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Chapter Text

The news that Luke was to marry the king of Mandalore came during dinner, entirely unexpected but not surprising.

It had always been an unspoken agreement between Luke and his parents that if the time should ever come, he would enter into an arranged marriage with no fuss. So when the proposal came, Luke wasn’t surprised. Leia had always been the more politically active of the two, and Luke had no problem with stepping to the side and doing his duties to Naboo in a more quiet and graceful way. He preferred it that way, really. Luke was more than happy to work in the background and let someone else handle the public side of things.

Marrying the Mand’alor, however, was unexpected.

“I didn’t know Mandalore was looking to join the Republic.” Anakin frowned, pushing his food around his plate as Padme turned the holopuck off. He didn’t seem upset, just curious.

Padme hummed softly. She pushed her entire plate away, resting her elbows on the table and steepling her fingers together just below her chin. Even here, sitting at a dinner table, she looked regal. “The Mand’alor has wanted to join the Republic since he took the throne, but until recently his people were divided on the matter.”

Anakin hummed, nodded, and Luke tuned out as his mother and father started talking.

The transmission had been brief and clear, delivered to Padme just as they sat down for dinner. The man who had been speaking on the transmission--the Mand’alor--had sounded apologetic as he delivered his message.

Mandalore is ready to start discussions, but my people insist on keeping with traditions. I understand this is a difficult thing to ask, but my people will not accept your invitation to join the Republic without a marriage between your son and I. I’m afraid this is something that can’t be negotiated.

“Are you okay?” Leia scooted her chair closer to Luke, hooking her ankle around his and nudging his shoulder.

Luke peered up at her. Her eyes, as bright of a blue as Luke’s, were drowning in worry. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Leia frowned.

“I'm fine, Leia, I promise.” Luke gave her a smile, nudged her shoulder back. He did not need to share a force bond with her to know that she didn’t believe him, and he did not need a mirror to know that his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Luke looked back down at his plate. Pushed the vegetables around.

He wasn’t upset, he didn’t think.

Luke had known that this was a possibility. Even though he and Leia were twins, Luke was the youngest, and Leia was engaged already and far more politically active, and Luke was like his father in that he didn’t care for politics and instead put his focus on his Jedi heritage and practice, and--and just because Luke knew this may happen, that didn’t mean he was prepared for it.

Luke didn’t realize it had gone silent until he looked back up at his family.

“Luke, if you don’t want to—“ Padme started, her lips already tugged into a frown and her eyes shining with doubt, but Luke gently cut his mother off.

“No, it’s fine, really.” Luke smiled. It felt too tight. “I just—may I be excused?”

He didn’t wait for an answer before he was leaving the table quickly enough to rattle the dishes and silverware. One of the guards made to follow as Luke got through the door, but he waved them off. Artoo beeped and whirred from his spot at the table. He hurried after Luke, following after him as he left the dining room as quickly as he could.

Marriage had always been a looming figure in Luke’s future, the one certainty in his life.

And now here it was, staring Luke down with a soft spoken voice all wrapped in beskar while Luke ate dinner with his family.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden chill. Luke blinked, momentarily surprised to find himself in the palace gardens. His surprise faded quickly--this was where Luke always went when he was troubled.

Artoo trilled softly, rolling to a stop by his side.

“Sorry, I—“ Luke shook his head, pulling his cloak tighter around his shoulders. It was more fashionable than it was practical, and gave Luke very little extra warmth. He smiled at the little droid and bit back the chill, resting his hand on top of Artoo’s head to calm him. “Let’s go sit by the pond.”

Artoo beeped.

Luke followed after the droid. The tension he hadn’t realized that had built up in his shoulders tickled out of him, and by the time he sat by the little fish pond with Artoo he had calmed enough to take in a few deep breaths and let his heart settle back down. He dipped his fingers in the water as the last of his worry quietly left, pulling them out just as quickly as the chill seeped into his bones.

Luke thought back to the Mand’alor’s transmission, how reluctant he had been to state his terms. Luke could understand it, now that he had a moment to let the news settle and sink in. He wasn’t terribly familiar with mandalorian culture, but Luke knew that they were a very private people--marrying a stranger was probably the last thing the Mand’alor wanted to do.

But Luke also knew that the will of the people came first.

“Oh, Master Luke! There you are!”

Artoo whirred and beeped, and Luke looked up. Threepio was waddling across the garden, arm raised in a stiff wave.

“Your parents are most worried,” the droid continued. He hovered awkwardly around the pond before sitting next to Luke. “They told me to give you space, of course, but I’m also terribly worried, so I came looking for you.”

Luke smiled and drew his knees up to his chest. It really was chilly out. “Thanks.”

“You are most welcome, sir.” Threepio nodded. Luke was sure if the droid could smile, he would. “Are you doing well?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. I was just surprised, that’s all.” Luke looked back at the pond. The water was clear enough to see the fish lazily swimming, reflecting the moonlight off their gold scales. “I didn’t--I didn’t mean to run out like that.”

“Marriage can be quite surprising.” Threepio agreed. “Your mother never said anything because she wasn’t certain that the treaty with Mandalore would go through--they’re a very proud people, you know, and she didn’t want to needlessly worry you.”

Luke nodded.

Mandalore had been battered by years of civil war and its people left scattered across the galaxy because of their pridefulness. The Republic had offered to help restore the planet, but without a leader and with their people separated by feuds and anger, nothing was done, and the planet was left to rot. It wasn’t until a few years ago that Mandalore even came back on the radar of the Republic.

Padme had been the first to reach out to them.

“Why a marriage though?” One of the fish jumped from the water, it’s scales going a brilliant white before it dived back into the safety of the pond. Luke watched it swim back to the other fish.

“If I recall correctly, marriages were used between the Mandalorian clans as a way to guarantee peace and alliances. It’s a very traditional practice for them.” Threepio explained. He looked at Luke and tilted his head. “I would imagine your marriage to the Mand’alor is seen in a similar way. He speaks for all the clans, and so by marrying him you are forging an alliance with all of Mandalore.”

Luke nodded again, resting his chin on his knees as he stared into the pond.

“Master Luke, are you sure you’re alright?” Threepio asked.

Luke stayed quiet for a while. “I just...I thought I would have been more ready for this.”

“If you don’t wish to go through with the marriage, I’m sure that your mother could work something out--”

“No, it’s not that, its--” Luke paused. He swallowed around a lump in his throat and dug his fingers into the fabric of his pants. “...I just need time to think about it.”

Chapter Text

The silence that had settled between Luke and the Mand’alor wasn’t awkward so much as it was full of tension and uncertainty.

The Mand’alor had arrived on Naboo without much fanfare, docking his ship in the palace’s private port. He was accompanied by only two other mandalorians, a surprise to Luke, considering the size of the ship. He had introduced them as Cara Dune and Bo-Katan Kryze, members of his guard, and while Padme made the proper introductions of her own family they had both stared at Luke.

Luke could not see their eyes through their helmets, but still, he had looked away first.

And now here he was, walking the Mand’alor to his room while everyone else had gone their separate ways, trying to ignore the quiet stream of Mando’a that he was speaking to his child—his baby.

A baby who was so strong in the Force that Luke could feel the warmth of it without even trying to. The Mand’alor himself had his own pleasant space in the Force, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as the child's. It was just enough to reach out, to form a bond.

Luke loved the dramatics of Naboo fashion, but for the first time in a very long time he wished that the silks and sheer fabrics he wore were stiff enough for proper pockets. He needed to do something with his hands, and fiddling with the saber that hung from his hip was not the most peaceful of gestures.

He knew that the Mand’alor had a son--mandalorians were very proud of their families, and many of them delighted in showing off their children and speaking of them at any given opportunity. The Mand’alor was more private in his life, but he wasn’t that much different when it came to his son. He had spoken of the child often in the calls he shared with Padme. Luke just hadn’t realized he was this young, let alone a different species.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to ignore you.”

The sudden switch back to Basic startled Luke, and for a moment he hadn’t even realized that the Mand’alor was speaking to him.

“Oh, that’s—I don’t mind,” Luke was quick to recover, giving a warm smile. He was not sure what words the Mand’alor had been speaking, but he was sure they were words of comfort. “You’re in a brand new place—that’s scary for a kid.”

And Naboo truly was a brand new place compared to Mandalore. Naboo was full of lush plant life and rivers and lakes and swampland and extravagant architecture. Outside of its domed cities, Mandalore was nothing more than sand and dust. You couldn’t find two planets any more different.

The Mand’alor nodded while the child cooed, reaching up a hand to gently smack his helmet. He leaned down to meet the child, gently butting his head against the child’s. The child cooed in delight.

“His name is Grogu,” the Mand’alor said quietly. He wasn’t being rude about it, just stating a fact.

“Grogu.” Luke repeated.

Grogu turned to look at Luke at the mention of his name. He gave a toothy smile, babbled and squealed, then turned back to the Mand’alor and smacked his helmet again. He smacked it a few times, and the Mand’alor pulled Grogu back just far enough that he couldn’t reach his helmet. That didn’t stop him from still trying, and Luke found himself biting back a laugh as Grogu’s arm flapped up and down.

“I know you’re hungry, but you’re gonna have to wait,” the Mand’alor gently scolded the child.

“We can go to the kitchens, if you want,” Luke slowed his walk. He didn’t stop completely, but he slowed enough that the Mand’alor had to stop for a moment so he didn’t bump into Luke. “I could use a snack myself.”

There was a moment of silence, but this time it was a comforting one.

“Thank you.”

Luke could hear the quiet smile in the Mand’alor’s voice.

—

Luke had perched himself up on a counter, quietly making his way through a pear as he watched Grogu.

The child sat next to him on the counter, all but throwing himself into a bowl of fruits and nuts Luke had stolen from the formal dining table. Grogu was shoving handfuls of the stuff into his mouth, hardly even pausing to breathe. The Mand’alor—who was leaning against the counter opposite of them—didn’t seem alarmed by how quickly Grogu was inhaling the food, so Luke didn’t say anything.

The silence they shared this time was comfortable, keeping them safe and warm in the little corner Luke had found them, only broken by Grogu’s coos and grunts.

The child’s happiness and love floated through the Force, filling the small space with it’s own warmth and light.

“You share a strong bond with him,” Luke said quietly. The Mand’alor looked up at him, and Luke sat up a little straighter. “I can feel it--he has a lot of love for you.”

The Mand’alor looked at Luke for a little while longer before glancing back at the floor. “The things he can do--I don’t really understand it.” The Mand’alor paused and shifted, crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s why--I was hoping you might be able to help him control his powers.”

Luke glanced at Grogu.

There were not many left who practiced the Jedi way, and even less who had the sort of control over the Force that Luke did.

“He’s too young to have a good control over it,” Luke looked back to the Mand’alor and offered a warm smile. “But we have time.”

The Mand’alor looked to his son. Grogu had finished eating the nuts and fruits, and now he was patting the bowl and looking for any crumbs left behind. He cooed and whined and looked back up to his father, babbled something that Luke couldn’t understand.

“I’m sorry.”

It took a moment for Luke to realize what the Mand’alor was apologizing for.

“There’s a lot worse people I could be marrying,” Luke said softly.

The Mand’alor did not reply.

Chapter Text

The night bugs trilled pleasantly as Luke walked through the palace gardens, Artoo beeping along with them as the droid followed after him.

By the time Luke had shown the Mand’alor to his room and the rest of the mandalorians had gotten settled it had been far too late in the evening for anything besides the earlier introductions to happen, so Padme had wished them a pleasant night and left them to their own devices with the promise that she would have dinner sent to their rooms.

That also meant Luke was left to wander on his own, so he had slipped away from Leia before she could find him and out into the gardens just as the sun set.

There was still enough light to see by as Luke walked along the dirt paths, although it was quickly fading. But Luke didn’t mind. Theed Royal was a city of constant light, even during the night.

Except for here.

These gardens seemed like the only place that ever really knew what it was like to get dark, and while Luke loved the twinkling lights of his home, there was something about the dark that was familiar. Comforting.

Artoo beeped, alarmed, as one of the night bugs flew over his camera.

“Oh, here—“ Luke waved his hand, using the Force to gently nudge the bug along.

Artoo whirred and trilled and shook his head, then plowed along as a group of night bugs swarmed over to see what all the fuss was about. The astromech droid was not nearly as fond of the gardens as Luke was.

Luke smiled as he watched the droid try to outrun the night bugs, but it slowly slipped from his lips as he heard hushed whispers just a little further ahead of him.

It sounded like a man and a woman, and he wondered if it was Han and Leia. He wasn’t sure if Han was back in Theed Royal yet, but it wouldn’t surprise Luke if he was. Han was never one to announce his departures and returns--said he liked to keep everyone in suspense about it. But the man’s voice was too soft spoken to be Han’s, and Luke’s bond with Leia felt faint and far away.

Luke frowned.

He thought it might be his mother and father, but he ruled that out just as quickly. If it were his parents, Luke would have sensed it.

The voices lay just past the pear trees, by the fish pond.

Luke stood on his tip toes and peered through the branches and leaves, and his eyes widened.

The Mand’alor sat on the ground by the pond close enough to dip his hand into the water, his legs crossed and his helmet and gloves resting by his thigh. Luke could not see his face, only the back of his head and the wild tangle of dark brown hair. His head was moving slowly, keeping track of Grogu, who was toddling along the edge of the pond and trying to catch the night bugs.

One of the other mandalorians was with him--the one with the white and green armor. Her helmet was off as well, tucked in the crook of her arm as she stood over the Mand’alor. Luke only caught a glimpse of her face--a sharp jaw, crooked nose, and dark hair swept off to the side--before he ducked his head back down.

His heart was pounding, rattling his ribs.

“If you don’t want to go through this—“ the woman was speaking like this was a talk they had before, like she was gently reminding him again. “--we’ll find some way to work it out. The clans will just have to get over it.”

She left it hanging between them, this offer that didn’t really sound like an offer.

“It’s not that, Cara—“ the Mand’alor started, then paused, taking the time to think over his words. “I don’t want him to have to go through this.”

The woman--Cara--let out a soft sigh while Grogu squealed happily.

“Din, if he wanted out of this Queen Amidala would have found a way around it.” Cara said. Her voice had softened, but Luke’s heart rate picked back up again, beating so hard against his ribs that it hurt. They were talking about him. “He’s not being forced into this, and you shouldn’t have to be either.”

The Mand’alor stayed silent.

Luke swallowed back something heavy and sticky.

Cara was right. He wasn’t being force into this, but it seemed like the Mand’alor was. This marriage between them had not been the Mand’alor’s--Din, Cara had called him--idea, nor had it been Padme’s.

This was only happening because it’s what the mandalorian people wanted.

Luke felt something bump into his leg.

He looked down, thinking that it was Artoo, and was surprised to see Grogu. He cooed and held out his hands. A night bug was crawling across his palms and glowing softly, casting Grogu’s face in a warm light.

“Did you catch that all by yourself?” Luke asked.

He knelt down, the cape he wore falling pleasantly around him in a pool of black silk. Grogu nodded and held the bug out to Luke, and Luke cupped his hands and held them against grogu’s so that the bug could crawl to him. It warmed Luke’s palm and chased the night chill away. The bug chirped and fluttered it’s wings, then flew off.

Grogu whined, his ears drooping as he watched it disappear back into the dark.

“It’s alright,” Luke said softly. “It’s going back to its family to tell them about the adventure it just had.”

Grogu turned back to Luke and cooed, then he held out his arms and cooed again.

Luke didn’t think twice about standing back up and scooping the child up into his arms. Grogu squealed happily, holding tight to Luke’s robes as Luke settled the child comfortably on his hip.

“And now we should get you back to your dad and tell him about the adventure you just had,” Luke told Grogu. He took a step forward while Grogu babbled happily and nearly bumped head first into Cara.

Luke looked at her, an apology already on the tip of his tongue, but he quickly ducked his head back down before he could say it.

She wasn’t wearing her helmet.

“You can look at my face,” she sounded almost amused. “But I appreciate the thought.”

It took a moment for Luke to look back up at her, but when he did Cara was smiling. It softened the sharpness of her face and crinkled the corner of her eyes.

“Not all of our creeds are as traditional as the Mand’alor’s,” she explained before Luke could even ask. He nodded, glancing over her shoulder as the Mand’alor emerged from the grove that held the pond. His helmet was back on, as was his gloves. He looked at Grogu, who was fighting back a yawn, then up to Luke. He stared for a moment, then jerked his head back down.

“I should get the kid to bed,” he said, although he made no move to get closer to Luke.

“Then I’ll head back to my room,” Cara said. She nodded at Luke, then turned and started back towards the doors that lead back inside the palace. She paused when she reached the Mand’alor, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Vi kelir jarhaa’ir nakar’tuur.”

The Mand’alor nodded, and Cara gently squeezed his shoulder before continuing on.

Luke and the Mand’alor were left with only the sounds of the night bugs and Grogu’s soft yawns and coos. Luke hurried forward to pass the child off to the Mand’alor. Their hands knocked together, lingering for a moment, and then the Mand’alor pulled back and settled Grogu in the crook of his arm.

Luke watched him.

Artoo trilled somewhere off in the distance.

“Can I ask you something?”

The Mand’alor looked up at Luke, and after a moment, slowly nodded.

“Why--” Luke paused. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. “Why did you decide to join the Republic now?”

The Mand’alor looked down at Grogu. He had curled up into his father’s side, eyes closed, now fast asleep. The Mand’alor lifted his other arm to brace the one holding Grogu, keeping a more secure hold on the sleeping child. It was a well practiced movement, gentle and smooth and full of a deep and fierce love.

“We don’t have the resources needed to properly rebuild Mandalore,” he finally said. “The Republic can provide that for us.” Then he looked back up at Luke and gave a small nod. “Good night, Luke.”

Luke nodded back. “Good night.”

The Mand’alor started a slow walk back to the palace doors, murmuring soft words in Mando’a to the sleeping child that Luke wished he could understand.

Chapter Text

Luke was not supposed to be involved with the negotiations between Mandalore and the Republic, but the Mand’alor had insisted on it, apparently.

Leia had come into Luke’s side of their shared wing in the palace and rudely awakened him from a pleasant dream while Threepio fluttered anxiously behind her. She shoved him in something presentable, strapped his lightsaber to his hip, pulled his hair back and out of his face with one of her ornate hair pieces and adjusted his cape--a dark blue, this time--then hurried him down the hall to the senate chambers, quickly filling him in on the situation while Luke was still trying to shake himself awake with Threepio and Artoo following after.

They opened the door just in time to hear the last little bit of a snappish retort.

“--am not sure how you do things here, but on Mandalore we involve every Clan member in family matters.” The Mand’alor was standing in front of one of the senators, all but looming over him. “The prince is to be my husband--a member of my Clan--so he will be involved in these negotiations.”

“I hardly think that your planet's political matters qualify as family matters.”

“Then you must not be very good at thinking.” The Mand’alor snapped back.

The senator sputtered and floundered, but was saved from responding when Padme swept past him to greet her children.

“Good morning, my loves,” she kissed Luke’s temple and bumped her nose against Leia’s, and Luke was quick to wipe away whatever makeup his mother might have left behind. “I hope we didn’t pull you from anything important.”

“Of course not,” Leia answered.

Artoo whirred and beeped, and Luke looked down at the little droid and frowned. “Artoo, you don’t sleep.”

The droid trilled.

“There is no need for that kind of language, Artoo,” Threepio chided. “Really, you are in the presence of royalty and senators--you would be mindful to watch your tone.” Artoo chimed and whirred, and Threepio huffed. “I don’t care if Master Luke lets you get away with it--”

Luke heard some snickering, and when he looked up he saw Cara and Bo-Katan standing by the door. Cara’s shoulders were shaking with laughter while Bo-Katan stood silent and stoic next to her, arms crossed over her chest. The image she was presenting was ruined just a bit by the Mand’alor’s son, who was up on her shoulders and chewing on her helmet.

When Grogu saw Luke he stopped his chewing, pointed at him, and happily let out a little “Bwa!”

Luke smiled warmly at him.

“Well, that may be so--” another senator spoke up, tearing his eyes slowly off of Luke and Leia to look back at the Mand’alor. “But Prince Amidala is not nearly as well versed in politics as his mother--”

“Just because I chose to focus on my Jedi training doesn’t mean I don’t understand Republic politics.” Luke snapped back.

The senator gave him a patronizing smile. “Of course not, but you must admit that--”

“If my fiancé wants me to be part of the treaty negotiation, then I will be.” Luke cut the senator off before he could finish his sentence. He crossed his arms over his chest, fixing the senator with a hard look. This was why he had tried to stay as far away from politics as he could. “It’s not that difficult of a concept to grasp, senator.”

The Mand’alor stared at him, and Cara snorted out another laugh.

“See? That wasn’t that difficult to work out, now was it, senator Yabin?” Padme was smiling sweetly, but Luke could see that hard glint in his mothers eyes. It was that same look she got when she caught Anakin doing something stupid and reckless and he insisted he would be fine.

The senator swallowed. “I--no, I suppose not.”

“Then we can continue.” Padme placed a hand on Luke’s back, gently guiding him to the Mand’alor’s side.

Padme moved to take her seat, motioning for the others to do the same. The Mand’alor hesitated for a moment before he placed his hand on Luke’s back, right where his mothers had been. He barely made contact and quickly pulled his hand back when they sat, but the warmth of him still lingered on Luke, tingling and sinking into his ribs.

Luke was much more awake now.

“I’m sorry,” the Mand’alor spoke quietly, keeping his voice low as the other senators started to speak. “I should have asked before I touched you.”

Luke smiled and leaned a little closer to him. “It’s fine--it’s not like you were going for something you shouldn’t be.”

The Mand’alor made an odd sound.

Luke smiled a little wider, then schooled his expression into something more neutral. “I only caught the last bit of your conversation, but may I ask why you wanted me here?”

The Mand’alor was silent for a moment before he replied. “My people and our governance revolves around our Clans--to us, political issues are family issues. As my riduur, you’ll be expected to help me make decisions and take on duties of leadership. I may be the Mand’alor, but we will be on equal ground and of equal status. You have a right to be at these negotiations.” the Mand’alor paused before he continued. “I’m...aware that this isn’t what you agreed to, but it’s what my people will expect from you.”

“Huh.” Luke took a moment to let that sink in. He had known that marrying a king would give him some political duties to take on, but he had assumed it would be a more ornamental role--that he wouldn’t have to do much more than what he did now as Naboo’s prince, which mostly consisted of attending parties and making nice with politicians.

“Is that...alright?” The Mand’alor hesitantly asked.

Luke blinked and nodded. “Yes, of course, but--I hate to admit it, but senator Yabin is right. I’m not very good at this whole politics thing.”

“Neither am I,” The Mand’alor answered.

That startled a quiet laugh out of Luke.

“Well, we’ll make quite the pair then, won't we?” Luke tilted his head and smiled. He held out his hand, and after a moment the Mand’alor took it and gave it a soft squeeze. A few seconds later their attention was back to the senate floor, where another senator was voicing his concerns over parts in the treaty.

“--I’m not sure we have the time and energy to provide the necessary resources for Mandalor’s rebuilding efforts--”

The Mand’alor slammed his hand on the table--the one that was not holding Luke’s--startling the senator into silence. “That was the only thing we asked for.”

“Well, yes, but--”

“The Mand’alor is right,” Padme said. “It would be foolish of us to not see to their single request.”

The senator's face went pink. “Well, yes, but with how tight the Republic’s budget is--”

“If the budget is so tight, maybe you should cut back on your salary,” Luke didn’t mean to say it so loud, but it still caught the senators attention. His lips twisted into a scowl, and while the Mand’alor inched closer to Luke, Padme stepped in again.

“My son makes a good point.”

The senator stayed silent, and then, “I yield the floor.”

He sulked back off to his seat, and the tension in the room eased.

“I told you I wasn’t good at this,” Luke mumbled.

The Mand’alor hummed. He didn’t move away from Luke. “Not here, maybe, but I think you’ll do just fine on Mandalore.” He looked at Luke and tilted his head. It was, Luke was fairly sure, his equivalent of a smile. “We prefer blunt honesty over fancy words.”

“Well, I’m very good at being blunt.”

The Mand’alor let out a quiet laugh, and Luke was entirely enchanted by the sound.

“Can we meet in the gardens tonight?” Luke blurted out.

“Yes.” The Mand’alor was just as quick to answer. He looked at Luke for a moment, then ducked his head down and slowly pulled back. “We should--we should probably pay attention to what they’re saying.”

Luke nodded. It took him a moment to look away from the Mand’alor and back to the senate floor. When he did his mother was looking at him with raised eyebrows, and when she saw Luke looking she put on a gentle smile instead.

Luke squeezed the Mand’alor’s hand a little tighter.

The Mand’alor gently squeezed back.

Chapter Text

Luke wasn’t able to slip away from Leia this time.

“You weren't going to tell me about your date?” she was leaning in the open doorway to Luke’s room, arms crossed as she fixed a stare on the back of his head.

Luke felt his cheeks warm. He was sitting at his vanity and fussing with the hairpiece Leia slipped into his hair earlier this morning. He hadn’t actually given it a proper look until now—it was pretty, designed to look like Naboo water lilies, with the leaves made of gold and the petals of transparent pink gems. Luke had fiddled with it throughout the day during the senate meetings. He was terrible at sitting still for long periods of time, so he ran his fingers along the gold leaves and tugged gently at the petals just to have something to do.

The Mand’alor hadn't let go of Luke’s other hand, and when Luke started to fiddle with the hem of the Mand’alor’s glove and tap the plated wrist guard, he hadn’t said a word.

“Is not a date!” Luke huffed, spinning around on the stool to glare at his sister.

Leia raised an eyebrow at him in a near perfect imitation of their mother.

“It’s not.” Luke repeated. The hairpiece slipped a little lower, and Luke huffed and reached up to try and straighten it. It was nearly impossible to do without looking in the mirror.

Artoo beeped and whirred.

“Shut up, Artoo.” Luke spun back around. His cheeks were nearly as pink as the flower in his hair.

Leia waltzed across the room, none too gently shoving Luke over so she could sit on the stool with him. There was hardly enough room for one person, and Luke found himself with his legs splayed out and half his body hanging off the edge of the stool. Leia, who didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the tight squeeze, reached up to take the hairpiece, batting Luke’s hands away easily.

Luke didn’t put up much of a fight. He lowered his hands to grip the edge of the stool and watched as Leia set the hairpiece down on the table and exchanged it for a comb.

“He’s different than I expected,” Luke said it quietly, unprompted except for the comforting quiet his sister was offering him.

“A good different?” Leia asked.

Luke nodded, then ducked his head down as Leia instructed. She ran the comb through his hair, slowly and gently working out the tangles he had given himself trying to wrestle the flower from his hair. “He was willing to back out of the marriage if I didn’t want to go through with it.”

Luke couldn't see Leia’s smile, but he could feel the warmth of it through their bond.

“Not many people would do that,” she tapped her fingers against Luke’s chin to get him to look up. “Not in the senate, at least.”

Luke rolled his eyes, but didn’t disagree. A lot of politicians had extended marriage offers to Luke, but until the Mand’alor’s, Padme had rejected every single one. There were a lot of planets in the Republic that wanted political alliances with Naboo, and the easiest way to ensure that was through marriage. Luke just so happened to be the most eligible of Padme’s two children.

Leia set the comb back on the table, then gently worked the hairpiece back in Luke’s hair.

“Do you want to back out?” She asked, tucking a few loose strands of hair behind Luke’s ear. It was getting long.

Luke thought for a moment, then shook his head.

Leia smiled again, then held Luke’s face between her hands and kissed his cheek. “Have fun on your date then.”

Luke huffed, but didn’t say anything.

—

The Mand’alor was sitting by the fish pond when Luke found him, watching Grogu running around after the night bugs.

He was still wearing his armor, but despite that he seemed softer out here—more vulnerable. His posture was far more relaxed than what had been in the senate room, although he was still alert enough to be able to reach out and catch Grogu if the child got too close to the pond. He had perked up a little when Luke approached, but the Mand’alor didn’t say anything until Luke sat next to him in the grass.

He shivered as the cold seeped up his back

“You’re cold,” the Mand’alor said.

Before Luke could say that he was alright, the Mand’alor was unclasping the fur cape he wore and placing it over Luke’s shoulders, leaning close enough that Luke’s nose almost bumped into the ridges of his helmet.

The Mand’alor’s hands lingered on Luke’s shoulders before he dropped them back to his side, but he didn’t pull away.

“Thank you,” Luke said softly.

“Gar olarom,” The Mand’alor replied in Mando’a, like he hadn’t realized that he had, then he cleared his throat and pulled back, turning his gaze to Grogu. The child had given up on the night bugs, and now was staring into the pond at the fish. “You’re welcome.”

Luke pulled the cape a little tighter around his shoulders, keeping hold of it as he watched Grogu stick his hand in the pond.

“I’m sorry the senate is being difficult,” Luke said.

The Mand’alor hummed. “I expected it. I know that the Republic isn’t exactly fond of my people.”

“That’s not an excuse.” Luke snapped. “They don’t get to preach about unity and tolerance and then not extend it to you just because they don’t understand your culture, or because they don’t want to spend the money to help your people, or--or because they’re mad that my mother is finally marrying me off. You deserve better than that.”

Luke didn’t know when the Mand’alor had turned to look at him, but when Luke realized he ducked his head down as he cheeks warmed.

“Sorry, I--”

“Din.”

Luke blinked and looked back up. “What?”

“Din.” The Mand’alor repeated. “My name is Din.”

“Oh,” Luke looked at him, hardly even realizing it as he slowly drifted closer, close enough that Luke could see the lamplight softly flickering it’s reflection across Din’s--Din’s--armor. “Hi, Din.”

Din laughed, soft and light. He brought his hand up, hesitating for a moment before he reached forward and brushed Luke’s hair out of his eyes. “Hi, Luke.”

They both looked up as Grogu squealed in delight, nearly knocking their heads together from how close together they had gotten. The child was waddling over to them with a fish in his hands, and while Luke stared at it in surprise as it squirmed and flopped around in Grogu’s hold, Din was much quicker to react.

“Don’t eat it.” he said, and while Grogu cooed and tilted his head Luke snapped his head back to look at Din.

“He has an...adventurous palate.” Din answered his unspoken question, then he tilted his head. “Frogs are his favorite.”

Luke took a moment to absorb that information, then nodded slowly. “I...guess we won’t let him into the Gungan swamps then.”

Grogu cooed. He held his prize up for both Luke and Din to inspect, and after Din told him that it was very pretty and that he did a good job at catching it, the child waddled back to the pond to let it go. He squealed and cooed and clapped as a few fish jumped up from the water, their scales glowing a soft yellow in the lamp light. Just as quickly Grogu’s attention was diverted again, and he went chasing after a night bug as it flew past.

“How old is he?”

“Fifty,” Din leaned closer to Luke. Their shoulders knocked together, but neither of them pulled back. “But that’s about a toddler's age to us.”

Luke hummed, pushed himself a little closer. “Well, he’s pretty cute for fifty.”

Din huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, Cara says that too.”

Grogu came waddling back over, thrusting his hands up to Din to show him the bug he had caught. “Buwr!”

“Thank you, ad’ika,” Din said seriously, accepting the bug from Grogu as he placed it in his father’s hands. Then he ran off again, and Luke watched with a growing warmth in his chest as Din held onto the bug before it flew off again.

“I should probably get him to bed before he gets too riled up,” Din said. “Or else we’ll be dealing with a grumpy kid on top of the senators.”

Luke smiled. “How horrifying.”

Din hummed. “Just wait till you have to deal with it.”

“I look forward to it,” Luke said, surprised to find that he meant it.

Din tilted his head again in that odd armored smile of his, then got up to go fetch his son. It took him a moment, since Grogu decided that now would be a wonderful time to play tag, but eventually he scooped the child up and cradled him close to his chest as Grogu cooed and babbled and smacked Din’s helmet.

“Say goodnight to Luke,” Din instructed. The smacking hardly seemed to bother him.

Grogu cooed and waved at Luke and babbled something Luke didn’t understand, then smacked Din’s helmet again.

“Good night, Grogu,” Luke bit back a smile at Grogu’s antics, his voice growing softer as he looked up at Din. “Good night, Din.”

“Good night, Luke,” Din’s voice was nearly as soft as Luke’s, and after a few more moments he started back towards the palace doors just as Threepio came bustling out of them.

The droid immediately stepped off to the side so Din could pass, giving him a polite bow and a pleasant good night. Then he continued on towards Luke, but Luke didn’t even so much as glance at Threepio until Din was completely out of his sight.

“You’re mother sent me to come get you,” Threepio said. “She has something she wants to discuss with you, although I can hardly imagine what it would be.”

Luke knew exactly what it was she wanted to discuss, and with a drawn out sigh he reluctantly stood up.

“Lead the way, then.”

--

Padme was up in her private offices, scowling at a pile of papers and letters on her desk.

Luke almost backed out, but when she saw him she stood with a smile, greeting him with a hug and a kiss to his cheek. She tucked a few strands of hair behind his ear. “You need to get your hair cut, my love.”

“I kinda like it,” Luke said.

Padme shook her head fondly. Then she took a step back, taking him in before settling on the cape that Luke still had wrapped around his shoulders. Then she smiled again. “I was going to ask you if the Mand’alor was treating you well, but it would appear that my concerns are unfounded.”

Luke felt his cheeks grow warm. “Mom!”

“You know I worry about you,” Padme said it good naturedly, still smiling. “I can’t help it.”

“I know,” Luke sighed. “But I’m fine, I promise.”

Padme didn’t say anything for a few moments. As she looked at Luke he looked at her, and here, in the quietness of her study, without all her makeup and formal gowns and headpieces that she wore like armor, Luke could see just how tired his mother was. He could see the dark colors under her eyes, the way her shoulders slumped and her hands squeezed her arms as she crossed them over her chest.

“Is everything okay?” Luke asked.

Padme blinked. “Yes--yes, everything’s fine.” she glanced back at the papers on her desk and shook her head. “You should get off to bed. It’s late.”

Luke bit his cheek. “Mom--”

“It’s nothing for you to worry about, my love,” Padme put on a smile again. It was tighter, less open. “Now come on, bed time.”

Luke wanted to argue, but he kept his mouth shut. Instead he offered his mother a quiet good night and a kiss to her cheek, lingering outside her study for only a moment before hurrying off to his own room, Din’s cape still wrapped around his shoulders.

Chapter Text

“Has my mother told you about the engagement party she’s throwing for us?” Luke asked.

Din’s sigh was all the answer Luke needed.

Their little chats and meetups had become a nightly routine, and for the past week Luke and Din had been meeting in the gardens by the fish pond and staying out with each other well after the moon had risen and the stars had dotted the skies.

“I thought she already announced the engagement,” Din said. His eyes were fixed on Grogu, who was wandering around in one of the wildflower patches. He toddled over to them a moment later with a bright blue flower in his hand. Grogu presented it to Luke with a string of babbles.

“Thank you, little one,” Luke gently took it and tucked it behind his ear, then turned back to Din as Grogu wandered off again. “She did, but not formally. I think she’s hoping to speed up the negotiations if she does—Leia’s told me that some senators are starting to get more vocal about their opposition to the marriage. I guess Mom is hoping to shut them up if they see that we’re happy together.”

Din looked away from his son to Luke, staying silent as he looked at him.

He lifted a hand, gently pressing his palm to Luke’s cheek before running his fingers along the flower petals.

“Would you be happy?” Din’s voice was so soft. “Mandalore isn’t—it isn’t like here.” He paused, head tilting up as he looked at the flower, his hand dropping back down to hold Luke’s cheek. “There are no flowers to put in your hair.”

Luke smiled softly, lifting his own hand to place over Din’s. “I’m happy with you right now.”

“But would you stay happy?” Din pressed. He sounded—well, Luke wouldn’t say frantic, but there was a sense of urgency in his voice.

Luke gently squeezed Din’s hand and tilted his cheek into Din’s palm. It was warm, even through the leather of his gloves. “I think I would stay very happy, Din.”

For a moment, Luke wished that he could see Din’s eyes, could touch his bare skin. For a moment, Luke wanted to ask--was going to ask, but then Artoo let out a shrill screech and rolled past them. Din jerked his head up and Luke looked over his shoulder to see Grogu teetering dangerously close to the pond.

He reached his hand out and flicked his wrist, gently catching Grogu with the Force and steering him in a safer direction. Artoo still rolled after Grogu, beeping and whirring as he chided the child. Grogu paid him no mind and happily chased after a night bug as it flew past.

Din and Luke stayed silent for a moment.

“And you say it’s not a nurse droid?” Din finally asked. He turned back to Luke, but did not take his hand back. And that was fine, because Luke made no motion to let it go.

He liked the way Din’s hand fit in his.

Luke offered a smile and a shrug. “Artoo was around Leia and I a lot when we were little. Mom couldn’t really watch us and Dad did his best, but--well, we weren't exactly the most well behaved kids.”

Din tilted his head and huffed out a quiet laugh. “You better not be a bad influence on my kid.”

“I would never dream of it,” Luke grinned.

--

Leia was threading flowers into Luke’s hair when Anakin gently knocked on the bedroom door and poked his head in.

“What do you think?” Leia asked, turning Luke around so Anakin could see.

“I think your mother is starting to wonder where you two are,” Anakin answered. He crossed the room and pressed a quick kiss to Leia’s forehead, then one to Luke’s, being careful to not crush the flowers. “You look nice, Luke.” then, “Leia, did you put millaflowers in your brothers hair?”

Leia smiled, and Luke ducked his head down as he felt his cheeks warm.

“The senators are already pissy that we’re following more Mandalorian traditions with Luke’s marriage,” Leia answered. “I figured they’d calm down a bit if I did this.”

Anakin planted a hand on his hip and hummed in thought.

Truthfully, Luke should have given Din millaflowers when they first met. Din might not have understood the significance of it, but the senators would have. Millaflowers were given to someone as an act of good faith and trust--to show that you enjoy and trust someone's companionship. But since Din and Luke’s first meeting had been a private one and not in front of the senators, it had slipped his mind.

“That's...one way to do it,” Anakin conceded. He tilted his head as he looked Luke over.

Wearing millaflowers in his hair while he hung around Din all night at their own engagement party would certainly make a statement. Luke just hoped it would be a good one.

There was another knock on the door. Then Padme came sweeping into the room, Threepio following after her. Artoo chirped and whirred, zooming off from Luke’s side to the other droid. Padme greeted Anakin first with a soft kiss, then paused for a moment when she saw Luke. Her eyes lingered on the flowers.

“Your children are becoming rather devious,” Anakin said in answer to her silent question.

Padme hummed and nodded. “Well, they can go be devious at the party.” she made the last few steps to Luke, offering her hand as he stood. “The Mand’alor’s waiting for you, my love.”

Luke took his mother’s hand.

He felt giddy.

—

Din was waiting for them near the entrance to the ballroom, tucked out of sight to hardly be noticeable to the servants and droids hurrying through. Grogu was perched on his hip, and Luke watched in quiet fascination as he easily shifted the child to a more comfortable position, still carrying on his quiet conversation with Bo-Katan.

Instead of the fur cape, this time Din was wearing one of a deep bloodied red that shimmered and shined with each minuscule movement of his body. The darksaber hung proudly against his waist on full display when usually Din kept it hidden and out of sight. Luke gently reached out to touch his own, not entirely aware that he was.

Cara spotted them a moment later. She nudged Din’s shoulder with her own, nodded towards Luke when he tilted his head at her in a silent question.

Luke smiled when Din finally looked at him.

Din took Luke’s hand from Padme’s when he got close enough, pulling him closer until they were nearly pressed against each other. Luke lifted his other hand to gently rest on the side of Din’s helmet, and Din reached forward to softly touch one of the millaflowers.

“You—“ Din sounded a little breathless. “—mesh’la. You’re beautiful.”

Luke ducked his head down, cheeks warm.

Grogu cooed and babbled and reached for Luke. “Ba!”

“Hello, little one,” it was with reluctance that Luke let go of Din to take the child, but once Grogu was settled on his hip—carefully, so as not to crease the fine inky blue silks Leia had all but wrestled him into—the feelings were chased away by Grogu’s delighted coos and babbles. “Are you being good for your father?”

Grogu blew a spit bubble and gently smacked Luke’s face. Luke laughed and ducked his head down, smiling as Grogu knocked his own head against Luke’s.

When he looked back up, Din was openingly staring at him.

Cara mumbled something in Mando’a that caused Bo-Katan to pop her on the back of her head and snap something back in the same language, but Din didn’t react to their antics. He just kept looking at Luke.

“Is everything okay?” Luke asked quietly.

“Yes, sorry—“ Din lifted his hand again, cupping Luke’s cheek. “Gar cuyir guuror ka’ar nur.”

Luke didn’t know what Din had said, but he spoke the words with such a gentle fondness that Luke couldn’t help but flush and duck his head down and bite back a smile. Cara snorted, and said something else in Mando’a that earned her another smack from Bo-Katan. Cara didn’t seem phased by it—like this was a regular occurrence for them.

“And here I was all worried,” Leia hummed, squeezing Luke’s wrist before gliding towards the doors to the ballroom, the silks of her own dress billowing out behind her. “You two take you time, but I need to go find my fiancé before he starts an intergalactic incident.”

“Han’s back?” Luke asked.

“Just came back this morning.” Leia grinned, then slipped inside the ballroom.

Luke watched his sister go with a fond smile, and then his mother was at his side. Her hands were clasped together in front of her, a frown playing with the corners of her lips. “If you need anything—“

“Mom, we’ll be fine,” Luke gently cut her off. “Go have fun and terrorize some senators.”

Anakin huffed out a laugh.

Padme just shook her head and pressed a gentle kiss to Luke’s forehead. She did not look entirely appeased, but reached forward to touch Grogu’s ear, smiling as he cooed delightfully at the soft touch. Padme then looked up at Din, giving him a small nod. “If you need anything, come find us, okay?”

Din nodded.

“Well, you heard the kid,” Anakin held out his arm to Padme’s, smiling fondly as she looped her own though his. “Let’s go terrorize some senators, sweetheart.”

Padme rolled her eyes. “I’ll do the terrorizing, Ani. You just stand there and look pretty.”

Anakin tilted his head back and laughed.

The two slipped inside the ballroom, and for a moment Luke heard a round of polite clapping at their entrance before the doors closed again, leaving Luke and Din in a comforting silence. Luke found himself not wanting to break it. He wanted to stay in this little alcove with Din and Grogu, wanted to stay close to him and just enjoy each other's company like they had been doing every single night.

“You know, we could sneak out to the gardens instead—Artoo isn’t here to boss me around.” Luke looked back at Din, tilting his head with a smile.

“No, but I am.” Bo-Katan was suddenly behind them. “Get in there so we can get this done and over with.”

“Oh, come on, Bo—let them stare at each other for a little longer.” Cara said. “It’s cute.”

“They can stare at each other at their own party,” Bo-Katan turned to glare at Cara, who just offered a shrug in return. “Now go—get in there before I shove you in there .”

Din huffed but still started towards the door, hesitating for a moment before slipping his arm around Luke’s back and settling his hand on Luke’s hip.

“Is this okay?” he asked quietly.

Luke smiled, leaned into Din’s side. “It’s more than okay.”

Chapter Text

Having Grogu perched on his hip was an excellent way to get out of conversations.

People, Luke quickly learned, love to talk about children. As soon as they spotted Grogu any political talk they had for Luke quickly morphed into questions about the child, and Din was always more than happy to talk about his son. Luke could blend into the background and smile and nod while Din fielded questions and conversations. Grogu himself all but preened under the attention. Although, Luke was sure it wasn’t the attention so much as it was the sweets that everyone kept giving the child.

“There’s no way he’s getting to sleep tonight,” Luke said after Grogu shoved what had to be his tenth sweet candy into his mouth. It was a bright blue ball that crunched loudly when Grogu bit it.

Din hummed, reaching his free hand up to gently touch Grogu’s ear. His other was still firmly settled on Luke’s hip. It was a pleasant weight. “Things like this tucker him out—he’ll be asleep soon enough.”

Luke tilted his head as he looked up at Din, not entirely believing him.

And yet, about an hour later, Grogu was asleep and drooling on Luke’s chest.

“Here—“ Din gently took the child, holding him in one arm while he used his other hand to gather up the ends of his cape, crossing it over the front of his chest and tying it off to form a sling. He set Grogu inside it, and once he was sure it would hold the child, he slipped his arm back around Luke’s waist.

Luke looked up at Din and ignored the way his heart was fluttering against his ribs like a bird. “You, uh, do that a lot?”

Din glanced down at him and tilted his head. “We call it a birikad--It’s how I usually carry him, actually.”

Luke nodded and swallowed.

“There you are!”

Luke blinked and looked back. Han was ducking and weaving through the crowd, Leia following behind him much more gracefully as the crowd easily parted for her. Din let Luke go long enough for Han to pull him in a tight hug when he finally reached them, and then he was back and tucked away against Din’s side.

“So this is Mr. Fiancé, huh?” Han looked Din up and down, eyes narrowing.

“Solo.” Din greeted. He sounded almost amused.

Luke turned to look at Din, wanting to ask how he knew Han, but Han answered that question for Luke first.

“Still got those bounty pucks?”

“Somewhere,” Din answered. He tilted his head, lifting a hand to gently cup Grogu’s head as the child woke up long enough to wave sleepily at Han and Leia. Leia smiled and waved back, but Han was too preoccupied with Din to properly notice. “I wouldn’t worry. Your bounty isn’t worth the trouble.”

Din addressed Leia at the last part, who smiled and laughed. Han sputtered indignantly, and Leia was quick to place a hand on his shoulder to sooth him. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Han had been involved in the Republic smuggling rings--he had a pretty public trial once he had finally been caught.

“You were a bounty hunter?” Luke asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Din didn’t elaborate.

“Oh.” Luke blinked. He ignored the look Leia was giving him and swallowed and— “I, uh, I’m gonna get some punch.”

“I’ll come with you.” Leia said. She stepped away from Han and hooked her arm with Luke, giving Din a bright smile as she tugged him off. Once they were far enough away from Din and Han and Leia was sure the two of them weren’t going to start a fight, she smacked Luke’s side and grinned. “Really? That's what does it for you? ”

“Shut up.”

Leia laughed. Luke grabbed a glass off a passing serving droid and downed it. It tasted vaguely alcoholic.

“Ah, Prince Amidala!”

Luke bit back a groan, and Leia easily handed him another glass. Luke hadn’t noticed her grabbing one from the droid, but he didn’t dare question it. He placed the glass to his lips as Senator U’lam quickly approached him, knocking it back like a shot of spotchka. This one tasted far more bitter and much more alcoholic.

“Senator U’lam,” Leia greeted him with a pleasant smile.

“Princess,” the senator sounded far less enthused as he greeted Leia. “I see your fiancé had returned.”

“Yes--he came in this morning,” Leia easily answered. She placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder.

The senator hummed, not really paying attention. He looked back at Luke, and Luke wished he still had Grogu. Or was back with Din. They were both very good at directing conversation away from Luke.

“I’m glad that the Mand’alor finally let you go--I’ve been wanting to speak to you,” senator U’lam said. “He’s awfully possessive of you, hm?”

Leia took in a deep breath while Luke put the glass back to his mouth and tried to shake loose a few more drops of the drink.

“Senator U’lam!” and then there was Anakin, putting his hand on Leia’s shoulder and gently tucking her behind him. Luke hadn’t even seen his father since the party first started, but Anakin always had the uncanny ability to show up whenever Luke got uncomfortable. “I’m glad I found you--Padme’s been looking for you. Something about border negotiations?”

Senator U’lam’s face soured.

“You better get going,” Anakin continued. He put his other hand on Luke’s shoulder and started steering his children back towards Din and Han. “Wouldn't want to keep her waiting--stars knows she’s got enough on her plate as it is.”

And then Anakin was herding his children away before the senator could respond.

“They’ve been like flies all night,” Anakin ducked his head down as soon as they were out of ear shot. “If one more person asks me if they can marry Luke instead I will not be responsible for my actions.”

“They’ve been asking that?” Luke couldn’t quite keep the disgust out of his voice. He knew that the senators had been talking to Padme and trying to get him married off--they had hardly been subtle with it--but he had assumed they would have backed off.

“Not so bluntly,” Anakin answered. “Padme’s all but been threatening them to stay away from you.”

“I’ll have Han find Chewy for you,” Leia tilted her head with a smile, and Anakin let out a laugh.

Chewy was, quite possibly, the gentlest and kindest being Luke knew, but the senators all seemed to be terrified of the Wookiee. Luke had hung out with Chewy a few times during parties like these just to keep people away from him, and Chewy was always more than happy to play the glorified body guard.

“Rescue mission accomplished,” Anakin announced.

Han huffed and Din tilted his head, holding out his hand for Luke to take.

“They still pissy Luke’s gettin’ hitched?” Han asked.

“Extremely,” Anakin answered. Then he noticed Grogu, and all of Anakin’s attention was captured by the sleeping child. “He’s tuckered right out, isn’t he?” Anakin didn’t wait for an answer before he was looking back up at Din. “Luke was like that too when he was little--being that Force sensitive will knock you right out when you’re around large crowds.”

Din looked at Anakin for a moment before looking down at Grogu.

“It also makes for a wonderful excuse to get out of parties early,” Anakin finished. He was smiling.

Luke looked up at his father and narrowed his eyes, wondered if there was more alcohol in those drinks than he thought. “Are you telling us to leave our own engagement party?”

“If your mother asks, no.” Anakin gave them another smile.

--

“Should I feel bad that we left early?”

Luke tilted his head back in a laugh. “Oh, stars no--I hate these things.”

Din and Luke had slipped out almost as soon as Anakin wandered off to find Padme, making a detour to Din’s rooms to tuck Grogu in for the night before heading off to the gardens. Now they were walking through one of the hedge mazes, hidden and tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the party inside with only the starlight to watch them.

“It’s--different, than what I’m used to.” Din spoke quietly. He paused, and Luke stayed silent while Din gathered his words. “There's a lot more drinking on Mandalore--are celebrations are more...rowdy.”

Luke smiled. “Well, I do like rowdy.”

Din laughed softly, and Luke’s heart fluttered like a bird.

“I don’t suppose the wedding will be like that too?”

“It’ll be worse, honestly,” Luke dropped his head on Din’s shoulder and let out a sigh. Din slowed his walk enough so Luke could stay like that. “Naboo weddings are always a big thing.”

Din hummed quietly. He placed his hand on Luke’s back, gently guiding him to a small gazebo that was tucked away in a corner of the maze. Luke sat at the table, tugging Din to sit next to him.

“On Mandalore, we only speak the marriage vows,” Din’s voice was so soft. Almost nervous. “We rarely have people oversee a wedding.”

“That sounds nice,” Luke dropped his head back on Din’s shoulder, hardly caring about the flowers in his hair. He was tired. He may not fall asleep at large gatherings like he did in his childhood, but they still exhausted him. And Din was--Din was here, a warm and comforting presence in the Force, solid and real. “I’d love to just speak some vows. Naboo weddings are--a lot.”

They stayed quiet for a moment, staring up at the stars and listening to the nightbugs chirp.

“We could.” Din finally said.

Luke lifted his head, tilting it as he looked at Din. “Could what?”

“Say the vows.” Din answered. “We would be married then, and the senators would--would leave you and your mother alone.”

Luke started.

“We don’t have to--”

“What are they?” Luke asked.

Din looked at him, and Luke wished he could reach up, wished he could slip the helmet off and see Din’s eyes and Luke--stars, Luke was certain he was in love.

“Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar’tome, mhi me’dinui an, hmi ba’juri verde,” Din sounded breathless as he spoke the Mando’a. It rolled off his tongue like water, and he said it again and again until Luke could parrot it back in a near perfect imitation. Then he gently pressed his forehead against Luke’s and said it again and Luke said it back, cheeks flushed and heart beating fast enough that it almost hurt.

Then Din pulled back, reached his hands up to remove his helmet.

“You--you’re beautiful,” Luke whispered it, reaching up to gently touch Din’s cheek and brush dark hair out of equally dark eyes.

Din smiled, crooked and unsure, and Luke kissed him until they were both breathless.

Chapter Text

Luke was humming quietly from where he sat at his vanity—some nearly forgotten lullaby his mother used to sing him to sleep too. He was gently tugging the millaflowers from his hair as he hummed and sang an occasional line or two when Leia slipped into the room.

She fell face first onto his bed with a low groan and kicked off her shoes.

The party had still been going when Luke had parted ways with Din after one last kiss and a promise to meet tomorrow night, but it must have been very near its end if Leia had managed to get away.

Luke didn’t pay his sister any mind. He continued his humming, the pile of millaflowers on the vanity growing with every note.

Han ducked in a moment later. He let out his own sigh as he leaned against the door, his head making a rather loud thunk as he did so. He worked off his jacket and tossed it on the floor, ran his fingers through his hair to mess up the neat style it had been forced into for the night, then looked to Luke.

“Where did you go off to?” He asked.

“To the gardens,” Luke answered. He ran his fingers through his hair to shake loose any lingering petals, sure that it would carry the sweet scent of the flowers for the next few days. He wondered if Din had liked the flower's scent. He wondered if there were other flowers Din liked. “With Din.”

Han was silent for a moment as Luke picked up his hair brush and started to gently work out the tangles and knots. He started humming again.

“You left your own engagement party to hang out in the gardens?”

Luke hummed in confirmation. He tilted his head as he looked at himself in the mirror, lifted a hand to gently touch his neck. His shirt collar was back up now, covering most of his neck and hiding the blooming bruise Din had carefully worked into his skin and Luke’s insistence when things had gotten a little...intense.

Han squinted at him. “What’s wrong with you? You’re way more ditzy than usual.”

“Hm?” Luke blinked, looking back at Han. “I’m not ditzy.”

Leia sat up. She huffed, then started working her hair out of its braid. “Yeah you are.”

Luke looked at his sister and frowned. He thought about arguing it, but quickly decided it wasn’t worth the effort. He looked back at the mirror, started brushing his hair again and humming quietly. It was a different song this time, some old love song his mother liked to play when she was cooking. She and Anakin danced to it often.

Luke could see Han gesturing to Leia out of the corner of his eye and hissing out something that sounded an awful lot like he’s not even arguing with you.

Luke ignored them, and he had just started to wonder how much trouble he would get in if he took some of the Tatooine sun flowers from Padme’s office when Leia shoved him over so she could sit on the stool with him.

Luke squawked and flailed, and then Han was standing next to him and keeping him upright.

“Leia--”

“Alright, spill.” Leia cut him off.

Luke felt his cheeks warm. “Spill what?”

“What you two were doing in the gardens,” Han cut in. He crossed his arms and cocked his hip out, looking entirely like a mother about to scold her child. “You’re acting like some sort of lovesick teenager--were you two making out or something?”

“No,” Luke’s voice went up a pitch. He could feel Leia calling out his lie through their Force bond. “Maybe. I--shouldn’t you be with Chewy?”

“Really?” Han looked surprised. “Mr. Big and Scary actually knows how to make out?”

“Luke, how would you even--” Leia cut herself off, and Luke ducked his head down as realization dawned on his sister. “Luke Amidala Naberrie-Skywalker, what the hell did you do?”

Oh.

She was pulling out the full name.

“I, uh, may have gotten married.” Luke admitted. He cleared his throat and didn’t look at either of them as he started to play with the hem of his cloak. His palms were all sweaty. “Din asked if I wanted to exchange the Mandalorian marriage vows and I, uh--I said yes?”

Leia sucked in a sharp breath while Han barked out a surprised laugh.

“Oh stars, you eloped--” Han snorted. “You eloped at your own engagement party! Kid, that’s--”

He was laughing so hard that he couldn’t even finish his sentence.

“We’re going to get married anyway!” Luke said it before Leia could start. “We’ll still have the ceremony on Naboo, but--well, I know the senators have been trying to get me married off to someone else and I just thought--well, Din thought, really--if we’re married by Mandalorian law then they have no grounds to break up the engagement and I--Leia, I really like him--”

“Luke, stop.” Leia held up her hand and cut him off, and Luke snapped his mouth shut. “I’m not mad.”

“You’re not?” Both Luke and Han asked it.

“I’m not,” Leia repeated. “Honestly, I was expecting you to do something like this way sooner.”

Luke was still trying to figure out if that was an insult or not when Leia patted his shoulder and said far too cheerfully, “Have fun explaining it to mom and dad.”

--

“I hear congratulations are in order.” Anakin came sweeping into the dining room, smiling brightly at Luke. He tilted his head in confusion, and Anakin just smiled wider as he took his seat next to Padme at the breakfast table. “You were thinking very loudly this morning.”

Luke groaned and dropped his head in his hands.

He had been so wrapped up in his own head and worrying about how he was going to tell his parents that he got married last night, that he must have let his barriers with his family bonds drop. It wouldn’t be the first time it happened, and Luke was sure it wouldn’t be the last.

Leia wasn’t here yet. She was probably still sleeping off her hangover with Han, so Luke was left to fend for himself.

“Hey, I’m not mad about it,” Anakin hummed and reached for the pot of caf. “It’s not exactly what I had in mind when I told you to leave the party, but If you're happy, Luke, I’m happy.”

Padme sharply looked up at her husband. “You told them to leave the party last night?”

“No?”

Padme stared at him before shaking her head. She must have decided it wasn’t worth it to reprimand Anakin, and instead she turned her attention to Luke. “Are you happy with the Mand’alor?”

Luke nodded. “I’m--I’m very happy with Din.”

Padme smiled softly. “That’s all I care about, my love.” she reached across the table to gently brush some hair from Luke’s eyes, and after pressing a kiss to his cheek she went about pouring herself her own cup of caf. “I’ll inform the senate you’re considered married in mandalorian law, and hopefully that will be the end of this silly marriage business.”

Luke blinked.

It couldn’t be that easy.

“Of course, they may insist that the Naboo ceremony be moved up--it’ll be far less messy to have your marriage verified by both Mandalore and Naboo law. We may have to rush the rest of the negotiations, but the treaty is almost drawn up anyway.” Padme paused for a moment. “And I would like to see you married, my love.”

The way his mother said it made it sound almost threatening.

“Of course, Mom--” Luke reached for the pot of caf next just to give his hands something to do. “Mandalorian marriages are just--more private, that’s all.”

“Well, lucky for us, Naboo marriages aren't.”

“Sorry kid,” Anakin said. He didn’t even bother to dodge Padme as she swatted his arm.

Chapter Text

“Tell me about Mandalore,”

Din hummed quietly. “It’s hot. Dusty.”

“I know that,” Luke lifted his head off Din’s shoulder and smiled gently. “But what’s it like?”

They were back out in the gardens, watching the sunset. The senate had just dispersed with a newly finished treaty and a wedding ceremony to prep and plan and execute in the next three days. Then they would be married in front of the entire city of Theed, and then Luke would be on Mandalore. The senate had handled the news of Luke and Din’s marriage surprisingly well--although Luke was sure that it had something to do with his own mother and father springing their marriage on them in much the same way. Cara had laughed herself silly when Din told her, and Bo-Katan had just tilted her head back and sighed. She then took Grogu from Din and carted Cara off. Two give you two a moment of peace before this shit show takes off.

Bo-Katan’s words, not Luke’s.

Din tilted his head as he looked at Luke. He had removed his helmet, the flower bushes and fruit trees offering them ample privacy. He looked so pretty in the bright orange lights of the sunset, his hair threaded with gold and his eyes nearly as dark as the night skies.

“You couldn’t breathe the air for a long time,” he said slowly. “Kyr’am abiik, we called it. There were biodomes built around our cities by the Mand’alor before me--they let us live, but we couldn’t see our sun, our moons—our stars. So we left.” He paused for a moment. “We’re tearing them down, now. Mandalore has been abandoned for so long that the air has purified enough to allow us to breathe again.”

Luke nodded slowly.

The Civil Wars of Mandalore had left the planet in ruin. Everyone knew that.

It was why the Core planets had been so shocked when rumors of a new Mand’alor started circulating, and even more surprised when the Mandalorians on the Core worlds started returning to their homeworld in waves. As far as they knew the planet was a dead world—inhospitable. But they had never sent anyone out to scout the planet, so they wouldn’t have seen the rivers start to flow again, or green start to sprout from the sands. They wouldn’t have seen life fighting its way to return.

But Din did.

“So many Clans have returned that we’ve had to relocate the capital back to Keldabe. Sundari grew too small to hold all of us.” Din hummed a quiet note. “The river between the two cities is flowing again. The Kelita. It’s not nearly as big as it was in the Before Times, but we can grow crops with the water, and we’ve been able to start up the night markets again on the riverbanks.”

Luke tried to imagine that.

Theed had its own markets, busy and bustling and crowded. But never at night, not unless it was Festival time. Business was done during the day. The night was for families and lovers.

“There are less lights--artificial ones, anyway. We’ve always relied more on firelight and lanterns,” Din continued. “Our stories are in our skies. The mythosaurs walk in the stars, the moons hold the faces of the great Mand’alors—the stars themselves show our battles and wars, our times of peace. At the dha me’suum’ika we gather at the riverbanks to tell our stories to the foundlings—to pass along our history.“

Din fell silent.

Luke tilted his head up to look at him, to watch the expressions filter across Din’s face.

“Would you miss this?” Din asked softly. He was looking back at the palace. “The lights?”

Luke stayed quiet for a moment. He knew that Din was asking about far more than just the constant lights of the city.

“You know, this is about the only place in Theed where you can see the stars.” Luke finally said. He curled his knees tighter to his chest, wrapped his arms around his legs. “I’ve never been able to just—look up and see a whole universe like that.”

Din gently squeezed Luke’s waist just as the sun finally dipped below the horizon. “It’s breathtaking.”

“I’d like to see it,” Luke lifted his head to properly look at Din. He smiled softly, lifting a hand to brush the hair out of Din’s eyes. Luke thought that he could stare at them for the rest of his life and still find new shades of brown and gold.

Din leaned down. The soft press of his lips against Luke’s was as welcome as it was pleasant.

“I’ll show you,” Din murmured. “Every night, I’ll show you the whole universe.”

--

Luke felt odd, looking at himself in the mirror.

He wore his mothers wedding veil, still just as beautiful as the day she first wore it.

The lace remained woven, the pearls still white and bright, and the embroidered flowers still glimmered and twinkled. A bit of his hair was still visible, looking nearly like gold against the soft whites of the fabric. He looked older--more regal. He looked like a prince, like someone who had wed a king.

He looked like his mother.

“Are you sure you want me wearing this?” he asked softly. He fiddled with the hems of his robe sleeves. They were the same white as the veil.

“Of course I do, my love,” Padme smiled as she adjusted the lace, laying it smoothly down Luke’s back. She leaned forward then, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. “You look beautiful, Luke.”

Luke smiled, glancing back at the mirror as he caught sight of Anakin wiping at his eyes. “Are you crying?”

“No.” Artoo beeped and whirred, and Anakin lightly hit the droid. “I’m not!”

“It’s alright, dear, I won’t tell anyone.” Padme gave her husband a bright smile, then went back to adjusting Luke’s clothing and smoothing away nonexistent wrinkles. She ducked her head down to whisper to Luke, keeping her voice just loud enough for Anakin to hear. “He’ll be far worse when your sister gets married.”

“I will not!” Anakin huffed.

Padme’s laugh sounded like bells.

Luke smiled, then looked back at the mirror. He looked at himself, then smiled a little wider as his heart fluttered and his stomach flipped.

He was about to get married. Again.

--

The ceremony was being held in the palace, on one of the balconies that overlook the city square. Luke could hear the chatter of the crowd below as Anakin led him out to the balcony, but he blocked it out fairly quickly when he saw Din.

He was wearing the red cape again and the darksaber hung proudly at his hip, but now his armor was accented with gold.

The lines around his visor and pauldrons and leg guards had been painted with the color, as was the mudhorn signet on his pauldron, and when the sun hit Din just right, Luke could see flecks of gold in the breastplate.

Anakin handed Luke off to Din, then went to stand next to Padme and Leia and Han. Bo-Katan and Cara stood on the other side of the balcony, with Grogu resting in Cara’s arms.

Luke took Din’s hands, tilting his head up and smiling as he stepped closer. “I like the armor.”

“I wouldn’t get used to it,” Din’s voice sounded a little weak. “It’s only for ceremonies.” He slowly let go of one of Luke’s hands, lifting his own to cup Luke’s cheek. Even his hand guards were gold. “Gar cuyir bid mesh’la.”

Luke so very much wanted to press his forehead against Din’s, but the minister was looking at them with something very close to agitation, so Luke refrained and let him get about with starting the ceremony. Din and Luke had agreed that they would exchange the Mandalorian vows, since the vows were not so important in Naboo so much as the ceremony itself was. Even though Luke had already spoken the words before, even though the entire city was watching them, he still felt giddy and excited as the Mando’a rolled off his tongue, still couldn’t help the laugh that slipped past his lips as he could finally knock his forehead against Din’s in a kiss, and--

Yeah.

Luke was definitely in love.

Chapter Text

“Welcome to Mandalore,” Cara gestured for Luke to walk off the Razor Crest with a smile and a wave.

The first thing Luke noticed was how bright the sun shone. He blinked and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. Having been in hyperspace for the past day, it took him a moment to do so. Luke hardly even had the time to register just how warm it was before he was distracted by the delighted screams and shrieking of children.

“Mand’alor!”

Luke jumped back as a few children came running up into the ship's ramp, then watched in amusement as they took hold of Din’s hand and tugged him to a crowd of kids who were waiting outside the ship. Din went easily, kneeling down onto the ground as the kids swarmed around him. There weren't many—maybe ten or so. Grogu, who was sleeping in the birikad Din had fashioned his cape into, stirred for a moment before nodding right back off.

“Su cuy’gar ade,” Din greeted them, giving them his full attention as they all started speaking at once.

“How was your trip?”

“Cabur said you got married!”

“Did you bring us back anything?”

“Is your riduur pretty?”

“My riduur is very pretty,” Din took the barrage of questions with ease. He looked back at Luke and tilted his head in that quiet little smile of his. Luke felt his cheeks warm, but he walked down the ramp and came to kneel beside Din, offering the kids a warm smile as Din placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “This is Luke. My riduur.”

“Hi,” he said softly.

The children stared at him, and then in a moment they were on him like they had been on Din.

“Your hair is so pretty!”

“You have a saber just like the Mand’alor!”

“Is it true that you’re a jetti?” The child who asked that question reached out and put her hands on Luke’s leg. She was tiny, missing a front tooth, and had freckles splashed across her cheeks. Luke couldn’t quite stop himself from scooping her up and holding her against his chest.

She squealed in delight.

“I am,” Luke answered it with a smile.

Cara had been teaching him the basics of Mando’a on the trip back to Mandalore. She promised him it was easy to learn—I figured it out in a few weeks, honestly, she had said. Luke had been able to grasp the basic grammar she had taught him easily enough, but having spoken the rounded vowels of Basic and Naboo all his life had made it difficult to bit out the harsher sounds of Mando’a. Cara had laughed herself silly over it, and Bo-Katan had even shared a laugh here and there.

Still, Luke could recognize the word the little girl had spoken.

“So you can move stuff like Grogu can?” Someone else asked.

In answer Luke reached out to the Force, holding his hand out as he floated a few small rocks into his open palm. The kids watched, wide eyed, shrieking in delight as Luke crushed them to dust. It was always a popular trick with the children on Naboo, and it was no different here.

Din let out an odd noise beside him.

“Woah!”

“That's so cool—!”

“Ade, give them space.” A new voice cut in. It was older and distinctly male. “It’s rude to crowd your Mand’alor.”

“Sorry, cabur,” they chanted. They all took a step back.

“You know I don’t mind,” Din said. He got back to his feet and held out a hand to Luke. Luke let the little girl jump from his arms before he reached up and took it. He didn’t let go of Din’s hand, even when he was back on his own feet.

“Yes, well, I’m trying to teach them manners.” The man has a good natured smile on his face with his helmet cradled in his arms. His armor was a pretty yellow, soft and warm in color, with equally soft white accents. It made his jet black hair all the more striking as he turned to look back at the children. “Now, run along, ade. You’ll see your Mand’alor and his husband tonight at the dha me’suum’ika.”

“I didn’t realize that was tonight,” Din mumbled it more to himself than anyone else as he watched the children scamper back off. Then he shook his head. “I think you’d do better to teach some of those manners to Paz.”

The man laughed. “You and I both know Paz will never learn any manners.” Then he shifted his helmet and held out his hand to Luke. “I’m Val—I’m the caretaker for the foundlings.”

“Im—Luke,”

Val smiled. “Yes, I know. You’ve been the talk of the town.”

“Don’t scare him off,” and there was Cara, lugging some of Luke’s luggage down the ramp. He hadn’t packed much, really. The high fashions he wore on Naboo wouldn’t be needed here, and there had been something freeing in leaving it all behind and exchanging them for his Jedi robes and training clothes. And Din had said Luke was free to go to and from Naboo anytime he wanted. I’m not going to keep you here, Luke. You’re free to come and go as you wish. So Luke had not made his goodbyes to his family very long. He would come back—and his mother would see him again in a few days anyway when she made the first supply drop to Mandalore. “That’s my job, Mr. Vizsla.”

“I would appreciate it if none of you scared him off.” Din said.

Luke smiled and squeezed Din’s hand. “Don’t worry—you’re stuck with me.”

Grogu cooed sleepily in agreement.

“Oh, good, they’re in love already.” Val said.

Cara snorted. “Oh, we’re way past that.”

“Shouldn’t you be watching the foundlings?” Din asked loudly. Luke bit back a smile. “Or bugging Paz?”

“Not until I say hello to my favorite cousin.” Val replied cheerfully. He shifted on his feet, peering around Din before glancing back at Cara. “Where is your wife, anyway?”

“Doing her job.” Bo-Katan’s voice cut in. She glided down the ship's ramp, her helmet perched on her hip and a bag slung over her shoulder. “The Clan leaders are requesting your audience in the throne room.” she looked at Din, then at Luke. “Both of you.”

—

“Welcome back home, Mand’alor.” The woman—Sabine Wren, Din had introduced her—greeted them both with a bright smile. She was stained just outside the entrance to the throne room. “Your trip went well?”

She was looking at Luke with a tilted head and a knowing smile as she said it before turning her attention back to Grogu. “And there's my favorite little womp rat!”

She lifted him from the birkikad and cuddled him close to her chest.

Din didn’t seem to notice. “It did—Queen Amidala has promised that ration supplies and agriculture aid will be sent in the next few days. We both agreed it would be better to get the ground fertile again so we can have a constant food supply, and since we’re tearing down the domes we do have building materials—“ Din suddenly stopped like he had just realized something. “That’s not what they want to talk about, is it?”

“Oh no.” Sabine agreed. Grogu was doing his best to eat her pauldron.“They want to meet your new husband.”

Luke could see Din’s sigh.

“They couldn’t have waited till tonight?”

“You know how they are,” Sabine offered up a shrug, although she did seem apologetic about it. “I’ll try and have them keep it short so you can get back home and rest a bit before the dha me’suum’ika.” She shifted Grogu to her hip so she could put a hand on the door, pausing for a moment. “If you want, I’ll beat ‘em up for you.”

“Cara is an awful influence on you.” Was all Din said.

Sabine grinned, then pushed open the door. “Your Mand’alor will speak to you now.” Sabine announced. Then she stood to the side, and waved Luke and Din in.

There were not many other mandalorians in the throne room—Luke counted five before he found himself distracted by the size of the room—but they all turned to look at them as the doors fully swung open.

Luke reached for Din’s hand.

“It’s good to see you back home, Mand’alor.” The Mandalorian that stepped forward wore no helmet and armor that was just a shade too light to be considered black.

“Pre.” Din greeted. He squeezed Luke’s hand. “I trust nothing went wrong in my absence?”

“Of course,” Pre smiled and bowed his head to Din, then turned to Luke. “And you must be Prince Amidala—I will say, your photos don’t do you justice.”

Luke put on his best politician smile. “Thank you, but I tend to find that photos never do anyone justice.”

Pre’s smile faltered.

“It is good to see you home, Mand’alor.” The mandalorian who spoke next had a pleasant feminine voice that was laced with the accents of the core planets, and wore a helmet that looked like it was made out of gold. “Now, if all of you are satisfied, the Mand’alor and his riduur have had a long journey. I’m sure they would like to return home.”

“Of course, My Lady,” Pre bowed his head towards the woman, then looked back at Luke. “I trust we’ll see you tonight?”

“Of course,” Luke quipped back.

That seemed to satisfy them, and all but the woman with the gold helmet left the room.

“Luke, this is our Tribe’s armorer,” Din moved his hand to rest on the small of Luke’s back. “She runs the forges in Keldabe and keeps things in order when I’m away.”

Luke smiled at her and nodded. “Hi.”

The Armorer didn’t speak for a moment. She looked Luke over, sparing only a glance at Din as she did so. She hummed a single note, then nodded. “I expect to see you in my forge at the start of the new day. The sooner we can complete your armor, the sooner you will be accepted by our people.” she paused, and then, “Although, many are pleased with you already. You are a good match for our Mand’alor.”

Luke blinked, did his best to process that, then, “My armor?”

“It’s a--” Din started, then paused. “--a marriage gift. You don’t have to wear it, but it’s your right to have your own beskar’gam.”

Luke smiled. He noticed that Din tended to slip back to Mando’a when he got nervous, so he reached up to press a gentle kiss to the side of Din’s helmet, right where his cheek would be.

Chapter Text

Din’s house rested between Keldabe and Sundari, just on the edge of the river bank.

It was small, homey, and very recently built. The front room took up most of the house. It was all open space, with the kitchen tucked away in a corner, a large dining table centered in the center of the room, and a few chairs and couches scattered in the in between spaces. It was a gathering place, Luke could tell, very obviously used and lived in and smelling faintly of spiced tea and baked bread. A hallway led to the back rooms—Grogu’s nursery, Din’s room, a guest bed and the refresher. Grogu’s nursery was right next to Din’s room, and when Luke poked his head in he could see stars painstakingly scattered on the ceiling in constellations and patterns and stories.

“I made up the guest bedroom for you, if you want it.” Din said. He took Grogu out of the birikad so he could toddle back to his room and toys. “It’s not anything like your room on Naboo, but it’s a—“

“Din,” Luke gently cut him off. “I don’t want the guest bedroom.”

Din stared at him.

Luke smiled and stepped closer to Din. He lifted his hands to place on the sides of his helmet, waiting for Din’s little nod before he slid it off. Luke tucked it in the cook of his arm, freeing up his other hand to smooth Din’s hair back from his face.

“I’m a little bit in love with you, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Just a little bit?” Din asked. He smiled, small and crooked, and Luke stood on his tiptoes to kiss it away.

“Just a little bit,” Luke agreed.

Grogu came back out of his room then, carrying a plush toy and babbling excitedly. He held it out to Din, who pulled away with some reluctance from Luke so he could kneel down and better look at the toy. It was handmade and looked like some sort of dragon, but Luke couldn’t say with certainty what it was.

“You want to take that with you tonight?” Din asked.

Grogu nodded and babbled.

“I’ll set it in the kitchen so we don’t forget, okay kid?” Din waited for Grogu to hand him the toy before he took it, and Luke watched with a fond smile and a fluttering heart as Din placed the toy on the table.

--

There was a fire burning big and bright on the river bank, casting warm lights and flickering shadows.

Luke saw the children from earlier playing in the river, and when they spotted Din and Luke they squealed and shrieked and hurried over, kicking up sand in their wake. Val was following after them at a slower pace, along with another mandalorian in blue armor.

“Will you tell the story tonight, Mand’alor?” the first child to reach them, a young twi’lek, clung to Din’s arm and asked the question with the sort of breathlessness that only came from childlike excitement. “Cabur’s stories are boring.”

“If that’s what you want,” Din said. “But you should be mindful of what you say about your cabur’s stories.”

The Twi’lek girl frowned. “Yeah, but he doesn't tell them as good as you.”

“Mala is right,” and there Val was, smiling at Din. “You are the superior storyteller, Mand’alor.”

Din gave him a blank look, and then he was distracted by the children again. They were clambering around him and asking to play with Grogu, and Grogu himself had just about escaped the birikad when Din lifted him out. Grogu cooed happily and gave his father a toothy smile before he followed after the children as they went back to the river.

Din snorted at the same time the mandalorian in the blue armor scoffed.

“That’s bantha shit and you know it, Val.” He said.

“Din’s gotten better,” Val defended, but he was smiling like he didn’t entirely believe it. He lightly smacked the mandalorian’s chest when he barked out a laugh, then turned to Luke. “This is Paz. My husband.”

“Oh. The rude one,” it slipped from Luke’s lips before he could think to filter himself, but Paz wasn’t upset by it. He nearly doubled over in laughter as soon as Luke said it.

“I like him, Djarin,” Paz let out a few more notes of laughter. “Yeah--he’ll fit right in.”

Din sighed and shook his head, then turned his attention back to Val. “Where’s Bo-Katan?”

“Keeping the Clan leaders busy.” Val answered. “Koska is around here somewhere if you want to talk to her instead.”

“No--it can wait.” Din tilted his head up, and Luke followed his gaze. Mandalore’s moons were dark tonight, and would be dark for the next three nights Din had said, leaving a blanket of stars behind. Luke felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked at them all. “I should probably get the dha me’suum’ika started anyway.”

“Tell us a good story, Mand’alor.”

Val smacked Paz again, but he just laughed.

“Sorry about him,” Din led Luke to a packed down clearing by the fire. There were many mandalorians already there, some sitting, others walking around and holding conversations. “We grew up together, so he’s--” Din paused. “Well, you know how siblings are.”

Luke did. He and Leia didn’t act much different.

“I like him,” Luke said, letting Din gently tug him down to the ground as they sat by the fire. The heat of it was pleasant against the chill of the night air.

The children came running over a moment later, and while they all filled into the empty spaces between the other mandalorians, the girl from this morning hesitantly came over to Luke. Grogu was in her arms, and she set him between Luke and Din before rocking on her heels and looking at a spot just over Luke’s shoulder.

“Hi, Rey,” Din greeted her gently.

“Hi!” she squeaked it out, and then, “Can I sit with you, alor?”

It took Luke a moment to realize she was talking to him.

“Of course you can,” Luke held his arms out, let Rey climb into his lap and get herself settled before loosely locking his arms around her waist to keep her steady. Din tilted his head at them, then looked down to Grogu as he cooed and held out his little plush toy. The feet of it had gotten wet from the river.

“You want the mythosaur story?” he asked.

Grogu cooed and nodded, and Rey nodded along with him.

“The one about the armor!” she said.

“Alright,” Din agreed easily.

It took a little longer for everyone to settle down, but it was a calm atmosphere despite the hustle and bustle and noise. It felt safe. It felt like home.

“Who will tell the stories of Mandalore tonight?” The Armorer asked once everyone fell silent. She sat at the other end of the circle, Sabine next to her, her voice ringing out clear and strong.

“I will,” Din answered. There was a quiet cheer from the children, which Val quickly shushed.

“Then begin your story, Mand’alor.” The Armorer responded. Luke could hear the smile in her voice.

Din glanced at Luke. Luke gave him a smile and offered his hand. Din took it and squeezed gently, and Luke found himself captivated by the way the firelight danced and flickered off Din’s armor. Then Din looked up at the stars, and Luke followed.

There really was a whole universe up there.

“A long time ago, back when the rivers flowed and the dirt was green with life, we shared this land with the mythosaurs,” Din started slowly, like he was taking the time to choose his words. “They were great beasts, and from them we learned how to hunt and survive. They showed us what food we could eat, what water we could drink, and where we could rest at night. For a long time we lived in peace with them.”

Din stopped for a moment and spared a glance at Luke.

“And then one day, a young mandalorian stumbled upon the bones of a mythosaur. She had seen how strong these beasts were, how indestructible they seemed. She took the bones back to her Tribe. She did not tell them she had them, and it was under the safety of the starlight and the moons that she learned how to fashion weapons and armor from the mythosaur.” Din was fully looking at Luke now. “She did not make the armor for herself. Once she completed it, she gave it to her riduur, Mand’alor the Great, so that he may be safe as he fought to protect his Tribe.”

Din fell silent, and it was only with a poke from Grogu that he spoke the last few lines of the story.

“It was with this armor that Mand’alor the Great was able to keep his Tribe safe.” Din said. “And that the First Armorer was able to learn her craft to give her Tribe protection.” He cleared his throat and looked back up at the stars. “While we no longer craft our armor from bones, the mythosaurs still wander across the stars, and the First Armorer still keeps us safe as she passes down her craft to each armorer that comes next.”

The kids cheered and very quickly demanded another story. Val tried to reign them in, but the Armorer obliged them as she asked again who would tell the stories of Mandalore. Someone else spoke up, and as another story started being told Luke leaned a little closer to Din.

“I don’t know what Paz is talking about,” Luke kept his voice low. “You’re an excellent storyteller.”

“It’s only because I tell this one to Grogu every week,” Din murmured back. “I’m pretty bad at everything else.”

Luke smiled, leaning forward to gently press his forehead against Din’s. “I don’t believe you.”

“Eww,” Rey squirmed in Luke’s arms. “That’s gross! Kissing is gross!”

Luke pulled back from Din with a quiet laugh. He ruffled Rey’s hair, and she laughed and squirmed and then shushed Luke so she could better hear the next story. Luke bit back another laugh and did as he was told.

When he looked up Pre was looking right at him.

The mandalorian blinked, then looked away.

Chapter Text

“Rey’s taken quite a liking to you.”

Sabine was sitting outside the fire rooms of the Armorer’s forge with Luke, crushing dried berries and leaves in a clay bowl to use for the pigment she would paint Luke’s armor with. Luke had been surprised to see her in the forge that first morning, and when he asked she cheerily explained that she was apprenticing with the Armorer, as her own Clan had lost their armorer to the Civil Wars and the subsequent exodus of Mandalore. Sabine had grown somber for a moment, then shook her head and took Luke’s measurements so the Armorer could properly measure out the beskar she would need.

It was now the third night of the dha me’suum’ika. The last night.

The Armorer had worked hard to complete Luke’s armor, and while she was now in the process of finishing its final shape, it wouldn’t be ready to paint until tomorrow.

“She’s a sweet kid,” Luke replied.

Sabine hummed. The sound of her grinding stone against the clay was pleasant. Comforting. “Din found her on Jakku.”

Luke couldn’t quite help his wince. There weren't many other places you could find that were worse than Jakku.

“He was looking for a lost covert and found Rey instead. Her parents sold her to the slave trade there—Din bought her out of it.” Sabine paused, the berries she was grinding in the bowl looking an ashy grey. “He wanted to take her in as his own, I think, but he already had Grogu, and he was so busy with trying to bring us back together that he just didn’t have time for it.”

Sabine added in a few bits of brittle coal to the bowl and let the implications hang between them for a moment.

“Rey hasn’t opened up to anyone like she has with you.” She finished.

Luke said nothing, and watched Sabine grind the coal into a fine black powder.

--

“Will you tell us a story, alor?” the little boy who asked it rocked back and forth on his feet.

“Oh, uh--” Luke blinked. He had been caught up in his own mind, thinking of his and Sabine's earlier conversation, that it took him a moment to realize the boy was talking to him. “I’m afraid that I don’t know any mandalorian stories, little one.”

The fire burned dimmer tonight, more like a warm shadow now than the bright inferno it had been that first night.

It had been kept up and constantly burning and tended to these past three days, and Din had explained that tonight they would let it naturally die out as they told their stories and sang their songs. As soon as the last ember faded, Din explained, dha me’suum’ika ended and the moonlight would return. The Mand’alor’s of the past would return to watch over the night, and so the fire would no longer be needed.

And stories had been told and songs had been sang, and now the fire was little more than a few burning coals and embers.

“You can tell us one from Naboo!” Rey pipped up. She had settled into Luke’s lap earlier in the night, and now she was looking up at him with wide eyes. She spared a quick glance to the Armorer. “Can he, Armorer?”

“I do not see why not,” The Armorer tilted her head in a very similar fashion to Din. The last light of the coals flickering eerily off her helmet. She looked like a creature of old, from storybooks and frightening dreams. “His stories are now our stories, as is the Way.” she then looked up at Luke. “Will you tell the stories of your people tonight?”

Luke looked at her. He felt nervous, suddenly. Stories, he had learned, were incredibly important to Din’s people. Luke’s people, now.

He took in a deep breath.

“I will.” Luke echoed.

The kids all cheered.

“Okay, alright,” Luke smiled at them, then glanced back at his audience, all looking at him expectantly. Val caught his eye and gave him a reassuring smile. Luke smiled back, and when he caught sight of Bo-Katan she simply raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. Cara, who was sitting next to her, mirrored the motion. Luke swallowed and cleared his throat. “Uh--”

Din offered his hand, and Luke took it without hesitation. He smiled softly at Din, then looked up to the stars.

“On Naboo, we only have one moon,” he started slowly, taking the time to look at each of the foundlings in turn. “It stays lit--it never grows dark.”

Mela gasped in surprise next to him while Rey quietly asked why.

“Well, that’s because Shiraya lives there. She’s a beautiful goddess, and keeps the moon lit with her lanterns,” Luke paused. There were many stories of Shiraya, and he had to take a moment to decide which one to tell. “But she didn’t always live on the moon. She used to live on Naboo with us, in Theed. We loved her, of course, and we loved that she lived among us and graced us with her beauty and kindness, but when the sun set and night fell we all hid in our homes while Shiraya stayed out. The nights were so dark that all you could see was black--the stars couldn’t shine brightly enough to light our way.”

Luke grew more comfortable as he spoke, settling into the familiar rhythm of the story. “But the nighttime was Shiraya’s favorite. She saw a beauty in the night that the people of Theed couldn’t see, and so she asked her brother, who lived on the sun, to give her a bottle of his light.” Luke hummed a single note before continuing. “Shiraya wanted to use it to light Theed, but the sunlight was too bright to be that close. So she went to the moon, where she built lanterns from stardust, and then placed the sunlight in there.”

Luke tapped the back on Din’s wrist guard with his fingers. He had the full attention of everyone now, it seemed.

He had been mostly ignored these past three days, having spent most of his time in the forge.

Luke hadn’t been able to accompany Din to many places, and so many of his people hadn't seen Luke outside of the firelight of the dha me’suum’ika. He had been nothing more than a figure to them. An outsider.

But here, now, and sharing his people’s stories--

Luke knew that it was far more meaningful to the Mandalorians than anything else he could possibly do.

“The whole moon lit up, and as it did the people in Theed could see all the things that Shiraya saw. We saw the night flowers bloom, and the dew drops sparkle, and the night bugs glow--we saw everything.” a dull ache bloomed in Luke’s heart, but it faded just as quickly as he glanced back at Din. “Shiraya has to stay on the moon to keep her lanterns lit. Sunlight is a tricky thing--it's like fire. If it’s not cared for, it will die.” Luke glanced back at the bonfire behind him. Only a few coals remained now. “The people in Theed keep their lanterns lit too, so when Shiraya looks down on us from her new home she can still see the beauty in the nighttime too.”

The last coals flickered and popped, and just as they died out something heavy settled in Luke’s stomach.

It made him feel sick.

Luke didn’t give himself time to truly think about it. He reached out with the Force, pushed Rey and Grogu back and behind Din with it, rose to his feet and spun around just as the first blaster shot rang out.

He drew his saber as pain exploded across his shoulder, but Luke pushed it down as he rushed forward, skidding around the fire as he ran towards where the shot came from. He heard Din call after him, heard the shot ping off beskar, but Luke was already moving away, already igniting his saber and washing the world in an eerie green glow.

Luke blocked the next few rounds of blaster shots with his saber, directing them back into the sand.

He reached out with the Force again, snapping his head towards a pile of biodome rubble.

Luke reached out his hand, lifted the metal and flung it off to the side.

The armored Mandalorian fired another shot. Luke blocked it, reached out and yanked the blaster from his hand. Luke squeezed, crushed the blaster until it was nothing more than a ball of metal, and tossed it into the pile of metal and wires and biodome rubble.

The Mandalorian wore gold armor, much harsher in color than Val’s, and not nearly as warm as the Armorer's.

He was thrown off for only a moment by the loss of his blaster.

The Mandalorian reached for a vibroblade, hardly having enough time to even light it up before Luke was coming down with his saber. The green blade bounced off the armor, cracked the arm guard and chipped the paint.

They realized at the same time that the Mandalorian’s armor wasn't pure beskar--wouldn’t protect him from Luke’s saber.

The Mandalorian lunged forward, tried to dig the blade into Luke’s stomach.

Luke was able to mostly twist out of the way. Hardy even winced as the edge of the blade grazed his ribs.

Luke grabbed the Mandalorian’s wrist and twisted. The blade retracted and fell from his hand. Luke dodged the whipcord he threw, spun on his heel, then used the Force to push the Mandalorian to the ground, flat on his back.

Luke lunged forward before the Mandalorian could get back up.

He hovered the blade of his lightsaber saber right against the Mandalorian’s neck.

Chapter Text

“Luke!”

Luke didn’t register Din coming up behind him right away, not until he was being pulled away from the Mandalorian and Din was dropping his hands to Luke’s wrist and the saber was gently taken from his hand.

The blade retracted, and everything fell dark again with just enough starlight to see by.

“Din?” Luke looked at his husband, loosening his grip on his saber just enough for Din to fully take it away.

Din had turned Luke around so looking right at him. “Oh, kriff—you’re hurt—“

Luke blinked, glancing down at his arm. It was red and raw and burned from where the blaster hit him, and his tunic was sticking to his ribs from the blood that was tricking from where the viroblade hit him. Luke didn’t even feel the pain. “...Oh.”

Bo-Katan and Paz came rushing over. Bo-Katan hauled the Mandalorian to his feet, drawing her own viroblade and holding it against his neck as she shoved him against the pile of metal Luke had tossed aside. She didn’t ask his name, but she did glance at his pauldron. Her face soured.

“Kaysh cuyir be aliit Vizsla.” She said.

Paz stiffened.

Din turned his head to Cara and Koska, who had just reached them. Cara had her blaster drawn, and Koska had her own hand hovering over the hilt of her blaster. Luke glanced at the two of them, then looked behind them. He saw Rey and Grogu, both of them huddled close to Val.

“Ve’ganir ni Pre. Jii.” Din snapped out.

Cara spun back on her heel, but before she could take off Pre came rushing over.

“He’s one of yours,” Bo-Katan spat it out as soon as he was close enough to hear.

Pre slowed his jog, like he was startled by the information. Luke could see his eyes widen before looking towards the Mandalorian’s pauldron. He frowned and scowled, then snapped his eyes back to Luke. Luke stared at him. He didn’t look away until Pre did.

“His name is Telk.” Pre said, addressing Din. “He’s young.”

Din looked at Pre, squeezed Luke’s wrist, then turned back to the Mandalorian. Telk. “Gar jurkadir ner riduur guuror hut’uun. Tion’jor?”

Telk threw his head back and barked out a harsh laugh, and Bo-Katan tightened her hold on him. “Your husband is a aruetii. He is not worth my honor.”

Luke didn’t know what the word meant, but by the way Bo-Katan scowled and Cara clenched her jaw and Din sucked in his breath and squeezed Luke’s wrist again, it must not have been good.

Telk then looked at Paz, tilted his head in such a way that Bo-Katan’s blade slipped past his neck guard and nicked pale skin.

Luke watched as a trickle of blood spilled from Telk’s skin, the starlight reflecting off the liquid.

“Gar cuyir taskir gar aliit.”

“Get him out of here.” Din spoke before Paz had the chance to react to Telk’s words, but he still stiffened and took a threatening step towards Telk before Bo-Katan wrestled him into a headlock. She looked at Paz, mumbled something in Mando’a that Luke couldn’t hear, then started dragging Telk back up towards Keldabe’s main city circle. Koska followed after her, sparing one last glance at Paz.

Luke watched them go, finally feeling the first aches and pains of his injuries.

Din noticed Luke’s wince.

“I told you--you’re hurt,” he murmured. Din clipped the saber back to Luke's belt, then lifted his hand to look at Luke’s shoulder, gentle peeling back the singed fabric. It had burned away from the blaster shot, leaving Luke with a nice hole in the sleeve and fiber threads stuck in the burned skin.

Luke frowned at the wound. It wasn’t pretty looking, red and raw and already blistering, but it was far from the most severe injuries Luke’s ever had. A few bactapatches and he would be fine. Luke then glanced down to his chest, saw that the cut Telk had managed to make across his side, while long, was shallow. The bleeding had already stopped.

“I’ve had worse.” Luke said.

Din looked back up at him. Luke could imagine his husband’s frown. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Is it working?” Luke smiled.

Cara huffed out a quiet laugh while Din tilted his head back in a silent sigh.

Pre looked between Din and Luke, then cleared his throat. Both Din and Luke turned to look at him. “If you don’t mind, Mand’alor, I’ll go back to Keldabe. Telk will be properly dealt with, I assure you.”

“I know he will.” Din agreed. “Because I’ll be dealing with him

Pre seemed to hear the threat in Din's voice, becasue he snapped his mouth shut.

“Cara, Paz, I need you to take Luke to the healers. Have them check him over.” Din easily turned back to Luke, lifting his hands to cradle Luke’s face as he looked him over for any more injury. “And have Val get the foundlings back home--I’ll meet you at the house once I get this sorted out.”

Luke huffed and lifted his own hands to hold onto Din’s wrists. His shoulder twinged in protest. “Din, I’m fine.”

“I’m sure you are, cyar’ika,” Din agreed easily, leaning forward to gently rest his forehead against Luke’s. “But I would feel better if you still had someone look you over.”

Luke hummed quietly.

“Alright, come on pretty boy,”

Luke reluctantly pulled himself away from Din to take Cara’s offered arm, afraid that she would toss him over her shoulder if he didn’t. Paz tilted his head as he looked at them, sparing one last glance at Pre before he spun on his heel and started back towards Sundari. Cara nudged Luke along, and once they were out of earshot of Din and Pre she leaned closer to him.

“That was pretty impressive back there.” she said. “I didn’t think you had that in you.”

“Did you think the saber was just for show?” Luke winced around his words as pain flared up in his shoulder, then turned to glace at Pre and Din as they started back towards Keldabe. Din paused by Val, spoke quickly to him before kneeling down to ruffle Rey’s hair and gently touch Grogu’s ear.

They were comforting touches--ones only a parent could offer.

Luke tucked his arm into his side. His shoulder ached now.

“Little bit,” Cara admitted. “But to be truthful, I don’t know much about Jedi.”

Luke didn’t know much about the Jedi either, if he were honest. He knew that a lot of them had been wiped out around the same time as the Mandalorian Civil Wars, but it had been so long ago that any texts that detailed that particular moment in history were gone. All that the galaxy had been left with was religious texts and meditation rituals and bygone stories of fearsome warriors and knights. Now, to be a Jedi meant you were far more attuned to the ritualistic aspects than that of the warrior.

“They were the ancient enemy of the Mando’ad,” Paz answered. He didn't look back at them as he spoke. “They went to war, once, but that was so long ago that everything is long gone.”

“Oh.” Cara said.

Luke blinked, then glanced up at the stars. They twinkled and shined, looking down at Luke with mischievous smiles and ringing laughter. “But the story is still there, right? In the stars?”

Paz looked back at him, and although Luke couldn’t see his face, he could tell it was full of a pleasant surprise.

“Yeah,” Paz said. “Yeah, it is.”

--

The woman who greeted them at Sundari’s healing rooms was older, her hair nearly the same bright shade of gold as Luke’s.

“I come back to visit and you bring me work?” there was a teasing tone in her voice, and she took Luke from Cara and easily guided him towards one of the beds. Luke had to jump up to properly sit on it.

“If I knew you were back, Satine, I would have bugged someone else.” Cara easily answered. She came to stand by Luke while Paz took up post by the door. “Welcome back, by the way.”

Satine hummed, then gestured for Luke to take his robes off.

The cut on his ribs wasn’t bad at all--it was incredibly shallow and had only bled so much because it was a long cut. It had already started to close and scab over. The blaster wound on his shoulder, however, was worse. Satine had to spend a few agonizing minutes picking out the fabric fibers from Luke’s shirt that had gotten stuck to the skin. When she finished fresh blood was oozing from the wound, slow and sluggish.

Satine wiped it away, then apologized before spraying some disinfectant on his shoulder.

Luke hissed and jerked back.

“Oh, so that hurts you?” Cara was grinning.

Luke frowned. “Shut up.”

Satine plastered a large bactapatch over the burn, then tightly wrapped it in a cloth bandage.

“You’ll be fine, but come back tomorrow so I can change your bandage,” Satine gave Luke a soft smile, holding out a hand to help him off the bed. “I don’t trust Din to know how to properly care for wounds--that man’s spent too much time doing second hand first aid to know any better.”

Paz snorted out a laugh.

“You are no better, Paz,” Satine chided.

She sent them on their way then, with Cara promising to let Bo-Katan know that Satine was back before they ducked out of the door. “That’s Bo’s sister,” Cara explained it to Luke once they were outside. “She lives on Tatooine, but she comes back to visit every now and then.”

Luke nodded. His Uncle Ben lived on Tatooine, and he wondered, for a moment if he and Satine might know each other.

Chapter Text

Val was already in the kitchen when they returned to Din’s house, Grogu in his lap and Rey sitting next to him in another chair, her head just barely clearing the table. Val had a key, Luke knew that, so he wasn’t surprised to see the other Mandalorian in the house. Val stopped by a lot, actually--he would watch Grogu when Din couldn’t.

Paz let out a soft sigh when he saw his husband.

“Alor!” Rey jumped off the chair and ran up to Luke just as Paz reached Val. Grogu whined at Val to be let down, and Val set him on the floor so he could tottle over before reaching up to hold Paz’s face between his hands.

Luke watched Val gently knock his head against Paz’s before kneeling down to greet the children, scooping up Grogu with one arm while wrapping the other around Rey.

His shoulder stung in protest, but Luke ignored it.

“Are you okay?” Rey asked. Her eyes were wide and red.

Luke felt his heart clench, and he ducked down to kiss the top of her head, then pulled his shirt down enough to show Rey the bandage. “I’m okay, see? Satine fixed me up.”

“Lady Satine is back?” Rey asked.

Grogu cooed and babbled, reaching out to touch the bandage.

“I’ll tell her to come visit you,” Cara said it with a smile. That cheered Rey up, and whatever worry she had over Luke was gone and quickly replaced with a wide yawn and sleepy eyes.

“We should get you to bed,” Luke stood back up, pulling his shirt back up. Grogu whined, and Luke pressed a kiss to the top of his head to sooth him too. He held out his hand for Rey to take, giving it a gentle squeeze as she easily slipped her hand into his. “I’m sure your cabur won’t mind if you stay the night with us.”

Luke glanced at Val, the Mando’a feeling odd and heavy on his tongue. Val easily waved them away, most of his attention still on Paz.

Luke brought Rey to the guest room and tucked her in. She fell asleep easily, far more tired from today's events than she let on, but Grogu was a little more trouble. He didn’t want to let go of Luke, and he kept reaching for the bandage on his arm with little whines.

“I’m okay, Grogu, I promise,”

“Bwa!” Grogu said.

Luke gently set him in his crib. “I’ll wake you up when your dad get’s home, okay?”

Grogu didn’t seem convinced, but after Luke kissed his head one more time and let the child catch one last look at the bandage, Grogu settled down to sleep with his plush toy clutched firmly in his hands.

The stars on his ceiling glowed gently when Luke shut the light off.

Paz and Cara were gone when Luke wandered back to the front room, but Val was still at the kitchen table. He looked tired, and Luke made a quick detour to the stove. The kettle was still holding some of the spiced tea Din had brewed this morning. Luke took a moment to heat it up, and once steam rose gently from the kettle he poured a cup and set it in front of Val.

“Thank you,” Val said.

“Is Paz alright?” Luke sat across from Val. He hadn’t poured himself a cup of tea--he wasn’t particularly fond of the mandalorian spiced teas, although Din seemed certain that he would warm up to it.

“He will be,” Val took a sip from the cup and let out a quiet sigh. “He and Cara went outside to spar--stars knows why, but it calms them down.”

Val looked down at the cup. He looked--he looked almost angry.

“Did Din tell you what that Mandalorian said to Paz?” Luke asked. He himself didn’t know enough Mando’a to be able to translate Telk’s words, but after he had spoken them Paz went quiet. He had all but shut himself off.

“He did,” Val murmured.

Luke stayed quiet, waited for Val to continue.

“Paz has a...difficult relationship with his Clan.” Val started. He ran his thumb along the rim of the cup, headless of the steam. “He is a foundling. Paz wasn’t reunited with his Clan until Mandalore was reclaimed. His father abandoned him when he undertook the Exodus. Not many people know about it.”

Luke nodded slowly.

“The Armorer knows, of course. She took him in. And as Mand’alor Din needs to know. Even if he wasn’t they’re still of the same Tribe. They’re vod. Brothers.” Val paused. He looked up at Luke. His eyes were a deep green, full of a sadness and anger that wasn’t entirely his own. “I know because Paz told me, and if anyone else knows it’s because Paz’s father told them, although I doubt he has. Abandoning your child like that—it’s dishonorable. The act of a hut’uun.”

Luke knew that word. Hut’uun.

A coward.

“Can I ask—“ Luke paused. He was not sure if this was something he would know, or if this was something Val should tell. So Luke fell silent. Val looked at him for a long time. He seemed to know what Luke had wanted to ask, and he regarded him in quiet scrutiny before letting out another soft sigh.

“You are our alor.” Val finally said. “I only tell you this because of that.”

Luke nodded.

Val looked down at his hands. They were holding the cup tight. His knuckles where white. “His father was Pre.”

Luke blinked. He wasn’t nearly as surprised as he should have been.

“You say was,” Luke said slowly, dropping his sentence off and leaving it open for Val to either finish or abandoned.

Val nodded. “Paz does not think of Pre as his father, and neither do I. Pre is dar’buir. He gave his son up. As far as Paz is concerned, their only connection is to their Clan name.” Val took in a deep breath. “Still, it is not something someone can just forget.”

Luke wanted to ask more, but before he could the door was sliding open and Din was stepping inside.

He looked between the two of them before settling on Val. “You should probably get you riduur home before Cara breaks his arm.”

“Just one of those nights, I guess.” Val shook his head. He gave Luke a soft smile before he stood, then mumbled something in quick Mando’a to Din before he slipped out the door. Din stood by the door for a moment longer, then he trudged over to the table and sat in the chair next to Luke with a heavy sigh.

“Telk isn’t talking,” Din said before Luke could ask. “I’ll call Fett tomorrow, see if he can’t get something out of him, but there's nothing more I can do right now.” then Din slid his helmet off, setting it on the table before reaching out to hold Luke’s face between his hands. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Luke smiled and leaned into the touch, lifting his own hand to place over Din’s. “Satine fixed me up, good as new. I’m all ready to go fight another Mandalorian.”

Din blinked. “You--”

He cut himself off, shook his head, then leaned forward to kiss Luke hard.

Luke hummed, pleasantly surprised.

He had expected more fussing, not this.

When Din pulled back Luke’s lips were tingling and Din was looking at him like he had hung the stars in the sky. “You looked--you looked beautiful.”

It took a moment for Luke to realize Din was talking about his fight with Telk.

“Really?” Luke asked. He leaned forward, placing a hand on Din’s thigh as he tilted his head and smiled. Then he squeezed, just in case Din would suddenly go shy again. They had been sleeping together, of course, but had never gotten more intimate than a few kisses here and there. Luke was dying just a little. “Been awhile since I’ve had to use my saber like that.”

Din groaned.

Luke leaned just a little closer, kissed under Din’s jaw before dragging his lips up to his ear.

“Rey’s sleeping in the guest room.” Luke whispered.

Din stood and scooped Luke up. “You better not wake her up then.”

Luke laughed and wrapped his arms around Din’s shoulders.

Chapter Text

Luke woke pleasantly sore, warm sunlight trickling in through the windows and settling across his skin like a lover's embrace. He was slow to blink open his eyes, but he wasn't surprised to see Din gone. Luke had been very quick to learn that Din was an early riser, often waking just as the sun kissed the horizon and leaving his own kiss on Luke’s temple before slipping out of the room.

Luke was, however, surprised to see Rey staring back at him.

“Mand’alor said that breakfast was almost done,” Rey said. She was standing on Din’s side of the bed, hands clutching the blankets as she looked at him. “He said I should wake you up before Grogu and Boba eats it all.”

Luke hummed. That name was familiar, but Luke still wasn’t awake enough to register why. “Did he?”

He supposed that he was glad now that he had slipped back into a pair of sleeping pants last night after his and Din’s...activities. Once Luke had gotten his breath back and could walk without stumbling, he and Din had gone in to offer Grogu a proper good night and to check in on Rey. Grogu had woken up briefly to greet his father, but Rey had remained fast asleep, curled up under the blankets as tightly as he could go.

Rey nodded, then climbed up into the bed.

“Are you okay?” She asked quietly. Her eyes were looking over the parts of Luke she could see, lingering on his shoulder and side.

Luke smiled and sat up, holding out his arm.

Rey hesitated for a moment before she took the invitation, tucking herself up against Luke’s side.

“I’m doing wonderful, little one,” Luke ran his fingers through her hair, tucking it behind her ears and out of her face. “I’m nearly as good as new.”

Rey nodded, then frowned as she fell into a deep thought. Luke let her think, plucking a piece of string off the bedside table so he could tie Rey’s hair back. She let him work as she hummed.

“Mand’alor also said you’d be all better if you ate breakfast.” she finally said.

“Well, we should go get some breakfast then,” Luke smiled and kissed the top of her head, then leaned down to find a shirt to throw on.

--

“Kriff, you got another one?”

Luke didn’t recognize the two men sitting at the table with Grogu. The one in green armor was looking at Rey, watching her as Luke set her down so she could dart to the table and crawl up into the chair next to him. She greeted him with a bright smile while he gave her a softer one in return. The other man, who looked a little older than Din and wore no armor outside of a green pauldron on his right shoulder, was looking at Din as he waited for an answer.

There was a signet on it. It was the same one that was on the pauldron of the Mandalorian, but Luke couldn't tell what it was.

“No, I did not get another one,” Din wasn’t wearing his helmet, although he had changed into the rest of his armor. Luke hung back, perfectly content to watch the sunlight weave through Din’s hair. He was at the stove, pouring a few cups of tea and one mug of caf for Luke. “Luke, this is Cobb. Cobb, this is Luke.” Din then pointed towards the Mandalorian. “That’s Boba.”

Luke very suddenly remembered that Boba was one of the Clan leaders, and the one who was going to interrogate Telk.

He gave both of them a small wave as he accepted the caf and a quick kiss from Din.

“Wow--you’re all domestic too.” Cobb let out a low whistle.

“Why are you even here?” Din asked. He sounded exasperated, but there was enough fondness leaking through that Luke knew Din wasn’t upset about it.

“I wanted to see your new squeeze.” Cobb answered easily.

Luke laughed while Din rolled his eyes.

“Be nice, ni ka’rta,” Boba chided Cobb. Rey giggled. Boba gave her another small smile, then pushed some of the food from his plate onto hers.

Cobb huffed. “I am being nice.”

“You’re being a menace,” Din shot back. He set a cup of tea in front of Boba and kept the other one for himself. Luke could smell the spices wafting from the steam, and Cobb wrinkled his nose at about the same time he did. Rey peeked her head up from her plate to look at Din as he sat next to her, then quietly asked if she could try some.

Din nodded and held the cup out to her. “Careful, ad--it’s hot.”

Cobb snorted. “Don’t have another one my ass.”

Boba smiled and Grogu shrieked and upturned his bowl of fruit. Luke hurried over to fix it, then graciously accepted the piece of bright yellow fruit Grogu offered him. Luke popped it in his mouth, paused at the oddly bitter taste, then sat in the chair between Boba and Grogu.

“I heard someone tried to kill you last night,” Boba greeted.

Luke hummed and took a sip of the caf. He didn’t know what Din put in it, but it made it taste like the sweet blackberries back on Naboo. There wasn't much Luke really missed about Naboo, but the sweet berries were one of the few things he did. “They weren't very successful.”

Boba snored out a laugh.

“Alor beat ‘em up!” Rey grinned. She was still holding the cup of tea. Luke didn’t think Din was going to get it back. “He has a saber just like Mand’alor’s, and it’s a really pretty green, and he--” Rey made a couple whooshing and buzzing noises, setting the cup down long enough to wave her arms around to show what exactly Luke did last night.

“I wish I could have seen it,” Boba said. He was looking at Luke with a tilted head.

Din cleared his throat. “It was, uh--it was something.”

Luke felt his cheeks warm, and he quickly busied himself with drinking more of his caf.

“Oh, really?” Cobb grinned. “It was something--”

“If you finish that sentence I’m kicking you out of my house,” Din cut Cobb off and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t care if you’re Fett’s riduur.”

“Don’t let that stop you,” Boba hummed and took a sip from his tea. “Kick him out if you want.”

Cobb gasped, but before he could make a retort the door was opening again and Bo-Katan was slipping inside. She paused as she caught sight of Boba and Cobb. She looked between the two of them, then glanced around the rest of the front room like she was looking for something.

“He’s not here, princess, calm down.”

Bo-Katan snapped her eyes back to Boba.

“He got stuck at home watching Korkie,” Cobb finished.

Bo-Katan stared at them, narrowed her eyes, then spared a quick glance at Luke before looking back to Din. “Koska has Telk set up in the interrogation rooms at Keldabe.” she paused, glancing at Luke again. “Pre is insisting on joining you and Fett.”

Din groaned. “Kriffing hell--”

“Telk is a member of his clan,” Bo-Katan spoke slowly, almost apologetic in her tone.

Din mumbled something in Mando’a quickly enough that Luke couldn’t pick any of it up. Then he stood, snatching his helmet off it’s spot on the edge of the table. “I’ll go deal with him--where is he, throne room?”

Bo-Katan nodded.

Din paused long enough to kiss Luke’s temple and the top of Grogu’s head, and he put a hand on Rey’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze before he slipped the helmet on and hurried out of the house. Boba was already up and moving before the door even fully closed, slipping his own helmet on as he followed after Din.

“It’s not gonna be a good day, is it?” Cobb asked.

Bo-Katan shook her head.

Chapter Text

Except for the signet and the raised ridges of the beskar, which he left raw and silver, Luke painted his armor black.

Both the Armorer and Sabine had sat with him through the process, watching as he brushed the thick paint on each of the pieces. They were placed by the fires one by one to dry, and when the Armorer helped Luke put it on and snap all the clips and buckles in place he smelled the smoke and coals instead of the sharp tang of the paint’s oil base.

The armor glimmered and shined as Luke moved and caught the firelight, like a night sky full of stars.

“There are beskar chips in the paint,” the Armorer explained. “Only the Mand’alor and his Clan are allowed this.”

Luke nodded slowly.

The Armorer held out his helmet to him. Luke took it, but didn’t put it on.

It was a little jarring, emerging from the dark forges back out into the sunlight. Luke lifted his hand to squint as his eyes adjusted, and he was a little surprised to see that the sun had climbed up to its midpoint in the sky. Sabine had stopped by the house a few moments after Din left and all but dragged Luke to the forges in Keldabe in her excitement.

Cobb and Bo-Katan had followed, bringing Grogu and Rey along with them.

“Lookin’ good, pretty boy,” Cobb let out a low whistle, and Grogu cooed in agreement from where he was perched on Cobb’s hip. “Might not be the best color choice for a desert, though.”

“Black is a noble color,” Bo-Katan cut in. She tilted her head as she looked Luke over, her lips twitching up into the smallest of smiles. “It is the color of justice. Of life and hope.”

Luke hadn't know that. He had chosen it because it was part of the Naboo royal colors. He had wanted to put a piece of his family into his armor.

Rey detached herself from Bo-Katan’s leg to go over to Luke. She held a hand out, waiting until Luke smiled and knelt down before she touched the pauldron.

“It’s so pretty.” she mumbled.

“He gonna get a jetpack too?” Cobb asked. He was looking over Luke’s shoulder, and when Luke turned his head he saw the Armorer emerging from the fire rooms with Sabine trailing behind her. Sabine had been allowed in the fire rooms for today to oversee the process of armor painting, although it would still be awhile before she was allowed access whenever she wanted.

She had explained it to Luke on the way to the forges. It was part of why she was so excited. This is also the first pure beskar armorer made since Din’s she had said, and Luke had to take a physical pause as he let that information sink in.

Beskar was rare, he knew that. The original mines on Mandalore had been destroyed and filled with sand and dirt during the civil wars, and the armor from the dead and fallen had been melted back down and stashed away. Din was trying to recover the melted beskar, as well as to dig up the mines, but it wasn’t high on his list of priorities at the moment. His people's safety and health came first, which meant food and rebuilding.

Luke wondered how much of the recovered beskar they had used for his armor.

“If he wishes,” the Armorer answered. She looked Cobb over, settling her gaze on his pauldron.

“Yeah, I know,” Cobb lifted Grogu a little higher. He looked almost sheepish. “I’m working on it.”

The Armorer hummed. “You would be working on it much faster if you actually wore the beskar’gam. It’s familiarity does not come overnight.”

Cobb hummed absentmindedly, adjusting his hold on Grogu again before finally setting him down as the child’s squirming became too much. Grogu started a quick shuffle over to Luke, and Luke set the helmet down so he could scoop him up.

“Is it heavy?” Rey peered up at him with wide eyes.

“A little bit,” Luke admitted.

It wasn’t terrible. Luke could move well enough and he was still able to hang his lightsaber from his waist, but his movements were nowhere near as agile. Still, it was almost a pleasant weight, and while Luke had his reservations about wearing the armor at first, he thought that now he wouldn’t mind it so much.

Rey traced her fingers over the mudhorn signet and sighed. “I want my own armor.”

“When you are fully grown, ad,” the Armorer spoke gently. She turned to look at Rey. “You do not have much longer to wait.”

Rey brightened.

Grogu squealed and smacked Luke’s chest plate.

--

“He’s insisting he acted alone,” Boba sat next to Din on the floor of the throne room, crossing his legs as he removed his helmet. He did not ask why Din sat on the floor instead of the throne. “We all know that’s a load of bantha shit, but that’s his story and he’s sticking to it.”

Din let out a heavy sigh.

This is what he knew.

Telk was a traditionalist--far more than Din was. Telk believed in the ways of the Before Times, before the Civil Wars, when Mandalorians were isolated and solitary. He thought Luke’s presence here and Din’s treaty with the Republic was a disgrace to the ancient ways of the Mando’ad. He wanted Luke dead.

“Do you want to talk to him?” Boba asked softly. “You might be able to get something more out of him.”

Din thought about it for a moment. “Is Cara with him?”

Boba nodded.

Din rose to his feet, and Boba did not follow.

When he had first arrived at the throne room, Pre had been waiting. Din hadn't been tactile--he had been angry and frustrated, so he marched right up to the Clan leader and told him to get the hell out before he snapped his ribs in half. Pre hadn’t been phased. He had told Din that Telk was a Clan member and so this made this a Clan matter, and so it was his right to be involved. Boba had stepped in then, told Pre that since this Clan matter had put the life of the Mand’alor’s riduur at risk, it was no longer just a Clan matter.

Pre had faltered in his stance. Din could, technically, claim that this was now his Clan's issue, since Luke's life had been put in danger. And so Din did, and then Boba told Pre to get the hell out before he shattered both of his kneecaps.

Telk still wore his helmet when Din slipped into the interrogation room.

Din hated looking at it, but he would not stoop so low as to do Telk such a disgrace. No matter how much his hands itched to rip off that helmet and throw it back into the Armorer’s fires and melt it down into something useful.

“If it had been anyone besides a jetii, I wouldn’t have tried to kill them.”

Cara bristled. Din held up his hand before she could move, stopping her before she even started. He had not even fully stepped into the room before Telk spoke.

“The jetiise are all but gone.” Din said. He lowered his hand as Cara stepped back. “Whatever fight we had with them left when they did.”

Telk scoffed. “You’re a fool if that’s what you think.”

Din didn’t speak for a moment.

Telk was young. He was so achingly young.

He had been a foundling, not so long ago. Din remembered that. He also remembered when Pre scooped Telk up, spoke the vows that gave Telk the Vizsla name. He remembered Paz’s anger over it, remembered how Val had come to him, asked him to do something. He remembered that he had Paz had fought and scuffled in the desert sands, fought dirty and fiercely and only managed to bleed out a fraction of Paz’s anger and sorrow.

“Why the dha me’suum’ika?” Din asked. “You know how sacred these nights are to us.”

Telk turned his head to look at him. Din could imagine the look under that golden helmet, so much colder than the Armorer’s. Din could imagine the clenched jaw, the proud line of his lips, the fear cracking through the façade.

“His armor wasn’t complete.” was Telk’s answer.

“You wanted to attack the alor at his most vulnerable? Without his armor?” Cara spit it out and took another step forward. “You piece of--”

“Cara.” Din cut her off.

Cara scowled and snapped her mouth shut, but did not step back.

Din looked at Cara until she backed down enough for him to be sure she wouldn’t attack Telk. He still needed him alive. Then he turned back to the younger Mandalorian and tilted his head as he looked Telk over.

“I could put you to death for what you did.” Din said.

“But you won’t--” Telk all but hissed it out. “--Mand’alor the Reluctant.”

Din narrowed his eyes.

“I guess we’ll just have to find out.”

Chapter Text

Cara had taken Telk back to the cells, and as Din trudged back to the throne room with a growing ache in his temples he was greeted with the sight of Luke leaning against the throne, holding Grogu and talking with Rey and looking entirely like starlight.

Din halted his steps and stared.

“Pretty, isn’t he?”

Din blinked, then turned to look at Cobb. He hadn’t noticed him coming up to stand next to him.

“They—“ Din stopped and cleared his throat. “They finished his armor?”

“Just this morning.” Cobb tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest. He was grinning. “He’s a little clumsy in it, but I’m sure he’ll get over it in a day or two.” Cobb hummed. “I mean, ef he was able to take out an armed Mandalorian without armor--well, he should get used to it pretty quick.”

Din nodded.

Luke tilted his head back in a laugh at something Rey said. He adjusted his grip on Grogu so he could ruffle her hair, and the firelight from the throne room’s lanterns caught his wrist guard just right so that it lit up his armor like it was the night sky.

Din knew Luke would get his armor soon, he just didn’t realize it would look like that.

Din cleared his throat again.

“Pretty boy in armor is really doing it for you, huh?”

“Shut up.” Din jabbed Cobb in the ribs with his elbow and walked over to Luke as Cobb clutched his side and wheezed.

“Hi, Din!” Luke turned that bright smile his way, and Din couldn’t quite stop himself from cupping Luke’s cheeks in his hands and pressing his forehead against his with a quiet breath. Luke blinked slowly, then lifted his own hand to cup the back on Din’s neck. He squeezed once, gently. “Rough day?”

Din caught sight of the mudhorn signet on Luke’s pauldron.

It was left in the raw beskar, shining nearly as brightly as Mandalore’s twin moons.

Din lifted up his helmet just enough so he could kiss Luke’s lips, unable to stomp down the impulse.

Luke hummed in surprise, then smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arm around Din’s shoulders. Rey made a quiet noise of disgust while Grogu cooed and batted at Din’s chest plate, and when Luke pulled back he blinked again before asking “Really rough day?”

“No, I just--” Din paused and swallowed, then pressed his forehead against Luke’s again. “--gar haa’taylir guuror te ca kebii’tra.”

Cobb snorted.

“Thanks,” Luke wrinkled his nose. “I think.”

“Mand’alor said you look like the night sky, alor.” Rey supplied. She was frowning, like she was trying to figure out just what exactly she thought about Din’s words. “Cabur says saying stuff like that is very romantic.”

“Of course it is,” Cobb butted in. “Mandalorian’s don’t know how to sweet talk to save their lives. They must really like you to even try,”

“Oh,” Luke’s cheeks went a pretty shade of pink. He ducked his head down and smiled again. “That’s--oh.” Luke looked up, then gently knocked his head against Din’s. “Thanks.”

Din smiled. His own cheeks felt very warm. Then he blinked and pulled back. “Wasn’t Bo-Katan with you?”

“She went to the cells. To see Cara and ask how your interrogation went.” Cobb stepped back over to them, taking care to give Din a wide berth. “Speaking of, what did you do with my husband, Din?”

“He went to go check on Paz.” Din answered. He took Grogu from Luke as the child made grabby hands towards him. He settled Grogu on his hip and gently knocked his head against his sons’ before glancing back at Cobb. “They’re probably with Val and the foundlings, if you want to go see him.”

Cobb ducked out of the throne room without another word.

“Speaking of,” Din looked back at Rey. She blinked at him, then ducked behind Luke. “Your cabur is probably wondering where you are, Rey. You should have been back for your lessons this morning.”

“You could just com him and tell him I’m with you,” Rey mumbled,

Din smiled and shook his head. “Nice try, kid.”

--

Val was in Keldabe’s main city square, sitting on the fountain as he watched the foundlings play a game of chase.

He didn’t look all that surprised to see Rey with them.

Din sent Rey and Grogu off to play with the other foundlings. Luke went with them, and for a moment they all stopped to fawn over Luke’s armor before they started up their game again, giggling and shrinking as Luke chased after them.

Din’s chest tightened at the sight.

“He’s very fond of Rey,” Val said. He glanced at Din as he sat next to him. “Both of you are.”

Din spared a glance at Val before turning to look back at Luke. He had been tackled by one of the foundlings, and he was laughing as the rest of them swarmed him. “I don’t know if Luke is ready for that. He hasn’t been on Mandalore for even a week.”

And yet it seemed like he had always been here. The foundlings loved him, the Armorer accepted him as easily as she had Din, and Din’s people had already started to warm up to Luke.

And that was before Luke fought Telk.

“I think Luke is more ready for an ad than you think.” Val gave him a small smile. “But you could always ask him, I suppose.”

Din hummed.

He remembered when he first found Rey, when he first slapped down enough credits to buy out every slave in that tiny town on Jakuu. He wanted to take her home with him, to speak the vow and open his home and his heart to her, but Din just didn’t have the time for another child. He already had Grogu, and Mandalore was still a broken and fractured mess then. Din’s duties had belonged to Mandalore, but now--

Now, Din supposed, they belonged to Luke and his Clan.

“Paz and Boba are going at it in the sand dunes, if you were wondering.” Val continued. He turned his attention back to the foundlings, calling out in Mando’a for them to settle down as they got a little too rowdy. “Pre tried to talk to him this morning. Paz wasn’t having it.”

Din wasn’t nearly as surprised by that as he should have been.

Pre had been desperately trying to repair whatever broken relationship he and Paz had for months now, and he had very little to show for it. Din would have told Pre to leave it alone if Paz hadn’t asked him to stay out of it.

“What did he want from Paz?” Din asked.

“I don’t know.” Val shook his head. He sighed, rested his elbows on his knees and dropped his chin in his hands. He clearly didn’t want to talk about it, and so Din didn’t push. “Have you called Queen Amidala?”

Din blinked. “No--why?”

Val looked at him and frowned. “Someone tried to kill her son, Din. I think she would want to know about that.”

Din stared at him.

“I--” Din started, then stopped. He hadn’t even thought of that. “Fuck.”

Chapter Text

“We could just—not tell her.” Luke said. They were back in the house, sitting at the kitchen table with Grogu tucked into bed and already fast asleep. Luke was staring at the holoscreen as the call tried to connect, wondering if it was too late for him to duck under the table. “It’s not like this is the first time someone has tried to kill me.”

Din shot Luke a look, and even though he was still wearing his helmet Luke could tell that his husband was frowning. “She’s your mother.” then, “What do you mean this isn’t-?”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t need this added stress in her life—“ Luke cut Din off before he could finish the question. He tried one last time to back out, but the call finally connected, and then Luke was looking at his mother and father through the blue haze of the holoscreen. They were at the dining table—Naboo was a few hours behind Mandalore, and Luke figured they must be finishing up dinner. “Hi mom! Hi dad!”

“Hey kiddo,” Anakin greeted. He was holding a water glass, which he tactfully set aside to give Luke his full attention. “What’s up?”

Luke swallowed and glanced at Din. Din nodded back towards the holoscreen, and Luke huffed. “You have to promise you won’t freak out because I’m fine. It was just a—uh—I just got grazed by a blaster shot. I missed it.” Din coughed. “Mostly.”

“What happened?” Padme asked. She set her own glass down and leaned closer to the screen, worry very quickly replacing the pleasant and warm smile she had been wearing. “Luke, love—“

“Nothing! Nothing, uh—bad.”

Anakin frowned. “That does not instill confidence in me, Luke.”

Luke laughed. It sounded a little squeaky. “Someone may have tried to kill me last night.”

“What?”

“Luke wasn’t hurt, Queen Amidala. No one was.” Din finally stepped in, leaning a little closer to Luke and dropping his hand on Luke’s thigh. Luke was still wearing his armor. He couldn’t feel the warmth and weight of Din’s hand, but the gesture was all the same anyway. “A young Mandalorian tried to harm Luke out of a--misguided sense of duty. He’s in custody now, under guard. We’re still trying to determine if he acted alone, but I promise you your son isn’t in any danger.”

Din’s voice was low and steady and calm.

Luke was entirely distracted by it.

“--I’ll have one of my lutenitents--Paz--accompany Luke as well.” Din finished.

Luke blinked. “Wait--what? When did you decide on that?”

“Just now.” Din looked back at Luke. He lifted his hand from Luke’s armor to gently cradle his cheek and push the hair out of his eyes. “I know you’re capable of defending yourself, ka’ra, but it’ll just be until we figure this out.”

Luke frowned. “I don’t need a babysitter, Din.”

“Honestly, you’ll probably be the one doing the babysitting,” Din said. He ducked his head down then, gently knocking his head against Luke’s and lowering his voice to a soft murmur. “Val and I are worried about him. Something’s going on and Paz isn’t saying what. At least this way I can keep an eye on both of you.”

Luke hummed and leaned into Din’s hand. He was still wearing his gloves, but the leather felt just as warm as if it were his bare hand. “It’s Pre, isn’t it? That’s the something that’s going on with Paz?”

Even with his helmet, Luke could imagine Din’s surprised blink.

“Val told me,” Luke answered the silent question.

“Yeah,” Din mumbled. “I think so.”

Luke nodded.

“Leia was right. They really do get lost in their own little world.” Anakin’s voice cut back across the call. Luke startled and jerked back, and Din drew his hand back to his lap and cleared his throat.

Anakin laughed.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Luke?” Padme ignored her husband.

“I’m fine, mom, I promise,” Luke gave his mother a bright smile. “It was one blaster shot and it just barely touched me--and besides, Lady Satine patched me up right after.” Luke gestured to his shoulder and very deliberately left off the part about the vibroblade nicking his ribs. Both wounds still stung a bit when he moved it, but it was hardly noticeable now. “I’ve had way worse than a little burn.”

Padme sighed softly and sounded entirely resigned when she spoke. “I know you have, my love.” she shook her head while Anakin tilted his and slowly mouthed Satine’s name, like he wasn’t entirely sure that Luke had actually said it. “Still, I want to come to Mandalore and make sure.”

“Oh, mom, you don’t--”

“Your father and I will leave tonight.” Padme continued on before Luke could finish. She was already getting up and bustling around the table, turning her head to say something to Threepio that Luke didn’t catch.

Luke opened his mouth to argue, to tell her that it wasn’t necessary and that really, he was fine, but he was old enough now to know it wouldn’t do him any good. So he gave his own sigh, propping his elbow on the table and dropping his cheek into his palm. “Yeah, okay.”

Anakin blinked and snapped back to the conversation. “Hold on--”

“I love you, Luke.”

“Love you too, mom.”

Padme ended the call.

The kitchen fell into a pleasant silence. Luke sat and stared at the blank holoscreen for a little longer before he turned to Din. His husband was already looking at him, head tilted in a silent question.

“What?” Luke asked.

Din didn’t say anything for a moment. He lifted his hands to remove his helmet, setting it on the table and running his fingers through his hair to work out the knots and tangles. Then, “You didn’t answer my question.”

Luke narrowed his eyes. “What que--oh!” He lifted his head and scooted closer to Din. “You might carry around a lightsaber because it looks pretty, but I don’t.”

Din’s eyes flicked down to Luke’s waist.

“I’m the son of one of the galaxy’s most influential politicians, Din. Assassination attempts are practically a requirement,” Luke considered for a moment sliding out of the chair and into Din’s lap. Instead he settled one hand on the back of Din’s neck and the other on his thigh, leaving the invitation open for Din to take. “Dad wanted to make sure I could defend myself, and since I already wanted him to teach me to be a Jedi, he figured it was the best option.”

Mandalore’s twin moons were starting to wax again, and they gave off just enough moonlight to trickle through the window and lace silver through Din’s hair.

Luke slowly trailed his hand up Din’s neck. tangled his fingers in his hair and tugged.

“I don’t carry around a lightsaber just because it’s pretty,” Din’s hands dropped down to Luke’s waist.

Luke tilted his head and smiled. “No?”

“No.” Din squeezed Luke’s waist, and then Luke was letting out a yelp and hooking his legs around Din’s waist as he stood.

Chapter Text

Luke woke with Din’s arms still wrapped around him, his head still resting on Din’s chest, and the sunlight gently warming him.

Luke hummed softly, stretching his arm out to hook around Din’s waist. He murmured something softly enough that Luke didn’t quite catch it, nosing along Luke’s jaw before pressing a sleepy kiss to the coroner of his mouth. Luke smiled, lifting his hands to tangle in Din’s hair and pull him in for another kiss.

“Morning,” Luke smiled as Din slowly blinked open his eyes.

“Hm, morning mesh’la,”

Din wasn’t quite awake yet, and Luke couldn’t help but laugh softly as Din’s words slurred together. He ducked forward to kiss him again, and Din hummed quietly and lifted his hand to lay across Luke’s cheek. The door to the bedroom creaked open when Luke pulled back, and they both glanced over to see Grogu tottling over to the bed. He cooed as he grabbed a handful of the blankets, and Luke reached down to scoop the child up and settle him between him and Din.

“Good morning to you too, ad’ika,” Din gently knocked his head against Grogu’s, smiling softly as Grogu giggled.

The sight made Luke’s heart flutter and his chest tighten.

--

Luke lifted Rey higher up on his hip as he shifted his weight to ease the gentle ache Din had so lovingly left behind last night, tilting his head up and lifting a hand to block the sunlight as he watched his parents ship make the descent onto the landing pads.

Paz had been with Val and the foundlings that morning, and when they had heard that Luke’s mom and dad were coming to visit they had all begged Paz to let them tag along.

Turns out Paz is just as weak to kids and Luke is.

“Is your mom pretty?” Rey asked. She had her arms wrapped around Luke’s shoulders, and she was peering up at the ship with a tilted head. She was far too old for Luke to be able to carry her like this, let alone with one arm, and he wondered what exactly had happened to her on Jakku.

“She’s very pretty,” Luke answered.

“Is her hair like yours?” Mela asked. She looked up at Luke.

“Ah, no. Her hair is brown, like my sisters.” Luke smiled and shook his head, lowering his hand so he could place it on the Twi'leks shoulder. “But my dad’s hair is like mine.”

That got the kids all excited.

“I bet it’s not as pretty as alor’s, though,” one of the kids said. Paz snorted and Val was quick to scold the child, but Luke just smiled and bit back a laugh.

“Well, you can see for yourself,” Luke said, gesturing towards the ship as it landed. The kids cheered and dashed towards the ships, entirely ignoring Val’s calls and attempts to corral them back. Luke didn’t entirely understand the foundlings fascination with his hair, although Cara had explained to him once that light hair colors weren't all that common on Mandalore. It’s why they all fawn over Satine when she visits, Cara had been grinning when she said it. And why they follow after Bo when she’s in Keldabe.

Luke had noticed that Bo-Katan usually had two or three kids following after her like little ducklings.

“Whoa--hey, hello,” Anakin stumbled back in surprise as he stepped off the ship, but he recovered quickly enough and knelt down to greet the kids.

Padme appeared behind him, and just as quickly as the kids swarmed Anakin they went to flock Padme.

“You’re alor’s mom?” one of them asked.

Padme blinked. “I--yes, I’m Luke’s mother.”

“Wow--”

“You’re so pretty!” Mela said. She reached forward like she was going to tug on her dress, but Mela pulled her hand back like she had just remembered her manners. Padme didn’t seem to mind, and she scooped the little girl up and held her close. Mela giggled.

“Thank you,” Padme smiled. “But you're far more pretty than I am.”

Mela ducked her head down with a bashful smile.

One of the kids must have seen Anakin’s lightsaber, because there was a very excited squabble of noise and shrieks, and then Anakin was getting back to his feet and stepping off into a more open area to show the kids his saber. They all gasped as the blue blade lit up, and as Anakin showed a few moves at the kid’s request Padme continued on towards Luke with Mela still safely tucked against her chest.

“Sorry about that,” Luke greeted his mom with a smile.

“Oh, nonsense,” Padme gave Luke her own smile, setting Mela down so she could wrap her arms around Luke in a loose hug. “It was a wonderful way to be greeted.” she pulled back, lifted her hand to pat Luke’s cheek, then turned her attention to Rey. “And whose this?”

Rey pressed herself closer to Luke. “My name is Rey, Miss.”

“That’s a beautiful name,” Padme gave Rey another smile.

Rey beamed.

“Mom, this is Paz,” Luke turned to nod towards the other Mandalorian, who greeted Padme with a nod and a murmured ma’am. Then Luke gestured to Val, who gave Padme his own smile. “And that’s his husband, Val.”

“I hope your husband doesn’t mind,” Val looked back over at Anakin. He had turned the saber off, and he was letting the kids hold it. He was pointing at something as he spoke, and the kids nodded very seriously along with him. “The children were very insistent on meeting you when they found out you were coming.”

“Oh, he doesn’t mind one bit. Anakin’s always loved kids.” Padme smiled before turning her attention back to Luke. “And where is your husband, my love?”

“He got called into a last minute meeting with the Clan leaders.” Luke slipped his other arm under Rey to better support her.

Padme nodded in understanding, being no stranger to last minute meetings.

Luke went to say something else, but he snapped his mouth shut just as quickly as he opened it.

A shiver raced down his spine.

“Luke--?”

Luke turned to look up towards the sand dunes just as Anakin and Rey did. He caught a gleam of metal and glass, and then Paz was tugging both him and Padme to the ground just as a sniper shot kicked up a flurry of sand behind them.

Chapter Text

Din threw open the door to the throne room.

He had left the Clan leaders behind in Sundari without a word as soon as Cara and Bo-Katan told him what had happened.

Not that he had been listening to them anyway--they wanted to know what Din planned to do with Telk, and Din thought that they should stay out of it.

Luke was pacing in front of the throne, his arms crossed over his chest and his finger tapping against his elbow. He was wearing his armor, and Din could see sand and dust still clinging to the grooves and the fabric of his flight suit. Luke’s mother and father were sitting on the steps. Rey and Mela were with them. Rey was curled up against Padme’s side, and Mela sat next to Anakin.

“Val took the rest of the foundlings home,” Paz approached Din, taking hold of his arm and pulling him back to the other side of the room before he could rush over to Luke. “No one was hurt.”

“What happened?” Din hissed.

Grogu whined in his birikad. Din lifted the child out and set him on the ground so he could hurry to Luke. Luke scooped him up as soon as he got close enough, gently bouncing him as he resumed his pacing. Padme frowned and reached up to Luke, but Anakin gently took her hand in his and shook his head.

“Sniper. Your husband and Queen Amidala were standing too close together for me to tell who he was aiming for.” Paz explained. He spared a glance over his shoulder at Padme. “Rey’s a little shaken, but she wasn’t hurt.”

Din froze. “They shot at my child?”

He didn’t realize he was trying to move to Luke and Rey until Paz tightened his grip and yanked him back.

“He’s dead Din.” Paz hissed. “I shot him in the neck before he could fire again. Kryze and her Nite Owls are taking the body back to Lady Satine.” He paused, his grip on Din loosening for barely a moment before it tightened again. “his aliik was chipped off his armor.”

Something cold and heavy settled in Din’s stomach.

You didn’t hide your signet unless you were expecting to be seen during a covert mission--unless you were expecting to make it out alive. It was an old practice, a tradition that hadn’t fallen out of use so much that there wasn’t need for it. Not since the Civil Wars, when espionage and covert attacks were just as widespread as physical battles. A signet was a symbol of pride and honor--if you weren't willing to die with it on display, you weren't deserving of an honorable death, or an honorable send off into the next great path of the Mando’ad.

“He expected to make it out alive.” Din swallowed back something bitter. “And Telk didn’t.”

Paz was silent for a moment. “I called Lady Satine’s new fling,” he finally said. His voice had gone quiet. “I don’t know what information he can get from a dead man, but--”

Paz cut himself off, but Din didn’t need him to finish.

Obi-Wan was...strange. Odd. Even by Mandalorian standards. Din didn’t understand half the things the man could do or how he did them, but he knew better than to question it. Results were results, regardless of how Obi-Wan got them.

“I need to talk to Telk again--”

“Later,” Paz glanced back at Luke. Din followed his gaze, chest tightening as Luke finally stopped his pacing to sit on the steps next to Rey. “What you need to do right now is talk to your husband.”

Din looked at Luke, watched him settle Grogu into his lap and lean closer to Rey to press a kiss to the top of her head, and backed down.

“I--yeah, okay.” he nodded, looking back at Paz. “You--you take Mela and Rey back to Val.”

“I’ll take Mela back, but I’m not taking your kid.”

Din blinked. He thought for a moment that Paz was talking about Grogu before he realized he had only just referred to Rey as his. He hadn’t really realized he had done it, not until now. “She--she’s not--”

“Din, Rey’s been yours since you met her on Jakku.” Paz easily cut him off. He finally let go of Din’s arm. “You two are the only ones who haven’t realized it.”

He brushed past Din, leaving him standing there like an idiot. Din watched as Paz easily scooped Mela into his arms, briefly knocking his head into hers before turning to speak to Padme. Din couldn’t make out what they were saying, but Padme was nodding along. She gave Mela a smile and said something that made the little girl laugh, then she was standing and patting sand from her dress and heading over to Din.

Luke looked like he wanted to follow, but Anakin put a hand on his shoulder and kept him grounded.

Din straightened as Padme got closer.

“You look like I’m going to yell at you,” Padme was still smiling when she reached him. She clasped her hands together and tilted her head. Her hair had slipped from it’s braid, and if Din looked closely enough he could see sand and dust woven in with the ribbons.

“Are you?”

Padme shook her head. “You kept my son safe. Just like you said you would. I can’t yell at you for that.”

Din bit his cheek. The coppery tang of fresh blood exploded across his tongue and teeth. “Someone tried to kill him--”

“And yet you kept him safe.” Padme repeated. Her smile fell, her chest jerking as she took in a breath and let it back out. “I’m not a stranger to this, Din. You and I both knew that Luke wouldn’t be...welcomed by everyone on Mandalore--I knew that, and I still agreed to let him come here because I knew that he could handle himself. I knew that you would care for him when he couldn’t take care of himself.”

Din stayed silent for a moment, and then, “Well, Paz is the second best sharpshooter I know.”

Padme smiled again, but it was not near as bright as what it should have been.

“Din,” Padme lifted her hand, letting it hover for a moment before she gently laid it on the side of Din’s helmet. Just like a mother with her child. “What’s going on?”

Din swallowed and suddenly found it hard to breath.

“I don't know,” it came out nearly a whisper.

Padme did not get angry at Din’s answer. She nodded and took in another deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out. “You need to tell me what you do know,” she spoke quietly and calmly, somehow managing to keep eye contact even through Din’s visor. “I can not help you if you don’t tell me.”

Din glanced back at Luke.

It looked like the only thing that was keeping him from heading over to Din was Anakin’s hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s go to the house,” Din said.

Padme smiled. “Of course.”

Din nodded, but his gaze never wavered from Luke.

He watched his husband lightly bounce Grogu and kiss the top of his head, then lean back over to Rey to gently knock her head against hers. Luke lifted a hand, brushed her hair out of her face, and murmured something that Din couldn't hear. Grogu reached a hand out towards Rey and placed it on her cheek and babble something, and Luke’s smile looked like it could have melted frozen wastelands.

Chapter Text

Satine was gentle as she removed the armor.

“He died dishonorably, Satine,” Bo-Katan looked up at her sister. “He does not deserve the proper rites.”

“Perhaps,” Satine spared a glance at her sister, smiling softly before continuing her task of removing the armor piece by piece. This was a ritual performed by Clan members, but they didn’t know his Clan. They didn’t even know who he was. So it fell to the healers. To Satine. She would remove the armor just as it was first put on, and with no Clan to claim it, it would then be returned to the forge’s fires. “But we all deserve grace in our deaths.”

Bo-Katan could not argue with that, so she fell silent.

She crossed her arms over her chest as she watched Satine work. She set each piece of armor aside gently, laying a hand across it for a moment before going to the next. Eventually all that remained was the helmet, and Satine murmured a few quiet words of Mando’a before she released the clasps and gently slid it off.

Bo-Katan did not recognize the man, not at first.

While Paz’s blaster shot had passed cleanly through his neck, it had not cauterized the wound quickly enough to stop the blood that spilled from his jugular. Red stained the man’s jaw, blooming up his face and spilling into his eyes.

He was older than Telk was--closer to Boba in age.

“Do you recognize him?” Satine asked.

Bo-Katan shook her head. “Too much blood.”

Satine nodded. She set the helmet next to the other armor pieces, laying her hand atop it for a moment before she ducked out of the room. Bo-Katan narrowed her eyes as she stared at the body, jerking her head back up as Satine returned with a bowl of water and a cloth.

She was just as gentle in cleaning his face as she was in removing his armor. Bo-Katan did not say anything this time and let her work.

They both recognized him at the same time.

“Orlo--” Satine breathed out his name in surprise while Bo-Katan bit out a sharp curse.

“You know him?” Cara had been quietly waiting in the corner, not wanting to intrude on this. But she did now, stepped forward to stand beside Bo-Katan and get a good look at the man.

Bo-Katan bit her cheek hard enough to draw blood.

“He is of Clan Vizsla. We--we fought each other, back during the Civil Wars,” Satine said quietly. She took in a shaky breath, then looked up at Cara. “The Clan leaders will call for retribution if they haven’t already--to disrespect the Mand’alor in this way, to attempt to kill his riduur twice--”

Satine shook her head, unable to finish.

“They’re already demanding Telk’s head,” Bo-Katan said.

Cara turned to look at Bo-Katan. “He’s just a kid, Bo.”

“A kid who tried to kill the alor. Din would be well within his rights to have him executed.” Bo-Katan sighed, lifting a hand to tug on her hair. “We can’t let the Clan leaders know. Not right away. We don’t--we can’t deal with fighting among ourselves right now.” she paused, then looked back up at Satine. “We’ll return the armor to the forges, then get rid of the body after Kenobi looks at it.”

Satine nodded.

“Who's gonna tell Din?” Cara asked.

Bo-Katan swallowed a mouthful of blood.

--

Din brought Padme a cup of spiced tea as he came back outside, gently passing it to her as he sat on the steps of the house next to her. She thanked him quietly, holding the cup to her lips and humming in content as she took a sip.

Din looked at her curiously.

“It’s a guilty pleasure of mine,” Padme admitted at Din’s look. “I haven’t had a decent cup of spiced tea in a long time.”

“Luke hates that stuff,” Din accompanied it with a quick glance through the kitchen window, where Anakin and Luke were sitting at the table with the kids. Rey had her own cup of tea that she was sipping on while Anakin showed her the parts and pieces of his prosthetic hand. Grogu was watching too, although Luke was keeping the kid on his lap and far out of reach of the delicate parts.

“Well,” Padme smiled. “He’s never been able to handle his spice very well.”

Din huffed out a quiet laugh. He let the silence between them settle and linger for a while before he spoke again.

“I’ve never really had the Clan leaders approval.” Din looked up towards the sky. The sun was just starting to set, and he could already see the faint shadows of the twin moons in the sky. “Lady Ursa and Lady Satine liked me well enough, but everyone else thought I wasn’t worthy to wield the darksaber. Not that I can--” Din cut himself off and shook his head. “I came across the damn thing by accident. I didn’t know what it meant when I picked it up. I didn’t know how to lead.” Din swallowed back something bitter. “I still don’t.”

Din paused.

Padme stayed silent and waited for him to gather his words.

“My support came from my people. They didn't agree with the challenges the Clan leaders made for the darksaber, and eventually the Clan leaders just stopped,” Din spoke slowly. “It was--easier, I guess.” then, “I kept beating them anyway.”

“A sign of a good leader,” Padme agreed.

Din huffed out a bitter laugh. “Yeah. Sure.”

Padme didn’t answer right away. She looked out to the sunset, cradling her cup in her hands.

“I was like you, Din.” she finally said. “I was not born into a position of leadership. My people elected me when I was a child. I wasn’t ready to lead--I didn’t know the first thing about it. But they supported me. Guided me,” Padme looked back at him. “Just as your people have done for you.”

Din looked at her.

She had that same kindness and gentleness in her eyes that Luke did.

His same smile.

“They weren't happy that I married Luke.” Din said. “The Clan leaders--they wanted me married, but they wanted a traditional marriage. To a Mandalorian. Telk got caught up in that, I think.”

“But you married my son anyway.” Padme prompted him to continue.

“Because it's what my people wanted,” Din finished. “And I--I love him.”

Padme looked back towards the sunset, taking a slow sip of her tea before looking back at Din. “You care for your people, Din. For your family. That’s what matters in the end. Not what your Clan leaders think of you.”

Din did not know what to say.

He was saved from trying to answer by the door to the house opening. Luke poked his head out, glancing between the two of them before ducking outside. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“Not at all, my love,” Padme got to her feet. “I was just about to head inside anyway.”

She paused to kiss Luke’s temple, and she dropped her hand on Din’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze before slipping inside. Luke watched his mother go, then let out a quiet sigh as he sat next to Din.

“I can’t believe my mom drinks that stuff,” He dropped his head on Din’s shoulder, and Din didn’t hesitate to wrap his arm around Luke’s waist. “You’ve corrupted her. You’ve corrupted her with your stupid spiced tea.”

“You’ll like it eventually.”

Luke hummed, sounding like he didn’t believe Din.

They settled into a comfortable silence as they watched the sun set.

“Sabine told me about Rey,” Luke said quietly. “About what you did for her.”

“I did what anyone would do,” Din mumbled.

“You bought her out of the slave trade. On Jakku.” Luke lifted his head, raising his hands to gently place on the sides of Din’s helmet. Then he smiled, and bumped his forehead against Din’s. “I don’t know a lot of people who would do that.”

Din glanced down at his hands.

“Why didn’t you adopt her?”

“I was trying to piece back together a broken planet,” Din said. He swallowed around a lump in his throat. “And I barely knew how to take care of Grogu.”

It hurt to admit, but it was true. Din had hardly known how to care for himself during those days, and adjusting his entire way of life for one little child had been one of the most difficult things Din had ever done. Difficult, but one of the most rewarding things he had done too.

Luke traced along the border of Din’s visor with his thumb. “What about now?”

Din looked up at him. “I don’t want to put the burden of another child on you. Not now.” Not with everything that’s been going on.

“What if I want you to?” Luke asked.

“Do you?”

Luke’s smile grew a little bigger, and he fumbled for the clasps of Din’s helmet and slid it up just enough to press a kiss to the coroner of Din’s lips.

“Yeah,” Luke said. “I do.”

Chapter Text

Rey looked like she was going to cry.

“You want me to be part of your Clan?”

Din was kneeling on the floor in front of the kitchen chair Rey was sitting in, his helmet off and resting on the table. He had told Luke that he had taken his helmet off in front of Rey before, but the little girl was still looking at his face with wide eyes and wonder. He nodded and held his hands out palm up, tilting his head as Rey hesitantly placed her hands in his. They were shaking, a little. Both Din and Rey’s hands were. “I’ve always thought of you as Clan, Rey. And so has Grogu. I just--wasn’t sure if you thought the same.”

Anakin and Padme had ducked back outside when Luke and Din came back in, giving them a knowing smile.

Rey blinked quickly, but it wasn’t enough to completely dry her eyes. They still glimmered from the unshed tears that were threatening to fall.

“Does alor want me to be part of your Clan too?” She asked hesitantly, squeezing Din’s hands tight.

“Of course I do,” Luke was quick to say. He knelt next to Din, smiling up at Rey as he adjusted Grogu so he wasn’t crushing the child against his chest. Grogu himself cooed in agreement, nodding his little head quickly. Luke could feel Grogu and Rey’s excitement in the Force, warm and bright. “I want you to be part of my life. Of our lives.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to—“ Din started, but Rey cut him off with a shrieked out yes before flinging herself into his chest. Din fell back on his ass with a surprised grunt, but he held Rey tightly anyway.

“Ni kar’tayl gai sa’ad,” Din murmured it softly, almost like it was a lullaby. Luke echoed it just as softly like he was the answering melody, smiling and lifting a hand to gently tuck Rey’s hair behind her ear.

Rey sniffed, and then whatever was holding back her tears vanished.

Grogu squeaked in alarm. He wiggled out of Luke’s arms to climb up into Din’s lap with Rey. She laughed and hiccuped, scooping Grogu up in her arms while he cooed, ears drooping as he reached a hand up to place on her cheek to gently wipe away her tears.

Din had to do a rather impressive maneuver to keep his hold on the kids, but he pulled it off with the sort of finesse that only came with having done it before.

“I’m not sad, I promise,” Rey smiled and pressed her forehead against Grogu’s. “I’m just—really happy.” Then she gasped and twisted around to look at Din. “We have to tell cabur!”

“We can go now, if you want,” Din gently cradled Rey’s cheeks between his hands, running his thumbs just below her eyes to wipe away her tears. Then he ducked down and kissed the top of her head. “We can go to the night market too--I’m sure Luke and his parents would love to go.”

“Family outing?” Luke asked with a smile.

--

Sundari’s night market was full of lights and laughter and music.

Rey was holding tight to Din’s hand, swinging it back and forth and sucking on a frozen treat as he and Padme and Val walked ahead. Din had bought one for Grogu too, but he had already finished him. The foundlings ran on ahead of them but never strayed out of sight, pausing at booths and getting free treats and candies from the vendors. Luke, Paz and Anakin trailed behind, Grogu settled in Luke’s arms and looking around with wide eyes while Paz balanced Mela on his hip.

They had run into each other almost as soon as they entered the market. The kids had flocked to Luke as soon as they saw him, asking if he was alright and unhurt. Luke hadn’t entirely been able to appease them, so he offered to let them tag along so they could keep an eye on him. Their words, not his.

“I gotta be honest with you,” Anakin was watching Rey and Din, and it took him a moment to look away and back to Luke. “I thought she already was his kid.”

Paz snorted. “Yeah, you and everyone else on Mandalore.”

Luke bit back a laugh while Anakin did nothing to hide his.

“I’m happy for her.” Mela said.

She fell silent before she said anything more, and Paz lifted her a little higher and bumped his head against hers. “You’ll be part of a Clan too, ad’ika. Promise.”

Mela smiled and giggled.

Luke watched Paz with a tilted head, wanted to ask, but before he could he was distracted by Grogu’s frantic babbling. He pointed ahead of them when Luke looked down at him, and when Luke glanced back up he saw Bo-Katan, Cara, and Satine dipping and dodging through the crowd.

“Din!” Cara reached them first, taking in deep breaths like she had just been running. “We’ve got a problem.”

“The Clan leaders found out about this morning--” and there was Satine, looking a little more composed as she came to a stop next to Cara. Still, she lifted a hand to tug her hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear. “I don’t know how, but--”

“They found out?” Paz cut in.

“Yes.” Satine looked up at Paz. Then she caught sight of Anakin, and her eyes widened at the same time Anakin let her name slip past his lips in surprise.

Luke looked back at his father.

“Mand’alor!”

The pleasant sounds of the market went dead at the sharp call.

Din bit out a curse, then lifted Rey up and passed her off to Padme. Padme held Rey close and stepped back to stand next to Anakin while Din stepped forward just as the Clan leaders stepped out from the crowd. Not all of them were here--Luke could see Pre and Ursa along with one other that he didn’t immediately recognize.

“Kar’ak.” Din greeted. His voice was flat.

“Mand’alor.” Kar’ak was far older than Din, with his armor painted and polished so much that it nearly shined as brightly as the raw beskar of Din’s own armor. “This is the second time the alor has been attacked.”

Luke closed his eyes and bit his cheek to keep back his sigh as the crowd gasped.

“There were a lot of people there this morning,” Din spoke slowly, like he was speaking to a child. “We don’t know who he was aiming for.”

Kar’ak scowled.

“Kar’ak, this isn’t--” Ursa started, but Kar’ak ignored her and easily cut her off as he continued talking.

“This would not have happened if you had taken the proper actions with Telk--if you had made an example of him, like your council told you to do.”

“Not all of us agreed to that.” Satine snapped.

Kar’ak did not address her either. He kept looking at Din, waiting for an answer.

Din stared until the silence of the market became overbearing. Then he stepped closer, tilting his head as he stared down at Kar’ak. “I will not condemn my people to death.” he said. “That is not the Way.”

“Then you’re weak,” Kar’ak spat. He too stepped closer until they were chest to chest. “You are not worthy enough to wield that saber. Just like Satine.”

Bo-Katan sucked in a sharp breath, but Satine did not react. She stayed still, her face blank.

Din did not back away. “Are you challenging me?”

“I am.” Kar’ak snapped. “I, Kar’ak Rodarch, leader of Clan Rodarch, challenge you, Mand’alor the Reluctant, for the right to the darksaber and the throne.”

Chapter Text

The darksaber gave off an eerily bright glow for being a blade that was as black as ink.

Luke found himself mesmerized by it as Din drew it, holding it out in front of him like some twisted peace offering.

“It looks like your armor, alor,” Rey said. She was still in Padme’s arms, but all her attention was on Luke. Padme glanced over at him, eyes sweeping down him like she just realized that he was wearing armor.

Luke blinked, glancing at Rey before looking down at the armor he wore. She wasn’t wrong. The blade of Din’s saber looked nearly identical to the materials used to make Luke’s armor. Black and silver and white. Like a piece of the night sky, Din had called it.

Kar’ak flinched back from the blade, but he didn’t entirely back away.

“I’ll let you make the first move,” Din said.

The crowd that had gathered stepped back in waves, giving Din and Kar’ak a sizable area to move around in. Luke could see Val gathering the foundlings, slipping through the crowd as he made his way to Paz.

Kar’ak narrowed his eyes. “How generous of you.”

Then he slipped his helmet on and drew his own viroblade. It wouldn’t stand up to the darksaber, Luke knew that. It would break as soon as Din hit it just right, if not sooner. Luke had broken plenty of viroblades and practice sabers with his own lightsaber. There was not much that could stand up to one except for beskar, and with Sabine’s words echoing around in Luke’s head, he doubted that Kar’ak’s armor was pure beskar, let alone if there was even any of the metal in it.

Kar’ak rushed forward, and Din lifted his arm and blocked his blade with his wrist guard.

Sparks rained down like falling stars, and the crowd cheered.

“He won’t win.”

Luke startled at Cara’s voice.

Cara snickered, then nodded towards Kar’ak. He brought blow upon blow down on Din at a remarkably fast pace, but Din blocked every single one with his armor. He was stepping right into Kar’ak’s hits, hadn’t lifted the darksaber to even so much as defend himself. He was taking the full brunt of the attacks, and it was hardly affecting him. “This isn’t the first time he’s challenged Din.”

“It’s not?” Luke blinked, surprised.

“No.” Paz spoke up this time. He was holding Mela a little closer. She had dropped her head on Paz's shoulder, but was still watching the fight with wide eyes. “He challenged Din all the time before he was officially crowned to the throne. He’s never been a fan of the Tribe and our traditions.”

“Kar’ak is of nobility,” Satine explained. Luke hadn’t noticed her wander over either. She was hovering awkwardly next to Anakin with Bo-Katan. “He holds the belief that the title of Mand’alor should only belong to the nobility.”

“And not some random foundling from a backwater Outer Rim planet.” Paz tacked on, leaning closer to Val as he slipped next to him. The foundlings crowded around Luke and Padme, clinging to her dress and Luke’s flight suit as they watched the fight.

Luke nodded slowly, ducking down to greet the foundlings before looking back up at Din.

He dodged Kar’ak’s next swing, leaning forward and spinning on his heel. Din lifted his arm and dug his elbow just below Kar’ak’s chestplate, hitting his diaphragm with nearly his entire body and knocking the air from Kar’ak’s lungs.

Din wasn’t even trying to use the darksaber in the fight.

He was just taunting Kar’ak with it, waving it in his face like he stole his favorite toy.

Luke felt his heart flutter as Din deliberately walked into Kar’ak’s attack, the viroblade bouncing off his pauldron as he twisted his body just enough to make sure the blade hit the center of the armor piece.

Sparks exploded. They rained down, and for just a moment Din was cast in gold.

Luke felt his cheeks warm, and an odd sound slipped between his lips.

“Kar’ak is a good fighter, but he’s used to fighting in groups and having people to fall back on.” Bo-Katan spared a glance at Luke, rolling her eyes and mumbling something in Mando’a that made Cara snort. “Din is used to fighting to survive. Kar’ak will never win.”

“How do you know that?” Anakin asked.

“Because that’s how he beat me.” Bo-Katan answered. She crossed her arms and leveled Anakin with a look.

Anakin snapped his mouth shut and went back to watching Din and Kar’ak.

Luke could see exactly what Bo-Katan meant. Even though Kar’ak had been on the offence and Din had not truly broken from his defense, Kar’ak kept falling back. It was like he expected someone else to come in and take over, and while he recovered quickly enough, he couldn’t break the habit.

And Din was taking advantage of it, Luke suddenly realized.

That’s why he kept walking into Kar’ak’s attacks. He was pushing him back to the edge of the circle and giving him nowhere to go.

Grogu cooed softly, eyes wide as he watched.

Din blocked a few more hits before he finally decided enough was enough. He swung the darksaber up, blocking Kar’ak’s next hit and snapping the viroblade in two.

The crowd gasped.

Kar’ak reached for a blaster, but Din was quicker. He threw out his whipcord, hooked it around Kar’ak’s wrist and yanked. He fell to the ground, and before he could get up Din was hovering over him, darksaber pointed at his neck.

“Yield.”

Kar’ak growled. He twisted to his back and tried to get up, but Din pressed the darksaber closer to his neck. Luke could smell the fibers of the flight suit start to burn.

“I will not ask twice.” Din said.

There was a tense moment of silence, heavy enough that Luke thought he might suffocate in it.

“I yield.” Kar’ak spat.

The crowd exploded into cheers.

Din stepped back and retracted the saber blade before hooking it back to his waist. He searched the crowd, posture relaxing when he spotted Luke. Luke passed Grogu off to his father and hurried forward, meeting Din halfway.

“Are you okay?” Luke asked. He jumped up on his tiptoes so he could press his forehead to Din’s, lifting his hands to gently hold the sides of his helmet. “That was a lot of hits he landed.”

“I’m fine, mesh’la,” Din was panting just a bit as he worked to get his breath back. “Might bruise a bit, though.”

“I’ll kiss them better for you,” Luke said.

Din laughed.

“Looks like I missed all the fun.”

Luke blinked at the new voice and turned his head.

He saw Satine break into a smile and murmur a quiet cyar’ika as she broke away from her sister to walk over to the newcomer. Anakin looked up, his eyes going wide as Padme huffed out a quiet laugh. Rey looked between the two of them, confused.

Then Luke looked up and stared.

“Uncle Ben?”

Chapter Text

Anakin looked far more surprised to see Obi-Wan than Obi-Wan looked to see him.

“I thought you were off being a hermit on Tatooine.” Anakin said. “Finding some—what was it you said? Some gods damn peace and quiet?”

“Oh, I am,” Obi-Wan smiled brightly, greeting Satine with a softer smile and an even softer kiss before turning his attention back to them. It had been a few months since Luke had seen him, but not much had changed aside from a few new gray streaks in his hair. “But even a hermit has to socialize every once in a while, Anakin.”

Anakin sputtered.

Grogu giggled and reached up to gently smack his face.

“It’s good to see you again, Obi-Wan,” Padme brushed past her husband, setting Rey down to give Obi-Wan a brief hug, which he returned whole heartedly. Rey dashed back over to Luke and Din, and it was nearly muscle memory now for Luke to step away from Din and scoop her up. “I didn’t know you were seeing Satine again.”

“It’s a—recent development.” Satine said. She looked down at the ground, and even with the night markets faint lights Luke could see her cheeks had gone a light shade of pink.

Bo-Katan coughed loudly.

“Bo-Katan,” Obi-Wan greeted her pleasantly enough, and he lit back up when he finally saw Luke. “Luke!” He hurried over, wrapping Luke in a warm and comforting hug, being mindful not to squish Rey. He pulled back, looked Luke over, then tilted his head. ”Look at you! Married and with kids! I could swear it was just yesterday that you were moping over that holomovie actor—what was his name? Savik—“

“Hi, Uncle Ben!” Luke said it a little too loudly. “Wow! It’s so good to see you too! I’ve been great, thank you!”

Din huffed out a quiet laugh, but Cara and Paz made no move to hide theirs.

“I didn’t know you two knew each other,” Din said, diplomatic as ever.

“Oh, yes, Anakin and I go way back. Practically brothers,” Obi-Wan waved his hand in a blasé way, still smiling. “I’ve changed more of Leia and Luke’s diapers than I care to admit—“

“Thank you, Uncle Ben.” Luke cut him off, but Rey was already laughing and Paz was nearly doubled over in his own laughter and Luke knew Din was smiling under his stupid helmet. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“Socializing,” Obi-Wan repeated. Then, “and apparently trying to stop someone from killing you. Again.” He paused before continuing, “you know, Luke, I really am getting too old to prevent assassination attempts.”

Luke tilted his head back and sighed. He could hear the foundlings giggling before they chanted a greeting to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan turned around, his attention now entirely taken up by the children.

“Hello, little ones!” he knelt down and greeted each one by name. He pulled out little wrapped candies from the pockets of his robes, giving Val a bright smile as he handed them out. He made sure to float a few to Rey and Grogu with the Force. “Val, hello! Paz been treating you well?”

“Paz has been an angel, as always,” Val answered. He looked like he was biting back a sigh as he crossed his arms and cocked his hip, but it was in a fond sort of exasperation. “You, however, have just given me several sugar rushed children to herd back together.”

“It’s my pleasure,”

Val shook his head, and Obi-Wan turned to look back at Bo-Katan.

“Now, you have a body you want me to look at?” he asked it just as cheerily as if he were asking after Leia’s wedding preparations.

--

The foundlings wanted to go with Obi-Wan, and Val all but begged Luke to help him gather them up and get them back to the house. So Din took Rey and brought Anakin and Padme back to his house, Bo-Katan herded Cara, Satine and Obi-Wan to wherever it was she apparently had a body stashed, and Luke followed after Val and Paz.

The kids were running ahead of Luke and Val, laughing and shrieking as they worked out their energy with a game of chase. Paz was with them, joining in their games and keeping them close together so they didn’t have to go chasing after them.

“He’s good with them,” it slipped from Luke’s mouth without him really realizing it, and when Val looked at him quizzically he quickly tacked on, “The kids. Paz is good with the kids.”

Val’s expression softened. “Yeah--it surprised me too.” He looked back to Paz, who was scooping Mela up as she giggled and tried to run past him. “He doesn’t seem like he would be good with kids, does he? Stars--when I first met him I thought he was just the Mand’alor’s trigger happy brother.”

“He does fit the image,” Luke admitted.

He had thought something along those same lines when he first saw Paz. He was gruff and loud and wore heavy armor and heaver weapons and was as high ranking as Bo-Katan was. Honestly, Luke thought he might even outrank Bo-Katan, but he didn’t dare ask. Paz didn’t seem like he would be this careful with kids, that he would play with them and let them catch him in their games, that he would let them poke and prod at his armor and sneak them extra sweets.

But, then again, Luke didn’t think Din would be good with kids either before he saw him with Grogu.

Val laughed softly. “Yeah, he does,” he fell silent for a moment. “He’s always wanted his own kids, you know? But back then he and Din were running off every other day looking for lost tribes and clans and I was looking after foundlings on my own. There just--there was never enough time.”

Val got quiet, almost wistful. He was still looking at Paz and Mela, lost in memories and thoughts that Luke wasn’t privy to.

“You have time now,” Luke said softly.

“Yeah,” Val murmured. “I guess we do.”

--

Obi-Wan stared at the body before him. He took in how it had been cleaned of blood, how the eyes had been closed, the hands crossed over the chest, all ready for a proper burial that it would never receive.

“He’s been dead how long?”

“Not very,” Bo-Katan answered. She was standing on the other side of the table the body was laid out on. “Paz shot him this morning.”

Obi-Wan hummed. “That’s still too long. I’m not sure that I can get anything out of him.”

“Can you try?” Satine placed a gentle hand on his arm. She stepped closer to him, offering him comfort before he could even think to ask for it. “I know you don’t like doing this, but we’re--we’re at a loss.”

“I wouldn’t say we're at a loss,” Bo-Katan mumbled.

Satine shot her sister a sharp look, which Bo-Katan promptly ignored. “Bo--”

Obi-Wan knew exactly what Bo-Katan wanted to get into, but she stayed quiet. Still, he opened his mouth to apologize or to explain himself, he wasn’t quite sure what, but with a warning look from Cara he snapped it shut just as quickly.

“I’ll--see what I can do,” he said instead. Then he took in a deep breath and reached out cautiously into the Force, looking for any thoughts from the dead man that might still be floating around. They lingered, sometimes, half finished thoughts or ideas that weren't quite ready to move on yet.

He did not like doing this, peaking into others thoughts.

He searched for a few moments, and to his surprise, he found one last lingering idea. Obi-Wan reached out for it, cradled it in his hands like a bird with broken wings, only to throw it away when that idea washed over him,

Obi-Wan gasped and stumbled back.

Satine reached out to steady him.

“What?” Bo-Katan asked. “What did you see?”

Obi-Wan blinked slowly before he looked up at Bo-Katan. “It’s not just Luke. They want Din dead too.”

"They? Who's they?" Bo-Katan pressed.

Obi-Wan shook his head. The man had been dead far too long for that thought to still linger.

"I don't know."

Chapter Text

It was easy, taking off Din’s armor now.

They sat in their bedroom—Grogu and Rey having long been put to bed, and Anakin and Padme already retired for the night by the time Luke got back. The only light was coming from Mandalore’s twin moons, now half full, but Luke knew the buckles and clasps of the armor well enough to not need any more light than that.

He sang softly as he removed his husband’s armor, some old lullaby that his mother used to sing to him in Naboo’s old language. He felt nervous. He wanted to ask Din about tonight, about the challenge, about what Kar’ak had called him. But Luke did not want to interrupt this moment. Not yet.

“That’s a pretty song,” Din said quietly. He rolled his shoulder and stretched out his arm as Luke carefully removed the pauldron, then lifted his hand to rub at his neck and work out the kinks. “What language is it?”

“It’s traditional Naboo,” Luke ran his thumb along the mudhorn, then set the pauldron on the bedside table. “It’s an old language. Not a lot of people speak it anymore.”

“Do you?”

“I can read it,” Luke answered. He smiled, then pressed a soft to the corner of Din’s mouth. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore,” Din admitted.

Luke hummed. He could see a darkening bruise poking out from the collar of Din’s flight suit, and he was sure there were more hiding underneath. Beskar was protective, but it couldn’t entirely hold back the hurt. Especially when you were walking right into it.

“...you can ask, Luke.” Din spoke so quietly that Luke almost missed it. “I’m not--I should have told you earlier.”

Luke blinked, then, “Why?”

Din knew what Luke was asking. “It’s my title. All Mand’alor’s have one,” he answered. He shifted on the bed, leaned forward and propped his elbows on this thighs and rested his chin on his clasped hands. He looked exhausted. “Mand’alor the Great, Mand’alor the Preserver, Mand’alor the Avenger—“ Din paused. His voice grew quiet. “Mand’alor the Reluctant.”

Luke felt something heavy settle in his chest.

“It’s not a title you get to choose.” Din continued. “The Clan leaders gave it to me when I finally—“ he paused. He did not look at Luke. “I was a bounty hunter. I told you that.”

“You did,” Luke agreed. He scooted closer, leaned into Din’s side. “Is that how you got the darksaber?”

Din nodded. “There were some people after Grogu. Wanted him for his abilities. The man who took him had come into possession of the darksaber—I don’t know how. I didn’t ask. Kriff, I didn’t even know what it was when I picked it up.” Din laughed. It was hollow. Empty. “I met Bo-Katan while I was on another bounty. I still had her com code, and when Grogu was taken I called her. She agreed to help me get the kid back, and when she saw me with the sword she challenged me right then and there. I didn’t know what was happening—I had just gotten my ass handed to me by some droids and then she was yelling something about rightful rulers.”

Din was silent for a moment.

“Her sister ruled for a bit, before the Exodus.” Din said quietly “Satine. Mand’alor the Divider. She wanted peace for my people and I—I didn’t want anything to do with them. I tried to give the darksaber back to her, but Satine wanted it even less than I did. Tried to give it to Bo-Katan too, but I had won the challenge she first issued me. She refused to take it and she refused to challenge me again.”

He let out a heavy sigh, then fell silent.

But Luke did not speak. He stayed quiet, wrapped his arms around Din’s waist, held his husband close and waited for him to gather his words.

“I ran off to Tatooine, hid out with Boba and Cobb for months. Challengers still found me though.” Din finally looked at Luke. He looked so, so tired. “If you don’t fight with everything you have, the challenge isn’t legitimate. I wanted to throw each and every one, but I couldn’t.”

Luke swallowed something bitter. “Din…”

He understood. For Din, fighting with everything you had meant winning at any cost. All Din had known for a long time was survival. Fighting dirty and bruital and doing what you had to to stay alive. That was just the life of a bounty hunter. He couldn’t lose these challenges no matter how much he wanted to, because if he lost it meant he hadn’t given it his everything.

“Din,” Luke repeated it softly, lifting his hand to gently cup Din’s cheek.

“I didn’t have a choice in becoming the Mand’alor, not really.” Din took in a shaky breath. He leaned into Luke’s touch, but he did it with a hesitancy, like he was afraid Luke would pull back. “Cobb eventually talked me into actually--actually taking on the responsibility, but I still didn’t--I didn’t want to lead these people. I didn’t know how. I still don’t know how.”

Luke brought his other hand up.

He held Din’s face between his hands, ghosted his thumb over his cheekbone, then gently pressed his forehead to Din’s. Din flinched back slightly, like he was almost afraid.

“I love you,” Luke said. He slipped one hand to cradle the back of Din’s head, holding him still and steady. “And this doesn't change that.”

“It should.”

“Din--” Luke curled his fingers in Din’s hair and let out a shaky breath of his own. “You agreed to lead your people even when you didn’t want to. You agreed to come to Mandalore, to rebuild cities so your people could come back home. You--kriff, Din, you agreed to marry a stranger so you could ensure that these people would have the things they need to survive. You didn’t want to lead, and I don’t blame you for that. Leading people isn’t easy, but you did it anyway.” Luke smiled, brought his hand back to Din’s cheek. “That’s not you being reluctant. That’s you being noble.”

Din huffed out a laugh, but it did not sound so hollow this time “I think you’re the only one who thinks that.”

“I think,” Luke said, “That there are more people who agree with me than you think.”

He leaned forward and kissed Din again, and when Luke pulled back Din’s eyes were wet and shining in the faint moonlight.

Luke did not know how long Din had been holding this in, but he didn’t ask. Instead he kissed him again, whispered another soft I love you, laughed and giggled when Din pushed him back onto the bed and pressed kisses across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

“I love you too, mesh’la,” Din whispered the words against Luke’s neck. “Ner ka’ra,”

My stars, Luke translated.

Chapter Text

Leia arrived on Mandalore in a flurry of surprise and worry and radiance.

“Tell me why--” Leia marched straight towards Luke after her ship landed, leaving Han and Chewie to linger behind. She looked beautiful, hair braided in a delicate bun atop her head and wearing a sleeveless white dress to combat Mandalore’s heat. Beautiful, Din thought, but deadly. “--I had to find out from Threepio that someone tried to assassinate you.”

Din took a large step back, pulling Rey back with him.

“Leia!” Luke sounded cheerful enough, but he too stepped back. That didn’t stop his sister from punching him in the arm just below his pauldron. Hard.

Din winced.

“In my defense, this is not the first time someone has tried to kill me.” Luke cradled his arm to his chest, yelping as Leia punched it again. He tried to dodge it, but Leia was much quicker.

“That is the shittiest excuse you have ever given me.”

“It is not!”

“Luke Amidala don’t you dare--”

“I’m pretty sure I’m in love with your husband’s sister.” Cobb said. He had stopped over to the house this morning, and when Luke got the com call that Leia was about to land and spirited out the door without finishing his breakfast, Cobb had followed. Din had trailed after him at a more leisurely place, putting Grogu in his birikad and taking hold of Rey’s hand as she followed after.

Padme had not been awake yet, but Anakin had, and he was perfectly content to wait at the house. Let them get it out before bringing them back, Anakin had said, then he waved them out of the house and shut the door just a little too hard.

“Don't let Boba hear you say that,”

Cobb laughed. “Oh come on. Bo would kill for a woman like that.”

“Good thing you two have Fennec, then,” Din replied. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure how Fennec factored into Boba and Cobb’s relationship, but he didn’t dare ask.

The Wookiee finally stepped in, lifting Luke up and out of Leia’s reach. Leia bit out several curses in Huttese while Han stepped forward in a vain attempt to calm her, which Luke returned with equal spite and furiosity while trying to worm his way out of Chewie’s hold. Cobb let out a low whistle of admiration, and if Din thought that Rey understood the language he would have covered her ears. She might, actually, because Rey kept giggling every time Luke spit out a new curse.

Din hadn’t heard curses that creative since the last time he was on Tatooine.

“Don’t repeat anything your buir is saying,” Din looked down at Rey. Just in case. “Or your ba’vodu.”

“I’ll kill you myself Luke, I swear--” Leia’s sudden switch back to Basic was jarring. “--I’ll strangle you--!”

“You can’t even reach that high--”

“Okay!” Han said loudly, stepping in front of Leia and gently pushing her a step back while Chewie carried Luke back over to Din. Din watched in fascination as Leia all but melted under the touch, her earlier anger simmering down to irritation and annoyance. “Let’s take some breaths, Princess. Ready? Breathe with me--”

Chewie roared quietly and dropped Luke in front of Din. Luke stumbled a little bit from the impact, but he stayed standing.

“Do you feel better?” Cobb asked, tilting his head with a bright smile.

Luke’s cheeks went a pretty pink. “Sorry, I didn’t, uh--,” he paused and cleared his throat. “Got a little carried away, I guess.”

“Just a little.” Cobb grinned.

--

Padme did not seem surprised in the least to see Leia at the kitchen table when she finally woke. She greeted her daughter with a kiss to her forehead, then she sat next to Anakin and thanked Din as he handed her a cup of spiced tea.

“So, how bad was it?” Anakin asked pleasantly.

“They--” Din paused, wondering how much he could say without upsetting Luke again. Or Leia. “--got very creative with their Huttese.”

Cobb snorted. He was in the living room with Rey and Grogu, doing his best to keep them entertained. “Yeah. Creative.”

“Yeah, well, when I have to find out from a droid that someone tried to kill my brother--”

“Threepio is our brother and you know it, Leia--”

“Loves,” Padme effortlessly cut her kids off, silencing them with little more than a look. “No arguing at the breakfast table, please.”

Both Luke and Leia mumbled out an apology, and Luke shoved more of his now cold breakfast into his mouth while Leia took a sip from her cup of caf. Din found it oddly endearing.

“So someone tried to kill Luke,” Han shrugged and snatched a bit of bread from Luke’s plate. “Not like it’s the first time it happened.”

“That’s what I said!”

“Do not start.” Padme cut all three of them off before they could start again. She shot a look at Anakin before he could say anything, then turned back to the three of them. “Luke, love, you should have told your sister. Leia, dear, you shouldn’t be so hard on Luke. Han--” she paused, then, “Keep your mouth shut.”

Han snapped his mouth shut and nodded.

Padme smiled pleasantly, then took a sip of her tea.

“...did you catch him?” Leia asked it hesitantly, holding her mug of caf like a shield between her and her mother.

“We did,” Din answered this one, coming to stand behind Luke’s chair. He set a fresh cup of caf in front of him, then placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Telk. He’s young. Misguided--the Vizsla clan took him in a few months ago. He’s just waiting for a formal trial now, but it can’t commence until we have approval from the Vizsla clan.”

Leia tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“It’s--” Din paused. Mandalorian politics were a far cry from those of the Core worlds, and he had to take a moment to find the words to explain it. “He’s guilty. No one is disputing that. But the Vizsla Clan leader wants to handle this as a Clan matter, not a public one. He does not want the other Clan leaders involved and he certainty doesn’t want me involved, even though it was my riduur who was involved in the attack.” Din could not quite keep the irritation out of his voice. “Pre already thinks I overstepped by questioning Telk.”

Luke lifted his hand up, gently placing it atop Din’s.

“Pre is full of shit, Din,” Cobb frowned. “You’ve got the final call here, and he knows it.”

Din sighed. “I know, but I can’t afford to piss him off right now.”

“That man’s been pissed at you since he met you.”

“Din,” Padme spoke softly, but it was still firm enough to get Din’s attention. “Luke may be married to you, but he is still Naboo’s prince. It would be well within my right to demand a trial for the actions Telk took. If I did, Telk would be required to come to Naboo, and this would get far more messy than it already is.” she smiled pleasantly. “I think it would be in your favor if you reminded Pre of that.”

“You’re awfully devious this morning,” Anakin smiled at his wife, looking entirely besotted.

Padme took another sip of her tea. “I do my best.” then, “Now, Luke, why don’t you tell us more about Rey?”

“Who's Rey?” Leia and Han asked it at the same time.

“Um.” Luke blinked, then found himself entirely fascinated with his cup of caf.

Din was quick to move away and head into the living room to sit with Cobb and his children.

Chapter Text

“We should have a banquet.”

Din blinked slowly, turning his head in a movement just as equally slow to look at Paz. He was leaning against the wall of the interrogation room, arms crossed and fingers tapping at his vambraces as they waited for Telk and Pre to join them. Without a proper trial there was nothing Din could do to hold Telk, so he had been released back to Pre. Paz had been on edge about the entire thing, and when he asked to join them this morning Din hadn’t hesitated to say yes.

Din stood behind Padme from her seat at the head of the table, flanking her like a guard while Luke sat next to his mother. She had insisted on joining them as well, leaving Anakin to look after Leia, Han and the kids and keep them out of trouble.

Din was not sure how good of a combination Cobb and Anakin was, but it was far too late for him to do anything about it.

“We never got to properly celebrate your marriage,” Paz continued, nodding towards Luke. “And no one’s really seen you since the dha me’suum’ika.”

“Luke’s been out.” Din said. He hated that he sounded almost defensive about it.

Paz snorted. “Yeah. Sure.”

Luke hummed, swinging his legs like a child before hooking his ankles together. “No, Paz is right. I’ve been out, but I’ve either been with you or one of the Nite Owls.” Luke paused and glanced at Padme, who was smiling pleasantly at him. “But, to be fair, someone has tried to kill me.”

The only noise Padme made was a pleasant little hum.

“I know you’re having fun playing house, Din, and I know it’s not exactly safe for pretty boy to be wandering Keldabe on his own, but your people want to know that he’s okay—that >em>both of you are okay.” Paz looked at Padme, like he was looking for her permission. It was very similar to how everyone looked towards the Armorer for permission that Din couldn’t entirely give them. “We haven’t had anything to celebrate in a while.”

Paz’s voice had gone noticeably softer.

“I think it sounds like a lovely idea,” Padme folded her hands together, resting them on the table. She gave Paz a smile.

Paz shifted on his feet and ducked his head down.

Din narrowed his eyes and wondered if Paz was blushing.

“We’ll have to discuss this with Bo-Katan, see what security measures she would want to take,” it took a moment for Din to look away from Paz and back to Padme and Luke. They did not look alike in appearance--where Padme was dressed in loose fabrics dyed in bright colors, Luke wore black armor. Where her eyes were dark, Luke's were bright. But their posture was nearly identical and their smiles were equally soft and sweet. In that moment, they looked far more alike than not.

“But I’m not opposed to it.” Din finished, fighting back a smile of his own.

If they wanted to say anything more about it, they never got the chance.

The door opened with hardly a warning. Pre stormed in without Telk, lips twisted into a scowl as he headed right towards Din. He was not able to reach Din, because as soon as the door opened Padme stood from the chair and placed herself between them with a hard smile.

Pre faltered.

“Pre Vizsla?” Padme asked, then continued on without giving him a chance to answer. Even wearing a more relaxed and casual dress, she looked just as intimidating as when Din first met her. “I’ve been told that we need to have a discussion.”

“Queen Amidala,” Pre glanced up at Din, then to Luke. His gaze lingered, and he didn’t look away from Luke as he spoke again. “I didn’t realize you would be joining us.”

“Yes, well,” Padme smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles on her dress sleeves. It was a move both the Armorer and Bo-Katan did often. “It was my son that was nearly killed by your clan member.”

Pre tensed, and Din was quick to step in. “Telk needs to be held accountable in a trial, Pre. I know you want this to stay as a Clan matter, but it’s just not possible. Luke is your alor, and even if he weren't he’s still the prince of Naboo.” Din paused, giving it a moment to sink in. “Queen Amidala would be well within her rights to demand Telk be tried on Naboo. I doubt she would be as forgiving as I’m being right now.”

The air grew thick and heavy with it’s silence.

“With all due respect, Mand’alor,” Pre spoke slowly, dragging his eyes off of Luke to look back at Din. He skipped over Padme entirely. “I have the matter handled--”

“If you had this handled it wouldn’t have happened.” Paz cut in. “Telk needs to be held accountable and you know that.”

Din looked at Paz, not surprised at the outburst so much as surprised that Paz had been so civil about it. He was standing tall as he leveled his gaze at Pre, daring him to say something back. Pre turned to meet Paz’s gaze, his body going stiff.

“Are you going to argue with me, Paz?” he asked. “After what we discussed?”

“Yeah, I am,” Paz snapped back without any hesitation. “Because what we discussed is bantha shit and you’re being a di’kut.” He stepped forward then, pushing himself off the wall gracefully with an equally heavy anger in his steps. “You just don’t want this to go public because it will look bad on you. Because ever since you challenged Din everyone knows you're still bitter about losing the darksaber to Lady Satine--”

“You had better think about what you are about to say next, ad’ika--”

“Don’t you dare call me that.” Paz cut Pre off just as harshly as Pre had cut him off, but Paz did not yell his words. He spoke low and even and full of a tension just waiting to snap. “Don’t you fucking dare.”

Pre did not speak for a moment.

“You wear my signet, do you not?” he finally asked.

“This?” Paz gestured to the jai’galaar painted on his pauldron and barked out a bitter laugh. “This is not yours. But it would be a hell of a lot easier if it was, wasn’t it?” He didn’t wait for Pre to answer before he spit out, “Fuck you.”

Paz spun on his heel and left the room.

Din stared for a moment before jerking forward to run after him, his responsibilities as Mand'alor easily forgotten over the need to comfort family, but before he could get anywhere Luke was standing and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“I’ve got him,” Luke gave Din a soft smile, then he followed after Paz.

Din watched him go with a heavy weight in his chest.

“You will have your trial, Mand’alor, if that’s what you wish.” Pre broke the silence with a pleasant voice. “I would hate to...inconvenience Queen Amidala.” then, “And I must apologize for Paz’s outburst.”

He smiled at Padme. She returned it, but her smile was full of a chill that even Din felt.

“I’m glad we could reach an agreement.” Padme said.

Pre’s smile faltered slightly. But it did not fall, and he did not answer her.

Chapter Text

“Saber or not?”

“What?”

Luke had caught up to Paz as he was leaving the building, but he let the mandalorian get a little bit further into the desert and walk off a bit more of his frustration before Luke called out to him. Paz had stopped walking then, but he didn’t fully turn around until Luke was completely caught up to him and settled at his side and had asked his question.

“You're angry,” Luke said in answer. “So, saber or no saber?”

Paz stared at him, then, “Use the laser sword, pretty boy.”

Luke grinned.

They went a little further out, closer to the river. Paz didn’t draw any weapons, but he took up a stance as Luke lit his saber.

Paz’s armor wasn’t pure beskar, so Luke had to be careful. Paz was equally aware of that. He took full advantage of it, using Luke’s wide range attacks to get in very close very quickly. Luke pushed Paz back and let his lightsaber glide through the air to keep Paz back. Paz danced around it easily, only using his armor to block it when he absolutely had to. He dodged the saber with a well practiced ease, and Luke wondered if he had practiced this with Din before.

Their fight was brutal and quick. They both threw nearly everything that had into it, and even with the both of them wearing armor they still managed to give each other plenty of bruises. It was exhilarating, and when Paz managed to knock Luke’s lightsaber out of his hand Luke couldn’t even find it in himself to be mad about it. They fought for a little bit longer in a rough and tumble hand to hand, but Luke wasn’t nearly as proficient at close proximity fighting as he was with his saber, so when Paz knocked them both to the ground he couldn’t help but laugh.

Paz looked at him with a tilted head as Luke fought to stifle his giggling. Then he scoffed and rolled over to lay in the sand next to Luke, breathing hard.

“Feel better?” Luke gasped out. He could feel plenty of bruises blooming across his ribs, but there was something about the ache that was almost pleasant.

Paz grunted. He was cradling his arm close to his chest. There was a singe mark on his vembrace from where Luke had connected the saber just a little too hard.

“You suck at hand to hand,” was his answer. “You should get Din to teach you.”

“I’ll be sure to ask him.” Luke smiled and looked up at the sky, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the midday sun. There was the faintest tint of red in the sky, turning an otherwise blue background into a light pink.

Sabine had told him it was a remnant from the poison and toxic gases that had flooded the atmosphere during the Civil Wars. In a few months time the sky should be fully blue again.

Luke almost wished that it would stay that faint pink color.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“What’s to talk about?” Paz glanced at Luke. He huffed, and Luke could see the scowl that was hiding under Paz’s helmet. “I was a foundling, abandoned by my parents, and I wasn’t reunited with my Clan until we reclaimed Mandalore.”

“I don’t know,” Luke pushed himself. He reached a hand out and his saber came flying back into it from a sand pile. Luke shook the sand off before attaching it back to his belt, then he leaned back, planting his hands in the sand and resting his weight back on his arms. “Seems like that’s a lot to talk about.”

“You playing therapist now?”

“Oh, stars no, I’d make a terrible therapist.” Luke laughed softly, then shook his head. “I just--I’d like to think we’re friends, Paz.”

Luke fell silent, giving an opening for Paz to answer.

Paz was looking at him, and even with the helmet hiding his face Luke could see the surprise in his body language. “...you’re something else, pretty boy,”

“Thanks. I think.”

Paz laughed, something that sounded like it was entirely startled out of him. Luke grinned, then blinked as a cool shadow fell across him. He tilted his head back to see Boba standing over him, Cara right beside him.

“The hell are you two laying in the sand for?” Boba asked.

“It’s comfortable,” Luke said. “You should try it.”

“Yeah. Like lying on a pillow.” Paz chimed in.

Boba scoffed. “Yeah. No thanks.” he glanced at Paz and looked him over, pausing for a moment over the scorch mark Luke’s lightsaber left behind. His eyes widened just a fraction in understanding, but he did not linger on it nor did he ask about it. Instead he looked back towards Luke. “You have sand in your hair.”

Luke reached his hand up to run through his hair, wincing as he brushed a good handful of sand out of it.

“So what can I help you with?” Paz pushed himself up into a sitting position, stretching his arms out above his head. “You never stop by just to say hello, so I’m assuming you want something.”

“You would assume correctly.” Boba said.

“We need to talk to Din,” Cara answered. She looked far more serious than Luke had ever seen her. “We’ve got a bit of a problem.”

Paz hummed a single note. “We’ve always got problems.”

“Yeah, well,” Cara paused. She looked at Boba. He nodded once, then started heading towards the palace buildings. Luke spared a quick glance over, and he could see the sunlight reflecting off Din’s armor as he exited the building. Cara stayed behind, watching Boba for just a moment before looking back at Luke. “You’re little assassination attempt just turned into a coup.”

Luke blinked.

“Yeah,” Paz’s voice came out in a higher pitch than usual. “That’s a bit of a problem.”

Chapter Text

Din stared at Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan stared right back.

“You’re sure?” Din asked.

“Unfortunately.” Obi-Wan answered. He was standing by the stove and holding Grogu as he babysat the kettle--rescued him from Cobb, he had said--and was gently bouncing the child to sooth the quiet worry budding in Grogu. The child was always remarkably good at picking up Din’s emotions, regardless of how well Din was at concealing them. “Someone wants you off the throne, Din, and I only wish I could say who.”

Boba was seated at the opposite end of the table from Din, his elbows propped on the table and fingers steepled together as he looked at Din. They were back in his kitchen, now packed with far too many people, holding a rather patchwork meeting that felt too close to a war council for Din’s taste.

“It’s not like this is the first time someone’s tried to kill you,” Boba said.

“No, its not.” Din agreed. “But it’s the first time my Clan was brought into it.”

He spared a glance at Rey. She seated in Leia’s lap while she braided his daughter's hair into a crown, and while Din had wanted to leave the kids out of this conversation it wasn’t entirely something he could afford to do. Not when their lives were in danger too. Din swallowed back something bitter, then looked at Luke. He was sharing the chair with his sister, his arm wrapped around Rey’s waist to keep her steady. He had a few smaller braids worked into his own hair, and for a moment Din’s heart ached.

What a cruel thing, to be in danger of losing that which you love.

“I’ll get Bo to assign a guard to Luke and the kids--either Woves or another Nite Owl,” Cara spoke. She stood at Din’s right, her arms crossed high over her chest. “They’ll shadow them, and Paz can stay with them and keep doing what he was doing.”

Din nodded slowly.

Luke did not need the extra protection, Din knew that. His husband had demonstrated multiple times that he was more than capable of taking care of himself, but the kids--Din would like to believe that whoever was trying to get him killed would leave his children out of it, but the sniper that shot at Luke and Padme proved otherwise.

Paz hummed. “Yeah, sure. I’ll keep babysitting.” He was sitting beside Din at the table, and after a brief moment of silence he turned to look at him. “Know anyone who wants you dead, Djarin?”

“It would be easier if I told you who doesn’t want me dead.” Din bit back a sigh. He needed a drink. Or to get rid of this damn darksaber. “The Clan leaders can’t know about this.”

“What?” Cobb asked. “Why?”

“Because the last time someone attempted a coup the Clan leaders threw so many accusations and threats around that Mandalore went into civil war,” Satine answered. She was standing besides Obi-Wan at the stove, holding her cheek in her palm as she stared blankly at the kettle. She blinked as she spoke, then shook her head and looked up at the rest of them. “Din is right. They can’t know.”

“It would be best if you carried on like normal,” Padme had stayed silent until now. She was sitting across from Luke and Leia, and she kept her gaze on her children as she spoke. “Investigate, but do not make any accusations until you are certain you know who is behind this attempt.” she turned to look at Din then, and her eyes were so full of a wisend experience that Din didn’t dare to question it. “You wanted to hold a banquet, didn’t you? To celebrate your marriage?”

Luke looked up at his mother, but he didn’t say anything.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Anakin was looking at Padme when he asked it, but it was a question addressed to everyone.

“It’s not...a terrible idea.” Cara said.

“It’s far too of a public event for anyone to try anything, anyway.” Paz tacked on. He tapped his finger against the table. “Someone might challenge Din for the throne like Kar’ak did, but the chances of that actually happening at a celebratory banquet are pretty slim.” Paz hummed. “It would give the Nite Owls a chance to poke around, at any rate.”

The kettle whistled.

Obi-Wan passed Grogu to Satine, lifting the kettle off the heat. There was a line of mugs on the counter, and Obi-Wan started meticulously pouring the water into each one.

Din watched him for a moment, then turned to Luke. He held his hand out across the table, lying his palm flat on the wooden surface. Luke did not hesitate to place his hand in Din’s, lacing their fingers together and squeezing gently.

“What do you think, mesh’la?” Din asked softly. Then, “If you’re not comfortable with it, we won’t do it.”

Luke smiled and gently shook his head. “No, I think it’s a good idea. Bo-Katan can poke around, you can relax and have a little fun, and when we start Telk’s trial we’ll have some information before we go in.” Luke’s smile grew a little more playful. “Besides, I want to see how rowdy your parties get.”

It took Din a moment to recall the conversation they had back on Naboo and Luke’s thinly veiled distaste of the stiff and formal gatherings of his home. Then Din shook his head and laughed softly, leaning forward just enough to gently press his forehead against Luke’s. “It won’t disappoint, I promise.”

He wished, for a moment, that they could go back to that night.

“You two are gross.” Rey groaned.

Leia snorted. “They are, aren’t they?”

“Oh, like you and Han are any better.” Luke pulled back from Din to glare at his sister, shoving her enough to jostle her, but not to knock her off the chair.

Leia laughed while Han made an offended huff from the corner he was standing in. Chewie roared something that made Han smack him and Leia laugh harder. Luke rolled his eyes and flushed a pale pink, and Din made a note to himself to ask Luke for a translation later.

“I guess I’ll go talk to Bo then,” Cara uncrossed her arms and started towards the door, pausing a few feet away from it to look back. “You wanna come with, Fett?”

“I never want to talk to Kryze,” Boba stood anyway, holding out a hand for Cobb to take. “Except for you, Satine. You’re a delight, truly.”

Satine smiled.

They weren't able to make it much further before there was a knock at the door. It was loud and harsh and frantic, and then Koska and Bo-Katan were rushing in before anyone could open the door.

“Speak of the devil,” Boba murmured.

Bo-Katan ignored him.

“We have a problem,” she headed right towards Din. “Telk was just found dead on the palace steps. His neck was snapped.” she paused, something flashing across her face. It was so quick that Din couldn't identify it. “His--his helmet was taken.”

Din stared.

He could think of nothing to say, so he settled for this.

“Fucking hell.”

Chapter Text

Din and Luke had left for the palace with Paz trailing behind them as soon as they could, leaving Rey and Grogu with Luke’s parents. Bo-Katan and Boba went ahead of them--crowd control Bo-Katan had said--and when the three of them arrived they had barely been able to slip through the doors.

Telk was laid out in the center of the throne room. He still wore his armor, now looking soft and muted in it’s color, but where his helmet was missing a white cloth had been laid across his face. Luke knew the body would be here--there was nowhere else to take it, and with only thing keeping the Clan leaders back from the palace doors were Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls, there was nowhere else to move it to until they backed down--yet it was still jarring to look at, to see him so still.

Despite everything, Telk had been so full of life. It had been a bright spot in the Force, dark and swirling with confusion and uncertainty but still so bright, and now--

“You’ll give him the proper rights, won’t you?” Paz asked suddenly.

“Yes,” Din did not hesitate to answer him. He turned to look at Paz, placing a hand on his shoulder and waiting until he looked up at him before speaking again. “Gar ganar ner miit.”

Paz was silent for a moment. “Let me take his armor off and--and send him off on the next journey.” he spoke so softly, his voice cracking halfway through. Luke looked away from him. This was not for him to see. “I don’t want that shabuir anywhere near my--anywhere near him. He doesn't deserve it.”

“He won’t go anywhere near him, I promise.” Din squeezed Paz’s shoulder gently. “Telk was your family first.”

Paz nodded slowly. “Vor entye.”

It took Luke a moment to remember that Telk had been a foundling. One of Val’s foundlings. One of Paz’s foundlings.

“Ade’ika,” The Armorer rose from where she had been sitting next to Telk’s body, sparing a glance at Din and Luke before crossing the room to stand before Paz. Sabine had been sitting next to her, keeping a silent vigil over Telk with her, and she tracked the Armorer’s movements across the room.

Din greeted the Armorer with a gentle nod, stepping to stand beside Luke as she placed her hands on Paz’s shoulders and gently pressed her forehead against his.

“Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’la,” she murmured.

“Ni kar’taylir,” Paz replied just as softly.

Din let them be, taking hold of Luke’s hand and gently leading him over to Sabine. She looked up at them as they drew closer, but she did not stand.

“What happened?” Din asked.

“I don’t know,” Sabine shook her head, looking at Telk with a heavy ache in her eyes. Luke followed her gaze, felt something heavy and bitter settle in his chest. “He wasn’t killed here. Someone dumped the body, but I don’t--I couldn’t even begin to imagine who would do this.” she paused, then, “You could have Obi-Wan look at him like he did with Orlo.”

Din shook his head. “No. Dead or not, I won’t disrespect his Creed.”

“I understand that, but,” Sabine glanced at Luke. “Are you sure that’s the best decision?”

Luke stepped in before Din could answer, dragging his eyes away from Telk to look back at Sabine.

“I won’t ask anyone to disgrace Telk like that,” Luke spoke gently. He could feel the weight of Paz’s sudden stare, but he didn’t turn around to look. He squeezed Din’s hand and kept his gaze firmly locked with Sabine’s. “Orlo’s Creed was different. People were allowed to see his face, and if Uncle Ben can’t see someone’s face he can’t--” Luke paused and took in a shaky breath. “I--I know that Telk did some bad things, but he doesn’t deserve to have his Creed taken from him. Not like this.”

“He tried to kill you,” Sabine said it like a gentle reminder.

“And he won’t be the last to try,” Luke easily replied. Din stiffened, and Luke eased him with a gentle squeeze of his hand. “I don’t know everything Telk went through, but I do know that he deserves to rest.”

It fell silent for a moment.

“You speak wise words, alor,”

Luke finally turned to look behind him as the Armorer spoke, but before he could reply the doors to the throne room burst open. The noise of the Clan leaders demanding to enter shattered the near silence in the room, and then Pre was storming in with Boba chasing after him.

Paz stepped away from the Armorer and put himself directly between Pre and the others.

“Get out.” Paz said.

Pre faltered long enough for Boba to catch up to him. He placed a hand on Pre’s shoulder, ready to drag him back out, but Pre recovered quickly enough to shrug himself out of Boba’s hold.

“He is of my Clan--”

“He’s of my Clan too.” Paz spit it out, whatever civility he had left now gone. “I’ll be performing his last rights, I’ll be sending him off and I’ll be caring for his armor. You’re not needed here.”

Pre scowled. “You are not his father, Paz--”

“And neither are you! I don’t give a shit what vows you took, you were never his father! You gave up the right to be a father when you left me behind!” Paz snapped. He took a step towards Pre, his hand hovering dangerously close to his blaster. Din stepped away from Luke and headed towards Paz, but the Armorer was already moving closer to him. “You used him! You took away everything that make him Telk and just--”

“Paz.” The Armorer’s voice cut in, clear and commanding. “Ad’ika”.

Paz cut himself off, but it was not for long.

“Get the hell away from me,” Paz had gotten quieter, but instead of the explosive anger of before this one was cold and calculated and far more deadly. “Get away from me, get away from him, and stay the fuck away.”

Boba grabbed Pre’s shoulder and hauled him out before he could gather himself together enough to respond.

Chapter Text

When Din woke, Luke was gone.

He felt a sharp panic jolt his heart into skipping a few beats faster, and he was up and scrambling out of the bed and out of the room before he even realized he was moving.

Telk’s death still weighed heavily on his mind, and Din had been on edge all day and well into the night before a fitful sleep finally took him. The day had been...bad. Paz had taken the body back to his and Val’s home after Boba and Bo-Katan managed to clear everyone out, and Luke had insisted that they return to their own home and give Paz time to grieve. Din hadn’t wanted to leave Paz by himself, but he knew that Luke was right. Paz needed to grieve, and he needed to do it alone.

So Din had relented, had let Luke gently lead him back home, but before he could even step foot back into his kitchen he was being pulled off by Clan Leaders and into meeting after meeting before he finally got tired of it and told them all to fuck off and come back tomorrow.

Telk’s death was more than just a coincidence, Din knew that.

But Telk deserved to be grieved for first before his memory was fought over in political meetings and war rooms.

There was faint singing coming from Rey’s room.

Din stilled, his hand gripping the edge of the door frame as he hovered just outside his daughter’s room. He peered inside, and all his earlier panic melted away.

Luke was lying with Rey in her bed, propped up on his elbow and resting his cheek against his palm. Rey had pushed herself right up against his chest, curling her fingers in Luke’s sleepshirt while he traced gentle lines up and down her back. Grogu had curled up on the pillow, his head lying atop Rey’s as he listened to Luke quietly singing in a strange language.

It took Din a moment before he recognized the language as the old Naboo dialect Luke had sung in before.

Luke hummed the next few lines, ducking his head down to press a kiss to Grogu’s temple, then to Rey’s. She let out a soft whine and clung a little tighter to Luke, but did not wake.

“She had a nightmare,” Luke answered before Din could even ask.

Din finally entered the room, doing his best to walk as quietly as he could. He sat on the edge of the bed slowly, lifting a hand to tuck a few loose strands of Rey’s hair behind her ear. She turned towards the touch, letting go of Luke with one hand to reach for Din.

Grogu whined at the movement, then shuffled over to wedge himself in the junction of Luke’s neck and shoulder.

“I was already awake.” Luke looked up at Din. “That’s why I heard her shuffling around.”

Din nodded, then swung his legs up onto the bed so he could lie down. He put his arm around Luke’s waist and tangled their legs together. Rey shifted a little closer to Din not completely letting go of Luke, but still giving him a little extra wiggle room. Grogu squinted his eyes open and babbled something quietly before closing them again, wrapping his little arms around Luke’s neck. It was a tight fit, but they made it work.

“And what were you doing up?” Din asked. He kept his voice to a soft whisper, not wanting to wake Rey and Grogu.

“Just...thinking,” Luke looked back down at Rey, and after a moment of stillness he continued gently running his hand up and down her back. “Telk was a foundling under Val’s watch, right?”

“Yeah, he was.” Din could not quite hold back the heaviness in his voice. “He was older than most foundlings usually are, but he was a good kid. Real bright. He looked after the younger foundlings and helped Val out when Paz had to leave for off world missions.” Din paused, feeling his heart grow heavy. “Paz won’t say it, but he thinks of all those foundlings as his. He looks after them like any father would, but there was something about Telk that was just...different. I had never seen him care about a kid like that before--he brought the kid sweets when he came back from missions, let him stay at the house with him and Val--”

Din fell silent.

“He wanted to adopt him, didn’t he?” Luke put the pieces together anyway.

“He and Val did. Paz talked to me about it, asking what it was like with Grogu, what sort of changes they would have to make.” Din let out a shaky breath. “But Pre got to him first and he--Telk changed. I don’t know what happened, but the kid that I knew was gone before he even got his armor.”

Rey let out a soft whine, face scrunching up.

Grogu shuffled closer to her, not even waking as he did.

Luke was quick to soothe them, humming a few more lines of the old lullaby until both Rey and Grogu relaxed again.

Din waited a few more moments before continuing. “Paz and Val never really gave up on him. They kept trying to reach out to him and figure out what was wrong, but--” Din looked down at Rey, his throat growing tight. “I could never bring myself to tell them that Telk was already gone.”

Luke was silent for a while, and Din took the time to just look at him.

He looked regal in the moonlight, beautiful and somewhere far away from Din. His hair was spun into white gold, the deep sea in his eyes frozen to ice. And yet there were parts of Luke that were still soft and warm and welcoming, and when he looked back up at Din he was right back where he always was. At Din’s side.

“We can’t let them bury him alone,” Luke said softly.

“We won’t.” Din reached his hand up to gently hold Luke’s cheek. “We’ll be right there with them, mesh’la. I promise.”

--

They buried Telk just as the sun was beginning to rise, in the old lands that the Vizsla clan once held.

Leia had already been awake when Din and Luke were leaving the house, and she agreed to keep an eye on Grogu and Rey. She sent them both off with a quick hug, watching from the window as they hurried to the little house Paz and Val had marked as their own.

Val hadn’t looked surprised to see them when he opened the door. Mela was with him, clinging to his leg with wide eyes.

“He’s already there,” Val had said. “He--he wanted to say goodbye.”

It was not a long trip to where Paz was, and Luke hung back with Mela while Din and Val went over to him. The grave was dug already, a shovel stuck in the open ground. Luke couldn’t even imagine how long it must have taken to dig it by hand like that.

“He’ll find peace in his next journey,” Din murmured softly. “The Mand’alors past will let him have that.”

Val took Paz’s hand, squeezing it tightly as he pressed himself against his husbands side.

“I know.” Paz said quietly. “I just wished I could have given it to him during this journey.”

“I know.” Din echoed.

Luke looked away then. This was not for him to see.

Chapter Text

“You look tired,” Val sat next to Luke on the edge of the throne steps, looking out at the chaos unfolding before them.

They were moving ahead with the banquet in an attempt to gather information more than anything else, but the amount of prep and planning it required was far more than Luke had thought would be required. It had taken all of last week to properly plan it, which seemed like far more preparation for the spontaneous and thrown together gatherings Din spoke so fondly of.

Most of it had been security issues--which Bo-Katan and Cara had been on top of like a bloodhound--but Padme and Obi-Wan were having their own fun with seating and table arrangements. Obi-Wan had complained long enough to Din that he missed out on his nephew’s first wedding for Din to finally cave and let the older man wheedle his way into the banquet planning, and Padme had just naturally followed along and got away with it because Din was too afraid to tell her no.

Luke had asked his mother once at the beginning of the week if she should be getting back to Naboo, but she had easily waved him away.

He asked Leia then, and she told him that their mother’s handmaidens were handling things.

Luke hadn’t needed any more explanation than that.

They were setting up the throne room now for the banquet tonight. Din was dancing between Obi-Wan and Padme and all the rest of the poor palace staff that had been roped into this, trying his best to mediate and dictate where all the tables and seating should go, but it didn’t look like he was being very successful with it.

It looked more like he was just being tugged around like a rag doll.

“I’m okay.” Luke said automatically, looking away from all that and back to Val. He noticed on his pauldron that a new grey line had been added to those already painted there. “Rey’s just--she hasn’t been sleeping well.”

She hadn’t been sleeping well since Telk died, but Luke didn’t voice that.

“Nightmares?” Val asked quietly, then at Luke’s questioning glance, “She had them often when she first came to us. There wasn’t much I could do except wait them out until the morning.”

Luke nodded slowly, his heart sinking. They had been getting worse, and no matter how desperately Luke tried to wake her and pull her away from whatever she was being forced to live through, she wouldn't open her eyes. Not until the sun rose. All Luke could do was hold her close and hope it was enough.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Nearly every night this week.”

There was a loud crash. Luke looked up to see that someone had dropped a table, and while Obi-Wan was floating it back up to it’s right side position and waving away apologies, Din was standing off to the side with his head tilted back in an exasperated sigh. Luke had no idea where his mother went off to. She had Rey and Grogu, so he doubted she got very far.

Still, Luke smiled briefly at his husband before turning back to Val.

“Din and I have been staying in her room with her, but it’s not like any of us have been getting much sleep,” He finished. Then he blinked and shook his head, let out a soft sigh and smiled even softer at Val. “But that’s not--how are you and Paz doing?”

Val smiled back at him.

It was sad and full of a quiet sorrow, but there was something in Val’s eyes that made it seem like it was a pleasant sort of ache. A necessary grief.

“I miss him. We both do.” Val started slowly, like he wasn’t entirely sure that he was allowed to say these words. “But Telk has started the next journey in his path of the Mando’ad, one he has to take alone.” Val’s voice hitched. He paused to take in a shaky breath, and Luke reached forward to put a hand on his shoulder. Val leaned into it. “I just--I wish I could have been there to help him.”

Luke knew that death was not a permanent thing in this culture. It was a stepping stone, a bridge to cross to reunite with family and begin the next step of the Mandalore. Not gone, merely marching far away.

But he also knew Telk’s death was not the only thing on Val’s mind.

“Pre came to the house yesterday,” Val continued without any prompting. “He wanted Telk’s armor.”

Luke winced. “How did Paz take it?”

He could see how Pre’s stubbornness would be helpful in his role as Clan leader, but when it came to Paz it was really a miracle it hadn’t gotten Pre killed yet.

“I think he would have shot him if I wasn’t standing there.” Val answered with an easy shrug. He let out a heavy sigh then, looking up to the rest of the room and zeroing in on his husband almost immediately. Paz had wandered over to Din a few moments ago from whatever shadowed corner he had been hiding, Mela perched on his hip as he said something to the Mand’alor that neither of them could hear. “Paz told him the armor was going to Telk’s sister as soon as she was old enough for it.”

Val’s voice softened as he spoke, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Luke blinked, looked at Paz and Mela, and put the pieces together.

“You were right,” Val said quietly before Luke could actually ask. “We have plenty of time now.”

--

Luke ended up rescuing Rey from Anakin right as the banquet started, and Din had long since snatched Grogu back from Padme. Anakin had actually pouted when Luke took his daughter back, but he easily directed his father over to Paz and the little group of foundlings crowded around him. As he watched his father all but skip over, Luke noticed Pre hovering and waiting for an opportunity to sneak in and talk to Paz.

Luke scowled, took a step forward to head him off before he could reach Paz, but before he could go anywhere Rey latched on to his hand and pulled him back.

“No! Don’t go!” She looked startled by her outburst.

Luke immediately knelt down, placed one hand on Rey’s shoulder and let her keep holding his other. “What’s wrong, sunshine?”

“Don’t go.” she repeated. It was softer this time, but her grip on his hand was so tight that it hurt. She was scared, Luke realized. “He wants to hurt you and buir.”

Luke felt his blood run cold.

“Who does?”

Rey didn’t answer. She flung herself into Luke’s arms, holding him tight and clinging to him with all that her little body could manage. “He killed Telk and he wants to kill buir and you can’t go--”

Luke scooped her up, placed a hand on the back of her head and held her as close as he could. His heart was pounding as he looked around the room for Din, and as he frantically searched for his husband he locked eyes with Pre.

Pre glanced down at Rey, then smiled.

Chapter Text

It was almost funny how quickly Din found them after Luke ducked out of the room and into the quiet hall, both Anakin and Obi-Wan trailing after him like ducklings as they followed after Rey’s newly exploded Force signature. Luke himself was dizzy with it, kneeling on the ground next to her as his head spun and his legs shook.

Force sensitive.

She was Force sensitive and Luke had no idea.

“What happened?” Din passed Grogu off to Anakin as soon as he spotted Luke and Rey, kneeling on the ground in front of her without a thought. His cape pooled around him like gentle ocean waters. He cupped Rey’s cheeks between his palms with an equal gentleness, voice soft and soothing even with his helmet’s modulator as he wiped the tears away with slow strokes of his thumb. “Ad’ika, what’s wrong?”

Rey didn’t answer.

She let out a broken sob and flung herself at Din, holding on as tightly as she could as the Force around her shook. Luke swayed with it, threw out a hand against the wall to keep himself upright.

Grogu let out a distressed cry, nearly throwing himself out of Anakin’s arms as he tried to get to Rey.

Din looked to Luke as Rey’s little body shook with the force of her sobs, and even with his helmet Luke could see just how helpless his husband felt.

--

“I didn’t know,” Luke spoke slowly, not looking up from the ground. “That my child was Force sensitive.”

He was sitting outside of Rey’s room back at the house while Din was inside, singing Rey and Grogu quiet songs as he tried to ease them into a gentle sleep. There had been nothing that Din or Luke could do to sooth Rey’s cries, nothing they could do to ease her panic and fear, so Anakin had passed Grogu off to Luke and told them to go. I’ll handle the banquet he had said. Go take care of your family.

“She’s been suppressing it for a very long time,” Obi-Wan sat next to Luke with a quiet sigh. Luke hadn’t even heard him come into the house. “It’s hard to know something that doesn’t want to be known.”

“But I still should have--”

“Luke,” Obi-Wan cut him off gently before he could even get started. “I would be surprised if Rey even knew.”

Luke laughed, the guilt sitting bitter and heavy on his tongue. All those nightmares that Luke could have been doing something about. All those headaches and sleepless nights that could have been avoided if Luke had only known. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“It’s not supposed to make you feel anything. It’s just a fact.” Obi-Wan easily answered. “It’s up to you what you do with it.”

Luke didn’t say anything.

He felt sick with his guilt and the still lingering aftershocks of Rey’s Force signature. Luke had always felt Rey’s signature just like he had always felt Din’s, but it had been so small that he had thought nothing of it, that he hadn’t even thought that it was anything worth lingering over, that he hadn’t thought Rey was like him and Grogu--

“Do you know why I moved to Tatooine?” Obi-Wan asked suddenly.

Luke looked up at Obi-Wan, his thoughts derailing just as quickly as they had begun spiraling. “Because you wanted some quiet?”

“Because I wanted to be with my family.” Obi-Wan answered.

Luke blinked slowly.

“I was young when I met Satine--younger than you. It was right before the last of the Civil Wars broke out and the Jedi Order disbanded. I was assigned to protect her as she brokered a treaty between the Clans here and the ones on Concordia.” Obi-Wan paused, twisted his fingers in his robes as he took in a deep breath. “I did not know she was pregnant when I went back to Coruscant, and by the time I knew the Civil Wars were at their height and Satine had gone into hiding. I could not reach her without risking her safety, and so I left her to raise our son on her own.”

Obi-Wan paused again. It was longer this time, full of a quiet sorrow that had never really left. “I couldn’t do anything then, but that does not hinder my ability to do something now.” He took in a deep breath, and when he looked up again that pleasant smile was back on his face. “If I were you, I would go and help your husband put your children to bed.”

Obi-Wan stood, and just as quietly as he entered the house, he left it.

Luke sat in the lingering silence for only a moment before he got to his feet and slipped into Rey’s room.

Din was sitting on the floor by the bed, helmet off and resting on the nightstand, holding tight onto Rey’s hand as he sang softly in Mando’a. Rey was lying down with Grogu cuddled up right next to her with the blanket nearly pulled over her head, face still red and blotchy from her tears, but she shot up when Luke walked inside.

Luke’s heart sank as her spot in the Force flooded with fear.

“Are you mad at me?” she blurted out

“No, sunshine, not at all,” Luke was quick to ease her worries. He sat next to Din on the floor, holding out his hand and waiting for Rey to relax before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I just had to talk to Uncle Ben for a second, that’s all.”

Rey let out a quiet breath, and Luke reached up to pull her into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry,” Luke murmured, tucking Rey’s head underneath his chin. Grogu climbed up into her lap, squeezing himself between the two of them. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She sniffed. “Can--can you and buir and Grogu stay with me tonight?”

“Of course we can,” Luke easily answered. “Although your bed might be a bit small for all of us.”

That got him a quiet laugh.

“Why don’t we sleep in the living room,” Din snuck a hand up onto Luke’s hip, drawing slow circles with his thumb. “I’m sure we’ve got enough blankets.” he paused, then, “I think I’ve got some hot chocolate stashed away somewhere too.”

Rey grinned, and Grogu babbled excitedly.

Din reached up to press a kiss to Luke’s temple before he herded the kids up and out of bed.