Dank Farrik Drabble #32

Well, this is longer than a drabble. And also the plot completely took over from the simple Cot/Determined @dankfarrikdrabbles prompt premise. I might be tempted to write more? I don’t know yet, but I do love those What if? scenarios. Hope you also enjoy! :)

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“When I said I wanted grandchildren from you, I didn’t exactly mean this,” said Din’s mother as she observed the green child with comically large ears swallow all the food she put in front of him – that baby was clearly starving!

“Tell us again, how did you find him exactly?”

Din sighed and ruffled his hair some more – why did his sister always have to ask so many questions? He was exhausted after that return trip, and he’d hoped being back home would mean rest. They’d had quite the journey with the kid, and he didn’t really feel like going through all of it again, but his mother was also staring at him expectantly, and it didn’t look like the boy would agree to a nap any time soon, as he was too busy eating them out of house and home.

“I had a breakdown on Arvala-7 and couldn’t make my delivery. A Ugnaught helped me with the repairs, and he told me about this target bounty hunters kept trying to secure unsuccessfully. It seemed to really disturb him so I decided to go investigate. To thank him for his help, you know.”

“Admit it, you were just curious,” said his sister knowingly. “Wait until Maddi shows up to hear this, you’re so predictable.”

Din rolled his eyes but realized that he’d have to go through all of this one more time when their younger sister returned from Aq Vetina’s academy.

“Alright, so maybe I was a bit curious,” he conceded, watching the child reach for the cheese again. “And I did find plenty of hunters, like the Ugnaught warned me.”

“Wasn’t it dangerous?” wondered his mother, her eyes widening. She always worried when he left for distant systems for his deliveries – but he’d been a freight transport pilot for years now. He’d learned how to embellish the truth for her sake. He could hold his own in a fight, but she didn’t need to know all the details.

“I got lucky,” he settled on saying, choosing not to mention the IG unit who’d self-destructed and made his job easier to get rid of the Nikto guards. It had been a close call, and that last one had almost ambushed him.

“And then what happened?” asked Finia, captivated, and she looked so much like her 6 year old self right then, asking him for another story before bed, that he grinned warmly. It didn’t matter that she had kids of her own, now – the niece and nephew that he loved more than he felt comfortable admitting out loud. The only thing that mattered was that he was taken back to that special time, when life had been easier and their father had still been alive.

“I found him,” he revealed, pointing at the kid who cooed in reply. “In that pram thing. I think he’d been pretty much on his own for a while.” At this, the boy sighed mournfully, and Din’s mom stroked his fuzzy head.

“But why were there hunters after him?” Finia queried, the puzzlement clear in her dark eyes. “He was the target the Ugnaught mentioned to you, right? He’s just a kid!”

“The medical scan in my ship told me he was 50 years old,” he shrugged. “I guess he’s special, somehow.”

His mother frowned, and Din could tell she knew he wasn’t being completely honest with her. Maybe he’d tell her about the kid’s strange powers later. But since it involved admitting being ambushed by Trandoshan hunters and almost dying from his wounds if the child hadn’t used his magical abilities to save him, he thought it could wait. That and getting trampled by a mudhorn to secure that stupid egg the Jawas had wanted in exchange for the parts he had needed to build a bio-damper for the boy. But it had been the only way to make sure the trackers would stop giving his position away. He wouldn’t have felt safe flying back to Aq Vetina otherwise.

Who knew who was after the little one? Deep down, he had an idea. A dark, terrible idea. As a courier, he’d heard rumors after all. And he’d seen with his own eyes that the Empire wasn’t exactly gone. But he didn’t want to imagine what they would want with such a powerful being.

“He really is cute, though,” sighed Finia, and the boy babbled happily at the praise. He couldn’t talk exactly, but it wasn’t that hard to figure out what he meant, most of the time.

“Sure you know what you’re doing?” she added, standing up from the kitchen table, and he shrugged. Probably not. But there was no way he would have abandoned him to his fate like that. He’d figure it out. Hopefully.

“I’ll go get little Din’s old cot at my house, it should be the right size for him,” she announced. “Some clothes, too. He’s wearing rags, the poor thing.”

Once she’d left, the boy raised his tiny arms from his makeshift highchair, and Din picked him up.

“Are you finally full?” he chuckled, since he’d probably swallowed more than his own weight in food. With a contended sigh, the baby settled in his arms and was soon asleep, trusting him to hold and protect him, which threw Din for a loop. That was certainly an unusual feeling.

“Guess he’s yours now,” remarked his mother with an amused shake of her head as she started clearing the table. “You do know you’re way in over your head, right?”

“Yes, mom, I know,” he replied with a long suffering sigh.

“Just thought I’d check,” she said, taking the pile of dirty plates to the sink.

Din looked down at the small bundle in his arms. The kid was holding one of his fingers in his sleep, completely at ease. Well, he’d made a choice. And now he had to live with it. He smiled and held the tiny boy tighter.