Din was tired. Very tired. But he forced himself to keep his eyes open to watch Grogu.
He was still amazed Grogu had come back. He was wearing the chainmail he had brought him under his coat. It made him smile that his foundling had somehow chosen to come back to him instead of training as a Jedi.
He watched little Grogu sleeping with the rancor. Din was still amazed that such a tiny thing could understand a beast that was so much bigger than him and even lull it to sleep.
Din wearily got up, walked over to Grogu, and picked him up. He didn't know where his carrier was but he knew it had to be somewhere around here.
"Hey kid, you doing alright?" He said to the sleeping blob of green nestled in his arms.
Grogu's ears perked up and his eyes opened tiredly. He made a sound at Din's voice and tilted his head looking at him. He pulled his hand free from Din's, reaching toward his helmet.
Oh no, no, no. oh, no. This…this can't be happening.
A flash of blue. A green hand reaching toward his face. That same blue saber cutting down loads of stormtroopers…Din taking off his helmet to say goodbye to Grogu.
Din opened his eyes, breathing heavily from the flashback. It was a terrible, horrid, reminder that he was no longer of The Creed. But he knew that he would never regret letting Grogu see his face that first time.
So he walked toward an alleyway where nobody would see them. He grabbed his helmet and it hissed as he lifted it off his head.
Grogu chirped happily and reached toward Din's face to get a closer look.
"I know. I look a little rough, bud, but you're gonna have to deal with it for now," Din said as he tried to get used to the humid desert air on his face. He saw Grogu frown, apparently unhappy with his words.
"Hey Din, Gr-" he heard Fennec begin to say. Once she saw his helmet was off, she averted her eyes to give him privacy and peace of mind.
"I gotta put this back on okay, Grogu?" Din said quietly as the helmet slid over his head comfortably.
"Sorry. I was just looking for you two. There's something you might wanna see," Fennec said, turning the corner, holding her helmet in the crook of her elbow.
"What is it?" Din asked, subconsciously holding Grogu closer to him.
"Don't worry. It's a good thing, Mando." She noticed his protective instinct with Grogu.
She motioned Boba Fett over to them.
"What is it?" Boba asked, falling in step with them.
"Don't worry boys. it's not another rancor or anything."
Din saw a ship getting closer and someone leaning against it. He mentally went through a list of people it could be until he landed on one person…
Cara Dune…
Cara had been gone, taking care of her own kriff.
"Hey, Mando? You okay?" Fennec noticed Din's silence
"Yeah sorry…" Din said, blinking furiously to keep his focus on the present. He wasn't sure if he was happy to see her, but he certainly wasn't unhappy.
"Look who it is!" Fennec called, motioning to Cara.
"Hey," Cara said, waving.
"Mando…" Cara said, surprised he was there.
Din was glad he wasn't the only one feeling the awkward tension between them. "He's back?! How did you get back. huh?" Cara asked leaning down to look at Grogu.
"Crazy story actually… I'll tell you over some caff. How does that sound?" Fennec asked after Cara had greeted Boba.
"Yeah. Sure," Cara said following Fennec.
"Din, how are you doing?" Boba Fett asked a few seconds later.
"Fine. I'm just trying to wrap my head around the fact that he came back." Din said, referring to Grogu.
"You did a pretty good job with that rancor, let me tell you that."
"Thank you," Din replied, watching Grogu. Even though taking off his helmet had meant he was no longer part of The Creed, he still only felt like he was himself with the armor on. So, he kept wearing it. Especially, since he felt odd with people looking directly at him, with no beskar as a barrier.
"I'm gonna figure out a way to move the rancor back to the palace. You and the kid are welcome to stay," Boba Fett said before starting his walk back toward the town where the rancor was sleeping.
Din was thinking about Boba's offer, when he felt Grogu's nails lightly scrape the beskar.
"Kid…" Din said. He was slightly exasperated, but also oddly flattered. He took off his helmet and saw Grogu's face light up.
Grogu was watching Din's every move, with visible concentration. After a moment, Din noticed he was mirroring his facial expressions. Din smiled and, amazingly, Grogu tried to smile. It was more of a grimace, but it still made Din's heart happy.
Din moved his forehead to Grogu's comfortingly and closed his eyes. He heard Grogu sigh happily.
"You like this, bud?" He heard Grogu gurgle his approval. Din smiled. After a minute, he inhaled and put his helmet back on. "Sorry, Grogu, but I just feel better like this. I'm sure I'll get used to having it off, but for now, I'm just gonna keep it on. Ok?" Grogu tilted his head in question, but then inclined his head in a small barely perceivable nod.
Din decided to go look for Grogu's carrier so he could help Boba move the rancor. He walked back to the town, which was thoroughly destroyed, but didn't see any signs of the carrier among the rubble.
It occurred to him it was likely still on the speeder Peli had used to return Grogu. He finally found the carrier in the remains of the destroyed vehicle.
"Hey, Grogu, I'm gonna put you in here, okay?" He felt bad, seeing Grogu pout. "Sorry, kid, but I gotta go help Boba. Hey! Why don't you go wherever Fennec and Cara are? How does that sound?" Grogu smiled and then zipped away to the palace in the distance.
Oh, how he loved that kid…
