Author's Note: I just wanted to say that I am blown away by the support I received on the first chapter. Seriously. Y'all are awesome and amazing and thank you all so, so much. I can't even express how grateful and happy I am to see so many people reading, much less enjoying, this fic. :D
PS. There is Mando'a in here, and I put all the translations at the end. Let me know if I missed anything! ^-^
~ Amina Gila
Shmi leaves the main room, going to the small kitchen-area and Anakin comes over, eyes darting between Din and Grogu. Din might be used to talking to and dealing with the kid, but this child is an unknown. He wonders if he ought to say something, to ask who in their right mind would want a child to race for them – unless he's seriously misunderstanding something – but he doesn't really want to overstep any boundaries.
"Have you ever seen a podrace?" Anakin wants to know.
"A couple times," Din replies without elaborating. He's never been interested in, or had time for, things like that, not when he had to work full-time as a bounty hunter to get credits for his covert. Whatever money he didn't need for himself, he kept for them. This is the Way.
"I can race pods," the child reveals, glancing towards where his mother is as if he doesn't want her to hear him talking about it.
Din nearly scoffs. "That's impossible," he declares. "It takes too much experience, and you're too young."
"I have though," Anakin replies defiantly. "I can. I'm really good at it."
He... isn't lying. He's telling the truth, and that, in and of itself, sets of alarm bells. "Why do you race pods?" Din thinks he has a right to be suspicious. And wary.
He shrugs. "Watto makes me do it to win money for him. I've never actually won before, but I haven't been killed either."
"... Who's Watto?" Should he know that name? There are thousands of people in Mos Espa, and it's not as if Din knows them all; he only knows a few, actually, and it's hard to say if this 'Watto' will still be here in a few decades.
Anakin makes a face, suddenly looking very unhappy and seeming far older than he really is. How old is he anyways? 7? 8? He's small. And skinny. And um... A sudden suspicion pops into his head, but he says nothing, waiting for Anakin's response.
"He's... a junk dealer here in Mos Espa," Anakin answers.
Din narrows his eyes. That wasn't really an answer. "Are you a slave?" he asks quietly. He's seen slaves, tried to help them if he could, especially if they were children, for such is the Mandalorian way. He even brought a few children, former slaves, to the covert to be adopted and raised by other Mandalorians. He could have, of course, adopted them himself, but he'd never wanted to. His line of work is always risky, and it's easier if he didn't have someone relying on him so much. Grogu is... different. The kid always has been.
Anakin tenses, instantly coiling up like a spring. "I'm a person," he insists hotly.
That's a yes then, and Din feels his heart clench with sympathy. Would it matter if he killed Watto for endangering a child? Would it matter if he freed Shmi and Anakin? He's on his own now, and he already has Grogu to take care of, but... he doesn't want to leave this bright, young child to such a fate. If he frees them, he'll be duty-bound to care for them until they can care for themselves – or if they, well, Anakin mainly, chooses to join his clan. He wishes he could talk to Goran about this. She would be able to help him. She would give him the answers that he seeks.
"I know," Din answers quietly. He – he isn't really qualified for this. His life was so much easier when he only had to focus on his jobs and providing money to his covert. They took care of everything else. He helped with the foundlings when he had time, but he never had to care for one the way he now is Grogu. None of them were his foundling, and despite the difficulties, Din wouldn't dream of giving up the kid for anything.
And it helps that he doesn't need to worry about keeping a low-profile. If this is really the past, if Jabba is really alive again... then this must be before the Empire too. And he won't need to worry about being hunted down, about Grogu being taken from him for reasons he doesn't even know. He's a Mandalorian. He can more than hold his own against many, if not most, people, and the majority won't mess with him. His beskar'gam lends a certain intimidation factor to his appearance, and his vast array of weaponry even more so.
Grogu, of course, forever attuned to Din's feelings, turns his head to look at him, babbling nonsensically. "I'm okay, kid," Din assures him, but he doesn't think Grogu believes it. In one quick jump, the kid is flying across the room and into Din's arms, snuggling close to him with more incoherent sounds. Din holds Grogu close to him, stroking his head lightly and feeling affection swell up within him. He loves the way that his kid always tries to make him feel better if he's conflicted or upset, even if he feels somewhat guilty that Grogu is trying to help him. It's supposed to work the other way around.
"Wow. How can he do that?" Anakin inquires, curiously.
Din stills, heartrate spiking for a moment. He knows, logically, that he doesn't need to worry, but he's been afraid for so long – before he sent Grogu to be with the Jetii anyways – of someone realizing about Grogu's abilities and trying to take him that it's instinctual at this point. He forces himself to relax a moment later. Anakin isn't being malicious. He isn't trying to hurt them. He's simply curious.
"He has... abilities," Din admits. He's still not accustomed to the way that the kid openly uses his Jetii magic yet. Or the fact that it's usage no longer instantly puts him to sleep.
"Cool!" Anakin's exuberance seems to have returned in full now, and he's looking at Grogu curiously again. "Can he talk?"
"No, not yet," Din answers. "His species ages slowly."
"Slowly? What do you mean?"
"He's 50 from what I heard."
"Fifty?!" Anakin practically shrieks. "He looks like a baby!"
Din finds himself smiling now. "He is a baby." Grogu looks up at him with a pout. "Toddler then," he amends, absently stroking a finger over one of the kid's ears.
"How did you find him?" Anakin wants to know.
This child is, apparently, very full of questions and very talkative if he has a willing audience. Or if he feels safe. Din isn't sure if he should be touched by that or not, but he finds that he's warming up to the child quickly. He kept his distance on Sorgan, knowing that he would have to leave eventually; besides, the people there didn't really understand him. They were polite and kind and generous, but they were... well, they were farmers. They were simple people. Anakin is different somehow, and Din knows that he'll eventually leave him – and Tatooine – behind, so he doesn't know why he's indulging the boy so much. He never has acted – or felt – this way in the past, not with anyone else.
"I tracked him. He was... a mission," Din explains, unsure how else to word it.
Anakin sobers a bit at that. "But you kept him?"
"I – yes, I wouldn't let the Em- I wouldn't let anyone hurt him; he's only a child. This is the Way," he adds somberly. Grogu coos at the words, staring up at him with adoring eyes. He definitely understood that, or at least the underlying meaning. "Grog'ika," he prompts, adoring the way the kid instantly perks up when he uses his name – or his new nickname, that is. He points at the shiny metal ball which is still lying on the floor, abandoned when Grogu used his Jetii magic to jump into Din's arms.
The kid reaches out a hand, a look of concentration on his face, and a moment later, the ball flies into it. He coos, holding it out to Din. He chuckles quietly, patting Grogu's head. "Alright. I'll keep it safe for you." He tucks it away, glancing back at Anakin to find the child staring at them both with surprise.
"I thought only Jedi could move stuff like that," he comments.
"He was trained by a Jetii for a short time, but he wanted to stay with me." Din decides that it's best for him to not explain their past, or how they came to be here. He doesn't know a lot about this time-travelling business, though it seems like something completely unheard of. If no one knows that about them, it will keep them – Grogu, that is – safer.
"I had a dream that I became a Jedi," Anakin tells him, almost wistfully, "And I came back to free all the slaves."
Grogu whines, quietly, and Din glances down at him. He's looking at Anakin, so Din gets the feeling that, whatever it is, has to do with the child. "We'll talk about it later," he murmurs to his kid, before turning his attention to Anakin again. He knows that Anakin's dream never came about. When he was on Tatooine, even during the Empire, slavery was as rampant as ever. That's part of the reason why he tried to avoid the planet, in general. "Do you want to be a Jetii?" he asks, curious.
"Yes. I want to help people," comes the reply.
Din looks at the look of determination on his face, and for a moment, he sees the face of the Jetii who took Grogu to train him, and he feels frozen. Luke Skywalker. He's the one who, forty years from now, was willing to teach Grogu, who did teach him. Is it a coincidence that Din is now meeting a child who bears the same last name and who has a startling resemblance to the Jetii Din had met? Skywalker isn't an uncommon name, not in the Outer Rim, but still, what are the chances? He gives Grogu a suspicious look, wondering even more, how much of this was orchestrated by the little womp rat. They need to have that talk still. Later. Preferably when they're alone and assured of their privacy.
"You don't have to be Jetii to help people," he points out, somewhat amused at the hero worship this child has for them. Din, personally, hardly even knew about the Jetii much less believed them to be real when he was a child. He heard legends of heroes who could do the impossible, and he hadn't really believed them. He believed them even less when it was the Mandalorians who rescued him from the CIS battle droids.
For a long time in Mandalorian history, Jetii have been no more than "a race of enemy sorcerers." Whatever admiration he held for them disappeared when he became a foundling, when his training in the Way began. And by the time he swore the Creed, whatever thoughts he may have once had about the Jetii were gone. The only thing that mattered to him, the only thing that still matters, is being Mando'ad. (And, of course, protecting Grogu. He'll do anything for his adiik, has done anything, even broken the Creed.)
Anakin is quiet for a moment, considering. "But Jedi are strong," he maintains adamantly. "No one can kill a Jedi."
Grogu whimpers softly, and Din instinctively pulls him closer, cradling him in one arm and letting the kid grab one of his fingers in his tiny hand. Din knows, or suspects at least, that Grogu is remembering things from his past. "That is not true," Din tells Anakin. "For Mandalorians, Jetii have historically been enemies, and we know how to kill him. We have killed them."
Anakin gives him a wide-eyed look of shock. "You've killed Jedi?"
"Not me," Din clarifies, shaking his head. He doesn't add that he never knew the Jetii were real until he met the kid, until the kid saved his life from the mudhorn. It feels like a lifetime ago. "I've heard the stories though."
The boy seems to be in a bit of shock at the revelation that Jetii aren't indestructible heroes, and Din almost pities him. He can no longer remember what it meant to be that young and... innocent. Oh, he knows that Anakin has likely suffered untold things in his young life, things that no child ever should, but somehow, he's retained his innocence through it all.
"I still want to be a Jedi," Anakin decides after a moment. "They're good."
Grogu babbles something that Din thinks is a protest at that, looking adorably grumpy as he waves his free hand, pointedly punctuating whatever it is that he's saying. He's... kind of pointing at all of them, and this time, Din has no idea what it means. "What is it, ad'ika?"
The kid stops talking, realizing that Din doesn't understand him before slowly pointing at Anakin and then slapping his hand on the chest plate of Din's beskar'gam. It's a new gesture, not one that Din has seen before, but a suspicion worms its way into his mind when he thinks back on what they've been discussing. "Grogu," he says to get the kid's full attention. "You want me to... what? Take Anakin to the Jetii?" He supposes he could, but there is a chance that they could try to take Grogu from him, and Din doesn't want to risk it.
Anakin brightens instantly seeming elated, but Grogu shakes his head adamantly. He chatters something else which Din doesn't understand – as usual – before pointing at Din's right shoulder with a delighted look. Din follows his gaze, trying to understand, and his eyes fall on the mudhorn signet, a symbol of their aliit. No. Surely, the kid can't mean that –
"I need to have a talk with my foundling," Din decides, not taking his eyes off Grogu. "I'll be back shortly." Then, he stands, exiting from the home and moving to the side where he'll be partially obscured from prying eyes. This talk of theirs is long overdue, and Din would really like to understand what's going on in his kid's head. If Grogu is getting notions about Din... adopting Anakin or something like that, well, he needs to know and sort it out.
***
Anakin watches Mando leave with Grogu before wandering into the kitchen-area. He already knows that Mom probably overheard much of their conversation, and he imagines she has something to say to him about it.
On his part, Anakin doesn't really know what to make of the duo. They're very... different, but not in a bad way. At first, Anakin was admittedly wary of the Mandalorian, because he looked like a mercenary or some other type of gangster. He can be deadly and dangerous. But he has a child, a child that he very obviously cares for. He definitely thinks of Grogu as his child.
Grogu is of a species Anakin has neither seen nor heard of, and he's curious. He wants to know more, but he doesn't think that Mando knows much more than he does. And why is Grogu not with the Jedi anymore? Or rather, why did he not want to stay with them? Why wouldn't anyone want to be a Jedi? The Jedi are brave, and they help people. Mom is always telling Anakin that the biggest problem in the galaxy is that people don't help each other. The Jedi try, at least, and that's why Anakin wants to be a part of them.
He wants nothing more than to be free, to be away from this planet, and if Mando is willing to help, Anakin certainly won't object. But why does Grogu not want Mando to take Anakin to be with the Jedi? Does he even understand what's going on? Mando certainly seems to think so, and Anakin kind of likes how he interacts with the baby. It – it's the way he always thought a father would be with his son, and he wants that. He hates that he'll never get to know his father – he has one, okay? Of course, he does. He knows what it means to "not have a father" like Mom always says. Fathers are supposed to protect and love their children, and Anakin wishes that he could have that, even though it's probably just another pointless dream. Like becoming a Jedi.
"He's a good man," Mom tells him quietly, pausing cutting the vegetables in front of her to look at him. She looks... sad, almost, and Anakin wonders if she's thinking about the same thing he is. "He cares about his child."
"I know," Anakin agrees, scuffing his foot on the floor. "Do you think he could help us?" It's pointless to think about, but he can't help it. His most cherished dream is to one day escape from this dustbowl and get out into the galaxy. He'll jump at any chance he can in the hopes that his dreams will be fulfilled.
Mom sighs, reaching out for a moment to lay a hand on his shoulder. "He doesn't even have enough credits to help himself."
It's not a yes, but it's not a no either. In this moment, Anakin suddenly finds himself wondering if his mother hopes for freedom as much as he does. She's accepted her place as – as a slave, unlike him. Anakin isn't content with staying here. He wants more, and he'll do anything to escape. That's why he's been illegally helping out the freedom fighters when he can. An old friend of his, who is probably already dead by now, introduced him to underground movement of people who are doing what they can to help the enslaved. Anakin believes in their cause, but he also knows that he's too young to do anything. And he's not skilled enough.
On that note, maybe if he tells Mando about it? The thing is, he doesn't know if the man will even care. Sure, he was being remarkably tolerant of Anakin's many questions, but that means nothing. He might only care about himself – and Grogu, obviously – and not really be bothered by what happens to Anakin or Mom. The mere thought makes him feel upset, so he tries to dismiss it from mind. He doesn't want to think that way. He doesn't want to think that Mando might actually dismiss them without care as to their fate.
He's a good person, and he's a warrior. Surely, he could at least do something...? But, Anakin realizes, that would be selfish. Helping slaves could easily mean putting his child in danger, and any feelings of resentment fade. Anakin would never want or ask someone to put their child in danger for him or anyone else. He's not worth it.
Mando'a Translations:
Goran - armorer
beskar'gam - armor
jetii - Jedi
Mando'ad - Mandalorian (literally, son/daughter of Mandalore)
adiik - child
ad'ika - little one
aliit - family, clan
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