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Din flipped a couple of switches on his console, then glanced over when he heard a soft yawn issue from the seat next to him, grinning behind his helmet as he watched Grogu sitting in the co-pilot’s chair trying to play with the Razor Crest’s control knob despite almost falling asleep sitting up. The child’s eyes were growing heavier, and he yawned again, even bigger than before, though it was evident the child was trying to fight the oncoming wave of sleep.
When Grogu’s head tipped forward, Din chuckled. “All right, Grogu, time for a nap.”
Grogu looked up at Din with sleepy eyes, but shook his head and babbled a complaint.
“Sorry, buddy, you need some sleep. You’ll feel better after a nap.”
Din stood and leaned down to scoop Grogu up, laughing softly as the child continued to babble. When they reached Din’s sleeping area, he settled Grogu into the hammock above his own bed and tucked a blanket around his chin.
“You get some sleep and we’ll find something fun to do after you wake up.”
He backed away from the bed, then stopped when Grogu reached out a small hand from beneath the blankets.
“Come on, kid, you gotta get some sleep.”
Grogu cooed and stared at Din with wide eyes, and Din sighed, stepping closer to the hammock again. “What is it, buddy?”
The little one babbled and Din nodded in answer. “I promise we’ll do something fun later.”
He cooed again, tilting his head in question.
“I don’t know what yet, but I’ll think of something.”
Grogu reached his arm further out of the blanket toward Din, who smiled behind his helmet. “Fine, I’ll stay here until you fall asleep.”
The child fell back against his pillow, and Din tucked him in again, leaning against the door frame as he watched the little one’s eyes flicker shut, opening again for a moment, then finally closing completely.
It wasn’t long before the child’s breathing grew heavier, but Din didn’t walk away, instead choosing to stay and watch Grogu sleep. He needed to get back to the cockpit and make sure they were still on course with no problems, but he didn’t want to leave yet. It wasn’t often that he experienced such peaceful moments, though they happened more often with Grogu in his life, and he didn’t want to let this one go yet. He laughed softly to himself as Grogu began to snore, quiet little noises that told Din the little one had drifted off into a deep sleep.
After several minutes of watching the little one sleep, Din returned to the cockpit, double-checked that they were still on course, then sat in silent contemplation. He’d promised Grogu that they would do something fun later, but he had no idea what that might be. Playing with the Razor Crest’s control knob was fun to Grogu, but Din thought he should come up with something new for the kid.
He tapped his fingers against his armrest as he continued to think, but he was coming up with nothing, no matter how hard he thought about it. He paused his tapping when he thought he heard a noise from below.
Tilting his head, he held his breath, waiting to see if he would hear it again. A few seconds later, he clearly heard Grogu cry out. He was out of the pilot’s chair in a flash, moving faster than he thought he ever had on the ship, and was at his sleeping area in seconds.
“Grogu! Grogu, what’s wrong?”
As he slid to a stop in front of the hammock, he felt a wave of relief wash over him when he realized the child was still safe in the hammock, but his relief turned to concern again when Grogu cried out once more, his little fist out of the blanket, reaching for something as he thrashed in his blanket.
“A nightmare,” Din breathed. He reached into the hammock and placed a comforting hand on Grogu’s head. “Hey, hey, come on, Grogu. You’re okay, buddy. You’re safe.”
Grogu stopped thrashing, though he was still breathing heavy, and opened his eyes. He cried out again when he saw Din, reaching both arms toward the Mandalorian. Din reached over and scooped him up.
He immediately snuggled into Din, though Din knew his armor wasn’t comfortable for snuggling.
“Hang on, Grogu, just give me a second…” He reached back into the hammock and pulled the blanket out, wrapping it around Grogu and making sure it formed a cushion against his armor for Grogu’s head. “There we go.”
The little one whimpered and snuggled into the blanket, his small hand clasping Din’s arm.
“You’re okay, buddy. It was just a nightmare. See? You’re safe. It’s just you and me here.”
Grogu looked up at Din and placed his hand on Din’s helmet, causing Din to smile. “You want me to take my helmet off, buddy?”
He cooed, causing Din to chuckle. “Okay. Hang on.” He reached up and removed it, setting it aside, then smiled at Grogu. “Is that what you wanted?”
The child babbled happily and rested his hand on Din’s cheek before trying to climb Din’s armor to get closer to him.
Din laughed. “Whoa, hang on.” He lifted Grogu higher in his arms, and Grogu placed his tiny arms around Din’s neck, snuggling in closer.
Din grinned, though he felt dangerously close to tears, and patted Grogu’s back. “I wish you could tell me what you dreamed about, but I guess it doesn’t matter. You’re safe now, I promise. Nothing can get you with me here.”
Grogu cooed happily, and Din closed his eyes, enjoying the moment.
After a few minutes, Grogu’s breathing grew heavy again, and Din realized he had fallen asleep with his head on Din’s shoulder. He grinned again, but didn’t want to put the child back in his hammock only to have him wake up scared and alone again, so he carried him back to the cockpit with him. He settled into his pilot’s chair, keeping his movements slow and deliberate to keep from waking the child. He carefully repositioned Grogu so that he was sleeping in his arms, made sure he was still snug in his blanket, then pulled him close and closed his own eyes.
It wasn’t long before Din’s own snores mixed with Grogu’s.