my good friend jarvisdropmyneedle07 drew me the sweetest art for my valentine this year. i'm not much of an artist in the same way, so this is my own form of a valentine to you. happy belated valentine's day, my friend <3 

Being a mother never crossed your mind, not really. When you chose to help the Mandalorian escape near-death with the Child and flee Nevarro, you didn't do so thinking that you'd soon have a life full of spit-up and long, sleepless nights with a whiny baby in your arms.

But it fit you.

Surprisingly, the role fit you.

You fell into the swing of it quickly. You were up early to feed the baby, you were laying it down for naps at the same time every afternoon, you were teaching it the names of all of its surroundings, you were bouncing it on your knee to keep it from annoying Din while he piloted the Razor Crest, and you comforted it when it needed love.

While it wasn't what you signed up for, you loved it. You weren't a glorified babysitter, you often told yourself. No, you were a mother.

Even if the rest of your crew might just see you as a glorified babysitter.

It was a slow, quiet morning. Din had just stopped for fuel on Tatooine and now it was time to take it easy on your journey forward. You'd had a lot of close calls and dangerous contacts recently, and the Empire was only growing more intent on getting the Child back. Din thought it was best to lay low, and you had to agree.

As you sat in the seat behind Din, you braided your hair. Your mind was elsewhere as your fingers wove the three locks into a soft twist. A soft coo from your left brought you out of your thoughts. It was accompanied by the tiny pinch of the Child's hand as he yanked at your pant leg, begging for your attention.

"Oh, what is it, little one?" you said.

He tilted his head and let out a low whine. His little bottom lip stuck out in a pout that made you smile as your heart fluttered.

"Aw, I see. Is the little baby hungry?" You scooped the Child up into your arms and laid him across your lap. He giggled as you poked his sides. His tiny green hands wrapped around your fingers and brought them to his mouth. "I think so."

"He just ate an hour ago," Din said, not looking back at you. His fingers grazed the controls in front of him before he leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, he's a growing boy," you said. "Aren't you, kiddo?"

"He's going to eat all the food that we have left," Din said, turning his head. "He can wait a bit to eat. We're in too tight of a spot to keep stopping at every planet to refuel and restock our supplies."

The Child whined and looked up at you with those big brown eyes. They blinked, all teary and wide, waiting for you to give in. Expecting you to give in. It nearly broke your heart that you actually agreed with the Mandalorian for once.

You sighed. "He's right, you know."

His eyes left yours and blinked once, hard. You frowned. It was only a second later that the Child was squirming out of your arms and back onto the floor. You watched him waddle out of the cockpit.

"Hey, kid," you called out. "Wait a minute---"

"He's fine," Din said. "He can't get down the ladder without someone to help him. Just let him be. He's just pouting."

"You know I hate it when he's sad like that," you said.

"He's not sad, he's pouting," Din said. He turned around in his chair. "There's a difference."

"Well, I still hate it." You crossed your arms and leaned back in your seat. "I hate disappointing him."

"You don't disappoint him," he said.

"Then what would you call that?" Eyebrows raised, you gently kicked Din's knee. "You made me disappoint him! I hate it when you're right, you know."

He chuckled. "I know. So maybe you did disappoint him."

"Exactly." You turned your head again, worriedly looking after the way the Child had left.

"But this was the first time you ever did. I have never seen him do anything less than grin at you. And that shows that you're a really good mother to the kid."

Just like that, your eyes were back on the Mandalorian. "What did you call me?"

"His mother," he said, voice slightly choked up. Even though you couldn't see his face, you knew that he was shocked by what he had said. "I... I think he sees you as his mother."

"Yeah? You mean that?" you asked softly.

He nodded. "I've seen how he looks at you. He looks at you like... like he's never seen a better person before. And I guess he's never met anyone as good as you, so it adds up. He loves you."

"Thank you," you whispered. Your heart was full in your chest. You couldn't help but smile. "That means a lot to me to hear, Din. And for the record, I think he sees you as a father. He looks up to you. He goes to you for protection. It's... it's very obvious, to me, that he loves you, too."

He was at a loss for words. He stared at you and you glanced away, feeling the heat rise in your cheeks at the truth of your words. It was the first time either of you had established what you had as a family. Before this moment, all that was established was that you were a couple of friends caring for a baby until you got him to where he belonged. While your mind had been locked on the word family for a while, it wasn't anything you spoke out loud.

"Maybe I'll go check on him," you said. You rose from your chair and turned to leave, and his voice stopped you. He felt brave enough to speak when you weren't looking at him.

"So what does that make us?" His voice, usually confident and strong, wavered. He was cautious in the way that he worded his sentence. His desire to be more to you was outweighed more by his fear of losing you completely.

"I think... that makes us parents," you said.

His head tilted to the side. Clearly he didn't appreciate your humor. "That isn't what I meant."

"I was kidding," you said. You stepped closer to him, stretched out your hand, and placed it on top of his. As you closed your fingers around his, you leaned down and kissed the side of his helmet quickly, right where his cheek would be. As you pulled away, his head turned to look at you. Your voice was nothing more than a whisper as you told him, "I think that it's up to you what it makes us. I think I've made my feelings for you clear."

You truly weren't sure how to navigate the possibility of being anything more than a friend to Din. His Creed was so important and it didn't give room for opportunity for much else in his life. However, you knew that you cared for him, and he for you. It was up to him to act on it or not.

You had no idea that it took everything inside of Din not to remove his helmet right there in that moment. It took all of his strength to restrain from showing you what he looked like, to keep from gazing upon you with his own eyes for the very first time, to feel your lips against his the way he'd wanted to for weeks now.

Unknowing, unassuming, you turned away from him and left the cockpit. Away from Din, your focus was back on the baby, who, much to your shock and alarm, was nowhere to be found.

"Kid?!" You hurriedly started down the ladder, terrified if he fell on his way down. Was he hurt? Where did he go? As your feet hit the floor you spun, heart pounding in your chest. "Kid, where---"

He cooed and you looked to your right.

You sighed in relief. He was seated on top of a crate, completely unharmed with a pack of cookies in hand. You pressed your palm to your chest, feeling the rapid speed of your heartbeat.

"Force, kid, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" He reached up for you and you picked him up, settling him against your hip. He blinked up at you with those big brown eyes that melted you every time. "You forgive me now that you found a snack?"

He cooed and babbled, blue crumbs spilling out of his lips. You wiped them away with your fingertips and sat down on the crate, setting him on your lap. You took his long string of cheerful nonsense as a yes and smiled.

"Good," you said. "Well, I'll make you a deal. You don't get all pouty with me again, and I won't tell your father about the cookies. Deal?"

His ears perked up and he nodded once. You laughed cheerfully, raising your little baby up into the air just enough to press his forehead against yours. Love filled your heart and he cooed, his free hand grabbing to lock onto a piece of your hair.

You were a mother, there was no doubt in your mind --- or in Din's.