Got that mandomera brainrot. (Din & Omera x Atlantis the lost empire)
Yes I am aware Din has seen lots of pretty ladies in his time but I’m sure we can all agree it’s different when the person you’re interested in is looking stunning.
Y E S
Oh this is *gorgeous*! Plus also hilarious as fuck. That is *exactly* how Din would react to his crush asking him a question!
Din reluctantly lays in one of the firehouse bunkroom beds, still hooked up to oxygen and the heart monitor, forced to recover from the smoke inhalation and minor burns. He knows it’s for the best, but it still felt like wasting time - time he could be using to rescue the kid.
He turns his attention to Omera as she monitors his vitals. From his basic understanding, the stats seem to be improving which means the extra oxygen and IV fluids must be doing him good. And while his throat and lungs remain irritated, breathing is slowly becoming easier, less uncomfortable, less constricted. Ultimately, it’s her area of expertise and she’d know far better. At least she’s no longer frowning at the numbers and lines displayed on the portable machine.
What he does know with certainty is that she’s an angel. The fact that she has stuck around after literally being shot at proves what kind of person she is. He had already known she was strong and enduring, but this showed her incredible perseverance in a whole new light. Omera is truly brave. She is resilient. She is unconditionally kind. He’s in absolute awe of her grace under pressure and beyond grateful to her, for her. He doesn’t think he could do this without her.
“Thank you,” he says, a small raspy cough escaping him.
listen din and omera where talking about how he hasn’t taken his helmet off in front of anyone since he was a kid and then when she left the barn he took his helmet off at the window and the focus shifted to omera, winta, grogu, and the other kids outside and then later cara was like “so you can slip off the helmet and settle down with that beautiful young widow and raise your kid sitting here sipping spotchka” and omera told him that she and the village wanted him and grogu to stay then he nearly let omera take his helmet off (don’t come at her she literally was moving so slow to give him the opportunity to stop her and when he did she didn’t press him any further) and basically what i’m saying is is that shot of him in the window looking at his son and omera and her daughter was foreshadowing that din and omera will be together in the end and raise their kids together in this essay i’ll-
i feel like i need to remind everyone episode four of the mandalorian took place over several weeks.
i know the show had several episodes that the time frame was between 1 to 2 days at best, but this episode explicitly said mando and the kid spent time there, getting to know the villagers as more than just victims to the klatooinans.
so i know everybody gasped at the thought of omera removing mando’s helmet, but as we’ve seen from other instances where others have tried the same thing, din reacted slowly, with hesitance. as if he himself wasn’t sure if this wasn’twhat he wanted. even when he grabs her wrists, it’s with care and nowhere near as abrasive as any other time someone tries to remove the helmet.
she was learning about mandalorian culture by learning about din, she didn’t know about the importance of the helmet or why din chose his path. paz viszla mentions in episode three how they live below ground, hidden. and sorgan wasn’t exactly a budding metropolis, so it was completely reasonable that she didn’t know anything about why he wore his armor in such a way.
a lot of people dislike omera for these reasons and i don’t think it’s fair to her character. and if she appears again in season two, i hope everybody reacts a whole lot nicer. because i’ve been a part of enough fandoms to know sometimes women are simply hated because of their connection to the (usually male) main character.
let’snot do that.
#i mean Julia Jones is also a native actress#she’s very clearly not a white woman so obviously the fandom is gonna do what fandoms do to characters of color
you know what, my tags shouldn’t just be tags, because i made points. Julia Jones is native, and she’s very clearly not white, and i’ve been a fan of color on the internet for 15 years, so I know how fandoms treat female characters of color, and the answer to that is NOT WELL AT ALL.
to the point that the minute sis appeared on screen, i knew that there would be SOMEONE out there who would somehow find an issue with something she did on screen, so when she goes to take off Din’s helmet, i couldn’t even enjoy the narrative choice on it’s own merit; my brain immediately went to “great, now the fandom is gonna light her ass up for no real reason.”
so this post made points, important ones, but i think it bears mentioning that because Omera is a woman of color, the fandom’s reaction was much harsher than it would have been had she been played by a white woman, and i have 15 years of firsthand experience as evidence to back me up on this.
YES! Omera discourse!
This is especially important now that people have suddenly started shipping Din and Cobb with little/no evidence for it. Like, Omera and Din had several weeks of context, of conversation—of *course* there was some romantic chemistry there! But Din and Cobb fight one (1) krayt dragon (and Din does the dirty work), and suddenly they’re banging? Naw.
Now don’t get me wrong. I love a good queer ship. I headcanon Cara as the stone cold butch I need in my life. I have a nonbinary character in my Mandalorian fic. And I actually AM QUEER. My gaydar is pretty fine-tuned, and I sensed nothing between Din and Cobb other than comradeship.
This is something that makes me so annoyed in fandom. Like, there’s almost this unspoken hierarchy of relationships in fanfic writing where it’s either a white self-insert or a queer white relationship on top, and Native/POC people like Omera get the shaft, even though she and Din have the most romantic tension in THE WHOLE SERIES.
I’ll get off my soapbox now. But yeah. This. Pisses. Me. Off. Not just because I’m a mandomera stan. Even if I wasn’t, the disparity is too obvious to ignore.
Omera deserves better. She and Din deserve their happy ending.
ALL OF THIS!!!! Din x Cobb is funny to me bc it is so sudden, and the “take it off” “if you insist” jokes are moderately funny, but in reality y’all can’t bash Omera and then turn around and fawn over the same exact things with Cobb.
Y’all are gonna gripe over Omera for almost removing his helmet (which he hardly prevented her from doing) and say she’s disrespecting his culture (When in reality she has probably been the most respectful character to his culture), but turn around and say Cobb is a perfectly fine love interest. Someone who has ACTUALLY disrespected Din Djarin’s culture (wearing the armor while not being a Mandalorian, removing the helmet in front of Din MULTIPLE TIMES, and not giving it back when asked)??? Make it make sense.
I don’t have a problem with anyone shipping them together, and love a good queer ship, but miss me with the Omera bashing at the same time. This is way too common in fandoms with WOC characters as love interests. Queer ships are not inherently better than straight ships because let’s not forget that whiteness is still the default in both. It’s just as important for WOC Characters to be treated with respect as Queer characters.
@dindjarinsleftvambrace Exactly! Especially on point with the respect thing. Cobb has disrespected Mandalorian culture in every cardinal way, whereas Omera has treated him with respect at every turn. Even when she puts her hands on his helmet, she does so slowly. She does so with a question in her eyes. DIN LETS HER HOLD HER HANDS THERE FOR A SECOND.
Omera is nothing but respectful of Din’s culture and identity. Cobb is exactly the opposite.
I am HERE for this new commentary!!!
I feel like people overlook how DIN treated the almost helmet removal when it came to Omera. HE very clearly wasn’t offended since he almost let her do it! He didn’t react violently the way he did when Paz, Cara, and Burg tried to do the same thing. And Cara was trying to save his life!
So like, idk I feel like if Din wasn’t offended by it than other people shouldn’t be either?
Meanwhile I’m pretty sure he spent like 90% of Chapter 9 wanting to punch Cobb in the face since he was ready to straight up shoot the dude when he wouldn’t hand over the armor
Omera was nothing BUT respectful of Din’s culture and Din very clearly feels the same way, dammit!
Of ALL the types of alcohol in the galaxy, they chose spotchka…and in this extremely isolated town. I’m sure it’s made other places than Sorgan, but I’m hopeful this is a nod that we will see more of our favorite krill farmers!
Furthermore, this ENTIRE storyline in Mos Pelgo was almost a copy of S1 Ep4.
Instead of the village vs the Klatooinian raiders and an AT-ST, it was the town and Tusken Raiders teaming up against the krayt dragon with the same ploy to lure the “monster” into a trap.
Season 1: Chapter 4 - Sanctuary
Din has been learning! And I know he’s thinking of Omera and Sorgan ❤
The confidence that he had shown mere moments ago was gone and she felt guilty. She moved her hands to rest on his pauldrons again and gave him a few minutes to compose himself.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes. I’m just… not ready for—”
“You don’t have to be,” she interjected. “We’ll take this as slow as you need to. I just forgot myself for a second.”
He looked away and sighed. “This pace is probably frustrating for you.”
She reached up to touch his cheek and turned his head back to face her. “This pace is perfectly fine for me.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently, hoping to ease some of his anxieties. She internally breathed a sigh of relief when he visibly relaxed. “Why don’t we focus on getting some sleep?” She couldn’t see his face clearly but she knewthere were dark circles under his eyes and that he probably hadn’t been sleeping very well, based on past visits.
He nodded and then sheepishly admitted that he rarely took off all of his armor when he slept.
“That’s okay,” she told him.
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable,” he protested, as he moved to sit in a chair so he could remove what armor he was comfortable taking off.
Omera followed him and giggled. “It’s not like this is the first time we’ve cuddled while you were wearing your armor.” It was a pretty common occurance, actually. He always protested about her being uncomfortable and she always countered that by snuggling even closer to him.
He paused his movements. “I guess that’s true.” He finished removing the thigh guards and toed off his boots.
She stepped in between his legs and touched a pauldron. “Can I help?” she whispered.
He didn’t answer right away. Instead he wrapped his arms around her and stretched up to give her a gentle kiss. She leaned down to make it easier for him. “Is that a yes?” she asked.
He nodded.
Omera started with the cloak—watching his face carefully for nonverbal cues. He let her unwind the cloak from around his neck and she set it aside on the table. She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against his neck. “Is this okay?”
Din nodded again and she moved her hands to his pauldrons. He showed no outward sign of discomfort and she took that as a good sign.
Next, her hands drifted to his cuirass—making no move to remove it. He tensed up and she immediately moved her hands to his shoulders and kissed his cheek. He let out a sigh of relief and pulled her closer to him, resting his cheek on her stomach. She ran her fingers through his hair and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she soothed, with another kiss. “Let’s get some sleep.”
Yep.
I knew it.
It’s awesome.
Honestly, this addresses my absolute favorite thing about the #mandomera ship. Omera being so…Omera. Like, the women in The Mandalorian are either warriors, spit-fires, or raving homicidal psychos (sometimes all three, LOL) and Omera being affable and soft is, IMO, what appeals so to Din. She’s genuine. Honest. A breath of fresh air. The relationship between them is so different from every other Din + female relationship in the show. It’s not venomous. It’s not two people trying to “one-up” the other. It’s certainly not camaraderie between pals. It’s understanding. It’s giving. It’s paying attention to the other’s needs.
This is perfect.
Thank you so much!!! This is seriously such a huge compliment and I’m screaming!!
The confidence that he had shown mere moments ago was gone and she felt guilty. She moved her hands to rest on his pauldrons again and gave him a few minutes to compose himself.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes. I’m just… not ready for—”
“You don’t have to be,” she interjected. “We’ll take this as slow as you need to. I just forgot myself for a second.”
He looked away and sighed. “This pace is probably frustrating for you.”
She reached up to touch his cheek and turned his head back to face her. “This pace is perfectly fine for me.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently, hoping to ease some of his anxieties. She internally breathed a sigh of relief when he visibly relaxed. “Why don’t we focus on getting some sleep?” She couldn’t see his face clearly but she knewthere were dark circles under his eyes and that he probably hadn’t been sleeping very well, based on past visits.
He nodded and then sheepishly admitted that he rarely took off all of his armor when he slept.
“That’s okay,” she told him.
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable,” he protested, as he moved to sit in a chair so he could remove what armor he was comfortable taking off.
Omera followed him and giggled. “It’s not like this is the first time we’ve cuddled while you were wearing your armor.” It was a pretty common occurance, actually. He always protested about her being uncomfortable and she always countered that by snuggling even closer to him.
He paused his movements. “I guess that’s true.” He finished removing the thigh guards and toed off his boots.
She stepped in between his legs and touched a pauldron. “Can I help?” she whispered.
He didn’t answer right away. Instead he wrapped his arms around her and stretched up to give her a gentle kiss. She leaned down to make it easier for him. “Is that a yes?” she asked.
He nodded.
Omera started with the cloak—watching his face carefully for nonverbal cues. He let her unwind the cloak from around his neck and she set it aside on the table. She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against his neck. “Is this okay?”
Din nodded again and she moved her hands to his pauldrons. He showed no outward sign of discomfort and she took that as a good sign.
Next, her hands drifted to his cuirass—making no move to remove it. He tensed up and she immediately moved her hands to his shoulders and kissed his cheek. He let out a sigh of relief and pulled her closer to him, resting his cheek on her stomach. She ran her fingers through his hair and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she soothed, with another kiss. “Let’s get some sleep.”
Some people say to me that they’re not a couple, and than Din is in love with Cobb (or Luke)… First: I can draw WHAT I WANT ! And two: Din and Cobb is not a canon couple. Din and Luke is not a canon couple either. So… ♀️ Do what you want, so let me do what i want too.
I have the right not to think like you as you have the right to not think like me. I’m straigh so i identify myself in female characters. I love to see male characters that i like with females cause i’m a female. Peace and LOVE ✌
Well, here it goes, last chapter. I’m so very grateful to every one of you, who have read this story. I never expected so many people to read this. I have to thank again @queenjules907 for beta reading the first chapters, to @azertyrobaz for her input when I doubted the most, and all of you who with your comments gave me the courage to continue this little adventure of mine. This was my first fanfic. And even if it’s clear that I’m definitely not a writer, I’ve found nothing but nice words throughout. Its allowed me to meet very nice and interesting people to which I’m very grateful. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
General synopsis: AU universe, in which removing your helmet is punished by death if the members of the covert esteem it so. Otherwise all canon compliant until E16 “The Rescue”, where Skywalker doesn’t show up but Din fights the Dark Troopers with the Darksaber. Din and Grogu, together, they find the covert, mostly as occurs in E5 of TBOBF. This fanfic takes off from where Din accepts Paz’s duel for the DarkSaber.
Relationships: Mando x Omera
Characters: Din Djarin, Grogu, Omera, Winta. Eventually Cara, Fennec, Boba Fett
I choose not to declare with some trigger warnings, so no to spoil some details of the chapter. Nothing terribly graphic, but you are warned.
When he had returned from his walk in the forest, sun about to set, he was surprised to find the village lit with small torches. The villagers were gathered around a larger fire where people were eating and dancing to the music being played.
He felt extremely weak and exhausted, the walk and workout having been too much for his still fragile state. He tried to make himself scarce and get to Omera’s hut without being seen, with a deep urge of hiding his difficulty in walking, how all the recent events have weakened his body (and soul). He felt sticky from the dry sweat and he surely was smelly, needed to wash as well.
On his way to the hut he heard Grogu fussing, clearly unhappy about something. Even if he knew that whatever was going on, the child was well taken care of, he walked around one of the huts following the sound of the kid’s cries. He found Omera gently rocking the baby to get him to calm down.
-“You’re back!” Omera said.
-“I apologize for taking so… ohh”. He didn’t have the time to finish his sentence when Grogu jumped out of Omera’s arms and onto Din’s chest, hugging him strongly.
-“…long”, Din finished, eyes wide open in surprise for the kid’s reaction. Din’s heart broke when he realized the kid was now sobbing. He hugged him back, rubbing his back to calm him down.
-“What is going on, pal?” He asked while sitting next to Omera, baby still safely in his arms.
-“He’s been upset since you left. He kept looking for you. I explained him that you would come back but…”
She didn’t need to finish. Din knew that the kid was scared of being left behind, again . “How could I have been so selfish?” He thought to himself. Din regretted immediately his behavior. He had left for quite some time, and even though he needed the time alone, he didn’t think about what the kid may have needed during his absence.
-“Hey, you’re okay, Grogu. I’m back.” He tried to reassure him but the baby kept his face buried on Din’s chest. “You don’t need to be worried if I’m not around, okay? I won’t ever leave you again, kid. You hear me?” He said while caressing one of his long ears. “I got… nervous back there. You know how I’m not good with crowds, needed to work out a bit.”
He wasn’t sure that the kid was even listening, face still buried in this chest.
-“Grogu, hey, look at me”.
The child did after a bit of hesitation.
-“I may not be around all the time, but I give you my word that I won’t ever leave you behind again, okay buddy?” He said looking straight into the kids’ eyes. “And you know how one’s word is sacred by Creed”.
The kid seemed to understand, and putting a hand on Din’s cheek, he smiled, melting the man’s heart.
-“It’s alright, pal” he said, stroking his back. “We’ll be fine”. At this point Din wasn’t sure if he was trying to reassure more himself or the child, and the thought made him chuckle. “Now go join the party. I just need to freshen up and I will join you briefly.”
With a small smile, Din wiped the kid’s tears and set him on the floor. With some hesitation, Grogu started making his way to the main fire, although he kept looking back at Din, as if scared that he would vanish in the air.
-“Thank you for taking care of him while I was gone. I’m sorry he was upset” he said to Omera. He felt embarrassed for not thinking of the kid before leaving. He couldn’t help thinking that he was a horrible father. He didn’t dare look at Omera in the eyes and kept his gaze on the baby instead, as he walked towards where the other kids were laughing around the main fire.
-“You’re doing a good job with your kid, don’t doubt yourself. You both just need time to heal”
Din was shocked by her comment. She was definitely very attentive, but he again couldn’t help blaming in part his overexposed face expressions.
-“How can I be a good father to him, if I’m not even sure what one’s supposed to do?”
-“What do you remember of your biological parents?” She said.
That was a good question, he told himself. What did he remember?
-“I’m afraid not much”, the admission made his stomach turn. He always felt that by not remembering their faces, the sound of their voices, he was somehow betraying their memory. But he was so young. “I was raised in the Mandalorian’s Fighting Corps, so I never had a real parental figure there either. I don’t think I want him to grow up the way I did. I feel like I’m doing this blindly”.
-“You have a kind heart. You’ll do good with him” she said.
Even in the darkening afternoon, he could tell she was slightly blushing. He kept wondering what such a beautiful and gentle woman could see in someone like him. Him having a kind heart? He felt like he needed to get her out of her error. He wondered what had he done to have her fooled as he did.
-“Would you come join me by the fire after you’ve freshened up?” Omera asked, putting a hand over Din’s.
He nodded and left. He made quick work of washing up, changing clothes and coming back to the party. When he arrived, he saw Omera sitting on a laying tree trunk, further away from the fire than he would have expected. She was talking to another woman, but when he approached, the lady made a poor excuse and made herself scarce.
-“I hope she didn’t leave because of me” he said, slightly worried while sitting next to her.
-“She’s fine, she wanted to give us some privacy".
The wheels in Din’s head started to turn irremediably. He was not unaware of Omera’s feelings. He wasn’t unaware of his own feelings for the woman and most of the village was probably aware as well. But since the day they met, and especially since the day he first left, he had convinced himself that it wasn’t meant to be, that there was no possible way in which a life together could work for them. “But circumstances had changed now, or hadn’t they?” he asked himself.
-“Why are you sitting this far from the fire?” He finally asked.
-“I guessed you would be more comfortable not being in the middle of it. It’s less crowded here but we can still see the kids and hear the music”
Din was at a loss of words.
-“Thank you. Your kindness really knows no limits” he said, and decided not to continue at the risk of again losing control of his emotions. He often felt a bit on edge when interacting with other people. Of course there was the lack of helmet, the loss of the privacy it provided. But he kept thinking that his brain hadn’t totally healed yet, and that it may be equally affecting his control on his emotions. The thought that this inability would be permanent scared him to the deepest levels of his soul.
-“I must admit I’m actually being selfish,” she finally admitted.
Din looked at her, curious about why.
-“I was hoping you would dance with me if we were a bit away from the party".
Din couldn’t avoid dropping his jaw slightly. He saw how Omera slowly got up and turned to him, offering a hand to get up. Hesitantly, he took it and he felt how she gently brought him closer to her. All his body tensed when she put her arms around his neck. He felt his heart pounding fast in his chest. He briefly looked at her in the eyes, but felt incapable of maintaining eye contact. He missed again his helmet, which he thought could have given him the privacy needed to profit from her beautiful eyes for a bit longer. He buried his face in the side of her neck, where he found a good hiding place for his expressions, and put his arms around her waist. The smell of her skin and her hair suddenly felt very familiar, flooded him with calmness, and made all his previous tensions abandon his body in a single instant.
They danced together, with enough privacy to allow Din to close his eyes, taking in the soft music playing in the background, enjoying the warm feeling of each place where Omera’s body touched his. He felt as if in a trance, following the movements of her body. He was amazed by how natural it all felt.
They continued like this for a time he certainly couldn’t determine, until Winta approached them with a sleepy Grogu in her arms. He surprised himself when he didn’t hear them approaching. He couldn’t recall letting his guard down to the point of being unaware of his surroundings.
-“Hey there, sleepy eyes” Omera said pulling away from him, which immediately made him feel strangely cold, making him long for her body contact.
-“We’re ready to go to bed”, Winta said, looking at the groggy baby in her arms.
-“Sit and enjoy your drink" said Omera, pointing to a mug that was sitting by the tree trunk. He hadn’t even noticed it was there. “I will get the kids settled for the night” she continued.
Din nodded and after wishing the kids goodnight, saw them head for Omera’s hut.
—
After having finished his drink, Din headed back to the hut and waited for Omera, sitting in the main room, until she came quietly out of the kid’s room.
-“They finally fell asleep?” He asked.
-“They were really tired,” she answered.
-“Want to join me?” He said gesturing at the seat next to him. Doing so gave him the courage to continue. “I wanted to apologize for earlier today” he started. He realized he hadn’t really thought about what to say or how to approach the subject. “I was just a kid when I last felt anything like this.” He admitted.
-“I just wish I could help you somehow. If I understood better maybe… “
-"You’re doing enough as it is, Omera. I’m very grateful for what you’re doing for me. There are just some things I need to figure out, habits I need to unlearn. I need to adapt. I will adapt, I know I will even if it takes some time. I can only move forward. This is the Way”.
-“You looked drained. Don’t worry about anything now. Rest ”.
He nodded, and as she started to get up to leave, he took her hand, making her stop in her tracks. He couldn’t figure out from where that had come from. He pulled her back gently into the seat and, in the gentlest of movements he could ever conjure, he cupped her face with his hands. Closing his eyes, he moved his forehead to hers and gave her a Kov'nyn kiss.
When he moved away and opened his eyes, he saw the surprise in Omera’s, clearly not truly understanding what the gesture meant.
Releasing her face, she gently took Din’s hands in hers, and wishing him good night, she retreated to her bedroom leaving him again alone with his emotions.
—
Later that night, Omera heard Din murmuring, obviously having some kind of nightmare. Silently, she approached him, and in the dim light she saw him sweating. She gently put a hand on his arm, decided to release him from his traitorous mind. What she didn’t expect was for him to wake up in panic, grabbing her arm and violently forcing her to kneel down, immobilized.
Crunching her eyes, Omera grunted in both pain and fear of the man’s reaction. This caused Din to suddenly become aware of where he was.
-“Omera?” He said, as if still not believing his eyes. “Dank ferrick! Are you okay?” he continued, releasing his hold on her as it he had touched fire. “I’m so sorry, I didn't…. Did I hurt you?” He said worriedly, helping her up from where she was kneeling.
-“I’m fine, don’t worry” she said while rubbing her now sore forearm. “I came to see you, you were having a nightmare”.
-“I’m sorry I woke you up, I guess you know by now I’m not a good sleeper” he admitted.
To Din’s surprise, Omera moved to sit with him in the hammock.
-“Din, can I ask you something?” She said.
He nodded.
-“Din, are you happy here? You never answered me the first time you were here”.
-“I am, and I was, so much that it scared me” he answered.
Omera gave him a questioning look. He knew she expected him to elaborate a bit further, but he couldn’t even imagine how to start. He had never been good with words, and this was a moment where he wished he could express what he felt, let Omera understand that this had nothing to do with his happiness.
-“I hope your soul finds bonds here” she said, looking down away from Din, slightly embarrassed. This broke Din’s heart. Could she really not see his feelings for her? He felt that he failed in that sense, and was determined to correct it.
Somewhere inside he found the courage to cup Omera’s cheek and make her look at him look in the eyes.
-“It has already” he admitted.
He couldn’t help shifting his gaze to her lips. He had dreamt so many times of feeling them on his own.
-“I’ve never kissed anyone before” he admitted, “but there is nothing I want to do more right now”.
And without any hesitation, she leaned on Din and gave him the sweetest of kisses, which he eagerly returned. He felt himself melt into her lips, not caring if he was making a bit of a fool of himself with his clumsiness. His hands found their way to her lower back, trying to get her closer to him. But just as he was starting to feel confident enough with his feelings, his movements were interrupted by Omera suddenly breaking up their kiss and getting up from the hammock. To his surprise she offered him a hand inviting him to follow her.
With some hesitation, confused about where they were going, he took her hand. When he realized she was leading them to her bedroom, Din stopped at the door, hesitantly to step inside. While she laid back down on her bed, she tended him again her hand, expecting him to join her.
After a lot of hesitation, he approached the bed and quietly laid down at a safe distance from her, not trusting himself not to lose control over the urge he had for her. He had often thought of her since he first left Sorgan. The light of the moon coming in through the window allowed him to look into her eyes, allowing him to see what he thought was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in her. She gently moved closer to him, clearly not helping his cause, but didn’t dare move away.
-“Omera…” he whispered.
He was trying frantically to find his words, those which would express how much he wanted her, how much he had thought of her, but also how scared he was to ruin all this. Of her discovering what he thought was the truth about him.
-“I’ve thought of you since you first left” she admitted, grabbing Din by his hips. “Every time I woke up, I was disappointed to not find you by my side”.
Before he could find any of those words he was looking for, she kissed him again. And after the briefest of moments he gave in and returned her kiss. She brought them even closer together, and upon feeling her hips brush over his, he felt losing any self-control he seemed to have. Breaking their kiss, he buried his face on her neck.
-“ Ni copad gar. Ni linibar gar” he murmured.
He knew she couldn’t possibly know what he was saying, but he couldn’t conjure any possible words as he felt her hands gently traveling down his back, giving Din all the confidence he needed. In a single movement, he shifted them so that he was kneeling on top of her.
He allowed himself a moment to admire how beautiful she looked under him. Even under the dim moon light that came in through the window he thought he could see a brand new set of beautiful details he hadn’t been able to admire in broad daylight: the smooth texture of her skin, the shine of her hair even in the faintest of lights…
Enamoured by the woman, he slipped his hands under her night dress, collecting all the fabric while caressing her skin on his way up to her chest. The touch of her skin sent electricity up his own arms and down his spine. He buried his head again in her neck, taking in the smell of her hair, aiming to remember it forever as if it was about to vanish and never come back. He gently stroked her breasts in the process, while trying to get as much pressure as possible on his aching groin. But he felt he was out of control now and didn’t want that. After all, this was Omera.
He was quick to pull himself up, hands slightly risen, leaving no doubt that he wished to stop.
-“Did I do something wrong?” she asked worriedly.
-“No… no… it’s just… I think we should stop here” he suggested, closing his eyes shut. Something was still preventing him from getting off of her. He felt magnetically attracted to her while his brain kept insisting to stop.
-"I’ve never…” he tried starting. “It’s just that it’s the first time that…”.
-“Oh”.
He quickly realized the mistake and chuckled.
-“No, no. You don’t understand” he tried correcting. He closed his eyes, needing more than ever to find a way to let Omera in on his feelings.
-“This type of intimacy has never been about love for me… in my previous encounters there were no feelings involved, they were just about finding… release".
He took the courage to open his eyes and found Omera’s sympathetic expression. This was not what he wanted her to understand. “Why words, so easy for some people, so difficult for him” he thought to himself.
-“What I’m trying to say is that you deserve so much more than someone like me, Omera ” he confessed. He wanted to give her so much, return just a little bit of what she had done for him, but he knew deep down and to his regret, that it wasn’t him. Slightly embarrassed, he looked down at her body, still pinned between his legs. He caressed her belly with the back of his hand, his touch light as a ghost, as if saying a final goodbye to something he was forever longing for and was about to lose. But despite his efforts to wind down, the mere touch of her skin was enough to have his desire building up again.
-“I don’t think I can be gentle with you,” he finally admitted embarrassedly between breaths.
-“Din” she started. When he still didn’t dare to look at him, she took his right hand in hers. She found again his scar, the trace of a vibroblade on a scared kid’s hand, and taking it to her lips, she kissed it.
-“Look at me, Din”. He couldn’t help but comply.
-“I don’t ask you to,” she finally said. “I’ve wanted you for so long…”
That made Din lose himself. Still kneeling on top of her, he lay on her again. In all of his being he searched for the gentleness that she deserved, covering her neck with kisses and exploring every centimeter of skin his hands could find. He found her warmth was intoxicating. He felt her reach for his belt, and lowering his pants as much as he could, she was quick to release his hardness.
He took a moment to look at her again in the eyes, still not believing that, after all the times he had daydreamed of being with her, it was actually happening. He took a lock of her hair, and gently arranged it away from her face, behind her ear. He then moved his hands down to her arms, and using all his weight, he held her down hard. And in one swift moment he penetrated her wet center making Omera arch her back in pleasure. Fully aware that his size could be uncomfortable for her, he took a deep breath, finding the strength to allow her a brief moment to adjust to the intrusion. While still deep inside of her, he let her lose and engulfed her in his embrace, bringing her body up as close as he could to his. He wanted nothing more than to have her in his arms, feel her heartbeat against his chest. When her arms found in the back of his neck the support she knew was about to need, he couldn’t stop himself from thrusting into her with the desire and desperation of someone who had lost and gained everything in the briefest of moments. Her moans and evident pleasure only encouraged his frantic rhythm. She seemed insatiable, infatigable, and he continued with the sole motivation of hearing her moan against his ear, with the hypnotic movement of her body matching his thrusts. Only when he felt her reach her climax while murmuring his name he allowed himself to let go and spilled himself in the tightness of her core. Connected as one, together they rode their highs, falling to rest on each other’s arms.
Lying next to Omera that night, seeing her contently curled at his side and knowing that his kid was next room, safe and hopefully happily asleep, Din realized with a smile that, for the first time, he actually felt complete, loved, safe and cared for. Like he actually had a home and a family.
Din, Omera and the children return to Sorgan. Changed the POV, now it’s Din for this and the next chapter, which will be the last. Sorry if it’s a bit slow, but needed this before the end…
General synopsis: AU universe, in which removing your helmet is punished by death if the members of the covert esteem it so. Otherwise all canon compliant until E16 “The Rescue”, where Skywalker doesn’t show up but Din fights the Dark Troopers with the Darksaber. Din and Grogu, together, they find the covert, mostly as occurs in E5 of TBOBF. This fanfic takes off from where Din accepts Paz’s duel for the DarkSaber.
Relationships: Mando x Omera
Characters: Din Djarin, Grogu, Omera, Winta. Eventually Cara, Fennec, Boba Fett
Days passed and Din insisted on exercising, walking up and down the corridors of the palace. The droid had explicitly said that his heart tissue needed to heal first before exercise would actually help. Despite that, Din knew deep inside him that he needed the work out, probably more for his mental than for his physical health. His recovery was going slow but he had refused to go back into the bacta tank again, scared of the memories it may trigger and even more scared of these not being any longer private. Given that he was not going to profit from the benefits of recovering at Boba’s, Omera convinced him to come back to Sorgan with them and continue his recovery there. Cara had left some days back as she needed to get back to her duties as a Marshal so Boba offered to fly them all back.
They landed not far from the village, and they all descended into the Sorgan’s forest.
Din paused to take in the familiar scenery of the forest planet and turned around to see Boba on the ship’s ramp.
-“I still cannot thank you enough for what you’ve done for me, Boba”, he said, extending his arm.
Boba grabbed his forearm.
-“If you ever go back in business, contact me. I could use someone of your skills”.
-“I’m afraid for the moment that’s not an option, but I will keep it in mind. Thank you again”.
And with that, Boba boarded his ship and took off. For some seconds, they all saw the leaves and dust swirling around, the engines causing a storm of debris around them. When the forest became calm again, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was doing the right thing by staying, imposing his recovery time on Omera and the village, knowing that during that time we wouldn’t be of much use of them.
He didn’t realize that he had kept his gaze at where the ship had disappeared in between the trees, at least not until his train of thought was broken by a hand being offered to him. He looked down to see it was Omera’s, inviting him to come and join her to what he knew was going to be a new start. He took it, intertwining his fingers with hers. And they started heading towards the village followed by the children.
Din’s heart felt overwhelmed by emotions. He was sure that Omera, in her endless empathy, could very well tell what was going on through his mind, and she could probably name his feelings better than he ever could. But to avoid making a fool of himself, he decided that silence was the best course of action. So they walked together, with the only company of the sound of the birds and of the children laughing, excited to be back. Looking out of the corner of his eyes, Din saw Omera smiling, looking around her, enjoying how much the kids were excited to be back in Sorgan. But his feeling of reticence only increased with each step they took, as he realized that he was quickly getting exhausted from the walk. Omera’s warm hand provided not only physical support but also provided some reassurance that it was in Sorgan where he was meant to be.
But his hold on the woman’s hand stopped being enough when they finally arrived at the edge of the village and the first ponds came into view. The kids overpassed them running towards the huts, eager to meet their friends again, retell their adventures. Din observed how their calls alerted many of the villagers working on the ponds, most of them letting aside their work to come and greet them. Din felt now incapable of continuing, his feet refusing to take him further. Stopping dead on his tracks he lost the warmth of Omera’s hand, which only made him feel at a complete loss. Was he really doing the right thing by coming here? Could he handle integrating a completely new community of people, especially without the privacy of his helmet –which had been a guardian of his feelings for almost three decades– and the security that his armor provided?
-“I’m here for you, Din” he heard her say softly, offering again her hand. “There will be a lot of new firsts for you but I will be here to help you let me. You may have lost your armor, but nobody here will judge you for that”.
He hesitated for a brief moment, taking in Omera’s words. He didn’t doubt the villager’s good intentions and willingness to altruistically take him in, but what he actually doubted was himself. His anguish only increased by seeing all the villagers approaching, but he suddenly felt Omera taking his hand again in hers. Recovering the warm feeling of her skin against his grounded him and have him the courage to square his shoulders and keep on walking.
They were soon surrounded by many villagers, all clearly happy to see them well and back. Din felt overwhelmed by the simultaneous stimuli: people tapping his shoulder and back, others asking different questions, the different signs of their encouragement, but Omera’s presence next to him, allowed him to continue through and make it back to the barn. The sight of the hut where he had stayed all those months back have him a renewed sense of comfort, although upon entering, they found a grinjer that had apparently recently given birth.
-“Well, this won’t work” said Omera with a chuckle. “How about if you stay with us?” She continued, startling Din with her offer. “Winta and the baby can sleep together. They’ve been doing so since we arrived in Tatooine anyway and we can arrange something for you. Otherwise Winta and I can stay with another family if you’d like more privacy”.
-“You’re very kind. I couldn’t possibly make you leave your own house”.
-“It’s settled then” she said, leading him to her hut.
—
The first time Din stepped into Omera’s hut it was with clear hesitation. He remained near the door, taking in all the details of the common space. Even though he had never admitted it, he had thought of her house in many occasions since he had first left Sorgan, what his life would have been like if he had let her take off the helmet and settle here, with her. But now, for some reason, it felt different. Hefelt different, and completely out of place, like someone unworthy and who was intruding in the privacy of a family and who didn’t belong.
-“Please come in, make yourself at home” she tried encouraging him. But he couldn’t make himself step inside. This amazing woman, to whom he owed his life, who the first time actually chose to invite him to stay, now found herself in the impossible task of helping him in his ordeal. He knew that she had a choice not to, but was sure that her infinite kindness was determining her actions. He then saw the small kitchen, which looked strangely familiar to him. “Had he been there before?” He thought to himself. He wondered if the ischemic brain injury the droid had talked about avoided him to fully remember his last time in Sorgan. He guessed he might have taken too much time to answer to the woman’s request, because the next thing he knew, she was approaching him, and renewed her invitation by, once more, offering her hand to him.
Feeling reassured, he let these thoughts aside and stepped into the hut properly. She showed him around, where he could help himself to the kitchen and refresher and where he could put the small amount of belongings that Fett had kindly offered to him before leaving Tatooine.
-“I will install you a hammock here in the common room if that sounds okay”.
-“That would be perfect, thank you” he said with a grateful smile.
-“Sit” she offered gesturing to the kitchen. “Let me get us a drink.”
Din did as told and Omera joined him at the table with two glasses of spotchka.
-“How are you feeling? You haven’t said much since we arrived”.
-“Overwhelmed” he said, swirling the contents of his glass, nervously.
-“I’m sorry if…”
-“No, no. I’m sorry. Know that I’m very grateful for what you are all doing for me, taking me in like this. I’m just not used to it. But I don’t want to be a burden. I feel like I’m imposing myself in your life, I don't…”
-“You are not a burden, Din. I am delighted you decided to join us, for whatever time it accommodates you. You know I had hoped for you to stay with us already the first time you were here”.
He recalled their conversation by the ponds, how he could tell that she desperately wanted him to stay, and how he felt her heart shutter when he said he thought he didn’t belong.
-“Maybe you can stay among us now”.
-“I’m certainly no krill farmer,” he said, incapable of avoiding to chuckle, “but I will contribute with everything I’ve got”.
-“You will first concentrate on healing. I’m sure you will find something to do then. But finish up and let’s go get the kids and ourselves second meal. Maker knows you need to regain your strength and some weight”.
Her comment made him blush, thinking how she noticed his weight change. He thought again of the comfort and privacy his helmet gave him and missed its protection. He felt at the mercy of his feelings, or rather at the mercy of how the comments of people around him made him feel and how it reflected on his facial expressions. But she knew she wasn’t wrong. Even though he was not a big man, he had lost a lot of weight from his ordeal. They both drank down their glasses and headed for the main hall.
—
Deep down he knew that the first meal he would eat with the other villagers would clearly a challenge for him, but he was determined to try to fit in. Omera had walked them to the main hall, where they found Winta and Grogu already settled, eating a generous serving of food while Winta talked lively to the other children about their trip off world.
They smiled at each other at the sight, and Omera sat at a nearby table and gestured to Din to join her on the only seat available across from her. He took a moment to analyze the location. From there he had a good view on the kid, which was important for him, but it would oblige him to sit with his back to the door they came in. He felt a sensation of uneasiness invade his chest, which made him incapable of joining her. He perfectly knew that this was just a habit –a necessary one in his line of work–, the result of a lifetime of navigating a cruel galaxy, where an emergency exit plan needed to be always well thought out if one was to survive. He consciously knew he was safe here, tried to convince himself that his own personal rule of sitting facing the entry and exit routes didn’t need to apply. But his mind wouldn’t stop bothering him about it, and the lack of self-control over his thoughts and emotions only made him more anxious.
He realized he was starting to make Omera worry, and his still slightly foggy mind couldn’t conjure a way to solve such a simple and absurd situation except for forcing himself to sit where Omera had offered him to. And he did.
In the meantime, Omera got up to get two servings from the running fire. From where he was standing he saw how she was approached by several people aiming to get news from her rather than him, something he deeply appreciated given his status of disarray. He heard her promise to explain more in detail later in the evening, and she joined Din at the table with two servings.
-“Thank you” he said gratefully while she settled a good looking portion of grinjer milk cheese and some kind of bean stew in front of him. While the woman sat opposite to him and started immediately to eat her serving, Din couldn’t make himself start, the knot in his chest tightening with every passing moment, he started to worry that he would be sick. He kept looking over his shoulder to the door, and he felt silly for it. Omera, from across the table, put a hand on his forearm to reassure him.
-“Do you prefer to eat back at the house? It can be easily arranged”.
-“I’m okay” he said. He wondered why though, because he was far from okay. “I’m sorry, I just need some time to adapt, unlearn some old habits”.
He saw how Omera gave him a compassionate smile. He knew that his pain was hers, that was just who she was, but the thought of worrying her only added to his discomfort. But if he was willing to take to integrate the community that so selflessly had welcomed him, he would need to overcome this.
He tried hard to regain his composure, and instead tried to focus on watching Grogu eat. He had always found pleasure in seeing him eat his rations on the Crest, how he often enjoyed each bite even if it was just a tasteless ration bar. He tried hard to keep his emotions at bay, but his traitorous mind made him suddenly aware of the large number of people in the hall at that time, the pressure of having the plate of food in front of him, still waiting to be touched. He told himself that half of his loss of self-control was due to the brain injury, but that did nothing to help him regain control. He noticed how his breathing was also becoming faster and shallower. He recognized the symptoms; he knew he was having a panic attack. It didn’t happen often, but he did remember it happening often as a child when he first arrived at the covert.
-“Din?” Omera worried, having noticed his distress. “Breath, you’re safe here” he heard her murmur to him, gently leaning across the table.
He wanted to tell her, alert her of his distress, his need to get out. But he couldn’t concentrate any more. He realized that for a brief moment, he had lost track of his surroundings, because his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a hand on his arm, encouraging him to get up. He realized it was Omera, who was now standing next to him, looking at him gently, carrying the two plates, ready to leave and eat with him in her hut. “When had she moved over to his side?” he thought?
-“It’s okay, stay. I just need some time”.
He knew he was leaving Omera worried, but he desperately needed to get out, be alone. He quickly walked out of the main hall and towards the forest, the fresh air allowing him to regain control of his breathing. “I will be fine, I willbe fine” he kept telling himself. Walking would do him good, get the emotions in check. A small workout would probably even be better, whatever his still weak body could handle, he thought. He continued his walk with renewed wishes of retrying again to eat with the other villagers, with renewed desire to try to belong, but for now, this is where he needed to be.
General synopsis: AU universe, in which removing your helmet is punished by death if the members of the covert esteem it so. Otherwise all canon compliant until E16 “The Rescue”, where Skywalker doesn’t show up but Din fights the Dark Troopers with the Darksaber. Din and Grogu, together, they find the covert, mostly as occurs in E5 of TBOBF. This fanfic takes off from where Din accepts Paz’s duel for the DarkSaber.
Relationships: Mando x Omera
Characters: Din Djarin, Grogu, Omera, Winta. Eventually Cara, Fennec, Boba Fett
Warnings: references to child abuse, violence against children, medical procedures, brain injury.
With the child calmer and now resting, Omera returned to Din’s room, expecting to find him there. But to her surprise he was nowhere to be seen. The medical droid only said that he hadn’t been there since he had recovered consciousness.
She spent most of the afternoon looking for Din, who had literally disappeared from the palace. Nobody knew where he was and she was apparently the last to have seen him. She implicated Cara, Fennec and Boba in the search after filling them in on what had happened. After some time Boba received confirmation from one of the gamorreans guarding the main doors that the Mandalorian had left the palace on foot.
-“He probably just needed the air” said Cara, Boba and Fennec agreeing with her.
-“It’s not even very hot anymore, he should be able to stay out of trouble. Just give him some time” said Fennec, trying to calm Omera’s worries. “We all need some alone time every once in a while. Given what he has just learnt, he will need to do some thinking. I know Iwould”.
But Omera was decided to go after him. She explained she wanted to trust her intuition.
-“Very well” said Fett. “After all it was the same intuition that I guess led you to follow him that day on Sorgan and which turned out to safe his life”.
He wasn’t wrong. Something deep down inside of her told her he needed help, even if he wouldn’t admit it.
-“Take this at least ” said Cara handing her a comm device. “Hail us is you need anything”.
Nodding in agreement, she stepped into the still hot desert of Tatooine.
She walked for what it seemed to her an eternity, but she knew it was just the impression. The suns had barely moved in the sky but the time alone with her own thoughts made time seem to pass painfully slowly. She kept checking the horizon from the dunes surrounding the large palace. As the first of the suns were setting, a cool breeze promising a fresh evening in the dessert hit Omera’s face. Finally, she distinguished a figure next to a boulder. Approaching it, she realized it was a person, it was Din. His knees were up to his chest, and was absentmindedly looking at the horizon. Omera approached him with the uttermost caution, making sure not to startle him, only the maker knew how he would react. When she was at a hearing distance, she cleared her throat to make her presence evident although she was sure he was well aware of her presence. For where she was standing, she saw Din shut his eyes strongly. Omera could feel him being overwhelmed by his emotions, but he didn’t say a word.
-“Din?” she started.
She got no answer from the man
-“Din, I was looking all over for you”
-“Leave,please.I need time alone”, Din interrupted her, and put his head between his knees.
Omera approached him and kneeled by his side.
-“Please don’t shut me out… I want to help.” Omera implored. “You’re maybe used to being alone, but you don’t have to be now".
The man stayed in silence for some time, head still buried between his knees. To Omera’s horror, she realized how the sand under the man’s legs was stained with his tears. She gave him the time to start on his own and when he didn’t, she decided to tempt her luck.
-“What’s on your mind?” Omera asked. A thousand ideas must have been going through his head but she needed to know what he was thinking if she was to support him in any way. The man raised his gaze to the horizon, eyes glassy, but remained silent.
She gently reached for his shoulder, and she felt how her touch made him shudder.
-“Leave” that’s all he said.
-“Talk to me, please”.
-“Talking…” he said by opening the palm of his hand in front of his mouth… “It’s not something I do well”.
She realized he started signing again, just as he did back in the room before he left. The memories of the dream where Din was mute as a child came back rushing to her head. She wondered how emotional pain may be causing him to lose his words and be triggering the use of sign language.
-“There’s nothing you or me can do, so why talk about it anyway?” He said still refusing to look at her
-“The kid…”
Omera was interrupted by the sudden movement of the man, who turned violently to look at her.
-“Is he okay?” He said, worried.
-“Yes, yes. But he’s upset. He thinks you chose your Creed over him, because you left him with me in order to fulfill the sentence of your tribe”.
Din turned his gaze at the horizon, deep in thought.
-“I did what I had to do. I did everything I could to ensure he would be safe, and happy. What other option did I have?” he finally said with an impassive expression. It was clear he was avoiding Omera’s gaze. “What other option did I have?” he murmured, voice slightly trembling.
-“Why not run away with your kid? You could have hidden with us in Sorgan or anywhere else. What are the odds that they find you?”
-“This is not about me. This is about the kid. He deserves much more than what I can give him, more than what a broken person like me can provide. He is better off with you, having a real family instead of wandering the galaxy with a creed-less man who has lost everything. ”
-“You still didn’t deserve to die!” answered Omera raising her voice a bit more than what she had intended.
-“How could I have gone against my tribe’s decision? My own tribe determined I was not worth continuing to live after what I did. I thank you for saving me, but I should have died that day in Sorgan. This is the way” he finished almost as a whisper.
-"You don’t deserve to die ”. Repeated Omera heartbroken. “And you deserve to finally find some peace, a family and love. And when I say family, I say people who love you for who you are, and not that sentence you to death for breaking a rule that allowed you to save the life of a child, yourchild.”
-“You don’t understand“ he screamed while getting up on his feet, violently, startling Omera.
Her heart crushed into a thousand pieces. Was he angry at her for saving him? Did he regret being alive?
By getting up as fast as he did, Omera immediately realized that Din got dizzy and was about to stumble back to the ground. She was fast at getting back up on her feet and catching him, supporting him by his elbows, just enough to give him an anchoring point until his dizziness subsided. When she was sure he would not fall, she approached her hand to his neck, hesitantly.
-"May I?” she asked.
Din looked somewhat surprised, not really knowing what to say. Omera wondered how often he had had any form of physical contact. Not having rejected her, she proceeded to take his pulse on his neck, slowly enough to allow him to change his mind and avoid her touch. But he didn’t, and she felt Din slightly twitch as a response to her skin, but she was too alarmed by his elevated heart rate to think too much on it.
-“You’re tachycardic, Din. Your heart still has some trouble keeping up. Sit with me. Please”.
She thought for a moment she was getting through to him, and that he would agree to sit with her, clearly unsure he would be able to keep standing on his own. But suddenly, with renewed anger, he harshly pushed her away while trying to keep his balance and regain his breath.
-“Stay away. I should have left the kid and left Sorgan immediately. I’m not worthy of the kid’s love, oryour compassion.”
-“Why would you say that?” She said trying hard to understand what was going through the man’s mind.
-“You don’t know me! I’m not a good person!” he screamed, face full of anger while opening his fist in front of mouth followed by a vertical movement of his right hand. He was signing again.
Realizing that he had overstepped with his tone, Din closed briefly his eyes trying to regain some composure.
-“You are not evil Din, you are just hurt”.
-“You’re too kind, Omera.” he continued, clearly making some effort to stay calm. “You’ve always thought to see something in me that there is not.I wanted to believe that what you saw in me the first time I was in Sorgan was true.But the only truth is that I’m a bounty hunter. I hunt and killpeoplefor a living. Don’t think I deserve anything else than what I got. I’ve done things that largely deserve my death sentence”. He said between shaky breaths.
-“Like at Alzoc III?”. Din stood in front of her, clearly in shock, incapable of saying anything. Omera continued.
-“You dreamt of that mission while in the tank, you dreamt of…”
-“Shut up!” He replied with rage, while closing his right hand in front of his mouth. “Neither of you had any right to look into my head. My nightmares..” he said while shuffling his hands around his temples, “my memories”, he said bringing his thumb together, “ they are my own”. She could tell that he was using sign language more and more often as the conversation moved forward.
-“Who are you angry with, Din? Me, because I saved you when you had decided you didn’t deserve to live any more? With your kid for trying to calm you down through your nightmares? Or are you angry at yourself?”
Din continued staring at her, couldn’t or wouldn’t answer.
-“Grogu allowed me to see some glimpses of what troubles your mind” she continued, “and those are memories of a good hearted child who was abused and manipulated. The galaxy was cruel enough to put you in the path of some warriors that…”
-“I would have followed the same fate as my parents had they not rescued me. I owe them my life. If they say that my life is not worthy any more, who am I to say otherwise?”
-“Isay so, Din” it was her time to scream, tears now filling her eyes. “You were taken and clearly abused as a child! Allowed to integrate a machinery of war for their own…”
-“How could you imply that you know anything about… about my past?”. The man was starting to lose his breath, evident from the pauses he was making to draw some air. “Don’t talk… as if you know anything about me because you don’t”, he said while touching his forehead and making an outward movement.
Omera started to get worried by the sound of his breathing. He looked like the effort of talking started increasing with each passing moment and was also worried by the fact that he was signing more and more often. She couldn’t help thinking that the stress of the conversation was clearly taking a toll on him, both physically andemotionally.
-“If I keep these memories to myself it is because they are private.”Din screamed, emphasizing the last word by taking his thumb to touch his chin. But the effort of all the talking seemed to finally catch up with him, and started to stumble. Omera rushed to him to prevent him from falling, but he stopped her by raising one arm between them while the other reached for his leg for support, panting.
-“Go, Omera. I… I don’t deserve…” He never finished the sentence when his legs finally gave up and stumbled to the ground.
Din managed to get himself back to a sitting position and gathered his legs again up to his chest, isolating himself from Omera. He put his head between his knees trying to regain control of his heart rate and catch his breath. She gave him some time to recover, and at some point Omera thought he was clearly feeling better, his breath having almost returned to acceptable levels. She thought that if he was continuing to keep his face buried between his knees was partly to hide from her. Gathering all the courage she could, she put her hands on his forearm.
-“You say that you owe your life to the Mandalorians, who have determined that you don’t deserve to live any more. But I say that now, you owe your life to me,andIsay that you’ve paid your debt and now deserve a family and love. And I would like to give you that, Din, if you’d let me”.
The Mandalorian raised his head to look at her intensely as if not believing what he was hearing.
-“Why? Why for someone like me?”.
-“Since the first time we met, I felt a special connection to you. You’re special,Din. Plus, the child seems happy in Sorgan.” Din had his eyes wide open, clearly not believing what he was hearing.
-“Come back with us, take time to recover and enjoy time with your kid. We work hard, we live a simple life but it’s a beautiful and peaceful one, when we are not attacked by raiders, that is” she chuckled, trying to lighten up his mood.
Knees still firmly up against his chest, Din set his gaze back somewhere on the horizon, clearly thinking of Omera’s words. His anger seemed to have partially subsided. But he remained silent, deeply immersed in his thoughts.
Aiming to give him as much emotional support as she could, Omera remained sitting next to him. With the passing time, she started to get tired, and intuitively laid her head on Din’s shoulder. That clearly surprised the man, but returned to his thoughts immediately after. As the second of the suns set on the horizon, and the desert wind became fresh, Omera started to shiver. It was her time to be surprised by Din putting an arm around her shoulders, with the intention of getting her closer to him while keeping her warm.
—
Omera woke up to see a dark desert, sky clear with a million stars. She realized she had fallen asleep on Din’s shoulder, and his arm was still around her shoulders protecting her slightly from the cold desert wind.
-“Head back” she heard Din murmur softly. “You’re getting cold”.
Omera nodded and got on her feet. When she saw Din with no intention of coming with her, she tended her hand down to him.
Din looked up at her hand, pensive. But Omera was determined to not give up, and give him the time he needed to accept her offer. Her heart cried in relief and joy when, after what seemed like an eternity to her, he reached for her hand. She felt he was not only accepting her help to get back to the palace with her. Deep down she knew that, by taking her hand, he was accepting the invitation to come with her to Sorgan, live a life with her at the village, start over.
Omera helped him up and they walked in complete silence back to Fett’s palace. By the end of the walk back, Omera felt Din increasingly needing support to maintain himself upright. She offered him her arm to help, which despite some hesitation, he finally took.
When entering the palace, Omera caught a glimpse of Cara and Fennec, who were posted on an upper hallway overlooking the landing bay. They both nodded to Omera, who nodded back in acknowledgement. Din, unaware of the exchange, still struggled with the effort to walk.
They made it back to the room that Omera had shared with the kids since their arrival, and found them both on the bed, awake, Winta lively talking to the baby about something she didn’t make out.
-“You’re back!” She said excited, jumping out of the bed to welcome her mother with a big hug. After some hesitation, she moved to the Mandalorian, and to everyone’s surprise, he hugged him as well taking him in by his waist.
-“Hey kiddo” he returned with a gentle touch to her head.
Din made his way to the bed, approaching Grogu. The kid had a sad look on his face, but to Din’s surprise, he moved his open hand to his heart, just like Din did before leaving and disappearing in the desert.
-“It’s me who should be apologizing, pal”. Din took the child into his arms, who in turned hugged him back.
-“Ni kar'tayl gar darassum, Ad'ika, don’teverdoubt it”.
General synopsis: AU universe, in which removing your helmet is punished by death if the members of the covert esteem it so. Otherwise all canon compliant until E16 “The Rescue”, where Skywalker doesn’t show up but Din fights the Dark Troopers with the Darksaber. Din and Grogu, together, they find the covert, mostly as occurs in E5 of TBOBF. This fanfic takes off from where Din accepts Paz’s duel for the DarkSaber.
Relationships: Mando x Omera
Characters: Din Djarin, Grogu, Omera, Winta. Eventually Cara, Fennec, Boba Fett
Warnings: references to child abuse, violence against children, medical procedures, brain injury.
During the upcoming days, Din insisted on walking up and down the corridors of the palace. His leg muscles were still extremely weak, and would often fail him, causing him occasionally to fall or at least stumble. His shortness of breath didn’t help reassuring anyone, but he still insisted on exercising and he would spend as much time as he could on his feet.
Omera took it on herself to accompany him during his walks despite his various requests to be let wander on his own. He didn’t need to be physically supported, at least not continuously, and Omera made sure to help only when he risked falling. She knew he risked nothing within the walls of the palace, but she couldn’t get herself to leave him be alone. She kept wondering if his request of being left alone to exercise came more from the habitof being alone or a real wish of being on his own. The truth was, she didn’t have the courage to ask and decided to continue being present for him as long as he didn’t openly ask her to leave.
They would often walk in silence, each comfortable within their own thoughts. But whenever they exchanged some words, always about some mundane thing, Din’s expression would soften, abandoning for a brief moment the clear effort and pain that walking caused, and that lit up Omera’s heart each time.
After one of their walks, they came back to Din’s room to find the medical droid standing, clearly waiting for his patient.
-“Din Djarin”, it commenced. “A scan of your brain and heart is required to assess the progress of your recovery”.
Din lifted one eyebrow as if uncertain on how to react.
-“Proceed to lie down so I can initiate my assessment”.
After some hesitation and Omera’s encouragement he complied with the droid, which was quick to start scanning with a mediscan both his heart and head. Omera saw how Din remained stoically and with eyes closed during the process, and wondered if he was truly okay with the process or if it was just a coping mechanism to remain calm. After a couple of minutes, the droid gave its evaluation.
-“Your improvement is advancing at a much lower rhythm than expected. A third bacta session is recommended. I will show you to the bacta tank.”
-“That won’t be necessary”, stepped in Omera trying again to win him some droid-free time. “I will take him”.
Din nodded and they moved to the room holding the tank.
-“Get yourself ready and undress. I will go find the child in the meantime”.
Din looked at her questioningly, unsure as to why the child would need, or even want, to be present.
-“He’s been by your side at each session. Let him be here for you this time as well. I promise I will explain everything in due time.”
Before he could change his mind, Omera turned to the door determined to find Grogu.
—
When she came back, baby securely in her arms, Din was already in his black shorts and inside the tank, which was filling progressively with the bacta solution. He had just enough time to greet the kid by putting his hand on the tank’s window and put the regulator in his mouth before his face was covered with the liquid. Giving in to the treatment, after a brief moment he closed his eyes.
Omera recovered her position at the chair that she had installed next to the tank. After a while trying to keep the child moderately entertained with some lap playing, to Omera’s regret, Din’s nightmares were at rendez-vous.The child cooed sadly, but Omera saw the determination in his eyes, wanting nothing more than to help his buironce again. She offered him her hand and Grogu put his other hand on the tank’s window. As the kid closed his eyes, the room around her faded away.
Next thing she knew she was walking through the forest. She recognized those trees, she was in Sorgan. She was surprised to see the big blue Mandalorian walking casually next to her. She could see her own –Din’s– boots, progressing through the forest.
-“I know we haven’t had the best of relationships, but know I hate this as much as you do”, she heard the big Mandalorian say. After a brief silence, during which she could only focus on the sound of the dry leaves under the Mandalorians’ boots, the man continued.
-“My father… he didn’t hate you as much as you think, you know? He just…”
-“Save it, Vizsla” Omera clearly heard Din’s modulated voice interrupt the blue armored man. Vizsla, Omera thought. Wasn’t that the name she heard in the clans’ heads meeting? The one supposed to be in charge of rescuing Din as a child?
-“Let’s just get this over with” she heard Din continue.
Omera saw how they soon arrived at a clearing. To her horror, she realized it was where she had found the Mandalorian bleeding to death. The small ship the blue Mandalorian had left with was stationed in the middle. Her heart was racing. She couldn’t tell if it was Din’s or actually hers, knowing what she was about to witness. She needed to get out of there. She didn’t want to be there. Surely the child shouldn’tbe there. She thought that if she wished it strongly enough, she would somehow wake them up from the dream. But a presence was holding her tight, obliging her to stay.
-“Here we are”, the big man said.
She saw herself turn around to face the blue Mandalorian. After hearing a deep breath, she witnessed how Din stopped walking and slowly turned to face the other Mandalorian. After a brief moment, Din started removing with precision each of the pieces composing his armor, laying them in front of him with uttermost care and respect. Last came the helmet. Without the filter of the visor, her view changed dramatically, the intense light of the Sorgan sun nearly blinding her despite the trees. The colors were sharper, the greens of the leaves crisp and contrasting with the different shades of yellows and browns. Din sat on his heels in front of the big Mandalorian, and set helmet in front of him. He saw how the other man crouched as well, producing a glass in which he poured a transparent liquid.
-“CeremonialTihaar drinking, for purification”, the tall man said.“One sip for greed, three for hesitation” he said reverently.
Omera saw how Din’s gloved hands grabbed the glass.
-“One sip for greed”, he repeated while taking a sip from the glass. Omera felt how the drink burned it’s way down Din’s throat. “One for hesitation”, another sip. Omera saw that the other Mandalorian slightly tilted his head, probably astonished at Din changing what seemed the ritual’s words. “One for the anger that has filled my heart over the years”, sip. “And one last one for the people I leave behind, that have seen past what I show to be and have seen me for who I really am”. And with that Din gulped down in one shot the remaining contents of his glass of Tihaar.
Omera felt Din grab something from his boot, and horrified, saw how he produced his vibroblade which he set respectfully in front of him with the now empty glass.
-“Grogu, lets please get out of here. Please, sweetheart, we need to stop now”, Omera said outloud. Or at least she thought she had said that outloud, but there was no sign that the nightmare was stopping or that they were getting out of Din’s head.
-“You broke the Creed, and willingly removed your helmet. The tribe has determined death to be your sentence” said the blue Mandalorian with a strong voice.
-“Through the Hokaanir epan, nobody except me is owner of my fate” she heard Din say. “I broke the Creed, removed my helmet. I did it for my foundling. It was The Way, theonlyWay to get him back from the hands of those who wished him bad”.
Omera, who was focusing through Din’s eyes on the vibroblade set in front of her, saw in the corner of her eyes Grogu’s small feet, approaching her. She knew that Grogu was not there at that moment, she was sure of that. He was interacting with Din through his nightmare. She saw the questioning look in the kid’s eyes. Did he really understand what was happening? She didn’t think so, and felt how he gently put his hand on one of Din’s thighs.
Omera saw Din’s hand grab the vibroblade.
-“Grogu! Please stop this. You have to stop right now, sweetheart” she told him. But she didn’t think her heard her. “GROGU! STOP! NOW!” she felt herself scream, but there was no reaction of the baby, who still looked up to Din questioningly.
She wanted so badly to close her eyes, avoid seeing the final sacrifice that this man was willing to undertake to honor the Creed he swore as a kid, while protecting the child he had learnt to love as his own.
And with one swift movement, Omera felt the sharp pain of the vibroblade sinking in the left side of Din’s gut, and how it ripped through his abdomen all the way to the right side. Her gaze fell to her hands, Din’s hands, still holding the vibroblade lodged in the man’s gut.
She was able to look back at Grogu, now crying inconsolably while holding his arms high, as if he could have prevented what he just witnessed. She felt Din’s body tilting, losing balance despite sitting on his heels, and just as she was about to hit the ground, she found herself back in the back tank room.
Grogu was clearly in shock, eyes wide open, tears sliding down his tiny cheeks. The Mandalorian had woken up apparently at the same time they did, and was awake and thrashing uncontrollably within the tank, moving his right arm clearly fumbling for the button that would cancel the bacta session and release him from the tank. Before Omera could set down the baby to come and help Din, the bacta had already started to empty. Once she was sure that Grogu was safely on the floor, she helped the Mandalorian open the tank and get himself out. He was panting, having clear difficulty breathing. He sat on the edge of the tank trying to catch up his breath.
He saw Grogu, scared and slowly taking some steps backwards, away from his buir.
-“Hey kid”, he continued panting. “I’m sorry, I didn’t– I didn’t mean to scare you. I was dreaming…”, he tried justifying. Omera doubted he knew that Grogu was aware of what he was dreaming about, rather what he was remembering.
Grogu’s expression changed from sadness and surprise to anger, and anger neither Omera or Din had seen before in the small child.
-“Pal?” he said questioningly, struggling to get up and approach the kid to reassure him.
To both Din and Omera’s surprise, Grogu closed his eyes shut and with a sudden movement of one of his hands, used the force to send his father flying to the other side of the room. The Mandalorian’s body hit the wall of the far end of the room with a loud thunk and he fell limply to the ground.
Before Omera could approach him, Grogu’s expression turned again to sadness, clearly regretting what he had just done. But just as the first of his new tears touched the ground, he turned around and started running for the door.
Omera run to the Mandalorian. She found him unconscious and unresponsive.
-“HELP!” she screamed.
She crouched next to the limp body of the man, which she took in her arms, rocking him gently while calling him, hoping that he would wake up before she could go and attend the baby.
-“HELP!” she screamed again when she got no response from Din.
The medical droid came in and, without requiring any further explanation, started to assess the man’s medical status.
-“Stay with him”, Omera ordered the droid. “I need to find the baby”.
—
Omera rushed out of the room and into the corridor, searching for the baby. She went back to their room, and saw Winta kneeling next to the bed.
-“Momma, the baby is under the bed, he’s very upset, but he won’t come out” Winta said worriedly.
-“It’s okay, baby, you can come out now” said Omera sweetly while reaching out for him with her hand.
-“What happened, Momma?”
-“He got angry at the Mandalorian” she said, keeping things vague, with the sole purpose of protecting her own child. She actually didn’t really have the time to think about what the child was feeling and what in particular triggered the anger he showed back in the room.
-“Grogu, sweetheart, come out with us” Omera tried again, reaching with her hand further under the bed. “We are both here for you, let’s figure this out together, shall we?”.
To her surprise, the child shyly reached for her hand and came out from under the bed. He was crying, and Omera and Winta both took him in a big hug. And for the first time, unlike the previous times when he cried in silence, she heard him actually sob.
—
Omera and the kids stayed like that, sitting on the floor, comforting Grogu until he calmed down. Winta would softly talk to him about the things Boba and Fennec had been telling her about life in Tatooine. Omera melted at the empathy that her daughter was showing, she felt her heart fill with pride, sure that Winta would grow to be a sweet yet strong beautiful woman. Unless, she couldn’t help herself think, the galaxy’s ruthlessness caught up with her. The thought made her shiver. She thought of how Din’s life as a kid must have been before being taken by the Mandalorians. Did his parents think the same things she thought about Winta? A child, with a kind heart, one that she knew clearly remained though having to adapt to the culture and traditions of a cruel warrior culture.
A knock on the door interrupted her train of thought.
-“Come in” she said gently.
To her surprise, Din opened the door.
-“Din!” She said surprised. This caused Winta and Grogu to stop interacting and turn their gaze to the door.
-“Mind if I come in?”
Grogu shifted in Omera’s lap, and she saw how the baby’s expression lost all the appeasement he had gained, turning again to a mixture of sadness and anger.
-“Of course” she said out of politeness, keeping her gaze fixed on the child, trying her best to reassure him with gentle strokes on his back. Whatever was going on in the baby’s head, he needed to sort it out with his father.
The Mandalorian approached them and knelt beside them.
Omera realized he had a dressing gauze on the back of his head, probably as a result of the incident with the child.
-“How are you feeling?”
-“It’s not important,” he said, keeping his gaze fixed on the child who was doing everything possible to not look his father in the eye. For a while they all remained silent.
-“How are you, pal?”
The kid, still in Omera’s arms, kept his gaze away.
-“I remember now. Going to Sorgan”. He started, sitting more comfortably next to the woman and children. “I remember… you showed me through the force what you wanted us to do together” he said with the shyest of smiles. “You think you can tell me in the same way what is going on?”.
-“Come, Winta”, said Omera. “Let’s give them some space to talk”.
She was about to get up, when the child grabbed her by one of her sleeves, imploring with his eyes for her to stay. Omera, surprised by the kid’s reaction, looked at Din who responded with one single nod in approval. Omera still encouraged Winta to go look for Cara or Boba to see if she could be of any help to them. Winta, quickly understanding her mother’s intentions, didn’t fuss about it and left the room, which filled her mother again with pride.
The kid finally looked at his father, with angry tears filling his eyes. With no gentleness, he grabbed his father’s hand. Din’s eyes opened wide, letting Omera sense that he was being allowed to see what the kid wanted him to see.
-“You think I… don’t love you? Why would you think that?”
Din’s expression changed to one of pure sadness. He took a couple of seconds to continue concentrating on what the kid was showing him through the force. But what the kid showed Din, left him speechless, eyes and mouth big open.
-“How…?” He started, although clearly at a loss on how to continue. “Even Ididn’t remember what happened…How could you know…”.
Din looked around him, confused, until his gaze fell on Omera’s. Though he clearly wasn’t expecting an explanation, especially not from her, she felt obliged to fill him in.
-“Each bacta session seemed to plague you with nightmares. During the first session you were truly out of it, trying to break your way out of the tank. The child… he seemed to be able to help. He was capable of somehow connecting with you in your dreams, calming you down.” She took a small pause, letting the information sink in the Mandalorian’s head. It was clear to her that all these new revelations were starting to be a bit overwhelming.
-“But what he saw in your dreams clearly upset him, he began to get scared to connect with you, but he wanted so badly to help you… get you through the bacta sessions. So he started taking me in your dreams as well, I guess to feel supported”.
Din’s breaths started to accelerate.
-“I… You didn’t…” he kept trying to say something between breaths that was never managed to say. Closing his eyes, with his right open hand he made a circle movement over his heart. Omera wondered if that meant anything in sign language. But before she could ask him about it, the Mandalorian got up and left the room.
A huge thanks go to @azertyrobaz for all her input and comments on this chapter. The idea on Din’s hand injury during training comes from her fanfic “Apostrophe” which I totally recommend you check out if you haven’t already read it.
Any comments are always very appreciated!
Final sacrifice
General synopsis: AU universe, in which removing your helmet is punished by death if the members of the covert esteem it so. Otherwise all canon compliant until E16 “The Rescue”, where Skywalker doesn’t show up but Din fights the Dark Troopers with the Darksaber. Din and Grogu, together, they find the covert, mostly as occurs in E5 of TBOBF. This fanfic takes off from where Din accepts Paz’s duel for the DarkSaber.
Relationships: Mando x Omera
Characters: Din Djarin, Grogu, Omera, Winta. Eventually Cara, Fennec, Boba Fett
Warnings: references to child abuse, violence against children, medical procedures, brain injury.
Boba had sent service droids to clean up the mess caused by the Mandalorian’s outburst. Some were in charge to clean the breakfast plates that Cara had brought to Omera and that were now lying on the ground as well as oil the droid oil spilled throughout the room’s floor and walls. Some other service droids were ordered to take the dismembered medical droid and repair it with urgency, given that surely the Mandalorian would be in need of it until his full recovery.
Cara had suggested strapping the Mandalorian down to the bed until he regained consciousness and showing clear signs of being aware of his surroundings. They all agreed, thinking that with a confused state of mind, his behavior could be dicey and could pose a threat to others and himself. They all agreed except Omera despite of how terribly distraught she had been from the incident. So Boba took for himself the task to bind the man to the bed through wrists and ankles.
Days passed, and there was still no indication that the Mandalorian would wake up. The kids were allowed to sit regularly with Din, who remained covered with a blanket to avoid them realizing he was tied up. Grogu cuddled often under his buir’s neck while Winta would talk lively to Boba or anyone around about mundane things and life on the planet. Omera enjoyed seeing her curiosity unleashing and was grateful for everybody’s patience with the kids. While being absorbed by the vastness of the sands of Tatooine, she couldn’t help but smile thinking about the curious nature of her child, and how it must be exciting for her to leave her home planet for the first time, even if it was under the given circumstances. Dark and negative thoughts were always haunting her, threatening to take over her heart and send her over the edge again. But whenever that would happen, she would focus on her love for her daughter, the only thing that was capable of anchoring positive feelings during the passing days.
The medical droid had been repaired, and resumed his task of taking care of the Mandalorian, surveying his progress and adjusting his treatments accordingly. Omera rarely left the man’s side, wanting to make sure he was not alone if, when(she obliged herself to think), Din woke up. She occupied herself sewing for the kids and mending things that Boba pointed out needed repair. Though he insisted that they were guests in his palace, she felt the need to start paying back their stay and making herself useful anyway she could.
One afternoon, when she was working on repairing a suit that Boba had asked her to mend, the droid started unhooking the IV’s on the Mandalorian’s arm. Alerted by this, she got up, questioningly. Without any prior notice, the droid moved a stretcher next to the man’s bed and set him on it, proceeding to take him out of the room.
-“Where are you taking him?” she finally asked.
-“His condition is not improving. A second bacta session is recommended” his mechanical voice stated.
She followed the droid back to where the bacta tank was and witnessed the process of him being installed inside the tank. After placing and securing the regulator in his mouth, the droid closed the tank and filled it up with the bacta.
By resuming her place next to the tank, a terrible feeling of déjà vu invaded her, making her think again on the first time he was immersed in the tank upon arriving on the sandy planet.
-“Recommended exposure time, 5 standard hours”, the droid said outload, and without any further detail, left the room.
Some time after, the Mandalorian started again thrashing inside the tank, not violently, but it was evident to Omera that he was again dreaming. There was nothing she could really do, so she just stayed faithfully next to him, hoping that whatever was haunting his time in the tank was not as terrifying as what she saw last.
Time seemed to pass, and Boba finally came in with a nervous Grogu in his arms.
-“This little one was starting to get fussy, he clearly wanted to see his buir”, he said, setting him on Omera’s lap next to the tank. The Mandalorian was still shifting in the tank, which made Grogu’s ears drop with a mixture of worry and sadness. Omera couldn’t help but think that, wherever he happened to be, the child was somehow capable of sensing that his father was in distress.
- “Do not worry”, Boba started anticipating the woman’s question. “It’s not uncommon to dream while in the tank. I find myself remembering old experiences with each session”.
At this point, the child was desperately trying to get to the tank, cooing nervously. Omera couldn’t but comply with the kid’s request and moved closer so he could touch the window. But once at reach, he suddenly seemed to hesitate and searched Omera’s gaze. She immediately knew what he was thinking. His father was dreaming, and he obliviously wanted to help. But by doing so meant he was also witness to the scene accounting within the man’s head. Omera couldn’t help thinking on the stress of having to see life through the eyes of a person who must have been suffered so much throughout the years. Only the maker knew what he had gone through. He hadn’t even spoken much about his life and his past, but she did recall him saying that his parents were killed and that was taken in by the Mandalorians. “What would it entail to be raised by fearless warriors?” she thought to herself. Having to immerse himself, alone, in a foreign culture, forge a new family that, if she had understood correctly, had again lost twice more.
-“I know you want to help little one. I would be scared too after what happened last time…” she finally said.
Boba stood there watching them. “Whatever do you mean?”
-“The child, he can help calm him down, but he sees all the Mandalorian is seeing. Last time it wasn’t pretty. I think he’s scared” she explained. And she was too, she had to admit to herself, but after some thinking she obliged herself to be courageous.
-“Tell you what, Grogu. If you think you can help him again, I will go in with you, deal?”
The child chirped with some relief.
-“He can show you as well?” Boba said surprised.
Omera nodded and offered her hand to Grogu, who took it with some hesitation. He then set his other hand on the window of the bacta tank and closed his eyes in concentration.
Omera’s view on the room started to fade, the sensation now being known to her though still disturbing. But nothing came on the other side. It was all darkness, she couldn’t see anything. She started to get nervous when she finally heard people talking in the distance.
-“All the other foundlings have been integrated by the different clans, but none wish to adopt him” said a deep male voice. Omera thought she could hear it being modulated, as it was with Din’s when he was wearing the helmet.
-“That’s not surprising” said a different voice. “Kid’s mute, I would even go ahead and say he’s autistic. Who would willingly take him?” There was silence among the people talking. “He will never withstand the training, he’s too weak and will always be a charge to the clan who takes him” the voice continued.
-“The circumstances of his retrieval were exceptionally… violent” stepped in a woman’s voice. “His caburhas been teaching him sign language, allowing him to communicate until he recovers from his trauma, which he will eventually. But if I have gathered you all here today, as heads of each of our clans, is to find solution to Djarin’s case. The kid witnessed everybody he knew and loved die before his eyes. And that was partly our fault. The setup should have been better conducted, and for that, I make youresponsible,Vizsla.You were in charge of the mission in Aq Vetina and should have handled the droids better” continued the woman. “That is why I say he should be taken by House Vizsla”.
-“I think I talk in the name of all clans when I say we shouldn’t waste our time with him. But should he stay with my clan, I will give the order to immediately leave him on the next habitable planet we reach” said the deep voice.
After some seconds, Omera heard the woman continue.
-“Hewill proof his value. But if no clan will willingly accept to take him and train him, he shall then integrate the Fighting Corps” said the woman. “This is the way”.
-“This is way” Omera heard everybody answer in unison.
She heard suddenly heavy footsteps approaching, and felt being jerked up.
-“Get up, you useless womp rat”. Omera thought she recognized the deepest of the modulated voices she heard before. She could suddenly see, although like through watery eyes. Had her eyes been closed? Everything was still darkened, but she could make out the outline of the corridor she was being roughly dragged down until reaching a small, dark room with a mattress on the floor.
-“Home sweet home, kid” she heard the man say, throwing her to the ground. “You are lucky to have the Alor on your side. Should I have known that you would turn out to be as you are, I would have left you die with your parents”. The man took a couple of steps back towards the entrance of the room. She could see the outline of a tall man suited with Mandalorian armor. In the darkness it was hard to distinguish the colors, but she thought it was blue, and reminded her terribly of the armor the other Mandalorian than came searching for Din on Sorgan wore. “You will join the Fighting Corps, let’s see how much you last there”, he said before stepping out from the room. In the darkness, she could only hear sobs.
Next thing she knew she was back in the bacta tank room, Grogu trying really hard to remain focused, not losing contact with the tank’s window. The Mandalorian was still moving in the tank, clearly disturbed, but it was evident that the child was still trying to get through to him. So Omera returned her contact with the child’s free hand and closed her eyes again.
She opened her eyes to see a bull’s eye in the distance. Looking left and right, she saw that she was surrounded by at least a dozen other kids, all doing target practice. Returning her gaze to the target, she saw herself pointing a blaster and shooting.
-“DJARIN!” a voice startled her somewhere from the back. “You’re supposed to be training with your non-dominant hand, that’s the whole point of the exercise”.
-“I… I can’t…” she heard a young voice whisper, gaze still focused on the target and blaster raised.
And without further notice, she felt a sharp pain in her right hand. In a single movement, she saw the blaster drop while a vibroblade went through the hand that was holding the blaster.
-“I don’t want to hear those words again. You canand you will.”
She felt herself dropping to her knees, left hand holding the injured right, badly shaking with the knife still lodged through it.In her peripheral vision she saw a tall slim Mandalorian who approached and kneeled next to her.
-“You know what your problem is. You’re stubborn, kid. But I promise you I will make a good Mandalorian out of you” the armored man said. And with one swift movement, he retrieved the vibroblade, causing a scream of pain to reverberate in the room.
-“Now go dress your hand as you’ve been taught and come back. I expect you to complete the target practice with your lefthand before last meal is served”.
-“Yes, sir” she heard again the soft whisper, now with a small tremor in the tone, and the darkness returned until being back in the small alcove. She witnessed how, with surprising expertise for a young child, the hands in front of her started suturing the wounds in both the front and palm of the injured hand. The light was still dim in the alcove, but she saw small droplets of water falling next to a small pool of blood that had formed on the floor, just under where the kid was working. She thought them to be tears but she couldn’t hear any sobbing, just the rough breathing of a clearly hurting child. Before she could notice anything else, she saw how the thick curtain serving as a door was moved away by a small figure entering the alcove. Was it… could it be…Grogu?
With small steps, the child got closer and climbed to the sitting young Din and hugged him, putting his arms through the neck and burying his face under his chin.
Omera found herself back in the room, the Mandalorian again calm within the tank.
-“So that’s how you do it, huh?“ Omera said, searching for the kids’ gaze. "You can interact with him in his sleep? Keep him calm?”
The kid chirped in excitement, looking tired but evidently happy to have helped his buir. Omera, deeply moved for what the child was doing for his father, gave him a strong hug and then kissed him on his forehead.
Omera looked out of the window and realized the two suns had already set, the horizon being now shades of deep blue. Boba was gone from the room as well. How much time had passed? Her mind was rushing with all the information that had just been revealed to her through Din’s dreams, but she realized it was not the moment to reflect on that. There would be time for that, she thought.
-“Come on, let’s go find Winta and get you both bathed and fed, it’s getting late and you need to rest”.
I’m not sure I will continue posting my weird writing here, so if you want to continue reading any updates on this, feel free to join me in AO3 :) Comments are always highly appreciated!! Enjoy!
Final sacrifice
General synopsis: AU universe, in which removing your helmet is punished by death if the members of the covert esteem it so. Otherwise all canon compliant until E16 “The Rescue”, where Skywalker doesn’t show up but Din fights the Dark Troopers with the Darksaber. Din and Grogu, together, they find the covert, mostly as occurs in E5 of TBOBF. This fanfic takes off from where Din accepts Paz’s duel for the DarkSaber.
Relationships: Mando x Omera
Characters: Din Djarin, Grogu, Omera, Winta. Eventually Cara, Fennec, Boba Fett
Omera stayed next to the Mandalorian, Grogu still in her arms. She held the child tight, but the kid was inconsolable. She was surprised to notice that he wasn’t loud, he just allowed the tears to roll over his cheeks. She couldn’t help but think of how the galaxy must have treated him, all that he must have endured. The Mandalorian had briefly mentioned that he had lived through some hard experiences, and couldn’t help but wonder if crying in silence was an acquired habit for the small child. Omera continued rocking him and humming softly, just as she recalled doing for Winta whenever she woke up from a nightmare during the night. When the kid finally fell asleep between sobs and small hiccups, Omera took him back to their room and tugged him in next to Winta, who was fast asleep. Her chest was tight with plenty of emotions, tears that she hadn’t allowed herself to shed until now. She felt trapped, needed a way out where she could release her feelings, somewhere where she would be sure she wouldn’t let the children suffer from her need to evacuate the terrible pressure preventing her from breathing. She barely made it to the door of the large room where they were staying. She closed the door behind her, and couldn’t help but lean on it and slide down to end up sitting on the floor. Then, all her emotions just broke out, and not being nearly as silent as the small child had been, she cried for the baby, for the Mandalorian and for herself. Knees tight to her chest, she allowed everything to come out.
Her own sobs didn’t allow her to notice that Cara was kneeling next to her, she jolted when she set a hand on her shoulder.
-“Is everything alright?” she asked Omera.
-“I’m sorry, I guess I just had too much bottled up. Everything is just fine. The Mandalorian seems to be healing, the children are asleep”, she said while whipping her face with the back of her hand, trying hard to regain composure.
Cara finally sat next to her, having no doubt that Omera would need a bit more encouragement and time to share whatever was truly upsetting her. She sat next to her in silence, giving her the time to order her thoughts. They stayed like that for a while, Omera appreciating the company.
-“I think the child has… some kind of… powers?” said Omera finally, breaking the silence. “Something happened while the Mandalorian was in the tank. He kept thrashing, as if he was dreaming. The child… he put his hand on the window of the tank and…” Omera took a moment to take a deep breath. She couldn’t help but think she was about to say something crazy, and was somehow a bit embarrassed. “I think he was able to see what the Mandalorian was dreaming about, and was able to show me as well.”
Cara didn’t answer immediately, taking in all the information.
-“You must think I’m crazy…” said Omera shaking her head, interpreting Cara’s silence as clear evidence that the woman must be thinking she was out of her mind.
-“He is indeed a gifted child, and that’s why he’s being hunted”.
Shocked, Omera promptly looked back at her questioningly.
It took Cara a bit of time to find her words, but she eventually decided to satisfy Omera’s curiosity.
-“The first time he tried to choke me with his powers when he thought I was hurting the Mandalorian during an arm wrestling match”, she chuckled. “Since then, I’ve seen him heal wounds, levitate things… But that’s not the reason you are upset”, she continued, returning her gaze to Omera.
-“In this dream… In fact, I think it was more like a memory, like I could see life through his eyes. He was executing people, leaving a trail of bodies as he walked down the streets of a village. Terrified people running away from the massacre he alone was committing…”
Cara remained silent, looking at her feet.
-“You must think I am so… naïve…” she continued. “I know he’s job description includes killing people, but seeing…”
-“I think that, even if you haven’t yet admitted it out loud, you have strong feelings for the man”, interrupted Cara, still keeping her gaze down on her feet, pensive. “Don’t let what you saw affect you, at least not right now. You don’t know what it was about. It could be a memory, it could be a nightmare. But either way, we both know he’s a good person, gentle and fair when circumstances allow him to be. But it’s a difficult galaxy out there, and he’s a bounty hunter. I’m pretty sure he must have done merc work as well. People like Din… well… sometimes we do what we need to survive.”
Now it was Omera’s turn to stay silent, tears started to come again from her eyes while she turned to face Cara.
-“I understand the conflict you must be living right now. I guess… all I’m saying is that he’s a Mandalorian. War and weapons are part of his life, of his religion. Violence has been integrated into his DNA since he was a kid, and probably because of that, more than most he deserves to find some peace”.
They both stayed in comfortable silence for a while, before Cara broke the silence.
-“When was the last time you slept?”
Omera couldn’t even remember, and with the trip and the arrival, she couldn’t figure out how much time had passed since she rested last.
Her silence was all Cara needed to know. “Try to catch some sleep, join the children. I will stay with the Mandalorian and will let you know if there’s any change.”
-“Thank you Cara, you’re a good friend”. With that, she rose and, after giving a thankful last look at Cara, she went back inside her room. She found the children still asleep. Taking off her boots, and being as stealthy as possible, she joined them on the large bed where they were sleeping. Feeling slightly less distressed after talking to Cara, she put her arm around the sleeping children and fell asleep before she could even realize she had closed her eyes.
—
Omera woke up to the children waking up. Winta was hugging a yawning Grogu, still half asleep. She looked out the window to see that the horizon was being tainted with the first lights of the dawning suns.
-“Good morning, momma”.
-“Good morning sweethearts”, she said, giving them both a smile and a big kiss.
-“How is the Mandalorian?” Winta whispered.
-“He was doing better last time I checked on him. But why don’t we get you first meal and we go check ourselves?”
-“Would you like that, Grogu?” Winta said to the baby, still feeling weird to call him by his real name.
The child chirped with excitement. After all, she realized the children hadn’t eaten anything since their arrival on Tatooine (in fact neither did she), having been more worried and tired than anything else. They all headed to the main hall where they had met Boba and Fennec the previous evening, meeting Cara on the way as she came out of another of the rooms.
-“Oh good, you’re awake!” she said. “The Mandalorian just finished his first session in the bacta tank and has been moved into this room” she said pointing at the door she has just closed.
Winta, with Grogu in her arms, was quick to pull her mother’s apron and ask her if they could go in and see him.
-“Go get first meal first, and after, sure”, Omera encouraged them.
-“Come, I will take you”, said Cara, offering Winta her hand, which she took without hesitation. “You take your time, Omera” she said turning to the woman. “I will bring you a plate to the room in a bit”.
-“Thank you, Cara. I appreciate it”.
Omera saw the kids leave with Cara, and taking a deep breath, she opened the door to the Mandalorian’s room. Her heart twisted in her chest, when she found him lying in the middle of the room on single bed. An IV stand next to it held some bags and cannulas that were attached to the man’s hand. A medical droid was working injecting something in the lines. Fett, who was standing on the opposite side of the bed, turned to Omera as she stepped inside the room.
-“Good morning Omera”, he greeted her.
-“Morning, Boba. How is he fairing?” she said, approaching them.
-“Quite good for just having finished his first session in the tank. He still needs a lot of fluid, so he will receive some before going into the tank again. You did a good job keeping him alive. He owes you his life”.
-“That’s good to hear”, Omera said with relief.
-“The hypoxic injury to the kidneys and liver seems to be almost resolved”, Boba explained. Omera turned to see his fingers and toes still lightly blue, and following her gaze, Boba was quick to reassure her.
-“That should heal as well. What is apparently more of a problem is the hypoxic damage to his heart and brain, he might need a bit more time to get over that” he continued.
And there it was again, a huge knot in her stomach formed once more. She walked around the bed to have a better look at the Mandalorian’s face. She couldn’t help but to gently move a curly lock of his hair away from his forehead, clearing his face.
-“This droid has done wonders with me, and I am confident he will do the same with Djarin. Stay strong, he will overcome this”, Boba reassured her.
He approached her, and after putting a hand on her should and giving her a reassuring look, he stepped out of the room.
Omera felt again overwhelmed being left alone to the torturous devices of her mind, which kept throwing at her ideas of how she could have been braver and done more to help him while waiting for Cara to arrive. She tried everything she could to keep those negative thoughts at bay, consciously knowing that they served no purpose and they were doing no favor to her.
The droid kept shuffling material around the Mandalorian from a nearby tray containing various instruments. She saw how it took again the mediscan, passing it over the man’s heart and looking at the readouts. He after turned to collect a vial from the same tray and inject its contents into the Mandalorian’s IV line.
At this point, Omera was more focused on what the droid was doing than on the Mandalorian. But in the corner of her eye, for an extremely brief moment, she thought the man had twitched. She turned her head to see that, without any additional movement or sound, Din had opened his eyes. She could realize he was very much out of it, but upon focusing on the droid, working on his IV line, his eyes suddenly opened wide. Before she knew it, the Mandalorian jumped out of the bed, pushing her harshly aside by hitting her chest with an open hand, making her fall backwards. Scared, she tried moving away from the Mandalorian by crawling backwards. The man had made quick work of ripping his lines. Grabbing a small knife he found on the tray, he strongly engaged on the droid. Omera couldn’t help but see the rage in the Mandalorian’s eyes, who was trying with all his might to rip out one of the droid’s arms. He growled with the effort, but after a couple of seconds, the mechanical arm detached from its owner making it spark. With one quick jolt, the droid’s arm was sent flying to the other side of the room. The droid was making unintelligible noises, at least, that’s all Omera could make out. Awkward mechanical sounds filled the room when he used the knife to stab the droid to its neck, rivulets of oil spilling on the floor. The Mandalorian then grabbed the droid’s head with his left forearm, and in one swift movement, he twisted it and ripped it off, sending the droid, as a dead weight, to the ground.
The droid lay only some meters away from Omera, sparkles jumping from it. The Mandalorian stood looking down at the droid, knife still in his hand, panting with the effort it took him to bring the droid down. His gaze, still filled with infinite rage, moved then to focus on Omera. This made her shiver. Still on the ground, she realized he was not being himself, and she unconsciously tried to move further away from the man. She then heard the door of the room open in her back. Not daring taking away her eyes from the immediate threat the Mandalorian may be posing to her, she heard the sound of plates and glasses hitting the ground behind her, and saw Cara quickly stepping in between the Mandalorian and herself, clearly aiming to protect her.
-“What the hell, Djarin” she said angrily. “Come on, calm down. Give me the knife”, she said reaching out with her hand cautiously.
The Mandalorian didn’t respond except for adjusting his stance, on a defensive mode, knife still tight in his hand pointing towards Cara.
-“Don’t you recognize me, tin can? It’s me, Cara!” She tried reasoning, but it was evident that the man was unaware of his surroundings.
Without any warning, the Mandalorian dashed towards Cara, who avoided most of his attacks trying not to hurt more the injured man. Seeing that he wasn’t giving up, after a couple of movements, she got a punch through to the Mandalorian’s gut wound, aiming to incapacitate him the time for her to regain control of the fight.
The man’s body bent forward in pain, eyes strongly closed but emitted no sound.
Omera, who was standing again, approached Cara.
-“Din, it’s us. You’re safe here. Please come back to us…” implored Omera still protected by Cara.
Something seemed to click in the Mandalorian’s foggy head. To Cara’s and Omera’s relief something started to change in his expression as well, slowly changing from the rage he was showing to surprise, and then, they realized, to horror. He looked everywhere around him, as if suddenly was more aware of his surroundings, and then returned his gaze to the women.
-“Omera?” He said, as if not believing his eyes. “Cara? What…..” he continued. Slowly, he looked at his hands, now aware they were soaked with droid oil, dropping on the floor. Upon seeing the knife still clutched in his hand, he dropped it as if it was suddenly burning him.
-“I… I” He stammered. He then started to stumble, as if his legs were soon going to give up on him. Grabbing his head with both his hands, he started falling to the ground. Cara had just the time to hold him enough for him not to get hurt with the fall.
Omera approched them and saw the Mandalorian, now on his knees, still holding his head and mumbling something about it hurting.
-“Let’s get you back to the bed” she said.
-“You think you can do that, bucket head?” Teased Cara, although Omera could well hear the worry in her voice.
Seeing that he never got to answer, both women nodded to each other and without further words, helped the man back to the bed.
Now lying, Din’s eyes still remained tightly shut, hands not letting go of his head. His breath was labored.
-“Mando, how are you feeling?” Said Omera, trying to move his hands away from his head, aiming to get a clearer view of his face.
-“O-Omera…?” He said at the sound of her voice, turning his head slightly towards her, eyes half way open, but clearly unfocused.
-“Yes, Din, it’s me. Are you in pain? Do you need something?” She continued. She could feel that the effects of adrenaline of the fight were starting to wear off, making him progressively more incoherent. His head was now lolling from one side to the other, murmuring things that the women couldn’t really work out. Omera wondered if he was even speaking basic.
-“I will go get some help”.
But the Mandalorian was quick to turn around with the clear intention of grabbing Omera by her wrist, though missing to catch her.
-“P-please… don't… don’t l-leav’” he implored, closing again his eyes. His breath started slowing down and she noticed how his arm started losing the little coordination it had, and finished by falling to the side of the bed.
-“Mando? Din!” Omera said, softly shaking him by the shoulder.
-“He’s out again” confirmed Cara. “I will go find Fett”.
