Binary Sunset | SW Oneshots

The Right Stuff

ahem

i've read too many force sensitive din djarin fics recently to not at least write something about him being good with kids (partially inspired by Oya Manda'lor! by Cloud__Chaser on AO3, which i think everyone needs to read)

this is a short oneshot that i scribbled down in my notebook last night before i went to bed (ah yes, my evening prayer)  

--

Din, despite having spent roughly a week on Mandalore, was getting incredibly tired of being the Mand'alor. He often found himself wishing that all the different coverts hadn't warmed up to him so quickly, just so that he'd have something to do. 

But sometimes, something interesting would happen. 

Like this. Two Mandalorians dragged in a human kid from who knew where, kicking and screaming - literally - with one-handed grips on the kid's arms. The kid was obviously from some other planet, but Din didn't remember any recent attacks on other civilizations. 

The two other Mandalorians informed him of the situation, and it was exactly as he'd expected. The kid lost their parents, have some sympathy, Din found himself inwardly grumbling. These were two of those few remaining Mandalorians born on Mandalore, though, and he'd learned that sympathy was something they generally lacked. (Well, unless they were going to adopt the kid, but nobody seemed to want to even deal with this one.)

Din rose, his cape falling to his knees. The kid stopped thrashing. Silently, footsteps echoing in the cavernous, stained-glass throne room still scattered with broken shards, he walked down the stairs of the throne and stopped right in front of the kid. He resisted the un-kingly urge to ruffle the kid's hair, wincing at how still and frail they were, how awed and watery their eyes were. They looked terrified. 

He knelt to their height, maybe so they could see his eyes through his visor and catch a glimpse of their own reflection.  

"You're a fighter," He stated, "You know what we call that? Mandokarla." 

The kid looked confused, and of course, Din hadn't expected anything else. He leaned closer to them. "The 'right stuff.'" 

Din's heart lurched as the kid dove into his arms and buried their face in his neck. Hesitantly, he patted their back. The other two Mandalorians watched with poorly hidden amusement, and Din wanted to tell them to put their buckets back on if they didn't want it to be so obvious. He nodded to them, and they got the message. Dismissed. They slipped their helmets on, curtly nodded, and walked away. 

After the sound of footsteps had faded, Din heard a muffled sniffle, and felt the little kid cling tighter to his neck. Like any good buir would have done, like his buir would've done, he held the kid to his chest.

He still didn't like his job, but these things made it all worth it. 

--

Mandokarla - Having the *right stuff*, showing guts and spirit, the state of being the epitome of Mando virtue

Buir - Parent