A Good Thing

-home-

                                                                                         Chapter 8

                                                                                           -home-

A/N: SO this story has completely taken over my life. I can't stop writing. In the 4 weeks since I started posting I have written another 33k words so I've got almost 60k, I might post a third chapter this weekend. anyway I hope you like this. There is a smattering of Mando'a and I will have translations at the end.

Watching the Jedi walk away with his son hurt Din more than he could have imagined. As soon as they were out of sight, his shoulders slumped and the breath he'd been holding burned as it tore free. He wanted to be sick, he wanted to cry—something he hadn't done since he was a boy—he wanted to chase after them. The first person he had let himself love since his parents was gone, ushered out of his life by the Jedi he was always supposed to be with. He was immensely proud of Grogu, both for leaving even though he was afraid, and for all the things he knew he would accomplish now that he had a teacher. Nevertheless, the heady mix of pride and grief left Din feeling bereft and a bit nauseous. Knowing he couldn't follow, that he had to let him go, the only thing Din could do was stand there, willing the tears that gathered in his eyes not to fall.

Behind him, there was conversation and movement but it was muted to his ear. He thought maybe someone was calling his name. No, not his name, the shortened moniker he usually gave when someone asked him for it. Suddenly Cara was there, right in front of him. Her hands were on his shoulders shaking gently to get his attention and her voice was low.

"Din... Hey, Din." Slowly, he looked up at her. Sympathy filled her eyes and did a decent job masking the astonishment she clearly also felt at finally seeing his face. Numbly, he recalled he wasn't wearing his helmet. He had taken it off, for Grogu, for his son. Could he put it back on now? That was something he should care about, but just then he found that he didn't. Blinking hard and swallowing thickly, he looked imploringly into her eyes.

He wanted to leave.

Somehow, despite his inability to form words just then, she seemed to know exactly what he needed. A sad smile tilted half of her mouth and she nodded.

"Come on, Din. Let's get you home, ya?"

He nodded too and accepted his helmet back from her. There was more conversation happening around him but he could only stare down at the beskar helmet in his hands. It wasn't the first time he had broken his creed for his son, just the latest in a string of violations that he once thought would make him an outcast. As Cara shouted something crass across the deck and his attention was pulled into the conversation, he looked thoughtfully at Bo-Katan and Reeves. For some reason he must have missed, they looked angry. He knew because their helmets were tucked under their arms, not covering their faces. They were the only other Mandalorians he had seen in months and he didn't think they would demand his beskar from him now that he'd shown them all his face. Deciding to worry about it more when he wasn't so upset, he tried to focus on what they were arguing about.

"You can't just take off with him and disappear to some outer rim bolt hole. Not when he wields the Darksaber, not when he has a duty to our people!"

Bo-Katan was marching towards them, index finger jabbing at him angrily as she spoke. Since he had yet to speak for himself, Cara was doing an admirable job telling the displaced princess exactly where she could stick her duty. Fennec was quiet but she stood at his other side.

"They aren't his responsibility. Taking care of that kid, getting him to the Jedi, that was his duty. Now that he's done that, I'm taking his depressed ass home to his family where he belongs. If that fancy Jedi toy is so damn important to you, take it and go!"