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The crowd roared from outside the small red tent and for a moment, Luke panicked.
“Wait!” he called out, pulling Grogu closer to his chest.
Din paused, one hand on the tent flap, about to leave. They turned back to face him. Their expression was unreadable under the silver helmet, but the hard set of their shoulders revealed they were already mentally preparing for the fight ahead of them. Luke knew he should be doing the same.
Sir Gideon was a powerful foe, who had crossed oceans and seas once he had heard that the dark sword had been freed of its rocky prison. Din had only accepted the duel to the death to get revenge for the man who hurt their son. All of Din’s friends, Luke included, agreed that Gideon would not be winning this fight fairly. They all volunteered to act as lookout during the fight, to mitigate any backhanded play Gideon tried to play.
But rational thought had never been in play when it came to Din. Not when he heard the call of magic in the dead of night and slipped out of his castle, leaving just a note and his crown for Leia to see in the morning. Not when he decided to travel the countryside with a stranger and care for their changeling child. Not when he found himself savoring every stolen glance of brown hair when Din ducked into a river to wash themselves. Not when he realized he had fallen in love over a campfire, watching this knight care for a creature they could barely comprehend.
Before Din could question him, he stepped forward, shifting his hold on Grogu so he could hold out his hand hewn in bark.
“Take this.”
He whispered ancient words and his arm glowed green. He had never done this before but he knew he had to try. Din was about to fight for the right to weld a sword they didn’t even want, and if this was Luke’s last chance to make his feelings known, well he’d give it all he got.
He held his breath as the green light faded, but before he could give up, a flower sprouted between his pointer and middle finger. The green stem unfurled and it bloomed, thousands of white petals unfurling from the center. He plucked it and it stung like pulling off hair.
He slipped the flower between the plates of Din’s armor. They tilted their helmet down, tracking his movements.
“It’s a token. I…”
Luke’s hand hovered, feeling the need to explain himself, but no words felt right.
Before he could step back, Din gently took his wrist, holding him in place. He forced himself to make eye contact, wishing he could see those brown eyes through the visor.
Finally, Din spoke, voice low against the noise of the crowd, but Luke could hear it clear as a bell.
“You’ve got my back, right?”
Luke nodded, a small smile growing across his face. “Always.”
He expected Din to pull away, to unsheathe the sword that had caused all of this strife and walk toward the arena, but instead they pulled Luke closer, bringing their other hand to cup the back of Luke’s head. With gentle pressure there, they pull Luke in, until he feels the warm iron of their helmet against his brow.
He found his eyes sliding shut, the noise of the crowd fading away as he took in this moment.
“Give him hell,” he whispered and this close, he could hear their breathy chuckle.
“I think you’re more likely to do that.”
Finally, the two of them pulled back. He watched as Din did one last check on their armor, before taking Grogu from his arms. He busied himself with his cloak, not wanting to intrude on the moment.
Before long, Din handed back Grogu and felt the tent without a word, but not without first touching their gloved hand to the flower at their breast.
Luke pulled his hood over his head before looking down at Grogu.
“Come on, let’s make sure your buir has a fair fight.”
Grogu burbled happily as the two stepped outside, the roar of the crowd only growing as Din’s name was announced to the crowd. Luke turned away from the fight, walking with assured steps to his position. A small smile grew on his face when he saw two figures bearing Gideon’s crest sneaking around.
He put Grogu on the ground as he started to call his magic to him.
Those two wouldn’t even know what hit them.