Chapter Text
Din knew he wasn’t much of a caretaker or a father figure. He felt out of his depth taking care of Grogu. But seeing a Jedi come and possibly—most definitely—take the little one away to reunite with his kind was bittersweet. He felt an ache inside of him, a soft murmur of possessiveness. Grogu was his. His ad'ika, the other half of his own clan of two, even if he hadn’t officially adopted him.
Grogu was staring at the small monitor, his small hand pressed up against the screen as he stared at the cloaked figure with a green lightsaber. Din understood that this was the Jedi who had come for Grogu. Pursing his lips underneath his mask, he picked Grogu up into his arms and turned to face the doors.
“Open the doors.”
Everyone in the room refused to move. Cara simply side-eyed him and shifted slightly. He walked towards the doors of the cockpit, passing Koska.
“I said open the doors.” He repeated, two hands cradling Grogu. He could feel his warmth and even the softness of his skin through his gloves. It was comforting.
“Are you crazy?” Fennec said, a hint of incredulousness in her voice. She didn’t move, keeping her eyes on the door with her rifle at the ready.
Din didn’t answer. He walked up to a machine with the control panel near the entrance, placing Grogu gently on the chair. He felt small hands squeezing him gently for comfort before letting go. He pressed the yellow button on the board. The dented doors of the cockpit rumbled open. In the midst of smoke, Din saw the green lightsaber first before the figure stepped inside.
The Jedi wore an all-black ensemble, his face obscured by his cloak and the lightsaber humming low. The figure switched his lightsaber off, clipping it onto his hip. His hands rose to hold the edges of his hood, and Din noticed that one hand was gloved and the other wasn’t. His breath hitched as the figure revealed his face. Youthful and dusty blonde, he didn’t look like how he imagined a Jedi to look. In comparison to Ahsoka, this Jedi looked quite young.
“Are you a Jedi?” he had to ask, feeling his voice waver a bit.
“I am.” The young Jedi answered calmly. He glanced towards Grogu, who was peeking behind the chair. Raising his ungloved hand towards him, beckoning.
“Come, little one.”
Din turned to look at Grogu. He was holding the backrest of the seat, hesitantly looking at the Jedi before turning to look up at Din.
“He doesn’t want to go with you.”
“He wants your permission.”
The Jedi explained it so calmly, as if he already knew Grogu before. Din inhaled sharply through his nose, fear slightly emerging from the back of his mind. This was the attachment that Ahsoka worried about, that made her unable to train him. Perhaps this Jedi also felt the same way. That thought brought relief to Din, then guilt. Guilty of this possessiveness. Guilty that he wanted to keep Grogu from his kind.
“He is strong with the Force, but talent without training is nothing,” the Jedi continued. “I will give my life to protect the child.”
Din clenched his fist at that, yet felt relieved all the same. He would never want to leave Grogu to someone incapable of protecting him.
“But he will not be safe until he masters his abilities.”
With that, Din understood. He turned to Grogu to give him the permission the little one sought. Softly, he lifted him up once again. Warmth spread all over his hands once more, feeling a lump in his throat starting to form.
“Hey, go on.” He cradled him gently.
“That’s who you belong with. He’s one of your kind.”
He felt the Jedi’s gaze on the both of them, but he paid no mind. Grogu reached up to him. Those wide eyes staring up at him through his visor made him feel vulnerable, open, and raw. His eyes started to burn.
“I’ll see you again. I promise.” He said it with a wavering voice. Even he himself was unsure if they’d ever see each other again. To Din, it felt like a final goodbye.
Grogu cooed softly. Little hands reached up to touch his helmet, looking at him expectantly. Din somehow felt like he understood what Grogu wanted, what they both wanted. He might be breaking the Code, but to him, Grogu had always been part of his clan. He lifted his helmet up with shaking hands. Everything around them was just a blur, background noise, an afterthought. Right now, he was baring his soul to his son. That kind of vulnerability he barely showed.
To everyone, he was the Mandalorian. The mysterious bounty hunter. But Grogu was different.
Grogu reached up at him again. This time, he felt the softness on his skin. He felt how small Grogu’s hand was. They catalogued each other’s face and warmth, etching this moment into memory.
“All right, pal. It’s time to go.”
Din felt heavy, a thunderstorm of conflicting emotions fighting each other in the pit of his stomach. He sucked in air. That responsibility of bringing Grogu back to his kind ultimately won, despite his heart protesting. He understood the necessity of the little one finding his kin again, training that innate power inside him. Grogu whined out what Din thought was a protest. He assured him softly before nodding subtly and putting him down on the floor.
Grogu clung to him, cooing and whining. Large black eyes looked up at him as little hands grabbed at his boot. A blue-and-white R2 astromech rolled into the cockpit, beeping vigorously and catching Grogu’s attention. Din gazed at the astromech as the little one slowly waddled towards it, seemingly understanding what it had said. Grogu cooed in response to the droid.
Din looked at the Jedi once more, feeling a lot more exposed now that he felt the Jedi’s bright blue eyes on him. Nodding. He nodded back, unable to speak. His throat felt rubbed raw as tears threatened to spill.
The Jedi picked Grogu up, and for a moment, Din saw them communicate without words.
“May the Force be with you,” the Jedi said, turning to look back up at Din.
—
He watched them walk out the door. He watched them disappear as the elevator doors closed. Sighing through his nose, Din looked down, donning his helmet once again before looking behind him.
All of them, including Moff Gideon, were still as rocks. Shock and awe all mixed into their expressions, with a mixture of absolute terror in Moff Gideon’s eyes. Cara was the first one to move, shifting her weight and lowering her weapon. She whistled, piercingly loud in the silence, which startled Fennec and Koska. With raised eyebrows, Fennec turned to Cara.
“What? We just met our hero. Can’t I react?” She scoffed, but that only caused Fennec’s eyebrow to raise even higher in an obvious question.
“That was Luke Skywalker,” she said with a hint of disbelief. “He’s the guy who—”
“The Jedi,” Moff Gideon breathed out, interrupting Cara. Fear in his eyes was evident, but somehow he seemed relieved not to have been the target.
“He took down both Death Stars, killed the Emperor, killed Darth Vader…” His eyes didn’t leave the elevator, fearing that the Jedi—Luke—might come back.
Din hummed, looking back at the elevator.
“Skywalker…?” Bo-Katan murmured, gripping her blaster tighter. Her voice was tight, like she remembered something.
Din wondered briefly how he hadn’t recognized him. He supposed that Luke was probably the best choice to leave Grogu with.
—