Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Location: Coruscant – Imperial Palace
Din looked at himself in the mirror. He wore a dark charcoal suit with a deep blue tie. He never liked dressing formal, whether it be civilian attire or his dress uniform, but tonight he would certainly make an exception.
He left his apartment and traveled the lift to the royal apartments. He slowly walked to Leia's door, apprehensive about seeing her. It had been unlike him to be so forward with her, not once but twice.
He rang the chime and after a couple of moments, Leia came to the door.
Din stood with his mouth open at the ravaging beauty before him. He wanted someone to knock him on the back of his skull to see if he was dreaming.
Leia wore a deep purple dress that showed a tasteful amount of cleavage and a slit in the side of the dress that went all the way to her thigh on her right leg. Her hair was piled high and her face was skillfully made up with a deep red lipstick.
In short, she looked like a work of art and Din was at a loss for words.
She looked at him momentarily and said, "Well… aren't you going to say anything?" Laughing nervously. Leia felt self-conscious all of the sudden with the way Din was staring at her, but in a good way. To think that this man was attracted to her was still a shock to her system.
Din regained his composure and said, "you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." He meant every word. She was something out of a fever dream.
Leia smiled at that. "I don't know about that, Din." She said shyly. "I'm sure you've seen a lot of women."
Din shook his head. "No one like you."
He bent down and gently kissed her on the lips. She melted to him, enjoying the display of affection.
They parted and Din said, "Come on. There's a taxi waiting for us on the pad, let's go get some dinner."
"Alright.", Leia said sweetly. She was understandably excited for the night ahead. She just prayed that she didn't say or do anything to make herself look foolish.
Din held his left arm out to her which she accepted and they both walked to the speeder pad to go to the restaurant that Din had selected.
Din opened the door to the cab for her and she beamed a smile at him for his generous manners.
They traveled a relatively short distance down to the midpoint of the palace where they reached their destination.
They got out of the speeder and Leia stopped and said, "Sal's? You managed to get a reservation for the end of the week at Sal's?" Disbelieving Din's ability to do so.
Din laughed and said, "Come on, you'll see." He knew he'd always kept this one in his back pocket all of these years for a reason.
There was a long line of hopefuls waiting to see if they could get in to one of the more exclusive restaurants in the Imperial Capital.
Din, with Leia on his arm bypassed the line and headed straight for the doorman.
"Name for your reservation?" The doorman asked, looking at the couple.
"Din Djarin, I have a standing reservation.", Din said confidently.
The doorman looked at him like he disbelieved Din and sighed as he checked the list.
As the doorman looked at the roster, Leia nervously said, "Din they're staring at us", referencing the long line of people.
"Let them", Din replied uncaringly.
The doorman's face lit up, "My apologies, Mr. Djarin. You're under the VIP listing. I'll show you inside."
Din looked down at Leia with a slightly smug smile, which elected a smile and a shake of the head from her.
The pair walked inside as the doorman held open the door for them both.
They walked to the front where the maître d' stood. "Mr. Djarin!", he exclaimed. "It is so good to see you again, I have your usual table reserved as always. Please allow me to seat you."
Leia looked at Din, dumbfounded. He just shrugged and led Leia to their seat. It was right next to a dance floor where a band was playing soft music. The smokey restaurant was a very romantic setting, one that made Leia dazzled to no end.
Din pulled out the chair for Leia and then sat opposite from her.
Within moments, a large man came out from the back wearing a tuxedo. Din braced himself for what was to happen next.
"Din Djarin!" The man exclaimed, "welcome back my friend."
Din stood and hugged the man and slapped his back. "Sal, good to see you. I'd like you to meet my date. Leia, this is Sal."
Leia briefly stood and allowed Sal to take her hand and kiss her knuckles.
"Any woman with Mr. Djarin here is a friend of mine", the man said.
Leia smiled at the man's charm, unable to believe that Sal of all people came out to personally greet them.
Din and Leia sat down. "Leia, I tell you that you have a winner here. This man is a hero, an absolute hero."
Din bashfully shook his head, "Now Sal, you know that I was just doing my job", he said. His bravado from earlier disappeared into humility.
Sal shook his head. "This man saved my son's life. Ask him tonight about the story, I'm sure he'll go into detail for a beauty such as yourself."
Din said, "I'll explain it, but again, I was just doing my job, Sal." He suddenly felt very warm.
Sal laughed and said, "Very well, Din. What are the two of you celebrating? I'm at your service for the evening." Which indicated he would personally oversee the service for the couple.
Leia looked at Din as she wondered what he would say.
Din looked at Sal and said, "We're celebrating Leia's eighteenth birthday."
Sal looked at Din slyly. "You scoundrel. Very well, would you like for me to choose your courses for the evening? I have a great idea of what to serve the both of you."
Din looked at Leia who nodded with a smile on her face.
"Of course, Sal. That would be fine", Din said.
"Excellent. I'll let the two of you settle in and bring a nice bottle of Alderaanian wine, the best vintage that we have.", Sal Said.
Din nodded his thanks and looked at Leia who stared at him as Sal walked away to fetch their beverage.
"Just what did you do to do to deserve the man's affection, Din?" She asked hoping that he would share the story.
Din quickly shrugged. "Remember when the time I was injured as a Stormtrooper?" He asked.
"Of course. I remember that mom and dad got into a tremendous argument as mom was dreadfully upset that dad allowed you to join the Stormtrooper Corps at such a young age, never mind the fact that you nearly died", Leia said.
"Well, my platoon sergeant was Sal's son, Dameon. We were entering a warehouse that we suspected that was a remanent of the Separatists base of operations. Anyway, as we entered a Separatist mercenary took a shot at Dameon and I jumped in front of him and took the blaster bolt to my stomach", Din said.
Leia looked at him with an understanding look. "Even as an eighteen-year-old you of all people would do something like that", she said as she shook her head. "No wonder why mom was so upset. The great Din Djarin had to be a hero", she teased.
Din shook his head and said, "No not a hero, I was just doing the right thing."
Leia held his gaze as a smile formed at her lips. Impressed at the young man's humility.
"Well,", she said. "I guess we'll just have to see how Sal is going to treat us for the evening."
Din smiled and said, "Happy birthday, Leia."
The wine was served and the two were pleasantly surprised at the vintage and flavor of the white wine.
Both looked forward to the first of many courses. One thing Din learned early on about fine dining was the portions were elegant and small, but there were at least four to five courses a meal.
Sal disappeared again to fetch their appetizer.
Leia swirled the wine in her glass as she enjoyed the fruity smell. "Well, Din. If tonight goes well, I just think that I'll have to forgive you for the last few days."
Din smiled at her and said, "That'll just be a benefit. The real pleasure is just treating you to a celebration."
Leia gave him a beaming smile. "Din Djarin, I had no idea that you could be so… thoughtful."
"Don't tell anyone, Leia. I have a reputation to maintain", Din said embarrassed.
"It'll be our little secret", Leia said. She wanted to share her own secret with him later.
Din smiled at the woman's flirtatious behavior. It certainly put his nerves to ease.
Sal came out holding two dishes. "I present you with a Lobster Bisellian with a creamed butter sauce", he said as he placed the dishes in front of his guests.
Leia and Din's mouths watered at the sight of the work of art in front of them.
"I thought this dish was exclusive to the luxury liner, Kauri Princess", Leia exclaimed.
"Sal has a penchant for acquiring recipes from all corners of the galaxy, Leia. That's what makes his restaurant so unique, it's a cultural phenomenon", Din said.
Leia was again surprised at Din's knowledge and articulate language. She'd always known him as a gruff soldier, so seeing this new side of him made her even more excited.
The pair enjoyed their appetizer in a brief silence.
As they finished, Sal reappeared with a bottle of red wine from Naboo. "Wine for the main course", he said as he gracefully poured the beverage into new glasses.
Again, the pair were pleasantly surprised at the rare vintage.
As the meal progressed, Leia's gratefulness towards Din increased. Even as a Princess of Emperor Skywalker, she was unaccustomed to such treatment. Anakin raised his children with a sensible practicum, unwilling to spoil them with noble treatment.
The main course was served. A fillet of smoked Nerf tenderloin over a bed buttery mashed potato full of minced Rodian peppers.
"Okay", Leia said as she carefully dabbed her mouth with a napkin. "This is certainly ruining mom's cooking for me."
Din laughed. "I don't know, that roast the other night had me dreaming for days. This isn't what I'm accustomed to. You ought to see what the Tusken raiders eat. I still taste sun roasted Dewback every once and a while."
"You certainly have been quite cultured", Leia said. "Although, I'm not sure you want to put that on a Special Forces recruitment brochure", she said as she laughed.
"That might be a good deterrent for some of the misfits that we've been getting", Din said as he shook his head as he thought about the previous day's fiasco with he candidates.
"Oh? I want to hear more about that", Leia said, genuinely wanting to get more details of the day-to-day life of Din.
"Well, the bunch we've had lately don't seem to take the process seriously. I'm tempted to dismiss the entire group if Admiral Piett wasn't so hell bent on expanding our Unit's size", Din said. "All I want are people that can do the job and do it without complaining."
"And you didn't complain after Tatooine?" Leia asked. "That's surprising given that deep scar I saw on you the other night."
"That was my mistake", Din said. "Never underestimate a determined enemy with a knife."
Din could see the concern on Leia's face. "Don't worry, I made it out okay. I'm usually more careful than that." It wasn't a lie, but not by much.
Leia not convinced just looked down at her plate and took a sip of wine.
A palate cleanser was served next. A sorbet made from emerald grapes from Alderaan.
An uneasy silence spread across the couple.
"You're worried", Din said. It wasn't a question, but a statement.
"I'm always worried about you", Leia said. The crash on Ord Mantell fresh on her mind along with the aftermath.
Din reached across the table and held her hand. "I don't want you to worry, but I understand that you always will."
Leia looked at him and bravely said, "I'm in for the full package, Din. I understand that danger is just going to be a part of it."
Din smiled at Leia's confession. "I'll try not to worry you too much", he said.
"Good, see that you don't." she replied.
The second main course was served. A stewed Shaak pot roast.
"This is from Dex's dinner, except more eloquently plated", Leia said. "Obi-Wan took Luke and I there when he was teaching us about the Clone Wars."
"I've been there myself", Din said. "You'd be surprised at how many people of Coruscant go there, even though it's a lower income neighborhood."
"I wonder why Sal includes it on his menu", Leia wondered.
"Because Sal likes to show his guests that fine dining originated from food eaten by everyday people", Din said.
Leia nodded respectfully at the statement. "You still stay true to your roots", she said.
"I wouldn't be me if I didn't", he replied.
Dessert was served with a thick glass of port from Corellia. The dessert was a piece of chocolate cake with a fruit sauce.
"Din, I don't know how I fit all of that in me", Leia said as the two finished their meal.
"I'm sure you'll work it off with lightsaber training", Din said.
"I've been neglecting that as of late", Leia confessed. "Did you ever try and practice using a lightsaber when you were at the temple?"
Din wiped his face with a cloth napkin. "A little too much. I was always beaten by the padawans."
"You, beaten? I find that hard to believe", Leia said as she shook her head.
"Believe it. I'm not good at everything, there's a lot that I don't know how to do or what to say", Din replied.
"What's something that you've always wanted to try?" Leia asked.
Din paused for a moment. "Live a quiet life", he said. "My parents were simple people. They weren't soldiers or from wealth. They were normal, everyday people who were trying to get ahead in life."
Leia was surprised at the confession. Din rarely ever spoke of his family, which was understandable given the way they died.
"What's something that you've always wanted to try?" Din asked as he turned the table away from his parents.
Leia looked at the couples dancing. "I've always wanted to try ballroom dancing."
Din smiled. "Well tonight is your crash course in it", he said as he stood.
"Din, I don't think that I can after this meal", she replied.
"Is Leia Skywalker backing down from a challenge?" Din taunted.
Leia stood, "You know how to push my buttons, Din. I'll give you that."
Din led Leia onto the dance floor. "Put your left hand on my shoulder", he said. "Don't worry, my wound is healing just fine, it won't hurt", as he saw the hesitance on Leia's face.
"Now, I'm going to lead. It's simple, when you feel my body move in a direction, you follow with the foot that my body is pulling you to", he said as he held her close.
The two began to dance to the slow song as they enjoyed the proximity towards one another.
Leia placed her head on Din's chest as he led them to the soft music.
The soft melody ended, and Leia looked up at Din. He bent his head down and stole a quick kiss from her.
Then, a jazzy tune began to play from the band.
"Now this is going to be fun. It's a little faster, so we'll go in the same pattern, just at a quicker pace", Din said.
Leia was intimidated but was soon laughing as the pair moved fluidly across the dance floor. She cheated by reaching out to the Force to see Din's precise movements so she could keep up and learn the dance.
"That's it, you're doing well", Din said. "I'm going to spin you forward and back to me, just follow my hand and you'll be fine."
"Wait, Din I don't think…" Leia started, but it was too late. Din had already begun to spin her, and she found out how easy it was to flow with his hand. She spun back into his arms and the two continued their fast waltz across the dance floor.
The pair continued to dance with the occasional spin. "Okay, now I'm going to spin you to where your back is up against my chest. Just hold my hands and keep following my lead."
Din completed the move and the two soon danced to the complicated maneuver. Leia looked over her shoulder and up at him. He looked down at her and saw the easily identifiable lust in her eyes. He treated her to a fine meal and helped her do something she always wanted to try.
He spun her back to their neutral position and quickened the pace as the music built up to the finale.
The two didn't notice that the diners and other couples dancing had stopped to watch the pair.
The music stopped and Din bent Leia backwards and kissed her. Their spontaneous audience clapped politely.
The two stood up embarrassed and quickly made it back to their table.
Sal came over to them and said, "Din and Leia you gave quite a show, I ought to headline the two of you at the end of every week."
"I don't know about that, Sal. I think that dance was just between the two of us", Din said as he looked at Leia.
"Very well, my friend. Don't worry, this meal is on the house tonight." Sal said.
Leia was taken aback, "you're very generous Sal, thank you for your hospitality."
"Anything for my friend and the Princess of the Empire", Sal said seriously.
Both looked at him in surprise. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me", as he placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "I hope the two of you enjoy the rest of this lovely evening."
With that, he bowed to Leia and walked away.
"Well,", Din said, "There goes some of our anonymity."
"I think it was worth it Din, thank you for a wonderful evening." Leia said. She continued in a hushed tone, "And you're completely forgiven and then some."
Din smiled at that and chucked as the pair stood and made their way out of the restaurant that still had a long line of hopefuls who jealously stared at the couple as they made their way to a line of parked taxis.
Din opened the door for Leia and during the short ride back, Leia held his hand.
Din escorted her back to her apartment and as Leia opened the door, she looked at him and asked, "Won't you come in? I don't think our evening is over just yet."
Din felt a little nervous as he walked into Leia's grand apartment.