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“I’ve been offered a parcel of land on Navarro.”
The words were sudden, out of the blue, and made ice run through Bo-Katan’s veins. She sat on a cot in the makeshift-medbay in one of the chambers just outside of the Great Forge, her right hand submerged in a bowl of bacta and left leg bandaged from her battle with Moff Gideon. Din stood in the doorway, Grogu by his feet. He hadn’t even said hello. He got straight to the point.
Bo-Katan composed herself as best she could. It was difficult, with the pain from her hand. It was still up in the air whether or not the medics would be able to save it. She didn’t want to think about that right now; her many years in Death Watch had given her at least a bit of practice pretending to be okay.
“We are no longer situated on Navarro,” she said in a level tone. “Our base is here now.”
“I know,” something in Din’s voice told Bo that he would rather be anywhere else in the world right now. He didn’t want to be telling her this. “But Greef offered me a cabin. It has a yard, somewhere for Grogu to play.”
He had promised to stay. He had bowed to her and told her that he would serve her. Bo-Katan tried to clench her fist in the bowl of bacta and grimaced, pain shooting up her arm.
“Kalevala,” she said. “We can build something on the cliffs. Salvage the fortress, put a cabin nearby-”
“Bo.”
It caught her off guard, hearing her name spoken so simply. It always did. There was something so raw about it.
“You want to leave,” she said quietly. “My song must be over then, hm?”
“I didn’t say that,” Din said, shifting uncomfortably. “Please understand. I just want to get away for a while. To live with Grogu somewhere where he can be around other children, play with them, live a normal life. And Grogu is an apprentice now. I have to bring him out into the galaxy. I have to mentor him, as I was mentored.”
“He’s a Mandalorian, isn’t he? There’s no such thing as a normal life for us.”
“Just because our childhoods were taken from us doesn’t mean that his should be too.” Din sighed, stepping further into the room. He looked across at Bo. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking behind that visor. “If you need me, you can call.”
“I can’t,” Bo said flatly. “The atmosphere disrupts signals, you know that.”
“Then send up a droid to relay the message,” said Din. “You can still contact me.”
“I order you to stay,” She said it without thinking and was briefly taken aback by how harshly she said the words. If she wasn’t in Din and Grogu’s company, she would have hit the wall to dispel the emotion from her chest. “You swore loyalty to me, you can’t just leave!”
Din seemed to be at a loss for words, shocked by her outburst. Grogu made a sad noise, looking up at Bo with wide eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Din said, quieter this time. “I will come back if I’m needed here. But I need this time away.”
“You are needed here.”
The room fell into silence, and Bo turned her gaze to the ground, unable to look at him. She wished she could put words to the horrible clenching feeling in her chest. She wished she could tell Din that his promise to stay was the first time she had felt wanted in years. She wished she could say that if he left, she wouldn’t know what to do with herself.
The cot shifted slightly as Din sat down beside her, to her left. Bo didn’t look up. She waited for him to speak, but he sat in silence. It figured, she thought. She never took him for the type to be eager to express strong emotions. She could say the same about herself, except for how quick she was to anger. That seemed to be the one thing she was good at, like Pre before her.
“Do you think I won’t come back?” He asked, breaking the silence.
Bo exhaled, shaking her head. “I… don’t know,” then, “seems like everyone who swears loyalty to me these days leaves.”
His pauldron bumped up against hers, and Bo looked over at him. She hadn’t realized how close he was.
“This isn’t forever,” he said.
“I can’t know that.”
“You can always come and visit.” It sounded more like a plea than an offer.
Bo-Katan wished she could leave Mandalore. The permanent overcast sky was suffocating, and the hard glass underfoot made the surface so harsh and oppressive. Din didn’t grow up here. He didn’t feel bound to it like Bo-Katan did.
“If I have time, I’ll come,” Bo said. “But there’s so much to be done here.”
“You deserve to rest too,” said Din. “What do you think? A nice cabin just outside of Navarro? Me, you, the kid? A week at most, if you’re really so busy here. A rest.”
Bo barely heard him. She could feel his eyes on her through the black of his visor, but it felt so strange, being face to face with a helmet. That was something that happened in battle, not in a quiet make-shift medbay.
“You want me to stay with you?” She asked, voice quiet.
Din nodded. “I do.”
Bo swallowed. How was she supposed to respond to that without embarrassing herself? The intention of his words was clear, but she had a hard time convincing herself of that.
“You said you would serve me until my song is written,” she said carefully. “What happens then? After it’s over?”
“Then we’ll be dead,” said Din simply.
So he did mean it that way. The song was her life. And Din would serve her forever. Bo tentatively moved her hand over his, curling her fingers around it. Din shifted his hand, turning it face up so he could hold hers as well. Bo’s eyes flickered down, admiring the way his fingers wrapped so securely around her glove.
“My last partner got decapitated,” she said quietly.
“…I’ll do my best to avoid that.”
Bo looked back at Din. “You’re sure you’ll come back?”
“As long as you promise to visit me too,” said Din. “Do you promise?”
She smiled sadly, nodding, and without thinking, leaned forwards and let her forehead come to rest on Din’s helmet. She ached to kiss him.
“… close your eyes.” Said Din.
“What?”
“Close them.”
Bo did as she was told, closing her eyes tightly and trying to ignore the tump of her heart in her chest. Din let go of her hand.
“Keep them closed,” he instructed. “You too, Grogu. Look away.” He moved his head away from Bo’s, and she heard a hiss as his helmet depressurized. Grogu was at Din’s feet, and Bo hoped he wasn’t looking at his father.
Bo reached out her good hand and felt her fingertips brush lightly against Din’s cheek. She held her hand there, feeling the warmth of his skin through her glove, and his face shift into a small smile. His hand cupped her cheek, and gently pulled her towards him. His face was prickly and warm, and when he kissed her he did it nervously, like he wasn’t quite sure if it was something he should be doing. She wanted to open her eyes. She wanted to look at the face of the man who had barged into her life and preoccupied her every waking moment, the man who had rekindled her will to not just survive but to live. But she wouldn’t, because he didn’t want that, and this contact, this kiss, was more than she could have hoped for already. When it ended, she kept her hand on his face, not wanting to break the closeness.
“That’s my promise to return,” Din said quietly. His voice was so much clearer without his helmet on. It sounded closer, though the distance between them hadn’t changed.
“I’m holding you to it,” Bo took his hand in her own again, squeezing it tightly. “… Will you stay tonight? For the re-lighting of the Great Forge?”
“I’ll leave at first light tomorrow,” said Din.
“I’ll be there to see you off, then,” the sadness was back. Bo tried to dispel it without much success. It was hard to have a relationship in times like these. That was something she had accepted a long time ago. That didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult to accept that she wouldn’t be able to see him every day. “… You’d better put your helmet back on. The door isn’t closed.”
“Oh.”
Bo couldn’t help but smile in amusement as Din hurriedly picked the helmet up and replaced it on his head. She tentatively opened her eyes again. Din was getting to his feet.
“You’re leaving?” She asked.
“I have things I have to take care of before tonight,” he said awkwardly, picking up Grogu. “Will you be okay?”
Bo looked down at her right hand, still submerged in bacta. “I’ll manage,” she said. “That chakaar was stronger than I expected. An hour more in the bacta and then the medics will assess if my hand- well- if they can do anything about it.”
“I hope they can,” Din seemed like he wasn’t quite sure what to say. “I’m glad I got there when I did.”
“So am I.”
“Goodbye, Bo,” said Din, leaning down to pick up Grogu. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Bo nodded, smiling slightly as Grogu babbled his goodbye. “Goodbye, Din. Goodbye, Grogu.”
Din bowed his head slightly, then left the room, leaving Bo alone with her bacta and her thoughts. She leaned back against the wall with a sigh. It felt like a new beginning, though she was used to those leading to an abrupt, painful end. If she was honest, she was still reeling from the past week, how quickly everything had happened, how quickly her feelings for Din had developed. She would visit him, she promised herself. She would put down her work and go to Navarro and stay in his cabin. After years of relentlessly pushing forwards, someone had finally asked her to slow down with him, and Bo was more than happy to oblige.