#steine druff

His helmet filters out most of the noise as he walks back through town, the kid’s cradle trailing alongside him. The sky is a dusky pink as the last of this planet’s suns are beginning to set. Everyone seems to be out and about, humans and other sentient species alike, filling up the walkways and roads.

He’s already plotting the hyperspace route in his mind when he spots movement out of the corner of his eye. He steps to the side to keep out of the way of the foot traffic and looks down at the kid.

Familiar brown eyes look up at him. A clawed finger pokes out of the cradle and across the street. Din looks up and sees a playground, with several kids climbing on the rungs, sliding down the slides, and pushing each other on the swings.

“No, kid, we can’t. We-”

The Child looks at him and points more forcefully. He opens his mouth and lets out a burble of noises, like he’s constructing a well thought out argument.

Din looks back at the playground and sighs. “Five minutes, then we have to go.”

The Child smiles as they cross the street, ducking between carts and groups of people passing.

The playground is surrounded by purple grass and several benches, most of which are already filled with parents. He sets the Child on the ground, and as his little feet touch the ground, he zooms off for the jungle gym, climbing the stairs to the slide with such ferocity, he goes on all fours.

Din finds an empty bench and sits down. He pokes at his gauntlet, letting the kid’s cradle settle to the ground.

As he watches the Child run around, joining the quick games the other kids make, Din finds himself unnervingly fidgety. He can’t think of the last time he could just sit down and not do something else. He can’t program the ship to Gor Koresh without his ship’s computer, the cradle doesn’t need a tune-up, and he obviously can’t leave Grogu unattended here.

He’s not sure how long his brain runs in circles with these thoughts when someone sits down beside him. He doesn’t startle, but he does straighten his spine.

For a while, the person – a Togruta, just off from work based on their clothing – doesn’t say anything. That doesn’t last as he watches Grogu chase a human kid around the base of the rope bridge.

“First one?” they ask.

Din looks over at them. Their tall montrals make them half a head taller than Din and he has to fight the urge to look up.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

The Togruta is undeterred. “Is he your first kid? You’re watching him like a hawk.”

“I- yes.”

They smile. “I remember those days. You think as long as you’re in eye sight of them, no harm will come to them. It gets easier, I swear. unless you’re like me and got saddled up with twins.”

A screech from the swings comes just in time. He looks over and sees twin Togruta shouting “Higher! Higher!” as they swing, forcing the taller Togruta between them to run between, pushing them each in turn.

“I’m not… planning on another.”

They laugh. “Understandable. He seems like a little handful.”

They both turn to the playground. The Child is currently reaching for the monkey bars. A twi’lek boy is already halfway across, swinging artfully, so his hands don’t miss a single rung.

“Yeah, he is.”

The Child reaches out toward the rungs, clawed fingers outstretched. He jumps, a little hop really, and falls down, flat on his face.

Before Din knows what he’s doing, he’s on his feet, heart pounding. The Togruta is on their feet as well, a hand hovering over Din’s chestplate. They’re not touching, but the arm across stops him in place.

“Woah, woah, wait a minute, Mando!” they say. “Let him get his bearings.”

They both turn back to the Child, who’s sitting up now. He shakes his head, ears flapping before looking around. He stops when he spots Din. Din is struck still for a moment, seeing oceans in those big brown eyes.

“You okay?” Din asks, holding a thumbs up.

The kid toddles over, until he’s at Din’s feet. He holds his arms up and Din hesitates for a second before picking him up. The kid isn’t crying, surprisingly, but Din still checks him over for injuries.

“See, you’re okay,” he says, mostly to himself.

The Child smiles at that.

The Togruta has sat back down. “See? Sometimes you gotta let them decide what they want. IF you had run over there, he would’ve assumed something was wrong and started crying.”

Din nods, fingers tracing the Child’s ear. “Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure.” They’re interrupted by their kids screaming. They look over to the swings before rolling their eyes and standing up.

“Looks like I’m needed as moderator. Have a good night, Mando. And to you, little one.”

He nods again. “You too.”

The Child waves as they walk away.

Alone, Din sits back down on the bench. “Are you done? Wanna head back to the ship?”

The Child frowns before pointing to the swings. The Togruta kids are no longer there, replaced with two humans who seem to be doing more talking than swinging, but the baby swings are free.

“Alright, a couple of minutes on them, but then we go, okay?”

The Child gives him a wide smile and he takes that as a yes. He stands up, nodding to the Togruta before walking over to the swings. The Child gets more and more excited to closer they approach, until he’s practically squirming out of his arms.

“Hold on, buddy.”

He sits the Child in the seat and then starts pushing him gently. The little guy squeals in joy and flaps his arms. Din pushes his seat a little harder and the Child’s screams somehow get even louder.

It takes a moment for Din to realize why his cheeks are hurting; he can’t remember the last time he’s smiled this much.

The sun has nearly fully set below the horizon by the time Din plucks the Child from the swing. He’s not entirely enthused with playtime coming to an end, but his big eyes droop from tiredness, so there’s not much of a fuss raised.

“Did you enjoy that?” Din asks, placing him in his cradle.

The Child coos from behind.

The streets are far emptier now, only a few stragglers from the commute mixing in with people about to hit up the town’s night life. All give him a wide berth as they spot his armor under streetlamps.

They’re almost at the ship when they pass a kebab stand. The scent invades his helmet and the Child lets out a loud coo. Din glances back and sees the Child is far more awake than he was a couple minutes ago.

Well, he did take a big fall today. And the trip to Gor Koresh’s last known location would be a couple of days away via hyperspace, so they’d be stuck with rations for the whole trip.

“You can have one.”