Summary: [SPOILERS FOR S2E8] Din must deal with the aftermath of the mission to rescue the Child. One-shot.
A/N: A one-shot means that the story is only a chapter long and what you see is all you'll get. Don't ask me for more chapters, there won't be any.
Bitter Reality
The bridge of the light cruiser went silent after the doors closed, each person in the room taking in the events of what had just happened.
Din Djarin himself stood rooted to the spot, his eyes locked on the doors, where Grogu had been mere moments ago. He could see the foundling in the Jedi's arms, beside the droid, as clearly as if they were still there. But they weren't. And so came the bitter reality that he had finally completed his mission and reunited the kid with his kind.
He finally sighed, knowing that staring at that spot wouldn't bring them back. Besides, the Child was safer with the Jedi than he ever would be alongside him. A kid with those talents didn't belong alongside a bounty hunter; it was a dangerous life.
"Hey." Bo-Katan's voice broke the silence, causing everyone else to turn to look at her. Turned out she was addressing Din himself. "About the Darksaber-"
"I don't want it." He interrupted, forcing his voice to sound impassive. Ruling a planet is the last thing I want. Especially Mandalore.
"You defeated Gideon. Mandalore is under your rule now." The Mandalorian princess reminded him coolly.
"I don't want Mandalore." Din growled, irritated that she couldn't just drop it. "Just take it and say that you defeated me in combat."
"That would be lying to the whole galaxy." Bo-Katan's own impatience showed as she stalked towards him. "I can't do that."
"Easy." Marshal Dune warned, quick to separate them.
As she said it, the sound of the X-Wing leaving drew all attention to the window. The ship left as quickly and gracefully as it had come, vanishing into the depths of space.
Another pang of emotion stabbed at Din, the departure of the fighter announcing the finality of Grogu's leaving. He lowered his head with a sigh, taking the Darksaber from his belt and shoving it into one of Bo-Katan's hands. He turned away from the others, retrieving his helmet from the ground and putting it back on.
"What are you doing?" The princess demanded after a moment, clearly not pleased with his actions.
Reeves took a dangerous step towards him and Fennec eyed the situation with a hint of amusement.
Din ignored them, approaching the unconscious form of Gideon and hoisting him up under an arm. He began to walk towards the doors that would take him to the light cruiser's brig.
"Just give him some time." Dune told Bo-Katan. "That kid meant a lot to him."