Chapter Text
You awoke to the smell of something delicious, and when you opened your eyes, Din Djarin, once one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy, was sitting at the foot of the sleeping quarters you were lying in with a bowl of soup in each hand.
“Want some soup?” he asked, and you sat up. You smiled at him and took one of the bowls. Scooting further into the sleeping quarters, you pushed the small hammock hanging on the ceiling out of the way. You could sit cross-legged quite comfortably in the cramped space, but Din, when he sat in there next to you, had his knees up to his chest. You almost laughed at how ridiculous he looked, but you managed to keep it to yourself.
You looked away as his helmet lifted and he drank his soup. You leaned on his arm while you slowly drank yours, still waking up. It had been three days since you’d left in pursuit of Bo-Katan and Moff Gideon, and Din had confessed his feelings for you. You still hadn’t seen him without the helmet, and although you were eager to see his face, you also respected his creed, and The Way. It would be up to him when, or if, he showed you his face.
You finished the last of your breakfast and said, “Thanks. That was just what I needed.”
Din didn’t say anything, but he leaned into you. You still hadn’t heard his helmet hiss back on, so you resisted the urge to look up at his face. You were happy with this level of trust for now.
And to your surprise and delight, Din pressed a kiss into your hair before he put the helmet on and eased out of the sleeping space. He held out his hand to you, and you, face bright, took it, taking the warm blankets of yourself and throwing them haphazardly on the bed.
It was cold, as usual, on the Razor Crest, and Din grabbed your shawl from a box before you had the chance. He gently slipped it over your head and said, “Stay warm. I don’t want you getting sick.”
You smiled and shook your head, then the both of you headed up to the cockpit. You settled into the co-pilot’s chair as Din checked and double-checked your projected course. Without a droid helping out, everything had to be done manually in the Razor Crest.
You would have been content to sit and watch him for hours (you’d done it before), but just then, an alert for a holo transmission beeped on the dash. You sat up straighter as Din pressed a button to receive the holo.
It was Cara Dune, your friend from the lava planet of Navarro. “Razor Crest, come in,” her voice said, the small holograph staring into your ship blankly, waiting for Din to respond.
Din pressed a button and said, “We’re here.”
Cara’s holo, now able to see into the ship, looked at him and said, “Bo-Katan contacted me and said she’s waiting for you at the coordinates I’m sending to you right now. She wanted me to make sure you got the location.”
Din pressed a few buttons on the board, then said, “Coordinates received. Tell Bo-Katan we’re a few parsecs out.”
Cara nodded and said, “Will do.” She looked at you and said with a smile, “It’s nice to see you, Y/N.” Then her holo blinked out of existence.
As Din made a few more adjustments to the system, you hopped down to the hold, grabbed your old rucksack, and came back to sit in the co-pilot’s seat. From it you drew your lightsaber, which was dirty and banged up from the years of misuse and disuse. You hadn’t ignited it for more than two years, and you weren’t about to now, especially in the small confines of the cockpit.
But you were starting to accept your past more, and think that perhaps there was a third way in the Force beside the strict teachings of the Jedi and the harmful ways of the Sith.
You closed your eyes and for the first time since you left the Order for good, you intentionally sought out the Force.
After a long, tense moment, you began to feel it flow within you. It had never really gone away, but you had intentionally cut off your ties to it for so long that this feeling flowing through you reminded you of the very first time you felt the Force like this.
The more powerful the Force became, the stronger your urge to ignite your lightsaber grew.
“How much longer?” you asked Din, opening your eyes.
If he had any comments about your lightsaber being out, he didn’t voice them. He only said, “We’re here.”
Din pulled Razor Crest out of hyperspace. The Moff’s shuttle loomed before you, and as Din carefully pulled into the small docking station, a female voice crackled on the comms, saying, “We’re in the bridge.”
The comms shut off and the Razor Crest settled. You looked over at Din and he said, “That was Bo-Katan.”
You nodded and the two of you went down into the hold to gear up.
Din strapped on his Beskar spear, a blaster or two, and double checked his armor to make sure it was secure. He also took a long look at the Darksaber, which was lying innocently in the weapons store, as it had been since you had been on the ship, and with a barely audible sigh, grabbed it as well.
As for you, you just clipped on your blaster, making sure it was secure. You set your lightsaber in your rucksack, then as the hatch hissed opened, you took a moment to tune into the Force.
And the Force told you to go back and get the lightsaber.
So you ran back and grabbed it.
Din tilted his head but didn’t pry. You appreciated it. You weren’t sure why the Force was telling you to get it, so it would have been hard to explain had Din asked.
The two of you walked out of the Razor Crest into the Imperial shuttle where your story, or at least this part of it, had begun.
…
Walking through the halls felt strange. After scuttling through the vents for all that time, you had gotten used to seeing things from above.
You slowed your pace, bringing Din to a halt when he realized you were stopping.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Just give me a moment,” you said, and closed your eyes, drawing your lightsaber.
You held it out by your side, angled down, and let the Force flow through you. The words of your old teachers ran through your mind, and as the feelings within you swelled, you dared to press the button on the side of your saber.
And it ignited.
You looked down at it. The purple blade was as bright as you remembered it being, despite the wear and tear on the hilt. It glowed with energy, and you could feel the peculiarly cool heat of it radiating on your hand. You raised the lightsaber in front of you, and a hesitant smile took over your face.
Din stared, and as the gentle humming of the lightsaber filled the hallway, he said, “You really were a Jedi.”
“Did you ever doubt me?” you said, half joking.
He shook his head.
You spun the blade carefully in your hand a few times, the Force filling you with excitement. You had missed the familiar weight of the saber in your hand, the power that ran through you when you held it.
Then, you took a deep breath and shut it off.
The silence was deafening.
“I’m not going back to the Jedi Order,” you said. “But the Force is strong with me today. I don’t know why.”
“The Force?” Din asked.
You were a little shocked that Din didn’t know what it was, then remembered that, despite what the Council might think, the galaxy didn’t revolve around Jedi and their ways.
“Well,” you said, “the way my old master explained it to me was this: The Force gives a Jedi their power. It’s an energy field, and it’s created by all living things. It’s around us all, and moves through us. It’s what binds the galaxy together.”
Din was still confused, so you said, “If you really want to know, I’d say we should sit down, since it could be a long conversation.” You gestured down the hallway. “Or,” you said, “I can explain after we do what we came here to do.”
Din turned to look down the hallway, although there was nothing to see, and then turned back to you and said, “Let’s go.”
You grabbed his hand and squeezed it once before letting go.
You were both ready to make Moff Gideon pay for what he’d done to The Child all those months ago.
…
You and Din stood side by side as the bridge doors opened with a hiss. You had your lightsaber clipped to the opposite side of your belt as your blaster, but purposely positioned your long shawl over it. No point in letting everyone know you had one. After all, you weren’t technically a Jedi anymore. You had left the Order long ago.
Bo-Katan and her Mandalorian companion, both helmetless, were in the bridge, standing at the control panels. Bo-Katan turned when the doors hissed open at your arrival, and said, “Welcome back.”
Din nodded, and you clenched your jaw as she looked at you with a critical eye.
“Who are you?” she asked.
You replied, “Y/N.”
“She’s with me. She and I have a similar score to settle with Moff Gideon,” added Din. The cool in his voice was masking a deep anger, you could tell, and if you weren’t mistaken, some nervousness.
Then you realized that last time he was here, Din had taken off his helmet, and presumably, both of these women had seen his face. You yourself were in vents at the time, and had looked away as soon as he had begun to take his helmet off. You didn’t think these two offered him the same courtesy.
But Bo-Katan didn’t mention anything about it, and just said, “Fennec took him to the hold. You’ll find him there. Do as you will—just don’t kill him.”
You and Din looked at each other. Din had briefly mentioned to you that Fennec Shand, whom he had previously hunted as a bounty, was now working with Boba Fett on his ship. Din had assumed the two of them had left Bo-Katan and her friend and gone to do whatever they pleased elsewhere in the galaxy.
Din asked, “Shand is still here?”
Bo-Katan fiddled with a few buttons on the control board and replied, “Fett’s been scouting ahead for us, since we’ve had to travel sublight to avoid any attention from Imperial forces. Fennec opted to stay here and make sure Moff Gideon didn’t try to kill anyone again.”
You vividly remembered the Moff trying to kill The Child. Hot anger flowed through you, and the words of your old master echoed in your mind. “Anger is a path to the dark side of the Force. Do not give into your anger, Y/N. It leads to nothing but sorrow.”
Din nodded and brushed up against you when he turned, leaving the bridge. You inclined your head to Bo-Katan, who returned the gesture, and as you followed Din through the shuttle, you also thought about your master’s teachings on love. They’d been wrong about that, after all.
Maybe a little bit of righteous anger was fine.
You smiled, and you and Din walked side by side. When you reached the hold, Fennec Shand was waiting outside an open holding cell. She looked at you curiously, but didn’t say anything when you followed Din into the cell.
Moff Gideon sat upright in the back of the hold, and his eyes widened when he saw Din. He was obviously scared. His thoughts, although not clear to you, were panicked. The Force was strong with you, although you still weren’t sure why. This was the first time you had sought it out in years. Maybe it had been waiting for you all this time.
“Bo-Katan warned me you were coming,” Shand said, although she didn’t come into the cell. “I made sure this scum was awake. Have fun.”
She shut the door behind her and you and Din looked at each other, then at the Moff, who swallowed nervously.
He put on a calm face, however, like any true politician, Imperial or not. “Well then,” he said, and you gritted your teeth. You had certainly not missed his slippery voice, the way he sounded condescending even when bound in stun cuffs.
“Here to finish the job, Mando?” asked the Moff, and you stood to the side, hand on your blaster, as Din paced the cell. You had never seen him pace before. His body was tense, although he held his blaster loosely. He stopped and said, “What did you do to the kid?”
You were glad you were here to see his anger at the Moff. Anger was something you had rarely seen your Mandalorian express, and this degree of it was something else entirely.
(It was attractive, but you were trying not to focus on that right now.)
You pushed those thoughts aside, although you allowed yourself a smile. Now that you knew Din returned your feelings, you didn’t feel badly about thinking about him in that way anymore.
Moff Gideon looked over at you, and you returned to having a straight face, cocking your head and raising an eyebrow.
“And who are you?” the Moff asked. “Another companion, destined to be abandoned?”
You laughed, and said, “I’ve already tried abandoning him. Didn’t agree with me.”
The Moff looked mildly surprised, whether by the spite in your tone or at what you’d said, you didn’t know. Neither he nor Din knew, but you weren’t just talking about you leaving Din earlier in the week. No, a much deeper scar ran through your heart, the topic of abandonment opening the wound. You had run from people before—Din was the only one you had come back to.
The Moff observed you critically. “Well, do you have a score to settle with me as well?” he asked, and then Din’s blaster was aimed between his eyes.
“Leave her out of this.” Din’s hand was steady, and although you rolled your eyes, Din’s protective tone made your face warm.
The Moff stared at Din and said, “Ah, another sore spot for you, Mando? I thought losing The Child would have been enough to keep you away from making any more friends.”
Both you and Din made a noise of anger from deep in your throats, and the Moff’s calm mask slipped a little.
Your anger was rising, and you switched from having your hand on your blaster to tucking your hand under your shawl to rest on your lightsaber hilt.
The Moff kept up his goading, looking at Din. “Especially losing him to a Jedi, your ancestral enemy. That really can’t have been easy.” Your blood had started to boil at the mention of the Jedi. It had been bad enough seeing Luke Skywalker on this ship last time you were here; the reminder was more than enough to set you off. But you stayed quiet.
The Moff clicked his tongue and said, “And taking off your helmet in front of dear Bo-Katan.”
Din flinched just enough for the Moff to laugh and say, “Yes, they told me about that. Well, I heard them talking outside the cell about it. Quite a scandal for a member of the Watch to take off his helmet, no?” You remembered that at the time that Din took off his helmet, the Moff had been knocked out, having been relieved of his consciousness privileges after trying to kill himself.
Din clicked the safety on his blaster off, and pressed the barrel to the Moff’s forehead.
You stepped forward and despite your own anger, put your hand on Din’s arm.
“Bo-Katan wants him alive,” you said quietly. Din slowly lowered his blaster, clicking the safety back into place.
The Moff laughed to himself, delighted to have hit another sore point with Din. “Taking off your helmet, giving up The Child to a Jedi—”
Kriff, enough about The Child and enough about the Jedi. Your anger bubbled over and you turned to face him, throwing off your shawl.
The Moff’s calm facade completely fell away when he saw the lightsaber strapped to your belt. The fear in his eyes was so satisfying that you almost could have walked away just then.
Almost being the key word.
“A Jedi,” he said, surprise and terror in his voice.
You snarled, “I am no Jedi.”
He stared at you and you raised your fist. Just as he was registering what you were doing, you punched him squarely in the nose.
His head snapped backwards with the impact, and his nose cracked under your fist. When you pulled back, your knuckles started to throb. You sucked a breath in through your teeth and shook the pain away. The blood streaming from the Moff’s nose and the shocked look on his face was enough to let you forget the pain.
You gave Din a vindictive smile and paused next to him, faced away from the Moff.
“That felt good,” you said in a low voice, then, “Just don’t kill him, okay?”
“I’ll meet you in the bridge,” he said, voice deep with anger at the Moff.
You smiled as you walked out of the cell, scooping up your shawl from the floor. The door opened, then closed behind you. Fennec Shand gave you a side glance as you walked by, curious, and you said, “I’ve had my fill. He’s got much more of a score to settle than I do, anyway.”
Fennec’s mouth twitched upward and she nodded.
You walked to the bridge with your bleeding hand in your pocket, content with the one punch. You couldn’t wait to talk with Din about it. You suspected that he found it just as satisfying as you did.
…
30 minutes later, the rather dented doors of the bridge opened and in walked Din. Bo-Katan and her friend, who’s name you had learned was Koska Reeves, glanced at him, then turned back to their control board.
Din walked up to you and reached out for your hands. You let him take them in his, and although your bleeding knuckles had scabbed over, the blood on his gloves was fresh.
“Yours?” you asked, staring at it, although you didn’t see any wounds.
Din shook his head and then suddenly, he wrapped his arms around you.
His Beskar armor was cold, as always, but you still loved the show of affection.
He pulled away and you asked, “What was that for?”
Din tilted his head, and you assumed he was just staring at you.
“I realized how much you mean to me when Moff Gideon was talking,” he said, and your cheeks colored.
He took your hand in his and the two of you approached Bo-Katan. She looked down at your joined hands, then back up at Din, and didn’t say anything about it.
“Bo-Katan,” Din said. “I’d like to give this to you.”
He unhooked the Darksaber from his belt and held it out to her.
She gave him the same look as she had those months ago when he first tried to yield it to her.
“I can’t take it,” she said.
Although Din’s feelings for you were affectionate at the moment, you could still feel the residual anger from his, um, meeting with the Moff rolling off of him in waves.
“Then win it from me,” he said, and released your hand. He gestured for you to back away, and you moved to stand near Koska Reeves. She looked at you with such contempt that you moved a few steps away and watched Bo-Katan and Din in the middle of the room.
Bo-Katan stepped forward, helmet in hands.
“Win it from you?” she asked, and Din nodded.
Without another word, Bo-Katan fitted her helmet over her head and Din ignited the Darksaber.
It was beautiful, although there was hardly time to admire it, as Bo-Katan attacked Din in a matter of seconds. You saw the first few kicks, then they were moving too fast for you to see. The Darksaber flashed, Bo-Katan ducked out of the way, she and Din circled each other in a violent dance.
You leaned forward. You were sure Din wasn’t trying to hurt her—although they were moving fast, it still wasn’t as quick as you’d seen Din fight before. And he didn’t want the Darksaber. He wouldn’t fight for it.
Koska Reeves didn’t seem to think the same. Bo-Katan stumbled and ended up on the floor, and Din, almost comically slow, brought the Darksaber down. You knew Bo-Katan would move out of the way—
The Force pulsed through you and without thinking, you leapt over the control board you were leaning on and, drawing your lightsaber from under your cloak, ignited it in midair.
You landed in a crouch behind Din and only after a blaster shot ricocheted off your lightsaber and exploded harmlessly on the thick glass of the ship did you realize what had just happened.
Koska was glaring at you, blaster still raised, and the other two Mandalorians were staring at you. You swallowed hard—you had just saved Din’s life from an unfair shot from Koska, who thought Bo-Katan’s life was in real danger. Koska had aimed for his unarmored neck—the shot would have torn through his shirt and cape and then his neck.
You had saved him. And you had revealed yourself as, in their eyes, a Jedi.
“Dank farrik,” muttered Din, shocked.
“What was that?” I asked Koska, advancing on her, lightsaber held out by my side. “He wouldn’t have killed her, you know!”
Koska stared at the purple blade humming in your hand as you approached. She turned her blaster on you and fired, but you instinctively moved your saber to block it. Her eyes were wide, and you stopped a few feet from her. She scrambled back to the wall, but you sheathed the saber and clipped it back on your belt.
“Relax,” you said. “I wasn’t going to hurt you. Unlike you, I don’t hurt people who have their backs turned, nor do I kill people far below my skill level.”
Koska narrowed her eyes at the implied insult, but didn’t say anything about it.
The rush of adrenaline was fading, the Force had subsided. You could sense that there was no longer any threat from Koska.
You realized that Din and Bo-Katan had paused their fight and were looking at you. It was unnerving, with the expressionless helmets both turned on you, but judging from Bo-Katan’s body language, she was quite surprised, as she should be. It wasn’t every day you saw a Mandalorian traveling with one who appeared to be a Jedi.
“Well,” you said, “don’t just stand there. Don’t you have a Darksaber to win?”
Bo-Katan readjusted her helmet and said to Din, “Don’t go easy on me. I can tell that’s what you’re doing.”
Din tilted his head, and you glanced at Koska just to make sure she wasn’t planning anything stupid. The scared look in her eyes confirmed it, so you leaned against the wall to watch the fight go down.
This time, Din made the first move, clipping the Darksaber to his belt and drawing his Beskar spear, hitting Bo-Katan with the flat end of it. She almost fell backwards, then caught herself, and drew her blaster. She fired at Din’s chestplate, and the force of the blast was strong enough to push him backwards. He held the spear in one hand as he slid across the floor, and as he came to a stop, he ignited the Darksaber in his other hand.
Bo-Katan somehow avoided the reach of both weapons and dodged under them, getting past Din’s defenses.
You heard Koska click her tongue as she stood from her position on the floor, and you looked sharply at her. She, despite her fear, said quietly, “I’ve never quite seen something like this.”
“Me neither,” you agreed, and just then, you heard a loud clang.
You turned back to the fight and saw Din’s spear rolling across the floor, clearly knocked out of his hand. He was on the ground as well, flat on his back, gasping for breath. Bo-Katan rolled and grabbed the spear, and when she brought it down lengthwise, Din barely raised the Darksaber in time to block it from hitting his helmet.
The Beskar was heating up to a bright red color as the Darksaber pressed against it, and you and Koska leaned forward, anxious to see the outcome.
With a furious yell, Bo-Katan rolled to the side. The Darksaber slashed the air, Bo-Katan slid the Beskar spear under Din’s arms, and pressed it against his neck, effectively choking him on the ground.
“No!” you gasped, and Koska put a hand on your arm.
“Don’t make the same mistake I did,” she warned, and you turned to her.
“Will she hurt him?” you asked, looking back to the fight, eyes riveted on your struggling Mandalorian.
Koska paused, then said, “Not badly enough to last.”
You clutched the hilt of your lightsaber hard enough to turn your knuckles white.
Finally, Din choked out, “I yield.”
Bo-Katan immediately let up on him, and held out a hand to help him up. He accepted, and they stood together. Bo-Katan removed her helmet and wiped her forehead. She and Din nodded to each other as they exchanged the Darksaber and the Beskar spear. It was anticlimactic, but you swore you saw some of the tension in Din’s stance release. He was no longer king of Mandalore. He was free.
You and Koska ran to your respective partners, and you practically tackled Din with a hug. You heard Koska congratulating Bo-Katan, but you were just glad your Mandalorian was safe.
“You didn’t think I was in real danger, did you?” he asked, and held you at arm’s length, apparently checking to make sure you were okay.
You nodded. “That was pretty intense, Din.”
He tilted his head and assured you in a low voice, “I’m okay, I promise.”
Bo-Katan and Koska approached you, and Bo-Katan, Darksaber in hand, asked, “Now that you are no longer bound to Mandalore, where will you head next?”
Din was silent, and you paused as well. The two of you hadn’t talked about it yet. Originally, you were planning on being dropped off at some random planet in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, but now you and Din were… together, you supposed. You hadn’t ever said it out loud, but that was surely what was happening between the two of you.
Bo-Katan, you realized, was still staring at the two of you, and you quickly said, “We’re still deciding.”
Din nodded, and Bo-Katan said, “Good luck, wherever you decide to go.”
You nodded to her and Koska, and you and Din walked out of the bridge, away from the new Mand’alor.