Work Text:
His name was Din Djarin. His name was Din Djarin.
He had to keep repeating that to himself, no matter how strange it felt. He hadn’t been Din Djarin since the Mandalorians saved him. He hasn’t expected to ever be that person again. But he’d taken his helmet off, others had seen his face, and he was the Mandalorian no more.
Not that he regretted it. How could he, when it meant Grogu was out there, safe and alive? Perhaps he could have lied, gone along with the kindness Mayfeld had tried to show him and pretend it never happened, but that hadn’t felt right. Besides, he had so little to give, and he so desperately wanted to give something to Grogu if that was to be the last time he ever saw him. Of course he took the helmet off for him.
But sometimes, it felt like he’d lost everything. His very identity had been stripped away. It was at times like this, when he could feel the space between the stars, when the blackness was all there was and the loneliness felt like it was crushing him, that he repeated it to himself again. He was Din Djarn, and there was no going back. He’d known there was no going back from the moment he’d laid eyes on Grogu. The child.
His foundling.
He’d lived alone for so long, but he hadn’t known true loneliness until they’d been separated. He knew, deep down, that he was far from alone. Because of Grogu, he’d changed so much, had made connections, people he called friends. He hadn’t known how to do that, before; hadn’t known he’d needed it so desperately. He’d see them all again, even Grogu. There was nothing to mourn, really.
But, right now, he only had the comfort of his name, of the person he’d become, and the memories he’d shared with people precious to him. There was a deep sorrow in the name, just as much as there was joy, and he’d carry them both, because it was worth it.
He was Din Djarin, and he wasn’t alone, no matter how much he felt it in this moment. He would get through, like he always did. After all, he had things to protect, people to protect, and the future didn’t seem so scary, so empty, anymore.
He was Din Djarin, and he wouldn’t always feel this way. He had so much love to give, love he’d learned from his foundling, and from his friends.
His name was Din Djarin, and, for the first time in his life that he could remember, he felt truly loved.