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Din sighs as he looks over your shoulder at the datapad in your hand. “I didn’t realize cooking would take as much effort as a job,” he confesses, his modulated voice laced with amusement. He points at the vidscreen. “That’s a long list.”
“What you put into it is what you get out of it,” you insist. You gesture to the cabin from where you stand in the threshold. “I’m not letting our first meal in this home be mediocre.” You give his armored shoulder a playful nudge. “And I know you love a good side quest.”
Din tilts his helmet at you. “Only with a good partner by my side.” He sets a gloved hand upon your back. “Come on, riduur . The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back.”
Grogu’s pod floats at Din’s other side as he starts to lead the way into town. You glance at him with an eyebrow raised. “Are you becoming a homebody already?”
Din shrugs, his fingers giving your back a thoughtful tap. “We’ve been traveling the galaxy for many years.” He swings his helmet to look at you. “A night of rest sounds pretty tempting after that.”
“Well, this shouldn’t take too long.” You look over the list of ingredients on your datapad again. “You’re a bounty hunter, after all. Just pretend everything on this list is a quarry you have to find.”
Din huffs at your words. “Like I said before.” He gestures with his helmet to your datapad. “It’s a job.”
You lean close to his visor. “With a delicious payout.” You tuck your datapad on your belt and take his hand from your back, lacing his gloved fingers with yours. “If you cook as well as you make an argument, this will be the best meal of your life.”
Din chuckles at that and gives your arms an embarrassed swing. You laugh and bring yourself closer to his side as you continue closing the distance towards the heart of Nevarro.
It’s easy for Din to navigate the bazaar, even after all this time. He’d spent many years on planet before your travels together began, and despite how much it’s changed since then, Din seems confident in the way he strides towards the merchant’s booths. You release his hand to take the empty knapsack off your shoulder and hold it towards him. “Do you mind helping me collect our items?”
“Sure.” Din nods and takes the knapsack from you, holding it between his gloved hands as you reach for your datapad and reference your list. “Where are we headed first?”
You show him the list and let him glance over it. “We’ll need to find a butcher, a flora stand, and…” you hesitate as you see more of the random ingredients, “I guess we just need to look everywhere.”
“Sounds like a challenge.” Din tightens his grasp on the knapsack and gives his helmet a quick tilt. “I like it.” He pats your shoulder and looks to the way ahead. “Let’s do it.”
You and Din work together to make your way through the booths and collect the freshest versions of everything you need. The hardest challenge is keeping Grogu from eating both your product and the merchants’, one that Din handles for the most part while he lets you make the selections. For once, credits are easy to come by, thanks to Greef Karga’s generosity. The gratitude of the Nevarro citizens helps when they recognize Din and the role he had to play in saving their city.
The walk back to your cabin is even quicker than before. Din keeps the knapsack slung over one of his shoulders and his hand has found its way into yours again. There’s almost a skip in his step that you can’t help smiling at.
“Someone’s excited to get in the kitchen,” you observe, your fond grin only growing.
“I’m holding on to a bag full of food.” Din lifts his elbow to lightly jostle the knapsack. “I’m just ready to have something other than rations.”
You chuckle and wait for Din to take the keycard from his belt. He unlocks the cabin door and pushes the button to open it for you. With a nod, you thank him and walk inside first, taking a deep breath as you look around the space that’s set to become your home. The door slides closed after Din enters with Grogu’s pod and he stands just behind your shoulder, as if he’s also taking in your surroundings. You look at him and watch as he lifts both hands to remove his helmet, his brown gaze shining as the corners of his lips gently tug up in a small smile.
“I’m… still not used to it,” Din confesses, his natural voice always a welcome surprise. “It’s much different than the tunnels and the Crest .”
You turn to face him and ease the knapsack from his shoulder. “Then let’s start to make it feel more like home.” You press a hand upon Din’s cuirass. “Make yourself comfortable and I’ll get everything prepped. Okay?”
Din nods, his gaze full of wonder as his eyes search yours for a long moment. Your hand rises to the side of his face as you press a kiss upon his cheek, sending him off with a gentle tap against his skin. You hoist the knapsack onto your shoulder and take Grogu out of the pod, setting him down in the living area with the shift knob from the Crest to keep him busy. He coos with delight and begins to entertain himself, allowing you to focus on preparing the kitchen.
Greef had been kind enough to make sure the cabin was fully furnished, and that included supplies for cooking. You smile to yourself in gratitude as you set the recipe on the datapad in front of you and take out whatever you need. The ingredients are arranged in a way that makes sense, especially for someone as organizational as Din. You pause to check on Grogu every once in a while, watching as he plays catch with himself using his powers.
Din catches you in the midst of one of these moments, his presence adding an even warmer glow to the room as you turn your head to look at him. He’s reduced himself to his pants and the black tunic he wears underneath his flight suit, his suspenders hanging loosely at his sides. His attention is focused on Grogu’s play even as he continues making his way towards you.
“It’s good that he knows how to keep himself busy,” Din states, setting his weight on one hip as he reaches your side. You nod, unable to speak thanks to the overwhelming flutters within your chest. He turns to look at you and raises an eyebrow at your silence. “What is it?”
You beam and shake your head. “Nothing.” You focus back on the preparations in front of you. “Okay, the first thing we should do is roast the flora.” You take the bunches of the flora and offer a few to Din. “Can you help me cut these?”
Din nods, though he hesitates before he accepts them. “Wait.” He goes to the water pump and washes off his hands, making you bite back a smile. Din’s always been adamant about his cleanliness, that of himself as well as his weapons and armor. He returns and gently takes the flora from you. Once he sets it down, you offer him a small knife. “How should I cut it?”
“Into small pieces.” You demonstrate a few for him, pausing to make sure he’s gotten it.
Din copies your work and lifts the small piece in his hand for you to see. “Like this?”
You grin and nod at him. “Perfect.” You turn your focus back to the flora and speak as you work. “You’re well on your way to becoming an expert.”
Din scoffs. “This is just the first step, cyar’ika .” He adds his pieces to the place where you’ve been setting your own. “You’re being too kind.”
You release a soft laugh. “All I’m saying is that a lot of cooking is cutting things.” You gesture with your knife to his work. “And you’ve got that down pat.”
“With all of my vibroblade training, you’d hope I would.”
You give his shoulder a gentle nudge and giggle when he gives you one in return. You finish right before Din does, though he takes his last piece and walks away with it. Your brow furrows as you watch Din bring it over to Grogu, offering it to the little one with a small smile. Grogu coos in gratitude and eats it as if he’s never had a meal before. Din stands from where he’d been kneeling and returns to you.
“The flora has been Grogu approved.” Din brushes his hands together and sets them on his hips. “What’s next?”
You turn to the datapad with an amused smile. “An efficient and eager learner.” You steal a quick look at him. “Your metrics in the kitchen are panning out to be quite high.”
Din’s face turns the slightest shade of pink and he shrugs. You take a vial of oil and offer it to him. He accepts it, though his gaze never leaves you as he awaits his instructions.
“Drizzle this over the flora.” Din nods and opens the vial. “It’ll be ready to roast once we toss it.”
Din pours some of the oil out and stops abruptly. He turns to look at you. “Was that too much?”
You shake your head. “No, no. That’s fine.”
Din closes the vial and sets it down. “It came out faster than I expected.”
“That can tend to happen.” You reach your hands forward to toss the flora in the oil. Once it’s all covered, you gesture to the fireplace and spit. “Can you get a fire going so we can roast it while I wash my hands off?”
Din nods and disappears from the kitchen for a moment. You watch in confusion until he returns with his vambrace on. You can’t help chuckling when he bends down to the tinder and gently engages his flamethrower, getting the small fire started in no time. He stops as he walks by you washing your hands off. “Is ‘use what you’ve got’ a rule of the kitchen?” He gestures to the vambrace on his arm.
You grin at him. “It absolutely is.”
Din returns your smile before he leaves to set his vambrace back in the bedroom. He comes back and exhales, rolling up his sleeves. “The warmth of that fire works quickly.”
“That’s why we’ve got to do the same.” You take a protective glove and use it to set the flora and its container on top of the spit. “The flora will roast fast, and when it’s halfway done, we’ve got to add this tip-yip.”
“Understood.” Din gestures to the meat you’ve already set out. “What can I do?”
You take one of the two pieces of tip-yip and hand it to him. “Can you guess?”
Din chuckles and raises his knife. “Cut it into small pieces?”
You nod and lean closer to him. “You’re catching on.” You give his cheek a kiss and watch as it burns a deeper red this time. “They don’t have to be too small, though.” You demonstrate one strip for him. “Like this.”
Din nods and once again tries to mirror your work. “Is there something else to do with it after?” Din steals a quick glance at you. “At the covert, we just used to throw it on a spit and call it a day.”
“I figured as much, and that’s okay, too.” You point with your knife to a collection of herbs. “Your covert eats for health and nourishment, but we’re cooking mostly for flavor. We’re gonna use that to season it.”
“That sounds nice.” Din’s voice is only slightly strained as he goes on. “I think… my parents used to do that, too.”
You stop what you’re doing and set your full attention on him. His brow is slightly knit as he continues cutting the tip-yip, though he’s quick to finish and return your gaze. He catches your concern and offers a reassuring nod as he sits his hand over one of yours.
“Don’t worry. It’s a good thing.”
You smile and return his nod, exhaling a soft breath as you finish with your piece. You reach for the herbs and other seasonings and set them between you and Din. “All it needs is a few sprinkles of all of these.”
As you finish each one, you hand it off to Din, letting him do the same to his share. Once it’s all distributed, you toss it just as you had with the flora. You take a moment to look at Grogu as you work, though he’s still busying himself with the shifter knob that he tosses into the air over and over again.
“Now that it’s all combined,” you start, taking both your share as well as Din’s and adding it to a transfer plate, “we can add it to the flora. But first…” You trail off, lifting your season-covered hands for Din to see.
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Din smiles and races you to the water pump. You laugh as you try to push him aside and he chuckles as he does the same to you. He ends up taking your hands and washing them for you, letting you dry them off while he does the same for himself. Din takes the initiative under your lead in wearing the protective glove and transferring the tip-yip over to the roasting flora. “It already smells good.”
You raise your brow as he sets down the plate and the glove. “How good?”
Din tilts his head at you as if he’s still wearing his helmet. “ Really good.”
“Well, you know what?” You step towards him and set your hand on his chest. “It’s gonna taste even better.” You keep your hand where it is as the other reaches around Din and finds the long, metal tongs. “We ought it to keep it from burning, though.” Din huffs and nods in agreement. “Would you like to do the honors?”
Din takes the tongs from you. “I’d be honored.”
You walk with him over to the fire and watch as he gently tosses the roasting food around. “That makes sense for a man as honorable as yourself.”
Din looks at you with an eyebrow raised. “That’s a lot of ‘honors.’”
You chuckle and shrug at him before you cross your arms over your chest. “I mean, I did ask if that was what you wanted.”
Din’s lips start to curl up in a smile as his gaze returns to the food. “I’m trying to focus, cyar’ika .”
“That’s just another rule of cooking.” You come closer to him, hooking a finger on the collar of his tunic to press a soft kiss to the side of his neck. “Multitasking.”
Din’s head whips around to face you, his brown gaze a sweet warning. “I can multitask.” He gives you a once-over. “What you’re trying to do is kill me.”
You laugh, not expecting him to say such a thing. “Din!” You brace yourself against his shoulder. “That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”
Din gestures with his head to the roasting food. “I’m tending to food on an open fire and you’re over here doing…” he hesitates, glancing in Grogu’s direction, “ that .” He turns his attention back to the tip-yip and flora. “You know you’re my biggest threat.”
You smile at him. “Sure.” You step away to begin setting the table while Din finishes cooking the food. Grogu jumps up from where he’s been playing and coos with interest. You give his head a gentle pat. “Would you like to help, Grogu?”
Grogu nods and babbles. You hand him three utensils.
“Set one of these next to every plate.” Grogu nods and follows you around the table. You’ll set down a plate and he’ll put a utensil next to it. Once you’ve both finished, you brush your hand over his head. “Very good. You made it look so nice.”
Grogu lifts his ears in joy at your praise. You leave him to return to Din in the kitchen. He gives you a quick glance. “I think it’s ready,” he informs you.
You observe the tray and nod. “I think you’re right.” You hand him the protective glove. “Can you distribute it to the plates?”
Din nods and slides the glove on. “I’ve got it.” He gestures with his head to the table. “You and Grogu just lay low.”
You beam at him before you obey his soft request. When you reach the table, Grogu points to a specific plate, making you giggle as you sit there. “Thanks for helping me choose.”
Grogu nods and sits by another plate. He leaves one in between you two for Din, a thought that only makes your smile grow. Din remains careful when he joins you and distributes the meal as evenly as he can, knowing full well that Grogu can eat just as much as the two of you—if not more. Once he’s finished, Din sets his supplies down in the kitchen and joins you and Grogu at the table. He glances at his plate in hunger, yet he still nods at you. “It’s time for you to do the honors,” Din insists.
You know better than to argue with him. You take the first bite and smile in pure content. From the flavors to the memory of its preparation, everything about this first meal in your new home is perfect. “I think you’re gonna like it,” you say, gesturing to Din’s plate with your utensil.
Both he and Grogu try it for themselves. Grogu’s ears rise on his head as he goes on to start devouring it while Din gives you an impressed raise of his brow. “ Riduur .” He points at his plate. “You were on to something with this.”
“I told you,” you remind him with a smile. “What you put into it is what you get out of it.”
Din takes another bite and returns your smile. “Then this was a job well done.” He enjoys more of his meal before he goes on. “You were right. The payout is delicious.” Din turns his attention to Grogu. “Isn’t it, buddy?”
Grogu offers a sleepy coo from where he sits with his plate already empty. You laugh as you and Din take your time finishing up your own meals. By the time you’re all set, Grogu’s completely asleep, satisfied with a full stomach and the warmth of the cabin. “I’ll get him to bed,” you assure him as you stand from your seat. “We’ll clean up when I’m done.”
Din nods, giving Grogu’s sleeping head a gentle tap before you carry the little one away to his own room. You tuck him into his pod and give his wrinkly head a soft kiss, imagining the day when you’ve finally gotten him a more comfortable bed of his own to have apart from his pod. You close his door and heave a soft breath as you make your way back to the living area and the kitchen.
You stop short when you see Din’s already cleared the table and is cleaning up on his own.
“Din Djarin,” you scold him, though your lips have already started curling up into yet another grin. Din’s brow furrows as he watches you approach. “I thought I said we’d clean up when I was done!”
“I’ve got it,” Din insists, stepping between you and the dirty dishes. “You planned all of this out and did most of the heavy lifting.” He nods at you. “Let me clean it.”
You narrow your eyes at him. “Fine.” Din slowly turns back to what he was doing, giving you the window to reach for a cloth and try to make a dash for the table. Din’s Mandalorian reflexes are too quick and he captures your waist before you can get anywhere. You squeal with laughter and shock as he pulls you away.
“Come on, Din!” you plead, still laughing as he wrestles with you. “Just let me wipe down the table!”
“No.” Din lifts you and sets you upon the nearest countertop. He lifts a finger to point at you like he often does with Grogu. “Stay here and rest until I’m done.” Still, his chivalry can’t allow him to stop there. “Please.”
You let out a dramatic exhale, despite the way you’re beaming at him. “All right.” You take the cloth and set it over his shoulder. “But only just this once.”
Din starts to smile as he nods at you. “Understood.” He goes back to the washing he was doing and you watch him with fond eyes. He’s already put out the fire, but the ghost of its warm glow remains. This night is just the first of many, whenever you and Din aren’t on a job. It’s a safe place where you can come back to time and time again instead of finding whatever’s available. There’s no need for blasters, armor, or any kind of self-defense. It’s something of your own creation, and tonight, you’ve already started a perfect ritual.
This house has finally become a home.
You wrap your arms around yourself as you keep watching Din move around your home. He takes the cloth from his shoulder and wipes down the table. It’s so inefficient for you to be sitting here, but that’s not the point. Things don’t have to be rushed anymore. They can be comfortable and caring, which is exactly what Din is doing for you.
You lose yourself in these thoughts until Din finishes and approaches you again. His brow is slightly furrowed as he unravels your arms and sets his hands upon your waist. “Are you okay?”
You rest your arms on his shoulders, letting your fingers hang loosely behind his neck. “I’m the best I’ve ever been.”
Din starts to smile at that. “Good.” He leans his forehead against yours, taking a moment to breathe in the moment before he goes on. “Well, we’ve made our meal and we’ve enjoyed it.” He circles his jaw with a raise of his eyebrow. “Do you know what that means?”
You don’t speak, instead letting Din answer his question for himself.
“It’s time for dessert.”
You laugh and Din absorbs it with a long-awaited kiss, one that prepares you for something much more sweet and indulgent than anything you could’ve ever dreamed of whipping up in the kitchen.