Hard Edges || Mandalorian X Reader

|20| Creed.

Din
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Din walks up the familiar path to Kuiil's hut, and spots you in the distance. He smiles sombrely, drinking in the way the moonlight shines in your hair. You still look so far away.

He's felt you pulling away since Trask. Like you are slipping through his fingers.

At first he had been amused by you leaving the ship. But the quieter you got, the more he realized you didn't leave the ship - you snuck off the ship. And then tried to hide it. As if you thought you were a prisoner. A bounty.

The thought tore at his chest.

Maybe she wasn't going to come back.

Then when you asked about his helmet again, he couldn't help the shame he felt.

He couldn't even tell you the truth.

He had tried to reason with himself. By his Creed, the Mandalorians that remove their helmets were not truly Madalorian. But he knew in his heart that wasn't true - he had met some, and they walked The Way same as him, every much as bit a Mandalorian as him even though they showed themselves to the world.

He knew that Mandalorians can take vows, binding themselves together for life and revealing their faces.

He knew the truth. He was just afraid.

You aren't Mandalorian. You haven't taken the Creed. You cannot take vows with him. And he is a child of The Watch.

I always knew one day she would realize she deserves more than I can give.

The sound of footsteps catches his attention, and Kuiil gives him a nod as he approaches.

"How was she?" Din asks, unsure he wants the answers.

"It is hard for one not accustomed to The Way to walk alongside it." Kuiil replies.

Din's heart sinks.

"But not impossible." Kuiil adds.

Dins gaze snaps from your silhouette to meet Kuiil's. He opens his mouth to speak but Kuiil just raises his hand, "I have spoken."

He waits until Kuiil is inside. Maybe he could just stand here, stand here and watch you stare at the stars forever.

He closes his eyes, clenching his jaw as he strides towards you - preparing himself for whatever choice you will make, even if it destroys him.

"Thinking about it again?" He tries to make his voice level as he sit down next to you, bringing his knees up and resting his forearms on them.

Din closes his eyes and tilts his head to the sky when you don't answer. Silence ebbs in the night, he listens to the sound of you breathing next to him. Trying to memorize the sound as if it can hold him together when you leave.

For the first time in his life a feeling rises in his chest at the vows he took, and for once it's not certainty, it's not pride. It's anger.

His heart catches in his throat as he hears you take a deep breath and begin to speak.

"I think maybe there is more than one way to see a person- to see who a person truly is - to... know them. And Din - Din I see you. I know you."

He stares into your eyes, lost in the beauty, mind not comprehending.

"You."

He feels your hand on his chest and his breath rushes back to him. "I don't need to know what you look like to know who you are. Din I know you in the dark, in a crowded room, helmet - no helmet, I would know you blind."

Your voice is barely a whisper now. " Because I see you, I know you - in here." He watches as you slowly place his hand on your chest. Staring in disbelief.

He hadn't considered that you might actually choose him.

Slowly he drags his eyes back to yours, his heart shattering at the tears swelling in them.

Creed.

What is Creed? A code? Belief? What more is there to believe in that you? What path is there to walk that doesn't lead to you?

Din grips the bottom of his helmet and rips it off. His mouth is on yours before he can even think. He crashes into you like you are the center of the galaxy, like yours is the only air he can breathe. His fingers tangle into your hair, pulling your face into him. The little gasp that escapes your lips sets him ablaze.

He shifts onto his knees, wrapping his arms around you and dragging you onto him. His hands are all over you, trying to pull every bit of you closer and closer. When your nails dig into the back of his neck he pushes back into them and a whole new fire burns in him.

"Y/n" he groans into you.

The taste of your mouth, the feel of you in his arms, the sound of your name on his lips - his very own Creed. Why would he need any other?

He slowly slides his hands to the back of your neck, softly pulling his lips from yours, thumbs stroking your cheeks. His heart beats loud in his ears and he steadies his breathing.

"Y/n" he says lowly, "Open them."

Holding his breath he waits, watching your features twist.

When you bring your palm to his cheek, he closes his eyes, pressing against you. "Din..." your voice is soft as it trails off into the breeze, he swallows hard. You are the very air he breathes, this he can give you. He can give you forever. He can give you his face.

"No."

One syllable. One word that cuts through Din's heart like a saber. He clenches his jaw against the burning heat of rejection spreading through him like wildfire.

"I won't be the reason you lose your creed." Your words do little to soften the crushing feeling in his chest.

He leans forward, resting his forehead against yours. The sound of his heartbeat slowly fades to a dull ringing as he reaches over and scoops up his helmet. He takes a deep breath as he holds it in both hands between him and you, staring at the faint reflection of himself in the Beskar.

Din looks from his reflection to your face, the sight of it easing his pain. He swallows against the knot in his throat, but his voice still shakes,
"I love you."

The smile that slowly spreads across your lips eases the pain in his chest even more. His eyes flick between your expression and your hands as they slide over his, gently raising his helmet towards him. His eyebrows knit together as he pulls it down over his face.

"Din," He watches as you slowly open your eyes as you speak, looking up at him through the vizor. "I love you too."