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Din remained stoic as ever, but his gripped hands under the table gave away his inner turmoil. Every word Bo-Katan said after the “I did surrender” made him feel sick.
She chose to bow down to the enemy to save innocent lives and was betrayed in return. She wasn’t the cold hearted, power hungry woman they painted her to be and it wasn't something he didn't knew before, but now as he heard her story and saw the pain in her eyes, it truly hit him.
For the first time in his life, he was angry at the Armorer that sat next to him. Not when she thrown him out of the Covert because he took off his helmet to save Grogu. It happened now as he remembered all the lies she believed and spread about Bo.
Taking a deep breath, Din reminded himself how she nevertheless took Bo in and that it was the Empire and Moff Gideon who deserved his anger.
He thanked his own judgment of her, for there was never even a second in which he truly believed it was her fault Mandalore was destroyed. He should have doubted her worthiness when she changed the terms of the deal on Trask. Instead, he was impressed by her fearlessness. And later, the Armorer’s words of her being the “cautionary tale” were quickly thrown out of the window as he decided that his first step after getting Grogu back, was to join Bo-Katan’s cause.
Since then, Din got to know her on a somewhat close level. She was an extremely guarded person, like him, but it seemed they were willing to shed some emotional armor for each other. What surprised him the most was how much he wanted to know her. It started with a quiet curiosity for this broken person, who could have challenged him for the Darksaber but chose not to.
With time, Din didn’t get a clear answer for that question, for Bo refused to talk about it. Instead, he learned about her deep feelings of guilt and willingness to be a part of this group with whose views she didn’t agree wholeheartedly just yet.
He looked at Grogu and then Bo-Katan again, not paying attention to anyone else anymore. Din loved Mandalore with his whole being, but it wasn't them who represented Mandalore to him. It wasn’t even this barren land he fought for.
Din was here for these two beings for whose happiness he would do anything for. So Grogu could have a good future amongst people he chose to be with, even when Din is gone. And so he would help Bo get what she has spent her whole life fighting for.
He still wasn’t sure if she wanted to rule, but there was no one else more worthy than her, with or without the Darksaber. These mudscuffers who turned their backs on her at the first sign of “weakness” certainly did not deserved her leadership, but they were going to get it even if he has to break his back to help her retake Mandalore.
This whole planet under this kind, brave, and endlessly loyal woman.
After she finished her speech, Bo-Katan looked down to her lap, to her no doubt fidgeting hands, and barely lifted it until others started to get up. Din’s gaze followed her as she took a deep breath and got up as well, heading towards the other side of the ship. She walked away in her usual manner, proudly holding her head high, but he knew it was false.
Din was never good at reading other people’s emotions, and the fact that he spent most of his life on his own made him even more immune to them. But with Bo, it was different, because among other things, he made effort to learn to notice her moods and feelings with just one look at her body and face.
And now, her eyes revealed everything she tried to hide. More than anything, fear that she fell once again in the eyes of her people. Mandalorians were the fiercest of all, and to admit defeat was almost unheard of.
The urge to run after her and say or do anything that would help her overwhelmed him. He would speak for hours, telling her how brave and wonderful she was. Or not say a word, just fall at her feet, silently pledging his life to her.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had to go talk to her, but Din also knew he would have to be calm about this because that’s what Bo needed right now. It wasn’t in his nature to get involved when someone was hurt, but again, this was Bo-Katan. He would give his life for her, let alone comfort her when she needed it the most.
“Will you watch him for a few minutes?” He asked the Armorer.
She nodded, and he could feel her eyes on him as he went the same way Bo did.
Din found her looking at the Mandalore’s wasteland, her head slightly moving as she heard him approach.
“I had no idea. We were taught that everyone but us had forsaken the Way. That you were selfish and uncaring. Now I understand.”
“You were right.” She replied with a weak voice. “I was selfish. And this is what it wrought.”
Din knew there was some truth in her words. Bo was never specific about her past, but he knew mistakes from her youth still haunted her. It was something they had in common, so he chose not to comfort her by minimizing her guilt.
“We’ll rebuild it. Isn’t that our history? For thousands of years, we have been on the verge of extinction, and for thousands of years, we have survived.”
Bo-Katan abruptly turned towards him, her gaze filled with fear and uncertainty. “I don’t know if I can keep everyone together. There’s too much animosity. And this blade is all I have to unify our people.”
Those words brought back the emotions he repressed earlier. How can she say the only thing she has is that kriffing sword? As if she didn’t possess every single quality a good leader should have and much, much more. He wished more than anything she could see herself through his eyes, so all her doubts would go away.
He couldn’t do that, but he could try to explain it to her.
“I only know of this weapon what you taught me. To be honest, it means nothing to me or my people. Nor does station or bloodline. What means more to me is honor. And loyalty. And character. These are the reasons I serve you Lady Kryze. Your song is not yet written. I will serve you until it is.” At the last words, he placed his hand on his heart as almost unbearable emotions wrecked his body.
Taking a deep breath, he turned around and walked away from her, knowing that if he spared just one glance at her, it would destroy the last pieces of restraint he had.
He would say out loud the sentence that roared through his head over and over again.
“ I love you. I love you. I love you…”