Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The soft wail stirred the whole house.

Din’s eyes forced themselves open, blinking against the dim light, and for a moment he was utterly disoriented. It took another moment for the sound of a crying child to register, and then the arms that were wrapped tight around his waist. A soft and wakeful sound came by his ear as Cobb shifted. Then the arms tightened further and a scratchy beard pressed to the back of his shoulder.

“Mmmph.”

“Need ‘t… up,” Din muttered, his voice hoarse from sleep. He pried Cobb’s arm off from his waist and pushed up, then batted back the sleepy attempts at getting him back. “A second.”

“Ugh.”

It was early. Din rubbed at his eyes and glanced out the front entrance of their home, but the suns weren’t even presenting themselves yet, barely a sliver of light on the horizon. The stars twinkled above instead. With a sigh, he walked to the child’s room, and where the sound grew louder and louder.

“Kid…”

Grogu continued to wail, even at the sight of Din. Instead, his shuddering gasps became desperate whimpers and he stood with his hands grasping at the bars of his crib. “Pada!” he cried, a garbled and growl-like sound. “Aba--”

“I’m here.”

Din swept the child up into his arms, and Grogu pushed into his chest as though his life depended on it. He trembled and shook as he cried, big wet tears falling, and Din let out a soft sigh before tucking the boy’s head beneath his chin. Little hands grasped at his collar and around his neck as Grogu tried to get as close as he could. Din turned and started back towards the bedroom, and as he stepped through, the light was turned on.

“Nightmare?” Cobb muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“They’re vivid for him.” Din sat on the edge of the bed, whimpering child cradled, until Cobb patted Din’s side of the bed. Din pushed himself back and with sleepy eyes, Cobb turned to face them, arm slipping around Din’s waist. He tugged him in closer.

“What’s got you scared?” Cobb asked, voice thick this early. He reached out to run his fingers over Grogu’s back.

Hallway. Men in white. One in black. Afraid. Afraid. Alone. So, so alone.

Din drew in a sharp breath, the feeling settling throughout his entire body. He squeezed his eyes shut and held Grogu tighter as his own guilt began to seep in. Cobb looked up at him with furrowed brows, “Din?”, and Din only shook his head.

“When Gideon had him,” he whispered.

Cobb sat up. “Did he show you that?” he whispered back. “Your… bond. Force bond.”

Din took another breath, startled by the image appearing in his mind’s eye at all. He still struggled to conceptualize exactly what existed between him and the child -- this… relationship, that Din couldn’t see or feel, until Grogu wanted him to. What the jedi had described as a forceful but loving attachment to Din, one-sided but powerful. And since Gideon’s cruiser, Grogu had decided to use this bond to its fullest.

Telepathy that only worked as long as Grogu wanted to listen, for starters.

“I think so.” At his words, Cobb slipped both arms around Din, and Din let himself lean into his lover. Grogu began to calm down. Still shaking and sniffling, but calmer. They sat together in a small group until the suns began to warm the air.

“C’mere,” Cobb murmured.

Grogu was hesitant to let go of Din. Even for Cobb. But the baby looked at Cobb, then made a soft noise and looked up at Din. Din smiled and nodded, and finally Grogu let go, reaching out for Cobb. Cobb took him with ease and the kid burrowed against his shoulder with claws digging into Cobb’s shirt.

“I’ve got you, too.” Cobb stroked his fingers over Grogu’s head. “I’m just as scary as your Daddy, huh?”

Grogu settled against Cobb with his face nuzzled into Cobb’s collar. Din managed a smile, but it faded. The vision left him more shaken than he wanted to admit. He didn’t want to be back there, either. He didn’t want to think of being on that cruiser, held in place by a Dark Trooper and—

“Hey.” Cobb tugged him in close. Din slumped into him. “I know. It hurts you, too.”

Din drew in a breath. “I couldn’t protect him. I couldn’t—“

“You’re the reason he’s safe now.” Cobb reached for his hand. “The reason you’re both here. With me. Exactly where you should be.”

Din drew in a breath. He looked up at Cobb, who cupped his cheek before pressing into a soft kiss. Din shut his eyes and leaned in, for a moment letting himself melt into the kiss, until Cobb parted. He pressed another to Din’s forehead. And when Grogu let out a whine, Cobb chuckled and pressed one to the top of his head, too. “Not forgettin’ you.”

“Thanks,” Din whispered.

Cobb stole another kiss, this one quicker, before he began to get up. “Nothin’ chases bad dreams away like some good breakfast, kid,” he said. “If you learn anything from me, it should be that.”

Din smiled as he watched them leave. The kid gave a happier squeak, beginning to babble, and they disappeared from the bedroom and into the kitchen. For a moment Din sat alone in bed and listened as Cobb started breakfast. Their same routine, seamlessly adjusting to Grogu’s nightmare, continued on.

He wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.

As delicious spiced scents began to waft in, Din got up to join the rest of his clan.

Chapter Text

“Shit! Shit, shit--”

“Breathe--”

“Really!”

Din hid a chuckle beneath his breath, but the look of pain on Cobb’s face was sobering. Din turned his gaze back to the man’s ankle. They’d managed to get his boot off, but it wasn’t particularly pretty beneath -- just as rough as the landing. Cobb grimaced, then let out a sound like a Massiff’s whimper as Din gently probed at it.

“Din!”

“Looks broken.” Din reached back to his belt pouch. The bandage wrap was small, more for emergencies, and he carefully lifted Cobb’s ankle to start wrapping it. Cobb let out another whimper, lying back on the sand as he grimaced in pain. “But maybe a bad sprain. I told you to slow down.”

“I’ve landed that before.”

“Well. You’re old, now.”

“Fuck you,” Cobb grumbled.

Din rolled his eyes, though there was nothing but affection behind the gesture. With pressure on the joint, Din grabbed the marshal’s boot and handed it to him. “I’ll carry you back to the speeders,” he said. “Think you can hold on?”

“... Yeah. I’m good.”

Din nodded. As Cobb gripped his boot with one hand, he lifted his arms, and Din slipped his arms beneath Cobb. The man was heavy. But Cobb grabbed on tight to him, leaning his cheek into Din’s shoulder, and Din steeled himself against the weight.

Got you.

The flight back to the speeders was short, but by the time they landed, Din was relieved to put Cobb back on the ground. Cobb still held on for balance, injured ankle held delicately off the ground, and Din walked him towards his own speeder. “Tether ‘em,” Cobb muttered as he sat in the backseat, and Din nodded. From his speeder bag, Grogu let out a coo, ears perked and staring at Cobb.

“No one in town who handles breaks?” Din asked, walking to Cobb’s speeder.

“Not… well,” Cobb said. “We just let things heal.”

“That won’t heal right on its own. We’ll go to Mos Eisley and find someone to set it.”

“Tomorrow,” Cobb said, breathiness in his voice. As Din walked back with the speeder, Cobb looked exhausted, and looked at Din with an almost pleading expression. “I can handle this for the night.”

Din paused. Better to get it seen and corrected before it began healing wrong. But they’d been out on patrol all day, and weariness sat in his own bones as well. A trip to Mos Eisley was more than a day of travel just getting there. Cobb looked as though he’d rather do anything else.

“... Tomorrow,” he said. “But you’ll have to ice it, keep the swelling down.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cobb cracked a smile and Din rolled his eyes. He walked back to the speeder and clicked on the tether, then climbed into the front seat. Cobb shifted with him and arms slid around his waist. As Din turned the speeder’s engine on, arms tightened around his waist, and then lips pressed to his neck -- the only sliver of skin available.

“My hero.”

Din rolled his eyes. He turned and gave Cobb a light elbow. But Cobb only let out a breathy chuckle and held on tighter. As they shot off, Cobb stayed a warm weight at his back.

They chipped off the ice from a block, then it was quickly stored away again. Cobb winced as Din laid the ice over his ankle but then relaxed, leg propped up on pillows. “Thanks,” he whispered.

“Inhibitors should work soon.”

“They are.”

Din sank onto the bed beside Cobb, letting out a deep breath. He turned and pressed his face into Cobb’s shoulder, earning an amused breath and fingers digging into his hair. “What, are you tired?” Cobb said, leaning his cheek onto Din’s head. “Can’t imagine why.”

Din let out a breath. He looked up at Cobb, who smiled, then pushed up into a light kiss. Cobb gave it. Din pushed up onto his hands, overtop of Cobb, and kissed him again and a third time. It stayed light and chaste until Cobb wrapped an arm around Din’s back and tugged him down.

“Y’know how lucky I am,” Cobb mumbled against Din’s jaw. Their cheeks brushed together, both with scratchy stubble. “Love you. Dunno how to be without you anymore.”

Din let out a quiet breath. “Maybe don’t rush a landing and break your ankle,” he said.

Cobb laughed. He relaxed completely beneath Din, and Din was content to lay on top of him diagonally. They laid in silence as Grogu played quietly on the floor, soon a small thud as he dropped his toy. “Aba!” he shrieked, and little footsteps wandered towards the bed. “Aba. Patu.”

Din looked up. Cobb still held on tight to him until Din began to pull away. “You want up?” he said, looking over the edge at Grogu, and the kid whined. “Sure.”

As Grogu was lifted up onto the bed, he came straight to their side, settling himself at Cobb’s ribs. While Cobb kept Din close, he made sure to stroke Grogu’s ears, earning a sound almost like a purr.

“Love the both of you,” Cobb muttered.

Din raised his eyebrows. “I’m wondering how strong those pain inhibitors were.”

“I have to be high to appreciate you?”

“Like this, yes.”

Cobb rolled his eyes. Din just smiled and settled on top of him, more to his side, and Cobb let out a quiet breath. They looked at each other again and traded another kiss. Grogu squeaked, climbing up between them, and Din pulled him close before snuggling against Cobb.

“We’ll fix you tomorrow,” he muttered.

“Mhm.”

Din let his eyes flutter shut.

In the morning, the ankle was… fine. Stiff, but in the morning, Din woke to Cobb’s shaking. Cobb stood beside the bed, eyebrows furrowed, standing perfectly fine on both feet.

“What happened?”

“... You healed,” Din said.

“But it was broken. You saw it!”

Din looked down at his feet and then up. The creeping suspicion came immediately, further along with Grogu’s sudden coo from the other side of the bed. Din rolled over to look at him, and then back at Cobb. Din pursed his lips and thought of the healing powers Din had never… exactly mentioned.

“Maybe we were just seeing things,” he said.

“No, you--” Cobb stared at him, then looked at Grogu. He let out a sigh and stepped away from the bed. “Not gonna question it,” he sighed, and Grogu let out a happy trill. Din smiled.

“Good job, kid,” he whispered. Grogu reached out to pat at his face.