⋆✴︎˚ Sweet Vacuum ⋆✴︎˚ (PT.1)
pairing. The Mandalorian x fem!reader
tags. Slow burn, fluff, angst, drama, smut, co-parenting, friends to lovers, lighthearted, hurt-comfort.
It took some time for her to get accustomed to it all. The constant, seemingly imperceptible buzz of the ship had been the reason for her insomnia. The hellish gray color of the walls plagued her vision with mockery, even if she tried to cover it with any trinket, colorful sheet or painting she could afford to buy. In the very first weeks, the woman would be so afraid of being out in the open space, held safe only by a piece of junk put together by mere faith and luck, that she would have to duck inside her bunk bed and close her eyes until the tears stopped, and her breath regulated on its own. The classic symptoms of her easily agitated disposition haunted her. Sour stomach, wretched nerves, clock inching tediously slow.
She thought of calling out for help, of course. But she was too embarrassed to ask Mando for any.
The woman was of mainland by birth, and as she had recently discovered, by nature. Being out in space was too challenging of a concept for her simple, primitive mind to attend to. So she imagined herself to be on a bullet train, a cruise, a submarine, anything, anything but a flying ship surrounded by nothing but a void of matter.
Oh, yes. The first months had been rather excruciating. Her only company was The Mandalorian, who seemed to constantly remind her of her inadequacy. The man was skillful, Stoic, and smart. And he generally acted as if the person who he lived with did not exist. For someone as energetic, talkative and flirty as her, being alone with him on that ship was comparable to a cage. She was safe and all her needs were met, and yes, she would be endlessly indebted to him. But this way of life wasn’t for her.
At first, the woman acted in eggshells around him. But once she realized that The Mandalorian truly meant no harm to his allies and that he was a fundamentally good man, she learned to loosen up. She was often guilty of projecting all of her boredom on him, playfully flirting and fighting as one would do on a soap opera. But what could she do, given the lonely circumstances. He never took a break. They never stayed long in one place, and he rarely let her tag alone on his missions. Being polite enough to talk about security and protection, when in reality, he just did not want to have her around.
But It all changed when she met that little green guy.
Despite all of his interminable silences, his traditional ways, and the annoying enigma, the woman had to give it to him; He was a genuinely kind soul.
Kinder than she could ever be.
The truth was that she would have gotten scared of the commitment and dropped Grogu off at whatever orphanage had the best reputation. But not Mando. He had taken him in, promised the child the closest thing to a family, while he helped him find his genuine kin.
The kid changed everything. She had always secretly wished for a child, but the woman thought she would not be any good as a mother figure. Grogu, however, brightened her days, made the endless possibilities of travelling something fun again, and it gave her someone to be brave for. It gave her a purpose. Beyond mindless jobs, bounties and metal parts.
She knew the cruelty of her thoughts, but on some days, when she watched the kid crawling around, happily giggling, she could not help but wish for him to stay with them forever.
Mando physically flinched every time she called him that, but she couldn't help it. Sir was too dreadful of a word, not to mention that they were roughly the same age, —at least, that was what she thought to be true— and her parents were military.
Some of that had stuck around, even after all her efforts to get rid of her old ways. At some point, she just stopped fighting it, mainly because It made her feel like she was still back home. Family still alive. If she closed her eyes, she could still hear her brother calling their mom “Lieut” only for him to be playfully smacked by her mom, showing off that big smile of hers.
But she had no smile anymore. And all she had left now was Mando and the kid.
Technically, he wasn't her captain. The Mandalorian functioned as a pilot too, -and an occasional, disastrous mechanic- but she still called him so, and the woman could practically see his rolling eyes behind the helmet. That was the best part of it.
“Remember, don’t go to overly crowded spots-” The woman absently nodded at his rambles while picking up the kids toys, she probably wouldn't “Come to the ship before noon-” Time was known to fly in beautiful places like this, so she couldn't promise that, either.
“And Stars, don't let him eat any frogs”
Mando’s last request, though, made her turn around in offended disbelieve. The woman dropped the toys she was picking up, exaggeratedly gasped, and hugged the child as she stuck her tongue out to him. Dear Gods, What type of nanny did he thought she was? Of course, she wouldn't.
“Yes, Yes” he came closer to lovingly tap the child's head as she continued to ramble on. The woman found this shows of preoccupation endearing at first, but they could drag forever. “Captain, here we are. Lovely. Fine. Thank you so much -beautiful landing, real smooth — but oh well, noodle-oh, fuck off, yes, bye-” While she planned to slam the door shut, finally being able to dance her way out of the Mandalorian’s concerns and towards the door, she suddenly heard his modulated breath behind her. It was so close, that she could hear the robotic vibration. A shiver ran through her spine as she felt his big right palm slowly searching her waist. The woman had forgotten about it once. Just once. And ever since, he always padded her down to make sure that she was carrying a weapon. She didn't know if it was the isolation, but the combination of the shame it made her feel, and his slow, steady hands on her waist were too much to bear. With an uncontrollable warmth rising through her neck, she turned around and gave him a quick peck on the part of his helmet that hided his cheek, and promptly walked away with the kid, trying to ignore whatever primal instincts Mando aroused, focusing on what a happy occasion was to touch the soil with her feet again.
The Mandalorian watched the woman twirl around with the kid. Her walk? Almost as childish as she was. They were heading towards the south, where the downtown area was.
As their figures were getting smaller, Mando noticed the tight fist his hand had turned into, and sighed. He would never get used to her offhanded affection. Even if he knew that he would never feel the touch of her lips on his actual skin, even if he knew that she was nearly touching the metal barrier that protected his identity, he still wasn't able to convince his nervous system to stop shutting down at her smallest touch. Mando smiled to himself. The seclusion was really getting to him. As much as he tried, he was still humane.
After a while, he sighed and shook his head, trying to get rid of the sting of guilt that always washed over him when he saw her being happy in the mainland. She didn’t belong locked up in a ship. Especially not with someone like him.
Before finally making his way out, the Mandalorian silently checked if he was carrying all the necessary gear, and quickly cleaned the woman's lipstick off the Beskar.
Notes. OMG I think my very first ao3 searches were of Mando, Javier Peña and Steve Grant. Full circle moment lol.
