#omera

Omera smiled at him, a grateful gesture. Din's helmet tilted, a substitute for a smile of his own, and glanced down at the small green child on his lap.

"Why don't you show Winta around, buddy?"

Grogu cooed, nodding as he flipped himself out of his father's grasp. Winta glanced between Din and Omera, seeking permission to unbuckle the strap that held her in place. Omera hesitated for only a moment before she nodded, and soon, the two children were bounding out of the cockpit.

Din called after them. "Make sure you bring her back up when it's time to land, kid!"

Grogu let out some kind of affirmative that Din understood, even if Omera didn't. She watched them warmly, even as Din shifted his full attention onto her. He spun around fully in his chair, relaxing his posture as he let out a soft breath.

"He's gotten good with predicting when we'll come out of hyperspace."

Omera hummed. "Impressive." She regarded the armored man with hardly concealed fondness. "I take it his training is going well, then?"

Din crossed his arms and shrugged. "I'm teaching him what I can, but... those abilities aren't my own. Anything like that he must've learned from the Jedi."

Omera nodded towards the cockpit's threshold. "But you're trusting him to use them alongside his Mandalorian training. That's strengthening them, I imagine."

"I hope so."

Omera smiled warmly. "You're a good teacher." She beamed. "And a good father."

Din shifted and looked down. "I'm trying."

"And you're succeeding."

Omera let out another soft breath, her gaze flickering to the blue lights of hyperspace that shone all around them. She let them sit in silence for a few thoughtful heartbeats before she spoke again.

"It's been a while since I was last off-world."

Din's visor rose to meet her gaze again. "Really?"

Omera nodded. "Winta's father and I were both born and raised on Sorgan, but we had a few adventures before settling back into our village."

Din hummed. "That's how you learned to shoot."

Omera huffed fondly. "Smart man."

"Not always." Din flexed the grasp he had on his arms. "If I was, then we would've been making this trip before I had to get a replacement Crest."

Omera softened. "You had a lot to attend to."

Din didn't respond to that. He simply looked off to the side, his armored chest rising and falling in a steady breath.

Omera decided to redirect. She gently kicked her foot out, just enough to make her boot catch against his. "So, where are you taking us?"

Din faced her again, his posture relaxing as he braced his hands upon his knees. He shrugged. "Thought you two might want a change in pace from all the greenery of Sorgan."

Omera's brow rose in time with the corners of her lips. "So..."

Something on the Razor Crest's console chimed. Din turned back around, flipping a few switches to silence it. "So, we're going somewhere that's not so green."

That still wasn't quite enough to satisfy Omera's curiosity, but she remained silent for now. Instead, she watched as Din tightened his grasp on the joysticks, just before the cockpit door swished aside to make room for Winta and Grogu's return. Omera saw to it that Winta was properly strapped in, while Grogu hopped back into his father's lap.

Din addressed the entire cockpit. "Dropping out of hyperspace... now."

The Razor Crest shuddered as the blue light stretched out into an expanse of stars. Straight ahead of them was a bright white world, covered endlessly by what was unquestionably a thick blanket of snow.

Winta let out a gasp of wonder as she leaned closer to the viewport closest to her. "Whoa! It's so... bright!"

"That's snow, Winta." Omera offered Din another fond look, even if he couldn't see it. "Looks like Mister Djarin really does listen."

Winta cheered with all the childlike enthusiasm within her. "Thank you, Mister Djarin! I've been asking Mama to take me somewhere with snow for cycles."

Din spared her a quick look over his armored shoulder. "You're welcome." He tilted his helmet as the Razor Crest soared towards the planet's atmosphere. "Just be aware, kid. It's cold."

Omera scoffed quietly. "Very cold."

Grogu also cooed an affirmative of his own. Omera recalled the story Din had once told her about what had happened to his original Razor Crest on an icy, snowy world. It seemed as if that experience stuck with Grogu just as much as it had with Din himself.

Din brought the Razor Crest down into an unoccupied part of the planet, with plenty of room for the kids to run around in the snow. It was only once he had the ship powered down that he nodded at Omera, giving her the cue to let Winta hop out of her seat. She giggled as she raced down to the cargo hold, with Grogu following close at her heels.

Before Omera could stand and follow, a gloved hand offered to assist her. Omera looked up, smiling as her gaze met Din's visor. She set her hand in his and stood, giving it a squeeze in thanks. They then followed their two children down into the cargo hold.

Omera stood off to the side as Din approached one of the crates. Winta and Grogu watched him from where they stood in front of one of the closed hatches.

"Like I said before, it's cold here. A lot colder than Sorgan." Din pushed the cover off of one of the crates and reached inside it. "You're gonna need something warmer than what you're wearing right now."

Omera crossed her arms, beaming before she even saw what he held in his grasp. There were two thick, spare capes, one fit closer to Winta's size and another for Omera's, along with two pairs of gloves. He turned to face the two of them while Grogu dug into the crate himself for his own warmer clothes.

Omera started to step towards Winta, but Din held out a gentle gloved hand to stop her. She froze, softening even more as she watched Din kneel down to Winta's level and set the piles of clothing aside. He lifted the small cape and eased it over Winta's shoulders.

"This won't be as effective as a jacket, but..." Din secured it in place and nodded. "It'll do for now." He then offered her the gloves.

Winta smiled in appreciation. "Thank you, Mister Djarin."

Din set a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "You can just call me Din, kid."

Winta looked up to Omera for permission. Omera's gaze flickered to Din before she nodded. Winta looked at Din again and repeated the gesture.

Din stood, using his vambrace to open the hatch. Bright light reflecting off the white snow illuminated the cargo hold, making Winta gasp with delight once again. She and Grogu both tumbled down the gangplank as soon as it hit the ground, laughing the entire way.

Omera watched them with a smile even as Din approached her next. She was ready to take the supplies from him, but just like with Winta, he stopped her.

Din set the gloves aside as he focused on the cape first, moving more gently than Omera ever thought a warrior like himself could be. He clasped the cape underneath her chin, his fingers gently brushing over her collarbone before he moved back towards the gloves. Din assisted her with those as well, leaving their hands partially entwined by the time he was finished.

"There." Din's voice was so soft that it merely crackled through his vocoder, almost inaudible. He steadied himself with a quiet breath as he looked down at her. "Is that alright?"

Omera's smile widened. "It's perfect." She pressed a gloved hand upon his cuirass, giving her the support to push herself up to press her lips against the curve of his beskar helmet. "Thank you, Din."

Din just nodded, and Omera imagined a blush beneath his helmet as he remained speechless. He guided her towards the hatch with a gentle hand upon her back, where they were free to watch over their children playing excitedly in the snow.

She too had wished that this could have been their reality years before, but Omera wouldn't take this moment for granted. She would have waited a lifetime if that's what it had taken.