The Mandalorian and the Messaie

Vows

It was hours before either of you spoke again, you'd been busying yourself caring for the Child whilst Din had been flying the ship and cleaning himself up and tending to his injuries out of sight. You were nervous to speak to him after your confession in the common house, he hadn't said anything either which made the situation even more tense. Although you had noticed that your proposal knife was sitting proudly displayed on his belt, you wondered how he felt about it, clearly he liked it but did he like the meaning behind it?

Your train of thought was interrupted when you saw the imposing figure of Din standing in the doorway. "Where's the kid?" he asked sounding a little sheepish "Still asleep, he had a big day and I think it took a lot out of him" you said giving him a bright smile that seemed to relax him a bit. "I've been thinking a lot about what you said back on Nevarro, you know... when you gave me this knife" he said gesturing to his belt.
Shit.
He reached a hand out to you "come with me, I want to show you something" you took his hand and followed him as the butterflies in your stomach threatened to betray your attempt at a cool, calm demeanour. He led you to the cockpit and pointed to the planet you were approaching "Is that...?" he nodded "Naboo. I figured you'd want to get married on your home world by the coven that raised you, if you still want to I mean..."

Happy tears filled your eyes "I'd marry you anywhere Din Djarin!" you said throwing you arms around his neck as he lifted you up and span you around the cockpit. He let out a sigh of relief and chuckled "I was going to ask you on Nevarro before everything went crazy, then you sort of beat me to it" he chuckled "I suppose this is my chance to ask you properly" he put you down gently and got on one knee "Gaia, I've been in awe of you since the moment I saw you, you are by far the most amazing person I've ever met. Will you have me as your husband, your riduur?" You pretended to consider it for a moment before bending down to put your face level with his helmet "Ask me in Mando'a and I'll think about it" you teased him. He stood up and grabbed your waist pulling you close "Cuyir ner riduur" you pressed your forehead to his helmet "Always my love."

You heart was beating like crazy as The Crest landed safely on Naboo, your coven was based far away from the big cities and was instead nestled in the beautiful grassy hills hidden from general view. You hadn't been home in some years and the sight of your homeworld filled you with equal amounts of joy and trepidation, you hoped they would be as welcoming to the news of your impending marriage as the coven on Tatooine seemed to be. Din squeezed your hand as you both stood up, retrieved the Child from his bed and walked down the ramp and onto the soft grass below as a crowd of curious Messaie had gathered daggers in hand. They immediately sheathed their weapons once they saw your hood and mask, Din watched as they all greeted you in unison, fists raised across their chests as you returned the greeting. An extremely tall and intimidating looking man stepped away from the group and towards you, brandishing a large dagger in his hand. Although dressed in black like the others he stood a good foot taller than most, his arms were bare displaying numerous tattoos across great mounds of muscle and his plaits reached almost to his waist. Din instinctively reached for his blaster as you held back his arm "Trust me" you whispered as the man quickly threw the dagger directly at your head. You caught the knife with ease with one hand and lowered your mask with the other to expose your wide smile "you are getting slow in your old age brother" you said mockingly as you walked towards him to hand him back the dagger.

"I am not getting old!" replied the man in fake anger before laughing and embracing you in a tight hug pulling his own mask down to reveal a toothy grin. The now far less threatening looking man turned to Din "3 years is far too long dear sister, you must visit more. And who may I ask is your interesting choice of travel companion? You know outsiders may not pass the coven walls....unless there is something you wish to share with me?" He eyed Din with a hopeful look as you blushed and looked up at Din "he is my one who is worthy, we wish to marry and seek the Elder Mother to bind us" you said as you watched Dario's grin widen ever more. "My love this is Dario, he helped raise me after I was orphaned and taken in as a youngling"
Din offered him a hand to shake as Dario looked at it and laughed grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him into a bear hug as you whispered over his shoulder "Sorry, I should of mentioned - he's a hugger!"

After Din had finally broken free of Darios death grip and Dario had finished cooing at the Child who seemed to be equally fond of him, you all headed into the village towards Dario's home. Once inside you were happily reunited with Dario's husband Isaac whom you were very fond of, he introduced you to their newly adopted toddler Orion, you watched the children play happily together as Dario went to send for the Elder Mother. "Will you stay once the ceremony is over?" asked Isaac "the coven is so proud of you and all you have achieved in the name of the Messaie but we miss you too" you smiled at him and began explaining about the mission to reunite the Child with its people. "Although I think we could spare one night, after all it's a special celebration" said Din as you swore he was shooting you a wink under his helmet.
Dario returned and quickly picked both children up and started heading for the door once more "come on then, let's have a wedding!" as you all followed behind trying in vain to keep up with his enormous strides as he led you through through the village.

There in the centre of the village under a great flowering tree stood a crowd of Messaie, many of whom you had known since childhood. Their hoods and masks were no longer worn Din noted, most likely because this was a place of safety for them so anonymity was not required here. In the middle stood the Elder Mother smiling at you her arms outreached as she welcomed you in for a warm embrace. "You look well my dear Gaia, I'm glad you came home to do this, your presence is greatly missed" she said stroking your cheek gently. "It was Din's idea" you said turning to him and smiling as she gave him a look of approval "are you both ready?" You looked at Din as he squeezed your hand tightly "Yes" he said eagerly, "Very well, I understand you Mandalorians have your own vows so I will let you lead with that and Gaia you remember what to say?" you nodded as she wound a piece of black silk around your wrist and Dins binding your hands to one another.

"Mandalorian, your vows please"

Din took a deep breath "Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde" he said before repeating it again translated "We are one when together, we are one when parted, we will share all, we will raise warriors."

It was your turn, "I pledge to you my blade, my heart and my soul. May our days be long, and may our numbers grow. I choose to spend today, and all of my tomorrows, with you. "

Hodie cras in sempiternum - Today, tomorrow, forever.

"Where is the proposal knife?" asked the Elder as Din removed it from his belt and handed it to her, she inspected it before passing it to you as you quickly cut off a plait from your hair and gave it to her. She took the plait and carefully working it into a brooch using the hidden dagger hairpin before handing it to Din "she weakens herself for you, keep it close as a reminder of her love for you" as you watched him gingerly pin it to the shirt fabric underneath his breastplate just above his heart. "I actually have something for you too, the armourer made them for me a long time ago when I told her about meeting you, I'd almost forgotten about them until we saw her in the forge, clearly she knew this would happen" he said retrieving the small leather pouch from his belt and producing two beskar rings in shining silver.

"The ring is a symbol of our unity - an eternal unbroken circle and it embodies my promise that wherever I may go, I will always return to you" he said gently putting it on your finger before removing his glove so you could return the favour.

"Your souls are bonded, you are two no longer, go forth and live a life of honour, respect and love" she said before removing the silk binding you and throwing both your hands in the air "now we feast!" as the crowds gave a rousing chorus of celebration.

The rest of the day was a hazy blur of drinking, dancing and feasting, you managed to find the time to have some food put aside for Din to eat alone later and even managed to get him to dance with you around the great fire even if it was very briefly. Dario and Isaac kindly offered to take care of the Child for the night so you two could rest and you were provided with lodging at the now empty house next door that had once been your own before you had left the village on your adventures. You entered and were pleasantly surprised to find that it had been cleaned and prepared for your stay, fresh sheets were on the bed and an assortment of food and drinks were laid out on the table.
"Your people are excellent hosts" said Din admiring the spread and surroundings, "We look after our own" you said proudly. You kissed his helmet lightly "Eat my love, the door is locked and no one will bother us now, I'm going for a shower" you said leaving him downstairs as you went to get yourself cleaned up. He resisted the temptation to follow you, choosing instead to remove his helmet and sit down, he really needed to sit and eat something and he hadn't eaten this well in a long while. Besides he figured if the passion you shared in those rare stolen kisses on the ship previously were anything to go by then he'd need all the energy he could for the night ahead.