Din Djarin/Mando/The Mandalorian: One Shots, Imagines, etc.

You're Home Now

A/N: requested by @1Mando (ily tysm for requesting 😁, i really really really hope you got to dress up as bucky), i had so much fun writing this so i hope yall enjoy

Warnings: alcohol, violence, bombs, blood, death, blasters

Word count: 1322

You're just sitting in the cantina, nursing a cup of spotchka. It's something that's ocurring too often - you, sitting there, with a drink of some kind, wishing you could have done things better than you had. There's a lot of things you wish you were brave enough to put right, a lot of things you want to fix, but recently, one thing has been bothering you.

You miss him.

Little things remind you of him. A hum that sounds a bit like his helmet's scanner, the shine of metal that looks just like his armour, a rifle that could never match the range of his own. You can remember the first time he let you try that rifle out, you remember how the grip had felt in your hands, smoothed down by the thousands of times where he'd put his own fingers where yours had been. You remember the kick, the jolt the rifle sent through your forearms when you pulled the trigger, the sheer force of the shot, and most of all, you remember how after he'd swept you up and pressed the forehead of his helmet to yours, laughing like you two had just landed in heaven - if there was such a thing.

But even as you think of those happy memories, his rough, callused hands taking yours, his voice in the dark, his laugh, you can feel the thought you don't want resurfacing.

You left him.

Your fingers tighten around your cup, your shoulders hunching as you bend your head and stare into the luminous light of your spotchka. You remember him crying out your name as you shove him, the child in his arms, away from you, the sudden heat of the bomb, and the searing pain down the side of your face that left you like this.

You can see your reflection in your spotchka. Your eyes are dark, tired, surrounded by dark circles, speaking of things that will haunt you forever. The right side of your face is as it used to be, but the left side... the left side is scarred from the bomb, as if someone dangled half of you to a sarlacc and then changed their mind and hauled you up, saving your life but not your heart. You don't quite believe you have one any more. Not since that bomb dropped. Not since Moff Gideon, the dropper of that bomb, rent your little family of three apart with one cursed bomb and your cowardice.

Yes, your cowardice, because now you know where Mando is - on the planet you're on right now, you've tracked him here - but you can't bring yourself to confront him. You don't want to see him turn away in disgust like everyone else does, or worse, you don't want him to not recognise you, to shove you away like you're another beggar off the streets looking for spare credits. You don't want the child to stare up at you with those wide black eyes and start crying at the horror showing which is now your face, you don't want him to hide behind Mando's ragged grey cloak rather than clap his big eyes on you again.

So instead you hide in the shadows of your cowl, fingers clenched around your cup as you dream of how it used to be, you, Mando and the kid.

And it's then when you hear it. The beeping of a tracking fob, something that's achingly familiar to you as a former bounty hunter. Instinctively, you glance over your shoulder, scanning for the hunter. They sit in the corner, and you watch curiously as they pull the puck out of their pocket and the holo flickers and appears.

Your heart stops. You know who that is. Of course you do. It's him. You freeze in your seat, taking in the spinning blue holo of his head, and you exhale shakily, tears pricking your eyes as the door you struggle to keep closed every day gets busted open and every single memory of him comes flooding in. You scrub your hand over your face, your breathing coming faster and faster as your other hand turns white knuckled around your cup.

A crash fills your ears and your eyes snap open. There's warm blood dripping down your hand, and the spotchka forms a glowing pool around the glass shards that used to be your cup. Abruptly, you stand up, your brain finally catching up.

He's in danger. That hunter was after him. You need to save him.

As you shove past the patrons and start running as you spot the hunter, you repeat those three sentences to yourself over and over, needing something to ground you. If he isn't there to steady you, the need to save him will. And while you run, you start identifying the hunter, and your heart sinks even further. Vina Ragant. She's one of the best in the Guild; probably the best since Mando and you left, and what's worse, she and you and Mando aren't exactly the best of friends.

'Vina!' You roar, and she glances over her shoulder.

'Oh, it's Mando's little pet,' she croons. 'How cute.'

Her right eye flashes red, and you know it's her target system kicking in as the guns built into her hood lock onto you. You dodge to the side just in time, scrambling to your feet and running after her, dodging the various knives and missiles she hurls at you. You leap over an upturned crate of fruit, and your breath catches in your throat as you catch sight of the glint of beskar a few metres ahead of Vina. You don't think, you just inhale a lungful of air and scream at the top of your lungs.

'Mando!'

You see him turn around, bringing his vambrace up just in time to block a blast from Vina. You sprint over, seeing that Mando's having trouble fighting Vina off while holding the child. You don't care what he sees, if he recognises you, you just need to get rid of Vina and keep him safe, so you launch yourself at her, tackling her around the waist and slamming the two of you into a wall. You feel the air rush out of both of your lungs, and you grimace in pain and stagger off her, unholstering your blaster and pointing it at her face.

'Got you, you slimy backstabber,' you pant, and you know that's the exact moment when Mando realises it's you. There's no sound from him, no indication, no movement, but it's the stillness that tells you.

'Y - Y/N?'

Vina lunges, hooking her foot around your ankle, and you jump away, stumbling to stay on your feet as her right eye starts glowing red.

'Oh, fuck it,' you mutter, levelling your blaster at her head and pulling the trigger.

And then you turn around, away from Vina's body, and you face him. You didn't know it would hurt so bad, pushing your hood back and letting him see the burns all down your face. You hear his choked gasp, and you tear your gaze from his black visor, backing away, ready to melt into the shadows and disappear, when you feel something tug at your leg.

You look down into a pair of wide, black eyes, just as you remember, and a sob leaves you as the child reaches his arms up to you. Tears spill down your face as you slowly scoop him up, holding him close and squeezing your eyes shut.

'Y/N.'

'M - Mando,' you whisper, opening your eyes. 'I - I'm sorry, I - I never meant to... I... My face - '

He grabs you around the waist and crushes you against his breastplate, gently stroking his hand over your hair. Hooking his fingers under your chin, he tilts your face up and presses his forehead to yours.

'It's okay, sweet girl,' he murmurs. 'It's okay. You're home now.'