Chapter Text
Din bit back a sigh and just rolled his eyes, refusing to get riled even though the car ahead of him sporting California plates just pulled the mother of all stupid moves, careening across three lanes of heavy traffic to make a left turn.
He gently eased up on the gas of his very old Camry. Sure, it didn’t come with USB ports, back up cameras or a screen but he believed in buying quality things then maintaining them for years. His only frivolous upgrade to it was a chrome paint job and the vanity plate proclaiming BESKAR, which he thought was kind of funny. He patted the dashboard in case it thought he was being disloyal.
The afternoon traffic towards the Strip was worse than usual and Din hoped he wouldn’t be late to work since this was his first day back in a week. He was good at being spatially alert though, letting one part of his mind drift anxiously to his son - now in every way his. This was the first time the kid would be with the babysitter so long and well, he hated leaving him.
After spending the week finalizing his adoption of his kid, Din was getting out the kinks of his schedule to balance work and life with a young child. A wonderful thing about this job besides his co-workers were the hours- generally 4pm to 9 Tuesday through Thursdays and Sundays then two shows on Friday and Saturday that got him home right around midnight. Din could easily take his kid to school and pick him up and if he was a little short of sleep sometimes, well, it was all worth it.
He worried though. There had been some close calls with attempted grabs and some rich asshole insisting that Grogu was better off with them. It still gave Din nightmares. But the crew would want to hear all the good news and he’d missed them. He felt so incredibly lucky to have caring people in his life, he wasn’t used to that. Turning off Sahara, he started the back streets to the Strip, his a/c pleasantly chilling the car even though his temperature gauge outside read 116 degrees. Before he knew it, he had pulled up to employee parking for the Roxy Showroom.
“Din!’ Several people hollered at him as he went to clock in. He waved, motioning checking in with the boss. Someone called out, “How’d the adoption go!”
“All good, he’s mine now.” He heard a big cheer from the break room.
Greef Karga was in his very messy office, searching for something on his desk, the top of which could not be seen for all the paperwork. “Glad to see you back, Din,” he said with easy familiarity.
Din owed Karga a lot. Years ago when he first moved to Vegas, he was a rookie on so many levels in America and had fallen in working for some very nasty people. Fresh from New Zealand, he’d floundered a bit but Karga had sensed what kind of man he really was and helped him escape that organization. Din now worked security both at the Roxy and occasionally at the Karga’s Razor nightclub, and was grateful every day for the man giving him a chance.
Karga gave up looking for his paper to shake Din’s hand. “Everything go okay with the kid?” He looked at Din hard in the face, knowing there was some issue of a competing adopter.
“Yes, it all went well. The Gideons did show up to court but my lawyer made such a great case for me, the judge hardly looked at them.”
Din remembered feeling sick that someone with a lot more money could possibly swoop in and take Grogu away. He was very lucky his lawyer Mrs Peli knew a few tricks of her own.
“Well, everything is about the same here, just a few small changes,” Karga smirked, knowing Din was a man of few words.
“Thanks, Greef, I just wanted to check in with you.” He gave the man a soft smile. Din was down the hall when he heard Karga yell, “And don’t let those kids try and sneak in the dressing room!” Then something about respect for women but Din missed that last part.
He had barely reached backstage when Cara grabbed him. “DIN!” she yelled, gripping his muscled bicep through his black t shirt. “It’s good to see you! Just WAIT til you catch the new act,” she was practically tripping over his long legs as he strode down the hall, “he’s amazing and totally your type,” she added, leering up at him.
Din looked at his friend suspiciously, eyeing her camo vest and new tat on her arm. “I don’t have a type, and I just adopted a kid, I don’t have time for anything else right now.”
“Oh no, just wait, and I have a bet with…”
“Cara, please don’t tell me you’re betting on my non existent love life.”
“Oh, but this is such easy money…” she grinned and let him go on to check the rest of the cast.
He poked his head in the dressing room to see several girls doing their makeup and his pal Fennec stretching in the corner. “Hi Din!” they all whooped, making him flush with appreciation.
Fennec sauntered over, looking him up and down. “You got the kid?”
He nodded, a grin splitting his face. She relaxed just a hair, barely letting a tiny smile show.
“Cara already tell you?” she asked lazily.
“If it was about some new act, yes, she did,” he informed her.
“Kriff, I hope I don’t lose but his act is…karking fantastic,” she admitted grudgingly.
“Okay, okay, I will make sure I catch it tonight,” he offered, hands up in surrender.
Fennec threw him an odd look over her shoulder as she went to change and grab her fans. Her “Mystery of the East” act was one of the first to perform.
He liked Fennec, she was a little intense and a good friend but when she was in cahoots with Cara she was terrifying.
After checking in all the talent, he reported to Cara that everyone was accounted for, no last minute problems to worry about.
She slugged his arm with her clipboard.
“Glad you’re back, Din. We all just wanted everything with your kid to go okay.” She smiled at him, and Din gave her a grateful look. She was almost his oldest friend in America, after all.
“Thanks, Cara.”
She then spoiled the whole thing by winking at him ferociously, saying “Just. You. Wait,” then moved down the hall, shaking her ass and snickering with laughter.
Din sighed and went over to check the doors, keeping sneaky kids from trying to ogle the dancers til showtime.
~~<<o0o>>~~
The theatre smelled of old cigarettes, perfume and whatever was ground into the carpet for over three decades. The Roxy wasn’t a fancy hotel showroom, but it had been doing Vegas style shows since the 60’s. Not everyone wanted to see eight versions of an acrobatic hi tech extravaganza, and they managed to sell a decent amount of seats, especially those who wanted a retro Vegas vibe.
Din had positioned himself in the tech booth in the ceiling above the audience, keeping Cobb company as he ran the lights and sound.
“Hey, Din,” Cobb glanced over. “Everything good with the kid?”
Din nodded, appreciating again his friendships at work.
“Yeah, the little womp rat is all mine now,” he said fervently, keeping a close eye on the exits below. Sometimes savvy local kids got into shows by getting in through the exit doors.
“Here we go,” Cobb turned off the house lights and brought up the music. It swelled with the echoes of the Far East, haunting and hypnotic. A spotlight shone down and there was Fennec, all dressed in feathers and straps as someone’s idea of a fantasy Geisha/hot Asian Babe, and her act began. Din thought Fennec had said she was from LA, but she could certainly sell this role.
He had seen it a million times, and let his mind wander to his son. Since he worked nights, he needed a late night sitter. Thank the Force he found Ahsoka Tano, a law student who was perfectly willing to give up her evenings to babysit and study. Smart as a whip and very dependable, it made his life so much easier knowing she was there. Grogu was special, in that he had abilities that could make him a target, as Din had found out several times. He never left him except with those he was exceptionally sure of. There were some scary close calls when Din first found him, and he swore with his life to keep him safe.
Fennec was making her way off stage, and Cobb said, “Have you heard about this new guy’s show?”
Din quickly flinched, checking if he was serious.
“Why, have you got a stake in the bet?” he asked, a little snarky.
Cobb shot him a look of surprise. “No, it’s just a really great act, and wait, what? There’s a betting pool somewhere here?”
“Never mind,” Din said shortly, glad at least one person wasn’t totally overstepping into his personal relationships or lack thereof.
“I gotta hang out downstairs more,” Cobb deadpanned, turning away for a last minute check of his board.
He got back to work, manipulating the sliders, and through the dark of the theatre a lone spotlight shone on an…angel? Wafting down on large glossy white wings was a young man, golden hair glowing in the lights. His head was bowed as if in contemplation, and as he reached the stage floor, he raised his eyes and Din felt a punch in the gut. Nothing human should have eyes like that, they reached out across the entire length of the showroom and seemed to zero in on him in particular.
He must have gasped, because Cobb chuckled and said, “See? Some act.”
“He’s got a harness? I don’t see it.” Din choked out, but what he really meant was I am so karked. “No, wait, tell me later.”
He had a really strange feeling in the back of his head, more like a memory but he needed to do some checking first. And his family should be told.
The Magician, it turned out, was beyond amazing. His black evening jacket was covered in rhinestones that competed with his aura of…radiance? Din had never seen a person emanate such light from their skin…and hair…and eyes.
The man (Din would eat his shirt if he was older than 25) had the consummate persona for his audience. He was by turns bashful, clever and skilled, acting surprised when a trick went off perfectly, but then smiling like the audience was in on a joke when the next trick was incredible. His finale was a deck of cards swooping and flying like birds, and the audience would yell out cards which he would pluck from the air. He chided the few dicks in the audience who thought to trick him but in such a playful manner, no feelings were hurt.
It was honestly the most professional show Din had ever seen. Kriff.
The magician left to overwhelming applause and Din turned to Cobb. “How-did-he-get-down,” he gritted out.
Cobb said slowly, “No, there’s no harness, he’s actually…” Din stopped him right there.
“Flying? No kriffin way. And the cards?”
Cobb started looking sorry for Din, but he said, “Uh, flying wings, yes, cards flying…yes.”
Din just sat there, thinking he’s a karking JETII, and wondering how he could get through the night without talking to Cara or Fennec.
Using some of his previously learned skills in evading and disappearing, Din managed to stay under the radar, (no small feat as he heard Cara yelling for him all over) til around eleven after the second show. He needed to keep out of their way until he could think things through, so he put it from his mind and the rest of the evening passed without any incidents. In his book, that counted as a win for a first day back to work.
~~<<o0o>>~~
His keys rattled in the little tray near the door. “Ahsoka?” She came out of the living room, smiling serenely at him. “Everything’s fine, Grogu’s asleep.
He’s a great kid, I’m so happy it’s all finalized for you.”
“Thanks, Ahsoka, I really appreciate it.” He followed her to the kitchen to gather her things. “Uh, if you don’t mind coming a half hour earlier tomorrow?”
“Sure, you know me, I live to study so it’s no problem at all.” She shouldered her enormous backpack and gave him a quick smile.
He walked her to the door, “Then, thanks again, drive safe.” She saluted him and he watched as she walked to her car.
He went to check on Grogu, and kissed the boy’s temple as he slept. His own son. It broke his heart to think of the trauma the boy had suffered before Din found him, kept in a locked room like a prisoner. His guardians had been afraid of the child and his telekinetic abilities, so they merely hid him away with barely enough food and definitely no love. Grogu was almost non verbal by the time Din had come upon him, his scrawny arms clutched around Din’s neck. The strides the child had made since then were amazing, but Din knew his kid was a survivor and he loved him more than life.
Softly closing the door, He made a quick calculation and figured it was almost 8pm the next day in Auckland. Time to make a call to family.
“Din? Everything okay?” The familiar voice rasped across continents.
“Boba, hey. Um, yeah, I hope. I think I found a…jetii.”
Boba made a choking sound and Din could hear him thinking out loud.
“Is he dangerous? Has he tried to get to Grogu?”
Din sighed, hoping he wouldn’t have to move and change Grogu’s school.
“No, I just saw him today for the first time. He…works where I do. As a Magician.” He saw just how unlikely a coincidence this was and mentally face palmed.
Boba growled. “He works at the Roxy?” His incredulity almost burning the airwaves. “Din, you wanna send Grogu over here, we can protect him, he’ll-“
Din cut him off. “No, Boba, but thank you. We just got through the court case and I don’t want to change our routine yet. I haven’t even spoken to the guy, but just wanted to let you know.” He knew what Boba’s next words would be.
“Alright, Din, but you know the Jetii’se, if they found out about Grogu, they might steal…” He didn’t even bother to finish another of his recurring warnings.
Din slowly rubbed his face, and said. “I know, Boba. I know.”