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Safest with You - Ch. 3 (The Drycleaner)

3.2K / Modern AU Retired Mob Enforcer!Din Djarin x fem!reader

Summary: You listen to a sign from the universe and it leads you to Din.

Warnings: Some pining and then more fluff 💕 although Reader is a bit of menace as she straight up ogles Din like a piece of meat 😂, brief mention of female masturbation, reader is described as shorter than Din, first use of pet name “Pretty Bird”.

A/N: The series is slow but sometimes falling in love be like that. I pinned a series masterlist, so you can always jump to the smutty one shots that happen later in the timeline when these two are in an established relationship if you need a fix. The fact that Din boxes is 100% attributed to @djarinsbeskar's Boxer!Din AU which was the very first Din fic AU I ever read on Tumblr and remains one of my favourites and one I revisit often; making Din a former boxer/owner of a boxing gym is my small but humble homage to Rachel's genius. Also from that same AU is this piece of art from one of my favourite artists, @kate-komics that I think about often also. Thank you both for the inspiration!

“He bought you books?!?”

“Well, technically, he bought us all books.”

The whole table laughs; your friends were delighted when you handed out the books, but they’re entralled at the background story that comes with.

“And he didn’t leave you his number or anything?”

“No! Told the cashier he didn’t want to want me to feel ‘obligated’.”

“It’s okay, babe. We’ll find him,” nods Katie, whipping out her phone.

Bea starts typing on her phone as well, “Right. He said his name is Din? How do you spell that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it short for something?”

“I don’t know.”

“How old is he?”

“I don’t know. 40s? He’s greying,” you picture Din’s soft curls and bury your face in your hands, “it looks so fucking good on him.”

“Where does he work?”

“I don’t know. Not downtown.”

“Well, what does he do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Babe. What do you know?”

“I know his coffee order is Ice Quad Expresso in a Venti cup with extra ice and six shots.”

“Ok, so we know he probably has a heart condition.”

Everyone bursts out laughing. Your friends have good reason to be so enthusiastic – it’s been ages since someone has caught your eye. You don’t date a lot, and that’s always been your preference. You have a picky temperament to begin with, but the truth is, you’re happy and at peace with the way your life is now after years of hard work. There simply hasn’t been room or a need for a partner, and your friends don’t push you to date (except Jen who always reminds you that there’s a guy at her firm she wants to set you up with, but even that’s more in good fun than anything). But right now, you look flushed and besotted over this stranger; positively smitten. They love it for you.

After a few minutes, no one has found anything on social media, any dating apps or Google – admittedly, there wasn’t much (anything?) to go on, but you’ve seen these girls work internet detective miracles before.

Oh well.

You sigh, “I need to get drunk and forget him. Or painfully obsess over every detail I can remember.”

And you all cheers to that.

---

Huh.

A week later on the Saturday, you’re out running errands, and you find yourself standing in front of your drycleaner which has unexpectedly closed. A handwritten sign in the window reads: “Emergency Closure. Reopening to be announced.”

The drycleaner’s is supposed to be your first stop of the day and you don’t really feel like carting your dirty clothes with you to run the rest of your errands. Moreover, you’ll need a few of the items in the coming weeks. You take out your phone to look up other drycleaners in the area when something in your mind clicks: Peli’s Drycleaning on 14th. You search it and see it actually exists, and has a pretty good rating to boot. But, it’s sort of out of your way, not really in the same area you’re in at all.

You shouldn’t go.

Should you go?

And what if you do? Do you… ask about Din? That’s weird.

But you’ve been thinking about him non-stop all week: daydreaming about his soft smile during your work commute, remembering the flex of his strong hand covering yours as you answer emails, getting lost in thoughts of his big brown eyes while out walking the dog. You flush at the memory of touching yourself in bed while recalling his deep and rich voice. Every attempt to forget your handsome Quad Ice over the past week has utterly failed.

Eff it. What are the chances that you unexpectedly need a new drycleaner, and it happens to be the only thing tangentially related to Din that you know? Maybe the universe is trying to help you out.

Before you can characteristically overthink it, you flag down a cab and give the driver the address you looked up; your heart pounds the entire ride over.

When you step into drycleaner’s, a little bell above the door jingles to signal your arrival, and a short woman with a huge amount of curly dark hair appears from the back. You think she might be Peli, but you can’t be sure; she gives you a huge smile and gestures to take in your clothes. Finding her to be super friendly and chatty, the two of you make easy small talk as she neatly lists out your items by hand on her notepad. When she gets to the coffee stained skirt, she lets out a low whistle, “Oof. Been there, done that!” she quips. You decide this is probably the best opening you’ll get, “Actually, that coffee stain is probably why I’m here. Someone saw it and recommended your place.” Peli raises her eyebrow as you press on, “His name is Din, he said he’s a friend of the owner?”

This gets her attention; the woman stops what she’s doing and studies you with great interest. Her face breaks out into an impossibly wide smile and she exclaims loudly, “Din sent you, eh? And he said we were friends?” she lets out a deep belly laugh, “Babysat him when he was a kid, but yep we’re friends. Ha! Hi, I’m Peli!” She shakes your hand as you introduce yourself. “He said to mention his name and you would try harder not to lose my clothes,” you joke.

“That scamp!” chortles Peli, “Don’t worry! We’ll take good care of you! You know… because of Din.” She rolls her eyes good naturedly.

“Of course. Because of Din,” you grin back, “So…does he send a lot of… people who need drycleaning, your way?”

“Nope! You’re the first! And honestly, now that I think about it, why hasn’t he been sending me more business?”

You figure it’s now or never, “Do you know where I could find him?”

If possible, Peli brightens even more at your question, “Oh yeah, for sure! At this time of day, he’ll be at his gym. It’s about 2 blocks that way,” she points in the direction for you, “can’t miss it! Big sign that says ‘Mando’s Gym’.”

Peli finishes taking down your information for the clothes and lets you know when everything can be ready. You give her an enthusiastic thanks; when opening the door to leave, you have a moment of hesitation, but looking back, you find Peli already pointing in the direction of the gym. You give her a smiling nod and head that way.

---

Peli was right. You can’t miss the sign; it sits atop of a standalone three story building that’s set further back on its lot. The front area of the lot looks like it might have once been a driveway of sorts, but is now used as a parking lot; a handful of parked cars lets you know the gym is fairly busy today. The front of the building has giant windows that look like garage doors and makes you think that the building might have once been a mechanic repair shop; from the little of what you can see inside, you think the gym occupies the first floor of the building and possibly the second. The big set of garage door windows are separated in the middle by an entry way that you walk through, slightly nervous. Once inside, you see a reception but currently no one behind the small desk; instead, you peek around the partition wall behind the desk and see that the space opens up to a clean, spacious room that has about 8-10 people working out on various machines and punching bags lining the walls, all leading to a larger group of people clustering near the boxing ring centered at the back of the room.

You’re making your way towards the back, scanning over the group looking for Din when you spot him, right in the middle of the ring. He’s got his gloved hands up, blocking part of his head, but you can still tell it’s him; when you hear him shouting encouraging words to his sparring partner, his familiar voice sends a shiver up your spine. He’s wearing a sweat drenched grey t-shirt and his hair is messy and wet from his work out, but he looks even better than you remember.

Actually, he looks fucking delicious. From this angle you can see the cut of his jawline and how it tightens as his grunts and pants. His arms are flexed from his forearms up to his biceps, and are so muscular they’re straining hard against his shirt sleeves. You must be straight up ogling him because you don’t even realize when Din notices you; you’re too busy looking at his legs and admiring how his thighs fill out his navy blue shorts so snugly. You only look up when those same legs start walking in your direction and come to a stop at the edge of the ring. Din is leaning towards you against the rope with a heart-stopping smile, “It’s you.”

“Yes, it’s me,” you grin, repeating back his words to you from the bookstore.

Din thinks he must be dreaming, or maybe he’s been knocked in the head one too many times today. He had just paused the fight to show Jimmy the new combination again, when he looked over to see the prettiest sight. You, standing in his gym, soft and dainty, with a wide eye expression on your face. You’re looking in his direction, but when you don’t make eye contact with him immediately, Din allows himself the smug thought that you might be liking what you see and puffs his chest out a little before making his way over to you.

Now you’re looking at him with that same pretty smile that he hasn’t been able to get out of his head for the last week, and he can’t wait to talk to you again, “Are you okay to wait for 5 minutes? We’re just finishing up this training session.”

You nod agreeably, “Sure, I can wait.” There’s a bench running along the right side of the ring where you take a seat to better enjoy the show. You’ve never seen boxing up close before, so you don’t know what to expect, but you find yourself mesmerized by everything Din is doing in the ring. All his movements are intentional and graceful; he’s in total control of every motion he makes: ducking, blocking, punching. His muscles are all flexed and his shirt stretches tight, barely containing them as if Din himself is an extension of the explosive power harnessed in his fists. The legs that you were drooling over earlier are quick and agile; it’s true you don’t know his age but his sparring partner looks to be in his mid-20s and Din is having no problem out maneuvering him.

As he circles the other fighter, you think you spy some ink on a flash of some exposed skin and the idea of exploring what’s underneath Din’s shirt has you swallowing hard. In short, you can’t take your eyes off of him.

The 5 minutes is action packed and over before you know it. In one continuous smooth motion, Din ducks under the rope, jumps down and grabs a fresh towel from a stack on the other end of the bench you’re sitting on before sliding over to sit next to you. He looks at you almost bashfully as he towels off his hair and wipes the sweat from his brow and neck. You think you could get used to seeing him like this: cheeks pink from exercise, bright eyes glued to yours and a grin so wide it reveals a deep dimple in his right cheek that you’re discovering for the first time. He’s taking your breath away and you haven’t even been back in his presence for more than 10 minutes.

“What brings you to this part of town today, pretty bird?”

If anyone else had bestowed a pet name on you so soon after having met, you would have immediately gotten the ick, but the endearment rolling off Din’s tongue sounds so natural and sweet, it has you melting, “Some handsome guy bought me a thick stack of books and then made it nearly impossible for me to thank him. Tracked him down to this gym.”

“Handsome guy, eh?”

“Yep. Real handsome. And sweet. You know anyone around here like that?” you tease.

Handsome. You think he’s handsome. Din thinks his heart is in danger of no longer fitting in his chest. He holds his hand up to his brow, as if to shield his eyes from the light, and mines looking around gym in an exaggerated manner, “Nope. Just a bunch of smelly, sweaty ruffians. Owner’s a handsome guy though, maybe you’re looking for him,” he says, eyes twinkling.

“You own this gym?”

“Sure do. Used to be my dad’s.”

“Well, he would be proud of you and what you’ve done here, Din. It looks great.” You mean it, and you look around the gym with a renewed sense of awe now that you know Din is the one responsible for its operations.

Din’s not sure how you knew the exact thing to say to make his heart swell, but he knows without a doubt that you’re being genuine and he is reminded again of your kind nature.

You look back to see Din looking at you with a soft expression and before you let yourself get lost in his eyes, you force yourself to pull it together, “Oh Din! I can’t believe I didn’t say this right away: Thank you!! Thank you for the books. It was so incredibly unexpected and sweet! My friends also say thank you – a few of the books you bought were for them.”

“You’re very welcome. Have you enjoyed the books?”

You’re warmed by how thoughtful Din is, and you let him know the books are turning out to be great and you and your friends can’t believe how long you’ll have to wait for the next instalment to come out.

“Do you have plans to read tonight, or would you happen to be free?”

Even though you had been hoping that Din would ask you out, your heart leaps into your throat now that it’s happening. “I think I should be! If I finish up this list of errands I’m supposed to get to today, that is. Giving Peli my drycleaning was only the first item,” you lament.

“Peli! Is that how you found me? Clever girl.”

You beam at Din’s praise. You realize you haven’t explained how you knew where he was, “As luck would have it, my regular drycleaner was unexpectedly closed. Nearly derailed my whole errand day until I remembered you mentioning you had a friend who ran a drycleaning business. Something else I need to thank you for.”

“I’m glad I could help. Well, if you have a bunch of errands you have to finish before you can go out with me tonight, I’m going to scoot you out of here right now so you don’t cancel. Scoot!” Din adds a silly shooing motion with his hands as he says this, so you know he’s not seriously trying to get rid of you. You giggle, but nod, eager to get on with your tasks so that your date with Din might come sooner.

Din asks you if you need a ride, but you tell him you’ll be fine and jokingly scoff, “Hey! I don’t want you putting off your work and then backing out either, mister.”

“Not a chance,” grins Din.

As you walk together towards the front of the gym, Din lets you know how much he’s been thinking about you, “I’m really glad you came to here today. I was about to camp out everyday at the coffeeshop in the morning and then that bookstore in the afternoon until I found you again.”

“Who would have looked after the gym if you did that?”

Din looks around at the gym; some of the boxers and staff that had been watching the two of you look away quickly and pretend to busy themselves to avoid being caught staring. “Shoot. This place probably would have burned down. Looks like you just saved the gym.”

You can’t help but giggle again and Din feels a growing sense of pride in being able to make you laugh. “How about tonight I take you out to dinner as a thank you?”

Giving him an incredulous look, you answer, “I should be taking you out to dinner to thank you.”

“I don’t think so, pretty bird.”

The pet name shoots straight to your core again.

Din stretches himself up to his full height and looks down at you with mock stern expression, cocking his eyebrow.

You can’t say you’re at all intimidated even though he towers over you; you’ve long since felt that Din’s company spelled safety. But to play along, you counter by looking up at him with your biggest pleading eyes. Din is instantly disarmed and knows in this moment that he will never be able to refuse you anything.

He suggests a compromise, “How about we go for dinner and fight about the check there?”

“Ok. But just so you know, I’m not used to losing,” you challenge playfully.

“Me neither.” Din tilts his head slightly to draw your attention to the wall you’re standing next to. It’s the other side of the divider wall you rounded when you came in, and you see that it’s covered with awards, certificates, and articles lauding Din’s boxing accomplishments.

Amazed, you skim over the honours and achievements, “This is you? Wow – you’re incredible Din! …9 times weight division champion? Oh man, now I don’t know if I can take you.”

“I bet you could,” from the look on Din’s face, you’re sure that the double meaning is meant as a tease, but you can’t help squirming a little.

Blushing, you relent, “Ok, you can pay for dinner. But I still have to thank you for the books.”

Din is finding your persistence on this point to be adorable, “Your ‘thanks’ is enough. No need to feel like you owe me; it was a gift.”

“I know. I just have an outrageous sense of reciprocity. I really do want to find a way to thank you somehow.” You reach up and put your hand on Din’s shoulder to hold yourself steady as you lift up onto your toes and kiss him on the cheek. Despite having just gone who knows how many rounds in the ring, he smells incredible and you can’t help but linger your lips on his cheek. You exhale softly and hold Din’s gaze as you slowly lower down to your normal height.

Din looks as affected as you feel, “Remind me to buy you some more books.”

Both of you laugh, now giddy about the prospect of seeing each other again in a few hours. You exchange numbers and Din promises to text you later with the address of the restaurant he’ll meet you at tonight.

Heading down the street, heart aflutter and fingers trembling with excitement, you take out your phone and text the group chat: I found him.

#din djarin #din djarin fanfiction #din djarin fic #din djarin x reader #din djarin x f!reader #din djarin x you #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal characters fanfiction #modern au #no y/n

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