Dead Man's Hand 14 - The Queen of Air and Darkness
Dead Man's Hand Masterlist tags: engineer!reader, gambler!reader, loose canon timeline, eventual smut, fluff, action, casino aesthetics, touch starved reader, touch starved din, reader and din get on each other’s nerves, also they’re idiots, defrosting ice king din, cinderella vibes, everybody loves grogu
chapter summary: The final game: the stakes are higher and the competition is determined. She has more to lose than just some money and beskar.
Only three people sit at the table in the center: her, Hadira, and the dealer between them. The servants give the Mandalorian a chair to sit on against the wall, giving him full view of the game.
Grogu’s pram floats close to him, but he too watches the game despite its confusing nature for him. After the tournament, Din thinks he’s gotten a better handle on the ins and outs of sabacc.
The dealer at the table introduces the stakes, including the five ingots of beskar and the various pieces of the Mandalorian’s armor, represented by special chips of a silver finish. A female servant brings a tray carrying a small, metal canister: a new deck of sabacc cards, as is casino tradition. The dealer opens the box and shuffles the deck. He allows Hadira the cut the deck, then her.
It begins.
The dealer slides two cards to each woman and sets the deck in the middle, taking the top card and facing it up. They make their bets, take their turns, and get into the flow. Chips click against the table and cards are tossed while both women keep up their sabacc faces, their eyes like impenetrable safes.
Hadira is good. In the first few rounds, she manages to throw her off, earning herself two pieces of Din’s armor. Her heart races as she watches Hadira slide the silver chips towards herself, not even allowing her stoic expression to fall for any hint of victory.
He won’t say anything, but Din’s nerves are also spiked to hell. Beskar passes through the table like common scrap and she doles out hundreds of credits for bets as if they’re nothing. But she’s good. Good enough to bomb out a trust fund kid and a Hutt. Good enough for someone to nearly murder her for threatening their win. Good enough that the champion of the tournament extended this invitation because the chance of beating her was too worthwhile to pass up on.
Hours pass, rounds finish, but now it comes down to the final one.
In the hand pot, three pieces of his armor and two ingots of beskar sit along with forty-thousand New Republic credits. In the sabacc pot, two ingots of beskar, the rest of his armor, and ten-thousand credits. Everything rides on this hand. Two cards each…
“Draw phase,” says the dealer. “Lady Vossall?”
“Draw.” He hands her a card.
“Miss?”
She looks at the three cards in her hands. A Five of Flasks, a Three of Sabers, together only a mere score of eight. “Draw.” When given her new card, she takes a look at it. It takes all of her willpower for her eyes to not widen and maintain her composure.
The Idiot.
She already has a Three of Sabers. If she gets a two in any suit, then she has the unbeatable hand. “Miss, any discards?” ask the dealer. Before she tosses her five away, her hand hovers it. A few twos have already passed. There’s a decent chance it’ll never come and if she keeps drawing and discarding, then Hadira will know that she almost has a good hand and change her strategy. She inhales. Breathe. You got this.
“Discard.” She hands the Five of Flasks back. If that two isn’t in the next card, then she can kiss it all good-bye… including Din and Grogu.
Now comes the final draw. Din is on the edge of his seat, sweat forming on his brow. He has no idea what she or Hadira has and if that makes it better or worse.
“Lady Vossall,” says the dealer. “Please show your hand.”
She lays down her cards: a One of Flasks, Two of Flasks, Three of Staves, Four of Coins… and a Mistress of value Thirteen. A clean total of twenty-three: Pure Sabacc. The servants murmur and whisper. That’s a Pure Sabacc, Din notes. There isn’t any way to beat that, is there? His stomach sinks.
“Miss.” The dealer turns to her. “Your hand, please.”
She glances down and keeps her cool. First, she puts down the Three of Sabers. Then, she puts down the Idiot. The air is deathly still as she reaches for the final card. She faces Hadira and looks right at her as she faces it up:
The Queen of Air and Darkness, valued at negative two.
An Idiot (zero), a two, and a three. Idiot’s Array, the only hand that can beat a Pure Sabacc. “Game,” she says, her game face dropping entirely.
Din jumps out of his chair. “Dank farrik!” he exclaims, energy flowing from his voice. While the servants applaud, she leaps out of her chair too, laughing in jubilation as she rushes to him, arms extended. Jumping into his arms, he spins her around. Din laughs too, hugging her tight enough that her feet don’t reach the floor. She cups the sides of his helmet, hoping that he can see just how happy she is in this moment.
“I won!”
“You did it. You almost killed me, but you did it.”
She squeals, squeezing him one last time before he looks around and a hesitant grunt leaves him, realizing that everyone is staring. Trying not to appear too eager, he sets her down and crosses his arms. As soon as they make some space between them, Grogu immediately leaps onto her chest, making high-pitched coos of delight. She hugs him tight, giving him a little kiss on his head before turning back to Hadira. The Twi’lek has a satisfied smile on her face as she stands up and walks up to her.
“The Mandalorian speaks the truth. You are a true competitor.” She holds out her hand. “I am honored to have played with you.”
She takes Hadira’s hand and gives it a firm shake. “As am I. I am… forever thankful that you’ve allowed me to play. I’ll never forget this, Lady Vossall.”
Hadira pulls her hand back and snaps her fingers. “Oh, believe me, child. This will not be the last game between us. You can expect invitations to my private games in the coming years. In the meantime…” A servant approaches them with a tray. “This is all yours. Nine-hundred and eighty thousand credits, every piece of the Mandalorian’s armor…” Another servant approaches with the chest that she saw back in the tournament. “And five ingots of pure beskar.” She hands Grogu to Din and takes the chest, noting how heavy it is, and opens it. When she sees the beskar inside, so shiny and pure, it steals her breath away. Of course, the Imperial symbol ruins the would-be perfection. Soon, she thinks. Soon, it will melt away and never have that ugly imprint on it ever again.
“It’s beautiful.” She shows it to the Mandalorian who nods in agreement.
“It is.”
“And… one more thing,” says Hadira. The dealer gathers all of the cards on the table in one sweep, shuffling them and sliding them into the canister. He closes it and presents it to her as well. “I would like you to have the deck.”
“A-Are you sure? It’s a really nice deck.”
“I play by casino rules. Once a deck has been cut and used, I never use it again. I insist.”
“If you’re sure.” She sets the chest down to take the deck of cards. Popping it open to peek inside, she runs her thumbs over the tops, stopping when she sees the Queen of Air of Darkness. A smile creeps up on her face. “There’s just one more thing I have to do.” She turns to Din and takes Grogu from his arms, setting him on the floor. “Can you hold onto this for me?” she asks him, showing him the canister of cards. He clutches it between his hands and babbles. Then, she takes the chest and stands before Din.
She had been thinking about this moment for days, fantasizing how she would finally give him this chest. Would she tease him? Would she make it overly formal? Every possibility leaves her and she just goes with what feels the most natural. “I… I am proud to give you—”
Din puts a finger on her lips. “No.”
“H...huh?”
He drops his hand to his side. “Keep it for now. You won this beskar. It is yours.”
“Y-Yeah, but I won it for you… I’m so confused, you wanted this, didn’t you?”
He chuckles. “You’ll see what I mean.”
---
From the windows of the Razor Crest, she watches them drift further and further away from Canto Bight. She is so different from the girl that arrived here a week ago, dirty, frightened, and nervous. The chest of beskar sits in the cargo hold, along with the entire winning pot adding to the credits she already won, the total amounting to just under a million credits. She lost a lot of money in the last game, but she won all of the beskar — a fair trade. Though she does still wonder why Din didn’t accept it.
After the Mandalorian makes the jump, he cradles Grogu in his arms and take him to the cabin to set him down for the night. She remains in the cockpit, one heel on the edge of the seat with her hands holding it in place, her eyes watching the stars of hyperspace.
He comes back and sits down, relaxing in his chair. Alone again.
“So…” she begins. “Where are we going first?”
“We’re going to the Mandalorian covert. There, you will present the beskar to the Armorer.”
“The…” She has no clue who that is, but they sound important. Very important. “Sh-shouldn’t it be you? I’m not a Mandalorian.”
“I want it to be you,” he says. “You played the game and won it. The beskar is yours.” He tilts his head. “This is the Way.”
“...Alright.” She nods. “I’ll do that. So, the covert, then Tatooine to give Peli her share, then…” She sits back.
Din rolls his shoulders back. “You haven’t decided where you wanted to go?”
“Well, it’s a little more complicated than that.” If only she could say it so easily, but she fears the many reasons that he would reject the notion. She can feel Din waiting for a response, the darkness of his visor staring her down. Well. Now or never. “Okay.” She sits up. “You wanna know where I wanna go? More than anywhere else in the galaxy?” He waits. “I want to go with you.”
Din sits up. “With… me?”
“I know what you’re going to say. That it’s dangerous, blah blah blah, but one: you still take Grogu with you everywhere and two: I can learn how to defend myself. And I won’t be a load either! I’ll do maintenance on the ship while you’re out hunting and whatnot and I can also watch after Grogu too. That’s reasonable, right?”
Din is silent, as per usual when he weighs his options. He hates to admit it, but everything she said is… reasonable. Having a mechanic on the ship would save him a fortune in most repairs. Grogu already is very attached to her, and having someone to look after him in this profession would take a load off his shoulders. But most of all, it would mean having her with him. That’s the selfish part. He lowers his head and her smile drops, expecting his rejection. “You… You don’t want me to go?”
“That’s not it. I…” He swallows. “I do want you to go. But, I don’t understand what you get out of it. You wouldn’t be able to settle down anywhere. You’d live job to job, danger at every corner.”
She shrugs. “But we’d go somewhere different all the time, right? See the Outer Rim? See everything I’ve never seen. And I’d get to…” She blushes, facing away. “I’d get to be with you. And Grogu.”
“...Yes. Grogu… he likes you a lot.” He glances back for a moment. “But I.” She faces him, worry in her brows. “I can’t make you happy.” Now she just looks at him confused. “I live by the Creed. That and Grogu are the most important things to me.”
“Oh, Stars.” She rolls her eyes. “You don’t think I know that? I’m not asking you to pick me over either of those things.”
“That doesn’t bother you? You wouldn’t… you wouldn’t be able to see my face, to know what I look like.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “It doesn’t bother me. Besides…” She tucks some hair behind her ear. “All of those things. Your Creed. Grogu. Your dedication to them both. That’s what I like the most about you. I could never see you without them.”
Din’s heart pounds and he wonders if this is all some dream. It’s almost too good to be true, but both are aware of the risks if they go forward, how hard this life would be. Then he starts to imagine it. Maybe they would settle in a place for a little bit of time while he hunts and she works. Hell, her sabacc skills could still come in handy too.
Just maybe, this clan of two could indeed be a clan of three.
Din knows that she’s awaiting his response. He stands up, reaching for the buttons to turn off the lights in the cockpit one by one until the only light comes from hyperspace. Then, he walks to her and takes her hand, guiding her to stand and walk with him back to his chair. “You sure this is what you want?”
She squeezes his hand. “I’m sure.”
He sits down and pulls her to sit on his lap. “Keep your eyes closed,” he says.
She nods, doing as he says. Din slips his helmet off, admiring her face illuminating by hyperspace. He caresses her cheek and pulls her in for a sweet kiss. She returns it, holding his head between her hands. For these few precious moments, they simply let their foreheads touch, their noses brush against each other, their smiles tickle each other’s lips. “Is a kiss all I’m getting tonight?” she teases.
“You’re gonna wake the kid,” he says, pulling his helmet back on.
“I can be quiet.”
“I wouldn’t let you be quiet.”
She opens her eyes and smacks his shoulder, immediately regretting it thanks to his armor. As she shakes out her hand and makes a sound of pain, he laughs. “You gotta entertain me somehow, Din,” she says, slipping off him so he can turn the lights back on.
“Sabacc?”
“Are you kidding me?” She plops down in her chair. “I’ve literally been playing sabacc for days.”
“You can always teach me to play better.”
“Mmm. Sure, I can try.” She reaches for her deck of cards and pauses when a cruel idea pops in her head. “Hey, Din.”
“Yeah?”
“Would you play strip sabacc?” she asks, grinning while her hands shuffle the deck.
“What’s strip sabacc?”
“Oh. Well.” She pulls up a crate between them to act as their table. “This variation will really teach you, of all people, how to play. You don’t bet money, so to speak.” Her voice carries a sultry air that makes him lift a brow.
“So what do you bet?”
She passes him two cards and smirks. “Clothes.”
