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“It’s...nice.”
Din tilted his head to look at Luke. He almost couldn’t see him through the harsh glare of the sun--so bright that his helmet was struggling to filter it out. And yet Din thought he had never looked more beautiful, standing in the desolate landscape of Mandalore in his dust colored poncho and bucket hat because it’s a desert planet Din. “It’s a shit hole, cyar'ika.”
“That is certainly one way to describe it.” Luke said easily. He gently rocked a sleeping Finn, pressing a soft kiss to the boy's head and wrapping the shawl tighter around him as the wind whipped up a spray of sand.
It smacked into Din’s armor and sounded like little bells as it bounced off.
“Din said a bad word!” Rey giggled and tugged on Din’s hand, the last of the fading breeze making her poncho dance around her like butterfly wings. Grogu cooed in agreement from his spot in the birikad strapped across Din’s chest.
Din sighed.
—
Mandalore had once been beautiful.
Din remembered the Armorer telling stories of sprawling green forests and rivers so clear that you could see the silver fish swimming in the water like you could see the starlight. He remembered her telling him about the twin moons, how they danced and circled each other, how when they were both lit you couldn’t see a star in the sky. She told him about the mighty mythosaurs that roamed the grasslands and sand dunes, about the jai’galaar that swept from the skies, the only other creature besides the Mando’ade capable of taking down the ancient beasts that once gave them their armor.
She had told him about the bright red berries, the sweet purple fruits, the bitter root vegetables that they had grown in lush woods and fertile fields. She told him of the hotsprings up in the mountains, how even when it snowed the water stayed warm. She told him of Mandalore’s mighty ocean, how even in it’s rage it brought life and food.
Mandalore was nothing like that now.
It was nothing but dust and ruins of once towering cities and scraggly shrubbs and bleached bones and muddy pools of water.
It was, unfortunately, hospitable.
--
Din was given the old palace in Keldabe to reside in, since Sundari was still off limits for reasons Bo-Katan refused to disclose.
Din hated it.
It was too big, and Finn, Rey and Grogu had found too many places to hide.
--
“You’ll want to set up moisture tanks. There’s not enough liquid water here to sustain anyone, past a few days” Luke was walking with Din and Bo-Katan through the cracked glass greenhouses of the palace courtyards, taking it all in with the familiar eye of someone who knew painfully well just how barren deserts could be. The kids were left with Paz--not Din’s first choice of a babysitter, but his options were very limited.
At last Paz wouldn’t lose them.
Unlike Han, although he swore up and down that it wasn’t his fault.
The soil underneath the glass was dusty and gritty, sticking to Din’s boots and armor as he walked across it. But the years of keeping it locked away in the one greenhouse that was still intact had graced it with enough retained moisture to still be usable. They could grow crops--tiny, scraggly little crops, but it was a start. “I can rig some up easily enough if I can get the materials,” Luke continued. He paused in the center of the greenhouse, placing his hands on his hips and glancing around like he was planning the layout in his head. Beru did that same motion when she was thinking about layouts and building structures, and Din couldn’t quite help but to smile. “It won’t be as good as Aunt Beru’s, but…”
Luke trailed off. He was starting to look sad, so Din closed the few steps between them and took Luke’s hands in his own.
“We’ll figure it out,” Din said softly, gently knocking his head against Luke’s.
Bo-Katan narrowed her eyes, but didn’t say anything.
--
“Your kids are monsters.”
“Uh huh,“ Din nodded and took a sleeping Rey from Paz’s arms. “Did you lose at hide and seek again?”
--
Paz and Luke had left.
Gone back to Tatooine to get the materials for the moisture tanks because no one else knows how to make them right, Din, leaving Din behind with Bo-Katan all all his advisors and responsibilities. A few members of Din’s guard had tried to go with Luke, but he declined their offers and told them Paz had it covered. Luke even took the kids because they had wanted to go visit Nana Beru. Din, now that he thought about it, was pretty sure that was why Paz tagged along too. He had told Din it was just to pilot the cargo ship that would carry all the material back while Luke could take the kids on a joyride in the x-wing, as well as to pacify Din’s guard and their rather annoying concerns about Luke, but Din had seen Luke ratchet strap enough timber to build two houses onto that x-wing and still be able to fly it with the kind of reckless abandon only a rebellion pilot could have.
And Paz had once seriously asked Luke if he would be upset if he asked Beru to marry him.
Luke had punched Paz hard enough for that one that the bruise had lasted for weeks.
They were due to come back tonight, and Din found himself pacing around the living quarters of the palace while the sun set and the sky bleed reds and golds. He was working the hem of his cape--the deep red one that he found himself wearing more and more--between his fingers as he waited to hear Luke’s ping code come through the channels. He knew Luke would tease him for acting like a nervous housewife if he ever found out, but Din rather thought he was justified in it.
His husband had a bad habit of either coming home injured or bringing back surprises.
Not that Din could really talk, as Luke would happily remind him, but last time Luke went off he came back with Finn and half his ribs broken.
At least Din only came back with Rey.
Din gazed out the windows as he watched the sun dip lower and lower over the horizon and into the glassy sand dunes. They were floor to ceiling, tinted so Din could see out but no one could see in. Luke had said one night while they lay tangled in blankets on the couch that the windows reminded him of Coruscant, where everything was made of glass and busy days. Whether that reminder was a good or bad thing was still up in the air. Luke had never specified, and when Din had tried to ask Luke easily distracted him with a kiss, and Din had not tried to ask again. Coruscant was where Leia and Han and Jacen and Jaina were, but Coruscant was where a lot of Luke’s frustrations slept and brewed.
Din didn’t want Mandalore to be another Coruscant for Luke. Not like that.
He took in a deep breath, holding it until it burned.
The Mandalorian sunset had nothing on Tatooine’s. It did not explode the sky in hazy blues and deep purples and vibrant pinks and brilliant oranges. Here the sun set in shades of reds, it’s colors tinted by the dust that lingered in the atmosphere. But there was its own quiet beauty in it, Din thought. It’s own stubborn resilience. Because red was the color of love and devotion. Of family.
“Mand’alor,”
Din jerked as his com crackled with Koska’s voice.
“Your aliit has returned. They’re requesting clearance and are ready to dock.”
“Give them clearance then,” Din snapped, ignoring Koska’s bright ring of laughter. “Tell Luke I’ll be down to the docking port in a minute.”
“Of course.”
Din hurried out of the living quarters and skipped down the stairs in a near perfect imitation of his children, darting around sharp corners and hurrying down the halls as quickly as he could. He was sure that he looked silly to the guards as he rushed to meet his husband and children, but Din found it very difficult to properly care. They had not been on Mandalore very long, and he still couldn't quite believe that he didn’t have to wait such long stretches to see his family again, still a part of him that was afraid his family would get taken away from him again if he didn’t rush to get to them first.
Silly things to be afraid of, but things he was afraid of nonetheless.
Luke was just exiting the x-wing when Din got to the docking port, and he felt the tightness in his chest unwind and relax. Luke looked absolutely breathtaking —even though he was wearing his stupid poncho and bunket hat—with the light of the setting sun framing him in pretty shades of reds. It made his hair look like gold and his eyes like silver, and for a moment Din wasn’t sure if he would ever remember how to breathe. It was almost like Din was seeing Luke again for the first time, back on Tatooine at Peli’s shop, when Luke had been smiling brightly as the setting suns painted him in colors Din couldn’t even begin to name.
“Woah--hey--” Luke laughed as Din took hold of his waist and lifted him up and off the ladder, letting it ring out like soft bells and chimes. He clung tightly to Din’s shoulders as he hoisted his husband off the x-wing’s ladder, and he kept clinging to them even after he set Luke on the ground. Luke was smiling, cheeks rosey and flushed and hat knocked askew. “Miss me that much?”
“Always,” Din ducked his head down, lifting a hand to tip Luke’s hat back as pressed his forehead to his husband’s. Luke really hadn’t been gone for long--just the day. He had only left this morning, still taking the time to eat breakfast with Din and the kids and giving Din a goodbye kiss and a cheery see you soon before he left. Just like Luke did every morning.
But time never seemed to matter to Din’s heart.
Just the distance.
Then Din sharply pulled back and looked around the docking port because something was missing in this scenario and it was way too quiet. “...Luke, where are the kids?”
“Oh, they wanted to ride back with Paz and his new friend.” Luke easily answered. He placed his hands across Din’s chest, tracing up the lines of his armor and smoothing out the rumbled silky fabric of the cape with familiar movements. Luke hummed, picking a piece of lint off Din’s cape before artfully arranging it to drape across once shoulder. “They were right behind me--shouldn’t be too long before they dock.”
“Luke.” Din closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, repeating his husband's name with a firmer tone. “What new friend?”
--
Val was from a very old clan--one of the Lost Clans.
His armor was old, crafted in the old ways that only the Armorer remembered. It was not made of pure beskar, but it was more beskar than it was alloy. His signet has long since been worn away by the Tatooine sands and time, all that was left behind a few white strokes and lines of old paint.
So when Bo-Katan demanded to know what clan he was from, Val could only answer with I don’t know.
--
“Thank you, Sundrop,” Luke accepted the bolt Rey had handed him with a sweet smile, asking her to hold the bag of screws in return while he twisted on one of the last bolts for the moisture tank. She held the bag close to her chest while she watched Luke from her spot in his lap, wrapped up in his poncho like a little food roll, entirely fascinated by the construction process that was happening in front of her.
Finn had lost interest a while ago, and he had left Luke and Rey to take a nap in Din’s lap with Grogu.
Din and Luke had argued a bit on where to set up the first moisture tank, but eventually they agreed the best place for it right now would be in the greenhouses. Here they knew with a certainty that there was enough moisture in the air to pull out and store without damaging anything, and they could calibrate the system to better suit Mandalore’s atmosphere before moving it outside and doing the finite details. Once they had hashed it out every single member of Din’s guard except for Paz volunteered to help Luke set up the tank, but Luke had gently turned them all down. I appreciate the offer, he had said, but it’s very delicate equipment that’s very easy to break if you don’t know how to handle it.
They had all protested, saying they would be more than happy to help, and they only quieted with a stirn look from Din.
He had watched with satisfaction as they all slunk out of the throne room.
“Do you want to take a break?” Din asked softly. Luke didn’t stop his work, but Din continued on anyway. “You’ve been at this for half the day.”
Not that Din was necessarily complaining. Being cooped up in a blistering hot greenhouse all day wasn’t ideal, but it had given him a good excuse to slink away from his advisors, and it was a far better option than what he was supposed to be doing today. Now that more Clans and Tribes were returning, his advisors were getting more and more insistent that Din actually, you know, be out in public. People want to see their leader they had all insisted. It will be good for morality and unity among the people they had stressed. Mandalore must be a united front, and you must be the face behind it.
Din couldn’t imagine doing anything worse than that, so when Luke asked if he wanted to keep him company, Din dived out of his meeting while one of his advisors was in the middle of a speech.
“There’s still some of Beru’s hot cocoa left.” Din tacked on before Luke could even think to protest.
She always sent Luke home with a pot full when he visited. It usually took them a few weeks to get through it, but now with three kids it was more like a few days. Din and Luke had learned very quickly to not wait to drink it if they ever wanted some.
That got both Luke and Rey to perk up—and Din had to swallow a laugh at the little grease smear across Luke’s forehead—looking nearly identical as they stared at him with wide eyes. Grogu and Finn started to stir back into the waking world not even a moment later. Din gently ran his fingers along Grogu’s ear and pressed a soft kiss to Finn’s temple, offering his sons a soft smile as they both blinked open their eyes. “You boys up for some hot cocoa?”
Finn let out a sleepy yeah while Grogu babbled some nonsense words.
Din smiled, reaching for his helmet and slipping it back on just as the door to the greenhouse burst open. The panes of glass on the door rattled.
“Mand’alor,” Bo-Katan sauntered in, shooting a dirty look at Luke as she stopped just shy of Din. Luke scowled and gave her one right back. “You’re needed for a meeting.”
“Can it wait?” Din asked. He suspected the meeting was the one he jumped out the window of this morning.
Still staring at Luke, Bo-Katan answered. “No.”
Din let out a deep sigh, then gently roused Finn and Grogu from the last throes of sleep. He supposed he should go do the responsible kingly thing, even though the lure of Beru’s hot cocoa was enough to make him contemplate jumping out of the window again. Luke stood without prompt, setting Rey behind him before reaching for Grogu and helping a sleepy Finn up to his feet. “We’ll save some for you, sweetheart.” Luke smiled and kissed the side of Din’s helmet, then spun on his heel to address the kids with a bright smile. His bucket hat sat lopsidedly on his head. “Alright kiddo’s, we’ve gotta let buir work.”
Luke hurded up Rey and Finn, then gathered up the ends of his poncho to make a birikad for Grogu.
“Well, at least you’re finally learning.” Bo-Katan muttered it loud enough that she clearly meant for Luke to hear it.
Luke blinked and looked up, pausing his movements from where he had been tying the ends of the poncho around his neck. “What?”
Din, knowing exactly where this was going because Bo-Katan had never been subtle about her dislike of Luke, tried to stop it. “Don’t—
“Your place is with the Mand’alor’s children.” Bo-Katan said, ignoring Din’s warning. She crossed her arms and cocked her hip, staring Luke down like she was daring him to say anything. “As his riduur, it’s your job to watch after them and care for them, not to run off on off planet trips and do dirty work like this.” She gestured to the moisture tank and the parts scattered around with a wrinkled nose. “I know a farm boy doesn’t understand this, but this work is beneath you now.”
Din smacked his hand against his visor.
Luke was silent for all of five seconds.
“Excuse me?”
—
“I need you to come to Mandalore.”
Boba frowned. It looked like Din had caught him at a bad time, but Din always caught him at a bad time. “Why?”
“Because I’m afraid Luke and Bo-Katan might kill each other.” Din answered. He was looking somewhere over Boba’s shoulder because Boba decided to answer the holo while he was clearly preoccupied in bed. “I need you to babysit.”
He had pulled Bo-Katan off to the side after they had left the greenhouse and asked her what the fuck her problem was, then told her she had to go apologize to Luke. Bo-Katan had told him that all Jedi were the same and didn’t deserve her respect, even if this particular Jedi was her alor, and hadn’t spoken to Luke since outside of stiff words and snide comments. Luke, who usually brushes these things off, was done before it even began and was getting just as snide and snippy with her. Din was pretty sure Luke wouldn’t escalate it to something physical, but Bo-Katan had always been a little trigger happy.
Outside of banishing Bo-Katan to the other side of the planet until she calmed down, Din didn’t know what else to do.
“What’s Luke doing?” Cobb asked, popping his head into view of the call and sporting some rather impressive sex hair. “He’s not getting into fights again, is he?”
“No.” Din said. “Maybe.”
He always forgot Luke and Cobb used to be a thing before Din came in and literally scooped Luke up and spirited him away. A thing that wasn’t really a Thing so much as it was an off again on again hey I’m bored wanna make out thing but still a thing. A thing that Luke looks back on with a grimace because he said kissing Cobb had kind of felt like kissing his sibling, which he rather unfortunately has experience with. The Paz thing had been an accident. The Leia thing had been because she had a point to prove and Luke just so happened to be in the crossfire and they hadn’t known they were siblings yet, let alone that Luke was married.
Whatever. Cobb was Boba’s problem now.
Boba stared, then, “Do you hate me?”
Din tilted his head back and sighed. He could feel a headache coming on. Maybe he should just stick Luke with Val, because wherever Val went Paz wasn’t that far behind and Bo-Katan tended to be a little more respectful whenever he was around. Something about her knowing his father. It was, admittedly, quite funny to watch Paz trail after Val like some sort of little Tusken dog. “No, Boba, I don’t hate you.”
Then again, Paz always liked to egg Luke on.
“Really? Because it kind of sounds like you do.” Boba said. “Your twink is gonna finally off the princess and you want me to stop that?”
“Unfortunately.”
Boba was silent, but Din was silent for longer.
“Ugh. Fine. What time do I need to be there?”
—
Paz was walking with Val through the remains of the palace gardens, the dust clinging to their boots and the bright green shoots of new plants greeting them with happy sways, when Luke came storming in like a particularly dangerous thunderstorm. Luke had spent weeks quietly nursing the plant growth to where it is now with the help of his children, but they all seemed to shudder under his sudden temperament and anger. Paz would swear that they shrank back as Luke advanced, cowering under the shade of the newly replaced glass ceilings.
Hell, Paz could count on one hand the number of times Luke had looked that angry—once was when Din had showed back up on Nevarro half dead and with a little green baby, the other was when Luke had showed up on Nevarro half dead and demanding to see Din as he went on and on about that little green motherfucker.
Paz still didn’t know what that one had been about.
Val looked up curiously at him while Paz groaned as Luke got closer. He had been admiring how pretty Val looked in the tinted light of the newly tempered glass, how it cast lovely shades of pink and gold across his tanned face. He had even been thinking about finally swallowing down his nerves and buckling up and saying something like by the way, do you maybe want to get dinner sometime? But Luke had the uncanny ability to show up at the least convenient times.
“Oh fucking hell—“
“You—“ Luke pointed at Paz, grabbing his arm and tugging him off before he even finished his sentence. “—sparing. Now.”
“Wait just a second—“ Paz tried to protest, but Luke was having none of it today, it seemed.
“Now.”
Paz looked helplessly back at Val. He was hiding a giggle behind his hand, and Paz was so stunned by that that he went limp and let Luke drag him off and forgot entirely what he was about to say.
He had never seen Val laugh before.
—
This meeting was, unfortunately, not entirely pointless.
Din’s advisors were raising a very good point. Too many Clans and Tribes were making the pilgrimage back to Mandalore far faster than what their rebuilding efforts could keep up with. There was not enough space in Keldabe for everyone, not with the population growing so quickly, but they could not turn away anyone either. Well, Din wouldn’t turn anyone away. He had called them back home, and he would not send them away again.
“Then we’ll open Sundari.” Din said once the arguing quieted down enough for him to speak.
It seemed simple enough. From what Din understood Sundari had remained untouched throughout the war. It had been a base for Imperial operations on Mandalore, but with that came the knowledge that Sundari was well cared for and everything was still intact. It was an old city with good bones, nestled across from Keldabe with the dried river bend between the two cities, and if they tore down the biodome it would solve their problem without much hassle.
There was a stunned silence, and then Bo-Katan snapped her head towards him. “No. Absolutely not.”
Din leveled a hard look at her. She was already on thin ice. She knew she was, because a moment later she took a step back. “I understand there’s a complicated history there,” Din said slowly. He looked at Bo-Katan as he spoke, but he addressed everyone in the throne room. “But Sundari has good foundations. There are homes there. Places to live. And the air is purified enough that we can tear down its biodome for more building material.” Din softened his voice. “If we abandoned a place because of bad memories, we wouldn’t have come back to Mandalore.”
Bo-Katan looked away from him.
“That may be so,” someone else said. They sounded nervous. “But we can not reopen an entire city in a day. We’ll have to make the necessary adjustments that we’ve already make in Keldabe, and those things take time—“
“We’ll do it anyway. It needs to be done no matter how you look at it. Keldabe cannot be the only city we occupy.” Din said simply. “Sundari is the closest, so we’ll start there.” He turned away from Bo-Katan to look at his advisors. “And while we are opening Sundari, I’ll open the palace to those who need a place to stay.”
There was another moment of silence.
“That’s—thats highly unusual, Mand’alor—“
“I don’t care.” Din hummed, then clapped his hands together and stood from the throne. “We’ll discuss this more tomorrow. Time for bed.”
The gathered leaders looked confused, but they all rose to their feet and shuffled out of the throne room.
—
“What the fuck happened to your husband?”
Paz was limping, and Din was surprised by how not surprised he was to see it.
“Oh, you know.” Din offered his brother a hand, wrapping his arm around Paz’s shoulders and taking some of his weight. “Bo-Katan.” Then, “What happened that you got your ass beat so bad?”
Paz sighed. “Val laughed today.”
—
Paz wasn’t sure what the Mandalorian had asked. Something about the redirection of the rivers, he thought.
With the reopening of Sundari, Luke had insisted that the Kelta river be redug and redirected back to the original path right between the twin cities. It was still mostly there, but time and age had worn away parts of the banks and bits and pieces to just a flat extension of land. There was not enough liquid water on the entire planet to fill the river again right now, but Luke had explained to Din’s advisors and guards that it would be better to do it now so when it did come time to replace the water, they wouldn’t be scrambling and fighting the tides of the twin moons. Paz knew they were going to pump most of the water from the moisture tanks back into the river bed, since having that large body of water would help fertilize the soil, and only save enough to water plants and crops and to keep people hydrated and clean.
At least, that was the way Luke explained it, and Din’s advisors had listened to Luke on this one. He had been a moisture farmer, and if there was one thing Luke knew painstakingly well, it was water.
Din’s guards had clamored to help Luke with this project too, but Bo-Katan shut it down and told Luke she would handle it. Luke had not been pleased, and he looked like he was going to argue before Boba clapped a hand on his shoulder and drug Luke out of the throne room.
“Why don’t you go ask the Mand’alor.” Was Luke’s reply. He was in the greenhouse with the kids, tending to the crops with rather aggressive movements. He had been snappish and irritated all week, and Paz figured he should probably let it out on some plants now than on someone else later. That someone probably being him, since Boba was doing a pretty poor job at this babysitting thing. “Since I’m apparently not supposed to leave the karkin house.”
The Mandalorian blinked. “Uh—“
“Luke, are you okay?” Rey asked. She was kneeling next to him in her own little poncho and bucket hat, little shovel in hand as she looked at Luke with a frown.
“I’m fine, Sundrop.” Luke said curtly. “Just fine.”
Grogu babbled something in baby talk that Paz roughly translated to that’s banthashit buir! Finn nodded stoically in agreement.
Paz dropped a hand on the Mandalorian’s shoulder and started steering him towards the door before Luke could get any ideas. “Let me walk you.”
—
Din looked confused–an impressive accomplishment, since he was wearing his helmet.
“Luke is in charge of the river project,” Din said. He was slumped over in the throne with a tablet in hand, looking either like he was about to take a nap or just give up on life entirely. Historically, it could go either way. “He knows more than I do–go ask him.”
The Mandalorian groaned. “But he said to ask you!”
Paz gave his shoulder a sympathetic pat.
–
“Luke,” Din said softly. His heart felt impossibly heavy, and he struggled to let the words slip from his mouth. “Do you want to go spend a few days with Beru?”
“No.” Luke said it too quickly. He was standing by those too big windows, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the twin moons rise and the stars explode across the sky. He looked different like this, bathed in the silvery light. He looked more regal. More melancholic. “I don’t know.”
Din slid out from under the blankets of their bed, quietly making his way towards Luke.
He leaned back into Din’s chest as he wrapped his arms around Luke’s waist, holding him close and tight. Din nosed along the shell of his husband’s ear, then pressed a gentle kiss to Luke’s shoulder, right where the robe slipped off his arm. “You’re not happy here.” Din said quietly, holding Luke a little tighter.
“You’re an awful liar, Starlight.” Luke tilted his head up, pressing a kiss to the underside of Din’s jaw.
“But you’re not happy.” Din stressed, even though a heavy weight fell off his shoulders.
Luke sighed softly. “I’m not–” He paused, looking out the window. Even this late at night there were people milling about the city streets, buying goods from the night markets and meeting up with old friends. There was something comforting in it. Something that made Din’s chest warm. “I am happy, Din, I just don’t–I don’t understand Bo-Katan’s problem with me, that’s all.” He frowned, hiking his arms a little higher up his chest. “I mean, I knew she never really liked me in the first place, but I always thought that’s just because I was still on
Endor and you were coming back home all the time. But now it’s–I can’t do anything right.”
Luke’s eyes were wet, and Din felt his heart break.
“That’s not true, mesh’la,” Din gently turned Luke around, pressing a featherlight kiss to his temple before tucking Luke’s head underneath his chin. “We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish even half of this without you.”
Luke wrapped his arms around Din’s waist, burning his face in his chest.
He didn’t answer, and it was all Din could do just to hold his husband a little tighter.
–
The next morning, during Din’s daily briefing with his advisors, one of them threw a bitter toned challenge at him for the Darksaber while screaming something about Din disrespecting traditions and not doing enough to help his people rebuild. Din wasn’t really paying attention. He was too busy trying to find a diplomatic way to tell Bo-Katan to either chill the fuck out or get the fuck out.
He hated seeing Luke so sad.
“Can it wait?” Din sighed, dropping his head into his hands and willing his headache to go away. He’s had a constant one for the past week, it feels like. “I’ve had a long night.”
The Mandalorian who threw the challenge at him blinked, then stumbled back. “Oh, um. Yeah. Sure.”
Paz laughed.
–
“What’s your problem with him?”
“With who?” Bo-Katan didn’t look at Boba as he slid up on the barstool next to her. Not that he was expecting her too, but a little courtesy would have been nice.
Boba scoffed, flagging down the bartender to fetch him the largest glass of spatchka they offered, because any conversation with Bo-Katan was at least a three drink requirement. The lady nodded at him and headed off to fetch his drink with a graceful ease. Boba almost wished it was Cobb behind the bar. Ridiculous. “You know who,” Boba shot her a look, then glanced around the cantina. Luke always liked to sulk in shady places like these. The lights were low and dingy, but if he squinted he would swear he could see Paz and Val huddled in a back booth. No Luke though. Din must have the sulking front covered, then. “Djarin’s husband.”
Boba thanked the bartender as she set the drink in front of him, then downed half of it in one go. It burned going down.
Bo-Katan glanced at him with a scowl. “Why do you care?”
Boba narrowed his eyes.
“Listen, Kryze, I don’t like you, but Luke is important to me. He’s family. ” Boba set his glass down, and when he looked back up at Bo-Katan he was a little surprised to find her looking at him. “And right now he’s beating himself up trying to figure out what he did to piss you off.”
Luke’s snappy retorts and quick temper had left almost as quickly as they appeared, leaving behind a melancholic look and sad smiles, and he had stopped talking to Bo-Katan altogether. Din was nearly beside himself with worry, and Boba had finally said enough was enough. Luke was never good at staying angry with anyone, but Boba was great at it.
For a moment, Boba would swear he saw a flash of guilt across Bo-Katan’s face.
“The last Jedi I knew left my sister with a child to raise while he ran off across the galaxy.” she said sharply. She looked away from Boba, pulling her drink closer to her. She didn’t pick it up. “It’s only a matter of time before he does the same.”
“You’re forgetting something, princess,” Boba downed the rest of his spotchka. “Luke ain’t a Jedi. He’s a Mando just like the rest of us.”
–
Din felt his eye twitch.
He had walked into the morning brief and was met with arguing. Lots of arguing. Din didn’t even know what his advisors were arguing about, but it had been going on for an hour now and Din was tired of listening to it and all he wanted to do was go back to the palace and gather his family in a cuddle pile and just ignore everything for a little while. And maybe take a nap while he was at it.
He was so tired.
“Okay, that’s enough.” He did not raise his voice, but everyone fell silent anyway. “Until you all can get your act together and stop arguing, no one is getting any uj cake at the feasts.”
There was a beat of silence,
“You’re not...serious, are you?” Paz, who wasn’t an advisor and was only ever here to observe, asked it. He sounded almost amused.
“Guess you’re gonna find out.” Din answered. Then he stood from the throne, and walked out.
Luke was surprised when Din came home, but no less pleased, and when the kids barreled him over in a hug Din held them all close and didn’t let them go. He missed the quietness of Endor and the lazy days that came before he picked up the Darksaber, but Din would not trade this–being able to just go home to his family–for anything.
–
“Can we just start over?”
Bo-Katan hesitated. “I–” she paused, looking at Luke with an uncertainty in her gaze. There was an apology on the time of her tongue, an explanation and excuse, but Luke didn't want to hear it. “If that’s what you want.”
“I do.” Luke said. Then he stuck out his hand. “Luke Djarin-Skywalker.”
Bo-Katan stared at him, then hesitantly held out her own hand. Luke took it, held it loosely in his own. “Bo-Katan Kryze.”