Work Text:
The cantina seemed to freeze when the Mandalorian walked in, followed by you and the child. It was nothing new, he was used to the stares whenever he entered a room, so he brushed it off. It always made you nervous, however, and you held a breath as you clutched the child close to you until everyone turned back to their tables and life started back up inside the cantina again.
You followed closely behind Mando as the three of you weaved through the crowded space and to a small table in the back. He gestured for you to sit, but you set the child down first before you addressed him.
“I’ll go get the kid something from the bar.”
The Mandalorian glanced around and assessed the area for threats before he turned back to you, “You sure?”
You gave him a soft smile; it was sweet how he was always so protective of you and the child, and you always felt safe when you were around him. “I think I can handle getting food and drink at a bar by myself,” you chided.
He sighed as he shook his head as he sat down next to the child. You could tell from his relaxed posture that he wouldn’t push the subject any more, but what you couldn’t see was the smile that was hidden under his helmet.
“Be right back,” you added with a wink before you made your way to the bar.
Mando’s gaze barely left your figure, and it only did to also watch the child who sat contently in the chair you set him in. Never in a million years did he picture himself in this scenario: an adoptive father to this mysterious creature with a beautiful, smart partner who he came to care so much about. But, it’s what is least expected that is the most needed, and that proved to change Mando’s life for the better.
Mando could feel the child’s wide-eyes gaze on him, as if he knew something that Mando had never spoken out loud. “Don’t look at me like that,” he gently chastised the child.
You pushed through the crowd and finally made it to the bar. As much as you hated to use your charms, it did prove useful at times, and you were able to flag down the bartender in no time with a bat of your eyelashes and a shimmy of your shoulders.
“Can I get one of those,” you pointed to the bright mixture behind him, “And something that a kid could eat?”
“You got it darling,” the bartender replied before he turned his back to you.
The pet name made you roll your eyes, but you brushed it off. You snuck a glance over your shoulder to find the Mandlaorian still watched you from his spot in the shadows, and you knew if you needed him, he’d be at your side in a heartbeat. The thought brought heat to your cheeks and you couldn’t help the smile that graced your face. But, your mood was about to be brought down by another voice at the bar.
“Well aren’t you the prettiest thing in the galaxy?” a guy slurred as he leaned in close to you, “Can I get you a drink, sweet cheeks?”
You took a step to the side and glanced at him with a frown, “No thank you,” your voice was stern and you barely spared him a second look. Luckily, the bartender stepped in and handed you a bowl, which you figured was something for the child to eat.
As you looked down at the dish, you missed the look that the drunk guy and the bartender shared.
“And your drink,” he placed the glass full of bright blue liquid in your line of vision. You tossed him a few credits before you took everything back to Mando and the child.
“Everything alright?” he asked as you sat down and placed the bowl in front of the child, who cooed happily.
“Just some drunk asshole. I’m fine,” your features softened as you looked at him sincerely. You could feel his gaze on you as you raised your glass to your lips and took a few sips, “Oh man, this is stronger than I thought,” you explained as you coughed before you took another sip.
You were about halfway through your drink, and you and the Mandalorian just started to feel relaxed when the child looked up from his bowl. He narrowed his eyes and let out a whine to call your attention. You and Mando shared a glance, your brows furrowed in confusion.
“What’s the matter?” he asked as if he expected the child to answer.
The child looked angry, and you couldn’t figure out why. He then raised his little hand and pointed toward the glass in your hand. You could feel it shake in your grip, and you quickly figured out that he tried to knock it out of your hand with his mysterious power. He almost succeeded too, and managed to make you spill some of the contents before you caught it again.
“Hey, hey,” you rested your hand on his, “It’s just a drink, buddy. It’s supposed to be this bright,” you tried to calm him down, but he let out another cry. You looked over to Mando, who was just as lost as you were.
You took another sip before you set the glass down, “Maybe we should leave?” you offered. You started to feel a little dizzy, but you brushed it off as the drink being too strong.
Mando nodded and rose to pick up the child, who was still making a fuss. As he secured the child in his arms, he noticed that the little creature’s gaze never left you. The Mandalorian turned to face you just in time to see you stumble as you stood up. With his free arm, he reached out to you and gently grabbed your arm.
“What’s wrong?” he couldn’t hide the worry in his voice.
Slowly, you raised your gaze to meet the visor of his helmet, “Just a little dizzy,” you rubbed your forehead, “I think that drink was just too strong,” your voice was weaker than you meant it to be, but you had trouble gathering the strength.
This just worried Mando more; something didn’t feel right, “Let’s get back to the ship,” he pulled you in closer and wordlessly invited you to lean against him as he led the way out of the cantina.
He made it most of the way through the space and was almost at the door when he suddenly found his path was blocked by a group of five men, all with sinister smiles on their faces and blasters in their hands. You recognized one of the men as the guy who tried to flirt with you at the bar, and you felt your stomach drop.
But it wasn’t just from the nerves as you felt a rush of sickness and you lost your balance. Mando tightened his grip on you to keep you upright, and you shifted more of your weight against him. You heard him whisper your name as he leaned in close to you.
“We’ve been waiting for you to get up,” the guy who met you at the bar spoke, his words completely unslurred.
Mando turned toward the men, “What do you want?” he growled.
“Rarities are our speciality,” another said, “And Mandalorian armor is a top catch. We’ll be rich!”
A third spoke up next, “But you can’t get to someone like a mandalorian directly, so you go after the ones he cares about to weaken him.”
At the end of their little speech, you collapsed down to the ground as you faintly heard Mando shout your name. He was instantly down on his knees next to you, and you could hear his voice but nothing registered in your head; all you could hear was the sound of yourself gagging and struggling for breath. You were able to lift your head to look at him for a brief moment, and you both realized the same thing: you had been poisoned.
Anger rushed through the Mandalorian, and he set the child down next to you and instantly pulled out his blaster. He was determined to make these men pay for what they did to you. Blaster fire and shouts filled the cantina as he fought off the group of men while the rest of the occupants ran for cover, but you could barely comprehend the action around you.
The child stayed focused on your body on the ground as he stood next to you. He ignored the battle around the two of you as he raised his hands up to your chest. You looked at him with a glazed over expression as you felt yourself get weaker by the minute. He concentrated all his power on your body, and you gasped as you could feel a pull from within you as if he was sucking the poison out of your body with his power.
Just as the last body hit the ground, the child was finally able to extract the last of the poison from your body. He collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion just as the Mandalorian knelt down beside him to catch him. It was silent for what felt like forever to Mando as both you and the child had passed out. The only sound was of his heavy breaths as he watched both of you for any signs of movement. The rest of the cantina faded away and all Mando could focus on was you and the child.
The child stirred first and looked up at the Mandalorian with a soft coo before he followed his gaze to your body in front of them. The world was still as they waited for you to move, and Mando found himself in a silent prayer to whoever would listen that you would wake up. It wasn’t something he had ever done before, but in that moment Mando realized how badly he needed you to wake up.
Finally, you let out a heavy gasp as you woke up, and you immediately rolled to your side and coughed up the last bit of poison. Both Mando and the child sighed heavily in relief before he reached out to touch your back. With your name softly on his lips, Mando gently turned you back so that you faced him.
“Mando,” you breathed his name as you gasped for breath. You felt his grip on you tighten and you could have sworn you felt his hand tremble. You reached out to him with your other arm so he could help you sit up.
“Just take it slow,” Mando spoke in a hushed voice. Once he had you seated up, he wrapped an arm around you to hold you close. Normally, Mando was more tentative when he tried to touch you, but the fear was fresh in his system, and he just had to hold onto you. He had to make sure you were actually here and ok.
You leaned into his embrace and rested against his shoulder, the cool beskar felt nice against your warm forehead. After a few deep breaths to steady yourself, you said, “Next time, Mando, we listen to the kid,” you looked up at him with a weak smile, but he didn’t move. You didn’t know what to make of his lack of reaction, but in the moment you were too tired to think too much of it.
As soon as you had the strength to stand, the Mandalorian took you and the child back to the ship. The child fell asleep as soon as he set him down on a cot, which left the two of you alone in the cargo space of the ship. You sat up against the wall, your full strength still hadn’t returned and the walk back took the wind out of you, even though the Mandalorian half carried you.
Mando pulled a chair up and sat down to face you. He was silent for some time as he stared at you, and you could tell he had something on his mind.
“Mando…”
“You and the kid,” he said softly as he finally broke his silence, “You are my family. And I’d do anything to protect you both,” Mando’s gaze drifted down as he spoke.
“You guys are my family too, Din,” you used his name, which gave your words extra meaning. He snapped his head up to meet your eyes and the sincerity there nearly took his breath away, “Clan of three, remember?”
“I,” he started quietly, “I thought I lost you,” he paused and took in a deep breath, “And it scared me,” his voice was soft with his confession.
Tears threatened to form in your eyes; you had never seen him like this before and it made your heart pound in your chest, “I’m sorry Din,” you whispered, “I was careless. I…”
He cut you off with your name, “No. You have nothing to be sorry for,” he drifted off as he wasn’t sure how to finish the thought. You were both silent again as you stared at each other, the air between you was heavy.
“Good thing we have the kid to watch after us, huh?” you tried to joke as you let out a sharp exhale, but Din didn’t respond. You could tell he was lost in thought, and you wanted to be next to him and hold his hand. But, when you tried to stand, he rushed over to you and kept you seated, his hand firmly but gently on your shoulders.
“Don’t move,” he said as he sat down next to you. Din gave your arm a squeeze before he let you go.
Or tried to. You quickly grabbed a hold of his arm to keep yourselves connected and looked at him with pleading eyes, “Stay with me?”
“I’m here,” he responded tenderly as he took your hand in his. You held onto his hand as you rested against his shoulder. Din rubbed his thumb over your knuckle as his mind raced. He thought again about how close he was to losing you, and how he couldn’t bear to think of how he could go on if he did.
“I’m here too,” you said as if you could read his mind. You both fell silent again, but this time it was more comfortable as you sat together with your hands connected. A heaviness started to take you over and you drifted off to sleep against Din’s shoulder.
He laid his head back and listened to the sound of your breathing. When he was sure you were sound asleep, Din lifted his helmet just enough to place a soft kiss to the top of your head. He then made a silent promise that nothing like this would ever happen again. He meant what he said: you and the child were his family, and nothing in the galaxy would take that from him.