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Grogu didn’t have many good memories before meeting Buir.
For a long stretch of time, he wasn’t sure how long, Grogu had been locked away in a dark, scary place, surrounded by dark, scary people. He could rarely make out their faces, but he could very clearly sense their overwhelming emotions of anger, irritation, cruelty that made him curl in on himself in an effort to be as unnoticeable as possible. He learned very quickly that being quiet, not voicing his hurts, his hunger and cold and desperate loneliness, was the best way to survive. His mind floated in a limbo of empty aches, surrounded by darkness that he was helpless to escape from. He was too little, too weak, too scared and confused and lost to do anything.
Then, one day, there was light.
Grogu wasn’t unfamiliar with the waves of confusion that emanated from people that opened his pram. What was unfamiliar was the lack of open hostility, irritation, anger being directed at him from the person standing before him. He felt those emotions hang in the air around them, but it wasn’t aimed at him, and the person in shiny armor was just looking at him. Or, Grogu thought the person was looking at him, he couldn’t see any eyes, was the person wearing a helmet?
A voice reached Grogu’s ears, making them perk up in an effort to better hear the modulated voice of the man in front of him, and oh how he wished to hear more. The man in shiny armor that he dubbed “Shiny Man” (people didn’t make it a habit to introduce themselves to Grogu, which he would consider very rude if he didn’t have other things to worry about) spoke, the Force around him conveying confusion, curiosity, urgency and a fierce protectiveness that was quickly spiking beneath it all, coming from Shiny Man.
The sound of a blaster firing startled him from his thoughts, and Grogu saw the droid beside Shiny Man collapse out of his sight. Grogu looked up at Shiny Man in awe as he lowered his blaster, focusing all his attention on Grogu as the urgency tempered out, and all he could feel was awe, curiosity and something that Grogu couldn’t identify, though he knew he’d felt it before… before the Dark Times.
He still didn’t fully trust the Shiny Man, no matter how nice he seemed. He left Grogu’s pram open as they walked, and he could look at the sky and the ground and the rocks… it got boring after a while, but it was better than nothing! Shiny Man even protected Grogu, he made a person disappear when he tried to hurt him. Grogu wanted to protect him too, because this was the happiest he’d been in many years, and if Shiny Man died, then only the Force knew where he’d end up next. He didn’t want to go back to sitting in his closed pram, curled up in a tight, uncomfortable ball to keep out the pain of his empty belly; he wanted to stay with Shiny Man, who let him look around, and made a fire to keep him warm, and gave him food before he fed himself.
Grogu did stay with the Shiny Man, but started calling him Buir when they met another Shiny person who called him that, along with a human woman they’d met, though she didn’t sound sure. Grogu couldn’t tell Buir his real name, but when the man started calling him ad’ika, with waves of fondness, protectiveness, and devotion coming off of him, Grogu decided he really liked it. It wasn’t until they met Jedi Master Ahsoka Tano that he learned buir wasn’t his actual name, that it was more like a title. Parent. Grogu wasn’t used to that word, he was raised by many Jedi, not just one, but if buir meant the Shiny Man would stay with him and care for him like he had, then Grogu really liked the idea. It was also when Buir learned Grogu’s name, and he was so happy to hear his name leaving his buir’s mouth.
.
“It’s been one standard year since we became aliit,” Buir said to Ba'vodu Boba Fett as they hung around the throne room, looking contemplatively at the Mudhorn aliik on his pauldron.
“Already?” Ba'vodu Boba said, looking down at Grogu, who was playing above the Rancor pit, with an amused grin before turning back to Buir. “He doesn’t look a day over 40.” Grogu didn’t really get it, but he liked Ba'vodu Boba, and smiled when they made eye contact.
“Ha-ha,” Buir laughed sarcastically before approaching Grogu. Grogu grinned and flapped his hands in excitement as Buir approached, holding his arms up in a bid to be held. Buir happily lifted him into his arms, feeling fondness, amusement and love that Grogu basked in as he nuzzled into the space between his helmet and pauldron, letting out a content chirp as he did so. Buir supported Grogu in his strong, secure arms, a hand patting his back affectionately as they both, buir and ad’ika, enjoyed the touch.
“Are you heading off-planet to celebrate?” Ba'vodu Fennec asked, making Buir look up at her.
“I’m, not sure,” Buir said, turning away as he wiggled his finger at Grogu, the bright orange finger of his gloves captivating him as he tried to catch the wiggling appendage. “There’s still much to do here.”
“You can’t hide here forever,” Ba'vodu Boba said, a knowing tilt of his head making Buir sigh in annoyance and resignation. “Might as well enjoy your time with him while you can. You can go anywhere, why waste your time on this ball of sand?”
“Plus, you’re the Ruler of Mandalore,” Ba'vodu Fennec went on, the usual confidence seeping out of her along with fond and exasperation. “With that fancy sword of yours, it’s only a matter of time before trouble starts. Enjoy some time with the kid, take a vacation. You’re his dad, spend some quality time with him while you can,” she said, a knowing look in her eyes.
“I… yes,” Buir agreed after a moment’s hesitation, looking down at Grogu. Something settled in Buir’s mind, giving off feelings of determination, resolution and even excitement. “What do you say, buddy? You want to spend some time with Buir?” Grogu always wanted to spend time his Buir, he was Grogu’s most favorite person in the galaxy! He nodded happily and waved his arms around, babbling eagerly at his suggestion.
“That looks like a ‘yes’ to me,” Ba'vodu Boba chuckled.
It wasn’t long before they were heading out of Ba'vodu‘s palace, taking off in the Starfighter as Grogu giggled in excitement.
“Why don’t we visit Ba'vodu Peli before heading off?” Buir suggested, a smile in his voice as Grogu cheered. He loved Ba'vodu Peli, plus, she made the Starfighter extra fast, which Grogu loved. The trip to her hangar was brief, the ship was super fast, and before he knew it, Grogu was being tossed up and down by Ba'vodu Peli.
“Hey! There’s my favorite little womprat!” she laughed, grinning at Grogu as he waved his arms and kicked his feet, feeling Peli’s glee, amusement and surprise that enveloped Grogu like a warm cloud.
“Careful with him,” Buir barked, intercepting Grogu while he was in the air and holding him to his chest, worry and protectiveness thrumming through him.
“Geez, Mando! Loosen up, will ya?” Ba'vodu Peli dismissed as she walked away from the ship, Buir following her. “Anyways, what’s got you showin’ your ugly bucket in these parts?”
“We’re going off-planet for a little bit,” Buir explained, eyeing the pit droids that hobbled along beside them. “I just wanted to stop by and let you know.”
“Awe, you do care,” Peli joked, smiling in a way that showed off her missing tooth. “So, ya know where you’re headed?”
“I, haven’t determined a destination, yet,” Buir admitted, making Peli turn on her heel and shoot him a look of confusion. “It’s been one standard year since Grogu and I became aliit… I spoke with Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, they said we should do something to celebrate,” he explained.
“Ah! Well, if that’s the case, why not do some sight-seeing?” Ba'vodu Peli suggested, piquing Buir’s interest. “There’s a forest planet in the Mid Rim, called Bellshawd, lot’s of quaint little towns and low crime rates. It’s under New Republic jurisdiction, somewhere between here and Coruscant. That should be the perfect place for you two!”
“Bellshawd, huh?” Buir repeated, looking down at Grogu with a tilt of his helmet. “What do you say, kid? Wanna go there?”
”Mwueh?” Grogu asked, cocking his head back at him.
.
Grogu loved this planet! It was big and green and there were lots of people everywhere, not to mention there were lots of great smells hanging in the air. They hadn’t been here for more than a few minutes, they were still walking through the shipyard and into the city, but he was already getting antsy. Before, when they were in the Razor Crest, Buir would often shop for parts and supplies for the ship, always seeming to do maintenance on it. Grogu thought it was fascinating, kind of, and he liked when his buir talked to him about what he was doing, but he’d get so bored shopping for parts. Now, though, they were shopping for what Grogu wanted, and that was exciting! There were already lots of fun things that caught Grogu’s eyes, lots of species he’d never seen before, and music that he couldn’t find the origin of was playing in the background.
“I know you’re excited, Ad’ika,” Buir said to him, shifting Grogu in his arms, “but you still need to stay close, okay? We don’t want you getting lost.”
Yes, that was true, he didn’t like getting lost, even though it happened a lot. It wasn’t like he was trying to get lost, he just got distracted easily. He was content to ride in Buir’s arms for a while until something caught his eye, and he began to squirm in an attempt to get down, feeling how his buir shook his head in exasperation, fondness and adoration. Grogu liked when Buir felt things like that, it made his chest warm and his tummy tickle.
“What do you want to look at first?” Buir asked, his attention focused on Grogu as the waves of people passed around them. Grogu looked around, realizing that he should have let Buir hold him longer so he could see more of the stalls and shops. Well, he could always follow his nose, and right now, his nose was telling him to follow that yummy scent.
“Bah!” he said, looking up at his buir as he pointed down the street. Grogu still couldn’t speak Basic yet, and Buir wasn’t couldn’t use the Force like Master Ahsoka and Master Skywalker could, but Grogu was sure that Buir could understand his intentions, even if no words passed between them. Buir nodded and the two started walking in the direction Grogu pointed at. Buir walked slowly beside him, rarely taking his eyes off of him as Grogu followed the scent of the yummy food. He felt like his buir, tracking the scent of a bounty on the run, and the thought made him giggle and run forward, though his buir kept up with him easily.
“Don’t tire yourself out too much,” Buir warned gently, a smile evident in his modulated voice. “It’s just the start of the day.” Grogu nodded in acknowledgment, and kept to the scent, his head turning as he got closer to the source. His tummy rumbled loudly, and he felt drool gather on his lips as he peered up at the stalls, unable to see the wares on top. He turned to Buir and held his arms up, at which point he was carefully picked up and cradled in the man’s arm. Grogu looked around over his buir’s shoulder at the stalls, and let out a shriek of excitement as he spotted stall with meat kebabs rotating over a droid’s blowtorch. Buir turned to the stall and approached it, drawing the attention of the portly Mon Calamari that ran the stall. Grogu was too fascinated with the food to listen to the conversation between the adults, but soon enough, a kebab was put into Buir’s hand, and he was holding it for Grogu to eat. The kebab was taller than Grogu was! but he’d be able to eat it all.
“Hey, you need to let it cool, first,” Buir reminded him, making Grogu blow a raspberry in annoyance. He blew on the still-hot kebab until Buir deemed it safe for Grogu to eat. He cheered and clapped as he leaned forward and began to bite off chunks of meet, humming and cooing happily as the spicy flavors fulled his mouth. He liked spicy foods, his buir and Ba'vodu Boba liked them too, said that Mandalorian food was often very hot. Ba'vodu Fennec didn’t seem to like it as much, complaining that you shouldn’t eat hot food on a planet with two suns, but Grogu didn’t mind it, as long as he had something to drink. Speaking of.
“Ah bah!” Grogu exclaimed, scrunching his face up as Buir used his cape to wipe off the sauce that had gotten all over him.
“You want something to drink?” Buir asked, and Grogu nodded. Buir reached down for his canteen of water and held it up to Grogu, making him huff and pout at him. Buir sighed, exasperation wafting off of him as he spoke. “Just to keep you hydrated, cyar'ika.” Grogu huffed but took a sip, tamping down the spiciness that filled his mouth as he looked around. He took a few lazy bites as he and his buir looked for any vendors selling drinks, though Grogu was easily distracted by all the different things on display. His buir eventually stopped in front of a stall where a Cerean was selling brightly coloured liquids, with different fruits displayed on holoboards in front of each see-through container.
“You want one of these?” Buir asked as Grogu scanned the options. He didn’t recognize all of the fruits, but he did recognize the one in front of a bright-yellow filled container. He couldn’t remember the name of the fruit, but he pointed emphatically to it, and the Cerean grinned as he filled a small cup for Grogu. Buir paid and Grogu made to grab the cup, squawking in indignation as it was kept out of his reach. “Let’s sit down somewhere; I can’t carry you and give you both the food and drink.” Grogu supposed that made sense, and didn’t protest when Buir slotted himself into a small alleyway were a few supply crates were being kept. The Sullustans working the nearby stall eyed them curiously, but when they saw his buir set him down and hand him his drink, they seemed to lose interest.
“Here, ad’ika, take a drink,” Buir said, holding out the cup of yellow liquid. Grogu carefully held it between his hands, though Buir kept a hand underneath it, in case he dropped it. Grogu tilted the cup back, a shiver running through his body at the sour-sweetness that he tasted, a giggle leaving his mouth at the feeling. It was good! And refreshing! A perfect balance to the spicy food he was eating. “Heh, is it good?” Buir asked, amusement seeping through his armor.
“Bwuah!” Grogu affirmed, reaching a hand to the kebab and accidentally dropping his cup. Before he could react, Buir had already caught it, shaking his head fondly at Grogu.
“You need to be careful, buddy,” he reminded him, and pressed his helmet against Grogu’s head. He let out a happy trill at the sign of affection, nuzzling into the cool metal of his buir’s helmet, smiling as he pulled away. “C’mon, you finish eating here, then we can walk around some more.”
So that’s what they did.
Grogu had eaten the kebab all by himself, so he was full for the time being, and he could still taste the sticky sweetness of his drink on his tongue. Now that his hands weren’t occupied, Buir set Grogu back down and allowed him to continue walking through the rows of stalls. Thankfully, everyone gave Buir a wide berth, meaning that Grogu didn’t have to worry about being stepped on, which was always nice. He hoped one day he could be as tall as Buir was, but something told him he was going to stay pretty short. A few twi’lek children ran past him, seeming to be passing a ball between them all that jingled as it was thrown. Grogu turned and eyed the ball in fascination, focusing on it as if he was being hypnotized. Buir suddenly picked him up and walked over to the children, stopping when one of them, a girl with red skin, bumped into his front as she had jumped back to catch the ball. The children all froze at the sight of his buir, nervous worried scared curious bouncing between all of them.
“Sorry to disrupt your game,” Buir said, keeping his voice even and calm, “but I, we,” he corrected, hoisting Grogu up higher in his arms, “wanted to know where you got the ball.” The children all looked up at his buir with wide, curious eyes as they slowly started to relax.
“Down the street,” one of the other girls said, nervously playing with one of her pale green head-tails. She was almost the same colour as Grogu! “There’s a big shop with lots of toys.”
“They play lots of music, too,” a boy added, his pink lekku tied with a patterned cloth.
“Yeah, you can’t miss it,” another added as all of the children started to calm down.
“And they’ll sell these balls?” Buir asked, receiving nods from all the children.
“Hey, are you a Mandalorian?” the red twi’lek asked, looking up at Grogu’s buir with wide, curious blue eyes.
“I am,” Buir nodded, making the children thrum with excitement awe curiosity disbelief.
“Do you really never take your helmet off?” another child asked, a tooth missing from their smile.
“Never,” Buir nodded.
“How do your ears fit under there?” the Grogu-coloured girl asked, still playing with her lekku.
“We aren’t the same species,” Buir told them, kneeling down to better speak with the children, who all crowded around him. Grogu had been excited to see so many children, wanted to play with them, but he suddenly felt a sour feeling in the pit of his tummy. His buir wasn’t paying attention to him anymore, focused instead on answering all the twi’leks’ questions, and that was not fair. Buir said this day was supposed to be about Grogu!
“Ah bah!” he exclaimed, throwing his arms up and waving them around, not caring about what he might accidentally hit.
“Grogu? What’s wrong?” Buir asked, looking down at him. Grogu balled his fists up and willed his buir to understand his feelings.
“Maybe he’s hungry!” one of the children said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a clear bag of cookies. “Here! Do you want one?” he offered as the others nodded. Grogu was very tempted, he knew cookies were good, but that’s not what he wanted!
“Wyah!” Grogu protested, turning into Buir’s neck and hiding his face, feelings of jealousy hurt frustration swirling in his mind and his gut, making his tummy hurt.
“Well, thank you for your help,” Buir said, standing up as he cradled Grogu close, “we’ll be going now.”
“Bye bye!” the children called as they parted ways, but Grogu kept his face hidden against his buir’s neck. They walked in silence for a while, letting the noise from the market wash over them as they moved. Grogu felt a little bad, because the children seemed nice, but Buir was his. And he wanted to spend time just the two of them.
“Are you alright, ad’ika?” Buir asked, gently stroking Grogu’s back. Grogu let out a sad croon, closing his eyes as he snuggled closer, wishing he could speak. “Did the other children scare you?”
Grogu shook his head no.
“Do you feel sick?”
No.
“Were you upset they interrupted our day?”
Grogu slowly nodded his head.
“Oh, Grogu,” Buir cooed, amusement gently surrounding him. “You were just jealous that I wasn’t paying attention to you, huh?”
Well, yeah. This was their day.
“I’m sorry, ad’ika, I know I said this day was about you,” he went on nudging his helmet against Grogu’s head, making him whine slightly. “I told you it’s been one standard year since we became aliit, you know what that is, right?”
Grogu nodded, smiling at the thought. It had been a scary day, and he was worried that Buir was going to leave him with the bad men again, then he almost lost Buir forever, but he came back. The other Shiny person had said they were aliit, and a clan of two. They had lots of adventures since then, and Grogu never wanted to leave Buir’s side, especially now that they weren’t always being chased by bad people. He didn’t know if or when they’d be on the move again, running from bad guys and not staying in one place for long. He wanted to enjoy this time with him, just the two of them.
“We’re a family, you and me, no matter what happens,” he soothed, making Grogu let out a sigh of contentment before he pulled away from Buir’s neck, looking up at his helmeted face. “Now, do you still want to go to the toy store?”
“Bah!” Grogu declared, shaking his head as Buir chuckled in amusement.
“That’s what I thought,” he said, rubbing behind one of Grogu’s ears. “C‘mon you womprat, let’s check out that shop.”
The shop was absolutely massive to Grogu, probably bigger than the Razor Crest was! There were lots of people going in and out of the store, holding lots of interesting toys that made tons of different noises, Grogu didn’t know where to look! Cheerful music was playing from square music synthesizers, it made Grogu want to dance! He kicked his feet happily as he watched bubbles float through the air, and used the Force to bring some of them closer, though he accidentally popped them with his claws. He giggled and clapped at the little ‘pop’ noises they let out before Buir ducked when an animatronic arm swung out, reciting poetry in a language he didn’t know.
“Oooooo!” Grogu cooed, head swiveling back and forth as he tried to take in every detail.
“Don’t make yourself dizzy there, ad’ika,” Buir cautioned, happiness bubbling in his chest as Grogu smiled at him. “Does anything catch your eye?”
“Bah!” Grogu shouted, pointing at a nearby display of boxes with keys and levers on the side. Buir lowered him to the display as Grogu grabbed one of the boxes, winding one of the levers expectantly. His ears lifted in delight as a whirling noise left the toy, and when he pressed a key, it let out a bwuirp! noise that made him giggle. He tilted the device, and to his surprise, it let out a long dwooooop sound, which was so funny! He turned to show Buir the amazing toy, and he nodded his head in acknowledgment.
“Let’s look around some more,” he said, taking the toy to put back as he lifted Grogu into his arms. Grogu looked around, reaching his hands out to any dangling things that were within arms reach, flapping his hands happily as the trinkets clang’ed and bong’ed together, even if it hurt his ears a little bit. “Careful, ad’ika, we don’t want to break anything,” Buir warned, putting Grogu in the crux of his other arm, out of reach of anything to play with. “Oh, those look like the balls the kids were playing with,” Buir said as he reached up to the assorted balls that were hanging from the ceiling beams in nets. Grogu cheered as he heard the ball jingle slightly as Buir took it down, the reflective sphere almost as shiny as Buir’s armor! He wanted to play with it right away, but his attention was quickly taken by the entire wall of candy and sweet things to eat. He began to shriek and cry as he tried to get Buir to approach the wall, wanting to put all the candies in his mouth and taste them.
“Calm down, buddy, you could fall,” Buir said, tightening his hold around Grogu to secure him, but he approached the wall, much to Grogu’s delight. “Now, we should only get a few, too much candy will make you sick.”
“Patuu,” Grogu spit, eyes widening as he looked at all the colourful candies, hard suckers and soft gummies, fruity aromas and sweet smelling chocolate; it was almost overwhelming. Buir walked to the side of the wall, and pulled out one of the clear plastic bags, that looked similar to the bag the twi’lek child had the cookies in. Did this place sell cookies, too!? This place was the best!
“Alright, buddy, we only have so much room on the Starfighter, so we have to be choosy, okay? These candies are small, but most have a short shelf life, so we need to pick carefully. I’ll read out the descriptions on the tins, then you decide if you want it, okay?”
“Mm,” Grogu nodded, craning his neck up to see the top shelf. His buir went across the rows, telling Grogu of the different flavors and the names of the candies, sometimes lifting him up higher to get a better look. Grogu liked a lot of them, though there were a few he skipped, and Buir added a few pieces to the bag. They came across a container of hard, orange coloured candies in the same of rounded cones, with little dark-red flakes floating inside them. Grogu pointed at them, indicating he wanted to add them to the bag.
“This one’s spicy, you sure you want it?” Buir asked, his head cocked as he looked down at Grogu.
”Wah!” he answered, throwing his arms up in affirmation. Grogu loved spicy things, and maybe Buir and Ba'vodu Boba would like them too! Buir nodded and added a few of the orange candies into the bag, before closing the small container they were kept in. As they worked their way down the wall, with the bag nearly full, Grogu used his best lothcat eyes to make Buir get a second bag.
“You don’t play fair, y’know that?” Buir said, tying off the first bag and grabbing a second to fill with more goodies. Towards the lower rows, Grogu wanted to start putting candies in the bag, which Buir reluctantly allowed him to do. Some of the containers had scoops, others had tongs to grab the candies to put in the bag, and Grogu did a really good job, he hardly spilled at all! He did get a little distracted by all the people around him, especially when he saw a small Togruta family near a display of ship toys. The parents were smiling down at the child between them, watching as they dramatically flew a ship around in their hands, before one of the parents grabbed the child by the face and began to press kisses all over them. The Togruta child squawked and tried to squirm away, but Grogu could see the smile on their face, as well as feel the embarrassment joy love contentment radiating off of all of them.
“Grogu, you’re spilling,” Buir warned, making him turn back to the Mandalorian. He looked down at the scoop in his hands, not as full as he remembered it being, and felt his ears droop in embarrassment. “It’s alright, kid, just put it in the bag now, careful,” he guided, holding the bag open for Grogu to deposited the candies into. “Good job, kid, but I think that’s enough candy for now.” Grogu wasn’t sure he agreed, but he allowed his buir to tie off the second bag and pick him up as they went back to exploring the shop. They passed through more shelves filled with toys, some holo boxes, some puzzles, more ship replicas, and then they entered a section filled entirely with stuffed animals that Grogu was ecstatic about.
“Bah haah!” he cried out, looking up at the towering shelves.
“Do you want one, buddy?” Buir asked, slowing his pace as he perused the shelves. Grogu loved all of the cute, stuffed things, his attention kept skipping from one to the next, until his eyes landed on the perfect pair. In front of him was a stuffed Rancor and a stuffed Mudhorn, which made Grogu’s little heart skip a beat. A Rancor! Like what Ba'vodu Boba had! And a Mudhorn, like their aliik! Grogu waved his arms around emphatically, trying to direct his buir’s attention to them. When he wasn’t fast enough, he used the Force to pull them off the shelves and into his arms, letting out a cry of victory.
“Hey, remember to be careful,” Buir warned gently, looking around for any potential witnesses, but everyone seemed too wrapped up in their own worlds to notice. He let out a sigh of relief as he knelt to the ground and set Grogu down. “Now, which do you want, cyar'ika?” Buir asked, holding up the stuffed Rancor and the stuffed Mudhorn, Grogu looking between the two. Aaaah! He couldn’t chose! He pointed to both, hoping he could convince his buir to relent. Spoil meeee Grogu tried to convey, staring up at the Mandalorian with a pouty lip.
“Heh, now where’d you learn that one, eh?” Buir asked, tucking both stuffed toys under his arm as he scooped Grogu in his other arm.
“Huweh,” Grogu cooed. Ba'vodu Fennec had taught him that, and it worked! He hoped he’d be able to tell her about it when they got back.
.
When they stepped into the room Buir had rented for them, Grogu was very tired. The hotel they were staying in was built out of a massive tree, and their room was very high up, though thankfully there was a lift-tube to carry them up, he was too tired to walk all that way. He was very happy, of course, munching on one of the spicy candies they’d gotten from the toy store, moving his Rancor and Mudhorn with the Force so they danced above his head. They didn’t have beds like this on Tatooine, nor did Master Skywalker have anything this nice at his school, so Grogu was having lots of fun. Since he was so sleepy, anytime he yawned the toys fell to the bed with a soft fwup as Grogu flopped down. Thanks to Master Skywalker, his use of the Force left him less and less tired, and he got better with practice, but it had been a very long day, and Grogu was still very little.
“I’m glad you had fun today, ad’ika,” Buir commented, setting their assorted bags down on the small table in the room before approaching the bed. “We’ll look around even more tomorrow, does that sound good?” he asked, making Grogu smile and clap his hands. That sounded very good! They’d be able to have even more fun tomorrow!? He couldn’t wait! Buir nodded before continuing to walk around the room, taking off his armor and laying them out carefully on the table beside the bags, inspecting the pieces for any dings or marks he may have gotten during the day. An image lingered in Grogu’s mind, along with the feelings of embarrassment joy love contentment and he called out to his Mandalorian, who turned at hearing the noise. Grogu stood up on the bed and beckoned for his buir to lean down, until he was in his reach with his hands bracing himself against the bed on either side of Grogu. He grabbed his helmet and began pressing wet kisses to the cold metal, making his buir chuckle, a warm, wonderful sound that Grogu loved.
“You saw that family doing this too, huh?” Buir asked, gently taking Grogu’s hands away so he could take off his helmet. Grogu smiled as he saw his buir’s face, waiting impatiently as he set the helmet down on the table so he could give his buir more kisses.
“Alright, come’ere, cyar'ika,” Buir cooed as he returned, a smile on his face as Grogu leapt into his arms, nuzzling into his buir’s prickly chin. Buir pulled back and began peppering Grogu’s face with kisses, making Grogu squeal and laugh in delight. Buir’s whiskers tickled! And he was kissing Grogu all over, meaning everywhere tickled! Grogu kicked his arms and legs out from the sensation, his entire body trembling with joy and laughter as Buir squeezed his middle, making mwuah! noises as he placed them all over Grogu’s head and face. Grogu felt his face get squished as Buir pressed his lips and nose into his skin, his cheek and nose giving under the slight pressure. Buir used his fingers to squeeze Grogu’s cheeks, chuckling as he played with them. It felt a little weird, but it made his buir smile, so Grogu wasn’t going to complain. Buir suddenly leaned down, pressed his lips against Grogu’s cheek, and blew hard, making Grogu squeal in surprise and laughter. That felt so weird! But Buir was emitting feelings of love happiness fondness love love love that it was nearly overwhelming, and Grogu just laughed and squirmed in his hold. His cheeks hurt a little by the time Buir pulled away, hovering above Grogu’s wiggling form, a fond look on his face, before he lifted Grogu up. Little residual laughs kept leaving his lips as Buir held him close, able to feel the warmth of his body now that the beskar armor was out of the way. Grogu took comfort in the coolness of the metal, but being able to feel his buir’s warmth was nice too. Buir swayed gently as he held Grogu close, the two just listening to one another’s breath in the quiet of their room. Buir cupped the back of his head and pressed a kiss to his crown, between his ears, so tender and warm that it made Grogu sleepy.
“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum, cyar'ika,” Buir whispered, their foreheads pressed together as their eyes fell shut. Grogu felt as if their souls were intertwining, coming together in an embrace so tight that they’d always be together, even when apart.