Work Text:
Mr. Din visits him every day.
He’s really nice. And his hands are warm. He always holds his hand when they go to the playground behind the home. He always makes sure Grogu gets a turn on the swings.
The big kids don’t like him. They push him off the slides and the monkey bars and the swings, but Mr. Din got very angry and told the big kids that he would know if someone pushed Grogu again and that he would get even madder and tell on them. The big kids leave him alone after that, so he can play by himself even when Mr. Din is not there.
Mr. Din brings a new stuffie every week. Grogu’s little bed has a little family now. A pig, a horse, five bears, a llama, a goat. Grogu tucks them in together to keep them warm, and then cuddles next to them, burying his nose in the soft play fur. They smell like Mr. Din. Something oaky. It makes Grogu’s nose feel funny and it makes his tummy hurt because it makes him miss Mr. Din.
His favorite one is a stuffed frog with a lily pad underneath. He can’t go anywhere without it. It’s his best friend and when he has bad dreams and wakes up crying, he remembers Mr. Din giving him the froggy and he tells the froggy in half-syllables how much he wishes Mr. Din was his dad.
People like Mr. Din visit every day, but they never adopt kids like Grogu. They call him “mute” but that makes him feel like the broken tv in the play room.
Grogu tries but he can’t talk. He doesn’t know how to say the words. They feel like globs of oatmeal in his cheeks. His lips won’t behave and then he starts crying because he knows what they’re saying to him. He knows they’re talking and he wants to talk back but he just can’t. So he cries and hides under his bed when the Mean Man comes in to teach him.
Mr. Din tried the first couple days to get Grogu to talk but he wasn’t mean. So Grogu just played with the blocks the Nice Lady gave him and Mr. Din knew the story of the green block and the black block trying to find their way out of a maze so they could go home, and Grogu was very excited and jumped up and down and clapped his hands. Mr. Din told him how proud he was of him and that he was so smart and so good. He had never been called good before and it made him cry but not in a bad way. But Mr. Din still picked him up and told him funny stories and tickled him until he laughed and he felt all fuzzy and warm and happy and safe. No one made Grogu feel as safe or happy as Mr. Din.
~~~~~
Grogu turns 4 years old today and he’s so excited he can’t sit still. He’s by the window, like every day, waiting for Mr. Din.
Mr. Din said yesterday he has a big surprise for Grogu today and Grogu believes him because he’s always told Grogu the truth. He gave Grogu a hug yesterday too and Grogu started crying and wouldn’t let go when Mr. Din told him he had to go and that he’d be back tomorrow.
So Grogu is sitting on his favorite green chair. It’s green like his froggy, which he squeezes in his arms as he watches cars go by the home.
Grogu hates trying to tell time so he doesn’t look at the clock but he knows by the light outside that Mr. Din should be here by now.
He starts crying and hides in his froggy. Mr. Din isn’t coming today. He gave up on Grogu just like his first family. They took him and didn’t want him so they sent him back and now all he wants is Mr. Din to take him home but Mr. Din isn’t here now and he doesn’t know if he’ll ever feel better again.
“Hey buddy, you okay? Those mean kids again?”
Grogu’s head flies up and he sees Mr. Din kneeling in front of him and he throws his little arms around him and hides in his chest and cries and cries and cries, trying to talk and tell him how scared he was and how much he missed him and how badly he wants to call him his dad.
“I think he was afraid you weren’t coming today,” the Nice Lady says from behind Mr. Din.
Mr. Din looks upset and he strokes his hand through Grogu’s hair.
“I’m so sorry, bud, it took me a little longer to get your surprise than I thought it would!”
Grogu nods but he can’t stop sniveling. He cuddles back into Mr. Din’s shoulder and only moves when Mr. Din hands him his froggy, which he hugs desperately.
Mr. Din brushes the wet bangs out of Grogu’s eyes and says, “Do you wanna see your surprise?”
Grogu takes a deep shaking breath and nods again, cuddling closer as Mr. Din picks him up and carries him, and the Nice Lady follows them.
He hasn’t been in this room before—it’s big with blue walls with a long table and big chairs. There are papers on the table and on the table by the papers is a fish tank like the one the Nice Lady has in her office but smaller.
Grogu prattles and reaches his free hand out and wriggles in Mr. Din’s arms and squeals with excitement when he sees a frog in a tiny rock pond inside the tank.
“That’s right, buddy, this is for your birthday! Do you like it?”
Mr. Din is smiling but he looks nervous and Grogu doesn’t want him to feel nervous so he pats him on both cheeks and prattles again. He’s happy and he wants Mr. Din to be happy too so he talks in the syllables he can and tugs on Mr. Din’s arm and points at the fish tank and giggles as the frog inside hops from one little rock to another over his little water pond.
“I’m so glad you like it,” Mr. Din says.
He scoops Grogu up into a chair by his chair and Grogu swings his feet back and forth, watching the frog and Mr. Din. He’s never been this happy.
“Hey buddy, can you look over here for a second?”
Grogu grins and nods and waves at him.
Mr. Din smiles.
He’s in a suit today. Grogu likes the hoodies he wears on regular days but the bright green tie with a gray jacket looks nice, too. He tugs on the tie and Mr. Din and the Nice Lady chuckle.
“You like my tie? I wore it because today is special.”
Mr. Din scoots forward and takes Grogu’s hands and Grogu fiddles with the hair on his knuckles.
“Grogu, I’m going to ask you something very important, okay?” Mr. Din says.
He nods very seriously.
“I would like to adopt you, and be your dad. You would get to come home with me and we would be a little family, if you wanted.” Mr. Din stops and squeezes Grogu’s hands again. “Would you like to be my family?”
Grogu squeals at the top of his lungs and runs down the hallway to his room, grabbing as many stuffies as he can and piling them on the table, not stopping until they’re all there together. Then he grabs his backpack and his green coat and his legos and puts them on the table, too, and pulls out the black lego and the green lego and sets them in front of Mr. Din. Then he bounces on his feet and holds his arms up and prattles gleefully.
Mr. Din is crying and smiling and chuckles as he picks him up. “I guess that’s a yes, huh, buddy?”
Grogu nods and starts crying, sniffling and shaking as he hides in Mr. Din’s neck.
The Nice Lady wipes tears off her cheeks and stands from her chair and pats Grogu on the shoulder.
“He’s been here so long…I’m so glad you both found each other.”
Grogu kisses Mr. Din’s cheek and plays with his mustache and scratchy cheeks and giggles and squeals when Mr. Din blows raspberries.
“I just gotta sign these papers, buddy, and then we’ll go home. Sound good?”
Grogu nods and grabs his froggy and hides back in Mr. Din’s neck. Mr. Din’s arms are so nice and warm and safe and strong. He knows he’s going home and he’s so happy because he knows Mr. Din loves him and he loves Mr. Din, too.
~~~~
Grogu loves his car seat—it’s bright green and has froggy stickers on the sides. Mr. Din smiles at him as he buckled him in and Grogu waves and claps his hands.
“Are you excited to see your room, bud?”
Grogu nods and bounces his froggy up and down and chatters happily. Mr. Din chuckles and nods, replying to Grogu and Mr. Din can actually understand him! Maybe Mr. Din is actually his daddy. They just got lost and they were back together and everything was going to be good and happy.
Mr. Din talks to him the whole drive home and buys them chocolate ice cream cones and laughs when Grogu gets it all over his nose and mouth and chin. He parks in a driveway in front of a blue house and Grogu wriggles and whines and claps his hands.
Mr. Din wipes off the ice cream and laughs as he unbuckles him and holds him against his chest.
“Welcome home, Grogu,” Mr. Din says as he sniffles and wipes his hand over his eyes.
Grogu holds his froggy stuffy by one hand and sucks on his thumb with the other and smells that oaky smell again from Mr. Din’s clothes and doesn’t want to cry anymore because he’s home now and Mr. Din will always be there with him.
~~~~~
Mr. Din tucks the frog blanket up to his chin and smiles.
“Is the bed comfy?”
Grogu nods, squirming around happily and Mr. Din laughs.
“Do you want some water?”
Grogu nods and sits up as Mr. Din takes the small green cup with a straw and helps Grogu sip from it.
Mr. Din smiles and sets the cup down and pats Froggy’s head and then Grogu’s head.
“My room is right there—“ Mr. Din points across Grogu’s bed to a door that’s open with a lamp turned on inside. “Can you see it?”
Grogu nods and sucks on his thumb and Mr. Din’s eyes get shiny as he smiles.
“I will keep that door open and you can call for me or come in if you need to, at any time, okay?”
Mr. Din is holding Grogu’s hands again and Grogu smiles and nods and squeezes his hands.
“Goodnight, buddy,” Mr. Din says. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
Grogu yawns and his eyes close as he falls asleep, smiling into Froggy’s cheek.