He abruptly lifts his head through his helmet as if he's surprised by my arrival. He slowly turns his body towards me and to my surprise, he's doing what I never thought he'd do. He raises his hands and slowly removes the helmet. The helmet he had vowed never to take off again. The helmet that kept him on anonymity all these years. His eyes are bulging. It's not the first time I've seen his face. But it's the first time I've seen him so broken, so vulnerable. Yes, I'd seen him crushed by my mother's death, but I've never seen him like this before.
«Keirah.» his voice is shaking.
I can't hold on any longer. I run towards him and fall into his arms. He opens his arms and a sigh of relief comes out of his chest as he wraps his arms around me.
«I'm so sorry.» I say within my sobs.
«No. I am.»
As he lets me out of his arms, I take a step back and touch his face. He closes his eyes as if my touch hurts him. It's like waking up to a painful memory.
And then a sudden realization comes to my mind. Something's missing. Someone's missing.
«Where where is Grogu?» I ask him, fearing the worst. I can't take it if I find out something bad happened to him. It can't be.
His breath trembles as he opens his eyes. «I had to let him go. I reunited him with his kind.»
I close my eyes full of pain. I'm glad he's okay, but the fact that I'm never going to see this lovely little creature again breaks my heart.
«I was looking everywhere for you.» he breaks the silence.
«For me?»
«Ever since I saw the bounty.»
«The bounty!!!» I say bitterly. This bounty changed everything. Where I was and where I am. Who I was and who I'm going to be. Gideon put a bounty on me to get the Darksaber back, but he led me straight to his rightful owner. I can't believe he didn't saw that coming.
Dad takes a seat in one of the chairs and I sit next to him.
«I cannot even imagine what you've been through.»
I smile as I think about every mission with him. «Not anything I haven't gone through or couldn't get away with. My father taught me well.»
«Father.» he says with a bitter tone. «I don't think that word suits me.»
«But it does. I know everything.»
He's raising his eyebrows confused. Like he doesn't understand what I mean.
«I know you didn't leave me by choice. I know the man that raised you as a foundling made you do it»
«It was my choice.»
«I know.»
«And you're not angry?»
A faint smile appears on my face. «No. Not anymore. Not now that I know.»
He looks at me sadly and a bittersweet smile carves into his face as he takes my hand. «You're so much like her, you know.»
«I know I have her eyes. But everybody tells me I look like my father.»
He laughs and I see his eyes buzzing. I wonder how long he kept her memory locked inside his head. Refusing to remember her because her memory was too painful that was killing him. «I'm not talking about your eyes. I mean your character... and I'm grateful for that. Your parents raised you well. If you'd stayed with me, you wouldn't be like this.»
«Don't say that.»
«Why not?»
«Because I know you would raise me well too. I don't care about what he told you that day. I saw the way you were looking after Grogu. How much you cared about him.»
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THIS IS THE WAY (A Mandalorian / Star Wars Fanfiction Story)
FanfictionA long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... Keirah leaves a normal peaceful life when the ship of the Mandalorian Din Djarin crashes on her planet. And everything changes. Based on the Disney+ tv series "The Mandalorian", set on the Star Wars Unive...
