In this particular AU, I think the Death Watch members who saved Din when he was a child were still led by Maul. He’s separated from most of Mandalore, but he still has a rather loyal group of followers, and when they find this small, angry, Force-sensitive youngling amongst the rubble of yet another Separatist attack, Maul takes him as his apprentice.

Din is a natural. The pain of losing his parents, his fear of droids, his hatred of the separatists and later, the Empire — all of it swirls together into an incredible mastery of the Dark side of the Force. For twelve years, Maul teaches Din everything he knows, and before he knows it, he has the perfect partner he always wanted.

But Maul is still Maul, and when he catches wind that Obi-Wan Kenobi is on that insignificant dustball Tatooine, he drags Din there to kill him once and for all. The two are a formidable match for the Jedi, but Maul’s obsession leaves him open and vulnerable, and Obi-Wan mortally wounds him.

Din knows he’s no match for Obi-Wan on his own and retreats. Before he leaves Tatooine, he feels a ripple through the Force; a calling that confuses and troubles him. The calling leads him to a farm deep in the heart of the desert — where a young, bright, clearly Force-sensitive youngling is happily at play.

Obi-Wan is not far behind him, however, and chases him away with a protective aggression that surprises Din. He concedes to leave the planet and the strange enigma of the Force-bright child he found amongst the drifting sands — for now, anyway.

On his own, masterless and intending to return to his tribe, Din takes up bounty hunting to earn money and fuel his travels. He eventually reunites with the Death Watch and earns his beskar, seen almost as a leader figure now that Maul is gone. He decides to continue bounty hunting for now, since it pays well, and eventually, after years of steady work, finds himself in the employ of certain high-level Imperials, including Darth Vader himself.

Din is one of the thousands of hunters who accepts the bounty on the Rebel who destroyed the Death Star. He’s more than a little surprised when the blurred Holo of the boy’s face awakens a calling in him — the Force practically vibrating with recognition. It’s the boy. The desert child from Tatooine. All grown up, now, and out there wreaking havoc on the galaxy. Din’s intrigue skyrockets. Maul used to tell him certain things were simply the Will of the Force . . . this is clearly one of them.

He hunts Luke down, coming closer than any other hunter before him, including Boba Fett, with Din’s mastery of the Force. Vader takes notice of his many close-calls and expresses interest in Din’s abilities — over time, the pair forms an unlikely duo, a true Sith master and apprentice with enough power and skill to overthrow the Emperor himself.

When Vader finds out the truth about his son, about the Rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star, that’s exactly what they do.

Din isn’t the type of guy to seek out romantic partnership. Getting his dick wet simply doesn’t matter to him. Intimacy, physical affection, human attention? He’s gone through extensive training to overcome such things. It’s a requirement before you can swear the Creed; you have to be able to withstand the urges. Din excelled at this in his training. Such frivolous things are beneath him: he’s a warrior, nothing more.

And then he meets Luke Skywalker.

Maybe he accepts a bounty to bring down the famed Hero of the Rebellion. Maybe he follows the mysterious Jedi and his son back to Luke’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Jedi Temple, unwilling to part with Grogu no matter what this handsome stranger says about attachments. Maybe he simply spots Luke across a room, in some shithole canteena in the darkest corner of the galaxy, and thinks, that’s a nice face.

Din’s not a cruel man. It’s not a desire to harm that overwhelms him. It’s just . . . an itch. An itch he can’t scratch, even back in the safety of his ship, armor stripped bare and hand fisted around his cock. Hunger. Need. Feelings he hasn’t felt — has trained himself not to feel — for twenty goddamn years. Din is starving. He needs something. But no matter what he tries, golden hair and sky-blue eyes and a dimpled smile that speared him right through his heart haunts him, haunts him, haunts him.

He tries to do things the “normal” way, even though he doesn’t really know what that looks like. He strikes up a conversation, aware he’s awkward and overly direct, but Luke seems charmed by his lacking conversation skills. He laughs at his deadpan jokes, takes the lead when Din struggles with what to say, even — maybe, if Din isn’t totally imagining it — flirts with him, a sly smirk over the rim of his spotchka glass.

“Are Jedi allowed to drink?” Din asks, curious.

Luke shrugs. “I guess that’s up to me, being the last one and all.”

And Din maybe falls just a little bit in love. This man is a warrior, like him. The survivor of a cultural genocide. Burdened with a weight no one person should carry. And utterly, helplessly alone with all of that, drowning in the solitude of it.

For the first time in Din’s life he’s confronted with the possibility of something he never knew he needed: someone who can understand. Who knows it feels like. Who can see him, even through the beskar. It’s a craving he hasn’t ever felt compelled to satisfy. Now, the thought of depriving himself of it seems worse than death.

He asks Luke, outright, if the younger man will come back to his ship with him. He doesn’t expect him to say yes, and doesn’t let himself be disappointed when the blond simply smiles and says he needs to be heading back. It’s not a defeat. This, Din knows, is far from over. Luke will understand in time; he’ll see Din, the way Din can now see him.