#There is absolutely no baby in that pram. The shot of the baby was definitely filmed at a different time.

[releasing-my-insanity]

Mollie Winnard’s first role, Zoe in episode one of Love, Lies and Records. (And a tiny appearance by Zoe’s baby son Zachary.)

[Zoe sits at the desk in the registration office and talks to Jamie and Kate. Baby Zachary waves his hand around. Zoe gets up, takes the pram, and leaves.]

[rostovs-lover]

garble

din djarin x reader | electrocution mention, fretting over the baby, mando is a touch insecure of his parenting skills | fluff | gender neutral | wc.1082

i wrote this whole thing in one night and it hasn’t been edited the best, very sorry. i hope you enjoy!!

blxckhearthood :  Hi love! Whenever you have the time was wondering if you could write a mandalorian fanfic/imagine where the reader & Din get into an argument about letting Grogu go work on the wires & have in end in a cute cuddly way? 🥺 Please & thank you & hope you're staying safe & heathy & hydrated! 🤍

Mando thinks the child could do a good job on the wires, you disagree.

    The bed tucked into a nook of the Razor Crest was small and cramped but it was far more comfortable than any of the places you’d slept in a while. The blankets were exactly where they’d been the morning you first landed on Tatooine, before you’d met Vanth or taken Peli’s passenger. It had been worth it, reuniting the Mother with her husband but by the time all was said and done and you were on your way to find Ashoka Tano you were all exhausted.

        After the crash, the Crest had been practically destroyed and its repair was hardly that, it was in some shape to fly, but that even seemed risky. All of this didn’t even begin to cover the creatures you had found inside. The baby had eaten one but you had also found one in the shower. At least your bed had been untouched.

    Another problem with the new and improved Razor Crest was the exposed wires, more how often they needed repair. The hole was terribly small and Din couldn’t get in much past his shoulder, with a bit of finessing you could get in just a bit farther than him but not far enough to really fix anything. To reattach wires you had to see and seeing wasn’t possible with how small the space was. You had tried to feel, moving with Din’s guidance, to reattach things but that hadn’t gone as well as planned. You had put the wire into the wrong port and it sent a sharp jolt of electricity all the way up to your shoulder. You had gasped, jolting your arm out and stumbling back. It stung for a moment before dissolving into an uncomfortable tingle.

    “The kid would fit,” The Mandalorian said, hoisting the child up into his arms.

    You glared up at him, “No, absolutely not.”

    “He’ll be fine, he can do it,” Din looked at the child, “You can, you’re tough,”

    “No,” You reached up, pulling the Child from your companion and cradling him in the arm you could feel, “He can’t, he's too small,”

    Din crossed his arms, “Exactly, he's small, he’ll fit,”

    You pulled the Child closer, “What if he gets hurt? He could get electrocuted, what then Mando?”

    He sighed, “He’ll be fine, I’ll watch him,” Mando opened his arms to you, “Give him to me, I promise it’ll be alright,”

    But you were still reluctant, not willing to give up your hold on your child yet, “Think about what a shock will do to him, he's not equip for that.”

    Din motioned for the child again, “He's gonna be fine, he can take it. I promise,” The affirmation cracked your resolve and you surrendered, giving up the Child to his father. Din squatted down in front of the hole and set the child inside, “Go on, crawl down there,” The boy cooed and tilted his head so Mando pointed, “Down there kid,”

    With a bit of instruction, the Child finally understood what he was being told and shuffled down to the panel. The wires seemed infinitely bigger in his small grasp and he stared at them with awe. Anxiety burned through your chest as you watched your child fiddle with high powered electrics. You did not enjoy him being in there, the parental instinct yearning to have him back in your arms. You hadn’t meant to get as attached to the little green thing as you had but here you were, fretting over his wellbeing.

    “Careful,” Din mumbled to the child, “Yeah, you’ve got the right wire. Now put it- No. no don’t touch-” A sharp zip shot out and smoke began to dribble out.

    Your chest tightened, “What did I tell you?” You hissed, pushing past the Mandalorian and reaching in for your boy. He tugged him out and held him up for inspection. A thin layer of soot covered his small cheeks and his robes were dirty but he waved his paws and giggled down at you. He wasn’t hurt.

    “See, he's just fine.” Din chided, but he still took the child from you to look over himself. When satisfied with his son’s safety he nodded, “Just fine,”

    “Do you want me to try that wire again?” You asked.

    He shook his head, “No, it's fine. It just hooks to a steering mechanism but it's not important. Not important enough to deal with now at least, I won’t need it to land.” He adjusted the kid and turned back to the cockpit. You followed, settling into the passenger seat and staring out of the windscreen in the abyss.

    Din flicked a switch overhead and began to check things on the console, “You worry too much,” His voice was even, there was no malintent behind his words, just an observation.

    “Do I?” You turned the seat to look at him.

    “You do,” He nodded, “It's not bad, it's just something you do. You’re a good person, a good parent, so you overthink things.”

    “Should I… stop?”

    “No, definitely not.”

    You grinned at him and waggled your eyebrows, “You’re right, its probably good to have one cautious party on this team.” It was quiet for a moment before you spoke again, “For the record, Din, you’re also a good parent.” He didn’t respond, “You really are, overly cautious or not. The baby is lucky to have you, I mean you were sent to kill him. Not many people would have had the compassion to spare his life,”

    “He was just a kid, I couldn’t have killed him. No one could have,”

    You shook your head, “He had a bounty out on him for a long time after you saved him. People are ruthless, but not you. You are good and kind.” Din grunted in acknowledgment, “You’re wonderful, you really are,”

    “I… thank you.” He turned to you, “But where did the ‘good dad’ speech come from?”

    You shrugged, “You brought it up, I just felt like you needed to know as well,”

    He sighed, “Well, I appreciate it,”

    You nodded, “As long as you know,”

    The Child babbled up at you from his pram, waving his little green paws. It was astonishing, how in tune the boy was with the both of you, almost as if he could sense your conversation. When he let out more garbled gibberish you picked him up and provided him one of your fingers to play with. He smiled, content. Content with the both of you, content with the world.

[molluskwritesfic]

Where the Roses Grow - Chapter Six

The compound on Arvala-7 didn’t house one bounty, but two. Elsi Nokk is an enslaved nanny with more than a few tricks up her sleeve. She’ll do anything to protect her charge, even if it means standing against - and then with - a certain Mandalorian. Rated M.

@kyjoraven @killtherandomness @nova646​

This story can also be found on Ao3 and Fanfiction.net

Masterlist - First Chapter - Previous Chapter - This Chapter

Chapter Six

Elsi wasn’t entirely sure if she was conscious or not. 

It certainly didn’t feel like she was asleep, but she definitely wasn’t awake either. She could still feel her injuries; her spine, her head, and everything else - they hurt - but from far away, like remembering the pain of a childhood injury. 

Then, all at once, she was absolutely awake.

Reality grabbed her in a burst of steam and light. Her legs weren’t prepared for the rest of her weight, so she crumpled straight to the ground - or at least she figured that it ought to be the ground, because she had absolutely no sense of up or down. 

A soft noise, a panicked half-gasp half-cry burst from her unbidden as she fought to regain her bearings. It was hard though, because she really couldn’t see much of anything. Her vision was fogged over like window panes on a cold morning. She tried squinting through it, but it didn’t help. 

Her heart was pounding wildly, but she swallowed down her panic, recalling what she knew about Carbonite and the accompanying sickness. Her sight would clear soon. She just had to be patient.

But patience wasn't exactly something she could afford. The heavy binders that were being snapped around her wrists were evidence enough of that. 

Elsi stopped struggling when a pair of strong hands gripped her shoulders and shifted her bodily out of the carbonite harness. She slumped against the wall, resting her head against the cool metal of the Razor Crest’s hull and closing her eyes. Through the metal, she could still feel the hum of the engines - still in flight, then. But not for long, according to the subtle jolts and rumbles that made her stomach twist. Flying through a planet’s atmosphere was never as smooth as the emptiness of space. 

Tiny hands clutched at the hem of her dress. Elsi opened her eyes to see the muddled green and brown shape of the child standing by her legs. He cooed. Concerned.

No matter the situation, Elsi always had a smile for him. With shaky hands, she picked him up and brought him to her chest - albeit awkwardly, on account of the cuffs. His fuzzy little head bumped against her chin. He hid his face against her neck, purring to let her know that he was alright. 

Elsi sighed and held him close, savoring these precious few minutes she had left with him. 

The baby chirped happily, oblivious to - or perhaps uncomprehending - her despair.

By the time the Mandalorian came for them in the hold, Elsi’s vision had returned. She was peeved to see that the bounty hunter seemed none the worse for wear. Where she was bruised and trembling, he stood steady. But then again, only he knew just how much damage the armor hid.

“It’s time to go.”

The baby laughed when the Mandalorian plucked him out of her arms and placed him back in his bassinet. The hunter then took Elsi by the elbow and pulled her to her feet. Although she had no choice in the matter, he was careful not to hurt her, holding her steady while she reacquainted herself with her balance and not urging her forward until he was sure she wasn’t going to pitch back over. 

The hatch opened to reveal a planet of volcanic rock and black sand. The shipyard where the Crest had landed was just beyond the gates of a rough looking town of stone. The other ships in the shipyard were much like the Mandalorian’s - tough, but broken and cobbled back together so many times that they looked as if a well-aimed kick would knock them down. 

The Mandalorian nudged her onto the ramp, keeping a firm hold on her upper arm.

“You don’t want to do this,” Elsi urged. It was the closest she would ever come to pleading. “They’ve wanted him for a long time. His life means nothing to them. They’ll kill him if it suits them.”

The black visor stayed fixed on the town ahead. She didn’t think it was because he didn’t sympathize with her - if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have insisted on the removal of her collar - but she also knew that sympathy wasn’t enough. The Outer Rim was hard and unforgiving, and so were the people who lived there. Elsi was a survivor, and it had driven her to try and take the Mandalorian’s life. The Mandalorian was another survivor, and it was driving him to turn them in. 

She tripped on the rough ground, her weakened body overbalanced and she nearly collapsed. The Mandalorian paused, arm snaking around her waist to prevent her from hitting the ground. 

Elsi went for the knife in his boot. The vibroblade slashed upwards, biting viciously into the Mandalorian’s side. In a perfect world, it would’ve been a clean stab, and the bounty hunter would’ve bled out fairly quickly, but the awkwardness of the binders caused the angle to be bad, so it only left behind a shallow gash. 

With a grunt of pain, the Mandalorian shoved her away before she could inflict more damage. Elsi hit the ground hard. The Mandalorian was quick to wrest the knife from her hands. 

Elsi gasped when he grabbed her by her bound wrists and dragged her back to her feet. By now, there was no doubt that whatever sympathy he’d harbored for her was gone; and Elsi was done pretending to ask for it. 

When he tried to urge her forward once more, she fought. She threw her weight backwards, trying to catch him off balance; she tried to bite the arm that held her, with moderate success. By the time they made it to the gate, Elsi had dragged what should’ve taken maybe two minutes into almost ten, and she really and truly was on what she thought might be her last legs.

She was exhausted. The side of her face that had been smashed by the Mandalorian’s helmet was swelling, and thus throbbing and hot. The back of her head felt even worse. Not to mention the mild carbonite sickness that swirled in her stomach, unhelped by the fact that she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had anything to eat or drink. Still, she fought on.

The Mandalorian managed to keep his composure, sticking with the tactic of impassively tugging her forward while she struggled, but Elsi could feel his patience wearing thin. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he just went ahead and shot her to save himself the trouble. Hell, she wouldn’t have blamed him. But he didn’t. He didn’t draw his blaster. He didn’t try to hurt her - quite the opposite, in fact. 

When she stumbled, he caught her every time. 

The baby watched all this with wide eyed bemusement, ears flapping in the wind, not knowing what to make of it all.

In town, she continued to struggle, making the Mandalorian battle for every step. It was pointless, she knew. Even if she managed to slip him, she wouldn’t be able to get the baby, too. And if somehow she did, he’d catch up with them before they made it off world, but she’d be damned if she was going to make it easy.

Finally, Elsi found the end of the hunter’s patience.

“Stop it!“ the Mandalorian snarled. The hand that was curled around her upper arm tightened like a steel band and jerked her roughly to the side. 

A soft grunt escaped her as her back collided with one of the stone walls. The Mandalorian’s free hand pressed firmly against her sternum, holding her in place. He towered over her, menacing, crowding, cornering. A wall of beskar hiding her from the rest of the town - from the baby.

She could hear the child twittering nervously from somewhere over the Mandalorian’s shoulder. 

Elsi tried to break his grip by ducking sideways. The hand on her sternum relocated to the base of her throat.

“Will you just - ”

The other people passing through the narrow street gave the pair a wide berth. The slave didn’t bother calling out to them for help. She knew how it worked. If anyone cared about a battered woman getting manhandled, they weren’t about to challenge a Mandalorian on her behalf. 

Instead she scrabbled angrily at the hand that was putting just a bit too much pressure on her neck and fought to twist out of his hold on her arm. 

“Hey!” The Mandalorian gave her a rough shake to remind her that he could make her stop struggling if he wanted. When her gaze finally snapped up to meet his visor, he continued.

“You keep this up in there, they’ll kill you,” he warned, modulated voice lowering so that only she could hear. “They’ll off you as soon as you're more trouble than you’re worth. You cooperate, you’ve got a shot at walking away.”

Elsi curled her lip in disdain, eyes flashing.

“Your concern is touching,” she sneered. “They’re going to kill me either way. I’m a slave. My life is nothing. What are they going to do with the baby?”

He might’ve opened his mouth to respond, but whatever explanation or retort he might’ve had was cut off with a pained groan. Something gripped at his back, rippling unnaturally up his spine from hip to neck, and dragged him backwards.

The Mandalorian staggered back a few steps, struggling to whirl around to face his attacker. When he managed it, he found the space behind him empty, save for a floating pram. The pram’s inhabitant was reaching towards them with a chubby, three-fingered hand, large eyes narrowed in concentration.

The Mandalorian gasped as the invisible hand tightened its grip, testing the hold. As his spine creaked, both adults were suddenly hyper-aware that the child could snap his back like a twig, vertebrae by vertebrae.“Hey! Don’t - ”

The baby had taken to the Mandalorian quickly, but now the tiny green creature didn’t seem so sure. He released his hold upon hearing the fear in the Mandalorian’s tone, but then turned his expectant gaze towards his surrogate mother. The child’s ears were flattened against his shoulders when he reached in her direction with a frightened squeak. 

Elsi, now free from their captor’s grasp, made a beeline for the baby. She smoothed the fuzz on his head and pressed a kiss to his wrinkled brow. The baby patted her cheek in reciprocation and responded to her reassuring murmurs with soft chirps. 

Guilt washed over her like a wave. It wasn’t the first time the child had used his abilities to protect her, and every instance signified a failure on her part. She was supposed to protect him, not the other way around. Even when she couldn’t, it was up to her to make him feel safe and secure. What had she been thinking, flailing around like that? Doing so had done nothing to change their situation, and now the baby knew that they were in trouble. 

She didn’t want him to be afraid. Didn’t want him to worry. That was her job.

The nanny nuzzled the top of his little head and breathed deeply, relishing in his familiar earthy smell combined with the stiff soap from his last bath. She let it wash over her senses. Drawing strength from it and committing it to memory. They would be saying goodbye soon, if they weren’t already saying it now. Probably for good. No matter which of them died or which survived, she didn’t want him to remember her by her fear.

Her dignity - especially in the eyes of the child - was all she had left.

So when the Mandalorian, seemingly unshaken by the baby’s actions, prodded her in the back to get her moving, she did so with her head held high.

She didn’t beg or plead when they arrived at the thick steel door sequestered away in an alley - the Mandalorian had made it clear that this delivery was non-negotiable, and she wasn’t in the habit of repeating an action if it wasn’t sensible. She didn’t flinch when the sensor shot out from the wall. Didn’t cower when the shabby stormtroopers crowded around the trio and herded them into the dark corridor beyond. 

The corridor was hot. Oppressive. The air stale. Heavy boots clunked on the dirty floor, stirring up dust that tickled Elsi’s nose and threatened to make her sneeze.

The baby squeaked for her, dark eyes wide and nervous. She leaned forward slightly to catch his attention and offered him a soft smile - which he returned.

The trooper behind her jabbed his blaster none-too-gently into her back, causing her to stumble a step. 

“Take it easy,” the Mandalorian warned, voice low and imposing in the stifling air.

“You take it easy,” the Stormtrooper snapped in reply.

They were led to a brighter, but equally dingy room that looked to be a repurposed warehouse. An old man hunched at a desk, ignorant to the smell of mildew and rust. The man’s face sagged with age, sullying what probably had once been proud, angular features. The only hair he had left was stiff and white, plastered to the sides of his head, leaving the top wrinkled and bald. He first surveyed the entourage with the disdain born of false superiority until his sharp, beady eyes picked out the green baby floating at the Stormtrooper’s hip. Despite his advanced years, the old man immediately stood and hurried over to the pram, waving a blinking tracking fob around in front of the bewildered child.

“Yes. Yes. Yes,” the man muttered to himself with an excitement that - based on the curious tilt of a nearby stormtrooper’s helmet - Elsi assumed was uncharacteristic of him. 

Elsi came to stand beside the cradle, flanked by the Mandalorian - something she was momentarily grateful for. She resisted the urge to fiddle with her cuffs as another man - younger than the first, with tinted glasses and dark, decently groomed facial fair - crossed the room to hover by the old man’s shoulder.

The baby whined when the younger man scanned him, squinting when the bright red light shined directly in his eyes. Neither man took notice of his discomfort.

“Very healthy,” the younger man commented, voice soft with fascination. 

Elsi’s insides shivered when the old man fixed her with his cold, watery gaze.

“Its caretaker is to be commended, then.” Although the words themselves were not unkind, they made her skin crawl. The old man’s presence alone invoked a visceral emotion, the same she might feel seeing a snake in the grass. “I imagine it has not been easy… caring for a child in these trying times. And even more trying circumstances.”

She fixed the Imp with her best pleasantly-blank gaze, and said nothing.

Thankfully, the man’s attention turned to the Mandalorian. “Your reputation was not unwarranted.”

“How many fobs did you give out?” The Mandalorian’s voice was as soft as ever, but the irritation in it was anything but.

The tension in the room thickened. The baby whined.

A sneer twisted the old man’s thin lips. “This asset was of extreme importance to me. I had to ensure its delivery. But to the winner…” 

The old man paced back to his desk. He reached around the back and extracted a large white, cylindrical case. It was set on the desk with an impressive clunk, showcasing the weight of its contents. 

“... go the spoils.”

The Mandalorian’s head ticked minutely to the side, betraying his anticipation. The press of a few buttons and a twist of the handle caused the case to beep and hiss, and the sides fell away to reveal bars of metal, neatly arranged in dual stacks that gleamed brightly in the murky light. 

The bounty hunter left her side with slow, measured steps, leaving Elsi with the baby, a Stormtrooper, and the scientist that was still hovering over the bassinet. He picked up two of the bars carefully and examined them with a sort of reverence that didn’t seem entirely justified for any currency.

Elsi made the connection. Beskar. No wonder the Mandalorian had been so bent on the exchange. She didn’t know much about Mandalorians, but she wasn’t oblivious to the importance of Beskar. Even without taking the cultural value of the steel into consideration, it was a massive amount of credits. A small fortune, at the least.

I was right, Elsi mused. The payment in its entirety was clearly for the baby. Her value had been bartered and exchanged before her eyes a number of times, and she doubted it was equitable to a single bar.

“Such a large bounty for such a small package,” the old man confirmed. 

The scientist wrapped his hand around the edge of the baby’s bassinet and urged it into motion. Elsi tensed, ready to follow, but was halted by a threatening prod from the Stormtrooper to her left. The Mandalorian turned his head and watched the baby as he was carted through a side door leading deeper into the facility. The child was looking anxiously over the edge of its crib, to Elsi. 

She hated that she had no way to reassure him. 

When the scientist and baby were safely out of sight, the old man flicked his fingers toward the Stormtrooper. The trooper nodded and took Elsi’s arm in an iron grip. He shoved her forward and she had no choice but to comply as she was steered towards another door, one different to the one the baby had disappeared through.

The Mandalorian’s visor glinted in the artificial light. Fixed on her, now. She didn’t try to find the meaning behind the set of his shoulders and tilt of his head, though she passively registered that it might be regret. As far as she was concerned, he was no longer a part of the equation. So whatever amount of guilt he was or wasn’t feeling was of no consequence to her. Guilt might be a bit much to expect. Maybe he was just thinking about how good it felt to fuck her and disappointed that he wouldn’t get to do it again.

The thought didn’t amuse her.

Not that her opinions mattered, anyway. She was ushered out of the room and into a slightly better lit hall. The door slid closed behind her, heralding the end of her brief, almost-freedom.

Not that she had expected anything else.

~0~0~0~ .

[oloreaa]

Vencuyanir - Prologue

vencuyanir [ven-COO-yah-neer]: sustain, keep alive, preserve

Summary: About to be taken away from Arvala-7, Elana only has two objectives: keeping Bean alive and getting away from the Mandalorian

Words: 2.8k

Notes: This is the first longer series I have attempted in years, and I am so excited for this! Also the entire story is the most self indulgent enemies-to-lovers slow-burn I’ve ever planned and written so hopefully you’ll like it as well! Elana is an OC with Chinese features (+ my personal face claim), but I won’t be physically describing her a lot, so hopefully you could still see this as kinda “reader”

Warnings: canon-typical violence (death, gun violence), (implied) past child abuse, hostages/(implied) slavery

▪ Masterlist ▪ Vencuyanir ▪  Next ▪

……………

"Bean?" Elana called out, looking for the little child. He was currently hidden from her, in some place she could not find. Yet.

The hide-and-seek session she had initiated to stave off the boredom had turned into a nightmare. Elana had no idea where Bean would be, and she did not wanted to go and ask the Niktos outside. They were already barely tolerating her.

After Alderaan was destroyed a few years back she had drifted around the galaxy, and by chance, was approached by a friendly looking woman who told her that there was a well-paying, low maintenance job on a Outer Rim planet called Arvala-7 waiting for her. She took it without hesitation, and not a thought was spared about how such an opportunity was too good to be true.

Well, it definitely was not well-paying.

She barely got any of the money she was promised, which was why she was stuck on Arvala-7, guarded by Niktos that fended off the bounty hunters that appeared every few days.

The reason for her job? A baby. Elana was hired to take care of a small baby, which was not what she had pictured, at all.

But after taking just one look at the small green child with the huge dark eyes and even larger ears, she fell in love. It could be a maternal instinct, or maybe it was her own soft heart that made her fiercely protective of him. There was an instant connection the moment she entered the room he was in, the baby reaching out towards her as soon as he set his eyes on her, babbling incessantly. For lack of better words, there was a bond of sorts between them. Elana could feel, even pinpoint sometimes what the little bean was sensing, and knew that he was the same with her.

A soft coo finally alerted Elana to Bean's position, him giving himself away since he grew bored. She hurried to him, and scooped him up, heart beating fast in her chest.

"There you are, honey," she sighed in relief, tracing his large petal ears with a gentle finger. He cooed at her and patted at her face with his three fingers, claws not yet sharp enough to break skin. He grabbed at the end of her braid and put it in his mouth. Elana carefully took it out again, and quickly snatched a wooden toy he could gnaw on. The child wrapped his claws around it quietly, and started nibbling, big trusting eyes blinking up at her.

Elana tried not to think about it too much because it broke her heart, but all the signs were there. Bean was too quiet. He did not make many noises. And if he did, only when it was absolutely necessary.

He did not ask for food or water. He ate quickly and left no crumbs anywhere. He did not flinch when a blaster shot rang through the air, but did when someone moved too fast near him. She really wished that her suspicions were wrong, but Bean exhibited behaviour that was proof of him being mistreated before she had come along.

Bean cooed softly, nuzzling her arms, and smiled at her. The sight was adorable.

"Let's get you something to eat, all right?" Elana said, bouncing him on her hip, and set off towards the kitchen.

The Niktos have provided them with food and shelter, as well as weapons for defense, like blasters and some knives. Elana did not really know how to use them, beyond how to pull a trigger and stab someone with the pointy end. And that was it. It was not as if any of the Niktos bothered to teach her. She knew maybe a quarter of them by name, the rest by sight, but it was purely a business-like relationship.

Without Bean, she would have been utterly alone on Arvala-7. To be fair, she would not even be there if it was not for Bean, but she would not have it any other way. The little area they were given to live in consisted of a small kitchen, a bath, and a bedroom where the pram for Bean was located. It was not much, but enough.

Enough to survive.

She had no reason to complain, Elana often reasoned with herself, she had a roof over her head, cooling systems for the scorching days and heaters for the cold nights. She was given enough food and clothes to sustain herself and the little one she cared for. Even if Elana had no idea why she was actually there. She knew not the names of those who hired her, she did not know the reason why so many people sought to take Bean, why they were not even close to stopping after months of a constant stream of bounty hunters, all trying their luck.

Shaking those thoughts away, she returned to her original task of going to the kitchen.

The ration packets were stored in a drawer, and she noticed with a frown that the amount was steadily dwindling. It would still be enough for over a week, but it was definitely something that the Niktos should know about. They would get some more on their next supply run off the planet. Grabbing a small packet of rehydratable meat, and adding some water to a small pot, Elana prepared a simple meal for Bean. Then she heated water in another pot and made herself a cup of tea.

Bean sat upright in his stool, and watched her with curious, intelligent eyes. He babbled excitedly when she finished stirring, ears wiggling, making Elana smile.

The little child ate slowly as she fed him, blinking up at her and cooing. She cooed right back, and he smiled brightly, little teeth catching the light.

"You like the food? The consistency is nice, huh?"

He babbled, feet kicking slightly.

Suddenly, there was a shot outside. Elana whipped her head around, promptly positioning herself in front of Bean. More shots followed. Bounty hunters again.

She knew the drill already, so she quickly scooped Bean up and placed him in his pram. The baby was silent, staring up at her with big eyes, and a feeling of fear creeped along their bond. That was when she knew that something was wrong, that something was different from the other times. The shooting was still continuing, going on for longer than usual. There were too many shots for it to be only one bounty hunter, there had to be more than before, a small army?

A Nikto, who she recognized as Heku, ran inside the small quarters, two blasters in his hand.

"You stay here," he told her with his accented Basic, a frown on his face. "These are different hunters."

Elana nodded, eyes wide, and went to the pram, not closing it yet, before nudging it towards the wall, so it would be out of the way.

Heku looked over his shoulder before putting a blaster in her hand. "Doesn't look good," he said, "shoot them if they get in."

With those words, he ran outside again, leaving Elana reeling. If they get in? That had never happened before, not even close. Normally, all two dozen of the Niktos were enough to dispatch any bounty hunters.

The front door, made of sturdy durasteel closed with a screech while the sound of blaster fire rang through the air, the shots now muffled through it. Elana fumbled with the weapon in her hand, heart beating a staccato, shoulders squared.

It was becoming louder outside; they seemed to have set up some kind of blaster gun that was shooting in the direction of the housing camp.

Clenching her jaw tightly, she clutched the blaster in her shaking hands. They were right outside. Elana could hear the blaster shots, the screams of the Niktos who were defending Bean and her, the sounds of a brutal fight going on just a few meters away from them. The pram was right behind her, and Bean was silent, watching with wide eyes.

"It's all right, Bean", Elana heard herself say, doing her best not to panic. "I'll protect you."

Her heart was thumping hard in her chest and she feared that she would become dizzy. The nauseating feeling of helplessness creeped up Elana's throat and she honestly did not know what to do.

Fight them? Laughable. Elana was barely able to shoot straight. Negotiate with them? Probably not even that. Most of the time the hunters were gunned down quickly, and it would have been the only thing worth mentioning on that particular day. But this? They were mowing down the Niktos like it was nothing, and the chance of the Niktos getting them was dwindling with every shot.

Bean and her had to stay together no matter what. Hopefully, they were bounty hunters who would take them alive and she could go with Bean as his caretaker. As long as the both of them were together, they stood a chance.

It was going to be fine. It would be fine.

"No matter what, I'll stay with you," she told Bean, looking at him with desperation. Pulling the tiny child near her, Elana kissed his forehead, eyes scrunched together, trying to keep the tears from escaping.

Bean did not make a sound, but she swore he could understand what was happening.

The shots stopped.

She closed the pram, hands shaking.

One Nikto ran in, blaster in hand. He nodded at her before positioning himself behind one of the pillars. Elana held her breath, heart in her chest. They shot at the door. They actually used blaster bolts to get through the door. When it collapsed inwards, she was surprised that there were only two bounty hunters. An IG-unit bounty droid and- was that a Mandalorian?

Elana froze. Oh no.

If it was a Mandalorian, then her chances of getting out alive were very small indeed.

The Nikto tried to shoot at him but with lightning fast speed and uncanny precision the Mandalorian made short work of him with a single shot.

"Anyone else?" came the wry rhetorical question, crackled through a modulator.

She pulled the trigger.

It actually hit him, glanced off his pauldron with a ping. Elana had no time to celebrate her little victory however, as blaster bolts suddenly rained down on her, and she lunged behind the pillar, seeking shelter, shoulders hunched up. The dust and smoke made it hard to see, but she could make out a blaster bolt was uncomfortably near Bean's pram, and panic welled up in her. "Cease fire! I surrender!" she shouted, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing herself into the pillar some more.

"Cease fire, please!"

They stopped shooting.

Elana closed her eyes, fighting off her tears. This is it. "Don't shoot, I'm coming with you," she said as soon as she swallowed the lump in her throat, "I'm the one you're looking for." Stepping out from behind her pillar, palms raised in surrender, heart beating fast, she blinked up at the two bounty hunters, subtly shielding Bean's pram in the process.

The Mandalorian's tracking fob was pointed at her, through her. Maybe, hopefully she could play it as if she was the bounty. Maybe they could leave Bean in peace. There must have been someone who had survived, right? They could take care of Bean. She would gladly suffer for more than a hundred lifetimes if it meant that Bean would be safe.

Breathing hard, trembling like a leaf, she tried to suppress her tears, scared to death. "Please, don't kill me, I'll go with you," she got out, voice shaky. Please let them think that I am the bounty.

The droid's head whirled around to Elana and she could not help her flinch. The Mandalorian stood rigidly, his helmet tilted down at her menacingly. He stepped closer, the fob trained on her, beeping rapidly.

"Identify yourself. You are not the bounty," the droid commanded.

She gulped, feeling ice cold. "Elana Lissiri," she choked out, throat not properly working. So there went the chance of properly protecting Bean.

"Step aside," the Mandalorian told her, voice low and raspy. She shook her head, vision blurring, trying to stay in the way of them, but the Mandalorian grabbed her wrist efficiently, and turned her around, twisting her arm against her back. Elana grimaced in pain, and struggled against him briefly.

"Step aside or I'll make you," he threatened, and she felt a blaster poking between her shoulder blades.

For a split second, Elana thought about doing something reckless like stomping on his feet or freeing herself somehow, but then let herself go limp. She would not do Bean any favors if she got herself shot, and he was too strong to overpower anyways. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, internally begging for forgiveness.

The tracking fob in the Mandalorian's hand was loud in her ears, every beep made dread curl in her belly and her chest seize up. He shoved her aside roughly when it was clear that she had been shielding the pram. The IG-unit behind him raised its blasters and stalked towards Bean's hiding place. The Mandalorian cuffed her against a pipe sticking out of the wall, securing one wrist so she would not escape.

"Don't hurt him, please, Maker, please don't," Elana begged, sinking to her knees. Trying her best to shield how terrified she was from their bond, she sent out as much warmth as she could to the little child. Both bounty hunters moved closer to Bean, the Mandalorian pressing the button in the centre of the pram.

It opened with a hiss, and she could see how Bean sat up, ears raised and head tilted in interest.

"He is just a baby," Elana whispered, willing the tears to stay at bay, "Just a baby, please don't kill him." Elana couldn't tear her eyes away from the tiny green child, certain that that was it. They would kill them both. She took in the soft petal ears, the big dark eyes, the tiny, adorable button nose for what was probably the last time, and tried not to cry. She loved the little one. She loved him so much.

"Wait. They said fifty years old", she barely registered the Mandalorian speaking, his voice rough like gravel.

"Species age differently", the IG-unit replied. "Perhaps it could live many centuries."

"Please." Breath ragged, she looked up at the bounty hunters. "Please, I'll do anything, but don't kill him."

Bean leaned forward, big eyes curious, pushing down his blanket to get a better view of the newcomers. A questioning feeling ran along their bond. Elana's heart nearly broke in two.

"Sadly, we'll never know." The IG unit raised its blaster, and she tried to get in front of the pram without success, straining against the cuff. The Mandalorian stopped the droid before the blaster was fired, though. It was a cruel, cruel thing, giving her a moment of hope that the child would survive. Breath ragged, she tried to stop the panicked noises rising in her throat.

"No. We'll bring it in alive."

"The commission was quite specific," the IG-unit said, "The asset was to be terminated."

Elana closed her eyes, shaking like a leaf now. Not Bean, she thought, despair rolling off her in waves, please, not my Bean. She tried to get to the pram again, rattling at the cuff with all her strength, not caring when it hurt and cut into her skin.

A shot rang out.

She gave a full body flinch, hunching into herself. But the bond was not broken. Nor did she feel any pain or fear.

The bond was not broken.

They didn't kill Bean.

Elana looked up, eyes wide, head full of questions.

The IG-unit fell to the ground with a thud. Smoke rose from the central processing unit. She stared at it before shifting her gaze to the other bounty hunter.

The Mandalorian seemed to be transfixed by Bean. He reached out a finger hesitantly, and after a second, Bean reached back, letting out a delighted coo.

Elana blinked in confusion. Bean likes him? Something about their interaction struck her deeply, and the bond between Bean and her suddenly swelled, as if something clicked into place.

The Mandalorian's helmet then snapped around to her, and she flinched again. "Are you its caretaker?" he asked gruffly. Elana barely managed to nod, scared out of her wits.

He was quiet for a long time, his presence alone enough to make her hold her breath. Then he walked over, and took off her cuff more gently than she would have expected from a bounty hunter.

She looked up at him, shaking in fear, the visor glaring down menacingly. A low command came from him, causing shivers to run down her back.

"Pack your things."

……………

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it!

Also a HUGE thank you at my beta @mndalorians, Cass had listened to me ramble so much about this story and helped me with so many scenes and I love her. Pls check out her stories as well, she has beautiful fics!

Tags: @binggrae-banana-milk @b0n-chann @pisss-offf-ghostt @chibi-liz05 @din-damn-djarin @soldade @yourexcellentboiiii @chaotic-noceur @ezrasarm @hdlynn @mndalorians @over300books @agirllovespasta

[fanfoolishness]

Time to yell about The Redemption! Din please don’t die ;__;

The other Mandalorians... it’s just not fair dammit

And I’m still not over Kuiil! I will never forget you, Ugnaught!

This is the same bag that Din carries him in later, isn’t it? Reduce, reuse, recycle.

AND DON’T YOU DARE HIT THE BABY

The entire scout trooper sequence is fucking hilarious

[TROOPER 1 BLOWS RASPBERRY, BEATBOXES] 

yes that is the actual subtitle my friends

They’re terrible shots, that’s why they’re stuck on speeder duty

I like that this scout trooper armor maximizes pouches. So many pouches

That’s it, “oh my god” is canonical. It’s still better than “oh my force”, sometimes, you just gotta go with the classics

IG-11 ain’t nothing to fuck with

“I’m sorry, nurse” these guys are so polite when they aren’t beating my son

I love IG-11’s inherent awkwardness, the jankiness of Star Wars is the best

I hadn’t realized that Cara’s gatling blaster was a gift from Din, right? Because she didn’have any on Sorgan. Awww, friend gifts!

Decommissioned Mandalorian hunter Din Djarin has heard the songs of the Siege of Mandalore —

The way Din just startles and stares because who knows that name, why does he know that name —

You always think terrible things live in the dark, monsters that lurk in the shadows where you can’t see them and the mind plays tricks. But sometimes monsters are there, glaringly and awfully, out in the open, beneath a blinding sun on a warm day, and there’s no comforting darkness to hide in anymore.

IG-11 just coming in here to ruin this platoon’s entire career

Greef: spotchkaing on the fly

Grogu: delighted

IG-11: fucking shit up

Din and Greef about to start shit!

Din: master of found weapons

I always headcanon Din as having a fractured skull from the concussive WHOOMPH of the explosion, possibly some damage to the neck and throat as well... dammit inquiring minds that have a disturbing enjoyment of whump want to know the exact extent of this man’s injuries

His hands are all limp and loosely curled when Cara drags him over the threshold :( :( :(

Din’s quiet. He’s calculating. Realizing how badly he’s hurt, how he’ll slow the others down. Doesn’t speak until it’s to say “I’m not gonna make it.”

“Leave me” and the blood on her hand DON’T BREAK MY HEART DIN DJARIN / PEDRO PASCAL

His voice! His voice is killing me! Ragged and breathless and pained and determined and I’m just gonna go... be... over there...

(Crying, I’ll be crying.)

(Rewinds) (watching this whole sequence again)

“You make sure the Child is safe!” *cue me blubbering forever*

[BREATHES SHAKILY] “You tell them it’s from Din Djarin” man whoever was doing these subtitles knew WHAT WAS UP ;_;

“You tell them the foundling was in my protection” he’s so fucking determined even though he can’t hardly breathe, even though he knows he’s dying and knows it’s hopeless, still though, maybe they can get the child out —

(But I have to say the flame trooper is cool as hell)

Did Grogu know how badly hurt Din was? Did he sense it through the Force? Did he understand?

Grogu death count: 1

That meta about Cara asking IG-11 to bring his BODY just kills me

Din’s voice is trying to be all tough now that he’s faced with IG-11, his voice noticeably gets lower and harder — until it cracks into breathlessness again because again, hi, DYING

The gasping raise of the blaster, my god, you are so STUBBORN DIN!

IG-11 actually looked confused, and Din actually was with it enough to understand he needed to give an explanation of “It is forbidden”

“No living thing has seen me without my helmet since I sw— swore the Creed” he gasped brokenly and my heart just shriveled up and then exploded because Pedro’s voice is just a weapon of mass destruction right here

Din: utterly confused to have his face showing

Cara: shoves baby, grabs friend

Thank god for bacta amirite

The way he slowly turns the light on his helmet off when he sees what’s in front of him... oh man this is making me tear up. It was rough when I first watched it, but I hadn’t spent the nearly the amount of time thinking about Din’s role within the covert and what the Mandalorians meant to him and it’s just awful. It’s such a terrible pain he even considers abandoning Grogu — that’s how bad it is. “You go, take the ship. I can’t leave it this way.”

Don’t think about the Armorer in the tunnels in the dark alone among the ruin of her people, both bone and beskar fallen, nope, don’t think about it :)

The Armorer, confused as hell about Din and the kid

“I know of such things”; Din Djarin *confused headtilt*

Ohhhh Armorer why did you say he had no choice but to reunite it with its own kind, this man absolutely will take you literally ;_;

I still want to do a comic or a little fic about Din doing training sessions with the Rising Phoenix

I miss the Armorer

Wonder why Din never brings the Amban rifle to finales

The Armorer’s fight scene is still the SHIT

I forgot about the fucking monstrosity that is an R2 unit with fucking giant long skeleton legs

Awww the fire ferrets

“But you’ll be destroyed”

“I’m not... sad.” Will always kill me. He’s just lost Kuiil and the Mandalorians completely, the idea of losing another ally, even one as strange as this, it’s just too much right now, it’s too much for him, and yes, he’s sad!!!

When I think about how much Din’s head must have hurt doing that maneuver with the Rising Phoenix and Gideon’s fighter, just, OUCH

“Some of my favorite people are bounty hunters!” <3

When Grogu grabs hold of Din’s leg Din just... completely loses interest in Greef and Cara’s conversation. It’s not until Greef physically nudges him that Din remembers to look up and pay some attention. He’s too busy looking at the kid, and about to reach down for him when Greef nudges him.

Kuiil’ s cairn ;_;

“I didn’t think I’d see this again.” You know. Because I almost died. JESUS DIN STOP HURTING ME LIKE THIS

But he gives it to Grogu and I hope Grogu plays with it and looks at it all the time when he’s with Luke ;_;

Seriously though, how did 1) Gideon get the Darksaber, and 2) Din has a silver pram in S2 but Kuiil’s pram should have got blown up in the Client’s hideout, so what gives? They didn’t bring it with them through the lava river sooo?

Thank you Taika Waititi!

This art though 🤩

I’ll admit when I first saw Din’s face I was pretty disappointed. I’d grown to love him just as he was with the helmet, and underneath, he was just some regular man? With, unaccountably, a mustache??? With his hair like THAT and covered in blood and sweat? It definitely wasn’t love at first sight. I was almost disappointed they’d shown his face only 8 episodes in and thought, “oh, great, S2 is going to have him showing his face all over the place like it wasn’t a big deal at all.” And I’m so happy that they continued that conflict and deepened it so that when we got moments like in The Believer and The Rescue it really meant something incredibly huge to see his face again. So curious to see where they take S3.

[javisjeanjacket]

✍ Thank u very much!!

Vencuyanir

Prologue

“Well, it definitely was not well-paying.” mmm relatable ✋🏻😌

“There was a bond of sorts between them. Elena could feel, even pinpoint sometimes what the little bean was sensing, and knew that we was the same with her.” FORCE SENSITIVE READER???!!!

“The bond between Bean and her suddenly swelled, as if something clicked into place.” love how you still allowed Grogu and Din to have their moment!!

Such a great start to the series and the ending really compelled me to want more!

Ch.1

“The only thing she currently knew about their captor was that he did not talk much, and he had not displayed tendencies in being violent at random. He did not snap at her or at the baby to keep up. Yet.” I love being able to see Din from a captor’s perspective!

“He stared down at her, before sighing deeply. ‘...Thank you.’ Elena faked surprise. ‘Oh, you do have manners.’“ Precious boy Din!!!

Ch.2

“’Don’t touch me,’ he threatened quietly, and Elena instantly shrank back, heart pounding. Feeling a flush rise up in her face bacsue of how foolish she felt, she just held up her palms a little awkwardsly bevause of the cuffs, trying to placate him. He simply turned around, and ignored her timid, ‘I’m sorry.’“ !!! My heart panged ugh!

“The world suddenly went flying and she found herself pinned under the Mandalorian, his hand curling around her throat, the other pressing her into the ground. She gasped, both in shock and at the force with which he had slammed her into the ground, and clawed at his hand, scabbling underneath him.” NOT ME HAVING SOME THOTS DONT MIND MEEE

Ch.3

“Bean did not listen to him though, and just swallowed the mudjumper in one piece. He then burped loudly, beaming up at them and giggling. The Mandalorian sighed.” PRECIOUS

“Not daring to look up, she stood with her arms full of things, waiting for the Mandalorian to make space so she could pass through. Her heart was beating fast, limbs almost seizing up in fear the longer she and Bean were under his scrutiny. He did, after another moment where his visor was trained on them, and let them through. Almost fleeing from him, she did not know if she imagined the sigh he gave as the door to the bathroom shut with a click.“ OOPE MY HEART IS THUMPING

Ch.4

“You’re a cruel man,” she whispered, blinking furiously, feeling hot tears threatening to spill over.

The Mandalorian scoffed, half turning his head back to her. “Does that bother you?” It was the only thing he said before the ramp lowered, the sunlight from Arvala-7 streaming in. The Mandalorian left as soon as the ramp touched the ground, stalking across the rocky terrain of the desert, cutting an impressive figure with his rifle slung across the back and the glinting beskar helmet, the pram floating next to him.”

My heart!!! 😭😭

“She gave a start, and her head whipped around to where she suddenly knew Bean was. Some deep part in her reached across the bond, and felt him, sitting in his pram, whimpering to himself.

There was an impression of the Mandalorian being hurt. Badly. Heart pounding, she debated over what to do, panic swelling up in her. She was too far away to help, and if it was the Mudhorn, something that could hurt a Mandalorian, she had no chance against it anyways.“ !!!!! Ooh I love this connection

“It felt as if every fibre inside her had started to swell with some power, blood rushing in her veins, an instant connection to, well, everything. It surrounded everything around her, everything that was was inside her, an energy field, and it came directly from Bean.“ I KNEW IT

Ch.5

“I don’t believe you,” she spat, “I told you that he should have stayed! What were you thinking, taking him to get a Mudhorn egg? He could have died!” GET HIS ASS ELANA

“You know, running on stims is not–”“Are you the baby’s caretaker or mine?” The Mandalorian asked dryly.Elana glared at him. “Seems like I have to, if you’re stupid enough to fight a Mudhorn on stims.”“Cut the sass,” The Mandalorian growled, stepping closer, towering above her.“Make me,” she snarled without thinking, scooting back until her back hit the spare parts on the sledge, curling a protective arm around the sleeping Bean. FUCK FUCK FUCK THE TENSION

Ch.6

“She felt like a complete fraud, everything she did before to protect Bean? It was worth nothing, because he would give them up anyway. She could have tried to kill him before they left Arvala-7, but she did not. Never mind what would have happened, she could have killed him, stabbed him in his sleep while they were repairing the Razor Crest. She and Bean could have stayed at Kuiil’s place until they would have to leave again, seeking shelter somewhere else. If she had done that, Bean would not face capture tomorrow. If.” 🥺🥺💓💓

Ch.7

“Looking up into the small mirror cabinet, she winced at the puffiness of her eyes, how prominent the bruises under them were.“ mmm SAME

“Careful, please,” Elana pleaded, already taking a step towards them, but the doctor moved towards a device with a huge droid floating above, laying Bean down on the slab beneath it. The small one wriggled and tried to turn on his belly, but with one well placed palm on his body, Dr. Pershing stopped his efforts. He turned his head to Elana, struggling to move towards Bean despite the grip of the stormtrooper on her, desperation on her face” 🥺😭 no precious baby!!!!

Ch.8

“Dizzy,” she choked out as black spots danced in front of her eyes, and whispered “Really dizzy” as her knees buckled again, limbs seeming so heavy. He cursed low under his breath before snaking an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him and tugging her along.“Can you hold him or should I?” He asked, gesturing to the unconscious Bean. Her grip around her child tightened without her noticing.“I can hold him,” Elana managed, and with a nod, he pulled her further along, helping her stay upright.” din ugh!!!! Goddamn i love him

"He moved his body over hers, shielding her and Bean with his armour, a few shots glancing off the beskar as he held himself up on his elbows. “I’m sorry,” he grunted, his voice crackling through his modulator, sounding genuine, “I’m sorry for this.”Elana stared up at his helmet, at the T-visor, inches away from her face, and felt strangely empty.It should not matter that he is sorry. But it does.“ ahhh I love this part!

Ch.9

“Elana glanced down, and was surprised to see that most of the redness had receded, the wound still steadily closing. “Looks nice,” she said, her lips curving up once again, “Thank you for taking us to the medcenter.”“It was nothing,” the Mandalorian said quietly, helmet downturned, and he took a step back, giving her space.It wasn’t, though.And both of them knew that.“ oh my goodness so precious!!!!! Din baby! 😭

Ch.10

“It did make finding Bean a lot easier, Elana had to admit. She could always count on him clinging to the bounty hunter’s boots, or hiding under the pilot’s seat, a corner of the cape in his mouth, trying to scramble up onto the Mandalorian’s lap or just staying somewhere near him. The man had let him stay on the controls several times now, Bean being content in watching either the blue swirls of hyperspace for hours or the twinkling void of real space. He was especially fascinated with all the glowing buttons and switches in the cockpit, and Elana did not know if they would wake up some day and have the baby gleefully smashing at the control board.“

“Being on the Razor Crest with him was almost pleasant.”

!!!!! We love to see it! Daddy din 🥺

Ch.11

“He seemed to sense her internal turmoil, and worked against her unspoken fear by willingly watching Bean for a few hours without prompting. He would sit in the cockpit with the little one, explaining star charts and buttons to him with the patience of a saint, giving her moments in which she could be alone for a bit.”

“He turned around and looked at her, incredulously. “Why does he do that?” He asked, shoulders raised high in defense.“He likes you,” was her simple response, “get used to it.”

It's okay Grogu I would cling to din's boots too 😌

Ch.12

““Womp rat,” the Mandalorian said, and it almost sounded fond.“

THERE IT IS!!!

Ch.13

“Omera waved slightly. “Nonsense, you have a little one! I remember when my Winta was that small,” she sighed with a wistful note, “I would not want those sleepless nights back but…” Omera smiled down on Bean, “sometimes you just miss them being tiny and cute.”

Classic mom to mom convo absolutely adorable

“The girl nodded, big eyes earnest. “But the Mandalorian, he saved Bean and you, right?” Winta asked.

Elana gave a half shrug, eyes still fixed on the little child in front of her. “I suppose you could say that,” she heard herself saying absentmindedly as she straightened the collar of Bean’s robe.

“He seems very nice,” Winta said, “Mama said that he is.”

“Yeah, he is,” Elana said, and realised that it was both a reassurance for the little girl and for herself. If she disregarded what he had done prior to Nevarro, he would probably have been the kindest person she had met in years, helping with Bean and helping her to find somewhere they would be safe. But she would always keep Arvala-7 in mind”

!!!!!!! SCREAMING

All in all, a super cute series!!!

It was really easy to read and felt natural to the flow of canon! An adorable read, Rea!

[bluesfortheredj]

Gwil the dad bringing his baby girl to the set of BR for the first time, everyone is head over heels and the reader stands there holding her as he films his scenes and he can’t stop looking at them both and him introducing his baby girl to Bri

Your little girl was now ten months old, and although you had no idea how time had gone so fast, it had been the best ten months of yours and Gwilym’s lives so far. Every day was filled with amazement as you watched your girl grow and learn, and your family had been wonderful as they rallied around you when Gwil had to go and film. Luckily you lived near to where the filming was going on, so although he had long days, he always ended up back at home at night, and you always did the night feeds while he slept.

“How about you both come with me tomorrow?” Gwilym asks as he gets in one night, the dark circles underneath his eyes a little more prominent this evening, “everyone’s dying to meet the two ladies I can’t stop talking about, and photos only go so far.”

“Wait, what photos? I didn’t look exhausted in them did I?” you ask with a shocked expression. Gwilym chuckles at your reaction, then narrows his eyes.

“Wait a second, who are you trying to impress?”

“No one...” you shrug nonchalantly, yet unconvincingly.

“It’s Ben, isn’t it?” he sighs.

“Nah, it’s Brian,” you wink.

“Don’t even joke about that,” he laughs.

“Who says I’m joking?”

“Please stop, oh god tomorrow is going to weird with this thought in my head,” Gwilym grimaces. You step toward him and place your hand on his cheek, then pull him in for a kiss.

“My eyes will be firmly fixed on the hunk dressed as a young Brian, don’t you worry,” you whisper, then kiss him once more before leading him to bed.

The next morning you rush around getting everything packed for a full day out with your little one, and your stomach keeps turning over as you think about meeting everyone with your baby. Of course all eyes would be on her, which you were actually quite thankful for, as make up could only go so far on your tired face these days, and you relax a little at the thought.

“Why are you up so early?” Gwil grumbles groggily from the bed.

“Just… preparing,” you smile, “sorry if I woke you.”

“Come here,” he sighs, pushing the duvet down and reaching his arms out towards you. You perch on the side of the bed, then he envelops you in a tight hug, making you fall onto his chest with a quiet squeal, and kisses you deeply.

“Stop worrying,” he whispers, letting his lips graze yours as he speaks, “I won’t let you out of my sight.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

You both reluctantly get up and dressed, then make your way to the studio where there going to be mostly indoor shots of Freddie’s flat, and an office scene. As you both make your way through security, your stomach starts to flip again, and when you spot Rami and Joe standing together, you almost go into meltdown. Your hands grip onto the handles of the pushchair tighter as your nerves grow the closer you get, then they turn to see you walking towards them and immediately run over to you.

“Woah! Guys!” Gwilym laughs, holding his hands up.

“Introduce us, Gwil,” Joe grins, shuffling from one foot to the other excitedly.

“Joe, Rami, this is (Y/N), and this little bundle of joy is Betty.”

“(Y/N), so lovely to finally meet you,” Rami smiles, walking around the pushchair to give you a hug, “Gwil has told us a lot about you.”

“And you too,” you say a little shakily, “all good I hope.”

“Of course!” he grins, “and hello Betty… Wow, aren’t you beautiful?!”

Joe is next to give you a hug while Rami squats beside the pushchair, staring at your little girl in awe along with Gwilym.

“Betty definitely takes after her mum,” Joe grins, “absolutely gorgeous.”

“Hey, I told you, no hitting on my wife,” Gwilym frowns, then gets up and stands next to you with an arm draped protectively around your shoulders. Joe backs off, joining Rami in stroking your little girl’s small fingers, and they look up at you both with a smile.

“Can we have a hold?” Joe asks. Gwilym looks to you for an answer, and you nod.

“Of course you can,” you smile, then unstrap her and carefully hand her over to Joe.

“Oh my word, she’s amazing,” he sighs.

“Hey! Where’s my invite to this private party, huh?” Ben calls out from behind the two men, and you peek over Rami’s shoulder to see him striding towards you with a grin on his face, “(Y/N)! I feel like I know you already!” he says, pushing Gwilym’s arm away from you and bringing you into a hug.

“Oh,” you chuckle, “nice to meet you Ben.”

“I call dibs on being next for a cuddle with Betty,” he says, walking around to Joe’s other side and smiling down at her.

“I think you’ll find I was here first,” Rami says, giving Ben a look. An excited squeal from behind the three men make you all turn around, and through the gap between Joe and Rami, you see Lucy bounding towards you enthusiastically.

“Finally, I get to meet the loves of Gwilym’s life!” she almost sings, and within seconds she’s wrapped her arms around you, “(Y/N), I’m so happy to meet you at last, and thank you so much for bringing Betty along, too!”

“Okay, Lucy’s holding her next,” you announce, then turn to her and whisper, “I’m very happy to meet you too.”

You all stand there for a while as Betty goes from person to person, getting lots of cuddles, and the guys fuss over you, making sure you had a drink and something to eat. It wasn’t as intimidating as you first thought it would be, and by the end of it, you’re completely relaxed around everyone. Gwilym pulls you aside as Ben finally gets his cuddle with Betty, and he envelops you in his arms once again, leaning down to your ear so he could talk without anyone else hearing.

“Is it bad that I want to sneak off with you right now?” he asks.

“I think we’ve got four very capable babysitters over there… And I’m not sure they’d actually notice us missing, either,” you smirk.

“God, this is tempting,” he whispers, burying his face in your neck and kissing you.

“Ahem,” Rami clears his throat behind you, and you both turn around quickly, “sorry to interrupt, but we’ve only got five minutes of cuddle time left.”

“Shit, of course,” Gwilym sighs, “right, better get Betty settled again then.”

You all walk into the studio where the boys make sure you have a seat where you can see Gwilym, and the crew are more than helpful with folding down your pram while you hold Betty. The guys get changed surprisingly quickly, and Betty just dozes off again as they walk in, ready to film. Gwil looks over at you with a smile, and as the cameras start to roll, you notice his gaze doesn’t seem to leave you. With seconds to spare, he manages to tear his eyes away from you both and say his lines, then when the camera focusses on another character, he’s straight back to staring at you and your little one. You can’t help but laugh, and Betty stirs as your body shakes with giggles. She soon settles down after a gentle rock, and you carry on watching the scene unfold before you.

Once the cameras stop rolling, everyone visibly relaxes, and wanders around the set, but Gwilym makes a beeline for you, picking up Betty from your arms and nodding over to the door where you see a very familiar looking man with long, grey, curly hair. Gwil balances Betty on one arm, and grabs your hand to lead you over to him.

“Gwil!” Brian beams.

“Brian,” Gwilym nods, “this is Betty… and this is (Y/N),” he grins, pulling your forward.

“Hi,” you squeak, completely starstruck.

“(Y/N)! Betty! It’s so great to meet you both finally,” he says excitedly, giving you a hug, then looking down carefully at your girl.

“And you too,” you manage to say.

“Can I have a hold?” he asks, looking directly at you.

“Uh, of course… Absolutely,” you stutter in shock. As if Brian May had to even ask you for permission. Gwil hands her over gently, and Brian’s face lights up as he carefully rocks her in his arms. You stand there with your mouth open a little, and your eyes were as wide as they could go; the sight of the Brian May holding your daughter overwhelming you.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Brian smiles, looking up at you again, and you shut your mouth quickly, “all good of course. Gwilym is head over heels, and I can see why! Betty obviously gets her looks from her mum as well...”

“That’s the second time someone’s said that today,” Gwil laughs, then he looks at your face, now flushed with red, and all you can do is giggle nervously. Betty starts to grumble a little, and Brian is immediately trying to calm her.

“Hey, it’s only Bri,” he coos, “wanna go see some guitars?” he asks her, then looks to you and Gwilym for approval.

“Yes please,” you answer, and shake your head in embarrassment, “sorry, yes, she’d love that, I’m sure.”

“Sorry, Gwil, I’m stealing your girls for a bit,” Brian grins, and nods at you to follow him into the set. You turn around to see Gwilym standing there with a shocked look on his face at the fact that Brian May had just walked off with his women, and he rolls his eyes at you as he wonders if you really did fancy Brian.

@littlehopelessdreamer47

[annashipper]

Oddly NEVER with friends. No reason to fly to NY from VT - other airports much closer to get back to London so why come to NY but to see mutual friends? You don't leave your young kids alone for more days than necessary just to visit a vegan restaurant. And we never see them EVER with friends. Why? Because that would be difficult to stage. I keep waiting for some reality. Come ON.

I don’t think we’re ever going to get any reality Nonny.

They’ve gone from all pap walks to the other end of the spectrum where it’s all sneaky sightings reported on social media.  Because that’s what we’d been asking for... 

And we always get what we ask for.

Remember when we were asking for bikini shots of Weirdo’s pregnant belly?  We got them, but they were magicaly blurry when it came to the actual bikini shots and perfectly clear when it came to the belly being covered by a full body towel.

Remember when we were asking why Ben and Weirdo were constantly getting recognized at airports by paps and we started getting sneaky pics of Ben travelling on his own and then we couldn’t stop laughing because the sneaky fan pics and video turned out to be taken by a sneaky for-hire-paparazzo?  Well, we’ve now gone to the complete opposite, which is no pap walks at airports unless it’s absolutely crucial for us to know Ben is travelling somewhere with his wife and one of the Pilos, and they pre-blur the pics although they’re taken on US soil and they don’t need to do that.

We’ve been saying for ages that it’s weird for Ben not to get spotted or papped around his flat with Weirdo, both of the pillows or even only one of the pillows in tow.

We only point that out because Ben was actually sneakily photographed by a professional photographer (who didn’t sell the picture because that would’ve been too obvious I guess, instead posting it on her social media) from a vantage point at the Heath (a professional photographer he couldn’t have missed given the direction he was coming from and where she was standing with the camera in hand) on Father’s Day 2015 (something Ballsy had been predicting since before Weirdo reportedly gave birth), pushing a hermetically sealed pram. 

He was then sneakily papped a few doors down from his flat, on the street that was deserted at the time, pushing a pram with Pilo and Weirdo looking confused as she walked beside him.

He was then sneakily papped at the Christening of Much Privacy(TM) at the ... celebrity hot spot(???!!?!) outside Mottistone on the IOW (were apparently the paps had put up camp to catch not only the christening of the year, but also a vintage umbrella we’d been shown about a month prior to the Christening pap walk).

Then silence.  Nothing around London where Ben and his very real family that is most definitely not a PR stunt all live together in real familial bliss.  Even though the paps have all three of his addresses (Ben’s old flat, Ben’s new property that’s still being renovated, and Ben’s rental place because.... who wouldn’t up and move from their old flat with a year old baby already in the household while also being pregnant to baby number two in the middle of winter?).  

And then silence in London again.  More silence.  Eery silence.  Nothing for almost two years. Until...

...We had to be introduced to Pilo 2.0 and see with our own eyes that Ben has nailed the pulling-faces-at-my-very-real-offspring look and that Weirdo is still confused when it comes to small humans.  Juuuuuust as Ben was gearing up to start promo for The Child In Time.  Because Ben’s family is most definitely really real and not a PR prop to be used for publicity.  And then everything went eerily silent again.

Because, as we all know, real babies that are not PR props never step out of the house with their mothers and famous fathers, unless of course their famous fathers have a new project to promote; especially one that would benefit from them looking like real parents to two very real not PR stunt babies.

I went on this very long, very unnecessary rant about real families and real babies and real sightings that are most definitely sneaky and not PR driven because... yes.  There is no reason for a couple to fly from Vermont to New York if they’ve left their children behind to celebrate Easter alone.  And there is no reason for a couple to fly from Vermont to New York if they’ve got their children with them because daddy is about to start promo for Infinity War soon, and, since he’s so eager on nesting, it would only make sense for him to take his family back home and spend some quality time with his really real children, alternating between bathing them every 3 hours and reading bedtime stories to them.  Perhaps even feed Pilo 2.0 a T-bone steak, because I’m sure he’s just as advanced as Pilo, and probably cooks 3 course dinners for the whole family by now...

But the main reason I’m ranting is because if they can’t make a pap walk with a baby look normal, what possible hope would they have to make a pap walk or photo posted on a mutual friend’s Instagram page look normal?

There is a reason James stopped posting about Ben on social media.  There is a reason Ben didn’t attend the Black Panther red carpet event in London.  There is a reason Ben pulled an Elizabeth Bennet pap walk instead of walking in the meadows alongside Tim, Wanda, Weirdo and Pilo last Easter.  There is a reason the last time we saw Emily escorting Ben to an event was when Weirdo wasn’t there at the WFTV awards last year.  There is a reason Weirdo didn’t attend the screening for season 4 of Sherlock.  There is a reason why Ben had pre-Christmas lunch with his parents at the pub without Weirdo.  There is a reason Adam is the only one playing Weirdo-minder when Ben HAS to allow Weirdo to interact with his people.

All of the above is pointless.  

All I really needed to say is that until this is over, until Ben finally decides to take his public image back under control, nothing about his personal life will look realistic to anyone paying attention.  

Because it isn’t, and because despite all of his desperation to shut us up, Ben doesn’t seem to be willing to put in the real work and spend more time than is absolutely necessary with his wife (unless it’s for baity sightings every few weeks that he thinks are working, when in fact they look more and more fake as time goes by).  

If he really put his mind to it, I’m sure he’d have made it look realistic by now.  Trouble is he’d have to pay extra to entice a woman who wipes her hand on her clothes when he touches her to spend time with him.  And therein lies the rub.