#the atmosphere would shift and you’d pull his head to your chest and soothingly scratch his back | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

magicmanias · 4 years

Text

Restless

Pairing: The Mandalorian x Reader, Din Djarin x Reader

Summary: The kid won't sleep.

Warnings: Idiots to Lovers, Fluff, Mando doesn’t get emotions, the kid is a brat (but still cute)

Word Count: 2.8k

A/N: This could have a part 2… Maybe.

39 hours.

That’s how long you went without sleep. Mando left two days ago to run after some sort of bounty—a Rodian or something—and since then, the kid would not give you a break. Usually, he would take naps periodically throughout the day and your sleep schedule followed, but for the past 39 hours, 15 minutes, and 27 seconds the kid didn’t sleep a wink and much to your displeasure, you followed suit. When Mando initially left, you had laid the kid down in his bassinet and you snoozed at his side, but seven hours later, you woke up to him waving his little baby hands trying to open the ship’s door.

So, you were careful not to fall asleep before he did. Except, you were paying the price now.

The kid was usually so tame. He didn't touch what you told him not to touch, he'd eat when you gave him food, and he went to sleep when you laid him down. But now that little green gremlin was giving you hell. He touched everything, he would refuse to eat anything but meat—which you didn't have a lot of on a ship without a preservator, and he wouldn't. fucking. sleep.

It seemed the only thing you could do to make him stop bouncing off the walls was “uppying” him. And in the beginning, it seemed like a good deal—you would get quiet and he would get uppy. But what you didn't realize was that while you carried that little demon, sitting was not an option No. You had to walk around with him or else he'd pry himself out of your grasp with his grubby three-fingered hands and go right back to touching anything with a warning label.

“Baby, I'll do anything. Just sleep, baby. Please,” you begged, bouncing him in your arms once more. Your eyes were dropped shut and you leaned up against the side of the ship, just sort of bending your knees and sliding up and down against the wall. “I know daddy isn't here, but he's coming back, I swear.”

The kid gurgled a bit and stared up at you with his big, starry eyes, knocking your face with his floppy ears in the process. It was like some sort of face off, each daring the other to give in. You forced your eyes to stay open, using what little energy you had left. The kid gave you a long blink in return.

“Maker, you're killing me.” You set the kid down and collapsed on the cot. Mando would be back any minute. You could rest your eyes for just a second. Just for a minute and when Mando came back you could actually sleep. One break was fine…

You woke up to a clatter. Your eyes shot open—the kid. Kriff. You swiveled your head wildly, searching for the source of the sound. The sound of metal against metal came from the cockpit. Bantha shit! You slammed your fist on the door panel and raced to the cockpit. The door slid open and the sight of the window revealed the blackness of space. When did you leave…?

A grunt to your right pulled your attention away from the window. You were met with the sight of the Mandalorian attempting to coax the baby into the bassinet. “Found the kid pushing buttons up here,” he grumbled.

Kriff. You were so screwed. How was it that he was out catching the most dangerous criminals in the most dangerous parts of the most dangerous planets in the galaxy and you couldn't get one child to take a damn nap? Were you that useless? Would Mando make you leave?

“Sorry.” Well there went the last of your dignity. You couldn’t see Mando’s eyes through the visor, but you could feel them burning holes through your brain. You willed yourself to shrink under his gaze. “Sorry,” you whispered again.

“For what?” He cocked his head like he was confused. Was he genuinely asking you?

You broke whatever kind of contact your eyes made with the visor and stared at the closed bassinet. How did he do that? Maybe you never were good with kids. Although, it’s not like you could have known, growing up on a planet like Arvala-7. It wasn’t a popular vacation spot for families. Those that were younglings on the planet were always hiding away until they found the opportunity to steal food from street vendors. You were really starting to regret taking this job.

You shrugged in response.

“Hey.” Mando stood from the bassinet and approached you. You often forgot just how intimidating his presence could be. He stopped in front of you, but his large figure loomed over you, forcing you to crane your neck up to meet the vizor. You scrunched your brow and sucked in your bottom lip. Don’t cry, you idiot. His voice softened and for a second you thought you heard genuine, human concern coming from under the mask. “Where were you?” he demanded.

“I was… I fell asleep,” you whimpered, looking down at his feet. Don’t cry, don’t cry.

“Are you ok?”

“What?” Did he just ask you if you were ok? He never asked you that before. Most of the things he said to you were in command form. Don’t touch that. Set the coordinates. Carry this. And if they weren’t commands, they were some other form of a sentence with a testing atmosphere to them.

“Are you ok? You look… tired.” Mando shifted his weight uncomfortably.

You stared at him blankly. “What?”

Mando turned away from you and seated himself in the pilot’s chair. “You need to sleep. Go to bed, Y/N,” he said, punching in a few coordinates and the ship began to glow with life.

“I… ok,” you said lamely. You could barely process anything now. You would apologize after you got some sleep.

By the time you woke up again, you noticed the ship was no longer in motion. Light poked through the small window of the escape pod you slept in and you felt… warm. There was a weight pressed up against your stomach. You looked down at your stomach and small a small lump present under the blankets. Carefully, you sat up, letting the sheet slide down. Two big, green ears popped out.

“What’re you doing here, baby? Looking for you dad? Well, this is probably the last place he’d be.”

Footsteps fell outside your door, followed by a single knock. Mando? He never came to your makeshift room, let alone knocked on your door. “Come in?”

After a few seconds of silence, you were about to repeat yourself, but then the outside panel beeped and the door slid open. Mando remained at the doorway, hesitantly leaning forward. He watched you intently—or as much as the helmet revealed, not speaking, and suddenly, you felt incredibly vulnerable wearing nothing but a baggy, old shirt you borrowed from Mando while he stood full-armored in front of you. You ungracefully dragged the sheet a little further up your chest. “I’m leaving. I should be back soon. Watch the—Can you watch the kid?”

He just asked you. Not commanded. Asked. “Uh, sure. Yeah.”

The helmet nodded and Mando left as quickly as he came. Maybe you could apologize to him after he came back.

You looked down at the kid, still sitting on your lap. “So I guess it’s just you and me again for a bit. Do you think we can come to some sort of an agreement?” The baby blinked. “Great.”

It took a bit of trial and error, but you did it. The kid was sleeping. After you changed, you’d picked up the kid and just hugged him. “I’m sorry for not taking better care of you. You got in trouble, but it was my fault,” you cooed. The child dug his face into your neck and pulled onto your shirt. You rubbed your hand soothingly on his back, rocking from side to side. “I hope your dad will forgive me too,” you murmured, bringing your hand up to the backside of one of his ears. You started to lightly scratch and then there was a small whump on your chest. The kid was asleep.

“Thank you, Maker,” you mouthed silently, before bringing the kid to the bassinet. You made sure to close it this time. Now that the kid was asleep, you realized just how hungry you were. You hadn't eaten since before Mando came back from his last bounty hunt. Maybe there was something in the storage unit on the lower level.

The bassinet trailed behind you as you made your way to the lower level of the Razor Crest. Your stomach growled louder and you started to pick up the pace to the storage unit. Just as you descended the ladder, you found yourself flat on your butt, a forgotten blaster that you tripped over at your feet. Looking around, you realized that the ship was a mess.

Maybe this would be a good way to apologize, after you actually apologized though.

Mando hated Coruscant. It was overcrowded, dirty, and it made him feel like he couldn’t breathe—even with the helmet on, but the highest-paying bounty that Karga had was currently on that damn planet.

Mando’s grip on the tracker in his hand tightened once the Razor Crest came into view. Two things made the Mandalorian hesitant to board the ship. One: He really hated Coruscant. Two: you. He remembered your face when he asked you about the kid. You were halfway to tears. You were so… sensitive. Mando wondered how he’d gotten here with you accompanying him. It seemed like such an unlikely pair. A cold-blooded bounty hunter and a girl who cried when she accidentally tripped over the green bean in a potato sack.

When Mando first landed back on Arvala-7, he went to the escape pod to tell you, but he found you still sleeping like a damn rock, the kid on your stomach doing the same. It wasn’t for another four hours until you came around. But every ten minutes, Mando came back to check on you. He probably came more often and stayed for longer than he needed to. There was just something so… peaceful about you. You looked so relaxed. So pure. Mando hadn’t slept like that in years. His back always hurt. His neck was always stiff. He bet you never felt sore.

He could never sleep for long either. He could lie on that cot for a full cycle and not get any rest. Just gaze at the roof of the ship and… think. He usually didn’t dream. Didn’t sleep long enough at one time to. But the second you stepped onto that ship and smiled, that was all he could think about at night. Your smile. It filled him with a sense of warmth and comfort. When he woke up the next morning, his back still hurt and his neck was still stiff, but he’d slept for eight hours. That was the longest he had slept in a long time and every dream was about you.

Your heart jumped slightly when the sound of the main hatch opening rang in your ears. You thanked the Force you were finishing up in the weapons’ hold and grabbed a blaster. You didn’t know how to shoot it, but whoever invaded the ship didn’t need to know that. Hopefully, they didn’t know how to use one either. You slowly lifted up the blaster and neared the exit of the small room. “I have a weapon!” you called out. The kid babbled and laughed at your nervous figure. You pushed the bassinet behind you and closed it. “Who’s here?”

An armored figure stepped in front of the armory, gloved hands comfortably seated on his belt. You shrieked and pointed the blaster in front of you, clenching your eyes shut.. The figure pushed the blaster out of his face. “Hey! What are you doing in here?” Mando’s voice demanded.

Your eyes shot open, revealing the all-too familiar helmet. Oh. “Sorry!” you yelped. “I-I thought you were… um… an intruder.”

“What are you doing in here?” he asked again.

“Oh.” Suddenly you turned sheepish. “Well, I felt really sorry for falling asleep and not taking good care of the kid, but you left before I could apologize and I realized that this place needed some cleaning up, so I picked up. A bit.” You sucked in your lip and placed the blaster back on the hook. “And I wanted to apologize.”

“For being even less intimidating with a blaster than you are without one?”

Did… Did Mando just tease you? “Wh-What?”

“If you’re going to point a blaster at me, open your eyes when you do it,” he said.

“Oh. Right.” You cleared your voice. “I’m sorry for falling asleep. When you were gone before, the kid hadn’t slept in a really long time and I didn’t want to leave him on his own when he was conscious, so I stayed up too and he never went to sleep but—”

“Hey, slow down,” he said, stepping a little closer to you. You stepped further into the weaponry.

“Sorry,” you muttered.

“Because you fell asleep?” he asked.

You nodded slightly, hands positioned tightly at your sides. “I’m sorry. If you want to just leave me on Arvala, I understand.” Your eyes teared up again. Please don’t cry in front of him.

The helmet titled to the side. “Why would I do that?” he asked softly.

“Be-Because I left the kid un-unchecked,” you blubbered. “And-And you’re mad at me.”

“Do I sound mad?”

“I can’t ever tell when you feel anything!” you cried, tears streaming down your face. You tried to wipe them away in vain. Stupid emotions. You shoved your face into your hands, mortified that Mando was only again, seeing you cry. He’s going to leave you here. Two arms wrapped around you, enveloping you in an awkward hug.

Mando’s leather gloved fingers traced along your back and you dug your nose into his chest. A muffled ‘I’m sorry’ could be heard. “Quit it,” he said.

You lifted your head to look up at the helmet. “What?’ you hiccuped, sniffing.

“Quit saying sorry,” he said, continuing to look straight ahead. If he looked at you, crying in his arms, with red-rimmed eyes and a pink nose, he wouldn’t let you go. He’d stepped over the line as it was.

You wrapped pulled your arms from his chest and placed them around him, pulling the Mandalorian closer. “Your armor is cold,” you mumbled.

Mando pulled away instantly, like he’d hurt you somehow, but your arms remained wrapped around his waist. “It’s ok,” you reassured him, sniffing. “I like it. My face feels warm anyway.”

Mando looked down, forgetting the boundaries altogether. You had stopped crying, but your eyes were still red and your nose was still pink. Your cheeks had filled his color from the blood that rushed to them. One of your cheeks was pressed against his chestplate, forcing you to stare to the side. Something in Mando wanted to stroke your hair, but he clenched his fist and kept it still on your back. He contemplated letting go, but you never hugged him before and he wanted a little more time to memorize how it felt, so maybe he could recreate it in his dreams.

“Thank you,” you said, unmoving and pressed up against him. Mando didn’t say anything in response because he didn’t know how to respond. Instead, he placed his hand on her head and stroked her hair.

Something tugged at his leg and then wrapped itself around it. Mando hesitantly pulled away and looked down. The kid lifted his head towards the two. He turned to you and made uppy hands. You laughed slightly and leaned down to pick up the child.

“Hi baby,” you cooed, wiggling a finger at him with your free hand. Mando watched you as you snuggled up against the baby with a slight tang of jealousy. Damn that kid… But then, Mando saw you smile, despite your puffy, dry eyes and he smiled under the helmet. You turned to him, calmly rocking the child back and forth. “What’s the next stop?”

Mando recalled the tracker in his hand. He shook his head and left it on a shelf in the armory. The bounty hunter paused, suddenly remembering a conversation he once had with you.

It was more of a one-sided conversation, you doing most of the talking. It was early, when you had just met Mando, still getting used to his dislike for communication. “I’ve lived on this desert my whole life. But I hate hot weather. I get cold too easily though. Space is colder than I thought. I used to talk to this old woman who lived near me on Arvala. She used to tell me about all the planets she’d been to. Alderaan, Hoth, Onderon, Dantooine... You name it and she’d been there. There was this one planet that sounded so lovely. Endless green fields, flora, fauna, temperate weather, rivers, lakes…”

“Naboo.”

371 notes · View notes