Chapter Text
~Bo-Katan POV~
In the 8 months and 15 days that had passed since the attack to reclaim Mandalore, incredible progress had been made in the efforts to rebuild the decimated planet. Basic housing had been erected, a temporary hospital had been constructed and the forge had been rebuilt and relit. Word had spread quickly throughout the galaxy and each day, more and more Mandalorians were making their way to their ancestral home to join their brothers and sisters. It was nothing short of incredible. Each day, the feelings of pride and optimism radiated from those working to rebuild, but each day also marked another day that something was missing from Mandalore. For Bo-Katan, today marked 8 months and 12 days since Din Djarin had adopted Grogu, finally binding the two of them together in song. It had been 8 months and 12 days since The Armorer gave Din Djarin instruction to leave Mandalore to take his apprentice on his journeys. It had been 8 months and 12 days since Bo-Katan last spoke to Din Djarin, because 8 months and 12 days ago Din Djarin left in the middle of the night with his son without a word to anyone.
8 months and 12 days, 255 days total. Not that she was counting of course.
Following the Battle for Mandalore, it seemed to Bo-Katan that nothing had really changed between herself and Din Djarin. Once the survivors of the battle had been accounted for, their wounds tended to and everyone had been fed, the three of them had made their way to her ship for the night. Grogu had been almost catatonic by the time Bo tucked him into his pod for the night, he had been insistent on sitting with her during dinner and had been loathe to let go of the hand that had been crushed along with the Darksaber by Moff Gideon. Both she and Din had tried to assure the child that her hand would heal, bacta patches had been wrapped around her hand and although the adrenaline from the final fight had worn off and the pain had begun to set in, Bo had had her fair share of broken bones, so this was nothing she couldn’t handle. The three of them had sat together for a time in the cockpit, Grogu resting against Bo’s chest while her and Din quietly discussed what was to come next for Mandalore. When Grogu had finally fallen asleep, she and Din made their way back to their bunks so that all of them could get a decent night's sleep, knowing there was much work to begin the morning.
As soon as the three of them had left the Gauntlet the following morning, the work to rebuild Mandalore began. She and Din met with various members of each tribe along with Axe and The Armorer to thank them for their courage and bravery during the battle and to encourage those that were able, to find any way they could assist those around them. The most important task that day had been setting up a temporary communications relay to send word to Navarro of the success in reclaiming Mandalore. By the evening, several ships had arrived with members of both factions. Ragnar Vizsla had been one of the first Mandalorians to disembark, eager to be reunited with his father. Bo had taken Grogu back to the Gauntlet for dinner as she and Din had discussed the previous night that he wanted to be the one to let Ragnar know about the sacrifice his father had made. Bo had been surprised when Axe had requested to join Din when the news was broken, but Axe had also lost his father at a young age to war, she had given Din a quick nod and off they had gone, Ragnar between them.
The following day, the N-1 arrived, piloted by one of the Mandalorians from Din’s tribe along with several more ships from across the galaxy carrying more Mandalorians. Work began on temporary housing and The Armorer continued the work to rebuild The Great Forge.
On the morning of the third day, Bo-Katan sat on her bunk in the Gauntlet pouring over the lists that had been created regarding the councils that would need to be set up in order to ensure the rebuilding efforts ran smoothly. Din had recommended members of his tribe for each council and she had added the members of the Nite Owls best suited for each task. Bo would be meeting with The Armourer that afternoon to discuss the councils and to go over the preparations for the Creed Ceremony that would be held that night. Following her meeting, Din had quietly requested private counsel with The Armorer. Bo and Grogu returned to the surface and made their way to the gardens to relax while they waited for Din. Bo sat in the lush grass expecting Grogu to waddle around the area as he typically did, but he had plopped himself into her lap and looked up at her with his big expressive eyes and cooed at her in his endearing way. Bo had smiled down at the child, gently caressing the top of his fuzzy head while she began to tell him a story from her past. It was one of her favourite memories from her childhood about her and her sister, Satine playing in a field of grass similar to this. Grogu had nuzzled into her side, tickling her slightly, which had caused her to laugh and twitch slightly, they had quickly devolved into a pair of giggling fools when Din found them not long after.
They were a busy three days, but Bo had enjoyed every moment of them with Din Djarin and Grogu by her side.
That was, until The Armorer announced that Din would need to leave Mandalore in order to take Grogu on his journeys. In an instant, Bo-Katan felt as though the solid ground she had finally managed to stand on had suddenly crumbled beneath her feet, sending her free falling into an abyss. She had known that Din would be adopting Grogu during the ceremony, he had told her that afternoon after his meeting with The Armorer, but she had no idea that their Way required this. For the first time since she had joined him in his Covert, Din Djarin refused to look at her. They had spent the past several months constantly in each other’s presence, able to communicate without speaking or actually being able to look each other in the eye, yet they were always, somehow on the same page, and now he wouldn’t even turn his head to her as he left the mines. It took her longer than she would have liked to be able to seek him out once the ceremony was complete. He and Grogu had already made their way out of the Living Waters as soon as the ceremony was done and by the time she had said her congratulations to Ragnar and had spoken with the other senior members of the gathered clans and made it up to the surface, she had no idea where they had gone.
They weren’t on the Gauntlet, they weren’t walking through the gardens, which Grogu had become fond of, they had simply vanished. The N-1 was where it had been parked which gave her some comfort, but Din was clearly hiding from her. After searching for them for longer than she likely should have, Bo-Katan made her way back to the still empty Gauntlet, not closing the ramp as a sign to Din that she hoped he understood was an indication that he was still welcome to his bunk, and settled in for the worst night of sleep she had had since she left Kalevala.
By the time she woke up the following day, she knew they were gone.