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Din turned off the Crest’s autopilot, walked out of the cockpit, and breathed a deep sigh of relief. The day was finally over. A scrape with some rival bounty hunters and a couple hours of rough flying had left the Mandalorian sore - and perhaps a bit agitated - and he was very ready to get some rest. Grogu watched din from his hammock, cooing excitedly at the sight his father, and the Mandalorian couldn’t help but smile. He affectionately pinched the kid’s ear, then began the process of removing his armor for the night.
When the kid had first joined his crew, Din never took any of his armor off except to shower; he was uncomfortable having someone else in his space, even if it was a baby, and his creed came first and foremost. But things had changed. He set his beskar on a bench and, after a moment’s hesitation, pulled off his helmet and carefully put it with the rest. He didn’t always do this, but Grogu was family now, even if Din had to take him to the Jedi soon - he attempted to push that thought from his mind. He didn"t allow the thought of his now technically broken creed to rise either; that was for another day. The baby cooed again, pulling Din out of his thoughts.
“Hey there, kid.” He picked Grogu up and walked him over to the table, grabbing his bantha toy on the way.
“There you go. I’m going to clean up the ship a bit, and that better keep you occupied.”
Din knew his ship wasn’t the best place for a little one; he entertained the kid as best he could, but at the end of the day he’d barely mastered taking care of Grogu’s physical needs, and keeping him amused and happy was a real challenge - hence the stuffed bantha. He had bought it from a street vendor on impulse, probably for more credits than it was worth, but Grogu had become fiercely attached to it (although he would probably have torn and chewed the poor thing to shreds by now if not for Mando’s constant interventions). As it was, the child was drooling all over the toy’s face, but the ship was a mess and Din knew to pick his battles, so he resigned himself to picking up trash around the ship. As he cleaned, he silently decided to look for more toys on the next planet they visited, if only to lessen the strain on that damned bantha.
“C’mon kid, let’s get you all cleaned up.” Din Djarin was not exactly an expert in child rearing, but he did the best he could, and liked to think it was pretty good all things considered. Grogu cooed appreciatively as Din cleaned him off and put him in a new set of robes (purchased from a tailor after a bounty a few weeks back; he’d held the child up to the shopkeeper and instructed her to copy his current clothes exactly, and she had done a fine job).
Din kept the helmet off in bed that night as well, and awoke to Grogu chewing on his hair and looking very pleased with himself. He groaned, but still gently pulled the child to his chest, and decided to stay in bed a little while longer. He deserved the rest.