Work Text:
Humming your favorite song, you put the pieces you've prepared together, cut the extra thread, wrap the material in the right way, you're halfway there...
"What are you doing?" comes a cold modulated voice behind you.
Frighted by his sudden appearance, your whole body jerked but your hand was quick to dispose of your work and back into your bag.
You turn to face him and smile nervously, hiding the mess you've left with your body. "I was just- working on some of my em, broken tools, clothes, and stuff."
He tilted his head, a rather cute motion for someone as deadly as him. "Well, if you need new tools and clothing you could just ask me."
You shake your head, mortified. "NO, it's fine, I'll just fix it." you couldn't waste his credits just because of your stupid lie.
He observe you for a while, and you were sure he was about to call out your lie, he simply gave you an "Alright." before walking away.
You exhale rather loudly, you swear having a deadly Mandalorian jump scare you on daily basis will give you a heart attack one day. You turn toward your temporary work desk, which is just a few crates you see around the ship, and put them together, especially those unused ones (why does he keep so much random stuff on the ship but never use it?)
You sigh and massage your sore neck for looking down half your day, it's quite peaceful lately, Mando's work and all the running are finally slowing down for once since rescuing the baby, and most of the bounty he takes in now is just steady income, nothing too dangerous. And you, as his mechanic and nurse, finally have the time to settle down. And you thought it would be nice to take this time to do something special for him. Maybe this would help melt his icy personality then you could openly take care of and love the true Mando you've been craving for.
You're halfway through your work, better finish it off before Mando runs himself into trouble again. You sit back down on the not-so-comfortable floor and swear to yourself you'll force him to get a carpet. (or you'll make it yourself.)
Unknowingly to you, an watchful eyes were trained on you the whole time.
Mando forced himself to tear his eyes away, you were clearly lying to him but it is your privacy that he has no right to pry. Though he was wondering why you would hide from him but he'll leave it to you.
Mando went back to the cockpit to check the destination. He pull out a holo map to went through it again to make sure there was nothing dangerous on the planet that he didn't know of, but a three-finger tiny hand appear on his knee. He turned toward it and chuckled at the sight of the green child struggling to climb onto him.
Mando picks him up and put him on his thigh, the child coo while looking up at him."You want to see this?" Mando gestures his hand toward the holo map, the child tilt his head and lets out a curious coo. Mando takes the map closer and shows it to him, "Alright, Udarvis, a water planet, peaceful with a popular civilization, I think you going to like it there."
The child cooed again to reply and let out a happy noise when Mando open a beautiful photo of the planet. Mando chuckled before switching to another planet.
FINALLY! You have finished it, a brand new scarf made in a material that would change the temperature in different environments, and a new set of warm clothes for Mando, the haunting experience of the ice planet still burn you. Plus a new improved bag for the baby to rest in while going out. Now, you don't know if Mando will like your work, it's not something he counts as efficient or needed, but you believe it would help. Maybe you would change your gift into something more weaponry if he doesn't like it. But to be honest, you were more concerned about his health more than anything.
Climbing up a ladder with a handful of stuff isn't very pleasant, but is a skill you need to master. Your joy washes over the struggle as soon as you reach the top, you recheck your gift once more, suddenly feeling nervous.
You step closer to Mando, and he tilts his head toward you when you're standing right behind him. You were about to speak up when something hit the crest, the whole ship shook as you lose balance and slam into the wall.
"Dank Farrick!" you heard Mando let out a curse， taking hold of the crest again. You stumble toward him and hold on to his pilot chair to keep yourself upright.
"You're alright?" Mando asked as he check on the baby, you open your mouth to reply but you feel something drip down your cheek.
Kniff you must have hit your head pretty badly, but it doesn't feel urgent. It might be just a scratch.
You tumble backward a bit when Mando turns around, and you could hear his breath hitched as his eyes trained on the blood dripping down your face.
You smile sheepily at him, "It's fine, Mando. It's just a scratch.“
You blink and he was in front of you, his helmet was inches away from your face. You feel a sudden heat rush toward your face, leaning back away from him on instinct but his hand stops you from moving further. His gloves hand brush over your hair to inspect your wound, you couldn't focus on anything other than how close Mando is, the pain is nothing compared to the way your heart was losing control.
Mando leads back and lets out a sigh, "It's a surface wound but you still need bacta, come on." Mando takes hold of your wrist and gently guides you toward the seat. He did it so naturally like this is a normal interaction for the both of you but you can't help but linger on the way his hand fit so perfectly around your wrist.
Mando left you on the seat and went down the deck to look for his med pack. You cling onto your gift waiting nervously for him to come back. Well, this isn't an ideal situation for your gift, but you suppose it helps you get his attention. Now you just need the courage.
Mando returns to you rather quickly and before you could form a word he kneels down to your eyes level. You watch him work in silence, heart skipping at his gentle touch. He'll stiff and hesitate to continue whenever you hiss and flinch away. Your heart melted by the time he finish, and your eyes flutter as he gently wiped the blood on your face away. You lead into his touch slightly, he tensed slightly but didn't comment on the action. You just wish he would treat himself just as tender as he does to you.
"It should heal in a few days." You open your eyes to watch him putting the med pack back together. Mando takes a step away and you dart out your arms to grad onto his wrist.
“Wait!" He turns to you instantly, "Is something wrong?" the concern in his voice pulls at your heart-string, having you carving for more. "I have something for you!" you said cheerfully, giving him a big grin as if you didn't suffer a head injury.
Mando picks it up wordlessly, inspecting the item intensely. "oh, the new scarf will change temperature due to the environment you're in to cooperate your body heat." He looks back at you, his silence is unsettling but you ignore it as best you can. “The clothes are more warm and comfortable, so they should help you on a cold planet and makes sleeping in your armor more comfortable." Mando put the scarf gently on his seat and palm the clothes even though he's wearing his glove.
You wait until he put the clothes away with the scarf, leaving only the bag left. "That is for the baby! Now it's comfortable, and I've stuffed a little defense system in there too, so whenever a fight breaks off, a shield would appear and protect him." a happy squeak comes from the floor, and you look down to see the baby happily cooing at you.
You giggle and pick him up, tickling him so you could hear his cute laugh. You hug the baby against you and look back at Mando.
Mando watches as you interact with the child, his clan happily together, safe. What you just did is too precious, the love he has carved for is being given right into his hands. He could feel the warmth in his chest bloom when you start explaining the meaning of every gift.
He has received a lot of 'gifts' in his past but never has someone gift him something made out of love.
The gift is small but it fills the biggest hole he has in his heart.
He watches as you smile sweetly at the child, and the smile stays when you turn to face him, taking his breath away.
He slowly kneels down, putting his hands on your cheeks, "Mando?" He lean down and put his helmet against your forehead. He almost chuckled at the way your flutter, trying to jerk away. But he waits until you're calm enough to enjoy the moment.
"Mando?" You repeat with a whisper, afraid to break the moment.
"Din."
"What?"
"My name is Din."
He watches your smile grow and his face under the helmet matches yours. "Din." he sighs contently, he will never get enough of your voice.
You lean closer to him, quietly asking the question you had in mind for a long while, "I love you, do you know that?"
You heard Din inhale sharply, "Yes, I do. "
He pauses and you wait patiently, knowing he's not used to being open about his emotion. "And I love you too, Cyar'ika."
You smile again, this time with your heart full of love. "Good."