Written by request for my daughter, stickfigureofacat, for the 31 Days of Writing 2021 event
Challenge prompt: Write For A Fandom You Love, But Have Never Written For Before
Bath Time
"Ugh…Kid…what did you get into?" Din Djarin asked with a mixture of both disgust and amusement in his tone as he held the child out at arm's length away from him.
He had left Grogu alone for just a few minutes to attend to some necessary ship maintenance while they were planetside…but apparently that was all it had taken. He had returned to find his little friend covered in green goo and smelling worse than a mudhorn's backside. The man had tried to clean him up, of course. After all, the Razor Crest came equipped with a standard ionic sanitizing chamber. However, not even that piece of tech could get the job done completely. It had succeeded in removing the worst of the goo, but the strong smell had still persisted. Therefore, the Mandolarian knew exactly what he had to do.
Some old-fashioned soap and water would be required.
After a quick geological survey on the ship's computer, he located a small tributary stream that was not too far way. Once there, he found a shallow spot where the little one could bathe without danger of either being eaten by a predatory water creature or being swept away by a swift current. After Din removed the heaviest of his armor…but left the helmet on, of course…he undressed the kid and thoroughly scrubbed him down in the cool clear water. The man sighed in relief to himself when the cleaning agent worked exactly the way it was supposed to…and all vestiges of goo and smell that had remained on the little one were washed away downstream. Afterwards, he let Grogu stay in that perfect spot and play in the water while he handled the chore of washing all of the similarly unappealing apparel, bedding, and everything else with which the tiny odoriferous troublemaker had come in contact.
When Din had finally finished with that cumbersome…but necessary…chore, he sat down on the bank to watch the little naked green child frolic happily in the water with only the occasional pause to snack on a stray frog that he had found there. The man shook his head again at the little one's questionable food preferences, but left well enough alone. After all…against all odds…he had proven time and time again that the little extra bit of protein would not hurt him. In fact, Din theorized that such a strange diet might even be a quirk of the kid's particular species – whatever that was.
At the thought, the Mandalorian let his guard down and allowed his mind to wander a bit as he pondered the next step in finding the child's people. Therefore, he was not expecting the splash of water against his helmet when it came. He heard the little one's distinctive giggle, though, as it happened again…and again…and again. Through the water that now dripped down his faceshield, Din looked around him carefully. When he was certain that they were alone, he slowly removed his helmet and met the child's wide eyes with his own unshielded ones.
"Is that the way it's going to be, Friend?" the man asked in a lighter…and more playful…tone than usual before he also brought his hand down hard on the water to shower the unexpecting youngster, as well. Grogu soon recovered from his surprise, however, and giggled again in delight at the action. Soon they were trading splash for splash and the "game" went on for an indeterminate amount of time until the little one used his unusual power to send a huge wave of water…one that temporarily emptied the bathing pool…over to soak his larger friend.
Only then did the little one's eyes begin to droop in exhaustion from all of the activity and effort, and the extremely wet Din had to lift him out of the water in order to get them both dried off. Then, while he gently held the sleeping Grogu in one arm, he used the other one to replace his helmet, gather up his armor, and retrieve all of the miscellaneous items that he had brought with him to wash. Even with all of his muscles, training, and Mandalorian ingenuity, though, the man still spared a moment to wish that he had some of the kid's powers to make it easier to carry all of the stuff before he was able to figure out how to throw it all over his shoulder and get it to stay in place. Only then was the unusual pair finally able to head back to the ship for some much needed rest.
Despite the inconvenience, the man found that he did not mind holding the child close to him while they completed the short walk back to the Razor Crest. In fact, the little green head of his passenger rested on the shoulder that was not doing pack duty, and he could hear the child's small snores right below his ear. At the sound, the Mandalorian smiled beneath his helmet as he marveled how much the foundling had changed his life in the short time they had known each other.
…
Consequently, it was not until after they had reentered the ship, and he had put the little one down in his pod to sleep, that Din finally realized that he still had no idea where the horrific-smelling goo had come from in the first place!