me? dying for more princess!reader x din content? yup! i miss writing heavy in your arms!

also another self-indulgent imagine? maybe. my birthday is a week from tomorrow and i'm writing about a birthday party in a castle bc all i want for my birthday truly is to be a princess in a pretty ball gown, dancing with Din in my castle.

a girl can dream tho

requested by dear-mena; 2.6k+ words and not sure if i did this jealous!mando request justice bc i really try to write jealous imagines and avoid the common tropes. but i tried :-)

/ / /

You were captivated by him the moment you saw him for the very first time. The bounty hunter that was hired to be your bodyguard. The Mandalorian that was hired to be your bodyguard. He was given the difficult task of making sure no one harmed you within the palace walls that were no longer safe. Your mother paid him beyond what he was typically paid for a bounty to accept the job.

He was cold and he was distant, he was quiet and he was reserved, but he was kind. He greeted you every morning. He gave you space throughout the day while he kept his eye on you. He walked alongside you from room to room only if you asked him to.

It seemed impossible to fall in love with a man you could not see behind the armor, but you did. You fell in love with him gradually. With every passing day, he opened up more to you. You learned his name. His story. His beliefs. And you saw how good he truly was, despite the reputation of being a bounty hunter hanging over his head. He was all that you wanted in a companion and somehow, miraculously, you were all that he wanted, too.

There was no way of you knowing that for certain, though. Some days, it felt like you were the only woman in the world. He was so gentle with you, his hand resting on yours as you sat next to him in the library, his arm taking yours as he crossed a hall by your side, his quickness to pull your chair out in the dining room.

But your Mandalorian was still silent most days, and part of you wondered if he was bothered by having to do all of this for you. He wasn't meant to be kept inside the palace walls, watching over a princess that should be allowed to do all of these things on her own. He was a bounty hunter, and bounty hunters didn't typically take jobs like this.

For your birthday, your loving parents threw you a party. It was mostly for them, you realized, because they invited all of their friends and family from distant lands and planets. You were happy for them. It was only because you had a bodyguard now that the gates could be opened.

You were given a light pink ball gown with dazzling gold embellishments to dance the night away in, complete with tiny white flowers to decorate your hair and golden tiara with. The ballroom was gold, lit by flickering lanterns and sweet-smelling candles. Soft music echoed around the walls. Wines were passed from guest to guest, and you walked along the sides of the room, searching only for him.

You hadn't seen him all day. When you last saw him, it was just after dinner the night before. You had leaned in close to him and pressed your lips to the cold surface of his helmet. "Save your first dance for me?"

He chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of dancing with anybody else."

"Me either," you said.

He wasn't hard to spot. He was the only man not dressed for the occasion. Shining in his beskar, you found him near the door. You smiled as you crossed the floor to greet him.

"I haven't seen you at all today," you said.

"I was giving you time to get ready," he told you. You stood directly in front of him, beaming up at the face of his helmet. He reached up and pushed a lock of your hair off your shoulder gently, letting his fingers linger on your skin for a moment. His voice was quiet. "Happy birthday, Princess."

"Thank you," you said. The music changed to a gentle, slow tune. It sounded like flickering fireflies in a meadow. It sounded as soft as a breeze. "Won't you dance with me?"

He paused and pulled his hands away. He sighed. "I don't think so, Princess."

You furrowed your eyebrows, taken aback by his response. It was so quick and easy for him to say it. "I thought..."

"There are plenty of guests here just waiting for you to grace them with a dance," he said, and it sounded almost mocking. He jerked his chin upward and you turned your head to see every set of eyes on you. Your mouth went dry.

"Princess!" One man, a tall, lanky one with sharp blue eyes, pushed his way through the crowd, the hands of his friends on his back. He stopped in front of you and grinned. "Princess, might I have a dance?"

You blinked slowly, looking at his open hand.

"Oh --- my apologies," he said, laughing nervously. "I forgot that you are in the care of you Mandalorian. I should be asking him if---"

"Go ahead," he said. You looked at him in disbelief. He touched your shoulder before he stepped back. "I'll be right here if you need me, Princess."

You did not speak as the tall man moved your arm to hook with his. You did not look away from Mando as he pulled you to the dance floor. Never had he been this cold to you. Sending you away with a stranger you did not know the name of, dismissing your request at dancing with him, shutting you down and out in a matter of moments.

At the center of the dance floor, the man turned so that he stood in front of you. He put one hand on your waist and let the other one lift up your right hand, holding it above his shoulder. He stepped closer and started to sway, and you wanted the song to be over already. It wasn't that he frightened you or that he was a bad dancer, but he wasn't the one that you wanted. He wasn't the one that had just broken your heart.

You did not pretend to have fun. You did not pretend to enjoy the dance. You spun and swayed and moved with the music, but you did not smile. You did not speak to your partner, who was introducing himself and telling you stories you did not care about. He made no effort to get to know you, and you were sure he did not even know your name. Bragging was all your dancing partner seemed to know how to do.

It disgusted you, the way he spoke of himself, and you were grateful when the song ended. Your feet stopped moving and you opened your mouth to force a thank you out, but he kept turning, changing the pace of his dance as the next song began to play. You clenched your jaw and gripped his hand tightly to keep from falling, which he seemed to take as eagerness to go into the next dance.

Whatever. Maybe he just wanted a full song, since you started halfway through the last one.

As you spun slowly around the ballroom, you saw Mando. He looked as rigid as a statue where he stood, straight as an arrow, following your figure everywhere it went. As your partner quickly moved to the other side of the ballroom, you lost track of your Mandalorian in the crowd. But only moments later you noticed him circling the crowd, keeping his eyes on you.

As the song went on, it became more apparent to you and your partner that you did not want to be there. You kept looking for him in the crowd. You were reluctant to turn with every spin he guided you through. And finally, the song faded away, and everyone stepped away from their partners.

You were sick of dancing.

"Okay, that's enough," you said, forcing the two of you to slow down. You were out of breath and exhausted. "I'm done."

He tried to keep a grip on your hand as you stepped back. "Wait, please, your highness---"

"Thank you for the dance," you said, yanking your hand back, "but I have to go now."

"But you didn't even talk to me yet! Can't you just give me one more dance---?"

Not even a second later, Mando was behind him, a hand on the man's thin shoulder, pulling him back. "I think the princess told you she was finished."

"Yeah, I get that," your partner said, glaring at the Mandalorian. He jerked his shoulder forward. "I was just asking---"

"And she isn't interested in continuing. Why don't you go back to your friends, before I have to do something I regret?"

"Jeez. Fine." Looking at you one final time, he said, "If I had known you were being babysat, I wouldn't have asked for a dance."

He stalked away and you couldn't find it in you to feel anything other than annoyed. Annoyed at the man, annoyed at the dance, annoyed at the sweaty feeling he left on your palms, but mostly, annoyed at Mando, who had pushed you away and then watched you the whole time like you needed to be followed.

"Princess, are you alright?" he started to ask, and you walked around him quickly.

"I want to go to my quarters," you announced to him, "and I don't need you following me there."

"Princess," he said, and he sounded sad. You tried not to care.

You left your party without saying goodbye to any of your guests. You pushed through the tall, ornate doors and marched down the silent corridor. As the doors sealed shut behind you, the sounds of the party completely disappeared. Halfway down the hall, you stopped walking and turned towards the moonbeams that shone through the window. The couple of moons, light purple in color, were shining bright tonight. You turned towards the towering glass windows and opened the latch on them, stepping out into the sweet-smelling night.

Everything was so humiliating. And it seemed pathetic to cry about it. You were a grown woman and a princess, but you had convinced yourself. You had convinced yourself completely that this life you lived would be a fairytale. Your Mandalorian was the one you had chosen to keep forever, and you thought he had chosen you right back.

But he pushed you away like it was nothing. He offered you up like you were something to give away, and then he was defensive over you as if he wasn't just the one that shut you down and sent you away---

As much as you wanted to be left alone, you knew that he wasn't able to just let you be on your own. It was no surprise that he was behind you. As quiet and stealthy as he was, you could sense he was there. You stiffened and placed your hands on the marble railing in front of you, feeling the smooth coolness of it with your fingers. It grounded you.

"I suppose it's foolish to be upset," you said, "and that you might think I was rude to that man."

"I don't think either of those things," he said.

"But somehow you think anyone else is more deserving of my attention. That you can choose who I give my attention to."

"Not like that," he said. "You know I did not mean it like that."

You turned to look at him. "Then how did you mean it, Mando? Am I so low in your eyes that I should be entertained by any boy that assumes they're what I want?"

"They could give you more," he said. "Any of them could."

You scoffed. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard."

"How?" he asked. "How is it? What's ridiculous is me thinking that for even a moment, I could have something with you. I'm a Mandalorian. I cannot show or tell you things I know you wish to know. You don't know what I look like under my helmet. What if I showed you? We would have to be tied by marriage, and in that promise, you'd have to remain loyal no matter what I looked like. What if I'm not what you wanted?"

Finally, the truth was out there, and it was a truth you both expected and didn't all at the same time. You knew he wanted the best for you. You were a princess, highly respected, adored by your kingdom, and you were falling in love with a bounty hunter. That wasn't the typical story for a princess.

"And so I thought that maybe there was someone better. Anyone. And maybe, starting tonight, I should let you have a glimpse at other possible futures. Futures that made more sense."

"So you made me dance with that man?" you questioned. "He isn't exactly my ideal partner."

"He was the most harmless looking one I saw," he said defensively. You laughed. "And I was fine with him dancing with you until... until I wasn't."

"You got jealous," you said.

"I... I had never been jealous before. I didn't know. I didn't know how much it bothered me until I saw you somewhere that wasn't by my side."

"Well, it's good for you that you don't have to be jealous of anyone else. No matter what you look like or what you do, you are all I have ever wanted." Your fingertips pushed your body off the marble railing and you approached him slowly. "When I fell in love with you, my mind was made up. I don't want anything else. And if being with you means that I have to give up everything in my life, then so be it. I want to be with you. Not someone else, even if you think they can give me the attention I deserve."

"What you deserve is everything I'm afraid I cannot give you," he whispered.

"You have given me everything that could ever ask for." Stretching up on your tiptoes, your forehead met his. You shook your head as the rest of your anger fizzled out, and you were able to smile. "You think too much of me, Mandalorian."

His hands found your waist and he stepped back. "How could I not? Look at you."

Smiling from ear to ear, he stared at you for a long moment. Then, without invitation, he took one of your hands in his. The other hand remained on your waist. His feet moved slowly. If you listened close, you could hear the faint twinkling of music from the party that was going on without you, but mostly the two of you danced to the combined sound of the beating of your hearts, bubblig of a brook down below, and the chirping of insects in the trees.

It was slow and gentle and everything you'd wished for on your birthday. Being with your Mandalorian made you feel truly like a princess. As you picked up the fluffy skirt of your pink gown and spun with him, the fairytale you wanted came true once again. What you had wouldn't be perfect; it couldn't be. But it was real, and it was everything you wanted.

And now you knew for sure that you were everything he wanted, too.

"Haven't you heard the love story of the smuggler and the princess?"

"No," he said. "I don't think I've heard that one. Who are they?"

"Oh, just a couple heroes of the Rebellion." You intertwined your fingers with his as he slowly spun you in a circle. "Their story reminds me of ours."

For the rest of the night, you danced with your Mandalorian, staring at one another in the light of the moonbeams. It was just you and him. You and him, and no one else.