard. That was a question that deserved to be experimented on. His cooing was adorable enough that it would only make sense that his giggle would be too.

Warning(s): This is going to be a series. I am obsessed with the show and need to let my love for both Baby Yoda and Dyn out. So here we are. This will try to be gender-neutral. There is mentions to a skirt in this chapter but with the race you are, there are no gender norms. Men wear skirts as well.  For now, your race is called Gypsies because I can’t think of a good name yet. The language being used for your race’s language is Romanian. The race name will change when I can come up with one.  Now, buckle up for some slow-burn romance! 

Title: Opposites  Pairing: Dyn Jarren x Reader Fandom: The Mandalorian  Word Count: 2925

Chapter One: The Beginning 

Flames licked the air as the music soared through the chill breeze. It would be considered a cold night if not for the fire that everyone crowded around. It was a strange sight for anyone who wasn’t a local. It looked as though someone had taken one of the walls out to open up a building with the roof only covering half. This allowed the smoke to fade off into the sky as it curled higher and higher. The floor was nothing more than the natural sand of the land. This cantina was one of interesting architecture.

This was no place to take a baby but desperate times call for desperate measures. They should be fine, rarely were people dumb enough to mess with a Mandalorian. He knew the child needed to eat and even if he would have pushed himself through it, he needed to eat as well. When he traveled without the child, he used to push his body to the extreme limits. Barely getting any sleep, eating rarely, trying to just do job after job. Now with a fragile thing he had to take care of, he couldn’t expect to continue that path. Which is how he ended up in such a strange cantina. Even with his travels, he had never seen anything quite like this.

The child was sitting on a booster with his tiny hands gripping his bowl of bone broth. On such a night, a steaming bowl of soup was just the thing to warm the bones. Mando himself didn’t get anything but bread rations that he planned to eat back on the ship. He couldn’t take his helmet off, he knew he could wait. The main concern was for the child to eat enough so they could be on their way again. It was too dangerous to stay in one place for too long.