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ceapa-mica · 1 year ago

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GEHAT'IK BE ALIIT | Chapter 24

{cross-posted on ao3} {masterlist}

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Pairing: Din Djarin x Original Female Character

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Grogu being a public menace

Words: 5758

Summary: Visiting Din's homeworld to celebrate Life Day becomes an emotional roller coaster for Din and Elora.

a/n: Welcome back! You're probably wondering what returning to the place of his trauma will be like for Din. There will be so many emotions! Also this is the official Christmas chapter for my fic (published in September lol) If you're reading this during the holidays I wish you Merry Christmas or whatever else you celebrate.

"This is Vetina City spaceport tower one, state your business, Razor Crest."

Din got goosebumps at the transmission, but didn't let his nervousness get a hold of him.

"We are here for the Life Day celebrations."

"You have permission to land in bay 5-C. Thank you."

Din and Elora exchanged glances. Even Grogu had picked up on his father figure's feelings, causing him to squirm in Elora's hold.

"Relax, little one. We have not yet landed." she cooed in a soothing voice.

When Vetina City came into sight, Din was speechless. The ruins of the town he used to live in wasreplaced by a bustling city with a large spaceport. Even from afar you could see the many people bustling in the streets.

"It's so… different from what I remember."

Bay 5-C wasn't hard to find, and as the Crest hit the ground, Din didn't move. Elora put a reassuring hand on his arm under his pauldron where she knew he could feel her touch.

"We can still leave. It's all up to you." she reminded him.

Din considered it for a moment, then he stood and tried to look confident. Elora and Grogu both sensed that quite the opposite was the case.

"Now that we're here, I think we should at least take a look around. This place has changed a lot, so we can get our bearings."

Down in the hull, Elora took her gray Jawa cloak and her satchel bag. Arfour was beeping, excited to join them again. Meanwhile Din had left for the 'fresher. He had removed his helmet and stared at his reflection for several minutes.

Elora patiently waited for him, but Grogu on the other hand didn't want to wait any longer. He wanted to run around and explore. He squirmed impatiently in Elora's arm and was on the verge of throwing a tantrum when Din came out of the fresher.

"Are we good to go?" Elora asked. As a simple response he took her hand and opened the hatch. Followed by Arfour they set foot on Din's homeworld. It resembled Nevarro in some way. At least the soil, as it was a similar shade of gray. The scent of fried food lingered in the air, and as they left the spaceport for the bustling streets, there were colorful decorative lights on the flat roofed houses, the market stalls, trees and lanterns.

"I heard people put those everywhere for Life Day." Din said, noticing Elora's astonished gaze. He chuckled at the childlike wonder in her eyes, his hand still in hers. Grogu let out a joyful squeal as well, making attempts to climb over on Arfour's flat top, and Elora let him.

"Stay close, Arfour."

The droid whistled in agreement and followed them closely as they strolled through the streets. There were so many vendors, some were selling fabrics, little trinkets, Life tree orbs, and of course, all kinds of foods. Roasted meat, even stews and many different pastries. Elora knew to keep an eye on the always hungry child who looked displeased at the attention he got from Elora and Din with all the food around. The moment Grogu tried to take a particularly delicious looking pastry from a stall via the force, Din had quickly intervened and took the child into his arms, holding him close to his chest.

"Having one thief on the team is enough, don't you think, you little womp rat?" Grogu frowned, making his forehead look even wrinklier than it already did. "Don't be upset, I will buy you something sweet later. Let's take a look around first, then we decide what we wanna eat." That's when Din noticed that Elora had let go of his hand. She was nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, the HUD inside his helmet wasn't just useful for bounty hunting, but for tracking down wayward loved ones who have a talent for getting into trouble. It took him barely a minute to find Elora, who was standing at a stall. She had laid eyes on an object she examined with a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"It's made out of beskar alloy, very high quality." the Togruta vendor said.

"Did you find something?" Din asked, looking at the colorful metal figure Elora held in her hands. It showed a Jedi and a Mandalorian - the Jedi pointing their lightsaber at the armored warrior who responded using their flamethrower.

"It's a rarity, the price is 3.500 credits. You won't find anything of finer quality on the entire market, that I assure you."

"He says it's made from beskar alloy." Elora added, causing Din to huff in disbelief.

"I'm Mandalorian, and I can tell the difference between common durasteel alloy and beskar alloy. And this…" He took the statue and hit it against his vambrace, the collision of the metals creating a dull sound. "...this is definitely not beskar alloy." He then hit his chest plate with his vambrace, the collision causing a loud bright sound resembling a bell. "This is what beskar on beskar sounds like. Think about it next time you try to scam tourists out of their money." The vendor was at a loss for words, looking around to estimate how many people had witnessed this moment of pure shame.

Meanwhile Din, Elora and Grogu went on their way. Elora was blushing and looked uncomfortable, something Din noticed immediately. "You alright?" Elora put on a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I can tell when you're pretending. So what is it?"

"Argh! I'm just frustrated. I feel humiliated is all. Not by you, by that son of a bantha vendor. I should be able to recognize beskar, or anything of value really. When someone scams a Jawa out of credits, parts or whatever, it can ruin your reputation within the tribe. In my culture we get taught how to trade from a very young age. We learn what's valuable and what isn't, I should have known this was durasteel alloy. It was just so polished and shiny, looking like my beskar alloy lightsaber hilt. I would have fallen for it if you hadn't intervened."

"It looked real, Elora. You can only figure it out with a well trained eye and hitting the material against actual beskar. Next time someone claims to sell a beskar object, you know what to do." Din hated the sad look in Elora's eyes and tried to distract her, leading her to a town square where a choir with a little orchestra in blue uniforms was singing Life Day songs.

Grogu looked interested in the direction of the two chindinkalu flute players. Din put him back on Arfour's top, the droid rolling closer to the orchestra. Grogu clapped his little hands, cheering the musicians on. At the same time Din took Elora's hand. "I'm really not good at this but…can I have this dance, my lady?"

Elora tried to hold back her laughter. "I don't think you've spoken to me in that formal tone before, sir." Din blushed under his helmet. "In case you don't remember, on Naboo I had to dance with this annoying noble, his feet probably still haven't recovered from it."

Din chuckled at the memory. "He got what he deserved. Step on my feet as often as you like, it won't make me love you any less, mesh'la."

"You're being quite a flirt today, Din Djarin." They began to sway to the music together, not caring how the couples around them danced. They found their own rhythm and only had eyes for each other, and occasionally for Grogu, who was still gleefully watching the orchestra.

"You know what I don't understand? Why do paintings and statues always portray Mandalorians and Jedi fighting each other? Clearly the times have changed. Look at us -" She accidentally stepped on his left foot. "Sorry…"

"They are portrayed fighting because the Jedi stepped on the Mandalorian's toes while dancing." Din chuckled, then his voice turned serious with a gentle undertone. "Our cultures have fought each other for thousands of years. Do you remember what Paz said? That Mandalorians and Jedi could never -" He accidentally stepped on Elora's toes. "Sorry I- um… Well, our cultures are polar opposites. If we should choose to spend our life together at some point, there would certainly be people, even friends, who wouldn't agree with our connection."

"So far my family is just looking forward to a wedding. Dank farrik, I assume you've never been to a Jawa wedding, no?"

"I can't say that I have."

"Jawa weddings are huge. Especially since I'm the daughter of the chief. When two Jawas get married, the two tribes come together for the ceremony. Weddings are a way to strengthen connections with other tribes. One Jawa wedding I attended took three days, believe it or not."

"Our cultures are very different indeed… A Mandalorian wedding ceremony is just the couple, alone, speaking the wedding vows to each other. There's no feast, nothing special, only that we remove our helmets for our spouse for the first time. Spouses and offspring are the only living beings allowed to see each other's faces in private. This is the Way." Din explained.

"I know we only let my family believe we're engaged right now, but could you imagine getting actually engaged to me in the future?"

The look in Elora's eyes was so hopeful, it made Din's heart swell.

"There's no such thing as engagement in my culture, just the marriage vows. And… despite all odds… I can imagine making you my riduur one day."

"Riduur means wife?"

"It means spouse or romantic partner, yes. Do you know that Life Day marks one year since we first met? I remember the bounty before Grogu, he mentioned Life Day. Then I went to Arvala 7 and found you and the kid."

Elora couldn't believe it was one year already since she had left her tribe for the first time to find blood relatives. It felt like it had just been yesterday. So much had changed in just one year. She had to admit it had been the best year of her life so far. She finally found love, she knew her birth mother was still alive and had better control over her force powers than ever before. Everything had changed. She went from hating Mandalorians to being unable to imagine a life without Din by her side. They were on Aq Vetina together - a place that meant so much to Din - celebrating the little family the four of them, Arfour included, had become.

"You truly changed my life, Din. We've been through so much and-" A sudden scream tore through the music, causing it abruptly to stop. It was one of the chindinkalu flute players.

"Grogu!" Din yelled, rapidly approaching the musician. Grogu had force jumped onto her shoulder out of curiosity, scaring the shit out of her.

"A green rat! Somebody take that thing back where it came from or so help me-" she yelled. Grogu showed no fear, trying to reach the mouthpiece of the instrument before Din grabbed him.

"I'm sorry, Miss! He's still a kid, I-"

"You're sorry?! That thing tried to bite me!"

"He did not! He wanted to play your instrument." Elora explained, focusing on the fear the woman felt, and sending calming vibes through the force at her. She instantly calmed down.

The incident had caused a small crowd of people to gather around them. Too much attention was never a good thing, especially when you wore beskar armor, were force sensitive and on top of that on the Empire's most wanted list. Din and Elora knew that and left the scene, walking over the market in quick steps until the town square was out of sight. Din took a weary look around, but nobody paid more attention to him than usual. He was used to the looks he got for his armor. After he deemed the situation safe, they went to a food stall that offered ronto wraps and salad bowls. Elora looked for a table to sit. Din returned with two plates of ronto wraps. Instead of ronto sausage the wraps contained ronto gyro, and it tasted as good as it smelled. Elora admired the way Din's armor reflected the rays of the evening sun while she ate and she thought about how annoying it had to be to never be able to eat with others. Din leaned back in his chair, looking content, Grogu took a particular liking to the meat, and Arfour was watching the passersby.

"I- I have something for you, cyar'ika. I know Life Day is tomorrow, but I wanna give this to you now." Din said with a softness in his voice, as the last bite of her dinner disappeared in Elora's mouth. He opened his satchel bag and took out a small red box. She opened it with bright eyes, and gaped at the pretty golden bracelet with multiple charms on it. One being a tiny purple crystal, looking like a small version of the one in her lightsaber. Another charm looked like the middle of Din's chest plate. He noticed how her eyes went to that part of his armor.

"It’s called the kar'ta beskar, which means beskar heart. And you, cyare, have my heart."

"Where did you get all those particular charms?!" Elora looked around to find the market stall that was selling those.

"The bracelet itself I bought on Naboo back in the day. Whenever we went to markets, I've been looking for charms to add. The beskar heart I bought in Kyrimorut. Today I found the last one."

The bracelet had five charms. The remaining three were a rusty little bolt, a bead of jade in the same shade of green as Grogu and a very shiny mythosaur skull.

"The bolt is supposed to signify your tribe, the jade signifies the bond you have with Grogu, and the shiny mythosaur skull the Armorer made for you as thanks for helping to successfully relocate the covert."

Elora stared at Din, completely at a loss for words. As much as she hated crying in front of others, tears welled in her eyes. Grogu cooed sadly, obviously not understanding why she was suddenly crying. Din was such a thoughtful person, he made her feel seen, made her feel loved, both physically and emotionally. Her heart truly felt like it could burst out of happiness, and the featherlight feeling in her tummy had increased tenfold.

"I feel bad because I have no gift for you."

"There's no bigger gift than having you for a girlfriend."

"Didn't you say earlier that you can imagine making me your wife one day?" Elora asked with her usual cheeky smile while putting on the bracelet. Din reached out and wiped the remaining tears off her cheeks with his thumbs.

"I promise you I will. There's something I wanna show you. All of you."

The sun had set and they continued their stroll around the Life Day market. At the cobblestone plaza where the town hall was located stood a large tree decorated with colorful lights and orbs. It looked simply magical. Grogu squealed joyfully and jumped off Arfour's top, waddling towards the tree. He was so tiny compared to it. Elora and Din laughed at the child's curiosity. There were some kids at the plaza playing ball, distracting Grogu from the enormous tree. Before the boy could run off to Maker knows where, Din had picked him up.

"How did you know the tree was there?" Elora asked.

"The food vendor saw Grogu and mentioned the Life Day tree and something else. It will be a surprise."

"Another surprise?!"

Din nodded. "Trust me, I know the perfect place for this one." He put his arms tightly around her waist.

"What the-" Before Elora could speak any further, Din had activated his jetpack, zooming off to a nearby flat rooftop of a building that was higher than the tree on the plaza. Arfour used his thrusters to follow them.

The view of the city was incredible. The decorations, the lights, the many different scents coming from the market, it was more than Din could have imagined, but to his disappointment, it didn't feel like a home anymore. This bustling city had once been a small town with simple people and without a spaceport. He could tell most people down on those streets weren't born on Aq Vetina. He wasn't sure if all those changes made it easier for him to find closure or not.

"Okay why did you take us up here? Don't get me wrong, the view is fantastic, but I have a feeling Grogu is craving a dessert and-" Din raised his hand and she paused.

"Just wait for it."

Elora didn't understand the sudden secrecy. What were they waiting for?

Suddenly there was a whistling sound and in the next second the sky above lit up in the most beautiful colors. Grogu winced at the sounds of the firework, but looked up in wonder, same as Elora. Neither of them had ever seen fireworks before. Even Arfour bleeped at the spectacle in wonder. As the colors lit up the night sky, Din's gaze rested on Elora and Grogu. If there was anything he enjoyed watching more than the fireworks, it was their reaction. He knew it was a moment both of them would never forget. Elora felt his eyes on her and turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his helmet where his mouth would be.

"I love you, Din. Everything you do for me - for us… How are you feeling by the way?"

"I'm fine. Life Day is about family, and there's no better way to honor my parents than being happy. That's probably what they would want me to be. Making Life Day unforgettable for you and Grogu makes me happy. And I love you too, cyar'ika."

They were holding each other and looked up at the fireworks, with an occasional glance to Grogu who was mesmerized by the beauty. It was when he started to cough due to the smoke in the air that Din and Elora let go of each other.

"We should find a place to sleep. As much as I love the Crest, a holiday is special. We should celebrate it somewhere festive." Din suggested and took them back down to the streets, where he started looking for lodging.

He was distracted for a moment, asking a vendor where they could find a place to sleep. Elora took that as a chance to walk off as she noticed a stall selling melee weapons.

"There's a bed and breakfast at the-" Din paused and his eyes landed on Arfour. Elora and Grogu had disappeared. He was about to use his HUD again to find them, when there was a commotion a few stalls to his right.

"Thief! Somebody stop this woman!"

He recognized Elora's red hair immediately from afar and groaned in frustration. "I knew this was gonna happen at some point. Come on, droid."

Din and Arfour followed Elora's distinctive red hair through the crowds. He was surprised how fast of a runner she could be, and he had a feeling it had something to do with her force sensitivity. If there had been someone trying to catch her, she had already outrun them.

At a young age Elora had learned how to escape pursuers. She knew she had to hide from their sight, which meant she had to get off this market. So she took a turn into the next alley. It was dirty and smelled of a mix of mud and urine. Out of breath she checked on Grogu, who was giggling, amused by the situation. He held a little muffin in his hand he was nibbling on.

"I hope you learned an important lesson today, kid. When you steal, try not to get caught."

His ears flopped at her words and the sad look in his eyes made her heart melt, she couldn't be mad at him.

"There you are…" Din had caught up to them, a little out of breath. "I told you stealing could get you into trouble." he scolded Elora, who couldn't hold back a cheeky smile.

"You did, but I think you forgot to tell him." She pointed at Grogu, stains of blue buttercream on his mouth and nose. Din huffed in disbelief and let out an exasperated sigh. "You're being a bad influence, cyar'ika."

"Aww I take that as a compliment." she responded in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

Before they could argue, Din looked around, having picked up on a sound coming from another nearby alley. It was a metallic sound that Elora and Din were both familiar with. At the mouth of the alley, Din pulled his blaster from its holster faster than the blink of an eye, shooting at a silver battle droid who was carrying cargo.

"What the fuck, Din?!"

It took several shots to destroy the droid. The cargo, a large grey chest, fell to the floor, a golden power-like substance coming out of it. Elora had seen it before, and she knew a spice deal gone wrong meant trouble. "I know you hate droids, but thoughtlessly shooting one is risky, given the cargo it's supposed to load on the sled.

"I don't care. That's the kind of droid that killed my parents. It's dangerous." The hatred in his voice was audible.

"It was likely reprogrammed. They can be useful for carrying heavy objects." she tried to explain.

Din clenched his hands into tight fists and took deep breaths, trying to calm his rapid heartbeat. "What would you do to the man who you thought had killed your mother, Elora?"

It took her a moment to think of the right words, but she decided to be blunt about it. "I would let him suffer before I kill him." she said in a dark tone. She understood his actions, but also saw the risk. Din's trauma seemed to impact his judgment.

That's when a blaster bolt came out of nowhere, almost hitting Elora in the shoulder. She dodged it with her lightsaber in a second's notice. There were men yelling inside the building. Another blaster bolt hit Din in his chest plate, causing him to stumble a few steps back.

"See what you've done?!" They started running again, Elora dodging the blaster bolts that followed them with her lightsaber and Din firing shots at the group of six men, shielding Grogu from harm with his body. His aim was much better than theirs. In a matter of minutes there were only four of them left, then three, one… Even when no more shots were fired after the last spice smuggler fell, Din and Elora remained on high alert, Arfour bleeping uncomfortably and Grogu on top of him dropped his long ears in fear.

"It's okay, sweetie, we're out of danger now." Elora cooed, picking him up. In her arms he instantly buried his little face in the crook of her neck and she went to face Din. "Listen, I understand what overcame you when you saw that droid. The same feeling overcame me when I met you for the first time, Din. I learned in the best way that things are not always as they seem. This droid was programmed to load cargo, not kill innocents, and I know a thing or two about droids. You're not the type of guy who thinks with their blaster, it was reckless and so unlike you."

"I- I'm so sorry, I put you all in danger. It was never my intention, it's just…" She noticed how he shivered. "I saw that droid and I just…. I was nine years old when one of those things almost killed me. When I saw the droid back there, it was like I was a child again.." Din's voice trembled. Elora felt a deep sadness radiating off him. Before she could pull him into a hug he walked past her, his gaze on a clothesline where a red cloak was hanging to dry.

"Darling?" Elora asked as Din stared at the cloak, his posture being rigid.

"That's traditional Vetinese clothing. My family… that's what we used to wear." His voice was quiet and sad. "I don't remember much, but I know I was happy. It's the little things that I still recall the most aside from our last moments together. The scent of my mother's perfume, my father's laugh… Damn it was such a long time ago."

Din took the red fabric in his hand, a familiar feeling of safety settled in his gut at the touch.

"Nothing gets lost in this universe. In the force they'll always be with you until the day you join them." Din turned, and Elora took the opportunity to pull him into a warm hug. He rested his head on her shoulder, enjoying the feeling of her running her hands over his arms.

"Whatever you feel, Din, it's okay."

Their hug was suddenly interrupted when the back door of the building opened. A little old lady in a lilac dressing gown stepped out, two tookas purring around her legs.

"What's all the noise out here?!" she asked, her wrinkly face contorted in anger.

"Sorry, m'am. We were about to leave." Elora apologized.

The expression on the woman's face changed from anger to curiosity as she took in Din's shiny appearance. "Why did you return here?" the lady asked Din, who was taken aback by her question. "Your people freed what was left of our village. Are you back because this town is in danger?" she clarified.

"No, not at all. I was actually born here. The Mandalorians took me in after the battle droids attacked the town.”

The old lady frowned thoughtfully, appraising him. "What's your name?"

For a moment Din hesitated telling this woman - a stranger - his name, but decided to take the risk and do it. "The name's Din. Din Djarin."

Her eyes lit up at his name. "You're Zaro and Ni'qa Djarin's boy, aren't you? Oh, I thought you had died along with them." Tears welled in her eyes as she introduced herself as Varia Geth, explaining that she had been a neighbor of Din's family back in the day. Din was still in disbelief hearing his parents' names and that there was someone who remembered him from before his life as a Mandalorian foundling. He couldn't place the warm feeling that blossomed in his heart, but he knew Elora and Grogu felt it too.

Varia invited them into her house. Grogu was immediately fascinated by her tookas and squealed happily as Din put him down to let him play with them.

"If you and your wife are looking for a place to stay, you can sleep in my son's room. I have no use for it since he moved out." Varia offered, and Din and Elora eagerly accepted, without bothering to correct her when it came to the title of their relationship, since old people could be a bit conservative at times, and they wanted to sleep in the same room.

It turned out, Varia had a real talent for baking, much to Grogu's delight. They sat down in her cozy living room that had many pillows and self made blankets. With a hot chocolate for each, Varia started telling them stories from before the Separatist invasion that destroyed the village. How all people wore red cloaks when leaving the house, about the peace and quiet she missed so much in this bustling city. Din listened intently, sipping his hot chocolate through a straw that went under his helmet. From the stories Varia told them, his parents had been kind and generous people, living a simple life with the wellbeing of their only child as their top priority.

Bedtime was truly something else when you were used to sleeping in the small nook on the Razor Crest. The spare bedroom in Varia's house had a bed that was big enough for two, with lots of soft pillows and self made quilts. Grogu cooed as he climbed on top of it, getting comfortable.

Din removed his armor sans his helmet, feeling safe enough in this house to do so. Elora took off her boots and put her lightsaber on the bedside table before lying down next to Grogu who was trying real hard to keep his eyes open. Din laid down on the other side of him, so Grogu was lying in between his guardians. He yawned and they watched him drift off to sleep with a smile on his face.

Arfour had switched off, charging in the corner of the bedroom, and peace and quiet settled in the house. Din and Elora looked at each other, and despite the helmet, she knew the look in his eyes was full of affection.

"I certainly didn't expect the day to go like this." he whispered barely loud enough for the vocoder to pick up.

"How do you feel?"

It took Din a good minute to come up with the right words. "Like I made the right choice by coming here. I have to thank you for suggesting it." He caressed her cheek with his gloved hand. "My sweet girl, you helped me reconnect with my family in a way, I hope I can find a way to return the favor."

"Mmm.. the thought of my mom spending Life Day without me now that I know she's alive... It feels a bit off." Elora yawned, closing her eyes. Din didn't miss the light frown she always had when she was worried.

"I'll do everything so you can celebrate together next year, mesh'la. Rest now, the kid will be up early."

He didn't have to tell her twice. He watched her fall asleep wrapped in the colorful quilt blankets, taking her hand in his. Just like any Mandalorian, he swore to put his little family before everything else, like his parents before him.

"Patu! PATU!"

Elora groaned when Grogu jumped on her chest before the sun was up.

"No…it's too early. Go back to sleep." she cursed in Jawa Trade under her breath. That's when she felt that the other side of the bed was cold and empty, her eyes blinking open. Grogu crawled up to her face and squished her cheeks with his pudgy hands.

"Grogu!" Din's voice came from the hallway. He came to take the child off her chest. "I told you to let her sleep longer. I'm sorry, cyare. He woke me up first, all excited about his Life Day gifts."

While Elora sat up and rubbed her eyes, Din took Grogu back into the living room where he started playing with the Life Day gift Din had gotten him - a Thranta plushie that was actually more of a soft blanket than a stuffed toy, and miniature Jawa toy figures. Varia was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, waffles by the smell of it. Din wished his life could always be this harmonic, but he knew the reality was a different one, Moff Gideon was still out there and many others wouldn't hesitate to kill him for his beskar or to get to Elora and the kid.

After breakfast (Din having breakfast in the living room instead of the kitchen due to his Creed), Elora approached him with a present wrapped in red paper. "I found this on the market yesterday. I think it's a useful gift."

Din raised his brows, surprised that she, too, had bought him a gift. He didn't expect that.

"I didn't steal it by the way." she added as she noticed his hesitation.

"I didn't assume you stole it, I'm just…" He unwrapped the item, which was a box containing a collection of high quality vibroblades. He took one, twirling it between his fingers. Din huffed in disbelief. "They must have cost a fortune."

"I saved some credits from our previous jobs. Do you like them?"

Din stood up, looking down at her. "No. I love them! Such a thoughtful gift, thank you so much!" He wrapped his arms around her. "Gifting weapons is a sign of trust in my culture. It means a lot to me."

Varia searched several shelves in her living room until she found what she had been looking for. It was a small holochip she gave to Din.

"What is this for?"

"Put it in the projector and you'll see." she said with a kind smile.

They all took a seat in front of the holoprojector in the living room. Grogu was still distracted, playing with his new toys.

As Din inserted the holochip, a holopic popped up, showing several people in a backyard. Adults and children alike wore red cloaks and the neighborhood looked rather rural. Din held his breath as he saw his parents' faces for the first time in so many years. They were talking to friends and neighbors, and there was him, chasing after a tooka with a wide smile on his face. He looked no older than four years in this holopic.

"Is that-"

"Yes. That was before I took the Creed, which means you can look at it."

"Oh Din, you were so sweet! You still are, of course."

Din huffed at Elora’s remark. "I know hundreds of ways to kill someone. There's nothing sweet about that, cyare." He couldn't take his eyes off his parents' faces. Elora sensed his inner turmoil and took his hand.

"You can keep the holochip. That's my gift for you, young man." Varia said, tearing up at Din's reaction.

"Thank you. I- I don't know what to say. You really wanna give this to me?"

"It's your family, you should carry a picture of them with you. I have enough holochips anyway." she shrugged.

Elora and Din agreed that this was the best Life Day ever, despite being their first. There was hardly anything that could top that. If Grogu could speak, he would probably agree, judging by the joyful gleam in his dark eyes while playing with his new toys.

They spent Life Day eating cookies, laughing together, listening to Varia's stories and telling her of their adventures in return. Taking some time to unwind and not worry about what tomorrow would bring was exactly what they needed. They made memories that day they would cherish forever. It truly felt like, for a moment, the Galaxy was completely at peace.

<- previous chapter

They needed some downtime ok! Now let's get back to new adventures around the Galaxy with the next story arc coming soon! Spoiler: Our favorite Weequay space pirate will show up in the next chapter!

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