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“Grogu, we’ve got to move on.” Another droplet of sweat oozed its way down Din’s back under the layers of armour and clothing as he glanced down at the green creature tucked in his pouch. Still, despite the hint that should be obvious, another teenager still glued to his side, hand extended holding up a phone for a selfie.
Once more, Din turned his visor approximately towards the phone for a pose, then switched to a more straightforward approach: “My time is up. This is the Way.”
The crowd around him lit up in awed smiles, and several of them responded in unison: “This is the Way.”
Din only nodded briefly before turning on his heels and heading for the alley marked in scifi-styled letters: CREW ONLY. This time, everyone let him go, only a few of the phones staying up for filming as he disappeared into the depths of the alley that led straight to the dressing rooms with air conditioning, air conditioning!
Din sighed in greeting to the cool air that hit his face as he took off his helmet. Then, he unshouldered his pouch and placed it gently on the bench, in a position where the little alien leaned comfortably against the backrest. It had become a habit, even though Din had no idea why he would treat a mere plushie with such care. He might as well just let it drop and proceed with taking off his armour faster. The toy was no sentient.
Or was it? The typical reactions of the theme park guests told a different story:
“It’s Mando and the baby!”
“Awwwww, Mando and Grogu!”
“Groguuuuu, so cute!”
“See, Grogu, I brought frog candy!”
“Are you sure you got the baby in the picture?”
They certainly were relating to Grogu like he was a real, green baby. And Din had no idea why. He had not seen any of the movies or TV shows or whatever his and Grogu’s characters were based on. He had just seen the announcement that the theme park was recruiting cast, and since he needed the money, he had sent in an application and auditioned for a character described as a Mandalorian bounty hunter.
After the audition, he had received an enthusiastic call from Greef Karga himself, telling him how excellent his performance had been, how naturally he fit in the role and how excited they were to invite him on board. So here he was, covered in sweat-soaked clothing topped with plastic armour, and featured on probably thousands of camera rolls and Instagram feeds.
To all of his cast, Greef would always highlight how essential it was to stay in character at all times when out in the park. In Din’s case, it meant acting intimidating towards people but gentle towards Grogu, and in his dialogue with the guests, including every once in a while phrases like:
This is the Way.
I like those odds.
I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.
Or: Whenever I go, he goes.
The last one was particularly handy when guests asked to hold the baby for a picture, which Din was strictly forbidden to let them do. Whenever someone asked for that, he was supposed to step back, say that line and subtly tilt his helmet towards the gift shop where the guest could buy their own Grogu plushie to cuddle in as many pictures as the Internet could hold.
Greef had already told him, with a pleased smile plastered over his face, that the sales at the gift shop had gone up ever since he hired Din. So hovering somewhere close to the shop entrance was where Greef mostly encouraged Din to stay while in character. And even though the sun scorched unshadowed in that area, Din did not mind.
He did not mind at all. Because as long as he stayed close enough to the gift shop, he could ever so often take a peek inside, pretending to be tracking a target. And in those moments, Din would sometimes catch a glimpse of him.
Din had never yet found the courage to talk to him directly, only stolen glances through the gift shop or in the staff quarters. According to the tag on his dressing loom locker, his name was Luke Skywalker. When in character behind the shop counter, he was dressed in a black outfit hugging his compact form, topped with a cloak hanging from his shoulders. His face was beautiful and quick to smile, eyes a fresh shade of blue. And from the beginning until the end of his shift, his sandy blond hair stayed glossy and elegantly combed to the side, protected by the gentle air conditioning.
Din startled from his thoughts about Luke when he heard a rustle from behind. He whipped around, and there he was, Luke Skywalker himself, in person. With graceful moves, Luke took off his cloak and hung it on a rack across the room, then took off his black shirt and hung it next to the cloak. That left him in just a plain grey T shirt revealing a very distracting pair of arms. Din fought the urge of putting his helmet back on to give himself the liberty to just stare and feast on the look of Luke’s body. That would have been grossly inappropriate, so he just looked down and pretended to concentrate on fixing something in his helmet.
That was how he missed the sight of Luke turning to smile right at him before heading out towards the staff catering room for lunch break. Relieved by the steps of his crush disappearing, Din took off his boots and the overall holding the plastic pieces of his armour. He had a look in the mirror, at his hopelessly sweaty helmet hair, T shirt and shorts. There was nothing he could do about it now, not while he still had the afternoon to go. So he only took out his crocs from his locker and made his way to the lunch room, taking care to sit on the opposite side of the room where he could see Luke but not risk running into him.
- - - s - - -
She caught Din’s eye immediately as just the kind of optimal target guest that Greef had described: eyes wide and eager smile lighting up as soon as she saw Mando and Grogu. She had even dressed up for the occasion, in an earthy green outfit and a blue and white head piece that descended down in three thick tentacles, probably mimicking some alien species in the theme park’s universe. She was holding hands with another woman who seemed more reserved but who was dressed up no less ambitiously, in armour almost like Din’s but blue-shaded, and her red hair was held back with a headband with tiny stripes of LED lights on the sides.
So just like Din had done countless of times to similar guests, he walked up to the women, stroke his most intimidating pose to tower over the one with the tentacles on her head, placed his hand menacingly over the toy gun (which, according to Greef, should be called a blaster instead) on his hip and said:
“You owe someone important money. Time to go and pay.”
Just like Din had suspected, the woman was immediately in, acting surprised with her mouth agape. Passers-by gathered and leaned curiously in to see what she would say. But instead of the mock panicked pleading and offering him credits, which most of his “targets” reacted with, this woman pointed towards the gift shop and said:
“Actually, Mando, I saw someone with a lot higher bounty in there.”
Confused, Din followed the woman to the shop entrance, where she pointed straight at Luke Skywalker, who was now organising an aisle displaying long, plastic rods that could be lit up in different colours.
“Bring him in, and you won’t only be rich. You’ll be a legend”, the woman said.
“Ahsoka, what are you doing?” her friend or partner whispered, too loud for Din to not overhear.
“Hush, I just want a picture of them together”, responded the woman, apparently called Ahsoka.
“But why?”
“Because I ship them.”
“A Mandalorian and a Jedi?” Ahsoka’s companion tilted her head in suspicion. “But they’re enemies.”
“That’s exactly why I ship them.”
Din had no idea what they were talking about. But for this kind of situations, Greef’s standard instruction was: whenever a guest requests something that isn’t seriously indecent or violent and bears no risk of damaging any theme park property, just stay in your character and go with it - we are here to make their day special.
So Din walked in, all the way to Luke, with Ahsoka on his tail, phone up and recording. For some reason, now that he was in character and with an audience, it was suddenly easy to talk to Luke, easy to lower his hand on his toy blaster and say:
“I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.”
Luke was immediately in, too. He picked up the sample plastic rod from the top of the shelf he was organising, ignited it with a green light and held it dramatically up, tilted towards Din.
“I warn you not to underestimate my powers”, Luke said, earning an enthusiastic gasp from Ahsoka.
It seemed like Luke’s reaction had been just how a character like him would respond to a bounty hunter in the actual universe. The problem was that Din had no idea how he should respond back. Why was Luke pointing at him with a glowing rod?
With the lack of a script, Din decided to trust his gut and what Greef had said when hiring him: he was a natural fit for the role, so following his own instincts would most probably be right for any situation. And right now, his only impulse was to grab the middle of the green, glowing stick, snatch it out of Luke’s hand and drop it back on the shelf with a plastic clank. That threw Luke off enough so that he had a chance to bind his wrists with the plastic cuffs he carried in a side pocket of Grogu’s pouch.
Careful to keep the little one at a safe distance from the target, he cocked his head towards the exit and said: “Move.”
“That’s the last mistake you’ll ever make.” Luke glared at him defiantly but did walk out as instructed.
Side by side, they walked all the way to the model of the Mandalorian’s spaceship. That was the most reasonable place where Din imagined his character would take a caught target, even though he was already panicking about what he would do with Luke inside. The ship model looked big on the outside, but in reality, the part where he could enter was only a tiny compartment right above the boarding ramp, meant for being a personal space for him where to take short breaks to briefly remove his helmet and have a sip of water. Somehow, to finish this scene, they would now have to fit in with Luke - with the unfairly attractive Luke.
He already nudged Luke to step through the gate marked: RAZOR CREST CREW ONLY. But Luke stopped, waved his bound hands sideways through the air and said:
“You will remove these restraints and let me go.”
Din had no idea what Luke was after. Why was he making such a lame try to get free? Deciding to just ignore him, Din opened the gate and pointed authoritatively towards the ship to make his point.
Right then, Ahsoka cleared her throat behind them. She still had her phone up, ready for a picture, standing in the middle of a curious crowd.
“Excuse me, could you still…?” She made a weird-looking gesture with her tentacle-covered head.
The armoured woman exchanged a silent glance with Ahsoka and said: “What she means is: don’t Mandalorians usually stun their prisoners by butting their foreheads together?”
Din stared at her in confusion, long enough for her to elaborate: “You don’t have to do it hard. Just, you know, enough for a picture.”
“Please?” Ahsoka added.
Din came to the conclusion that butting his forehead gently with Luke’s fell into the category of decent, non-violent and non-property-damaging requests that should be fulfilled, so he grabbed Luke’s arms to steady himself and softly tilted his helmet-covered head to touch their foreheads together. Luke met him half-way, and did Din just imagine it or did Luke really take a sharper, shakier inhale when their heads touched?
Ahsoka’s smile was victorious when they pulled apart and Din nodded at the audience before passing through the gate and into the ship with Luke. Right before entering, he could still catch Ahsoka’s excited words as she showed her phone to her companion:
“Bo, I got it, they really kissed! You’re an angel, cyar’ika, I wouldn’t have thought about the stunning.”
Once inside the cool shade of the ship, Din took his helmet off, glad for the gloominess that hopefully covered his blush. There was no space to move without touching Luke, and here they were, stuffed in while guests outside talked about them kissing. Out of instinct, he manoeuvred Grogu’s pouch to a better position on his side to protect the little one from crushing.
“Erh, what did she mean? With the kissing?”
Luke chuckled. “I guess you really haven’t watched any of the movies or shows about this universe?”
“Well, it wasn’t a requirement for the job.”
“I see.” Luke shifted his weight, and the simple movement made their thighs brush together in a way that sent a surge of electricity up Din’s spine. “Maybe that’s the reason why you’re so good at this.”
“Me? But you don’t even see me out on the street.”
“No, but every day people come to the shop and say that they want exactly your plushie or Grogu’s or both, because they saw you two outside and couldn’t resist.” Luke moved again, this time closer, so that Din sensed the warmth of the air carrying his next words: “You’re an excellent actor, Din, fitting right in the universe without even knowing it.”
“So what did she mean with the kissing?” Din asked again, trying not to think too hard about actually kissing Luke now that the distance would easily allow for it.
“The headbutt is not just a fight move. Mandalorians also use it to kiss, when at least one person is wearing a helmet.”
“Oh…”
Luke’s voice dropped quieter. “I can’t say I hadn’t thought about doing it with you.”
For a moment, Din could only stare at what little he could see of Luke in the dark. Did Luke really just say what Din thought he heard? Or was it just his wishful mind playing a trick? There was one way to find out. Din pressed his forehead against Luke’s again, this time skin on skin.
“But you’re not wearing your helmet”, Luke said. “We can…”
Din did not need any more prompting. He tilted his chin forward in search of Luke’s lips, and there they were, meeting his half-way, pressing tight like finally coming home. Din took off his gloves, the only piece of clothing he could easily get rid of in his urge for feeling more of Luke on his skin. He cupped the sides of Luke’s jaw, caressed his neck, buried his hands into Luke’s hair. But soon, he forced himself to let go, back away and take a steadying breath.
“I’m only allowed five-minute breaks here.”
Luke’s breathing was ragged, but he also forced it steady and nodded. “Drinks after work then? What time are you free?”
“Yeah, I’d like that, after five.”
“Good. And in the meanwhile, feel free to bring me in here any time you want. I’m always allowed to take a break for a scene.” Luke kissed him again, but only briefly. “Just next time, don’t grab my lightsaber in your fist. That thing is supposed to cut through right your hand like it was air.”
“Lightsaber?”
“Yeah. You can block it with your vambraces. Those are made of beskar. It’s lightsaber-proof. And if I wave my hand and tell you to do something, you’ll just repeat what I said and obey. That’s a Jedi mind trick.”
“Jedi?”
Luke sighed. “Jedi can use the Force to influence people’s minds.”
“The Force?”
“You've really managed to avoid any kind of exposure to this universe, haven't you..?”
- - - s - - -
One year later:
“I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.”
“I warn you not to underestimate my powers.” Luke held up a sample lightsaber, but Din pressed the plastic of his vambraces against it to push it out of Luke’s hand.
“You will let me go”, Luke said, waving his hand through the air.
“I will let you go”, Din echoed and pretended to be on his way, only to walk around an aisle and attack Luke again, this time from the back, quickly cuffing his wrists together.
“That’s the last mistake you’ll ever make.” Luke walked beside Din out of the shop and across the street while a dozen phones recorded. Once they were inside the confined space of the Mandalorian’s ship, Din took off his helmet, and his mouth found Luke’s with practised ease. This time, though, he only kissed Luke briefly before holding him back.
“I brought you here because I have news.”
“What kind of?” Luke squirmed in his cuffs enough to give Din a playful nudge with his elbow.
“I quit.”
“What? You mean…?”
“I quit. I found another job.”
“Oh… That’s… That’s wonderful…” Despite the excited words, Luke’s voice sounded hesitant. Din took a firm hold of his arms to reassure him.
“There’s more. I… I really love you, Luke. And I still want to see you every day. I’m not going anywhere from this city, and I… I want to live with you. If you’ll have me. Would you move in with me?”
This made Luke relax and lean forward to kiss Din. “Yeah, I’d love that.”
Din still pressed on Luke’s chest to push him as much away as he had space for. “There’s still more. I just talked with Greef, and he’s very thankful for my work. He wants to give me something when I go…”
Din lifted up Grogu from the pouch hanging over his hip. He settled the little one between them, in the space where both of them could feel under their chins the softness of the hair on his head.
“If you’ll have us both, he could come and live with us, too.” For some reason, this had been the part Din had been the most nervous about asking. What if he would never get over the habit of treating the green alien plushie like a real baby? What if Luke would find it weird to have Grogu in their shared home, sleeping in their shared bed with his large, ever-open eyes and tickling ears?
“Of course. I love you both.”
At that, Din let out a relieved sigh that seemed to dissolve away all the worries he had ever carried in this world. Soon, he would be home - a real home, one shared with the creatures he loved the most.