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: There are some loose ends to take care of before they can embark on a new adventure.
The Armorer hears the footsteps approaching the forges, recognizing the gait. She turns around and finds Din Djarin standing before her, whom she had not seen since his redemption. “What is the purpose of your visit?” she asks him.
“I wish for you to meet someone,” he says. “She is not a Mandalorian, but she waits in my ship.”
“And why must I meet her?”
“She has beskar. And she would like to give it to you.” The Armorer knows Din to be a devout follower of the Creed, so he must have his reasons for not bringing her the beskar himself. Though he has brought trouble to the covert before…
“Very well. Show me this girl.” She follows him out of the caves and walks past the other Mandalorians, a few deciding to follow to see what the commotion is about. They step outside and walk towards the Razor Crest. Din walks ahead and opens the ship, going in. After a few minutes, he steps out with a young woman holding a chest. She approaches, some apprehension in her face. The Armorer studies her, analyzing her humble clothing and stature, noting that the chest in her hand looks far too ornate next to her. “What is your name?” She tells her. “I am told that you have the steel of our people.”
She sees the dozens of Mandalorians step out onto the sand, their visors looking straight at her. Her palms grow sweaty, almost making her drop the chest. “Y-Yes,” she says, taking a step forward. “I want to give it to you—”
“How did you come to acquire it?”
She gulps. “I won it in a game of sabacc. It was the grand prize. I-I didn’t cheat either.”
“I see. So you did not earn it through combat.”
Din speaks up. “She nearly gave her life for this beskar.” He steps up next to her. “In the tournament, she was threatened by a competitor to stop playing, but she refused. For this, he attempted to kill her. I was able to stop him before that.”
“Is this true?”
She nods. “Yes.”
The Armorer’s voice sounds the slightest bit impressed. “This is the Way.”
“This is the Way,” repeats Din and the others.
“And what is it that you wish to do with this beskar?”
“I want to give it to you. Please, take it.” The Armorer takes a step forward and opens the chest. Sitting in velvet are five ingots of pure beskar, spoils from the Purge as so marked by the Imperial symbol. “I want the Mandalorians to have it. It belongs to you, after all.”
The Armorer takes the ingots out, stacking them on top of the other and closing the chest. “You are not a Mandalorian,” she begins. “But you have honored the Creed by returning this beskar. I shall reserve most of it for the Foundlings. However, because you are not Mandalorian, I cannot forge you any armor. I also cannot forge you any weapons, for this is not the Way.” She nods. “As a token of our gratitude, I would like to forge you something small that is neither armor nor weapon.”
She blinks in surprise. “W-Wow. That’s such an honor, I-I don’t know what to say.” She smiles. “Thank you.”
“I must ask that you wait here until it is complete. Din Djarin may accompany me. Excuse me.” She gives a parting nod before taking the beskar and Din with her and returning to the cave.
And then they wait.
About two hours pass before Din returns with a wrapped up cloth in her hand. He keeps his palms flat, presenting it to her. She pulls on the ends to unravel the cloth and her eyes light up when she sees what is there. It is a beautiful necklace with a gleaming charm of what looks to be a sort of animal. “What is it of?”
“A-A Mudhorn,” he answers. He sounds flustered — does it have a significant meaning? She gives him a curious look as she takes the necklace and pulls it over her head, admiring the craftsmanship. Holding the Mudhorn symbol between her fingers, she knows that this charm would be worth an exorbitant amount of credits, but to her it would be priceless.
“Does it mean anything?”
“I-It’s…” He rubs the back of his neck. “It’s the symbol of my clan.”
“Your cla—” She turns red too. “Oh. Heh. Th-that’s good to know. I was this close to pawning it.”
“What?”
“Hahah! I’m just kidding.” She pats the side of his helmet. “I would never. They can pry this from my corpse.” Din shakes his head and sighs, gently taking her hand in his. He presses her fingers against the lower edge of his helmet, mimicking a kiss before leading her back to the ship.
“Don’t give them ideas. C’mon, we should head back to Tatooine.”
“Yeah! I can’t wait to tell Peli everything.”
“Everything?”
“...Okay, not everything.”
---
The Razor Crest touches down and immediately, Peli makes the droids scatter, stomping towards the front. The hatch opens and the Mandalorian walks alongside her apprentice, Grogu in her arms. “Hey there, rookie! Mando! How’d it go?”
She approaches Peli with a sigh and a look of dejection. “Well… it uh...”
“Oh no.” Peli freezes up. “You…?”
Once she sees her bluff worked, she smirks. “I won!”
“You little—!” She smacks her arm. “Well, c’mon! I’ll get us some spotchka! I wanna hear all about it.” Peli brings them to a table and does her best to find some clean glasses to pour the drink in. She prepares three shots and distributes them. “Alright, now I’m ready. So, where’s my cut?”
She chuckles and lifts up a heavy sack of credits that makes Peli look like she’s seen a ghost. “I won nine-hundred and eighty thousand credits in the end. Including the beskar, which we already gave to the Mandalorians.” Quickly, she empties the pack and starts distributing. “We said twenty-five–seventy-five, right? Alright. So a quarter of this is two-hundred and forty-five thousand… got it.” She shoves the quarter of the pot back into the sack. “Rest is yours.”
Peli’s smile drops. “Wait… I thought my share was twenty-five, not yours.”
“I don’t need it.” She smiles, shoving it towards Peli. “I’ve got everything I need.” Well, the elderly woman doesn’t need to hear anything more. She yells for her droids to fetch the credits and take them inside.
“I can’t believe it! I’m rich, haha!” She leans over and pinches her cheek. “I knew investing in you would turn out great for me!”
“Ow! Okay, thanks, I get it!” She pulls away and rubs her cheek. “Actually, Peli, there’s one more thing I need to tell you.” She sits up straight, taking a sip of her drink. “I’m giving you most of the money because… uh… damn, I hope this doesn’t sound mean. But I’m leaving.”
She blinks. “You’re… huh. Well, I can’t say I’m that surprised. Once you’ve seen Canto Bight, why would you wanna stay here? So where are you going?”
“With D–Mando.” She gives him a little smile. “And Grogu.” He squeaks in response. Peli looks between the three of them, seeing Mando tip his helmet up just a little to take a sip of his drink. “So I’m hoping that with that money, you can hire some help or-or even retire. I hope it shows the depth of my gratitude.”
It’s at that moment that Peli notices under the gleam of the twin suns something shining behind her vest, right against her chest. It sways out, revealing a charm that Peli has sworn she’s seen before. Where did she… she turns to the Mandalorian. Right there on his shoulder is the same symbol. Come to think of it, the little one didn’t immediately jump into her arms either when they came down. Even now, he remains close to the young woman.
Her eyes peer at them. She points one finger towards her and another towards him. “Something happened between the two of you?” Din nearly spits out his sip, setting the glass down firmly and turning his head away to cough while she rapidly shakes her head. “Aha!” Peli stands up and slams her hands on the table.
“H-How did you—?” she asks.
“I’m old, I’m not blind! You’re carrying a necklace of his symbol! And now this whole business of leaving me in the sands because you want to go with him. ‘I have everything I need,’ yeah! I bet you do! It only makes sense that you two are…” She looks down at Grogu. “Involved.”
The Mandalorian stands up, clearing his throat. “We’re done here, right?” He scoops up Grogu.
“Just head back to the ship and prepare it.” She pats his shoulder. “I’ll deal with this one.”
“Fine…” He shakes his head and storms off as she hides giggles behind her hand.
Peli slowly sits back down. “Really? Mando?” she asks. “I didn’t think he’d be your type.”
“Oh? And what is my type?”
“Someone with a face.” She pours herself another drink. “So… what does he look like?”
“Pffft. I don’t know. And even if I did, I couldn’t tell you.”
Peli stares at her. “You haven’t seen his face?”
“No, of course not.”
“So how far have you two gone?” She leans in.
“Uh…” She glances away, knowing Peli’s expression is only turning more judgmental. “Well I mean… I-It kinda… we…”
Peli smacks her arm again. “You slept with him?!”
She rubs her bicep. “Ow! Geeze, Peli. Why don’t you repeat that? I don’t think they heard you in Mos Espa!”
“How does that even work?”
“All the lights were out.” She knocks back her drink — she’ll need it to continue this conversation. “I didn’t see his face. There. That good enough for ya?”
Peli leans back in her chair, staring wide at the ceiling. “Force Almighty… hasn’t seen the guy’s face, but sure, she’ll sleep with him. Do you even know his name?”
“Yes.” She grins. “I’m not telling you that one, though.”
“Thank the Stars for that.” She shakes her head. “Are you… sure you know what you’re doing?”
She scoffs. “Nope. This is nuts, I know. But it’s… it’s what feels right. My gut is telling me to stay with him.” She sits up. “Lots of stuff happened on Canto Bight. Funny stuff, scary stuff, hard stuff… I think we’re lucky we had each other. Have.”
Peli clicks her tongue. “Wow.” She finishes her drink too. “Eh, you do whatever you want. But don’t come crying to me if it doesn’t work out, I’m taking this money and going on vacation. I’m thinking somewhere with a beach.”
She laughs. “You deserve it.” She downs her drink and stands up. “I should go. They’re waiting for me.”
Peli stands up as well, pulling her into a tight hug. “Alright.” She pats her shoulder. “Be careful out there. Make sure Mando protects you. Though of course…” Her fingers hold the beskar necklace between them. “I’m sure he’ll do that without me telling him.”
“Yeah. Take care. And, again, thank you for everything. If it weren’t for you, none of this would have happened.”
“Aw, shucks.” She pushes on her back. “Okay, get on outta here, kid.” She trips a little as she is pushed forward, but quickly regains her footing. The girl goes back to the inside of the Razor Crest and the hatch closes. A few minutes later, the engines are on and it hovers above the ground.
Peli and the droids wave as it leaves, disappearing into space.
“I’m gonna miss that girl,” she tells the droids. “She was better help than most of you on a good day.”
🫠🫠🫠🫠 oh my god the thigh kiss the thigh kiss!!!!!! and the hand through the hair! daniel treating him so tenderly 🥺 and of course if this was max he’d have leaked a little damp patch onto those grey boxers just saying
