A Stirring of Memories
"I finally know where I'm taking you." Din said kind of euphoric. He felt his goal was in sight, he just had to fly to the woodplanet of Corvus and deliver the kid to Ahsoka Tano. Sounded simple enough for him to be that optimistic. It took a few hours to get there and piloting the still damaged Razor Crest was an agonizing annoying task. He had to get the ship fixed as soon as he finally finished his mission. And he also had to get some new jobs, because the last of his money he spent on "making his ship flying" again. Din had to return to Peli on Tatooine for maintenance, she and her droids seemed to be the only beings in this galaxy capable of repairing the ship.
But now he had other things to deal with. After a more rough than smooth landing on a safely hidden glade in the woods. The kid stretched his arms and legs and watched Din with anticipation. He had no idea what new adventure laid before him. But there was something more to it, the kid felt. The mandalorian lowered the ramp of the ship after the third attempt and the panel decided to be working again. He sighed, because he knew he would need a huge amount of money to fix everything. But on the other hand, he would be less distracted by tomorrow, when he gave the kid to Ahsoka.
"I hope it's not hard to find her." he mumbled, while preparing the campfire. Since the Razor Crest decided to make a quick dive, the ship smelled after rotten fish, seaweed and some odors, Din couldn't really figure out where they came from. So he decided to camp outside the ship and try to clean it after he finished his task tomorrow. The kid still watched him and clearly sensed, something was about to happen. After Din fetched some dry ration bars from the only drawer, which was still intact, he made himself comfortable at the campfire.
He peeled the wrapping from the bars and reached one for the kid, who hungrily grabbed it and gulped it down. "I think I'm gonna have to tell Ahsoka, she has to up her food supply massively." Din chuckled but suddenly cut off. There was something bugging him the whole time. Actually it was the fact, he probably spent the last night with the kid. And as he watched him, bolting down the food and happily cooing, his heart began to feel heavy. They spent so much time together, Din had almost no idea what his life was before picking up the kid.
"Slowly, kid. You're going to choke." he said, after the little one took a huge bite from his bar. The boy looked at him and offered his other half to Din. "No, thank you. You eat it, I'm fine." he said and lowered his head. In fact, he actually was quite hungry but he only would be able to eat something, when the baby was asleep. It kind of bugged him back at the cantina, where he was not able to eat something, because of his helmet.
The helmet. Something in his stomach twisted as he thought of Bo-Katan. She just removed hers in front of him, like it was the most normal thing in the world. The others either. Since he could remember, he never had seen anyone's face from the fighting corps, where he grew up, nor from anyone in the Covert. This is the way…. isn't it? Suddenly, he had little doubts, because he had never seen anything else, he didn't know, there was a life as a mandalorian without permanently covering your face.
Din sighed, the words of Bo-Katan were circling in his mind. For a short moment he considered putting his helmet down on Sorgan, because he learned the pleasant benefits of a quiet normal life. But he instantly dismissed it, because he knew he couldn't provide enough safety for the kid. The kid. Now that their soon goodbye was imminent, he felt something, he hadn't felt in a long time. Sadness.
He remembered the first time meeting him. He was just an asset back then, but then he saved him from the mudhorn, which would have been his certain death, Din started to reconsider his emotions towards the kid. And when he delivered it to the Client, he instantly regretted his decision. That all was long ago and he and the kid actually became a clan of two after all. After, the kid had saved him from the fire. He owed him so much.
Suddenly, something distracted him from his thought. The kid yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes."Okay, it's bedtime now." Din said and searched for a blanket, which was not covered in seaweed. Carefully, he wrapped the kid into it and held him for a moment. The mandalorian watched him intensely as the kid instinctively pressed himself on Din's chest. He remembered the first time he did this, shortly after the events on Nevarro.
Din was still struggling with his injuries he had sustained in the fight with Gideon. One night, his ribs and head hurt so much, he couldn't sleep. He remembered the kid watching him from his little hammock, while he was turning from side to side. The kid climbed down after a while and climbed on Din's stomach back then. "Kid, no you have your own bed." he grunted but suddenly felt relief, when the little one curled up on his chest. The pain was getting easier, almost vanishing and he slept so good that night, the mandalorian remembered. After that, they sometimes cuddled like this. "I'm gonna miss this." Din whispered, while he rubbed the kids back.
The kid jerked awake suddenly, like he understood every single word Din had just said. His eyes were piercing him. Mando swallowed thickly "We're going to meet a new friend tomorrow. She'll take care of you, little one." The kid tilted his head, he felt Din taking a shaky breath. "You need to get back to your kind. Your family." he whispered, his voice began to crackle. The little one vehemently shook his head and pointed to Din's signet on his shoulder pauldron. Mando felt a painful sting in his heart, what cut off his voice.
"Sleep now, kid. It's going to be okay." he whispered to change the subject after a few seconds of silence. Gently, he wrapped his arms around the little one, holding him close to his chest. The kid felt his nervous, rapid heartbeat even through the beskar. He cooed sadly. "I know kid" Din sobbed quietly and tried to distract himself, before he completely lost control over his emotions. It worked for a moment and Mando calmed down a bit.
After a while, the kid began snoring in his arms and Din stroked his chubby cheek with his gloved hand. "Sleep tight." he whispered and looked around. No one else was here so he pulled his helmet off his head. With his free hand, he wiped his wet eyes. "I'm gonna miss you… "he cried. He had no idea how hard it was to say goodbye. It broke his heart. Before the kid, he was alone. Even in the Covert, no one actually cared about him. No one would have mourned, if he would have died. Now, things were different, he had some friends and his little fellow, who basically became his family. But now Din realized that he would be alone again by tomorrow.