i suppose i'm just missing heavy in your arms or something...

here's another bodyguard!din x reader for more of those princess vibes i love so much. dedicated to Melonhead15 and SeaSaltShanties ; 2k words.

if you'd like to vibe to some music while you read ... here are my recommendations

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You, the daughter of a wealthy, widely respected Imperial senator, never asked for any of this. You never asked for the pressure of your father's expectations or the beliefs of the Empire thrust upon you. You'd dabbled in the ideas of the Rebellion yourself, long before the fall of the Empire, and yet this was still your life. Threats to your father were high, especially now. The galaxy was in a period of unrest. The war was over, but the aftershocks of violence endangered all.

It was your father's idea to hire the Mandalorian to be your bodyguard, although it didn't make any sense to. Being the bodyguard for your father made sense, but you? You spent your days in solitude in the mansion you'd always grown up in, painting and reading, writing and gardening. You were aware of just how protected you already were. No one dared enter the walls of your home, and why would they? And if they ever did, then why would they target you?

The answer was simple: they wouldn't. And so you didn't worry. And you learned to enjoy the Mandalorian's company.

At first he was simply a companion that stood at the far end of the room you were in, watching you silently as you painted a landscape of the snow outside of the window, or listened to the sound of your pen scrawling lightly against the paper as you wrote. Over time, you warmed up to his quiet company and invited him over closer to watch.

He loved the landscapes of snow-capped purple mountains and rays of sunshine coming down onto the foaming seawater that you painted. He loved how you curled the end of every 'y' and wrote so fervently, as if your words would slip from you forever if you didn't get them down in that instant. Your afternoons were filled with you reading old books from your father's collection. Some of the stories were dull, but he enjoyed his time nonetheless, seated next to you on a dark green sofa in the library, a stack of books at your feet, your shoulder pressed against his. Watching you walk through the colorful blooms of the florals you so lovingly painted was his favorite landscape in the world, and he wished you could see it as he did so you could paint it for him.

You couldn't pinpoint the exact moment that he fell in love with you or that you fell in love with him. It didn't happen suddenly. It was a gradual decline into growing butterflies and warm feelings that led to him holding your hand in an empty room or hall and brushing your hair off your shoulder so that he could get a good view of your face. It was a gradual but gentle fall that hadn't been spoken out loud just yet.

Your relationship was in secret, with lovesick glances stolen across the room and low whispers in a crowded room. Your father was clueless and thankfully so. He never suspected your attachment to the Mandalorian, and so he didn't think twice to speak of his plans with you in the room next to him.

Your father had a meeting in the evening with other big names in the Empire. He'd decided to host a banquet of sorts to show off all of their plans with the weapons of the future. A banquet? What a strange choice for a bunch of Imps, Din had said to you. And you shrugged, because at least a banquet meant everyone would be too distracted to notice you and Din running off to be alone. And at least it gave you an excuse to wear a pretty dress and feel like a princess.

As you sat in the library, getting your last few moments of reading in before you were thrust into an evening of conversing with strangers, your father stepped in. His hair was disheveled and his hands were shaky. You stared at him suspiciously. Was he really this nervous about meeting with everyone tonight? Your father always exuded confidence in his line of work.

"Where is the Mandalorian?"

"You requested that he get to the event before I did, remember?" You glanced up over the top of your book. "He's doing just that, waiting for you to escort me there."

"Ah, yes. Of course."

"Did you forget, Father?" You shut your book and sat it on the table in front of you. Smoothing out the skirt of your bright gold gown, you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror across the room. When Din saw you, he would call you breathtaking. Your heartbeat quickened to think of it --- to think of him.

"I have a lot on my mind."

"Oh?" You shook the thoughts of the Mandalorian from your mind. You'd see him soon enough. "You do look stressed. Anything I can help with?"

"I'm afraid not." Your father was standing in front of the window. "Very important people are visiting us today."

"So I've heard. I did all that you asked me to. I requested that everything go---"

"If all goes right tonight," he interrupted you, and you wondered if he was talking to you at all, "then we will be even more well off than before, my dear."

"How so? I thought this meeting was about the discussion of weapons---"

"Yes," your father said, "and it is. But a client of mine is set to arrive any moment now. He is in the search for beskar, and he knows just the man to get that from."

You stood slowly from the sofa, your eyebrows pulling together as you moved. The skirt of your gown pooled around your feet as you turned to look at your father, who was still watching out the window. "What do you mean?"

"Beskar is nearly indestructible, they say," he said. "And that Mandalorian has enough to start us off. And the man behind the beskar has the information on where to find more of it."

"What an absurd idea," you scoffed. "The Mandalorian isn't going to just give away his armor to you."

"We're well aware of that," he said, finally tearing his eyes away from the window to look at you. "And that is why we are well equipped to take it from him."

You shook your head. "You can't be serious."

"It'll be a fast operation. He's a good fighter, but he's no match for my client. I can assure you of that." Your father grinned in anticipation. "And with him so intent on protecting you --- dear, it will be an easy steal."

"I think you're underestimating the Mandalorian," you said. "This isn't going to go the way you think."

"And why not? His devotion to protecting you will lower his ability to protect himself. It won't be a simple task to get him to give us the information on where to find more beskar, but it'll be possible through the use of you." As your father spoke, he crossed the room to stand in front of you. His hands landed on your shoulders and you swallowed back bile as you looked up at him. "If he thought giving it up would save you from certain death, I'm sure it would go our way."

You shook your head.

"I know it's a risky plan," your father said, "but it's one that we have to take. Think of the future. Of the Empire! Of what this'll mean for us."

You could only shake in absolute anger and fear as he swooped down, kissed your cheek, and then walked around you.

"Come! We're going now. It's time."

Your limbs were as heavy as lead. You took your father's arm and walked through the corridors of the home that had grown so cold in these last few minutes. Your father's hand covered yours. He paid no mind to how cold your skin was. He was a stranger at your side.

And as you stepped into the huge room filled with men in uniforms and women in gowns, you were overwhelmed. Your eyes swept the room of grey to find Din. You were struggling to remain composed as you searched. People reached for you, whispered your name, greeted you politely, and you ignored them, nodding periodically to pretend that you were paying them any mind. Your mind was on escaping and quickly, before the plan was set in motion.

Your father's hand left yours just in time. You spotted him at the far end of the room. You knew his eyes were on you. He'd probably been searching for you the entire time. You pulled your arm from your father's and ignored him when he said your name.

Reaching down, your fingers closed around the smooth skirt of your gown and lifted it off the floor. You ran quickly through the crowd, bumping into shoulders impolitely and not allowing yourself to care about anyone but him. He was stepping forward, his hand on the blaster in his holster, his other hand lifting to reach for your hand.

"What is it? What's wrong?" His voice was hushed when it reached your ears.

"You have to leave at once," you gasped. His hand closed around yours and he shook his head, not quite understanding. You reached up and put your hands on either side of his helmet. "Listen to me! All of this is to take your beskar and take you as prisoner. They want to know where to find more of it --- and they're going to use me against you to do it. You have to leave, Din. I'm so sorry. I didn't know, I---"

"When?"

"I don't know," you said. "My --- my father said there was a client coming. I don't know who it is."

"Then I'll go," he said. "And you'll come with me."

Your eyes widened. "Oh--- I don't... I don't know."

"Why not?" he asked in a whisper. "Do you wish to be without me?"

What a ridiculous question. No, you didn't wish to be without him ever again. If there were ever a second you were without your Mandalorian, it would be agony. He had your entire heart. You shook your head quickly and he brushed the hair off of your shoulder before he took your hand.

"We can't wait any longer. Let's go." As swiftly as possible, the two of you maneuvered your way through the crowd, careful not to knock into anyone and alert them that you were sneaking away. This felt so much more stressful than the other times you'd sneak off with your Mandalorian. You were holding your breath as you walked towards the open doors that would lead to freedom.

"Wait!" Your father's voice rose out of the crowd, out of the conversations. You turned and caught a glimpse of him. "Stop them!"

Your hand was locked in Din's grip as the two of you fled. Your other hand picked up your skirt so you wouldn't trip and he fired over his shoulder with his blaster. As you ran, the pins that had been so artfully placed on your hair dropped to the marble floor and your curls fell out. So many people with heavy footsteps were right behind you, but none of them could reach you.

You burst through the palace doors, using your shoulder to throw it open. Din did the same to the other side, and you were in the middle of the falling snow, gaze right on the snow-capped mountains you painted often, running under a sea of stars that lit your way to freedom.

Freedom came to you quickly in that moment of crystallized snowflakes and icy air. It was as if you were disappearing into your own landscape painting --- running straight into a galaxy of watercolor. The footsteps slowly vanished into the distance as the snow and darkness consumed your shapes. You paused only a moment in your escape to catch your breath.

He touched his forehead to yours and you smiled. A lifetime of unknowns lay before you and you anticipated every single one. You disappeared into the forest and continued on, holding the hand of the Mandalorian that had your heart.

/ / /

shameless plug time ... i recently started my first cassian andor x reader fic titled AS LONG AS THE STARS ARE ABOVE YOU. the first two chapters are out now so please check that out if you're interested!