Star Wars Oneshots

Everything (BD)

A/N: not much talking in this one... this is the story of Din finding his true family. And rang means ash in Mando'a. Buir is father, yadda yadda.

TW: physical abuse by a parent, suicide attempt mention

Din's Point of View

On that cold, rainy night.

Din would never forget.

The night Din finally let someone in.

He knew Boba could be trusted. So... he trusted him.

He felt the pull, the tug, the gravitation towards Boba, Boba with his scars and his armor and his past.

Din had a past, too. Din knew what it was like. Din knew what it was like to lose your birth family.

Now, Din had a new family. Boba and Fennec and Fennec's spouse, Rang. The four made a good team.

But they didn't start out as friends. Din kept to himself after the Crest was destroyed, hardly talking, keeping his head low and eating alone, trying to ignore the longing to join Boba and the others, laughing around a table.

Until the day they got the kid back. Din's heart felt like it would burst as he picked up the little child, propping him back on his hip where he belonged.

That night, Din, Boba, Fennec, and Rang landed on a nearby planet dotted with islands. It rained, and Din stayed inside.

He decided the kid was too important to not know what his buir looked like by then. So he took Grogu aside, closed the door to the small cabinet he'd been sleeping in, and removed his helmet. His training let him pay no mind to the twisting in his gut and focusing instead on the warmth filling his heart as Grogu touched his face.

Din loved him so much. Grogu made him realize Mandalorians could have families. They were capable of loving, just like everyone else.

Din put Grogu down and took a leap of faith -- he decided to tell Boba... everything. With his helmet on, of course.

Din asked Boba to talk to him for a bit. Boba's concerned expression made Din want to turn right back around (he'd seen that face too many times, and nothing ended well with that pity etched into their features).

But he soldiered on, allowing Boba to lead him into his personal quarters and sitting down on the bed.

He explained everything.

He'd grown up knowing he was different, finally realizing what it was when he read something on the holo-net. Din was a boy born in a girl's body, and his mother understood and tried her best to make it right for her son, though she did it with an air of confusion and worry.

His father said he was a freak. Tried to set him right with a million slaps. They stung, but Din stayed the same.

Din was only half-aware of Boba's hand coming to rest on his knee, giving it a light squeeze. He was too engrossed in a retelling of the day he was found by the Mandalorians. The day his only family was taken from him, however horrible some of them were.

Din's new buir taught him everything he needed to know, got him everything he needed, stood up for him, let him be how he wanted. Helped him find himself.

Din loved him; he was the single most supportive person Din had ever met. Din clung tight to him at night, feeling okay around him.

And then the news came: Din's buir was gone. Ventress shot him down. There was nothing anyone could have done.

Din sank into numbness, going through his lessons as if on autopilot, hiding behind thick shields, refusing to let anyone in. He attempted to die, once. It failed. He must have done something wrong, again. He made a mistake.

He longed to meet the one person, meant for him, who would never leave. Din only had half a heart to give to them, not even knowing who it was, needing them more than he could control.

He got it in his head that he'd know when he met them. Something would change in his head, or something.

He found Grogu, and Din knew he was helpless. And yet he had managed to touch a soft part of Din's heart, a part that was gone since his buir was killed.

There was something in the air when he met Cobb -- an electricity of sorts, a crackling tension in the air between them. Something felt... off, though. So Din had gone away, Grogu always nearby.

The electricity seemed to follow his ship after that, though Din didn't know why.

And then he'd met Boba, who got the armor. The electricity followed him, then, but it was more complete, somehow. Like the armor was connecting with its soulmate.

And he lost Grogu. The numbness returned, all to familiar, his eyes empty, his soul torn.

When Boba was near, at least Din felt something. Like now, where Boba had pulled him into a hug, which Din wasn't used to.

Din began removing his armor as he spoke.

He explained how he wasn't a touchy person -- as a kid, his body set him apart, and he shrunk into his frame, wishing parts of him would disappear. As a teen, he stayed by his buir's side, always finding comfort in small bits of contact. After his death, Din retreated into his armor. It was a long stretch without contact.

Now that he had new people, a chosen family, Din found himself hugging or being hugged at least three times a day -- hugs to say good night, hope you're doing okay, I'm here. 

It really felt like they were a family, a family that radiated acceptance and love and support. All of them had openly told everyone else they were queerplatonic, so Din found himself cuddling with people when he was the most down.

Din wasn't one for smiling -- he hadn't truly smiled since his buir died -- but he felt his mouth move and his gaze warm. 

Here, in Boba's bedroom, he felt himself smile, truly smile, and lean closer to Boba in just his flight suit and helmet. Boba was here, with his arms around Din. Grogu was asleep in the room over. Fennec and Rang were in their bedroom on the other side of the cargo hold.

In the darkened room, Din reached up and removed his helmet. Boba flinched away, not wanting to look, but Din assured him it was fine, even as his own heart beat out of his chest.

Boba turned back to him slowly. Enough light was in the room for Boba to make out Din's features, and Din had averted his eyes, looking down at where his hands were worrying the sheets and swallowing hard.

Boba raised a shaky hand and cupped Din's cheek. Din looked back up, meeting Boba's gaze again.

Boba leaned in and Din let him, feeling their lips brush once and seeing the energy that surrounded Boba flare up, blindingly bright, and then dying back down to a fuzzy glow.

Boba cleared his throat, still holding Din's jaw.

"Thank you. For everything."