#light greyromantic

[allegoriesandepithets]

Large Pixel Size Light Gray- Flags

[PT: Large Pixel Size Light Gray- Flags]

Light Graysexual/Light Gray Ace ~ Light Grayromantic/Light Gray Aro

Light Grayplatonic/Light Gray Apl ~ Light Grayqueerplatonic/Light Gray Aqp

Light Grayalterous/Light Gray Analt ~ Light Graysensual/Light Gray Asen ~ Light Grayaesthetic/Light Gray Anae

Definition: One who is gray- [attraction type] and is closer to being allo- [attraction type] than a- [attraction type]; being between gray- [attraction type] and allo- [attraction type].

The graysexual and grayromantic flags are the same shades as the originals. For the atertiary flags, I used the gray shades from the original flags and the colored shades from @ryanyflags’s dark gray- flags (Sans the pink in the grayqueerplatonic flag and the orange in the graysensual flag, which I made closer to the shade of orange that I use for asen flags.)

All flags are 3000x2000 pixels.

@tertiary-attraction-archive @radiomogai @liom-archive @imoga-pride

[aroworlds]

[image description: eight rectangular banners with chevron-shaped edges in an assortment of flags with five, nine or ten stripes. From top to bottom: ace-spec aromantic (green/light green/off-white/pink/purple), alicoromantic (dark green/green/white/light grey/pink), aro-ace spectrum (indigo/purple/pink/pink-white/green/light green/lemon/teal/dark teal), aroflux aceflux (green-to-red gradient/red-to-purple gradient), greyromantic (purple to light green gradient/white-grey), light greyromantic (dark green/green/grey/light grey/white/light grey/grey/green/dark green), loveless aro-ace (dark to light grey gradient/orange/yellow/light blue/navy/light to dark grey gradient), lovequeer aromantic (pink/yellow/lemon/green/light green/green/lemon/yellow/pink).]

Banner Bases - Aromantic Spectrum

Flags: Ace-Spec Aromantic, Alicoromantic, Aro-Ace Spectrum, Aroflux Aceflux, Greyromantic, Light Greyromantic, Loveless Aro-Ace, Lovequeer Aromantic.

Original files available for download from my Aro Arrows website or Patreon (links in description). Free for personal or commercial use; credit to one of my accounts is appreciated but not required.

For flag creator posts, please see @aroflagarchive​​​​.

[aro-aura]

tw: eyestrain, flashing colors like bright colors n stuff

some animated arospec banners. slap em on your pinned post to assert aromance

hahaaa here we go again

(i did two for akoiromantic and lithromantic, and grayromantic and greyromantic because somehow both terms are accepted soo uhhhhh)

reminder to myself to figure out how to pull off this animation thingy with demiromantic, aegoromantic, arospike, apothiromantic because they are non stripey stripey but i hope i could do those too dear god i hope my laggy brain works

[entropy-sea-system]

we love that light greyromantic and dark greyromantic terms exist bc its fun to be able to label yourself that way !! (Some of us in our system find these labels useful)

[solidwater05]

I'm greyplatonic. I've been greyromantic, too. And I realized that being a grey aspec is lonely

I don't fit in with allos, so I go to aspec spaces, but I don't fit in with aspecs either. When the aro community in general talked about not having crushes, I felt left out as a greyro who had crushes. When the apl community in general talks about not loving their friends, I feel left out as a greyro who, very rarely, loves some of their friends.

So, I'm making this post for all aspecs who feel too aspec for the allos, and too allo for the aspecs. For aspecs who love too much for aspec communities, but not enough for allos.

For all aspecs who feel attraction. For aspecs whose attraction is abundant but weak, rare but very strong, and everything in between.

For all acespecs who have sex and arospecs who date and all other aspecs who engage in activities without attraction.

For all aspecs who worry that their attraction and existence inherently support oppressive social structures.

For all aspecs who have never seen someone else like them. For aspecs who feel invisible.

For aspecs who feel like they don't belong.

I'm making this post for all shades of grey aspecs, no matter how light or dark, to let them know that we belong.

[the-delta-quadrant]

if you are greysexual, demisexual, lithsexual, fraysexual or anywhere else in the grey area and you're wondering if you can call yourself ace: yes! asexuality describes experiencing little to no sexual attraction. asexuality already includes the full spectrum. if you're in the grey area, you are already asexual. the grey stripe in the asexual flag is for you. labels like demisexual don't set you apart from asexual, they describe your place on the spectrum, what kind of ace you are.

if you're greyromantic, demiromantic, lithromantic, frayromantic or anywhere else in the grey area and you're wondering if you can call yourself aro: yes! aromanticism describes experiencing little to no romantic attraction. aromanticism already includes the full spectrum. if you're in the grey area, you are already aromantic. the light green stripe in the aromantic flag is for you. labels like demiromantic don't set you apart from aromantic, they describe your place on the spectrum, what kind of aro you are.

[star-dust-shark]

★ nice to meet you and welcome to my blog ★

☾⋆｡ °✩ ⩇⩇:⩇⩇ ☾⋆｡ °✩

‼️CURRENTLY HOLDING A CELEBRATORY Q&A!! COME ASK ME, BUT FIRST, LOOK AT THE RULES HERE‼️

🛸.˚✧₊˚ ᗢ₊˚✧ ﾟ.🛸

About me

𖦹 call me Mack / star dust / sharky

𖦹 part of the kult of kermit ( HE KNOWS ALL, HE SEES ALL, HE IS ALL, HE IS KERMIT )

𖦹 taking art requests

𖦹 I use he/him pronouns but other ones are fine, too :)

𖦹 I’m greyromantic and demisexual ☀️

𖦹 I’m also gay, and transgender 🌊

𖦹 my favourite colour is pear green 🍐

𖦹 my favourite animals are sharks! 🦈

𖦹 I’m a virgo ♍️

𖦹 ADHD and sorta diagnosed autistic

𖦹 INFP-T

𖦹 calico cat, golden retriever, coyote and racoon therian

𖦹 my other blogs are @star-dust-shark-reblogs and @percy-jackson-twitter-memes

𖦹 want to know more? Send me a dm or ask below! 💌

🛸　.　　•. 　🌎　°　.•　🌓　•　　.°•　　•　🚀 ✯. •. . •.

　.　•　★　*　　　　　°　　.　　🛰 　°·　　•.      ๏        .•       🪐

.　•　•　° ★　•  ☄. ๏ •. . •. . •. . •. •

▁▂▃▄▅▆▇▇▆▅▄▃▂▃▄▆▇▇▆▅▄▇▆▅▄▃▁▂

My moots

𓉸ྀི @lucasthedoofus-mushroomskulls ( one of my best friends, Nico Di Angelo’s reincarnation, needs therapy )

𓉸ྀི @crowwolf8 ( my amazing boyfriend, light of my life )

𓉸ྀི @justagremlinoncaffeine ( basically my sibling, great friend )

𓉸ྀི @freak-nation ( cool twink, stalking me?, my number one fan )

𓉸ྀི @four-leafed-queer-gal ( nice girl, look up to her a lot actually )

𓉸ྀི @lunariasky ( appeared and seems to be vibing )

𓉸ྀི @cordyline-uki ( dab me up )

𓉸ྀི @imarayoffuckingsunshine ( amazing girl, very kind )

𓉸ྀི @imqueerandadeer ( the fuck is gender? I vibe witchu dude )

𓉸ྀི @wordsofwizdumb ( perfect music taste? )

𓉸ྀི @seagull9111 ( bro. homie. dude. )

𓉸ྀི @kairos-in-space ( *nibbles on ur gender* ur so kewl )

𓉸ྀི @iloveyapping ( SOOO COOL WHATTT )

𓉸ྀི @gaygoose09 ( my silly lil pal )

𓉸ྀི @anxious-alyssia ( nicest person to exist I kid you not )

𓉸ྀི @aesthetic-writer18 ( pookie, made my current background! )

(*^o^)👽~☆~🪲

Favourite artists ( and my favourite songs of theirs ):

.My Chemical Romance

.Chloe Moriondo

.Alex G

.Tv Girl

.Chappell Roan

.Weezer

.Nirvana

.The strokes

𝕾𝖐𝖎𝖇𝖎𝖉𝖎 𝕿𝖔𝖎𝖑𝖊𝖙

Fandoms:

★ vld

★ spvtw

★ pjo / hoo / toa

★ bobs burgers

★ lotr

★ star wars

★ potc

★ cherry crush

☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★🛸

Find my art here

My YouTube channel

My writing

My Spotify

💿✮.𖥔 ݁ ˖🛸₊˚⊹♡

Have fun!! Luv yew<3

[moutainrusing]

over 30

782 words, @wolfstarmicrofic

When Sirius was carted off to the hospital at eighty, he knew he was on his deathbed. That was okay. He’d lived a good life. He’d loved the people of his dreams.

James, Harry, Lily. And Sirius. They were a family.

James was his brother, his favourite person in the whole world, his go-to, the person made for him and vice-versa. They spent all their time together. Roommates since they were eleven in boarding school, eighteen in their flat, thirty in their house. Even when James began dating Lily, the condition was that she move into their house, that Sirius would also live with them.

If she refused, then James would drop her.

She didn’t. She became Sirius’s sister, best friend, partner-in-crime as they ganged up on James with teasing mockery and calculated pranks.

James and Lily had a son. Harry was Sirius’s godson, the light who brightened his life, and Sirius would take him to the park while James and Lily had their dates, take Harry to the pub when he was sixteen, take Harry to expensive football matches as they roared unabashedly at players.

Sirius’s heart was so full. He’d never needed anyone else. At first, he’d been sure he was aromantic.

Then he thought he was on the aro ace-spectrum.

There had been one time. He’d taken Harry to a concert. A small charity affair. A group of friends were covering songs to raise money for a hospital, the family’s old one from before they’d moved cities, the hospital where Harry had been born, so of course Sirius had to go. This hospital helped bring the most brilliant child into the world. It was his duty to give something back.

Although it felt like the band was giving even more to him, because the bass player was fucking gorgeous. Sirius proceeded to have a dilemma over this being the first time he’d ever found someone attractive, and Harry was there patting his back while Sirius hyperventilated over how large and calloused and fast the musician’s hands were, how comfy he seemed, with his warm skin tone and crooked smile and dimpled cheeks, and he was wearing a knitted sweater, Sirius was going to die—

By the time Sirius had recovered, the show was over, and the only person Sirius was attracted to had left. Never to be seen again.

He’d decided he was greysexual. Because he certainly wasn’t friends with this sexy man, so he couldn’t be demisexual. He was probably also greyromantic because if he saw the beautiful person ever again, he wouldn’t hesitate asking him out.

Now Sirius was eighty. He had no regrets. Just one wish. That he could’ve found romance.

But he’d never needed it. Not when he’d had James, Harry and Lily. He was composed of fond memories and soft smiles, group hugs and family nights.

So it came as a surprise when his hospital bed was placed right next to an aged version of hot bass guy. Sirius’s greysexuality hit him full-force. It was the grey hair that did it.

“Holy shit,” he murmured, blatantly staring. The patient was Remus Lupin, as said by his name card, and Remus turned to raise an eyebrow at him, smiling in bemusement. Crooked smile. The dimples.

“Hi?” Remus returned.

“I love you,” Sirius blurted.

Remus blinked. “So… what are you in for?”

Sirius waved a hand, “Old age, you know the stuff.” Then he let his eyes glint as he gushed, “Anyway, you were the cause of my midlife sexuality crisis. You played bass for Godric’s Hospital charity function, right?”

“Yes,” Remus stated, as if his mind was reeling. Then suddenly, he cried, “I KNOW YOU!”

It was Sirius’s turn to blink in confusion.

Remus continued, “At first I thought you were choking, maybe you swallowed down the wrong pipe, but then I saw you staring at my hands.” Remus began smirking, “So I might’ve purposely played a little more… provocatively than I usually did.”

Sirius burst out laughing, “You arsehole!”

Remus nodded solemnly, placing a hand on his chest. “Yes.”

Sirius shook his head in wonder, “You know. I think I do actually love you.”

“Isn’t that a little too soon?”

“I’m eighty,” Sirius deadpanned. “This is far too late.”

Remus bit back a grin. But then he released it. “You’re right.” And then as if they were releasing themselves, the words, “I love you too.”

Sirius sighed wistfully, still smiling. “We could’ve had such a good love story, Remus. I only hope I see you in the next life.”

Remus smiled fondly, something in it that made Sirius’s breath hitch because it felt like they’d known each other for years. “I’m counting on it.”

[alfredomonocaris]

Hi I don’t talk here much so I’m gonna just blurb this out :3 I made a flag for queerplatonic affection/attraction and queerplatonic relationships. This isn’t an attempt to put a label on it or make anything official bc I just made this in ibis paint for fun so I can use it with my QPP and with friends and wanted to offer it as a concept for others. I’m ok with alterations, inspiration being taken, and the like so you may use it as long as it isn’t for hateful use. Also don’t claim as your own but that totally would never happen on the internet

Explanation of thoughts and process :3

YELLOW- represents happiness, friendship, and platonic love.

LIGHT ORANGE/GOLD- stands for sanctuary and trust, as well as deep emotional bonds

RED- stands for love within queerplatonic relationships, particularly stemming from aromantic communities and platonic affections for friends

PURPLE- represents the aroace community and how it differs from the societal norms of platonic love and affection, including aplatonic members of the community

WHITE HEART- represents those with allo identities who are connected through queerplatonic relationships as well, and additionally represents the nonconformity of queer love in every sense, as it cannot always be labeled or contained in a boxed description

If you’d like to use this in anything, please tag me if you’d be comfy! You can make your own versions as well, I’d love to see everyone’s interpretations and own experiences with queerplatonic affection and love. You are not broken. You are valid. You choose how you would like to receive love.

And as an additional note, queerplatonic love and relationships should not and will not ever be the standard for aromantic Or alloromantic people! You are just as valid if you are aplatonic or affection repulsed, just as every other aromantic and asexual person is and always will be. Happy Pride month to everyone :3 I love you aromantic and aromantic allies I love you aromantics who are okay with romance as an option I love you aromantics who could never love someone in a romantic way I love you cupioromantics I love you demiromantics I love you greyromantics I love you arofluxs I love you acefluxs I love you asexuals and demisexuals and greysexuals and queerplatonic partners and everyone with squishes they don’t wish to pursue and every transfem and transmasc aroace person and every black aroace person every indigenous aroace every Palestinian aroace every questioning aroace I love you alloaros I love you alloaces I love you every allo ally who is in QPP relationships and polyamorous aromantics and asexuals I love you I love you I love you and you are so loved and deserving of love that You wish to receive on your terms and nothing less

Also surprise jokey flag below the cut

[merely-a-caricature]

Happy Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week!

Aromantic Spectrum Awareness week generally occurs for the first, full week after Valentine’s Day starting on Sunday. This year it will go from February 19-25 as the 19th is the first Sunday after Valentine’s Day.

Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week exists to raise awareness about aromanticism and the aromantic identity.

ASAW is a time to share our stories and experiences, make campaigns, and discuss aromanticism in general. It’s a time to raise awareness and shed light on the top of aromanticism and the aromantic identity.

Additionally, during Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week, organization like Aromantic Alliance, Aromantic Spectrum Union for Recognition, Education. and Advocacy (AUREA), offer resources, events and support to aromantic individuals.

With all that said, what does it mean to be aromantic?

Someone who is aromantic experiences little to no romantic attraction and/or experience it differently than what society would deem as “normal” or not have the desire for a romantic relationship. Aromantic is an umbrella term for those on the aromantic spectrum. For instance, some aromantics experience no romantic attraction at all. Some aromantics only experience romantic attraction in certain circumstances which would put them on the gray area of the spectrum. Demiromantic people only experience romantic attraction after developing a strong emotional bond. Frayromantics are the opposite of this and only experience romantic attraction to those with whom they don’t share a strong emotional bond with. There are many other micro-labels like aegoromantic (which I I myself am!), apothiromantic, aroflux, bellusromantic and cupioromanric, and greyromantics who do experience romantic attraction, but it may only be occasionally or under specific coruncstances, like demiromantics and frayromantics.

People who are aromantic may experience other types of attraction, like sexual attraction. Or they may not experience sexual attraction (signifying they may be asexual). Some aromantic people don’t experience any other types of attraction whether that be romantic, sexual, or platonic. Some may experience very few types of attraction without being completely devoid of all types of attraction. I experience a LOT of aesthetic attraction, but I am aromantic, asexual, and aplatonic. It’s very clear that there is a very wide spectrum of experiences, and no aromantic is exactly the same as another!

[oneknightstand-if]

@king-in-red replied to your post “Is Merlin aromantic? 🤔”:

So does that that make them Greyromantic then ?

​Looking at the definition, that sounds more like Percy who rarely develops romantic/sexual attractions. Merlin is just off doing their own incubus things.

Like, you can even consider them asexual in a certain light compared to normal human sexuality. Because "I'm hungry... snack time!" is quite a bit different than "Wow, that person's hot... let's smash."

Let's just say their romantic disposition, sexuality, and gender is "Merlin" and leave it at that.

[fallenrain40]

i know being aro and ace are separate things. but i feel for me, in some ways, me being ace seems to mix with my aro identity a lot. like, I'm sure I've said this many times before, but I see myself mostly as aroace as it's own, single unique identity rather than just "aro + ace", just like how red + blue is, yes, technically purple, but purple isn't "red-blue". it's purple, it is it's own color. and saying something is "red and blue", usually never means it's purple. it means that it's red and blue separately. this is how i see being aroace. some aroaces = purple. (those who see our identity as it's own thing, separate from just aromantic and asexual; while those two are what created it, it is something else once combined.) some aroaces = red and blue. (those who their identity aromantic + asexual, separately. this does make sense to me, I just don't personally totally feel this way.) and then ofc, there's people who see it in either way during different situations. also, because I am really liking this analogy, I want to use it a bit further. let's say aro is red and ace is blue. for someone who views their aroaceness as seperate, a greyromantic person may be light red + blue. for someone who views their aroaceness as a single identity, a greyromantic ace may be a more bluish-purple, since the red is less strong. this can also explain why it can (sometimes) be easier for someone who views their orientations as separate to figure out where they are on the spectrum. if you just have red and blue, you can just... see which color is brighter or if both are the same. however it can be harder in different lightings (say, under a red colored light, the red would look brighter than the blue, or just brighter than it really is) but ultimately, it's fairly clear. if you have purple, to actually figure out how much blue and red make up the color, you have to pull up the color values. you have to put your orientation in a perspective you wouldn't normally EVER see it in- (aka, looking at them separately) to figure it out. and, on top of that, lighting can also screw with it. so you could think you have it, then have to go and reevaluate later.

ANYWAYS i hope yall liked lil my mini essay here.

[utterentropy]

While I'm on my way to a magical place where I have no phone access for at minimum six hours, here's some CCCC headcanons I have:

-Heart has oddly-structured antlers (they're kind of like skinny drooping twigs) that can express emotion, which parallel's Mind's angler fish esca that also expresses, albeit differently; such as crumpling under severe anxiety or being startled or flashing when he detects danger. Soul has antennae but you'll never see them alive.

-Heart and Mind are apart of an extremely-developed species I wrote specifically for the AU (and may have gotten really attached to…) called ids, which I'll probably make a master post on sometime but to explain em simply they're essentially dormant brain cells that take the form of a parasitic organism that mimics its Host's appearance; and they're also very very friendly and compassionate creatures, only showing hostility towards humans if induced. However, ids are meant to live in the wild, namely forests, and as a result Heart and Mind are in a constant state of zoochosis, and also have a habit of hunting wild animals and proudly bringing them in. At first Cameron (Whole) was disturbed by this, but as soon as he became Soul he loved it.

-Heart's blindness is purely trauma-related; ids are slightly regenerative so his eyes should've healed by now, but the trauma associated with the wounds not fully healing is why his eyesight remains almost unusable (he can only detect light). However, in due time, he heals enough to have, albeit very poor, eyesight, and gets a job teaching foster kids how to draw. :)

-Mind is greyromantic asexual, and has a leaning preference for men; Grimmie and I have conceptualised that he ends up meeting a very manly man at the gym, and Mind ends up becoming very close with them but also falling head over heels in love. :) There's a specific scenario I thought of where he accidentally falls asleep on his manly man crush, and he wakes up to the sound of laughter and an arm around him, and goes very blue.

-Speaking of blue, Heart, Mind, and Soul's blood are all colour-coded to their signature colours; their blood is also acidic and should it get on someone it would slowly digest any organic material, thus supernaturally feeding them, even if it's not in their body.

-Soul smells absolutely WRETCHED. This has become almost an inside joke among my friends about just how terrible he smells. Like, Heart knows when Mind's in the room because robot noises, but Soul? He smells him.

-Heart's really good with kids and has a passion for taking care of them and handling them, albeit he can't produce kids of his own despite being a hermaphrodite as his species is not equipped for bearing young. Mind isn't exactly that good with kids, I mean he certainly tries and it's not like he's bothered by them, but he often ends up being too serious or too lenient, and is really easy to mess with. Soul is good with kids like Heart is, but a tad irresponsible; he'd be like a fun uncle.

I'll probably think of more to post once I get home. Toodaloo!

[octahedral-chaos]

returning the favor of u asking for my silly trivia. give me the least consequential headcanons for the duo. like. what’s their fav colors, what’s their favorite animals. when a bug shows up on their kitchen counter what would they do about it. that stuff

OKAY SO

Aven

Aroace gendervoid

Has Visual Snow Syndrome and ASD

Left-handed

Really likes animals and drawing

6' 10

Would sleep in the most bizarre locations. He prefers dark crevices and such though.

Very thylacine-coded. You heard of dog-coded, now get ready for thylacine-coded: Very skittish, misunderstood and shy.

Does not like bright lights at all. It hurts his "eyes."

He would place the bugs outside. He loves bugs.

Edda

Greyromantic Lesbian and Demigirl

Is red-green colourblind (Specifically Deuteranopia)

^ She genuinely thought the green sanctuary area was white for the longest time because of this... as well as thinking all dark and dual-type starfolks have yellow cores because of this-

Right-handed

7' 10

Very feisty, loves playfights.

Can actually withstand water, but is extremely terrified of it. Aven attempts to remedy this... it does not work.

I headcanon that light starfolks actually have hotter cores than dark starfolk. Because of this, Edda tends to hate hot places since it's harder for her to function... because her core tends to overheat in hot places.

Also really likes bugs. Her favourite bug species are spiders.

Loves snakes too, especially cobras.

[saltycharacters]

[ID: 6 nearly identical digital drawings featuring the artist’s upper half, a light-skinned bigender man/woman with straight medium hair, a stubble, duckbill hat and tie, waving a flag, with each image’s flag representing a different lgbt+ identity. The first 3 also include a simplistic, colored background with striations leading up to the artist, and words at the bottom which read “I HEART BEING (blank)”, each blank filled in with a respective identity. In the order of left to right, each identity represented by the flag and replacing the blank is: Asexual, Quoiromantic/ Greyromantic/ Aromantic, and Bigender. The bottom three follow the same order. End ID]

Happy Valentines day, taking today to celebrate the love of who I am :]

[newpathwrites]

Arms Wide Open - Chapter 2

Din should refuse.  He was going to refuse.  How would he keep himself from looking like a fool over an entire evening with you?  And then there was the issue of the helmet…

While he was busy formulating a response to let you down easy, Grogu took the decision out of his hands, jumping directly into your arms without warning and nodding vigorously in the affirmative.

Series Masterlist Main Masterlist

Summary: An enjoyable evening gives way to a surprise.

Notes: All of my stories have some ace and aro spectrum representation, and while it won’t be a primary focus of this story, those who follow my writing for this reason should know Din is meant to be greysexual/greyromantic in this story.  He’s clearly experiencing an immediate attraction to this person, and it’s surprising him a lot because he hasn’t felt that draw very often in his life.  Hence my favorite - awkward Din.

Warnings: Some mildly spicy inner monologue.

Word count: 1.5k

Read on AO3

________________________________________

You exited the shop feeling light, maybe even a bit giddy.  It had been a long time since you’d found yourself in such a girlish state.

Your mind was filled with questions. 

Of course you wondered why a Mandalorian was residing in Nevarro given the recent news that Mandalore had been reclaimed, how he came to garner such respect from the locals, and by what circumstances he became caretaker to such an unusual child…

But more importantly - 

How old was he?  What did he look like?  And was he single?

You’d have to ask one of your coworkers tomorrow what they knew about him - make sure he was neither some young buck nor an elderly man under there… and definitively unattached… before you considered getting to know him with certain intentions in mind.

But as fate would have it, interrogating your colleagues would be unnecessary.

“Flora?”

Oh, that voice.  You’d be dreaming about it tonight.

You whirled around to face the subject of your musings and his tiny ward, trying hard to keep the delighted smile from your face.  Maybe he felt it, too.

“Yes?”

He stood awkwardly, fumbling with his posture as he stumbled a bit with his words, but regardless, he was absolutely resplendent, the Nevarro sunset reflecting beautifully off of his armor.  And the physique which was more obvious as he stood just before you… wow…

“Well, uhhh… Grogu… and I…  If you’re not in a rush, we’d love… uhmmm… like… to show you around…”

Oh, you could sense it clearly now.  He liked you, too.

You’d never felt that you were much to look at, especially as the fine lines settled around your eyes and grays peppered your hair.  But this man was drawn to something about you, nonetheless… and you were not going to turn him down.

You smiled broadly.

“I would love that.”

—-------------------------------------

Din relaxed quite a bit as you walked around the town center together.  He was definitely in his element here.

While he focused more on the practical, showing you where to purchase all of the basic necessities and find the public facilities, Grogu was on a mission to introduce you to the best dining and sweet treats.  He toddled in front of you, pointing you toward each destination as you followed behind, feigning excitement at each and every one.

Din finally turned to you as you slowly meandered toward the open-air cafe under Grogu’s guidance to engage in real conversation.  “Thank you for humoring him,” he said sincerely.  “He’s having the time of his life right now.  I’m not nearly so patient.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure,” you replied.  “He’s a very sweet child… though I think that blue cookie is probably melting in my pocket.”

Din huffed.  “Sorry about that.  It does wash out - don’t ask me how I know…”

“I can only imagine,” you responded lightly.

“Best if you don’t...” he deadpanned.

You laughed out loud at that, and Din thought it might be the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard.

Nobody ever thought his dry humor was actually funny.  How were you so different?

“Hey,” you said, knocking his shoulder with your own.  “I still feel like I owe you.  Could I cook you dinner?  I love cooking, and opportunities to make a meal for friends are far and few between these days.”

Din should refuse.  He was going to refuse.  How would he keep himself from looking like a fool over an entire evening with you?  And then there was the issue of the helmet…

While he was busy formulating a response to let you down easy, Grogu took the decision out of his hands, jumping directly into your arms without warning and nodding vigorously in the affirmative.

And once Din heard your joyous laugh in response, he couldn’t imagine saying ‘no’.

It didn’t even register that you’d just witnessed Grogu’s force jump…

—---------------------------

In the end, you’d all made your way to Din’s cabin, which was in relatively close proximity to your own, as you remembered that you’d not yet unpacked most of your dishes and utensils.

His place was remarkably modest and simple, though he’d clearly put in an effort to provide the comforts needed for a child.  Grogu’s artwork decorated many of the walls, and you spied a few toys and other knick-knacks on the porch and in the living area.

Din had admitted apologetically as you looked through his meager kitchen cabinets that he wasn’t much of a cook and had a bare minimum of supplies at the ready.

“Not to worry, Din,” you’d reassured him, with a hand to his shoulder.  Gosh, you touched him so easily.  “I can still put together something decent, I’m sure.  And I can teach you a few things, too… if you want…”

Your offer may have been a mistake - except no, it definitely was not.  You nearly died when he came to stand beside you, peeling off his gloves and washing his hands in the kitchen sink.  Gods, what would happen if you ever saw the rest of him?

I’m a grown woman, you reminded yourself as you regained some of your composure, and I can handle a man’s attractive hands.

All in all, it went very well.  Din was so earnest in his desire to learn, probably to provide his child with more satisfying food options, that you couldn’t help but admire his effort even as he fumbled through much of what you were trying to teach him.  It was rather endearing, honestly.

And he finally, truly relaxed, falling into comfortable conversation as you worked.

He told you about his recent involvement in the retaking of Mandalore, why he was here and not there, and about his under-the-radar work with the New Republic, an endeavor at its root meant to serve his good friend and leader of his planet, none other than the Mandalorian princess, Bo-Katan Kryze.  

Maker, this man had a galactic presence - and here you were standing in his kitchen with his child hanging off your leg teaching him how to season grains.

You told him about your own decidely less exciting adventures in agricultural science, too.  For several years, you’d been an academic, teaching and doing research at several of the core universities after earning your doctorate.  But you had longed to be back in the field, doing the hands-on work, and that’s how you found yourself here in Nevarro, leading Greef Karga’s new initiative to promote homegrown agriculture on the arid planet.

Holy kriff, Din thought.  She may be too smart for me.

—-------------------------------------

You waited with baited breath for the moment Din would take off the helmet as you all sat down at the table to eat.  You were dying to know what he looked like.  Thank the Maker you’d been blessed with patience.

Din hesitated for just a breath with one hand grasping the lower edge, like he was thinking it through, before lifting the helmet only just past his chin to take a bite. 

What?

Grogu seemed unbothered - this was apparently typical mealtime behavior.  

Was the helmet a whole thing?  Was he not allowed to remove it?  Hmmm… you’d have to do some research about Mandalorian customs.

No matter - you didn’t really care how he looked.  And anyway, the stubbly beard you’d glimpsed was patched with gray, confirming at least that he was probably age-appropriate.  That was enough for now. 

You pushed those thoughts out of your mind and enjoyed your meal, keeping your eyes averted as much as you could to respect this boundary, even if it didn’t make any sense.

—-------------------------------------

Din noticed right away what you were doing - and it fostered a strange, contradictory feeling.  

He sort of wanted you to look - to see as much of him as he could allow you.  But at the same time… Stars, he was much more comfortable that you weren’t… and it was so much easier to relax and enjoy this very unexpected turn of events knowing that you had some inherent degree of respect for his creed.

In fact, he couldn’t remember such an enjoyable evening as this in the recent… or distant… past.  He could get used to it - but that was definitely putting the cart before the fathier.  Regardless, he really liked you, and it had been a very long time since he’d felt this kind of warm draw toward another person.

But an unexpected turn threatened to pop the little bubble of blissful companionship you’d fostered over the last few hours.

“Oh, what’s this?’

Din watched in slow motion as you noticed the metal gear knob that had been resting on the floor beside your chair and reached down to take it in your hand.  

Turning toward Grogu in no small amount of panic, he meant to warn him not to do the thing he was certainly about to do… right in front of you - a kind stranger… but a stranger still nonetheless.

But it was too late.

The knob flew out of your hand directly into that of his small son’s.

A collective gasp echoed around the table - Grogu as he realized his error, Din in abject panic, and you in delighted wonder.

Din couldn’t breath - this was all going to be over before it had even begun.  And what if you weren’t who you said you were?  

And then your mouth turned up into a smile.  

“I knew it…”

And the knob flew back into your outstretched hand.

—-------------------------------------

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