Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

LIKE A BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER

Chapter 1: The Disparity

The air on Yavin 4 was always booming with life. Whether it be the bamboo forest not far from where he was now, or the frogs by the stream that Grogu was no longer chasing. Feeling it all exist as one massive living breathing system was relaxing. Here was a stronghold for the Force. It’s why he chose to set the academy here. This planet brought him peace.

It did not do the same for Grogu.

Grogu was losing more and more energy as the days passed, failing to hide his lethargy. He was getting training done, but his heart was never in it.

Luke palmed at the small gift Din- his mistake, Ahsoka had told him not to call the Mandalorian by his name unless he gave it to Luke- the Mandalorian had left his son. 

He felt guilty; of course he felt guilty. Who wouldn’t when splitting up a family like that? He had no idea how the Jedi Council could do this to so many. No idea how his father turned out to be the only one who hated the Council for it. Hating them for their rules against connection. Their laws against any healthy emotional processing. Yet they were right in a way; his attachment to Luke’s mother, his fear of losing her, is what turned him into a Sith. 

That is what everyone told him. Even his own father’s spirit told him that. 

Luke had no idea what he was doing. Very few scriptures were left of the Jedi Council and how it operated. He was in the dark. So, he would make do with what he had and what he had been told. He’d listen to the advice of those older than him. He would trust the ways of the Jedi Masters, the spirits, and Ahsoka... even if he didn’t fully agree.

He’d let Grogu decide the life he wanted.

Grogu’s choice was both the biggest relief and the biggest gut punch. He was Luke’s first student, and he was leaving so soon. Only receiving training for things he already knew, things he was just simply dusting off and reviewing. 

It was relieving because Luke was petrified of being a teacher. Terrified he would fail his students. Or that he wouldn’t be able to train them well enough for the galaxy’s cruelty. The crippling fear that he wasn’t a good enough teacher for any of this.

Maybe that was for the best.

This would give him time to prepare a better plan for teaching future students. Give him time to finish building the academy, hire aids, and have an actual training ground. 

He wasn’t nearly planned enough for Grogu. Luke didn’t even have his house built when he first took him on as a youngling student, let alone have a teaching plan. Taking Grogu in was a spur-of-the-moment decision. He only heard the pleas of a child to help him and his father. Luke was in his X-Wing before he even heard the message in its entirety.

He had helped their group escape death by taking out the Darth Troopers, and he did attempt to train Grogu; it just didn’t work out. Life was like that sometimes. Didn’t make this any easier or make Luke feel any less guilty.

It wasn’t hard to find the Mandalorian; it had only taken Luke a day to find where he was staying. N-1 Starfighters were easy to track, they were Pre-Empire, but they stuck out because of how flashy they were. He was on Tatooine, Mos Espa, to be specific. The city wasn’t the safest, but he knew who would help Grogu. It’d been years since he last saw Peli, but he knew she was still alive and safe. If anyone would help Grogu, it’d be her. 

He put the coordinates into Artoo. The astromech would have to pilot. It’d be easy for him; he’d taken over when Luke had got distracted or needed rest. It was the best option.

…it also may have allowed Luke to weasel out of any confrontation the Mandalorian might want to take with him.

Luke walked Grogu to his X-Wing in silence, feeling the Force sway with the unease at his decision. He went to lift the child inside, but Grogu had already effortlessly hopped into the pilot seat. Luke smirked, a half-hearted chuckle escaping his lips. For being so young, Grogu was very self-sufficient. 

Luke used the Force to lift Artoo into the droid seat of the X-Wing before hopping up onto the nose of the spacecraft. He knelt, taking his time to carefully clip Grogu’s seat belt and tighten it to fit him the best it could. It still was a tad too big for him, though it would have to do. 

Not that Grogu was paying attention to things like safety, he was too enraptured in gazing at his armored shirt. He was so happy, bouncing in the seat. Luke smiled. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more, Grogu,” Luke said softly; Grogu looked up at him confusedly. His ears drooped slightly as he let out a curious coo. “I hope you and your dad get along alright. If anything happens and you need help, I’ll always be here.”

Grogu nodded. He pushed forward images of the Mandalorian. ‘No, it’s buir!’ He said into the Force.

Luke still had no idea what that meant. He could only assume it was another name of Grogu’s dad. Maybe a code name of some sort as Grogu had already revealed his dad's name to him.

If Luke had to guess, he'd pin Grogu's mental age around that of a 5-year-old human, going off of his mannerisms and more advanced vocabulary- or more advanced vocabulary in the Force, at least. Vocally he could only babble. It was to be expected. He was separated from people for a little over 25 years. That would make anyone forget language skills but especially a young developing child.

He slid off the ship, taking several steps back to let it take off.

As it rose, he saw the top half of Grogu's head peak out the window. ‘Goodbye, Master Luke!’ Grogu said into the Force as he waved him goodbye. Luke waved back, even when the ship had turned to the point that Grogu couldn't see him. Even when it had lifted higher than the tallest bamboo stalk. 

He only dropped his hand once the ship had zipped away. 

Tatooine wasn’t far.

Grogu would be fine. 

He would be ok.

He was better with his dad anyway.

It was days later. 

During that time, Luke was able to solely focus on building the academy and training grounds. He was quite impressed with how much he had been able to get done, although most of the work was done by the worker droids his sister had supplied him with. 

He felt two very familiar presences enter the atmosphere before he saw the N-1 Starfighter. The last time he saw the Starfighter, he contemplated whether his mother had one, but not today. No, today, something else had his interest. He could feel anger spitting off into the Force from the ship. Oddly, it wasn’t Grogu who was doing it. In fact, this wasn’t any power fueled by the Force. Luke had to admit, his interest was peaked. 

He waited patiently with Artoo at his side. Artoo whirred excitedly, delighted to see the Mandalorian and Grogu again. Luke, however, knew an argument of some kind was stalking his way.

The Mandalorian emerged from the forest. Standing at the tree line to survey the landscape. Luke noticed Grogu was not with him. He had to still be on the ship. Not really a good sign. 

He strode forward. He walked with purpose, not prideful but like a soldier. Once free from the shade of the bamboo, the sun illuminated his armor. From how it shifted colors, Luke had to wonder if the metal naturally looked like that or if the Mandalorian had added a chrome finish of sorts.

Mando’s emotions were… palpable. It was mesmerizing. He was angry and insulted first and foremost, pushing out like the thick fog in the marshes on Dagoba. However, below that was a small breath of relief. And hidden deep beneath all of that, amplifying all these emotions, was hurt and rejection. So hot it was cold, or maybe the other way around, Luke couldn’t tell. The Mandalorian's mind existed as an iceberg, so much hidden beneath the surface. Thoughts were being offered, which Luke did not take part in, but there was something else. Something hiding in the dark shadows of his mind. Some thing that was trying to stay hidden.

Luke wouldn’t be viewing closer; that would be a complete invasion of privacy. Hell, even seeing the surface-level feelings was an invasion of privacy. He pulled back, like he would when any non-Force user would have intense emotions pushed into the Force. It didn’t do much. He was unable to block out the surface-level feelings. The Mandalorian was- seemingly unconsciously- launching it into the Force for every Force-sensitive person to see. He had never felt anything like this.

When feeling others' emotions through the Force it was what they were feeling at that moment and was only something baseline, happiness, anger, fear, pain, love, etc. It worked as a signal. With Mando, it was specific, angled, and attention-keeping.

Luke felt like an Alessian terror moth to light. It was so interesting. How could he not be captivated by this power? Something so new and inspiring?

The last time he met the Mandalorian was on the Moff's ship. His mind was much quieter then, but even then, he seemed to project his emotions a little; now it was only more so. He felt it was different from the Force on the ship, but he assumed he was wrong. He assumed it felt different because of how emotional this moment was for both Grogu and Mando. 

Evidently, he was wrong about being wrong. He had psyched himself out when he was right. Whatever this power was, it was not the Force.

‘What are you?’ He thought. He didn’t even know there were other forces out there other than Jedi- other than the Force.

“Jedi, we need to talk,” the Mandalorian said sternly, stopping a little too close to Luke. Luke smiled as politely as he could even though he’d much rather scoff at the Mandalorian. The man had to be trying to intimidate him, maybe subconsciously, but still. Artoo did not keep his comments silent, grumbling at the Mandalorian in binary. Luke was always shocked at all the dirty language the droid used.

“Mandalorian, I must say, I am surprised to see you here. What’s the occasion?” Luke asked. 

“We had a deal,” The Mandalorian said with an angry hiss to his voice. His modulator lowered his voice even more.

His smile never faltered, despite his confusion growing. “P- pardon?” He asked.

“You swore to train Grogu, and a man is only as good as his word. What are you proving here, Jedi?” the Mandalorian hissed, spitting Jedi out like a curse. Now Luke’s smile fell, his mouth hung open slightly as he tried to buffer through any response. 

“He was unwilling to give up his attachment to you,” Luke said, the words not his own and feeling increasingly wrong in his mouth the more he spoke them. Maybe it was the guilt, as he knew how hypocritical it was of him to say. Who was he to judge about attachments? He couldn’t think about himself right now. 

He spoke too quickly, not fully processing what he wanted to say before he said it, something he had a terrible habit of doing, “I was sure you would be happy to have your son back. Are you not?” He hid his wince of regret. That... was not how he meant to phrase it. 

It was worse when he felt the Mandalorian's feelings change, his hurt seeping through to the surface. He hesitated before speaking.

“I am delighted to have Grogu back, but I know he has powers he is struggling to control," he said slowly, his emotions shifting back on track to anger. "Powers that drain him if he uses too much of and powers you said you’d teach him how to use!” The Mandalorian said, his voice never rising in volume but still conveying how angry he was with every word he spoke. Luke felt him glaring at him through his black visor. The silence that followed was painfully tense. A chill draft could snap it. 

Mando finally sighed, releasing his anger with it. Vexation instead took centerstage. His mind worked lazily; Luke sensed his thoughts moving like leaves in an afternoon breeze- only more methodical. Luke waited patiently, half interested in what this man had to say and half just wanting to observe this power.

Everything in this man's mind was constantly moving. Constantly problem-solving. It was alive in its own way. Not like the planet below their feet, that was easy to describe. Mando's mind was indescribable.

“I want to know, do you honestly have no attachments? Is there not a single being out there you feel connected to?” He asked. He was calculative and nearly chiding. The Mandalorian was even resting his hands on his hips. It felt like he was being scolded by Leia. Speaking of, he needed to call her. It had been too long.

‘Focus, Luke,’ He corrected himself. He was significantly knocked off his game. His mind couldn't focus on one thing on an average day, but now that it was given many things to focus on? He was screwed.

He just needed a minute to gather what remained of his bearings.

Luke tried and failed to come up with some kind of response for several seconds, trying to say anything. Yet, he remained silent. If he couldn’t think of his own words, he could go off what Ahsoka said. “Grogu cannot live a foot in both worlds. He must be Mandalorian or Jedi-“

“Says who?” The Mandalorian cut in. “Why does he need to choose a side?”

“It’s… It’s the rules-”

“Your rules?”

“Well… no-” Luke stuttered, instantly regretting it. ‘Shit, shouldn’t have said that-’ he huffed, knowing the Mandalorian had already won whatever bizarre dispute or quarrel this was.

“Then why do they matter? You are the Jedi Master here. Several people live two lives. I also know that there has been a Mandalorian Jedi before.” Mando said. He tapped at a rectangular hilt on his belt, undoubtedly subconsciously. The hilt itself was… archaic. An artifact weapon of Mandalorian culture, yet it was a lightsaber hilt; it was just as much a Jedi artifact. It existed as both. 

It was also… dark. There was some… some kind of power emanating from it. It was the Force, yet it was intertwined with whatever power the Mandalorian had. How odd that it was connecting to his mind only. He had no idea how Mando could be retaining this much living power being exchanged.

He looked back to Mando. He paused a second longer before he spoke, “If they can do it… why can’t my son?”

Luke thought. In this situation, he was well defeated, outgunned with historical knowledge, and outwitted by a cleverly bold Mandalorian. If Grogu took advantage of these opportunities being presented to him, he would be more robust and better equipped to handle things. Luke could get a second chance with his first student. Mando would get to stay with his son. There were no downfalls. 

Except for one: he would have to enable this opportunity for all his students. He could not show favoritism. 

He needed to make a deal. 

He smiled politely.

“Ok.”

Mando took a step back, and although his face was obscured, Luke could tell he was receiving a confused and suspicious squint. Or at least, he envisioned it based on the emotions Mando was giving. “...What?” 

“I will teach Grogu with you; bring him up as a Mandalorian Jedi. However, when I get more students, they will need to be offered the same opportunity,” Luke said, biting his lip to not smirk as he felt the Mandalorian's puzzlement grow. 

ma

Mando scoffed, a bit in stupefaction. “Parents teach their children until they become apprentices. Then they are taught one on one. I am not interested in caring for dozens of children,” He explained sternly, though his mind gave away that the last part of his argument was a bluff. Luke smirked, he didn't need to call that out; he had a better argument lined up.

“Jedi are similar, we are supposed to be one on one with our padawans. However, we’re both making sacrifices here, aren’t we?” Luke asked. Mando huffed, causing Luke's cheeky grin to spread, but he hid it quickly. “Do you see me as Grogu’s parent?”

“No,” the Mandalorian replied curtly. 

“Then, by that logic, you would not be my student's parent. And you do not have to apprentice them. We can teach them more about our cultures, religions, and how to fight. That's all I expect of you.”

Mando huffed, crossing his arms disgruntled. He glanced back to the woods, where Grogu’s presence remained. He didn’t know if that ship was the safest for a child, but neither was sending him in an X-wing with a droid. Who was he to judge? 

Mando’s mind whirred away again. Once again, in entranced Luke. This time, however, he snapped himself out of it. This wasn't appropriate. He needed to train his brain not to get distracted or to peek into his psyche. He also needed to tell Mando of his power. Not now, it wasn’t the right time to inform him of his power now, but he would have to. Sooner rather than later.

Mando sighed loudly. “Is it only Grogu right now?”

“Yes, but I must stress that this is only for now. I will have more students in the future.”

Mando nodded. While reluctant, he seemed accepting of the idea. “I’ve always believed foundlings are the future, so… fine, I’ll help.”

Luke smiled wide. “Perfect! If you get your things, I’ll show you where your and Grogu’s room is.”

Mando nodded before stalking off to get Grogu. 

Artoo whirred judgmentally. ‘He was a lot nicer the last time we met,’ he beeped in binary.

“Well, I don’t believe I’ve been the most… welcoming. Can’t blame him for being defensive,” Luke sighed. He was also thankful he thought about including a guest room in the cabin. “Here’s to hoping it gets better with time, huh?”

Artoo made a doubtful whir before rolling off.

It didn’t take long for the Mandalorian to move his and Grogu’s things into the guest room. He didn’t have a lot. Though, he wasn’t one to judge. Luke didn't have much ether. The most he had was the Jedi scriptures and stuff Leia gave him to help furnish his house.

Luke began coming up with a schedule in his mind for the day. Since it didn’t take long for them to move in, there was plenty of time to train Grogu before lunch. After that, the Mandalorian could teach him, then they could eat dinner and then go to bed. Or should he talk to Grogu’s dad about what training he wanted? Was that better?

Luke turned, finding the Mandalorian standing just behind him. Luke somehow managed not to jump. For how loud he was in the Force, he really could sneak up on someone. Or... maybe Luke was just getting rusty. 

“Ah, great, I was just about to ask you something. How do you wanna handle Grogu’s training? I was thinking we could-”

“Separately.” He said, cutting Luke off entirely. His irritation sat like embers and hot ash in a dying fire.

Luke paused. “Ok… Well, since we have differing opinions of how Grogu should be taught, maybe we could watch each other's lessons and then discuss what we do and don’t want to be taught?” He proposed, trying to be as professional as possible. 

Mando thought. Luke noticed him touching his fingers to his thumb one by one, almost as a stimulating comfort. His emotions stirred with ambivalence. 

It was a little nice to know that he felt as awkward and nervous as Luke did. “Ok,” he grumbled, almost as if he was granting Luke a favor. Luke would try his best to not let his tone get under his skin.

Luke led them outside. Grogu was quick to fall into place by his side, with Mando trailing a little ways behind. Luke decided to work in the woods for today. Not the bamboo forest but the one that was closer to the stream Grogu liked. They couldn't go too far; escarpments lined the part of the forest that was closest to the stronghold in the Force. They'd be focusing on the circle of life, the movement of the Force through everything. He sits, Grogu next to him, copying his every move. 

He had a new way about him now. He was much more compliant and excited to learn now that his dad was there with him. It was good to see; it reassured Luke of his decision.

He felt the Mandalorian watching them quietly. Hopefully, he was thinking the same. Right now, he felt interested but still disgruntled by the circumstances they had been thrust into. 

“Place your hands on the ground, Grogu. Feel the Force flow through you and everything around you. The plants and animals 'give and take' from each other in the ecosystem. The rocks and soil that build the crust of the planet we sit on. The water and air that let us exist,” Luke instructed. Grogu did so, his power moving through the dirt. Feeling the Force in all things, living and not, nearby. Grogu was doing well. This exercise was predominantly focused on expanding one's range in the Force, “What do you feel?”

Grogu took his time in responding, pushing the answer into the Force. ‘Seedlings.’

Luke beamed. Where they sat was clear, only surrounded by mature trees. Grogu had to be reaching further into the forest for him to be able to find seedlings. “What else?”

Once again, Grogu took a while to respond. Once he did, he lit up with excitement. ‘Ship! Buir’s ship!’

That wasn’t what he was expecting. The Mandalorian’s ship wasn't far- Despite being in the bamboo forest, it was only a 10 to 15-minute walk from where they sat currently- but to find specific nonliving things in the Force was quite tricky. It was impressive that Grogu could not only sense it but actually recognized the ship as well.

“Very good, Grogu!” Luke praised. Grogu smiled at him, breaking his focus and connection to the Force. Luke sighed, chastising himself silently. That distraction was on him.

“What?” The Mandalorian asked.

“Grogu was able to find your ship with his powers,” Luke explained, “but I shouldn’t have praised him. I distracted him.”

“But... it was impressive, wasn’t it? Doesn’t he deserve praise for doing something impressive?” The Mandalorian asked, tilting his head slightly. 

“Yes, but not if it distracts him, I’ll save my praising for the end from now on.”

The Mandalorian obviously opposed his decision but was kind enough to keep silent. Luke wished he would just talk. Just voice his distaste and why he disagreed, but he wouldn’t. He turned slightly when he heard movement, watching Mando pick up a stick, look it over, take his vibroblade out, and begin to cut it. 

Strange as it was, it was none of his business. Whatever kept him out of his hair was OK by Luke’s standards. He turned forward, facing Grogu again.

The lesson continued. They practiced expanding Grogu’s field of range. The entire process was draining for him, but it was necessary. Each one of these lessons would help in the long run.

After only an hour, Luke decided to switch things up, letting Grogu take a break from using the Force. He chooses to brush Grogu up on Jedi ideals and ways of life.

“You know the Jedi code Grogu: There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force,” he said. Each time he finished a saying tenet, he waited for Grogu to repeat it back to him in the Force. He felt Mando’s offense rise slowly, his disapproval palpable and confusing Grogu. Luke waited for Mando to put in his two credits on the matter.

“You truly believe that suppressing emotions and passion is a way to live?” Mando asked with a grumble.

Luke sighed. He was glad he had his back to the man; he was starting to get peeved with him. “If you waited, I would explain more how I plan to teach it and live by it,” Luke snippily replied. Mando paused, feeling just as irritated as Luke but didn’t say anything more. 

Luke felt he had more of a right to be annoyed but shook it off. It didn't matter.

He continued, “The Jedi Code itself may seem simple upon reading it, but the true challenge, as I'm sure you know, is living it.” Luke said, giving pause for Mando’s interjections. He kept silent, Luke hearing him carve a long strip of bark off the stick. 

“Passion can rise to the surface. Emotions can cloud our thoughts. Chaos can spiral us from the harmony of the Force. And death can submerge us into the unfathomable darkness of grief, fear, and anger. We all find ourselves staring into the abyss at times. It is why some Jedi choose the life of solitude, but you have already made a choice to have connections, not that I blame you,” Luke said. “However, you must keep them sparse. You also must be ready to give up what you hold dear if you have to-”

The Mandalorian hastily interrupted again, “Loyalty and companionship are part of The Way. To give things up so easily is to have loose morals, is it not?” The Mandalorian asked his voice monotone and feeling judgmental.

Luke couldn’t help but feel undermined. He wasn't dealing well with being repeatedly questioned in his lesson- something he was already insecure about- in front of his student. He huffed, letting his frustration go in the breath he released. He would not let his insecurities control him. He didn’t need to prove anything.

“Grogu will always have strong morals, but due to life, especially how long his lifespan will be, he needs to prepare to let people go,” he turned to the Mandalorian. “And as for The Way, you need to be prepared to give up some of your ideals so Grogu can be equally Jedi and Mandalorian.”

The Mandalorian went silent. He wasn’t in agreement, his mind radiated the unwavering pique he seemed to permanently feel, but he said nothing more. Luke didn’t know what to do to smooth things over. He didn’t know if he even wanted to smooth things over. He wasn't even doing anything!

He just had to keep reminding himself it was the first night. They’d get the hang of it. They just had to keep trying. 

The Mandalorian spent the rest of the lesson messing with the stick he was carving. His rotten mood constantly flowed in waves, disrupting Grogu’s- and even Luke’s- focus. How odd for someone else to be pressing Luke’s buttons for once. Usually, it was the other way around.

Luke was now confident he liked it that way better. He could not take what he dealt. Call him a hypocrite all you want. He owned it.

The second Luke sees that it’s noon, he takes their lunch break. He picked Grogu up after hastily wrapping up their talk of Jedi's duties of keeping the Force in balance. “Good work, Grogu! What say we go get some lunch, huh?”

Luke turned, seeing the Mandalorian placing his vibroblade back on his belt. The stick he was messing with was gone.

Luke didn’t ask. He did, however, voice the plan he made earlier. “Hey, after lunch, do you want to teach him some Mandalorian things?”

Mando perked up, squaring his shoulders and standing straighter again. “I’d like that,” He said. His voice was a lot less rough than before. Not soft and still monotone, but less defensive and cold. Although his reaction was mild, his mind exposed how excited that made him. Happiness dripped off him like rain dripped from tree leaves after a storm. Startling Luke with its unexpectedness. 

He kept silent as he led the way back to the house. Trying to form any kind of theory on how someone could manipulate the Force like this. Luke just couldn't comprehend. Despite the title, he clearly wasn't a master of anything if he couldn't even form a theory of how Mando's mind worked.

As soon as he entered the house, he passed Grogu off to Mando. He headed off to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

He hears the Mandalorian speaking to his son in Mando’a, soft-voiced, and quiet. He can’t tell if the Mandalorian is purposefully or accidentally keeping Luke out of the conversation, but either way, it was happening. And Luke didn't like it.

For what seemed like the millionth time, Luke ignored it. These tiny things were eating at him like bugs on a bantha. When things got more comfortable, he could bring these issues up one by one, and they could then deal with them accordingly. That’d also be when he told Mando of his… power. Both the emotional projections and the dark thing in the shade of his mind that was trying so hard to be hidden.

For now, he needed to focus on lunch. Work on one thing at a time.

Since he hadn’t gone to any market recently, Luke was only left with ration packets. Which was usually the only thing he owned anyway. They were cheap and filling and simple. He knew he should splurge on the more expensive ones, ones that had fresh food rather then the ones he bought currently. They were dried foods and seasoning packets, with their tagline being 'just add water!' which didn't scream healthy. What mattered was that it was easy. Add hot water, and then boom, he had food. It was good- good enough for him and Grogu, at least. 

Today he decided on the Klonoid rations. They were delicious and very similar to Tatooine’s rations, but that was probably because they were both desert planets. The rations came in sectioned-off containers. Each section needing varying amounts of water. 

As they “cooked,"he couldn’t help but observe Mando and Grogu. Mando had set Grogu at the head of the table. Luke couldn't understand Mando'a, but from his repetition of words and constant questioning voice, he could guess the man was trying to get his son to say a variety of different words. 

His way of speaking around his son was odd. The Mandalorian was softer, speaking warmly and beaming with feelings of devotion and love. Yet, he still spoke in a somewhat monotone voice. That might have just been his manner of speaking, now that Luke thought about it. 

Leia often communicated quite curtly, but she always explained it away with the reasoning that she didn’t like wasting time with pointless small talk. She was to the point. Maybe Mando was similar. Maybe the man just didn’t bother with the tone. Perhaps the modulator in his helmet just made him sound colder. Maybe that could be one upside to Mando’s power. His emotions were easy to go off.

Luke watched them. Being nothing but a spectator in their happy and loving moment as father and son...

It was better he stayed disconnected from their conversation. Luke couldn’t get attached to Mando and Grogu, just like he wouldn't to any other student or student’s parents.

That did bring up another question. Would Luke have to let all parents stay with the students? Or only ones who could further their education? How was that fair?

He’d have to deal with the rules another time.

The food was done faster than he expected; he stuffed the ration wrappers in the cabinet. He’d throw them away later. 

He gave each of them their food, taking the other seat open on the other side of Grogu.

Grogu didn’t wait. He grabbed a fist full of the rice and bean curry and stuffed it in his mouth. Mando did not. He turned his head at it, his perplexed emotions floating off. “Is this… a ration?”

“Yeah,” Luke responded simply. 

The Mandalorian looked up slowly. “Do you always eat like a soldier in war?"

 “Well… it’s easy.”

Mando almost laughed. He gave a cursory look around Luke’s kitchen and then back to him. Luke felt the shock and incomprehension coursing off him. Mando honestly couldn’t believe he wouldn’t cook. “You have pots and pans, a knife set, everything you need, and more. Why would you not use them? You don’t seem like the lazy type. Do you not know how to use them?” He asked. It didn’t sound judgmental, he didn’t even feel like he was judging Luke, but Luke couldn’t help but feel judged.

Luke pressed his lips together as he felt his face heat. He could cook. Specifically, he could make one thing: a brownie recipe aunt Beru showed him. Other than that he wasn't great at it. In fact, he was both a fire hazard and a biohazard. So much so that everything in his kitchen was a gift from Leia to just poke fun at his horrendous cooking skills.

Mando chuckled. “I’ll cook from now on then. You and my son are not eating… rations for the rest of your life,” He said. Luke brightened. That was actually really nice! 

“Thank you!'' He said happily. He ate his ration, watching the Mandalorian interact with his son. He didn’t touch his ration at all. He felt slightly disgusted by it, but there was something more. There was another reason he wasn’t taking off his helmet. He remembered Ahsoka mentioning something about how Mando wasn't supposed to take it off because of his creed.

He still was confused by it as he had seen Mando take it off before... maybe it was a circumstantial creed.

Mando did not eat his ration, but it didn’t go to waste. After very nominal whining and big-eyed begging, Mando folded and slid his son the uneaten food. Grogu devoured it all. Luke would never understand the physics of how a child could be so gluttonous. 

Lunch was done with rather quickly. Luke didn’t have dishes to clean; everything in the ration packaging was meant to be disposable. It was another reason he loved rations, but he could deal with cleaning if Mando would cook. They left the cabin quickly, Luke beyond intrigued at everything encompassed in Mando’s ‘How to be a Mandalorian’ lessons.

He led the way out of the house and back to the training ground Luke was teaching at. Luke picked up Grogu and had to keep a speed walk to keep up with the Mandalorian. Glancing around, the man murmured to himself. Luke had to guess he was trying to find something specific.

“What are you looking for?” He asked, genuinely curious.

The Mandalorian hummed. “I made something when you were training Grogu…” He turned and straightened, his excitement hitting Luke like a quick mental shove. He blinked, watching Mando retrieve something hidden behind a tree.

Upon seeing it, Luke could only tilt his head more.

The Mandalorian had retrieved the stick he was messing with; that's what he was looking for. However, now it had been carved into a thick cylindrical staff that was the perfect size for Grogu. Pretty well made, given it was made only with a single vibroblade. Looking closer, Luke saw he had even carved a hilt for it.

He could have asked Luke for a staff, but instead, he made one. One with carvings to look like a lightsaber. It was just… it made Luke chuckle. He took a seat against the same tree Mando did only an hour ago, thoroughly interested in this lesson now. Curious as to how Mando would conduct ‘lightsaber training.’

While Mando gave Grogu the saber, he didn’t seem intent on showing him how to use it. Instead, Mando sat in front of Grogu, who was curiously staring at his dad. 

“I’ve taught you many things, but I haven’t taught you the most important thing. I haven’t in the slightest taught you the Way…” he paused. Sadness and grief twirled like a storm, quickly spreading across the area.

Luke pulled back in the Force a little more. This emotional wound was fresh, whatever it was. 'And also none of my business,’ Luke thought. Correcting himself in time to see Mando pull himself together. 

“I have not even taught you Resol'nare. Forgive me. I always thought you’d leave for good someday,” Mando said softly, lightly running his thumb over Grogu’s cheek. Grogu held his dad's hand with his much smaller clawed one. Pressing it closer to his cheek. The warmth that pushed off him was pleasant. It kept confusing Luke how he was affected by Mando's effortless- and surely accidental- emotional propulsion. How these feelings kept being turned into physical sensations that pressed against many of Luke's senses. They were small, yes, but it was still so… incredible. It was all so new.

And it was something he really needed to tell Mando about. As much as Luke reminded himself, he had a feeling he'd find some way to procrastinate it. 

He wished Ahsoka had told Mando of his powers. Or at least informed Luke of his powers. Maybe she knew Luke would get too curious, though. Or perhaps she didn’t even know Mando had powers. She might have written it off like Luke did. Not like he could ask her. She could not be contacted right now, too busy tracking "someone" who was in the Empire. That was more important.

Luke focused back in on the conversation.

“-so I’ll keep things short for you,” he looked at Luke. “If he has questions, you can translate.”

Luke frowned but nodded. He would have done it anyway. 

“Resol’nare is complicated and… vague. For you, ner ad’ika, you’ll learn 'the Way' I did when I was an adiik foundling. It’s a little rhyme you’ll learn to remember with time,” he said. Grogu nodded, letting his dad know he was ready. “Education and armor, self-defense, our tribe, our language, our leader—all help us survive.” He restated, clearly having said it many times before. “Follow the Six Actions, and you will embrace your soul and become a strong warrior. When you pass, hopefully very long from now, you will become one with me and all the rest of our Mandalorian brethren in the collective consciousness of Manda.”

Grogu perked up. He seemed excited by the idea of being one with his dad. He then paused. He looked to Luke. ‘Will I be able to go to Manda if I am a Jedi?’

Luke didn’t know that; he doubted that Mando did either. How could they? He knew he had no choice but to translate; the Mandalorian was already staring at him expectantly. “He asked if he’d be able to go to Manda if he was a Jedi,” Luke said. Mando’s emotions ticked out with fear and sadness. 

“I don’t know, Grogu,” he said. Mando didn’t lie to his son. Even if he had a good reason to, he didn’t. It was best he didn’t, as Grogu would have known, but Mando chose to be honest with his son even under the impression his son wouldn’t know. “Either way, you’ll be with someone. If you go to Manda, you’ll be with the Mandalorians. If you go to the… Force?” Mando looked at Luke for confirmation. Obviously, not knowing what the Force was, Luke would have to teach him about it later. Luke nodded. “The Force, and you’ll be with Luke. No matter what, you’ll be ok. You will never be alone,” Mando said, his voice thick with velvety benevolence.

Grogu nodded. He pushed a second message into the Force for Luke to translate. ‘Will I get more armor like you, buir?’

Luke wiggled a bit, knowing this would lead to another conflict. “He wants to know if he will get more armor.”

“Of course! Armor is part of our religion, just like weapons are!”

Luke chuckled awkwardly to try and bring it up as kindly as possible. “I mean, not too much, though. It’ll weigh him down, and then he can’t fight like a Jedi,” Luke said. Mando turned to look at him, his feelings of umbrage returning. Luke frowned. “The chainmail is enough, isn’t it?”

Luke felt his emotions sour. He could practically picture Mando’s scowl as he spoke. “No. It only protects his chest. And it can’t hold our signet.”

“Signet?” Luke tilted his head.

Mando gestured to the animal skull welded into his pauldron. “It's our clan marking, clan Mudhorn,” He explained. “He needs armor. He’s Mandalorian.” This time he almost shoved his annoyance outwards with every word he spoke, it dazing Luke momentarily.

“ And Jedi. He needs to be agile, not weighed down by armor.” Luke said, holding back a scoff. Mando did not hold back; he openly scoffed indignantly. Entirely moving on from the topic and ignoring Luke's point without acknowledging it.

As the lesson continued, Luke continued to analyze Mando’s powers and how they felt. Thankfully the man was feeling increasing calm happiness. Something light and relaxed. All while still trying to absorb all the information he could about Mandalorian culture, Mando was teaching his son. His lesson, like Luke's, never involved sparring. He talked about Manda, about their armor, about Grogu’s duty to be led by what is right and to not take allegiance to governments.

As much as Luke would like to defend the New Republic, something his sister and many other senators had poured everything they had into, Mando had never explicitly said the New Republic. He described the beliefs of an anarchist as what is best for Mandalorians to live.

“We are soldiers, warriors, but we are not political instruments. You, just like all Mandalorians, are far too strong to take orders from someone who sits in an office or in a kingdom, not even seeing soldiers as living beings. Just as pieces on an elaborate holochess board. We serve our clan, our friends, but we do not serve any government.”

Grogu tilted his head. ‘But… What about the Armorer? You served her orders.’ Grogu thought, confused and a little frustrated. Luke snorted at his adorable puzzlement.

“What?” Mando asked. Even if he couldn't feel his strange emotional lobs, one could tell he was irked and confused.

Luke rolled his eyes, “Sorry, he just got this pouty feeling in the Force. He is a little confused. He asked why you took orders from someone called ‘the Armorer.’ Was she a leader of some sort?” Luke asked, trying to ease the tension by talking about the Mandalorian hierarchy. Something he was interested in and something Mando could probably happily tell him about.

Instead, he had seemingly hit a sore spot. A concoction of terrible feelings flew from him, sadness, rejection, hopelessness, and grief. It touched Luke slowly, like humidity in the wind before a rainstorm. When the sky goes gray, when the sun is gone, and everything feels colder. When everything gets darker, and you don’t want to do anything. 

It was complete and utter consuming depression. 

Luke paused; he hadn’t expected this.

Mando packed his emotions back up as soon as they escaped. He felt annoyed, but Luke knew it was not pointed at him. Mando seemed more burdened by the fact that he had to deal with something as natural as emotions.

“She was the Tribe leader, yes, but we…” he paused as if even saying the words were painful. They most likely were. “...we are no longer in the Tribe. We are here, you and me,” he sighed, “and the Jedi.” 

Luke brightened a little. Happy to be included in this minuscule moment, even though it felt disingenuous. 

“I think that’s enough about culture for today,” Mando sighed.

Grogu smiled wide. He held up his wooden saber. ‘Saber training?’

Luke didn't need to translate; Mando understood instantly. “No, I think we’re done for today, kid. The sun is setting. Let's just head inside and get dinner, alright?” Mando said.

Luke tilted his head and looked skyward. It was, indeed, sunset. He hadn’t even realized how late it was. He stood with Mando, walking ahead to the house. His stomach wasn’t even rumbling, it felt empty, sure, and he was tired, but he wasn’t hungry yet. Or… maybe he was, and he didn’t realize it yet. That wasn’t uncommon for him.

As they enter, Luke is quickly reminded that Mando offered to cook when the man places Grogu in a seat and moves to the kitchen. Luke let him explore, not wanting to start any more unnecessary tiffs by getting in his space. 

Of course, he couldn’t be that lucky.

As he settled next to Grogu, he got him giggling by sharing funny memories into the mind connection they had made. He heard the cabinets stop opening and closing. Incredulity radiated off the Mandalorian in waves as he paused.

“… where's your food?”

Luke paused, feeling his face pale a little. He cursed himself. As he turned to the kitchen, he saw all the cabinets open. “I uh… I forgot to go shopping. I’ll go another time.” Luke sighed.

“Do you only have ration packets?” Mando asked in dubiety- as if expecting Luke to laugh and tell him it was all just a dumb joke. Luke felt his face flush a little. He, unfortunately, was not joking. He was, however, too prideful to admit fault. He doubled down on his ration stance.

“They are a perfect meal for Grogu and I. They’re filling and have high-calorie counts,” He defended, looking anywhere but at the Mandalorian. He looked up as he heard rustling, only flushing harder in embarrassment as the Mandalorian confusedly pulled out the ration wrappers stuffed on the top shelf mixed with some of the remaining rations. 

“Meg te haran- most of these are just the wrappers,” He said in shock and slight disgust. He looked at Luke. “Why are you keeping the wrappers? What are you going to use them for?”

Luke truthfully had no excuse, he hadn't realized he'd made a habit of just stowing them in the top cabinet and forgetting to clear them out. In his defense, he was a little busy building an entire academy, so forgive him for housekeeping not taking his top priority. “I just… forgot. I would have cleaned it… eventually...” He murmured.

“I thought you just made this house?”

“I made it a few months ago. I just... I had to move some things around,” Luke had no idea what he was even saying. He was banthashitting this entire conversation.

Mando stared at him. He scoffed, quickly glancing around the kitchen, finding the trash, and moving it closer. His confusion turned to what seemed to be his base emotion at this point: annoyance. He closed cabinets in a specific order, leaving the one with the ration wrappers open. He slowly snatched them up and threw them in the bin, staring at Luke the entire time through that black visor. “Oh wow,” he said mockingly, pushing his feelings of snark and derision forward, “would you look at that! A trash bin. It’s almost as if that's where trash goes!” 

Luke scowled, glaring at Mando. He walked into the kitchen, arms crossed. “You’re a real son of an anooba, you know that?” He hissed.

“Least I know how to clean up after myself like a functioning adult!” Mando scoffed.

“Well, if it pleases you so much, you can clean up after me too! Since I’m just so incompetent,” Luke gibed. He didn’t know why this was getting under his skin so much. This may have just been from the pile-up that was today.

“Don’t push my buttons, Skywalker-”

“Oh, I'm pushing buttons?! You have been smashing mine all day-!” 

They both stopped at hearing a whine. They turned their heads in sync to look at the child. His sad big brown eyes stared at them in confusion, his ears drooping and his lip in a plump pout. Both of them immediately eased, forgetting the squabble entirely. They walked forward, crouching next to Grogu, pressing shoulder to shoulder.

“Hey bud, it's ok,” Mando consoled in a hushed tone.

“Sorry for being loud,” Luke smiled tentatively.

“We’re just getting used to each other. Settling in.”

“Yeah, grown-ups just communicate loudly sometimes. You’ll get it when you're older.”

Mando scoffed. “He’s older than you-”

“Don’t start bucket-head.” Luke cut him off through gritted teeth.

Mando stared forward into nothingness, taking in a painfully slow breath. Irritation throbbed out before he let it out with a long sigh. “Let's get you fed, bud.”

Luke made three ration packets. Mando hesitated before accepting it. “I’ll take my meal outside.” He said swiftly. Before Luke could speak, he got up and left.

Luke rolled his eyes. He didn't want to eat with him anyway.

‘He’s not allowed to take his helmet off in front of people- no one in the Tribe is- it’s the Way to not show their face,' Grogu articulated perfectly into the Force. Luke looked at him, tilting his head. Tantalized by the possibility of finally getting some questions answered.

“Oh, I didn’t know that… What about on the Imperial ship? He took it off then.”

‘Saying goodbye. First time I saw his face.’

Luke stared a bit shell-shocked. He quickly tried to erase what the man looked like from his mind. He had no idea it was such an intimate moment. 

He couldn't help but wonder if that was why he was so hurt when Grogu brought up the other Mandalorians. 'Did Mando get chastised for taking it off in front of people? Punished in some way?' 

Luke paused before shaking his head. ‘None of my business,’ Luke admonished himself. What he needed to do was talk things over with the Mandalorian. Not worry about his personal life and (possible) religious trauma.

Luke took a moment alone with Grogu to get him excited about lightsaber training later on. Asking him what forms he wanted to master, only to learn the fantastic news that Grogu had never received any lightsaber training. He'd get to teach him that all on his own.

As they finished eating, Grogu looked at him with a question. 

‘What do you think of buir' s power?’

Luke smiled. He had almost entirely forgotten that Grogu could feel Mando’s power like he did. “It's very mesmerizing! I’ve never felt anything like it.”

‘Neither have I. It’s very nice! It's what drew me to him! I don’t like the Shadow, though... it's new. I don’t think it likes me much either,’ the last part, Grogu thought reluctantly.

“The Shadow?” Luke asked. “You mean the shade in his mind?” Grogu nodded. Luke thought back. 'The Shadow' definitely wasn’t welcoming, despite being the only thing in Mando’s mind that had the Force. However, he didn’t receive any distaste from it. He didn't get anything from it, frankly. To get a reading, he'd have to... 

He looked at Grogu skeptically. “Are you entering your dad's mind?”

Grogu looked like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Wide-eyed and guilty. He hesitantly took a big bite of food. Luke suspired in slight dismay. He couldn't really blame Grogu; he could only correct him.

“Don’t do that. It’s an invasion of privacy. Your dad doesn't even know he's sharing those emotions.”

‘I tried to tell him! I just... can’t manage to say it.’ Grogu sighed. Luke rubbed behind his ear comfortingly.

“I know. I’ll tell him. Do you know why Ahsoka didn’t tell him?”

Grogu looked up. ‘Thought he was just able to angle emotions. That he was only slightly Force sensitive. She also theorized that was the reason he and I bonded so closely, but she was wrong.’

Luke scoffed. Whatever Mando had, it was not the Force. It was possible that it was only evident now. Heck, even Luke wrote it off at first. He had plenty of theories on Mando's powers. None that made any sense, fact, or even logic. 'Hypothesis' might have been a more accurate word.

Grogu takes his last bite when Mando walks in. He takes the ration wrapped from everyone and throws them out.

“Mando, can you set up Grogu’s bed while I give him a bath? There are sheets and blankets in the closet next to your room.” 

Mando nodded mutely. Walking to do that immediately. 

Grogu doesn’t particularly enjoy bath time, but he doesn’t fight Luke on it. By the time he gets him out and dry, Grogu is exhausted. 

He exits the refresher, carrying a towel bundled Grogu, only to find Mando waiting for his son outside. He takes him immediately when Luke offers him. 

Grateful, Luke takes the opportunity to get changed himself.

As soon as he is shut away in his room, he strips and picks out sleepwear. He reevaluates the day as he goes through the motions of getting ready for bed, trying to see it through Mando’s lens.

After being told he’ll never see his son again, he gets him back unexpectedly and with no rhyme or reason. When confronting the Jedi, he learns that said Jedi is apparently willing to let him stay and train with his son if he makes a pretty big commitment. He and said Jedi have many differing beliefs. He’s on a new planet. Dealing with his own issues and possible punishments for breaking a creed.

Luke takes a breath. Clearly, Mando is going through… something. He’s just lashing out. It’s the first night. It's not an excuse for his actions, but at least Luke can understand that this isn't all on him. It's easier to handle that way. 

He just has to remember that once they settle, things will get more comfortable.

He walks out, hoping to catch Mando. He finds him leaning over Grogu’s crib. He’s murmuring in Mando’a. “Ni su’cuyi, gar kyr’adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum, ner buire Din.” 

It felt private. Luke quickly stepped back into the living room to wait for Mando to finish. Thankfully, it took seconds. Mando walked out and froze upon seeing him. Luke opened his mouth, ready to finally smooth things over like he wanted to all day, but Mando had other plans.

“I’m going for a walk. I’ll be gone for a while, so don’t wait up.” He said.

“Wha-” but he was gone before Luke could even finish a single word.

Luke sighed. Their problems could be dealt with some other time. Maybe they should just get a solid schedule down. 

They could just teach separately. 

They'd talk another time.

For now, Luke just wanted to sleep.

Thankfully, they had settled into a schedule: breakfast, Luke’s lessons, lunch, Mando’s lessons, dinner, and then Mando would usually leave on his walk, not returning anytime before Luke fell asleep.

They had made the unspoken agreement that Mando cooked and shopped for food while Luke cleaned both the dishes and the house. Partly to pitch in and partly to prove Mando wrong and that he did know how to pick up after himself.

Despite the perfect schedule and shared work, they both still didn’t get along too well. It had been a long two weeks with Mando. All the days were like the first, with button pushing and baiting backhanded comments. Admittedly, it was pretty equal antagonizing on both sides.

He was pretty sick of Mando, and Mando was pretty similar in the feeling, if not more so. 

Currently, it was Mando’s lesson, Luke took this moment alone, so he called his sister.

“Leia- I swear to the Force he’s the most karking annoying person ever!” He said, admittedly whining a bit. Laying on his bed, his telecomm on speaker next to him.

“Never heard of anyone who could get under your skin like this, other than me and occasionally Han, of course,” Leia said with a self-satisfied snicker. Luke could hear the clicking of her keyboard as she typed out political documents.

“He’s just so defiant and difficult to work with! Sometimes we're fine, sometimes he is nice. Then suddenly, he’s just so annoyed by everything I say. So, then I get pissed and get snippy with him! He gets more snippy with me and- ugh!”

“Ok, you keep saying he's so annoyed with you. I thought you said he had a helmet. How can you tell he’s annoyed?”

Luke sighed. He'd been trying to avoid this; it wasn't his place to air out Mando's business. But maybe Leia could help him figure out a plan on how to tell him he had powers. “I- I don’t even know how, but he can like… project his feelings.” Luke sighed.

“How so?” Leia asked. 

“I don’t know. Not a clue. It’s not even part of the Force…” Luke said. "I don't get a basis, I get the specific emotion he is feeling, other things he's thinking about, and that's all I can sense in the Force unless I pull back. It's almost overwhelming. And if he's angling his emotions at me? Tunnel vision. I can't focus on anything else. It has to be him doing it," He sighed.

He didn’t mention the fact that he somehow could block out Luke sensing him in the Force- moving like a blurry splotch when he wanted to be undetected. There were many times he had been able to sneak past or sneak up on Luke. He also didn't mention the shade in Mando's mind. Mostly because he didn't even know if it was real or just another power.

None of those facts were pertinent. Not yet anyway.

"Well, I don't think he can make you focus on something." Leia chuckled. Luke sighed, she had a point. But it did feel like that. It felt like Din's irritation towards him was the only thing that existed in the Force near him. Leia paused from her work. “Does he know he's doing this?”

“No. Not at all. It’s so… it’s so bizarre, Leia. It’s not even part of the Force!” Luke couldn’t help but repeat that fact. He didn’t know there was anything out there but the Force.

“Ok, well, firstly, it’s really not hard to believe there’s more out there than the Force. We live in a pretty big galaxy, Luke.” Leia said. Luke nodded reluctantly, grabbing the blanket next to him and wrapping himself up, “and secondly, you need to tell him he has powers immediately, or else it's going to bite you in the ass later.”

“I’ve been working up to it! I just… I can’t yet. I want to tell him when we’re… at peace with each other, I guess. We’re already fighting enough right now.”

Leia huffed, her typing continuing. “Ok, why are you two so at each other’s throats again?”

Luke rolled his eyes. Clearly, she wasn’t listening when he was ranting earlier. He couldn’t blame her, though. It had been over an hour, “He and I have different opinions on everything. The only thing that unites us is Grogu and making sure he is happy,” Luke said, shaking his head. 

“Have you, oh, I don’t know, tried having an adult conversation about what you both want with Grogu’s teachings and how to communicate better? Set personal boundaries? Tried to reach any middle ground? Or have you only said you should reach a middle ground and never discussed how to fix your issues?”

Luke crossed his arms. “I tried the first night.”

“Did you try again after that?”

Luke huffed. He traced one of the jagged scars that branched out and crisscrossed his whole body. This one was more blended, not as much of a stark contrast as some of the others. When he first saw them, they weren’t as jagged as he thought they’d be. The lines were solid, fluent lines. Looking like feathers or tree branches. Except less pretty. A whole lot less pretty. 

He pulled his sleeve down. He was looking for reasons to change topics, to be upset about something else. 

'Focus on problems that can be fixed.' 

“Why is it on me to fix things?” Luke griped.

“Why is it on Mando?” Point to Leia. She waited for Luke to answer. That was a terrible decision, really. Luke was excellent at not talking when he didn’t want to. “You could try to take the high road, be the diplomatic one, and talk out your feelings.”

Luke tsked, rolling his eyes at her. He tried that, but it didn't work.

Leia sighed longly. “Yeah, of course not. You're my brother. A Skywalker. Why talk things out when you can just ignore it, right?”

“Leia-”

“No, no, no, wise Jedi, please, keep not acknowledging the issues at hand. Please, please enlighten me. How are you going to handle this situation?” She asked sarcastically, speaking theatrically, never once stopping her typing. She was still working diligently.

Luke pursed his lips in a pout. “... put the ration wrappers in his bed or something, I don’t know,” he murmured. 

Leia snorted. “Petty.”

“I know it's childish, alright? I’ve just… I don’t know. I’ve not dealt with this before. When I say it, it sounds easy, talk things out. Make an agreement on what to give up on each side of our religions. The thing is, I don’t know this Jedi Council stuff! I don’t know what's important! What if I’m giving up things that are really important?”

Leia scoffed. “How right can they be? They’re all dead because of their shitty actions in creating the monster that was Darth Vader,” she snarled. Luke held in his huff; there was no point in trying to protect their father from Leia. “Plus, if they genuinely cared about their ideals, their ghosts would talk to you.”

“Most of them aren't ghosts, Leia. There’s a process. You can’t just become one,” Luke said carefully. Not trying to instigate anything.

“Whatever. They were wrong. Not to mention they pressured parents into giving up their children to have ‘a better life’ only to raise them to Padawans and shove them into war! Which was not only an overreach of power but also a WAR CRIME-”

“Leia!” Luke groaned, not wanting to hear another one of his sister's never-ending rants of how awful she thought the Jedi Order was.

“Sorry. The point is, you are building a new Jedi School. A better one. You give up what you need to ensure your students are disciplined but happy. Make the Jedi Code fit this new era of Jedi. Religion was always meant to be malleable so that it could be inclusive. Don’t make the same mistake as the last Order.”

“Leia, you know I can’t do that. The code is all I have left of the Old Jedi Order. If I change it for my own selfish reasons, then what example do I set for the New Order? I’ve already bent so many rules...” He said. He was glad his sister couldn’t feel his self-loathing, that they were on telecomm, so she didn't have to see it ether. He brought his knees tucked against his chest in a fetal position.

Leia let out a long-suffering sigh. She paused, going through many responses. She spoke softly but, as always, candid. “Ok. Fine. You won’t change it for yourself, something I don’t support at all,” she let her disapproval sit with Luke for a long moment of silence, “but since Grogu isn’t just a Jedi, you said you’ll make the code fit him, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s the thing, I… I think I’m avoiding that conversation because I don’t know what's important. I’ve taught him what I hold for myself, that I allow sparse attachments but that I prepare to let them go… but everything else… I don’t know.”

Leia sighed. “Ok, well… peacekeeping, harmony, serenity, those are all important, aren’t they? Maybe you’ll just have to teach them in a different way. As a teacher, you’ll have to change things to fit your students. While you value the Jedi Order's rules, others might find comfort in other rules. Their cultures rules. All you have to do for certain is keep them out of politics and war. That's it.”

Luke sighed. He nodded slowly. “You’re right,” he murmured. “Thank you, Leia.”

“You’re welcome. Oh, and Luke?”

Luke hesitated, pointer finger hovering over his telecomm to end the connection. He waited for her to continue.

“I would suggest actually talking to the Mandalorian. Unless you try, you never know if someone is your ally or enemy.”

Luke sighed. “Yes, my oh-so sagacious sister,” he said in mock mindless obedience. Leia snickered.

He ended the call, tapping his telecomm in his hand for a few seconds before emerging from his room and trotting outside. He was coming up behind them, seeing Mandos armor first and foremost. He kept forgetting the man had a jetpack just constantly attached to his back. How often did a jetpack come in handy that you never take it off?

Luke still had yet to see Mando teach Grogu with weapons like blades or his wooden lightsaber. However, he had bought Grogu another weapon about a day or two ago, a small slingshot, but that wasn't really a weapon, in Luke's opinion.

That was what he was doing today. He was practicing aim and arm strength.

Grogu pulled back the slingshot as far as he could, his arm shaking with the effort. Mando didn’t intervene. He sat on his heels, encouraging his son with his optimistic emotions. He might have been quietly saying something to him as well, but Luke couldn't hear it from this far away. He picked up to a jog.

Grogu released it, the rock once nestled in the slingshot flung far off course from the target. It bounced off a nearby tree and rolled down the little slope in the ground. Grogu gave a long disappointed sigh. He reached to the ground only to look around and find that no rocks remained. His ear sagged with the weight of his disappointment. Mando rubbed his back, telling him something in a semi-soft voice. Grogu perked up, excited. He ran to do whatever task his dad had sent him on just as Luke got to where they were.

Luke sat next to Mando as they both watched Grogu run off, picking up his rocks and a couple of new ones he liked. Luke placidly smiled. He looked at Mando, taking a deep breath before finally speaking. 

“I think we need to discuss how to reach a middle ground between our teachings. Could you skip your walk tonight? I’d like to talk when Grogu is asleep.”

Mando’s helmet turned a smidge, seemingly side-eyeing Luke. His emotions gave nothing away other than subtle interest. “Fine,” Mando settled shortly.

He stood quickly, trailing after Grogu. His cape shifted in the wind with his descent down the hillock but stayed tucked behind the heavy jetpack. How he carried all that armor and those weapons so effortlessly, Luke would never know.

Grogu met his dad at the treeline, flaunting a good few of the pebbles he had retrieved. Once close enough, he dropped his rocks and vaulted himself into his dad's arms. It was Grogu’s favorite move currently.

Grogu looked up and waved jovially to Luke. Luke chuckled. 

They had to make it work. For Grogu’s sake.

The sun had just crested over the mountains when Grogu had finally fallen asleep. Now he and Mando got the perfect opportunity to talk about their issues- Luke’s favorite thing, obviously.

Din took the seat across from Luke at the dinner table, his posture as rigid and uncomfortable as possible. Luke couldn’t blame him; he probably sat the same way. How funny that they finally agreed on something, that this interaction was horribly awkward.

‘How in the name of Malachor do you start this kinda conversation?’ Luke thought. He sat straighter as he thought up a plan for the conversation. Mando mirrored his movements of sitting up straighter. Luke hadn't realized he was tapping the table until the rhythmic tapping had stopped.

“What are things you won’t compromise on?” Luke asked. It was a broad question but maybe-.

“Attachments,” Mando replied without waiting a second.

Luke nodded. Maybe he would be able to explain himself better this time. “I think-”

Mando cut him off. “I am not letting Grogu grow up alone. You and I are humans. We can only live up to 100 years if we're lucky. He could live for a couple hundred. Maybe more. He’s only a child now, to have sparse attachments over many decades and centuries could lead to him being cold and unfriendly,” Mando said, clearly having prepared his own arguments for this discussion. “Not to mention you have your own attachments.”

Luke nodded, “I actually agree with you. I didn’t calculate how Grogu would live longer. I-” he paused, short-circuiting as he processed the last thing Mando said. “Wait a tick- how do you know about my attachments?”

“I heard you talking to a woman. I assume it was family or a friend from how you whined to her like a Loth-kitten to its mother.” He said carelessly. As if this action was to be expected.

Luke blinked slowly, his mouth dropping open. He laughed breathlessly in shock. The audacity of this man. “You were spying on me?”

“Yes. It was more overhearing you when I came in during Grogu's training. He wanted a snack. It also helps that you speak very loudly.

Luke blustered for any response he could think of. Luke was really starting to dislike Mando's powers. They shouldn't be able to manipulate his sense like that. 

Maybe it wasn't that Mando was powerful; maybe Luke was getting weak. Was he losing touch? 

...he couldn’t focus on that right now. He wouldn't. He was being selfish.

“Ok, well, that won’t be happening again,” Luke said, jumping back into the conversation.

“No promises,” Mando deadpanned. While he seemed serious, his emotions churned with humorous satire. He was making a joke. 

‘Didn’t know he knew how to do that,’ Luke thought bitterly. He resituated, relaxing a bit. “As for attachments, like I said, I agree with you. I think a stable support system will help Grogu. I still think we should prepare him for losing said connections.”

Mando nodded reluctantly, slumping in his chair. “I wish we could wait, but I know he can live… a long time. Better sooner than later.”

Luke smiled. He wanted to add an anecdote to facilitate Mando’s worries, “My old master was of Grogu’s species. He was around 900 when he passed.”

“900…” Mando repeated. “He’ll get to experience so much,” Mando said, sad happiness slowly hesitantly exuding from him. 

Luke didn't understand these contrasting sentiments. He wished he could see the reasoning behind what he was feeling, that Mando would just tell him, but he knew that was deep and personal. He wasn't nearly close enough to him to have that information. They didn’t even know each other.

Mando hummed in thought, moving on from the topic entirely. “I’d like to teach him the languages I know, including Mando’a. It's the language of the Mandalorians.”

“I would never fight you on that,” Luke responded briskly. “It’s knowledge! I would never speak against it. Not to mention it’ll help him in the long run.”

Mando bobbed his head in agreement, his emotions perking with excitement before becoming hesitant. “And armor-”

Luke sighed deeply. He knew this would come up. “I told you armor is too constricting. Jedi fight with agility and speed.”

Mando’s annoyance made itself potent. Moving out like a thick, too-warm murk. “He needs protection. He doesn't need your fighting style if he has his weapons and star-touched abilities!”

Luke went to argue but halted, once again caught off guard in this argument. “...'star-touched abilities?' What's that?” He asked. 'Was that Mando's power? Did Grogu have Mando's power?'

“The… the hand magic Jedis’ have…” Mando said, feeling slightly frustrated. Waving his hand vaguely in a gesture.

Luke really did try not to laugh. He really tried, covering his mouth as it bubbled up, but it was too late. He laughed- quietly at first- then more so when feeling Mando’s petulant- and slightly embarrassed- aggravation pulsating off of him. “It-it’s called the Force,” he stuttered out, trying to smother his laughter.

“I thought the Force was the afterlife,” Mado grumbled in confusion. 

“It is. It’s both,” Luke clarified, finally controlling his laughter. 

Mando hummed, his emotions cleared to understanding. “Well, Mandalorians apparently called their children with powers star-touched.”

He chuckled. "Apparently?”

“Well, I learned this from the Armorer quite recently." He paused. His emotions didn't consume him this time, but they were there. At the edges, prodding at him, circling like a hungry nexu. "When I was last with the Tribe, we spoke of Jedi and Mandalorian's antagonistic past, the history of the Darksaber, and how we Mandalorians explained the Jedi abilities.”

Luke nodded, thoroughly curious. The 'Darksaber' had to be the saber Mando possessed. “How did they explain it?”

“That you, as well as anyone else with powers like you, have been touched by Manda, the stars, given powers of warriors. It’s why we Mandalorians call Mandalorians with such powers kare’tigaanyc. They are very few and far between, but they exist. Or... existed for a while there. They just weren’t allowed to be Jedi and Mandalorian. Except for the one who made this," Mando grabbed his saber. "The Jedi Mand'alor.”

"Mand'alor?"

"Leader of the Mandalorians. He was a leader of our people and a Jedi. After him, though, Mandalorians didn't allow any star-touched- er- Force sensitive..." he hesitated, not knowing which to choose, "magical children into Jedi care. After some time, some families allowed it. Some didn't. My... the Tribe apparently believed that Jedi needed to be with Jedi. Mandalorians with Mandalorians. That Jedi Mandalorians were non-choosing middle grounders."

Luke nodded. It was quite captivating to hear about this history. He only knew so much history. He didn’t even know Mandalorians and Jedi had a past at all. It made sense that Mandalorians didn’t want to surrender their children to someone they didn’t get along with.

“If he has those abilities, why does he need to be acrobatic?”

“It’s part of it. It’s all cohesive, it... I don't know, it just-” Luke sighed, unable to word it right. He smirked, standing. “Why don’t I just show you?”

Mando tilted his head. “Show me?”

“Yeah, let's go spar. I can show you how effective my fighting style is.”

Mando’s interest peaked. He stood without another word and followed Luke out of the house. 

Luke led them up a hill to the right of the home and towards the academy, a flattened plot he had made specifically for duel training with his future students. The ground was solid and dry with a slight tilt. It was perfect for an even match. He grabbed two staffs from their container, tossing one to Mando.

“Let’s pretend these are lightsabers. I want you to duel me. A single hit means you're out. It has to be a solid hit, not grazing. Got it?”

Mando hesitated. “You are much better with lightsabers. I saw you take out those Darth Troopers like they were nothing.”

Luke beamed with pride. “It’s ‘cause of the Force-”

“No, it’s ‘cause it was a blazing hot laser sword versus a bunch of metal droids. Not to mention it's a fighting form you’ve perfected. I’m at a serious disadvantage.”

Luke hummed, understanding. “Well, how do you want to even the playing field?”

“Let's make it as realistic as possible. My armor can deflect blasters and your saber. So you'll have to hit me where I am not armored. I can also use my gauntlets. I will not use my blasters, though. It'd be a waste of time anyway with how much you hop around,” Mando commented with a quiet chuckle.

Luke tilted his head in acknowledgment, smirking widely. “Alright! That would sufficiently prove which fighting technique is more useful. Armored brute Mandalorian or flashy agile Jedi.”

Mando laughed in a monotone voice, the pleasing emotion pressed into Luke, warming his chest.

Maybe there were upsides to his power.

He took a starting stance. Luke stood in a similar pose but was less heavy-footed, readying himself for swift movements. Luke swung, this move being all for show. Just to instigate the fight. 

Mando charged. He was faster than Luke thought he’d be. He leaped up and over the Mandalorian with grace. He turned, swinging on Mando’s back, but it was blocked by Mando’s own staff. He tried to twist Luke’s wrist to an angle where his hand would be forced open and completely disarm him. Luke leaped back as he let his lightsaber turn, spinning it in his left hand until it was in a reverse stance when he was steady on his feet again.

Mando stood still. He was using his strength and weight on Luke. All he had to do was be quick and calculative. He could not allow a crossing of their staffs." 

He had to remain steps ahead.

Luke exposed an opening to be grabbed as he was switching stances. As he planned, Mando took it. Luke threw himself into it, offsetting Mando’s balance. He went under his arm, keeping it in his grasp. He brought it behind Mando’s back and against his jetpack. In a final move, he got his staff to Mando’s lower back, just below his jetpack where padding lay. He poked him sternly. Not hard enough to hurt but enough to be sure of his victory. Luke smiled. 

Mando gave a chuff of shock and genuine fascination. Luke let his arm go, getting off him. Mando turned, holding himself up on his elbow. He flexed the hand once pinned behind his back. He looked to Luke, radiating exhilaration. “Again.”

Luke blinked rapidly, feeling a smile spread on his face. He nodded determinedly. They retook their starting stances, each with slight corrections to better counteract the other.

This time, Mando didn’t wait. He swung first, forcing Luke to skip backward. Mando kept hurdling forward, stabbing the staff towards the ground, going for Luke's feet. He succeeded in making Luke trip himself with the first hit. Yet, he failed in his next hit. Luke rolled back under the staff and watched as it swished over him.

In his crouch, Luke swung out. It missed Mando by a long shot, but it was more to put space between them anyhow. Luke stood as quickly as he could. 

Mando made a swing, Luke having no choice but to curve his body to avoid it. Luckily, Mando was too confident in his hit as it opened him to a counter-attack. Taking the chance to strike back, Luke swung. His staff perfectly lodged itself against Mando’s neck, going under his helmet smoothly. 

“Kriff!” Mando cursed, his elation not dampening in the slightest. In fact, it might have climbed higher. “...got too excited,” he chuffed out. He was laughing. Luke smirked proudly, lowering his staff. Mando shook his head as if shaking out his distractions. “Let’s go again!” He demanded.

Again they went. This time they took far longer to start. Mando was trying to bait Luke into striking first. Luke allowed it. He ran up on his opponent's left side, encouraging Mando to dodge to his right. To go away from him as any sane opponent would. 

Except he didn’t, cause clearly Mando wasn't sane.

He dodged to his left, a little to the right of Luke.

As Luke skidded to a halt, a chord tied around both his ankles. Mando yanked him hard, completely hauling him off his feet. Mando brought up his staff victoriously, beginning to swing. They had never talked about Luke using the Force, but Mando did say he wanted it as realistic as possible, and Luke would be damned if he went down without a fight!

Not fully thinking about it, Luke flung Mando away with a thrust in the Force. If Luke had taken that second to think, he would have remembered that the grappling wire around both his ankles was attached to Mando’s gauntlet. Said gauntlet was very sturdy. It did not give. Instead, it took Luke along for the ride he sent Mando on.

Both men went flying with clangorous screams of confusion and alarm. They rolled down the hill they had hiked up only so long ago. It was far steeper than Luke thought it was. He felt the bruises he knew would form by morning. Feeling the dirt kick up around him as he continued to roll. 

Luke was alerted by the Force in time to land in a somewhat upright position. He didn't even look around for Mando; he just started untying the chord as fast as possible. Freeing himself was easier than he thought it would be. He stood about the same time Mando got his bearings and stood. They both looked each other over for a threat. There was none; neither had a staff. They both quickly glanced up to the training ground. 

At each other. Back to the training ground.

It was a race back to the top. 

Luke didn't look back before running up the hill. There was a staff caught on a rock halfway up the hillside. It was most likely initially Mando's, but that didn't matter. What mattered was who struck the other first. Not which staff was whose.

Luke dove for it, snatching it up and turning, ready to fight. Mando, however, was not behind him. 

Instead, the armored man was above him. 

His jetpack whooshed as he flew the short trip to the top of the hill, to the training ground. Luke’s mouth fell open as he stood. 'Wizard!' he thought. He bounced in delight before running the rest of the way up the sloped ground. 

He reached the top to find Mando ready and waiting for him. His staff pointed to Luke in a challenge. No words were exchanged, but his mind cast out his inflated faux-vanity and mischievousness.

Luke charged, the Force moving through him with ease. In his veins, his mind, his heart. Powering him. He went right suddenly, then jumped upward. He lifted his staff skyward, high above his head. 

Everything moved slowly. Luke could almost see his victory.

The Force screamed out an alarm of warning on his left. He saw Mando, who was still in a kneel, lift his gauntlet in slow motion and press a button. 

Fire shot at him.

Luke screeched like a startled animal- probably because he was one- as he hit the ground harshly. He got up as quick as he could, but not in time. Mando’s staff hit his stomach. Not hard enough to hurt but enough to wind him. Or maybe that was just the shock. 

“Finally!” Mando groaned, just as out of breath as Luke was.

“You- you shot fire at me!” Luke wheezed. Not mad. No. He was in astonishment, even laughing a little. 

“Yeah. Mandalorian style,” Mando preened in faux confidence, all in jest. “Pluses and minuses.” He grunted as he stood, offering a hand to Luke. Luke looked at Mando, seeing Yavin's other moons shine off the silver of his armor. He smiled, taking his hand and letting the man yank him to his feet. 

“Same with the Jedi,” Luke said. "Pros and cons."

Mando chortled. “Clearly. Kicked my ass twice, probably could kick it many times over.” He said humbly. He stabbed the staff into the hard dried dirt with minimal effort, leaning on it lazily. He was more relaxed now. Calmer now. “I think we’ve been going about this the wrong way.”

“Oh?” Luke asked.

Mando nodded. “We keep thinking it's one or the other, forgetting that Grogu is both equally Jedi and Mandalorian.”

Luke agreed. “Yes. It hasn’t been easy trying to find a mixture of the two.”

“I didn’t make it easy,” Mando conceded, taking Luke off-guard with his candor. “I’m sorry I’ve been a slimeball.” 

Mando certainly didn’t disappoint with how much he could surprise someone. Luke certainly wasn’t expecting an apology so soon, if at all. 

“Thank you,” Luke murmured, smiling softly. Mando bowed his head curtly. Luke’s smile turned sly. “So, how do you want to combine our fighting styles?”

“That he gets gauntlets like mine. He can…” Mando sighed a bit overdramatically “he can keep some of the armor off to keep him going fast and agile like you. I understand he needs to keep light. It's just that's what defines Mandalorians. It's what unites us. It's a big part of our culture and brings families closer together."

"I'm starting to get that now. I'm sorry for being insensitive about it. I didn't mean to invalidate Mandalorians. I'll try to be more mindful." Luke said, rubbing the back of his neck. Mando nodded in his appreciation. "Plus, if Grogu wants more, later on, he should get more," Luke said.

"Yes, but for now, let's stick with gauntlets and his chainmail.”

“Yes, and since it helped you so well in this fight, maybe we should get him a mini jetpack,” Luke quipped.

“That kid does not need any help in running away,” Mando scoffed with a laugh. Luke snorted mirthfully. “I’ll find a different way for him to have our signet.”

“You could have him wear it like a necklace like the other skull necklace he has,” Luke suggested. 

Mando looked up quickly, joy pushed off him. “He showed you the Mythosaur skull?”

“Of course. He takes great pride in it,” Luke responded, wishing he had brought this up earlier. 

Mando's mind released chest tickling delight and affection. “He’s such a good kid.” He said softly. 

“He is,” Luke's smile shrank as he settled from the adrenaline rush that was their spar. “Oh, and he’s gotta keep the helmet right? Can’t be a Mandalorian without it.”

Mando paused. Pain, fear, rejection, and loss shot through him suddenly. It made Luke stumble. It felt like he’d been dipped in an ice bath after just coming from a warm bed. “No. He won’t be doing that.” Mando said stoically. Suddenly, everything was locked up again. He was completely closed off from him once again. 

Luke was knocked off kilter, totally flabbergasted by the sudden turn of events. “Wait, but I thought-”

“We can’t make any of this. I can’t make any of this. I don’t know how I forgot that. He can't have a helmet or any other armor. Can’t even have the Mudhorn skull necklace. I- I don’t know what I was thinking… forget about the armor.” He sighed. He looked to Luke, straightening, his moment of vulnerability dissipating with every passing millisecond. He handed him the staff. “Good night, Luke. Thank you for sparring with me.”

With that, he was walking off, going his usual route for his walks in the woods. Leaving Luke disoriented and struck mute.  

‘What the kriff just happened?’ 

As he walked back, he began to piece it together as best he could. Luke wasn’t an idiot. It was easy to piece together a plausible scenario of what might have happened.

Mando had been rejected and, most likely, kicked out of his Tribe. His own religious group cast him out for reasons, suspectedly his helmet removal if this reaction and his talk with Grogu earlier was anything to go off of. They had to be close, didn’t they? How much that must have hurt, Luke could only imagine.

This still didn’t excuse Mando’s antagonizing for the past two weeks, but it finally explained it. Not to mention the man had just apologized. Luke would try to continue to be patient with him. He was glad that tonight had gone well right until that part.

Luke huffed; his breath began to fog a little. A stern warning breeze made his skin go rough with goosebumps. He sped walk back a little faster, not willing to be cold. Once he walked into the house in the dark, he peeked outside through the windows but did not see Mando's lustrous armor anywhere in the woods. 

That wasn't good.

He just wanted to check on him. Luke felt out in the Force, finding him promptly. He was no longer blocking out the Force. Instead, his powers lightly tugged on the Force, directing it to him.

He was by his Starfighter, radiating loss and self-loathing. 

Luke swiftly pulled back to himself. That was not any of his business. In the morning, Luke could check on him again, in person this time. Mando deserved his privacy, meaning Luke really needed to tell him of his projective empathic abilities. Just… not right now. Mando was going through enough. 

Luke only wanted to tell him because he felt guilty he was keeping it a secret, but sometimes keeping secrets was ok.

...right?

Luke awoke with the sun cracking over the hills. Light shined bright warm hues through his window. He knew it was just starting to heat up the cold surface of Yavin. It got colder at night here with the ocean wind. Luke had no clue how Mando stuck out his evening walks. He got up, slowly slinking his way to his dresser. 

As always, Luke wore long-sleeved robes. However, the ones he owned now were black, tighter, not loose. He didn’t like risking his scars showing to people. 

Despite hailing him as a hero, people would never do the same to his scars, even if only at a glance. They'd be perfectly transparent with their disgust or pity. No one wanted to know what taking down the Empire really cost him. They just wanted to glorify him as a hero. 

That was easier. 

Luke had just tightened his sleeve cuffs when he heard footsteps enter the house. He paused, not feeling the being at first. He knew who it was; only one person could block the Force like that. Only one could move like a blur in the Force, as if he wasn't even there, when he wanted to be discrete. 

Luke finished getting dressed as he peeked out. Just in case he was wrong, he was cautious. Mando was in the kitchen, already beginning to cook. The caf released its delectable scent as it began to brew.

Luke walked behind him. Mando noticed him far quicker than he expected him to. He didn’t say anything, giving a slow and defined nod of greeting. Luke nodded back, standing there feeling stupid until he gave up on whatever idea he had in mind. Something he'd clearly forgotten. He went back to Grogu’s room. 

The child was akin to Luke in terms of waking up. As in, they were both not morning people. He took many minutes to get up and get dressed, constantly trying to waddle back to his bed. Mando’s bed is perfectly made, as always. He always thought it was odd how Mando made it perfectly. As if they hadn’t been slept in at all. 

Everyone had their routine, though. Luke’s routine was leaving his bed- which could only be described as looking like a child’s failed pillow fort or possibly a poorly made cocoon of blankets and too many pillows- and chugging a pot of caf. Something he could really go for right now.

He made his way out to the kitchen, Grogu following him, rubbing his eyes and yawning dramatically. 

Luke snatched up the fat caf pot. It was half full only because Mando had taken his portion already. Luke gave himself the rest, pouring it into his favorite mug. It was big enough to hold more than half of the pot, but Luke was a sweet lover. He looked for the sugar and blue milk, getting increasingly frustrated that he couldn't find it first try. A quick chirp in the Force hooked his attention. He turned to Mando, who, blessed be, was offering him the milk. 

“Sugar is behind the caf pot. You hid it yesterday morning when Grogu tried to steal it,” Mando said. He felt tired, but that was usual for every morning. Despite waking up ready to start working immediately, Mando wasn’t much of a morning person either. He would need to thank him for his sacrifice.

Luke sighed gratefully. “Thank you. ” He murmured.

Mando dipped his head. He was cooking some eggs and some kind of meat Luke was too tired to identify. He could smell toast and something sweet. Luke took a seat next to Grogu. 

He wanted to talk, deciding to go for more joking. Hoping to get back into the groove they were having last night. “What is the plan for your lesson? Going to finally teach Grogu some lightsaber training with the saber you made him?” He asked humorously.

Mando felt confused, turning as he began to plate. “Why would I teach him lightsaber training?”

“Well… I assumed you had some ideas. You made him a little training saber.”

Mando tilted his head. “Yes… to help him when training with you. I know you wouldn’t give him a saber yet-” Luke looked at Grogu, who side-eyed him back, so much so that the whites of his eyes were showing slightly. He almost did give him a saber. Though it seemed he and Grogu were in agreement. Mando did not need to know that, “-but I know he’s small, so… I don’t know, I made him one so he wouldn’t struggle.”

Luke smiled. “That’s really nice of you, Mando. Thank you, you made my job easier.”

“Ah… admittedly, I didn’t even think about that, just wanted to get him a gift... But glad I could do that for you,” He said.

Luke snorted. At least he was honest.

He set out the food for breakfast, precisely what Luke thought it’d be. The meat was a sausage of some kind. Luke could care less. It was better than rations. He honestly forgot how good real food was until Mando started cooking for them all. Luke smiled at Mando, who wasn't paying attention. He was packing up a plate. Right, he couldn't remove his helmet.

Luke spoke up quickly. "Can you take off your helmet in front of Grogu?"

Mando looked at him. He hesitated, filling with indecision and unease. This was more of a choice thing for him. He seemed to decide something, relaxing. "Yes, he's in my clan."

Grogu cooed happily.

Luke nodded. "So if I put on a blindfold, you could stay for breakfast?"

Mando's feelings scampered in anxiousness. "You don't have to do that-"

"I want to. Plus, then I can practice using other senses other than sight."

Mando paused for a long while. Slowly he sat. "That would be ok... thank you. I appreciate it."

Luke nodded. He got up, grabbed a blindfold from his room, and returned to his seat, wrapping his eyes until he was sufficiently blinded. 

He heard the helmet click. The shuffle that followed Luke assumed was him putting his helmet on the table. 

"What do you want?"

Luke tilted his head. "Pardon?"

"For breakfast. What would you like on your plate?"

"Oh, I can get it-"

"Stop talking and just tell me what you want."

Luke sighed. "Everything."

Mando laughed. Luke heard things being put onto his plate. This could work. Like, really work. They were already finding ways to function together and adapt to each other, that had to be something.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: The Palace

Din blinked slowly, his eyes adjusting. Darkness surrounded him now. He turned slowly, surveying the ever-changing place surrounding him. It looked like a forest at night one second, a deep part in a cave the next. 

There was light, a faraway white slice in the sky. It only illuminated this place so much. 

How did he get here? Where even was here?

He heard whispers but when he turned to them they went quiet. 

There was something else now. The sound of footsteps changing accordingly to the location. The rough crunch of rocks grinding as they walked on the gravel path of a city, changing to the shifting of sands of a dark deserted desert, to the squelch of wet grass being pressed down in an open plain.

Din noticed two things, 1. there was no one else, just him and this person, and 2. whoever this person was, they were only getting closer as they circled. 

Din tried to ignite the fire on his gauntlet... only to find he wore no gauntlet. He wasn't wearing any armor. Not even his helmet. He was completely and utterly exposed. Defenseless. Only in his underclothes.

There was a pause from his stalker. In the dead stillness, he was able to finally locate the individual. 

They were hunched down in a crouch, still in the dark of the surroundings. All their weight was resting on the balls of their feet, their arms resting on their brought-up knees. Their cape encircled them, hiding their body in the shade of it.

It made him realize he didn't find this person. They wanted Din to see them.

His heart dropped when the figure stood. They were large, larger than him. Their armor was Mandalorian, pale white with blue accents. The style of armor they wore had to be from at least 1,000 years ago. Their helmet arched at a slope and held a symbol. Something he thought he recognized but couldn't quite place it.

They held something in their right hand.

Din stepped back. He knew that hilt.

The Mandalorian ignited the Darksaber.

Din was so kriffed. He wasn't fast, not like Luke. He didn't know if he could outrun this person, especially in the dark in a place that changed biome every few seconds. He'd trip and get stabbed. Fighting was his only option, but he had to be smart. Trying to get the first hit would get him stabbed faster than running would. He'd have to be defensive. He raised his fists, focusing on his opponent.

The Mandalorian chuckled. They sliced, and although he jumped back, the blade still cut into his shoulder. He cursed, but refused to check the wound, he would not allow himself to expose any opening to be attacked again. He let his pain only infuriate him. He glared at the Mandalorian.

They curled back with a hiss, shaking their head as if hit by something. They held the temple of their helmet, seemingly calming down only to freeze. They looked up at Din swiftly. 

Din could feel the atmosphere change, from tense to deep interest. 

They walked up slowly, holding the saber away; a bargaining gesture, it was as if the Mandalorian was saying 'don't hit me, I won't hit you.' 

While he didn't swing on the Mandalorian, Din did step back, feeling his muscles tense the closer they got. He forced an angry face, pushing forward all the anger he could to try and force himself to attack instead of being a coward, sitting there like a mind-numbed animal begging to be slaughtered. 

The Mandalorian paused another time. Once again, they were pained by seemingly nothing.

They sighed deeply, teetering on enraged. It was fast when they grabbed Din just below the rounded corners of his jawline, threatening to choke him with a firm press of their fingers on the sides of his neck.

Din still stayed still. His body still refused any action he willed it to do. Of all fear reactions, freezing had to be his least favorite. He felt powerless to do anything.

They turned his head slightly, forcing him to face them. There was a strange sensation in his mind. A brushing motion, as if someone was running their hands along his brain.

His opponent took in a sharp quiet breath as they seemingly analyzed him enough. They nod slowly, whatever they saw in Din meeting their expectations. What they said next was unexpected, to say the least. 

" I knew it..." They whisper, their voice was deep and masculine. They stepped closer, only mere centimeters from his face now. He saw his reflection in their black visor. Din leaned his head so far back that he felt a painful strain in his upper back. "I knew as soon as I saw you, you'd be perfect." They hummed delightedly, their voice becoming layered when they said 'perfect.'

Din felt sick.

Horrifyingly fast, several hands wrapped around the Mandalorian and yanked them back into the dark faster than any person should be able to be pulled back. They roared in anger, but they were gone too fast to put up a fight. Consumed in a second. 

The Darksaber lay on the floor in front of him, humming with power.

Finally able to move fully, Din fell back, scrambling away from it and whatever just happened. The whispers began again. Chanting one thing now.

' Mand'alor!'

He felt sick. Bumps formed on his skin as the hair on his neck stood on end. He turned, going to find some way to leave only to be greeted by thousands of barely visible figures of Mandalorians kneeling to him. When they looked up he saw their glowing forms before the flashes of horrible memories blinded him. All flashing so fast that it was gone before he could process what he was seeing, but he got what he needed.

Death, war, pain.... and so much anger. 

This part was easy. Familiar. Yet, it startled Din every time it happened.

He awoke sitting up too fast, hitting his head on the Starfighter's wing. He fell back with a groan, rubbing his forehead as it throbbed with pain. He sucked his teeth, before peeking out again.

He was back on Yavin 4. Everything he had just seen had just been a dream.

That was a weird one.

He glared at the Darksaber. That damn saber. He hated it. He didn't want it in the first place and now the little skanah was being needier than Grogu. 

It was the cause of all his problems currently; including those damned nightmares. They'd been happening since he took the thing a little over a standard month ago. This had to be the fifteenth time; at least the third this week. 

Most of these dreams consisted of whatever that end part was. The flashes he had just seen. The death, the war, the pain. Or sometimes, it was just the whispers.

He sighed. Letting his frustration leave him. There was no point in giving the dreams meaning. 

He slid out from under the wing of his new spacecraft, the dirt crunching beneath his back as he moved.

The bed inside Luke's cabin was too soft. Sleeping on too soft of beds meant nightmares and a sore back, not that it was much better out here. The ground was just... grounding. It was what he knew. Consistent. 

Before he had a ship he'd sleep on the ground, and even when he got the Razor Crest, his bed was about as solid as the metal frame it sat on. He didn't know why he liked it more, he just did. 

He began to get dressed. As he pulled his pant's thick suspenders up, he felt pain pulse through his left shoulder. He checked it, finding a deep cut, already cauterized. It looked exactly like the gash he got when he accidentally cut himself with the saber.

He stared at it in confusion. Then at the saber.

It was getting harder to pretend these were just dreams. But he'd let himself ignore logic a bit longer.

Just as he tightened the last of his belts Din saw a light flash in his Starfighter before a beep went off on his gauntlet. He had a new comm message.

He had just gotten this ship a few weeks ago but clearly, something was wrong, there was no way he had a message already. He only gave his comm code to Fett, and he didn't comm message, he spam-called until you picked up. 

Din climbed into the craft, checking the message. It was only a one-worded question.

Mando?

He recognized the comm code. He sighed in relief, calling Cara. He only waited for a second or two.

"Gonna guess you are Mando 'cause there's only one psycho I know in this galaxy that calls as soon as I message."

Din scoffed. "How did you even get my new comm code?"

"Stole it from Fett" she hummed. He could almost see that smug grin. "I just had to message you when I heard you got the kid back. How is the little womprat?"

"Good. He's learning a lot” Din hummed. He was so proud of his son. He'd been working so hard. Luke hadn't been successful in waiting until the end to praise him. Grogu was brilliant after all. Luke excused it as encouraging Grogu but Din knew Luke was just proud of him. Who wouldn't be?

Grogu and Luke had grown plants with the Force, moved water and rocks. It truly was amazing.

Grogu wasn't speaking Mando'a but then again he wasn't speaking any language so it wasn't a big deal. He was reading though; he loved reading all the Jedi texts with Luke, whether it was history or morals, or whatever else, he always sat so patiently and read along with Luke. Babbling along and trying to copy what Luke was saying. He also drew a lot. From what Luke translated it'd be attempted drawings of the stories they both told him.

Din was teaching too, but very differently. He didn't want Grogu to have weapons just yet so he could only teach survival tactics, morals, and... selective history. 

All of the history he knew were things he learned from the Tribe, so everything he retold had to be specially picked or tweaked to meet his expectations and not mention the group he grew up with. The stories he could tell were few and far between. 

So many of those stories praised their Tribe and said they were the true heroes of Mandalore and all that remained, but it wasn't true. It was all lies. Bo-Katan had gotten almost visceral after finding out he was in the Watch. He couldn't blame her. Looking back, so many of the stories didn't make sense. He didn't know who the heroes were if there were any true heroes at all, but it definitely wasn't the Tribe.

If the lies and glorification didn't prove it, then the whole conditional love did. Slip up once and you were gone. He knew that since he joined them. That fact was drilled into his head. Din couldn't even imagine doing that to one kid, he didn't know how the Mandalorians he used to know and respect did it to multiple.

To be brief, Din couldn't be happier that Grogu was growing up here on Yavin, instead of in that dungeon. 

"He's... he's happy here" is all he can say.

"Good! Little kid should be happy havin' his daddy back." Cara beamed. "I uh- heard about that sexy little N-1 Starfighter. Why don't ya swing by Fett's place? Let me get a ride? There's also a lotta cool new things you gotta check out here- it's a bounty hunter's dream," She tempted.

Din wavered. "I don't know, Grogu's here, and Luke's teaching him some important things this week-" He tried to excuse.

"Just take them both with you, you whiney bastard. Stars. You're really letting that Jedi push you around, huh? Thought you were a big strong Mandalorian."

Din sighed deeply. Falling for Dune's bait way too easily. "I don't let him push me around."

"Ok. Then why don't you bring Grogu and the Jedi here, huh?" 

Din took in a slow deep breath, then blew it out in a harsh gruff sigh. "I'll be there soon."

Dune chuckled. "So, can I drive your little Starfighter?"

Din rolled his eyes. "After what you just pulled? No way. You are well grounded."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, oh so holy Mand'alor. I'll never disrespect you again!"

"Don't make me gag," Din sneered in disgust. He never wanted to be referred to by that title, even as a joke. He needed to drive that home to Dune. "Do that again and I'll cook you on a spicket like the monkey-lizard you are."

"You aren't strong enough to do that. I'd kick your ass." 

Din halted before grunting in admission. She could totally kick his ass. "Don't call me Mand'alor. And don't tell anyone I'm Mand'alor ether." He said, as seriously as he could. 

Dune paused. "Ok, yeah for sure."

"And my name is Din."

Dune went silent. "Uh... yeah, sure... Din." There was a long lull. "So uh.... see ya in a day or two?"

"Yep. Bye Dune."

He ended the call. Taking a deep breath. He told her his first name. On Aq Vetina, they formatted names differently: a family name than a person's given name. When he was introduced to the Tribe, he introduced himself as such, and his family name became his first name. Not that they used first names very often in the Watch, preferring to go by last name- that being a Mandalorians Clan and family name- only ever using first name when being close to said person or addressing multiple members from one clan. And well, Din was always a loner and obviously didn't have any family left to address. Paz and the Armorer were the only ones to address him by first name and that wasn't exactly common.

It felt better like that. His first name tied him to his family and it was his secret to hold.

And now Cara knew his name. He felt short of breath. 

Big step.

He grabbed the bottom of his helmet and made sure it was pulled down as far as it could go. He checked his flight suit for holes, but there were none. His armor was clean. His gauntlets were loaded. His belts were tight. 

He wasn't exposed, and yet he felt so raw. He wouldn't be telling someone his name for a while. 

He pulled himself out of the Starfighter. The sun blinded him as it shined through the leaves of the trees. He looked at the sky, seeing that it had raised a bit above, the other moons circling Yavin Prime now gone. If he had to guess it was well into the morning now.

He was late. Breakfast should be made already.

Din cursed himself, booking it to the house. 

Grogu would be whining all morning about getting his breakfast late. Din skidded to a halt in front of the front door still slamming into it in his rush to get it open. 

He was surprised to see Luke carrying three plates to the table, each stacked with multiple blue-milk pancakes. 

"Hey! There you are," Luke greeted cheerily as he placed each plate in front of a seat. "Want pancakes?" 

"When did you learn to cook?" Din asked. If Luke could cook the whole time and he was just lazy, Din would kick his ass. Or at least try to.

Luke scoffed. He looked at Din, smirking and cocking an eyebrow. "Bold of you to assume I made these. These are your leftover creations. How can you not recognize your own food children?" He asked in a faux shock before breaking into a childish giggle.

He smirked behind his helmet. "You made your own caf?"

"I did! Aren't you proud that I know how to do basic adult tasks?" Luke said, looking over his shoulder theatrically. He made his way back to the kitchen. "Well, you shouldn't be. It was horrible. Just awful tasting," He looked up at Din, slowly pushing his mug forward.

"If you want me to make you caf just say that," Din sighed, striding into the kitchen. 

"Ok, can you please make me caf?" Luke said cheekily, smiling widely at him. 

Din grabbed the mug as he passed Luke to get to the caf brew pot. "If you do something for me in return."

"Oh god if you ask me to go grocery shopping again I'm going to cry. I'm not kidding," Luke groaned dramatically, turning to face Din. Luke lifted himself onto the wooden polished counter, feet kicking off its edge. He leaned back, elbows resting on the elevated bar top connected to the counter to prop himself up. 

"No, no, I will not be sending you to the market anytime soon, not after last time. I don't much enjoy you stressing out over something as simple as what type of bean to buy."

"There were so many," Luke said distantly, in the same voice a soldier talks of the traumatic memories of a war they fought in. Din stared at him, not impressed by his terrible jokes. Terrible enough that they made him want to chuckle. Just a little. In pity.

Din scooped the caf grounds, adding a small scoop of hot chocolate powder. He started adding it in the first few weeks. It was his attempt to get Luke to stop complaining about how bitter caf was. In retrospect, he could see that was Luke's attempt of starting a conversation.

He still didn't know how Luke could find and identify the species and age of seedlings well underground but somehow didn't recognize the taste of hot chocolate in his caf. He just assumed it was Luke's blind spot. Din didn't much like his caf sweet like this but it made Luke happy, so he didn't mind. As long as he got his caf one way or another. 

As it brewed he turned to face him, wanting to get the conversation back on track. "I want to visit a friend on Tatooine. He took over Jabba's old palace and apparently turned it into a bounty hunter's dream," He explained. 

Luke perked up, looking excited. Din liked that he was so much more expressive now. The first two weeks consisted of phony smiles, a nonreactive voice, and changing subjects constantly to avoid confrontation. 

He much preferred this theatrical, sarcastic man who repeatedly pushed buttons that he had begun to get to know last three weeks. He liked that they finally started actually being nice to each other. "Someone took over that old palace? Didn't know it was desired."

"Only by my friend, he had some bad blood with the original owner. Thought he was owed it."

"Who didn't have a vendetta with Jabba? Even I had some issues with Jabba."

"You?" Din asked in shock, grabbing the caf pot the second it went off. Pouring half it into Luke's favorite mug "The peace-loving Jedi?" he added in the sugar and blue milk. Turning to Luke, he handed his mug over to him. "I didn't even know you'd lower yourself to even be in the same room as a crime lord like a Hutt, but especially Jabba the Hutt."

"I had to get my friend back," Luke said, sipping his caf and visibly regretting it immediately as it burn his mouth and throat. He sputtered, like he did every time. Maybe that's why he couldn't identify the chocolate; he just kept burning all his taste buds off. Din noted to himself that he needed to start adding an ice cube or two to his mug, Luke didn't seem to have control when it came to his caf. 

Once Luke recovered, he continued. "Jabba snatched him up when he couldn't repay a debt."

"Ah. Sorry for your loss," Din said softly.

"Oh no, my friend lived. Jabba did not."

Din's brain stalled. He gawked a little at Luke, to Grogu who had finished two plates of pancakes and was now eating the third then back to Luke. 

"You killed him?" He asked quietly so Grogu wouldn't hear. "Thought he was choked by his slave. I mean unless you were... sorry. Wouldn't blame you if you did kill him. I just thought it was against the Jedi way and it's forbidden but I guess I wouldn't know that- ahem," Din was babbling. He stopped himself from talking any further.

"I didn't kill him," Luke chuckled. "My sister did. Choked him with the chains he slapped on her."

"The same woman you were mewling to?"

"The very same. She also married the idiot friend we saved."

Din chortled. Grabbing eggs, some puffer pig ham, and toast. "Your parents were firm believers of the phrase 'Train your sons to be strong but your daughters to be stronger,' huh?"

"Oh, no. I mean, I guess I wouldn't know, my sister and I's parents didn't raise us. Our mother died in childbirth and our father was..." Luke's eyes bulged a bit as he released a breath. That was too personal for him to divulge right now. "Our father was our father, to say the least. I was raised by my aunt and uncle, and my sister by my mother's close friend and his wife."

Din hummed. "I also wasn't raised by my parents. They died during the Clone Wars. I was found by the Tribe. When the Empire attacked, we went into hiding, and raising foundlings became a village thing rather than a single person or clan thing," Din explained, trying to not bad mouth the Tribe. Both in some remaining respect for them and how he didn't want to turn the conversation into a bitter one.

Luke nodded solemnly. "I've heard how horrible the Clone Wars were, I'm sorry you were impacted by its cruelty."

"One of the billions," Din responded. Setting the food prep on the counter.

There was a comfortable interlude in the conversation. Luke eventually picked it up again. "I've never heard that phrase before. Where's it from?"

Din turned, having to think. He knew a few too many languages, some times he forgot which phrase came from where. It could probably get him in trouble someday but it's not like he could train his brain not to mix up languages.

It took a few seconds for his mind to finally remember. He was almost embarrassed he forgot. How could he forget Mando'a? "Ah yeah, almost forgot, it's a basic translation Mandalorian phrase."

"'Almost forgot?' How do you almost forget a language you're fluent in?" Luke wondered aloud with the beginning of a laugh moving through him.

"It's hard to keep track Luke, I speak too many languages. They all get jumbled," Din waved him off. Luke snorted. He turned to look at the table and sighed. "He ate all the pancakes."

"I know, that's why I'm making food for us, don't worry."

"Bless the stars, I shall not starve!" He said dramatically.

Din rolled his eyes, cracking eggs into the pan, then laying a thick slice of ham next to them.

"Don't roll your eyes at me."

"You can't even see my face, how can you tell?" Din asked, not turning to him but tilting his head slightly.

"I just can. And also, to answer your question- before we got wildly off course- yes, we can go to your friend's palace, we can leave tomorrow. I'm so curious to see how things are there."

"Me too. Last time I was there it had been thoroughly beaten by some spice runners and a baby rancor."

"Force sake, I really gotta go on one of these adventures sometime!" Luke laughed.

"With your fighting skills? You're welcome anytime, Jetii," Din smiled to himself.

"I've impressed you then?" Luke asked with a sly little smirk. Not that Din could see, he was busy cooking, but he could hear it in his tone of voice.

"To put it simply yes, you have." He said, growing a smirk of his own.

Luke huffed. He cleared his throat "So we'll leave for the palace tomorrow, I'll pack a bag for a few days. You should take Grogu with you in the Starfighter, he's been talking about it any chance he gets the past few days."

"Cause he knows goods ships. I'm more of a gunship person but the Starfighter is good for now." 

"Yeah well, I'm an X-wing fan," Luke said simply. 

"And here I thought you had taste," Din taunted. He waited for the ensuing argument, but it didn't come. Instead, something plush bounced off the back of his neck. He turned, seeing a stuffed animal Grogu had a passing interest in laying on the kitchen floor. Looking up he saw Luke holding Grogu with the fakest of shocked faces.

"Grogu, don't throw things!" Luke said in a pretend scolding voice. Grogu only tilted his head in confusion. Luke gave an exaggerated shrug. "I guess Grogu doesn't agree with what you said."

"Don't you dare blame Grogu for your childish actions!" Din yelled in mock scold. Luke snickered, turning his head into Grogu to hide his face. Grogu seemed even more confused by this but lightly patted Luke's head comfortingly. Only making the blonde's quiet chuckle morph a loud cackle.

Din sat on the other side of the table as Luke and Grogu read through Jedi texts. The texts were either on the holotablet or paper texts that were well-aged and yellow at this point. 

They alternated between using their bond and speaking basic. While at first Din was jealous of this connection they had, Luke explained it was the same as Din teaching Grogu Mandalorian things in basic and Mando'a. He was still jealous but he wasn't going to make a hypocrite of himself.

For a while, he would try focusing on the lesson with Grogu. Though, it got boring quickly, especially since half the lessons he wasn't able to overhear. He just ensured he distracted himself, either sketching, planning out his lessons with Grogu, meal planning, or some other menial task. Occasionally- on specifically interesting lessons- he'd read the contents of the files from afar. It wasn't hard to read, even if it was across the table and upside down.

Today, Luke's Jedi Order history lesson was piquing his interest and he couldn't help but read with them. It helped that today's lesson was on a tablet, it was slightly easier to see than the texts were. 

"The Jedi always prided themselves as unbound peacekeepers of the galaxy," He paused, making the processing head tilt he always did when Grogu asked questions. He cringed a little. "The Jedi never wanted to get involved in the Clone Wars, but they had no choice. They had to start protecting the Republic. The Separatists were endangering the galaxy and attacking neutral systems to further their forces."

Din sat back a little. Luke caught it- like he caught every little movement Din did- and looked at him. He used the opportunity to pivot the conversation, something he did quite often. "How did the Mandalorians act in the Clone wars?"

"Neutral until Duchess Satine was stripped of her titled and killed," Din said. Luke tilted his head curiously. 

"Huh, do you know her story?"

Din didn't like that story much. It was too sad. A peace-loving woman was unjustly accused of black market trading. Then killed. The Tribe still defended the action, saying it was still justified as her lack of action in the war caused the deaths of many. But Din still had to admire the hopeful thought of galaxy-wide peace without war. 

Being a child of war, peace was all you could hope for. She was a good leader, born from wealth, and spent years perfecting her public image. Yet, Mandalore turned on her so quickly... what would they do to a bounty hunter who wasn't even a Mandalorian? 

Were these thoughts the reason these flashes of Mandalorian history were taunting him? Why all these deaths were haunting his dreams? Was this the Darksaber or just his anxieties? If it was the saber, did it affect everyone like this? Or was this reparation to his religion for his transgressions against the Way? 

He glared at the rectangular hilt strapped to his belt. The whispers started simmering. He felt a pressure build on the edges of his mind. Slowly seeping in.

"Din?" Luke asked.

Din looked up. He'd gone too long without speaking. "Hm? Sorry, uh... It's not a good one. Most aren't. Mandalorians have a very bloody history, and I mean that literally. The entire religion was built off strength, colonization, and war. Defying anything weak, essentially. Oftentimes, that included peacekeeping. While there was a time when they lived peacefully, foregoing the warrior part of Mandalorian culture-" Or as the Tribe called it, 'abandoning the religion,' "-which Satine's family guided into existence. Satine especially was a peacekeeper. Maybe, even more so than you," Din chuckled.

He remembered how foully the Tribe spoke of her refusal to kill anyone. The story of how she even refused to kill someone who tried to assassinate her and just wanted them to be arrested. He wondered how they would have talked of him if they heard he let Gideon live to go to prison. Not that it mattered now, he was already disowned. 

How strange it was he could see the problematic ways of the Tribe now that he was out. Yet it didn't take away any of his pain.

"Some didn't agree with her ways though. So... a group of..." he paused for the words, treading carefully. He was one of these people at one time. He most likely still would be if they hadn't cast him out, "...zealots felt they had the right to 'remove' Satine's leadership role."

Luke nodded slowly in understanding, but not in agreement. "Do you agree with them? That peacekeeping is weak?"

"No," Din said effortlessly. "I'm not a pacifist like you, I won't look for the most peaceful option or think twice when killing someone if they pose a threat or are just in my way, but I don't think peacekeeping is weak. Peace is trust that the other is your ally, and you are theirs. You aren't Dejarik characters to each other, it's you and them versus the issue. Trust like that is something all should respect."

Luke smiled. "I like that viewpoint," He said. "Do you have many differences of opinions with your people?” He asked as he powered off the tablet.

Din grit his teeth awkwardly, suppressing a wince. He was glad his helmet was there, hiding him from the world. “Still figuring it all out.“ Din admitted.

Luke grinned nervously. “Same here. I’ve had to question so much,” he sat back in his chair, Grogu crawling from the chair next to him into his lap. “We should compare more, I think it could help Grogu understand there is no shame in calling out things you agree or disagree with, even if that thing is something we hold dear."

Din hunched forward a little, leaning on the table "Are you sure? It might get heated."

Luke chuckled softly. "I trust you enough to respect my boundaries when I set them, Din."

Din felt his mouth fall open before he chuckled quietly. "Alright."

They both stood, letting Grogu take a small break as they prepared lunch. And by they, Din meant just him. Luke was nothing more than a counter percher or occasional obstacle when he decided to follow Din around the kitchen as he spoke, often invading his space a bit. Din didn't know why he let him do it.

"I'm curious about Mandalorian culture now, I mean I've heard you telling Grogu stories about the old Mand'alors, about the stories of the War of Life and Death- 

"'Akaanati’kar’oya' " 

"-yeah that, but nothing recent. I'm sure he'd love to hear it," Luke said. 

Din avoided the real reason. He picked up that Luke seemed to tell when he was lying, so he made a loophole. He gave a lesser reason he didn't like talking history. "Not much of a fan. History sparked nothing but debate in my Tribe."

"Oh? Do tell, I love drama" Luke said, giving Din some space and happily perching himself on the counter, foot brought to rest on his other knee. He always carried himself so pridefully and yet remained lackadaisical.

Din sighed before delving into the stupid- albeit, kinda funny in hindsight- debates that had sparked from talks of history in the Tribe. Still avoiding the history he didn't want to talk about. Luke was laughing quickly, going from laid back to thoroughly enraptured as Din spoke. 

He chortled boisterously as Din told of the numerous debates he had with other foundlings and Mandalorians. How whenever he talked about how any of his history learned when he was a child was labeled as false in the Tribe. Luke stopped him at that.

"Wait, I thought you said your history was Mandalorian history?"

"It is, but I also have Aq Vetina's history. That is my homeworld before I was a foundling. I was taken in when I was..." he thought. "I think 8? 7 if not that. It was only a month or two before the war ended when the Separatists attacked us. The Jedi Order was preoccupied so, the Mandalorians came in to help us when they couldn't." In Din's case, the help came too late, but many other children got to keep their parents that day. Din just wasn't one of the lucky ones. 

There was a lull. Din stared at Luke in confusion. "What?"

"Nothing, just..." Luke smiled a bit. "That was personal, thank you for telling me," He said softly. 

Din paused. That creeping feeling came back. A shameful sickening feeling that whispered of his misdeeds and reminded him of his place. How he kept breaking rules he had engrained in his head by the Tribe.

He was not supposed to share that. He wasn't supposed to be open like this.

How disgusted the Tribe would be with him now.

He didn't know why he cared. Who was he trying to prove himself to? The Tribe already kicked him out. They didn't care what rules he broke now as he had already broken the biggest one. 

The Armorer's words rang in his ears, shaming him more. 

'Then you are a Mandalorian no longer.'

That instant gut-punch feeling that hit vastly harder than any of the blows Paz had just laid on him. That sensation of his stomach dropping and his blood going cold at the Armorer's voice.

She felt nothing when she said that. He knew she felt nothing from how she said it. Not a single movement or hesitation. The closest thing he had to a buir after everything he'd been through and she didn't feel a single thing when throwing him out forever.

He turned away, back to making each of their lunches. 

He was getting too comfortable, letting himself slide into situations where he didn't want to be. He needed to figure out where his beliefs lie.

It was good they were going to Fett's palace.

While he and Luke usually both appreciated the dips of silence in their conversation, Luke seemed to hate it this time, interrupting it to ask "What time do you think we should leave tomorrow?"

Din took in a breath, considering. "Well, I'd like to get there early, but I don't know if you'd like that."

Luke chuckled but nodded in admission, heading over to the living room to grab Grogu for lunch. "Your early is too early for me, and I used to be a farmboy."

Din didn't know that. He'd ask another time. "So, why don't you just leave whenever you get up and Grogu and I can leave early?"

"Alright, I'll never turn down sleeping in."

He set Grogu down in his highchair before grabbing the blindfold that sat next to his glass of water. It was long, wrapping twice around his head before he tied it loosely. He hesitated before giving a thumbs up. "All good. "Blind as a Blenjeel sandworm."

"And only a hundred times shorter," Din snickered as he took off his helmet. The distasteful feeling of taking off his helmet while Luke had his blindfold on was gone by now. While it still felt strange he couldn't say how nice it was to eat with Grogu and Luke. To them, it wasn't new but to him... he didn't know. It just meant a lot.

He looked up when he realized Luke never responded to his jest. Luke was in a hilarious pout. Arms crossed and all. Din laughed a bit harder. Luke's solid pout crackled and broke into a reluctant smile.

"I am not that short," He said.

"There is nothing wrong with being short-"

"You're saying it like it's a negative! How am I not supposed to interpret it as a negative?"

Din snickered. "Sorry. I should have highlighted how you're a hundred times more threatening than a Blenjeel sandworm."

Luke preened, sitting straighter and wiggling his shoulders a little. "Yes, you should have highlighted that." 

"I didn't know your ego needed feeding!" Din said in a feigned defensive voice. Luke looked at him, his mouth dropping open in surprise. He chuckled, dropping any attempt to still keep up the face of being offended.

"My ego is an insatiable little Sarlacc pit."

"I'll make sure you fill your boots then," Din said, taking a rather large bite and rendering him unable to question Luke's head tilt.

" 'Fill your boots,'  that's like 'eat your fill', right?" Luke asked without prompting. Din nodded. "I like that, is that another Mandalorian phrase?"

Din nodded as he chewed. 

Luke leaned forward with delighted interest. "Well, what's it in Mando'a then?"

"Haili cetare," Din said easily. Luke seemed to process it. Mouthing it slowly. It connected for Din that Luke was trying to learn. He slowed it down, sounding it out phonetically to help him along. "HI-lee set-AHR-ay"

"HI-lee set-AHR-ay... Hai-lee set-ar-ay... Haili cetare?"

Din nodded. Proud that Luke got the inflection right and the accent almost right. He had to wonder if Luke had been paying attention to his Mando'a lessons with Grogu. He had a much better accent than most.

Luke raised his fists in silent victory, whispering a quiet hissed out "yes!"

"Good job," Din added. "I'll have to teach you more. Maybe you can get Grogu to start using Mando'a."

"Well, he uses it in his mind, or at least, I think he does..." Luke looked to Grogu, who had just finished his last bite of food before Luke had even started. "He does."

Din huffed. "Well, that's nice, least I'm a decent teacher."

"Yeah. Decent." Luke highlighted playfully. Din scoffed.

"You know what? Maybe I will wake you up in the morning."

"NO- please!" Luke begged, over-dramatic but still slightly genuine. Din didn't respond, continuing to eat and letting Luke panic over the thought of having to get up early.

Course, Din didn't do that. When he arrived at the Palace Luke had just woken up, comming him twice. Once was letting him know he'd be leaving by the hour, and the second was a message of thanks for the caf Din left pre-prepared in the cooling chamber for him.

He guessed that Luke would probably be there later that evening.

Din landed his Starfighter further. There was now a small city around Boba's Palace, leaving it far more occupied than he remembered. The sand was too torrid to step on with his bare feet and the sun's rays were even more cruelly hot. He'd have to carry Grogu. The only problem was he forgot the bag he usually carried Grogu in at home. 

Once out of the ship, he looped his cape around himself, tying it into a secure birikad. He lifted Grogu up and slipped him into the pouch he had created. He then folded the excess up top over to conceal Grogu from the twin suns' rays as much as he could. 

As he walked down the streets he saw several street vendors, most selling weapons, packaged food and water, and medical supplies. Top list items for bounty hunters. 

Din tucked Grogu in a little closer. No one was looking for him anymore, but still. Din felt nervous at the thought of being recognized and attacked. "Keep quiet bud, ok?"

Grogu whimpered quietly pulling the top of the makeshift pouch over him and completely cocooning himself in. 

Din picked up his pace, feeling like a frightened animal as he jogged to the palace's underground hanger. Outside the palace and decorating the sand were dozens- maybe hundreds- of ships. It only made him feel more ill.

The hanger itself could barely even be described as a hanger. There were only two ships- Fennec and Boba's- and they were close to the entrance, almost outside. Likely for an easy exit. The rest of the hanger looked like a marketplace. 

It was more packed than the town, all the broken-down animal pens once there now were cleaned out for hole-in-the-wall shops. The hanger's walls were decorated with flyers of wanted posters and deals at certain shops, each flyer decorated to be very eye-catching. For Din, however, the most notable thing was the banners hanging above it all, each with the bounty hunter guild symbol on them. Rather prideful of Fett to advertise his guild in his own hanger but whatever. It wasn't Din's business.

He thought he'd relax once he stepped in but his anxieties only heightened. The doors were wide open, allowing access for all. Bounty hunters were everywhere. 

He expected a small gathering of people, maybe a larger group at most... how wrong he was.

The palace had a complete makeover, looking very modern for its age. Leaderboards hung from the ceiling with a ranking of the top 10 highest rewards then shifting to the bounty hunters with the highest success rate. 

To the left was a bunch of machines where a couple of bounty hunters, some alone and some in groups, gathered. From here he could see it listed profiles for each hunter.

To the right was a small bar with a band. Din had no idea how but the blue wonder, Max Rebo himself, was playing. How the musical little genius had survived two separate bombing incidents was beyond him. 

As much as he wanted to focus on that, Din couldn't, because his eyes had snagged on a board listing something.

It was missions with a familiar symbol stamping a column with prices.

Empire.

Din would put a blaster bolt between Boba's eyes. He approached the board quickly. Thankfully, Grogu wasn't listed. There were two prices listed. The first column price had the red Empire symbol, and the second price column had a white New Republic sign. Each of the prices in the New Republic section had a plus sign, an add-on to the Empire price... but for what reason? The New Republic wouldn't work with the Empire, or at least not openly like this. So what did it all mean? And how could so much change in five weeks? 

"Djarin!" Boba called eagerly, his helmet was off and being held at his side. Good, that would make it easy.

Din glared at his Mandalorian friend, not caring he couldn't see his face. 'Ally' was a line Boba was treading on and about to fall off if he didn't explain himself quickly. Boba paused upon seeing what Din was staring at.

"I can explain-" Boba said quickly.

"You better." He snarled.

"It's a bait and switch. The second price is how much the New Republic offers when that Empire information is handed over."

"But... you're endangering the target, what if it's another Grogu?"

Boba stared. "You know just as much as I do that a handful of targets dying is better than many more dying along the way, and it's far better than another Empire rising up."

Din glared behind his helmet. He gave a deep sigh, letting it all go. He couldn't control Boba. "You're working with the New Republic then?" He asked coldly.

"Unfortunately. Taking care of the Empire seems to be the one thing those fools are good at. But I'm not getting involved in that Lotho Minor of a Galactic Government anytime soon. It'll be in our lifetimes when they fall. I just hope they make room for something better."

"Or nothing at all," Din grumbled mockingly.

"Now that would be nice," Boba nodded with a chuckle that shook his shoulders.

"Mando!" A familiar voice called. Din and Boba both turned. Greef smiled as he approached. He was wearing fancy red robes with goldish-yellow highlights. He looked like royalty. 

What was he doing here?

Din shook his hand curtly, too stunned to speak. "Where's the adorable little womp rat?"

Din pulled back the little overhanging part of his cape, resuming his argument with Boba as Greef cooed over Grogu in a higher-pitched voice and asking questions Grogu couldn't answer.

"You're also risking the life of the bounty hunter."

Boba tsked "Every hunt is risking a bounty hunter, Din. This was the best option. People are going to get these Empire bounties one way or another, best to offer said missions and a little extra for turning them over to the New Republic," Boba explained. He had a point. " I thought you of all people would appreciate this."

"They'll find out whose the squealer in their operation. It's going to get you shot," Din grumbled.

"While it's touching to know you care about me, I'll be fine, I didn't live this long to be taken out by the surviving cretins of the Empire," Boba gibed. "Now, let me see the kid." 

Din sighed. He undid the birikad, snaking his hand in to hold Grogu while his cape unraveled itself. Boba and Greef got giddy, talking softly to Grogu. "Whose idea was it to do this trick on the Empire?"

"Mine" Greef admitted. "I have many connections to them still and... I can't cut them out. But I can help secretly bring them down. I've built rapport with them. I've also built a long list of money-hungry bounty hunters who I've been trying to pass off for a while now. To make things easy, Fett and I made these adjustments to his palace so I can run the business here," He said, gesturing to the entire area around them. 

It was a bounty hunter's dream. A wide choice of jobs with a profile stating how great you were? Even Din was a little eager over it. Despite his discomfort with how crowded it was.

He had to stay on track, he had more questions to ask these two first, "So... what? You two leading this palace together?"

"No," they both say, harshly and in unison. They glare at each other.

"After everything on Nevarro, I wanted to help more by taking out the Empire. Fix other planets like I fixed Nevarro. I handed off the guild to Boba here," Greef explained. "It's a step for both of us. I can keep Nevarro safe while helping take down the remains of the Empire and Boba gets to improve Tatooine by earning it some income."

Din huffed. That was a pretty good plan.

"And, to be honest, we were talking quite a bit, since Cara first introduced us actually. We had blueprints drawn up when I felt I still needed to prove myself as a ruler" Boba admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me last time we saw each other?" Din asked.

"Maybe 'cause we were fighting the Pyke Syndicate, Din. That doesn't seem like a good time to grab some caf and catch up on things!" Boba spat out angrily, his bouncing of Grogu only taking away from his attempt at a threatening voice. "Not like you stuck around. You dipped out the second the battle was over."

"I needed to talk to his teacher," Din sighed. He crossed his arms across his chest.

"So it's true. Little mans got himself a Jedi teacher?" Greef asked. Din nodded. "And this Jedi lets you stay with him?"

"Yes, we agreed that having connections with people might not be the issue but rather the inability to let them go. So, I get to stay with my son, but remind him if I pass, he has to be ready to let me go."

"Dark topics for someone so young," Greef hummed grimly.

"Even though he's still mentally a child, he's fifty, chances are he'll live for centuries," Din said, holding in his sigh. It wasn't bad that Grogu would outlive him. He knew that. 

Both men frowned deeply. "Sounds hard. Sorry, Djarin" Boba said. Din shrugged.

"It's life." He looked around the palace. "Still can't believe you guys built all this up in only a few weeks," he said in shock.

"It cost a lot, had a lot of droids involved, but yeah," Greef chuckled. "Good thing Fennec suggested Boba turn in the bodies of Cad Bane and the Pykes, it got him a lot of spending money. Apparently, the Pyke's have been a big issue as of late."

"Haven't they always been an issue?" Din asked.

"Guess it's been more than usual," Greef shrugged. Din hummed. How strange.

"You guys change any other places here?" Din asked, trying to take notes of what rooms to avoid. He didn't feel safe being around this many bounty hunters. 

"Yeah," Boba said "there was this entire thing with the palace, it was like a place of worship some time ago for some order called the B'omarr monks or whatever. They put their brains in these spider things or whatever but Bib Fortuna seemed to have run them all out. Never even got to see them, just the garbage they left behind." Boba almost sounded disappointed. 

"What Boba's trying to say is-" Din turned to see Cobb sauntering up, his metal arm shining in the lights of the palace, "-we have rooms for people, including you, if you want to stay the night. Most are still getting made but there are a few done. And a library, if you're into reading books. You don't seem the type though."

Din rolled his eyes but smiled, happy to see the sheriff alive and well enough to still have some lip to give. "Good to see you, Cobb."

Cobb didn't accept just a handshake, he yanked Din into a tight hug. Din quickly pulled back, hearing the man laugh. "Come on, I almost died! That's gotta entitle me to one hug."

"Get your hugs from the kid."

"Won't turn that down. You heard him, hand him over!" Cobb demanded. Boba gently clutched Grogu closer.

"No way! I was holding him first, you can wait!" Boba spat back, acting more like a child than Luke does. It was funnier when Luke did it.

Din rolled his eyes with a tsk, "Cobb, what are you doing here?"

"Freetown still has yet to move back. After the Pykes were done with it, it wasn't habitable."

Din looked at Greef and Boba "You can fix the palace up but not a town?"

"There is no way the people would let us spend money to fix Cobb's small town. So, instead, we offered them a place here until they saved enough to fix it themselves," Boba justified. Din scoffed. Boba rolled his eyes at him, making a grumbled comment to Grogu. "Look, Mos Espa barely accepted me making changes to invite and welcome bounty hunters, even though it meant more income. Santo's still throwing a little fit over it."

Din paused, "Doesn't this benefit him? Isn't he a bounty hunter too? Why is he upset?"

Boba went to speak when Cobb seized the moment to grab Grogu from him, turning his back to Boba so he couldn't take the kid back. Boba merely glared and grumbled before continuing. "Wish I could tell you why, but I don't speak a single word of Wookie-speak."

Din tilted his head at him. "Then how did you form an alliance with him?"

"Trust that we wouldn't kill each other. Although, I'm not for certain about Santo. He might just be waiting for me to build this palace up, slip up, then take it for himself."

Din scoffed, reflecting on the very brief conversation he had with Santo before the battle with the Pykes. "Santo has no interest in this palace. He's here for the money only."

"Oh, and who told you that?" Boba asked with a scoff. All three of his companions stared at him, getting more and more curious as the silence dragged on. "You speak Wookie?"

Din wavered, unsure where this conversation was going. "I've been told I speak Jawaese like a Wookie," Din quipped flatly.

Cobb and Greef snickered. "Don't encourage him, he'll think he's funny," Boba groaned. "Can you or can't you speak Wookie?"

Din grumbled. "It's called Shyriiwook..."

"So you do! Great, then I have a favor to ask."

"No, no! You already owe me for the shit with the Pykes!" Din argued quickly, admittedly whining a bit.

"And now I'll owe you again, please help me with Santo, it's a quick conversation, that's all."

Din sighed. "Fine."

"Great. He's probably at one of the bars around here, there are several. I'd check upstairs, he likes the less crowded ones," Boba said, flicking his hand in a lazy gesture. 

"You're not coming with me?" Din asked, a bit nervous. He didn't want to face a massive, flick-of-the-switch mad Wookie like Santo alone.

"You're a big boy, you can handle it. Just as long as you don't tell Santo he can win the Darksaber from you in battle you'll be just fine!" Boba smirked widely.

Din sighed. "Cobb."

"Yeah yeah, I got your back," He huffed. He handed Grogu to Greef. 

"I'll keep him safe," he stated, dipping his head slightly.

"I'll be back in a minute or two, just stay there" Din commanded as they walked away from each other. He and Cobb headed off, with Cobb clearly leading him to a specific bar. "You know where he is don't you?"

"Oh yeah. I get drinks with him every night. He's definitely killed my liver, if not yet, then he will soon," Cobb smirked. Din huffed. "He likes the bar by the library, c'mon."

They picked up the pace, Cobb occasionally having to slow down to let Din catch up. Din didn't mind walking slow as much as it seemed to annoy Cobb. There was no need to rush. Plus, now that Din had processed the conversation more, he had questions about the library.

"So, the library, it's filled with files these monks collected over the years?" Din asked.

"Yeah, them and Jabba. Why? You interested?" Cobb asked with a smirk.

"A little. Are they organized?"

"Somewhat. It's just broad topics though. It's not gonna be alphabetical or shit like that."

Din nodded. Maybe he could find things on the Darksaber there... or maybe confirm the history he was told as a kid. He wasn't calling the Tribe all liars... but he was. They said everything else was wrong and they were right and he only knew what the Armorer and other elders were willing to tell him. Months ago he didn't even know other Mandalorians existed, let alone removed their helmet. Now he knew he was adopted by a group of religious extremists. It was just.... a lot.

He just had to be sure.

Cobb startled him out of his musing. 

"SANTO!" He shouted. 

The large black Wookie leaned against the bar with the largest pint Din had ever seen. He chuckled as the Wookie almost smiled at Cobb and then looked at Din. 

"[I remember you, your Boba's friend]" he said, Din easily translating as he spoke.

"I am. I'm here on his behalf actually."

Santo snarled. "[Oh, so Boba finds someone who can understand me and instantly tries to use it against me?! You can leave before I rip your arms off and feed them to you,]" he barked in Shyriiwook. Din held in a scoff. 

"Perfectly fine by me. I just had to attempt to talk things over. I've done all I can do, so my favor has been cashed," Din huffed, standing straighter. This was nothing but a waste of time. "Now I'm going back to my son."

"Or-!" Cobb grabbed his arm. "Come with me and Santo to go to a bar with Cara! Even daddies gotta get a break, right?" He asked, thickening that southwestern Tatooine drawl that laced his voice. "And I need someone to translate Santo's comments 'cause they're either really mean or really funny and I want to know which."

Din didn't feel like going out, he was never a "social" person... but getting a drink sounded quite good right now. It'd be nice to just relax for a bit. It'd be better if Luke was here but we don't always get what we want. Plus, Santo might start a fight, and that'd be interesting enough. He sighed. "Fine, let me just go tell Greef I'm going out-"

"Just comm him! He loves that kid, guarantee he won't care! Greef never shuts up about how that kid saved his life!"

Din sighed deeply. He quickly sent them a message, getting a reply in seconds. Just as Cobb said, Greef was delighted to take care of Grogu for the rest of the night, telling him Grogu he would entertain him as he and Boba talked business.

Din held in a sigh. Grogu did not need any more toys... but he'd probably have many more after today. Greef always spoiled Grogu. 

Din put his comm away, gesturing for them to go. Cobb led the way. Santo chugged the rest of his pint. With a loud wet burp, he is quick to follow him. Din picks up the back. 

"Where is Dune? She's the whole reason I'm here in the first place and I have yet to hear from her today."

"Yeah, Dune is terrible at getting back to people. She's probably talking with that vendor again," Cobb remarked, seemingly as if this was a common occurrence.

"What does the vendor sell?"

"Jewelry and some nice clothing and robes. Some other things I can't think of," Cobb waved his hand, uninterested in the topic but Din was only more enthralled. Since when did Dune like jewelry or clothes shopping? Cobb turned back, laughing at his confused head tilt. "She's not interested in the things she's selling, Din."

Din paused. Then 'oh' ed. Cobb chuckled at him. 

They reached the city's main square, a cross-sectioned path decorated with shops and traders. Cobb dragged Din along, not letting him get lost and forcing him to walk faster. 

"There she is," Cobb said.

Cara was leaning over the shopkeep's counter. The woman from a planet Din couldn't quite pin smiled up at her. They talked with Tusken Sign, or at least the woman was. Cara was struggling with signing each word and saying the story aloud. The woman helped her along by correcting her signs. Cara was telling a story, of one of her adventures. She was struggling through it.

"I've been teaching her Tusken so she can talk to this girl," Cobb explained. 

"Is she deaf or just raised on Tusken Sign?"

"No clue. Never talked to her and Cara said it was none of my business. All I know is she's from a planet called Savareen" Cobb shrugged.

Din paused. He looked at the woman. He'd heard of Savareen, or at least, what happened to Savareen. The Tribe's version anyway. What Crimson Dawn had done to the planet and the poor people who inhabited it... it was disgusting. They had ruined the planet, only after they took any and all of the planet's natives left and "forcibly silenced" them.

The Tribe didn't talk about the outside world often, so the story of Savareen kept Din thankful for his ability to speak. Perhaps it was another fear tactic by the Tribe, or maybe it was a sharing of their own fears. He'd never know.

"[Savareen? Thought that planet doesn't exist anymore]" Santo hummed. 

"It doesn't," Din said. Nor did the people who lived on it. Or so he thought. He had questions, but this woman's past was none of his business. He could always check out the library Fett had. 

Din watched as Cara wrapped up her story. The woman clapped. She held up a finger, getting a notepad with a pencil. She handed a note to Cara and patted her shoulder before attending to an approaching customer. Cara looked at the note.

Cobb sauntered over, quickly peering over her shoulder. He gasped. "You got her comm code! Look at you!" He shouted loudly. Cara shouldered him back, slapping him on the back of the head to shut up. Cobb snorted as she hit him repeatedly. A quick argument started between the two.

"[Left one kid only to deal with two others huh?]" Santo snorted. 

"At least these ones I can drink with." 

Santo's laugh was loud and booming. 

Din sat at the bar as Cara hollered for another challenger in her ongoing arm wrestling competition. Cobb sat next to her, talking to a few people, probably recounting the Krayt Dragon Story for the tenth time that night. 

He turned, tapping on the bar, bored out of his mind and irritated by how loud the bar was with people talking. It seemed there were Fathier races going on. People were crowding around available screens and starting verbal arguments over nothing. He missed the nice quiet on Yavin 4. He missed hearing the bugs chirping and the croaking of frogs he'd hear at this hour. 

He checked his comm. Still no messages. Luke should have been here by now. Maybe he should head back. He'd been gone for too long. Grogu needed to get to bed and he was tired himself. He hadn't slept well the past few two nights. Din could go on only 4-5 hours, but he hadn't even been granted that.

The tandoshan bartender approached. "You want another Ne’tra gal?"

Din huffed. "No. I'll close up." He dropped credits on the counter. More than enough to cover it and give a generous tip.

He went to get up when Santo sat beside him. He'd lost track of the Wookie the second they entered the bar. He slowly sat as the man stared at him.

"[You saw the opening room to the palace, yes?]"

Din nodded. 

"[You saw that Boba is doing some backstabbing job with the remaining of the Empire?]"

Din glared at him, feeling suspicious disgust and anger turn in his gut. Backstabbing? The Empire? How dare he try to victimize the Empire. They were nothing of the sort. The saber was pressed temptingly on his belt, ready to be grabbed. He wanted to run its blade through Santo. 

...

He blinked. What was he thinking? Santo... Santo couldn't be an Empire defender. "Hard to backstab people like that."

"[Course, Empire deserves all the hate it gets]" Santo scoffed. Din sighed in relief, "[but he's working with the New Republic.]"

"How is that bad?"

"[Are you kidding, Mando? They'll only slap those scumbags in jail!]" Santo snarled.

Din paused. That's true. But that's what Bo-Katan did with Gideon. That's what happened with the scientist, with several other Empire lackeys. Nothing had happened yet. As much as Din would like to see them all perish maybe jail was better. "Well, I don't disagree. At least we're getting them out."

Santo scoffed. "[He and Greef made a deal with that little angry senator, whatever her damn name is, Leila Organa or something. She's the one in charge of this cause Empire garbage cause she led the rebellion. I say she's got terrible decision-making skills. I mean clearly, from her choice of husband."

Din squinted. What did that have to do with anything? He looked at Santo, him shaking his head and grumbling. It clicked. Santo didn't care about the Empire or the New Republic, not as much as he was saying anyway. He only hated the people on the side of this senator and her husband. Din sighed. This is why he hated politics. Everyone hated based off personal opinion. Din decided to just humor Santo, hoping to follow through on his favor to Boba. "Whose her husband?"

"[Han Solo and that scruffy fuzzball of a bootlicker Chewbacca!]" Santo boomed, going into his whole backstory with the two. Din sighed. 

He looked to the barkeep and pointed to a bottle of Mandalorian Narcolethe. The man chuckled. He sent a multi-legged droid up the shelves. It grabbed the bottle and then scaled back. The barkeep poured him a large glass, put a straw in it, and handed it to him. Din paid him upfront, not wanting to open another tab.

Before he can even take a sip, he heard screaming and blaster fire in the streets. Why could he not have just one normal night out? This is why he stayed home. Slamming his head against the counter seemed like a better option than facing whatever was outside currently. 

But of course, he didn't do that. He- like everyone else- made his way outside. Of the shouting voices, he knew all three. He got to the front of the crowd with Cara close at his side. 

Greef and Boba were aiming their blasters at a blonde man in tight black- ah, it was Luke- who had his saber in one hand and Grogu held close in the other.

"Where is he you son of a Bantha?!" Luke screamed, pointing his saber at Boba. Din had never seen Luke this angry. He could almost feel his anger like hot lava pooling off him. Grogu looked around confusedly, on the edge of tears.

"I'm not telling you a thing, Skywalker! Now hand over the kid before I blast your body full of holes!" Boba screeched back.

"Where are you hiding him?! Tell me where Din Djarin is now!" Luke screamed. Luke knew his name? He must have heard him wrong, he'd never told Luke his given name, let alone his full name.

"Not a chance in Malachor!" Greef yelled.

"You aren't getting anywhere near him!" Boba hissed. "Now, I'll give you one last chance, give me back the kid!"

"No! You are not getting Grogu!" Luke barked out. 

"Fine," Boba aimed.

"No! You can't shoot him! That's Luke kriffing Skywalker!" Someone shrieked. The crowd broke into panicked arguments.

"Luke Skywalker? The guy who blew up the Death Star?" Cobb asked.

"The Jedi blew up what?" Din turned to Cobb in confusion. So Luke had killed people... Huh. He didn't know why he was weirdly proud of that.

"Stars, Din! How did you not know that?!" Cara demanded.

Din rolled his eyes. "I gotta stop this," he walked out, thinking through a way to calm the situation. 

He caught the men's attention swiftly. They slowly lowered their weapons. The crowd went silent.

"Din..." Luke breathed in relief, sheathing his saber. So he hadn't misheard him. Din felt uncomfortable but shoved it all down. Now was not the time to panic.

"You three can slaughter each other if you want, but you won't do it with my son in your arms. Give me Grogu." Din said, calm but rattled. 

Luke's face filled with concern. He approached swiftly, handing Grogu over to him, not that he needed to. Once within reach, Grogu leaped into Din's arms. Din held Grogu close. Poor kid was shaking. The crowd dispersed, bored with the situation now.

Once Luke was close enough, he held Din's shoulder. He pulled out each arm and then looked down his torso and legs. Din was a bit nervous he'd do a full pat down. Thankfully, he didn't. "Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" Luke whispered.

"Who?" Din whispered back.

"Boba! Is he from your Tribe?" Luke urged quietly, sounding a bit angry and looking just as confused as him.

"What? No. Boba is one of my friends," Din said. 

Luke paused. "HE'S the friend that took over Jabba's palace?!" He barked out

"Your damn right I am, what are you doing here, Jedi?" Boba spat out, Greef confusedly looked at Din. Not sure what to say.

"Coming to meet you, apparently! Din took me here to see how your palace is," Luke sighed. He glared at Boba.

Boba looked at Din then Luke. He seemed to have a premonition. "Oh, my karking, Manda... he's Grogu's master isn't he?!" 

"Course I am, you empty-helmeted idiot!" Luke snarled. 

"Of all Jedi, why did it have to be you?!" Boba growled.

"'Of all' ?! 'Of all'?! What 'all'?!" Luke asked. Before Boba could yell a response, Din cut in.

"I'm going inside the palace. When you two are done making a scene and embarrassing yourselves, maybe you’d like to join me; if you want to have a genuine conversation that is.” He said, keeping his voice cool and callous. 

He walked off, knowing they would follow. Soon Boba passed him, grumbling to himself about the lack of respect people had for him. He led the group to a sectioned-off room of the palace. 

Din sat in the chair at the head of the table. Luke sat to his left, Boba sat to his right. Greef, Cobb, and Cara stood. Din had to assume Santo dipped out. Lucky guy. 

Course Din wasn't that lucky, no, he got to help everyone else with their problems. His fault really, he should have just stayed in tonight. Waited for Luke. 

He could have slept.

Sleeping sounded so nice.

Boba sat with his arms crossed. "I can't help but feel slighted."

"You feel slighted?!" Luke scoffed out a laugh. "You froze my friend in carbonite and turned him into Jabba!"

"Hey, Solo dug his own grave alright?!" Boba snapped. 

'Solo, like Han Solo?' Din thought. Unfortunately, his thought wouldn't be answered as Boba carried on with his fit. 

"I'm just a bounty hunter! I was doing my job! And then you all fed me to a Sarlacc!"

"You mean the same Sarlacc pit you tried to toss us into?!"

"Shut up, both of you," Din groaned. "You two have history, I get it. I just don't care. Boba rules over this palace, he's a decent leader. Grogu has powers and needs training, Luke's pretty good at it-"

They both cut him off. “I’m a great teacher!” Luke argued at the same time Boba yelled. “Decent? I’m a excellent leader!”

They glared at each other. "I doubt that," Luke remarked antagonistically.

"Are you even really a Jedi?" Boba growled.

"Are you even really a Mandalorian?" Luke retorted.

Din sighed as the two carried on arguing. He should have just left them outside. He leaned back, settling in to be here for a while. If this is what he had to do to keep the two from killing each other, so be it. Grogu shifted in his arms, his shaking had finally faded away. He crawled up Din's chest. 

"Hey, bud. What's up?" He grinned, happy to have his son in his arms. Grogu flopped dramatically, his head quickly nuzzling into Din's neck. He chuckled quietly. "Yeah, yeah I know bud. I'm tired too, we'll go to bed in a little bit. You can just sleep there," he murmured.

Looking back, it seemed Boba and Luke had stopped arguing. Boba was grumbling to Greef and Cobb, clearly talking about Luke. Cara still stood, not seemingly taking any side in this, only looking at her comm tablet with boredom. Luke was staring at him. He looked concerned. 

"Are you sure you're ok?" He murmured.

"I'm fine, just tired, but that's not new," he said. He held Grogu as he sat up. "Would rather talk this out than have you two kill each other. I'm a bit sparse on friends and I'd rather not lose either of you."

Luke nodded, once to Din and then once to himself. "Boba," he waited as Boba looked up at him with a glare. "I'd like to suggest a truce-"

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you? Catch me off guard?" Boba snarled.

"No. The only reason I even attacked in the first place is because I saw you holding Grogu. How would you react if you saw me holding Grogu?" Luke questioned.

Boba hesitated but reluctantly nodded. "I would have shot you, no hesitation. But I would have shot you without you holding Grogu." 

"Well, how bout we don't do that? For Grogu and Din's sake."

Din stared at Luke. That was... really considerate. Of course, it was overshadowed by Luke's usage of his name again. It seemed everyone had picked up on it this time. Looking at him then Luke, though no one said anything.

He'd have to question Luke as soon as they were alone. What Jedi trick was this? Mind reading? Was that why he felt so calm around him? 

Luke wouldn't do that, would he? He was virtuous and kind, he wasn't manipulative... but maybe Din was wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

Boba sighed deeply. "Fine. Djarin, you have a room, Cobb can show you where it is. Luke, I don't care where you stay, as long as it's not here. I refuse to let someone who once tried to kill me stay here-”

“Better kick Santo out then,” Cobb snickered. 

“That’s different-" Boba huffed.

“Yeah, 'cause you won. Are you sure this isn’t a pride thing?” Cara smirked.

Boba huffed. “No, I let Santo stay 'cause I know he holds no ill will to me anymore, he wouldn’t kill me.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Cobb snickered.

“My word is final here!” Boba barked, his voice pitching higher like a petulant toddler. He took a sharp breath to still himself “I will not ban him, he is Djarin’s guest, but I will not go accommodate him. He’s a grown boy, he can figure things out on his own." With that, Boba stood and stomped out of the room with Greef following him. Cara and Cobb looked at each other having a quiet argument before Cobb sighed.

"I'll go talk to him, Cara will show you your room, Djarin," Cobb grumbled before heading out.

Cara gestured for them to follow her. She lead them up the stairs and down a few corridors, everything going from decorated to barren fairly quickly. Cara gestured to the room. 

"Here, it's unlocked and everything, keys are inside, this hallway is still being built so no one's around," Cara cleared her throat awkwardly as she looked at Luke. "There's a rent-a-room down the street. It's cheap and ok quality." She looked back at Din, hands resting on her hips. "I'm sorry that I wasn't here to show you around."

"It's alright, seems you were busy," Din couldn't help but tease.

Cara blushed before rolling her eyes and shoving the shoulder Grogu wasn't resting on. It was the one that was still injured, but his wince was concealed by his helmet. "Shut up," She smirked. She walked off, "Have a good night."

Din waited for her to be out of earshot. He opened the door to his room. There were 4 stuffed toys on his bed with wrappers of treats in the trash bin. Clearly, Greef had been here with Grogu already. The room itself was a simple single bedded room. 

That wouldn't do.

The other rooms were probably locked but, if he was lucky, the locks would be weak enough so he could bust in. Din quickly checked the lock system.

"She seems nice," Luke said.

"Mhm," Din responded absent-mindedly. The system was old. Perfect. He passed Grogu off to Luke before going to the room next to his. It only took one kick to break the lock.

Din turned the knob and opened the door. This room was exactly set how his was, however, it was much dustier. Luke probably wouldn't mind. 

He looked to him, who stood in the doorway staring at him wide-eyed. "You'll sleep here."

Luke blinked before giving a downturned smile. "Thank you," He murmured, looking up at Din through his lashes. He stood taller, taking a breath. "And uh, I'm sorry for Boba and I's argument, it was-"

"How do you know my name? Did you read my mind?" Din asked quickly, his mind apparently giving up on waiting as the words slipped out.

Luke blinked at him in bewilderment, his mouth opening and closing but no words escaped. Din's uneasiness rose, but he kept any further question silent.

The man sighed. "I'm sorry, I was told not to say it, I guess it slipped out," Luke said ashamedly. "Grogu told me your name. I don't think he knows that he's not supposed to share it."

"He-he did?" Din asked, looking at his son. Luke offered him back and Din carefully took him. 

"Yes. I asked Grogu's name when I took him and he said it was Grogu Djarin. Then he said what his dad's- your name- was," Luke explained.

"He-" Din couldn't help but pause. How odd that sounded. To hear his given name become his family name. He could understand Grogu's confusion, it's not like he was explaining Aq Vetina's naming system to him. It was strange though, that both of his names tied him to his family. His first name, his family name- 'Din'- had tied him to his parents... And now, his given name tied him to Grogu.

He couldn't help but wonder if he explained Aq Vetina naming culture to Grogu, if his son would take on the name Din Grogu, or if he'd simply keep Grogu Djarin. Not that it mattered, the fact Grogu had taken his name at all was what hit him. It felt too good to be true. He hesitated, looking at the kid- his kid- before continuing to speak. "What about his blood parents? Shouldn't he have their family name?"

"No, not if he considers you his dad. Not like legality matters here. Plus, if my theory is correct, he has no emotional connection to his blood parents."

"Your... your theory?"

"Well, the Jedi usually took in children when they were young, Grogu was one of those children. He might not have even ever met his parents given how slow he ages," Luke admitted.

Mandalorians did that too. Another similarity between their religions they could relate over. Though, Din barely even registered the conversation. Grogu took his name, Grogu wanted to be his family.

Luke continued to carry the conversation. "Grogu hasn't shared all of his past, but he's shared so much about you and the adventures he's had with you. They bring him great joy- despite being dangerous," Luke chuckled.

"I've tried to keep him out of them. He happens to uh... wander..." Din murmured. Grogu Djarin. It wasn't just him, Grogu thought of himself as Din's son. Accepted him as his dad. Grogu chose him as his family. Din was smiling like a happy idiot under his helmet. He could only hope Grogu knew how much he meant to him. 

"Are you truly so shocked Grogu thinks of you as his dad?" He asked.

Din nodded. "I am, I knew he cared I just... Is that why you sent him back?" He asked, looking at Luke finally. "Because he took my name?"

Luke cringed. "No, I..." he sighed. "I am still learning what it means to be a Jedi. Ahsoka informed me of the risk of Grogu's attachment to you," Luke stated, "I chose to listen... I am not that great of a Jedi, by my own standards, I might as well not be one. I don’t know everything about the code. I’ve heard so many contrasting things about the Council. I knew how a choice to keep attachments can affect Jedi's… and how that choice affected many… many others.” 

Luke sighed deeply. “But, I was overly judgmental because of that. I was even hypocritical. I should have realized there can be exceptions. Because those attachments... they might be what makes you stronger. I know my attachments made me stronger... When I saw Grogu’s attachment to you, it scared me. Instead of working on it, I took the easy way out. I made him choose, knowing he’d choose you. Because I know I would choose my family over being a Jedi any day if it came to it."

Din stared at Luke. They were a lot more alike than he ever could have considered. Before Grogu, he didn't care about living or dying. He was a mindless worker drone, existing to support the Tribe. Did his job, got paid, and moved on. The only thing he was told to care about was the Way of the Mand'alor. He cared about so much more now. 

Just like Luke would give everything up for his family, Din would too. Just like Luke wasn't a Jedi by his own definition, Din wasn't a Mandalorian by his own definition. Maybe they were both better for it. Maybe it was better that they were setting their own parameters for what defined them. 

Not the same... but similar. That must have been why they, eventually, got along so well.

"I'm glad I came back, then," Din said softly.

"You are?"

"Yes," He messed up with Grogu. He gave him up too at one point. But he went back for him. He got a second chance. That’s what Luke deserved too. “You deserved a second chance.”

Luke huffed and smiled nervously. "Thank you, Din."

"You're welcome," Din said, he slipped by Luke in the doorway. "I should probably get the kid to bed."

"Yes, he's had an eventful day," Luke chortled. "Good night, Mand- oh um... I don't mean to pressure you, but do you want me to call you Mando still?"

Din thought. If he was letting people call him by his first name, Luke would probably be high on the list of importance since he lived with the man. "Just Din is ok. Maybe switch back to Mando or Djarin if I piss you off. I've been told I'm good at that."

Luke snickered. "That makes two of us. Same rules for me then. Luke and Skywalker or Jedi if I piss you off."

Din nodded. "Good night, Luke."

"Good night, Din."

Din grunted, his eyes cracking open slowly. Everything was too dark; the air too humid. The hair on his legs, arms, and neck rose as bumps shivered their way up his body, tensing his muscles with their touch. Some primal feeling twisted in his gut. He didn't feel safe here. He turned, slowly.

He was faced with a destroyed city. He stepped back, feeling the breath catch in his throat. Smoke and ash collided with kicked-up dirt that rose in thick clouds to block out the sun. The town was littered with dying fires and remains of smashed homes. The gray dirt crunched under his feet as he took small steps back. 

He watched as the massive B2-infantry droids moved in, firing on civilians in red. A woman and man passed him. He watched them run, their son staring back at him over his dad's shoulder as they ran to the doors of an underground shelter.

He knew those people. He knew this place. Or, this dream, at least. This was his memory... but something was wrong. This wasn't a dream reliving this moment in third-person, this felt different. He wasn't alone here. Someone else was here.

"Din."

He turned quickly to the voice. 

"Hello?"

Whispers tickled his ears, quiet and far away. Only now, they grew. Screams from the city got distorted as it started to get torn apart, the image burning into flakes of light that swirled. 

The image gave way to darkness and specks of light, looking more like open space. The whispers stopped all at once. 

Somehow the silence was worse.

"Din" the whispers called, almost in unison. They slowly flowed forward.

Din took steps back, only the ground didn't catch him. He fell back further and further, floating through the air slowly as one would fly through space. Spinning with nothing to catch or slow his fall.

The whispers hummed like the saber, circling him swiftly. With how close they were, he could see them. Or rather, see in them. Each was almost a slice or puncture in space. Each held one of the deaths Din had been seeing for weeks. Still, he couldn't see them fully, it all moved too fast. 

It couldn't be a dream. It had to be real. And it was the history he needed to know... but it was all passing him by. He reached out, trying to touch one of the lights. He had to know. He had to.

The lights all froze. Slowly they came closer. The light closest to his hand inched forward. Once it was only a hair from his palm, he heard a deep guttural scream. He was suddenly ripped back by his ankle. It felt like being ripped from water, he hadn't even realized he wasn't breathing. 

He hit the ground roughly. Gasping, choking, struggling to get a single breath in. Din looked around. He didn't know where he was. It looked empty. No surroundings. Just a pitch-black room slightly lit by the Darksaber.

He stood slowly, looking himself over. Like with the other dream, he had no armor. However, now he held the Darksaber. 

He heard a grunt of effort. Dodging left, he barely missed the swing of a bulky Mandalorian. Bringing the Darksaber up, he swung back. 

It was lighter than he expected, slicing up and sliding clean through the one unarmored part of the man who tried to attack him; his neck. Din whimpered as Paz fell to the ground.

"This is your future, Mand'alor," a voice, the same voice of the Mandalorian in white armor from the night before, said. They were almost mocking when calling him 'Mand'alor.'

Din heard fights happening around him. He turned watching as people fell to the ground dead. The light of the Darksaber slashing through them so easily it didn't seem real. All those who fell dead were Mandalorians. 

"I-I wouldn't-" He stammered.

"You'll drive yourself mad from the voices of the saber."

He watched as the people falling dead began to be people he knew, people he cared about. "No-"

"You'll kill Mandalorians. Then your friends."

The whispers turned to screams of anger and defiance. He shook his head, covering his ears at the shredding sound. 

"You'll kill them all. Unless you give yourself to the saber entirely. Train with it. Bond with it." The Mandalorian hissed. "I chose you. Now I need you to listen to me-"

Din tried stepping back, only to trip over something solid. He looked. Luke lay dead, curled in on himself limply. He could cry. He didn't- he wouldn't do this!

"-or you'll lose it all."

Din felt a small weight on his stomach. He gasped, seeing Grogu sat on his abdomen, looking at him with his head tilted. His breath caught in his throat as he looked up, seeing the Darksaber rise far above a Mandalorian's head as a stadium suddenly came to be around them. A setting sun shined at the Darksabers tip. 

“FOR MANDALORE!” they roared.

He gasped, looking down and seeing Grogu still on his stomach, holding his hands out towards him.

“NO!” Din wailed.

He wrapped himself around Grogu. Holding his son tight before… before…

...

He breathed heavily, looking up gradually. He was in the room. There was no threat. Grogu was ok.

Hearing a sound, he flinched back. Grogu still sat in his lap, staring at him with confusion and concern. He sighed. "Hey, kid..." he said softly. 

Grogu grunted in relief. He climbed up his chest and pressed their foreheads together. What dad was he? Needing to be comforted from a nightmare by his son?

“I’m sorry, buddy. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He sighed. He moved Grogu off his chest to the side again, next to the stacked pillow on the edge of the mattress, ensuring Grogu didn't roll off. 

He couldn't help but look at it. The Darksaber glinted menacingly at him. It was silent.

He hated it. 

He wouldn't be able to sleep now. He'd wait until Grogu was asleep and then he'd go find something to do.

Anything to do.

Din felt Grogu's body go limp and heard his breathing slow. He got up slowly, getting his armor on as quietly as possible. He wanted to leave the saber here... but he didn't trust it wouldn't affect Grogu like it affected him. He made sure Grogu was tucked in before he slipped out.

He walked back out to the main area of the palace. It was almost dead now, despite a handful of bacchanalian people stumbling about or passed out on the floor. Even the earliest of risers hadn't risen yet. None of the shops were even open. 

He huffed heading to the only place he thought could be open at this time.

Shockingly the library had no guard. Not that Boba seemed even slightly interested in protecting history. He went to one of the datapads, searching first on Mandalorian things.

He found only a few history books. He didn't have time to read them all so he picked out the ones he thought were the most important for now, anything else he'd have to grab later.

The first was a retelling of events that leads to the most recent splitting of Mandalore. The takeover of the Empire and Bo-Katan's persistence to keep fighting even when it was clear they had no chance. Leading to the Night of a Thousand Tears. He admired her resistance, but they should have just left. So many of them were dead now.

But what did he know?

The second spoke of the takeover of Death Watch. No specific members were listed due to privacy policies made with Mandalore, but it showed a long history of unwavering bellicose behavior and assassination attempts (some successful and some not) dating back to a little over 1,000 years ago. 

Din was admittedly a murderer and brutal outlaw but this... colonizing worlds, killing innocent civilians, pillaging villages... it was horrible cruelty. That wasn't what warriors do, it's what the greedy do, it's what warmongering leaders do when they know they aren't actually at risk. He had to put the book down, too sickened by his own people to read anymore.

The final book listed all of the past most influential Mand'alors. He knew most of these people and their stories, even learning more about Bo-Katan and finding she was the last Mand'alor and the leader against the Empire. However... there was an extra one. One he hadn't ever even heard of before. 

Mand'alor the Uniter.

His name was Aga Awaud, and he helped unite the Mandalorian clans after an illness had taken out millions of Mandalorians. He brought the clans back to the Mandalorian sector in a movement called 'The Return.' He claimed his title as Mand'alor in 1051 BBY only to soon after dying at the end of the year 1049 BBY and-... and that was it. That was it? A two-year reign?

Din checked the footnotes, seeing that many don't consider the Uniter. a real Mand'alor as all he did was get all Mandalorians to come back, something they wanted to do anyway, and rebuild the Mandalore sector before dying. 

The Mand'alor after the Uniter was succeeded Mand'alor the Knight. Tarre Vizsla. His picture froze Din's blood to ice.

It was the white Mandalorian from his dreams. He was the Jedi Mand'alor he heard stories of.

The Knight had made the express decision to reach out to the Jedi Council, to tell them of his power. He trained there, forging the saber along the way and spending much of his time exploring the Force. This descent into researching the Force almost made him a Jedi Consular... whatever that was, but he was 'too aggressive.' He became a knight at the beginning of the year 1050BBY. He never became a true Jedi master, instead choosing to go back to his people. Years later, he was somehow killed with his own saber and the saber was kept as an artifact of Jedi history until being taken back by Death Watch. Specifically, clan Vizsla.

Din looked at the saber hilt. If he was in there... who else was?

He shut the book. He didn't know, nor did he want to know. He sighed, putting everything back. He caught eye of a 'Learning Mando'a' book and chuckled. Luke would love a place like this. 

'It would go to waste here,' He thought, looking back at the dust-laden library.

Din stole the book without a second thought, going even further with his decision. He searched on the datapads for any Jedi books. Shockingly there were several. Jabba had to of had a good relationship with the Jedi to have this many. He took the datapad and the Mando'a book.

He made it back to the room, opening Luke's door as quietly as possible. He set the tablet and book down on the bedside table. 

Apparently, he wasn't quiet enough, as Luke turned over in his bed, sitting up.

"Din? What are you doing here?"

"Hey, sorry, I brought you a book and datapad," he said quietly "I'm gonna go get some caf and food. Do you want anything?"

Luke groaned, flopping back on his bed, "Caf."

"Well, yeah could guess that, more meant anything to eat?"

Luke hummed thoughtfully. "Nausage and dustcrepes?" He murmured, half muffled by his pillow.

Din nodded. "Yeah. I'll be back soon. I might also look around the palace a bit more." 

Luke grunted tiredly, "Wait- Din, where's Grogu?" He asked, his bed creaking as he sat up again.

Din paused at the doorway. "My room."

"Are you gonna go wake him and bring him with you?"

"Yeah," Din said, slower this time. Curious about where this was going. 

"Don't. Just bring him in here and he and I can both sleep in," he mumbled. 

Din stared at him. "You sure?"

"Yeah. We don't all have to suffer through waking up early."

Din chuckled. "Alright."

Din went to his room, picking Grogu up as carefully as possible. He didn't even move or grunt, not a single reaction. Din shaded him from the light for the brief second they entered the hall. 

Once in Luke's room, he saw Luke had done the same thing he did earlier: putting a pillow on the edge of the bed. He took Grogu and placed him gently in the space he was just laying in before cuddling into the covers.

Din hesitated, only to see Luke waving him away. "Stop watching me sleep and go get yourself some food and caf. I can see how tired you are."

Din scoffed. "You can't see anything."

"I'm still hearing you talk and not walk, Din." 

Din huffed, only stopped from making more comments by Luke's use of his name. It'd be a while until he got used to that. He left quickly.

Making his way out to the main part of the palace he saw how more people had joined the crowds now. He walked down the stairs, trying to just get food and caf as quickly as possible and not be seen.

If Din was a lucky man he would have been able to pull that off. Judging from his life so far though, he could safely say he wasn't.

"Djarin!" Cobb called. Din sighed but relented, turning to his friend. Cobb was accompanied by Boba and Fennec. With how the three carried themselves, it was easy to see they were all morning people. Disgusting. "Where's the ad'ika?" Cobb asked, horribly mispronouncing the word.

"Who taught you to speak Mando'a so terribly?" Din asked, smirking a bit as Cobb's smug little grin got smugger. He took great pleasure in mildly annoying Din.

“Would you believe me if I said I was taught how to say it and chose to speak badly to anger you?” Cobb asked, leaning into Din's space. He palmed Cobb's face and shove him back, hearing the man break into a fit of laughter.

“Yes. You are quite the button pusher. So much so your charisma has become more of a survival skill than a people skill."

Cobb laughed with his whole body. “Not wrong.”

Boba looked around. "But seriously, where is the kid?" He asked.

"Boba's clearly an addict, he's got a scratching for some time with baby Grogu," Fennec scoffed, smiling once Boba glared at her.

"Grogu's sleeping," Din shrugged apologetically.

"Ah. Well, if you want Fennec and I were gonna do some sharpshooting. You wanna join?" Cobb asked.

Din didn't feel like it. He was exhausted and not feeling up to doing something with people right now. He thought of an excuse fast. "Can't. I'm gonna do a bounty job."

"Oh," Cobb said, a bit disappointed. Din frowned, maybe he should have just made himself go.

"Do you know how to use the machines?" Boba asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 

"I'll figure it out," Din said quickly.

The three looked at each other suspiciously. If they believed him before, they certainly didn't now. Din scrunched in on himself.

"Let's go show you then, huh?" Fennec said. They all smirked at him.

Din sighed and followed. Cobb and Boba sticking to his sides as if daring him to run. 

"You ever talk to Santo?" Boba asked. It was an out into less tense territory.

Din nodded, this was an easy conversation to have. "Yeah, turns out he's just upset you made a deal with the New Republic because he doesn't like Leia Organa cause she's married to Han Solo. He has a grudge against him and Chewbacca, which is funny cause most wookies love them with all they've done for Kashyyyk-"

 "That's it?!" Boba barked. Din blinked and nodded hesitantly. "Ugh! I hate those bastards too! Manda- this was all over them?!"

Din rolled his eyes as Boba continued his angry little monologue that only Cobb seemed to listen to. Being kind enough to comfort him with only a few sarcastic comments. Not that Din was listening.

They got to the device, it was similar to a datapad, but it was bolted into a metal stand. They take him through the process of confirming his bounty hunter status in the system, teasing him all the way.

Finally, he got to see his profile.

Cobb whistled, long and descending. "86% success rate."

"Is that good?" Din asked.

"Uh- yeah! Din, that's not just good, it's wizard!" Cobb said, punching his shoulder. "Anything over 45% is ok, but 86? That's awesome! What were the ones you missed?"

"Ones I did when I was younger. Got too big for my boots," Din admitted. That was mostly true. Grogu was the one bounty he had to completely change his life on. But... there were other cases. Other cases where he saw what the bounty was really for and cared too much. 

He never went too out of his way to help, but he would give up the bounty. Help a little bit. Somehow, he always ended up getting burned though, usually by the person he was helping. As he said, it was when he was young and dumb.

He never got burned with Grogu though, or at least, not bad enough to make him regret saving him. He didn't think he ever could regret that.

Was he soft? He might be. Wasn’t… entirely terrible. Terrifying? Sure, but he needed to be a good dad, so Grogu could be an even better man.

‘If he even remembers you when he becomes one.’ His mind thought loathingly.

He huffed, swallowing his frustration. His fears. He couldn't become bitter. He'd give Grogu everything he could, even if the kid didn't remember him a century from now.

"You got a lot here," Boba said, scrolling through a list of his past completed bounties. "Jeez- how the hell aren't you rich?"

"Most of my earnings went to the Tribe," Din explained. He didn't expect the looks he got. So that was weird too? "We were only allowed out one at a time so I had to, we had a lot of people to feed" Din didn't know why he felt he had to defend them.

His companions all looked at each other and then back at him. 

"Why did you all have to stay hidden?" Fennec asked.

"To stay safe," Din replied easily.

"From... what?" She pushed.

"The Empire," Din barely held in his scoff.

"Yeah but they've been gone for quite a few years now, haven't they?" Fennec tilted her head. "And clearly they weren't going after Mandalorians anymore if they hired Boba and you, it's just-ah-!" Fennec was cut off by Cobb's elbow meeting her ribs. She glared at him. He glared back.

Din needed a bit more time to process that. Why were they still hidden after 5 years of the Empire being gone? What was the reason? War trauma? Some kind of fear of the outside world? ...was it worse than that? Was it all just some long con to control each other? Couldn't be.

There was an awkward pregnant pause. Din didn't like this kind of silence. With its tension and everyone's shifting eyes. When Luke questioned him, it was comfortable. The environment wasn't judgemental like this. It didn't hold the shock that he hadn't pieced this together on his own as it did here. 

With Luke, it was nice. 

It wasn't nice here. 

"Ahem, uh... anyway, so you can make your mission selections here," Din looked back to the screen where Boba was trying to carry on. "It's an automated system and recommends missions based on past missions and your efficiency score."

Cobb made his way in next to Din to look at the screen. "There's no consistency here," he commented.

"Cause I wasn't picky about my missions." Din clicked through the top three recommended missions. The one he wasn't doing for sure was one on Ilum for some kind of crystal or something. It was an Empire betrayal mission. He couldn't go toe to toe with the Empire again, not yet anyway. He'd only mess with them if he had to. No need to put more of a target on his back.

There was a quite simple mission for a male rancor on Drathomir, most likely for breeding. If he had his old ship it'd be no issue, but he only had the Starfighter. It was great, fast... but he missed the Razor Crest. He missed having a big gunship.

Finally, there was a mission for Felucia. A hunt down of two very dangerous and strong individuals harassing a farming village. Seemed simple enough. Paid well too. He picked it. 

"Nice. Then you just go to the puck counter," Boba explained. 

"This seems needlessly complicated. Why don't you just hand out pucks?"

"Cause he can't monetize it. Boba's a skeevy money maker now, don't you know? Turning this castle into a city center." Cobb smirked. Boba glared at him only to get a cheeky smirk in return. 

Din scoffed. "Right well, I'm going to get food for myself and my son then probably dip out to do the bounty. See you all later."

They all waved him off. Din collected his puck and, after waiting in line for far, far, too long, got their food and caf. 

He made his way back to Luke's temporary room.

When entering, he saw only Grogu in the bed. Luke was up, sitting on the floor with the datapad Din snagged from the library. "Luke, here's your-"

"Did you know there were actual printed Jedi texts here?!" Luke said in an excited whisper. It was unnecessary, the second the smell of food entered the room, Grogu had woken. 

Din chuckled, handing Luke his food and the cafs. Grogu jumped into his arm the second he offered it, trying to snatch the mix of fruits and sweet breads he knew awaited him. Din sat, placing Grogu down in between him and Luke before handing the ravenous child his food.

Din looked to see if Luke had begun eating. He had, but more interestingly, Din saw he already had his blindfold on. 

He smiled as he removed his helmet.

"I did," Din said, "know that there were Jedi texts in the library, I mean, I knew. That's why I brought you the tablet. Figured if anyone deserved them it was you."

Luke stared at him. While not being able to see his eyes, Luke's face was expressive enough to give away just how shocked he was by that. He cleared his throat, smiling wide and genuine. "Thank you. That means... that means a lot to me."

Din couldn't help but freeze up. He kept eating, not sure what to say to that. 

"Boba won't miss them?" Luke asked. Happy to change the subject to keep the conversation going.

"If Boba knew they existed, he'd make sure they wouldn't anymore," Din scoffed, slightly muffled by the bite he had taken. Luke snickered. 

"I'll make sure to take them off his hands then."

They sat in comfortable silence. Unfortunately, Din realized he'd have to break it. He swallowed his bite before saying, "I took up a bounty job to get some more money."

Luke hummed. "What is it for? If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't at all. It's a hunt for two criminals harassing a village on Felucia," He hesitated. "You can come if you want."

Luke considered this. "No, I don't think I will this time. Maybe another time."

Din nodded, trying to not feel disappointed. It would have been fun to see Luke in battle. "Alright. I'll be gone for a few days. If you head home, let me know."

"Of course. I'll probably just hang here, go in between here and the library with Grogu" Luke said.

Din straightened at that. "No, I'll take Grogu with me," he stated cooly, his voice coming off far angrier than he meant it to. Luke looked toward him, missing his mark only slightly.

"Why? I thought you didn't like taking him on these hunts?" Luke questioned calmly, tilting his head.

Din hesitated, trying to form a response only for it to dissolve. He didn't, but he needed to keep Grogu close. To keep him safe. Especially here, with so many bounty hunters. If he left him he could get hurt. Or worse, he could get- 

"If you're nervous about his safety, which I don't blame you for, wouldn't it make more sense to leave him here? Your friends are here with me, and I hope you know I'd die to protect Grogu."

Din nodded curtly, his throat still too dry to speak. He didn't like it, he didn't like the thought of Grogu being out of his care again... but Luke was right. He'd be safer here. "You're right," Din said reluctantly, giving a short exhale. 

He replayed the conversation, giving a small smile at something Luke had admitted. "You'd die for him?"

"Of course, any good master would."

"Pretty attached of you," Din tested, hesitantly pushing a boundary of a conversation he'd done well at staying away from. 

Luke chuckled. "If it's attached to care about whether an innocent child dies, then yes. I guess I am. In my book that's just called morals," Luke scoffed a laugh. 

"Oh well, we both know I don't have those" Din chuckled.

Luke tilted his head back with his laugh this time. "See, now, I didn't say it... but I do cosign," He laughed louder, so entertained by himself. Din couldn't blame him. He was pretty entertained by him too.

Who wouldn't be?

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: The House

TW: Slight gore, mentions of war trauma and loss (including child loss)

Luke had been collecting the Jedi texts from Boba's library for the past few days. From how thick the dust was- in the air, on the furniture and books- he'd say that this library hadn't been changed much since Jabba's death, if at all.

On day one he only took a few and sent himself copies of the holotexts in the library archives. He had time to read through some of them with Grogu before stashing them in his X-Wing. 

Day two was much the same, only he took a lot more of the texts that time. 

Today he'd be taking the last of the texts. They wouldn't be missed, and they'd get far more use in his school.

Luke had learned quite a bit, despite some of the things he read being repeated information just phrased differently. A good amount of what he read was new but not in a major way. 

There was a book, "A Jedi Master's Guide to Teaching a Padawan,"  that had tips for helping Padawans in education, but none to relate to their students on a deeper level. 

Luke pieced together that wasn't encouraged. A Master and Padawan should be close, but not familial; not attached. Luke didn't know if he was strong enough to pull back like that.

He also enjoyed the book about Jedi Mandalorian history. They didn't just 'not get along' like he previously thought. They had intense wars on and off for decades called the Mandalorian-Jedi Wars. 

The Mandalorians at one point even crafted special prison cells for Jedi prisoners. All of which had been destroyed, the last being destroyed when transferring a fugitive force-user named 'Maul.'

How sad, Luke would have liked to have studied it. He could only wonder if it could manipulate the Force like Din could or just cut it off entirely.

Din... He got to say his name now. Not his last name, his first name. He didn't know why Din's name had become special to him. It just felt like a privilege. One he was pretty happy to have given that it was only given to some of his friends. 

The only terrible part of their conversation was Luke had wasted the perfect opportunity to tell Din of his powers. He was presented with a time to bring it up and he panicked.

He would now need to bring it up without being prompted. Din deserved to know.

Din's emotions still affected Luke, giving him tunnel vision onto it if they were intense enough. His mind, however, whirred more quietly now that Luke had gotten used to it. But that wasn't why Luke felt the pressure to tell him.

'The Shadow,' as Grogu had called it, was the problem. It... it whispered sometimes. Nothing comprehensible, but it did whisper. In fact, there were multiple whispers. It was conscious. 

The saber radiated pain but Din's mind always radiated calm coolness. This 'Shadow' seemed just as drawn into Din's power as Luke was to it.

It concerned Luke but he didn't sense pain from Din. Nor did he sense bad intentions or a threat from the Darksaber. Instead, all he sensed from the saber was weak desperation. A conglomerate of merged life straggling along as all the energy in it barely clung on.

It enlaced itself with Din, hiding in his mind. Luke wanted to call it a parasite of some sort but... it seemed to be helping his powers. Slowly growing stronger the longer they coexisted.

That was ridiculous though, a saber couldn't actually feed into someone's powers... could it?

Then again, Luke had never seen a saber containing lifeforce as this one did. Was it possible that the saber, and therefore the Shadow, fed into Din's power? Did that mean he could feed into Din's power?

Luke decided to investigate, dropping the Jedi text he was supposed to be reading. Researching the Darksaber was all that he could think about doing now. 

He reached across the table, nabbed the tablet, and searched up where to find the Mandalorian books. 

After getting the location, he lifted Grogu into his arms as the child made a noise of surprise. He carried him close to his chest as he navigated his way through the maze of expansive bookcases.  

Finding the books was easier than he thought it would be. They were the only ones not covered in dust. While confused at first, he remembered Din had already been here. That's how he found out about the Jedi texts. 

Luke looked back to where he once sat. It was impossible to tell from here that there were Jedi texts in this library. Din had to have just looked it up for him. No rhyme or reason other than to just be nice. He couldn't help but smile. 

He'd have to repay his benevolence somehow.

The Mandalorian section didn't have an extensive collection, not nearly as extensive as the Jedi's at least.

He brought out each, exploring them and the small blurb on the back explaining what the book was about. He had no clue which held information on the Darksaber. Force sake, a few were strictly in Mando'a. He'd have to explore more in-depth later.

He collected the books taking them along with the last of the Jedi texts. They all floated behind him collecting neatly and sorting as Luke moved through the palace, taking a back entrance to get to his X-Wing and store the books.

The cargo compartment was packed tight, texts and books protruding out in sloppy stacks. He took everything out with the Force, carefully reorganizing all of it. Then again. The third time he got it to a point where it would finally close. 

The metal door groaned, before finally clicking shut. He sighed in relief.

"You always just itching to show off that Jedi magic?" Boba hissed. Luke rolled his eyes. He turned, seeing the green Mandalorian standing by the back door, his helmet on this time. Din's other friend, Cobb he believed his name was, stood by his side. "'S like you're asking to get shot."

Luke cocked an eyebrow, holding in a laugh. "Hopefully not by you. I believe we had a truce," He remarked cooly. He saw Boba's shoulders rise like the spiky hackles on a pissed massiff. Cobb only smirked at Boba, entertained by the argument unfolding before him. 

"You are stealing my stuff."

"It's Jedi texts and Mandalorian books. What would you do with that?" Luke asked rhetorically. Trying to make a joke. Clearly, Boba wasn't a fan, as he palmed his blaster consideringly. 

Luke sighed, deciding to be more submissive. There was no point in trying to bunt heads with him, it'd just end in a fight Din wasn't here to break up. Probably with Luke getting scolded for seriously hurting Boba. "They're for Grogu and other students' educations," he confessed.

"How will Mandalorian books help your Jedi students?" Boba hissed.

"Cause some students might choose to be Mandalorian-Jedi just as Grogu did. If they do, they should be well informed. Or they might just want to learn of Mandalorian culture. Whatever the reason, I assure you, these books will get their use," Luke calmly elucidated, trying to appease him.

Boba did seem to consider this. Yet still, he pulled up his vambrace, aiming it at Luke, then at his ship. Luke heard the mini-rocket gear up to fire. 

He calculated a response as quickly as possible. Jumping to the side might not be able to be enough to protect Grogu, the rocket would hit his ship's fuel and cause even more of an explosion. He would have to push the rocket upwards. The second he redirected it, he'd hit the sand and shield Grogu. Protecting his student was all that mattered.

"BOBA!" Cobb barked, shoving him. Boba and Cobb glared at each other. 

"Cobb-!" Boba tried to defend, but Cobb cut him off with a snarl. 

"He's the Jedi. He deserves the texts. You're being petty and it doesn't look good on you!"

"You don't care when Djarin's petty," Boba grumbled, disengaging the mini-rocket as Luke released the breath he didn't know he was holding. Grogu babbled happily at him. Luke huffed in shock at the child's tranquility.

"That's 'cause he wears it well!" Cobb asserted. The two men began bickering.

'Grogu, how were you so calm?' Luke thought, admiring the child for staying so level-headed in a situation that even made him sweat.

'He wasn't going to shoot' Grogu smiled.

'How did you know?'

'He hesitated. Buir says 'a man with intention doesn't hesitate'.' Grogu thought into the Force, pushing forward the memory of Din he was referencing. It felt like a brisk tender moment. Like when Uncle Owen taught him occasional facts about life or tips on how to fix certain things around the farm.

Luke hummed. 'Sound advice. If your dad has any more wisdom you'd like to pass along, I'd really appreciate it.'

Grogu hummed before gasping, pushing forward a memory of Din saying 'Cold showers are better than hot ones.'

'I take back what I said, your dad has lost all credibility with me.'

Grogu giggled adorably.

"Skywalker!" Boba called. Luke looked up, seeing Boba stand with his arms crossed, seemingly thoroughly scolded by a proud Cobb. He slowly strode nearer. "You can keep the Jedi texts."

With great effort, Luke was able to hold back every sarcastic comment his brain craved to slap out. Instead, he respectfully dipped his head in thanks.

Boba barely acknowledged it, lumbering off to stew in his petulance. Cobb merely snickered.

"You'll have to forgive him. Little man baby, that one is. Think he's gonna go grab his bottle and a nap" Cobb bantered. 

"Tch, yeah, I can see that," Luke scoffed, bouncing Grogu lightly as he grunted in frustration, trying- and failing- to cover his large eyes from the twin suns peaking over the palace. 

Cobb removed his bandana from his neck, wrapping Grogu's head and folding his ears in. The child sighed contentedly in the shade of it.

"Yeah, you like that don't you? The suns are just too bright for you" Cobb cooed. Grogu nodded in response, making both men snicker. Cobb glanced to Luke, "Prevents sunburn too. Was born and raised on Tatooine so I think I'm immune to it by now, might as well get it's use helping someone else, right?" He asked rhetorically.

"Ah, yeah, I forget how hot it feels for outsiders here. I guess I have a bit of an immunity too," Luke huffed.

Cobb tilted his head before seeming to recall something, "I keep forgetting you grew up as a moisture farmer here," he chuckled. "You've just been idolized so much, hard to remember you were a guy like us."

Luke smiled fakely at that. He hated doing it now that Din called him out on it, but what was he supposed to do? Rant about how much he hated being idolized? How rude and unappreciative that would be. 

"I'm just another story. I'm sure you have plenty, Tatooine never stops making life interesting," Luke said, pivoting the conversation. 

"Do I ever! But uh, I gotta head to town, unless you wanna tag along?"

"Do I ever!" Luke mocked back jovially. Cobb snorted. 

As they walked, Cobb told of how he became the Marshall of Mos Pelgo, a town dubbed the name Freetown. How it survived the Red Key Raiders, a mining collective crime syndicate, all because he bought Mandalorian armor from Jawas. 

Looking through shops, he picked out and purchased an admirable blaster before he continued on, "That armor brought Djarin to me, he was searching for Mandalorians who might be able to help him track down Jedi." 

Luke nodded, listening intently, despite the fact he was only half-focused on the story. He was distracted, skimming over the items shops offered. All of this stuff looked like things Din would like. What specifically he would like, he couldn't figure out.

"You can probably guess how disappointed he was to find I was not a Mandalorian. Instant change up, I knew he was pissed too. I knew Mandalorians cherish their armor, but I also knew Mandalorians were real good at killing things and we had a beast that was disturbing us, so I took my chances. Sauntered on in with my argument ready. I'll admit, I was a little cocky since I thought 'no way would he shoot me in front of the kid' ."

"Oh no," Luke chuckled, shaking his head. Cobb smirked, lightly skimming his metal fingers along the weapons. His metal arm was different than Luke's. It didn't have synthetic skin, instead, it was armored, tougher, and prepared for rough care. Given how clean it was, Luke would have to say it's fairly new. 

On Tatooine, scars and prosthetics were common and often things of pride. Stories waiting to be told. While Luke still believed that for everyone else with scars, he wasn't really able to apply that belief to himself anymore. He wished he still had the confidence to be so open, but his prosthetic... it felt like a badge of shame now. The same with his scars. After being around so many who looked at him with such repulsion... it was easier to keep it hidden.  

Cobb continued, "Well, once he found out I wasn't a Mandalorian he got all gruff and interrogated me. Asked who I was, and where I got it. Insisted I  'hand it over.'  I'm a cheeky bastard so I tried to lay down the law with him. He stepped forward and went-"

He attempted a mock of what Din looked like. His arms were lax, chin raised, and wearing a mean glare- all meaningless anyway since Din didn't show his face. His shoulders were squared and puffed his chest, yet still didn't square up to how broad Din was. He over-exaggerated Din's deep, modulator-roughened voice "'Take it off. Or I will.' And, phew-!" Cobb laughed so hard he wheezed a little, falling from his Din demeanor completely and reclaiming his own, "Took a second to realize he meant just the armor!"

Luke felt his eyes bulge as he let out a loud startled choked laughter. He was not expecting that. Cobb was extremely bold and comical, he admired that.

"His gruff charm got me! But I recovered fast. We almost had a full duel in front of the kid, thankfully, the krayt dragon interrupted, that's the beast that was bothering us" Cobb explained. Luke nodded, thoroughly hooked by the story now, silently urging Cobb to continue. "We struck a deal, if he helped me, my town, and the Sand people in killing the dragon, he'd get the armor. Boy howdy did he. Let the damn thing eat him just to do it," he chortled.

Luke turned in shock. "He did what?!"

"Oh yeah! Got this baited bantha with explosives tied to it. Let the beast eat him up to get it to take the bait and then jetpacked out before setting off the bomb!"

"How'd he get the dragon to let him out?" Luke almost begged for the information. Who willingly gets eaten by a Krayt dragon?! And survives?! And then doesn't mention it to everyone they meet?! Din Djarin, apparently!

"Amban Phase-Pulse blaster. Similar to this one" Cobb answered, pulling up a sniper rifle from the shopkeeps hoard.

Luke tilted his head. Even though Din had been slowly carrying fewer and fewer of his weapons around the house and on Yavin 4, he did always have at least one on him at all times.

When Luke asked, he explained he didn't like not having them, that he didn't feel safe without one. Luke couldn't exactly blame him, he himself always carried his saber with him. 

But, Luke had never seen him carry a gun even remotely like this. Not even in the first two weeks they lived together where Din had been strapped with several weapons, if not all of them. "I've never seen him carry it around. Did something happen to it?" Luke queried.

"From my understanding? Blew up along with his ship," he replied plainly. As if Luke should know about this, instead he was left there gaping. He blinked "Oh- you don't know?" 

Luke shook his head, feeling quite dumb.

"When the Dark Troopers came and took the kid, they blew up Djarin's old Razor Crest with all his stuff, besides the things he was wearing. He's still pissed 'bout it" Cobb shrugged. Luke frowned, he couldn't imagine. Material items didn't hold much meaning to him, but if Boba had gone through with his threat and blown up his X-Wing when he was gone, he'd be terribly saddened. Especially now with all the Jedi and Mandalorian texts.

"That Gideon took his weapons, home, and son all in the same minute. Cara said the moof-milker was still smug after being beaten, continued taunting Djarin when he sat on his ass in handcuffs. She said that he was only scared when you arrived." Cobb grimaced but slowly it softened. "Suppose I would be too if I was in his shoes. Actually, that's an understatement. If you, the man who killed both the Emperor and Darth Vader, started hunting me down? I'd probably just keel over and die from fright."

Luke's frown deepened. He hated that was part of his title now. 'Slayer of Sith.' It was a lie after all. He didn't kill the Emperor or Darth Vader. He only led Darth Vader back to his true self, back to being his father, Anakin Skywalker. Luke was nothing but a victim, then a bystander. 

But it was his burden, he guessed.

He didn't voice any of his thoughts. He merely got the conversation back on track. "A Moff would go for a lot if turned into the Republic, enough for Din to get a good portion of his stuff back... did he not get credits for doing that?" He asked. He'd have to tell Leia if the Republic guards gave Din nothing.

"Nah, he and this other group of Mandalorians made a deal. They help Djarin get Grogu, they get Gideon and the saber."

"But... Din got the Darksaber."

"Yeah, something about it having to be won in combat? I don't understand it," Cobb rubbed the back of his neck. "But they got to turn Gideon in. Djarin didn't get a single credit, nor did he get to keep his son- no offense-"

"None taken."

"It still amazes me. He lost everything and he didn't give a single damn. He was just... content. He was ok with life screwing him over as long as his son was safe," Cobb sighed. "He may not be the nicest of people, in fact, he's quite the bastard, curt, rude, and sarcastic... but he is one of the kindest people I have ever met. Never met someone who works so hard for other people like he does."

Luke nodded, smiling to himself. If anyone told him that four weeks ago he would have scoffed and laughed. Now? His tamest reaction was a nod of agreement. He averted his eyes, looking at the pulse rifle. "He really is something." 

He couldn't buy a gunship, but he could buy this. He picked it up. 

It was a heavy weapon, with a thick adjustable strap. It was in great condition, with a few custom additions already placed on it. It held a clean scope. The metal had a pristine shine, with every mechanism oiled to perfection. The hilt was curved, made with sturdy hardwood, and coated with a polished finish to make the woodgrain brilliantly clear, all reinforced with a solid metal base. 

This wasn't some cheap knock-off, it was an original. Beautifully made, may he add.

"You gonna buy it?" The shopkeep asked in annoyance, perhaps he had been ogling it for too long. 

"I will actually, how much?" Luke asked. 

"8,000 credits, 8,250, and I'll throw in a load of ammo."

Little pricy for a gun but it'd be worth it. He nodded. "With ammo then."

"Jedi use sniper rifles?" Cobb questioned with a smile, incredulous at all of this.

"No, never. This isn't for me, I think Din would enjoy having his rifle back," Luke smiled. Cobb looked shocked, then, he smirked.

"Big gift. You trying to woo our stoic Mandalorian friend?" Cobb teased.

Luke scoffed quickly "Not in the slightest, Jedi aren't allowed to get into romantic relationships." 

"Ah, sorry. Didn't know," Cobb said, unexpectedly genuine. That wasn't common when Luke explained that. He relaxed a little more. Cobb was really pleasant to talk to.

"This is a gift to repay a gift. He let me know about the Jedi texts, which are far more valuable than a weapon, no offense," Luke commented in an aside to the shopkeep who merely grunted dismissively at him. "Plus, if he's going on bounties again, he might need it."

Cobb tilted his head in acknowledgment. "Fair point." He chuckled. "Ya know, with all these new people coming in, I've learned that it seems to be a very Tatooine thing to give gifts in return for gifts."

Luke laughed, "Yeah, quite the culture shock for me too when I joined the Rebellion." 

He collected the ammo and a bandolier the man included in the purchase. Cobb loaded the bandolier as Luke swung the rifle over his shoulder. He clipped the belt under the gun strap. It hung a bit loose and was somewhat irritating but it was ok.

Once done he looked to Grogu, seeing the child staring back at him in awe.

'You'll be like buir!' He said excitedly. An image of Din with his pulse rifle was presented to his mind. It was a desert planet, with him taking aim at something and Grogu watching from some white carriage.

Luke blinked away the memory thrown upon him. "No, no. This isn't for me. It's for your dad."

Grogu 'ah'ed and nodded in understanding.

Cobb did a double-take. "Can you understand him?!" 

"Oh, yes! We communicate through the Force," Luke said proudly.

"Wizard," he said in awe. "What does he think of me?"

Luke looked at Grogu expectantly. 

'Nice, talkative, like you Master Luke.'

Luke tsked as he held in a laugh. "He said you're 'nice' and 'talkative,' 'like me,'" he quoted, pointing to himself in reference.

Cobb crowed with laughter. "Kids. Can always rely on them to say the darndest of things." The two chuckled. 

It was cut short when Luke felt familiarity in the Force. People who he knew a long time ago before he knew he had the Force. He turned to meet them before they could even call his name.

"Luke Skywalker!" Laze called as he approached, Camie at his side. "Never thought I'd see you back on Tatooine!" He went for a hug that Luke dodged by lifting Grogu a little higher briskly. 

His student let out a squeal of surprise. Laze backed up quickly. He and Camie looked down, tilting their heads at the small child.

It was weird, Laze never went for hugs. Not with him at least. He'd hug Biggs and Camie, even Windy- most likely only cause he was Camie's brother- but never him.

Cobb cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. "Hi, Cobb Vanth, Luke's friend, and you are...?"

'Luke's friend' ? Luke smiled to himself. So he wasn't bad with people! Or maybe Cobb was just overly kind. Either way, Luke had a new friend.

"Oh, sorry, where are my manners? Laze Loneozner, and this is my wife, Camie," Laze greeted. 

'So they had gotten married, good for them' Luke thought. The last time he saw them they were just a lovestruck teenage couple.

"We knew Luke when we were all teenagers, before he went and saved the galaxy and all," Camie explained further, snickering through the last half. Luke tried to not take it personally.

Camie and Laze took a lot of cruel jabs at him when he was a teenager, but they were grown now. Above all that teenage angst and pointless squabbling.

"You guys live here now?" Luke asked. The city around the palace was still being built. It was mostly shops, newly built motels, bars, and rent-a-rooms currently. It seemed impossible for moisture farmers to live here.

"Oh no, still on the moisture farms near Mos Eisley. But once we heard of you being here, we knew we had to stop by and catch up," Laze explained cheerily. 

Luke nodded slowly. He didn't really feel like 'catching up'... but it would be rude to say no. 

He gave them his phony smile, almost hearing Din making fun of him for it. "Sounds great!" He said. "You mind if Cobb comes too?" Dragging Cobb in would be his only lifeline out of here if the conversation turned unfavorable.

"Not at all!" Camie smiled.

Luke walked with them as Camie and Laze recounted to Cobb stories of 'the good ol' days.' Luke kept trying to walk with his head up but he kept on scrunching in on himself. He was never close with Laze and Camie; never felt confident around them. He was always closer with Windy, and Deak.

And Biggs, of course. He missed him, even almost ten years later, but it wasn't painful to remember him now.

He let them ramble, going from their days as teenagers and then catching him up on everything since then as they gradually made their way into a restaurant.

They got married, decided to skip the whole kids part, and bought a few moisture farms. While Windy and Deak had finally gotten together and moved away from Tatooine. 

They reviewed basic life events and milestones. Things he wished he was invited to but he guessed they didn't think to ever message him. 

Plus, he never messaged them about his milestones. To be honest he never messaged anyone about his milestones other than Leia, Han, and Chewie. He wasn't very social, but he was happy with his restricted interactions, especially with Din and Grogu now with him.

Cobb was more amicable than him, listening intently and nodding along. It was all just meaningless pleasantries. 

He looked up when he felt attention shifting to him.

"-'s everything with you? Who's this?" Camie questioned, gesturing to Grogu.

"Ah, this is my student, Grogu, he has the Force, the Jedi magic, like I do," Luke said. Laze and Camie nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, this little guy was the cause of the tiff between Luke and Boba Fett a few nights ago. Luckily, his daddy stepped in, and cleared up the misunderstanding," Cobb said in his suave voice. He pet Grogu's head softly.

"Who's his dad?" Laze asked.

See, now Luke had something to talk about. "A Mandalorian I met. He took out an Imperial Moff! He just needed a little bit of help with the Dark Trooper droids, which can't blame him, those things are beasts."

"Think I heard of him, he's been through here a few times. A silver Mandalorian with the tattered dark cape, yeah?" Camie asked. Luke nodded slowly, confused about how Camie knew the basis of what he looked like. "Yeah! Peli talks about him all the time!"

"He knows Peli?" Luke gasped, sitting up straighter.

"Yeah! She said he's stopped by multiple times. Said he was the best ship hand she's ever had, which obviously I was  all  over," Camie joked with a broad teasing smile to her husband. Laze sighed but shook his head with a smile. "Last few times we visited she's always talking of 'Mando the bounty hunter' and his adorable son uh... shoot, what'd she call him?" Camie asked Laze.

"She calls him 'Bright Eyes,' doubt that's his real name though," Laze snickered. Peli always was a fan of nicknames.

"His name is Grogu," Luke said.

"Gro-gu?" Camie and Laze harmonized in confusion. Grogu perked to attention. 

"Can see why she gave him a nickname" Laze jested. 

"Oh come on, it's not that bad! He could always be named Laze, or Windom, or Biggs" Luke taunted right back; they all snickered. This was going well so far! He never had a conversation go well with these two before.

"Guessing that rifles for his dad then? Cause there's no way you could handle something big like that" Camie chuckled and gestured to the large gun Luke had forgotten was strapped to his back.

Luke didn't acknowledge her last comment, "Yes. Repaying a gift. He found me some Jedi texts, so I got him this. Tatooine kindness came through strong I guess. Can't let a favor go un-repaid" Luke responded gleefully, making a joke that only Cobb chuckled at.

Camie shook her head slowly. "It's still so shocking!" She marveled. "Who’da thought of all people you’d be a Jedi, eh Wormie?”

Luke laughed awkwardly at that. Cobb's face grew stern. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cobb probed, his voice suddenly stony and cold.

"Nothing, it's just shocking, ya know? You don't expect someone you grow up with to be the hero of the entire galaxy," Camie clarified, though her tone was as it was ten years ago. Passive-aggressive and a tad mocking. Luke didn't much like this conversation anymore. He scrunched in on himself a bit more.

“Or to be one of the biggest faces of the Rebellion, if not the biggest. Always thought you were just some farm boy with too big of dreams. You really showed us huh? Never shoulda underestimated you,” Laze chortled, nudging Luke's shoulder.

“Well that’s not fair, I mean, Biggs always knew you’d be great,” Camie cut in. "I mean I always just thought you were just his little follower but hey, I can admit when I'm wrong. Biggs would be so proud to see you now. 'Praised' by all the people of the galaxy." Her tone was mocking; instigative.

And now Luke was completely done with the conversation. He hated the backhanded comments, followed by random sickening sweet praise. It was gross. It made him  feel  gross, he'd rather them just be mean. The backhanded comments were entirely unnecessary. Going far beyond the limits of teasing. The compliments were almost worse because they kept bringing up his fame. Acting like it was the most important part of him.

It was just like when he was a teenager again. Getting picked on by Bigg's friends who he was always too nervous to snap back at. This is why he liked being around Din so much, and now Cobb too. They were genuinely nice, their teasing was only in jest and didn't hurt like Camie and Laze's comments did.

Din especially.

Din challenged his opinions on things, made him see things from other points of view, and pushed him to be better. It was just... he was good. Even only living with him for six weeks, he knew he was genuinely a very kind person.

And if Din's friends were half as good as he was, then he would much rather be around them than his 'friends' from childhood.

It was time to go.

Luke stood, laying a few credits on the table for his drink. "Sorry, I just realized I have to get ready to leave today. I meant to start packing earlier," He pardoned himself. "It was great seeing you two again. I wish you luck with your moisture farms."

"Oh, uh, and you with your Jedi school," Laze stammered, as he raised his glass.

"I'll leave with him," Cobb added. He got up and left before they could reply. Luke was quick to follow, Grogu whining confusedly at his sudden mood shift. He didn't answer his student.

Cobb waited for him outside. "Hey, you ok? They got a bit rough in there with ya."

"Fine, just would much rather be around bearable people" Luke scoffed. 

Cobb laughed. "Well lucky for you I know some somewhat bearable people you can hang out with." 

"Oh? Would that be the rest of the Din Djarin entourage?"

Cobb's head tilted back with laughter. "Oh. you're funny Skywalker. Don't let anyone hear you say that, but yes."

Luke smiled brightly. "So, where are we going?"

"Well, we gotta gather the gang first. After that? Well, who knows. But I can promise you, there won't be a dull moment."

"Better not be," Luke smirked.

Din landed his Starfighter on a patch of dirt on Felucia's surface. He stepped down, hearing the crunch of the grass beneath his feet. The bright fungal lifeforms growing tall above him and scaling the floor contrasted each other with their bright colors. Creating the dense jungles Felucia was known for.

This planet seemed to be recovering exceedingly well after the Empire's lack of care. He heard the planet had been a mess since the Clone Wars, but that it had only gotten worse under the Empire. He expected it to be far more rundown. He had heard most of the jungle life had died here, leaving only the major cities, and villages with their nysillin.

He was glad to see that wasn't true.

He could see the village from here, set on an expansive grassy plain. People were milling about, talking to each other politely. Farmers were tending to their land with their processors next to their plots, choking out smoke as they worked. 

They had a green electric fence, but it didn't do its job very well. He wouldn't be here if it did.

He approached, taking the dirt path and trying to avoid any straggling plant life just starting to grow.

The closer he got, the more villagers noticed him. Each having the same reaction, dropping whatever they were doing and making a break for the nearest building.

He slowed once getting beyond the village's entrance. He watched as they all ran, some screaming something he couldn't make out. In such a hurry, they even left their tee-muss tied to hitching posts. He pet one of the tall creatures as he passed, completely dazed by everyone's reactions. 

There was a divide in the town, the inner circle built with bigger and more luxurious houses. Din stopped in the square in front of the building at the very center and looked quite professional, hoping it was a mayor's or someone similar home.

"Hello?" He called. He heard panicked whispering

"Get out!" Someone yelled from a window.

Din paused, "I don't-"

"We don't want any more of you troublesome Mandalorians here! Go back to your friends with those Jedi-wannabes in the jungles!" Someone else shrieked, before slamming the window shut.

''Jedi-wannabes,' what the... ?' he thought, raising his hands in confusion before dropping them. He sighed. What a waste of time. "You're the ones who sent for a bounty hunter! I'll let Fett know about the false request and not to send others your way," He turned his back and began walking away.

"Wait!" A voice, the same who spoke first insisting he leave, called out.

He turned, hearing hushed whispers from the watching as a pale pink Felucian shuffled out. "You're the bounty hunter?" He asked.

"Yes," Din grumbled irritably. 

The man, presumably this town's leader, sighed. "It's ok everyone! Come on out! He's here to help!" He hollered. Unhurriedly, the townspeople emerged from their homes, whispering to each other. "I'm Runnio, mayor of this town, and-"

"Why did you all hide from me?"

"Oh... please, forgive us for our coldness, we've had some nasty run-ins with some of your fellow Mandalorians. They work with our counterparts, the Jungle Felucians. They hold powers like the Jedi. They're actually why you're here."

Din almost sighed. This would have been the perfect mission for him months ago when he was trying to find Mandalorians and Grogu a teacher. Though maybe not, given that these Jungle Felucians were, seemingly from what the town said, criminals. "Are the Jungle Felucians aggressive? Will they use the Force on me?"

"Oh, no, they've all taken 'oaths of peace' or whatever" Runio scoffed, "but the two Mandalorians they work with are stockpiled with several weapons, but I'm sure you can handle them! We don't need them back alive after all. In fact, you have our permission to kill them if you please. We just need our nysillin. They've stolen it many a time now" Runnio said, a bit too excitedly but Din wasn't here to give his opinion.

Din tilted his head in acknowledgment, though this mission was extremely interesting. "Where are they?"

"The Mandalorians are always in the jungle not far from the Jungle Felucian village, closer to the dead parts in the west. They're a bit hard to find because of their painted armor but they're not small, or quiet. I'm sure you'll hear them long before you see them" he explained.

Din nodded, turning away quickly without another word. 

"Oh, g-good luck!" A villager hollered in a stammer. A chorus of the same followed as they waved him off.

Runnio wasn't wrong. The loud chatter of the two Mandalorians led him right to them. It took under an hour.

He stayed silent as he stalked forward, trying his hardest to remain in the shadows and behind them. He could see them now. Runnio over-exaggerated their armor's paint, in fact, he had completely made it up. They were bare except for a few highlights of bright paint that covered nothing. Their armor just didn't have the shiny chrome finish his did. 

They matched, having black flight suits and purple capes as well as similar paint highlights. 

Runnio didn't exaggerate how well-stacked with weapons they were. Each having a few blades and guns on them.

The taller one was a togruta. Her helmet was specially made to accommodate her head shape. The helmet seemed to have a strong clipping mechanism under the earcaps and the sides bulged out to wrap around her lekku and montrals. Covering and protecting them entirely. Leaving him wondering if they could still be useful if covered but he wouldn't take a risk just to test that theory out. He had to creep as slowly as he could into the 25 meters to try and not be detected by her. He was only at 20 meters in currently. He couldn't take them out before he found out where the nysillin was. 

Her montrals and lekku were quite short, shorter than Ahsoka's at least. That had to be why she hadn't detected him yet. He was certain that meant she had to be younger- her voice sounded younger as well. Both of them did.

The other was a zabrak. He wasn't very tall, around Luke's height, bout 8 centimeters taller at most if you included his long horns, them being reinforced by his helmet, just like his friend. His horns would be a different kind of tricky, zabrak's used their horns for fighting. Din mentally noted that he needed to be careful.

He could finally clearly understand their conversation from here. The zabrak was yammering on as the togruta stooped down over a patch of dead land. 

"What's for dinner?" He asked. The togruta scoffed.

"What are you making?" She asked right back.

"Aw come on! I made dinner last night!" He whined.

"And you can do it again tonight! You cook and I clean, that's how we do it, that's how we've been doing it," she stood, the once dead patch now flush with healthy plants. Just like when Luke and Grogu grew plants. He tilted his head. 

She was kare’tigaanyc. 

She went to the next patch of dirt in the undergrowth with the zabrak close behind, bringing the grass up quickly. As the pair moved, he moved. 

"Is this about something else?" She asked, not turning to the zabrak as she spoke. She stopped at another wilted patch. "Cause it feels like this is about something else."

The zabrak sighed, leaning back against a tall and sturdy tree-like mushroom. "Yeah, I'm just... I feel like I'm-" He halted, looking towards Din's direction, and palmed the blaster on his hip. Din ducked down just a smidge more. 

"You feel like your what?" The togruta urged.

"I saw something," the zabrak said quickly, flipping down his range seeker.

"Tooka we talked about you avoiding talking about your feelings," She sighed deeply. 

"No, I'm serious!"

The togruta scoffed. "Please, I would have felt someone if they were sneaking up on us." She looked back at him. "Or have you lost all faith in me?"

The zabrak growled quietly before huffing. He flicked the seeker up. "No, I wouldn't ever lose faith in you, you know that."

"Good," She chirped, standing tall. Despite being 1.8 meters with her montrals, her head height was only 1.75 meters, about equal to her friend, if not a bit taller. "Cause if you ever do, you can nar'sheb!"

"Shut up," the zabrak sighed.

Din saw them moving again and mistakenly stepped too heavy, crunching a stick and a few fungi. The togruta turned quickly. 

"What?" the man asked.

"I sense something," she replied.

"Oh-! Oh, now you sense something! [Fucking dickhead,]" He cursed the last part in Mando'a. The togruta shushed him. 

Din crawled back circling the plant he was hiding behind. He knew they'd circle it, it'd be the smartest thing. He'd take out the one that tried to go behind him. 

Once he saw the toe of the boot of his intended target, he leapt out, tackling the smaller man to the floor. The zabrak shouted out in shock, putting up quite the fight but he had no chance to react.  

He disarmed him, stealing his blaster. He stepped on each of the zabrak's wrists with his boots, keeping a knee on his chest so he couldn't jerk upward. 

He pressed his blaster against his opponent's neck and the stolen blaster towards the togruta rounding the thick fungi he was hiding behind moments ago. There was a moment of pause. 

The zabrak smacked his lips, loudly and sassily. "[I told you I saw someone.]"

She tilted her head to glare at him "[Are you serious right now?! You're about to get shot and those are your last words to me?!]" The togruta shouted.

"[Well, I did-!]"

"[Shut up!]" She commanded, she turned back to stare Din down. He heard her swallow hard. "How did I not sense you?"

"You didn't sense me 'cause I didn't want you to sense me," Din growled. He saw her tense up nervously.

The zabrak gasped. "[Like the ysalamiri?!]"

"[Exactly...]"

Din didn't really understand or care for this, he came here for one reason."Where is the villager's nysillin?" Din demanded.

"W-what?" She asked. Somehow, he could tell this was genuine.

"The nysillin from the farming village southeast of here. Where is it?" Din asked again.

"[They did not!"] The zabrak gasped in angered shock.

"[Oh... they did]" the togruta sighed, as she lowered her weapon. "Listen, I don't know what they told you, or how much they're paying you, but we didn't take their nysillin."

"And why should I believe you?" Din questioned cooly.

"I have no proof of our innocence, but we don't need nysillin. We did trade with that village a while back, but that was for food they imported. In exchange I..." She hesitated. "Well, I'm sure you saw, I... have powers," Din nodded curtly in confirmation. She bowed her head just a smidge more. 

"I-I grew their plants for them. Then the mayor, Runnio, started demanding more for less food. We cut our losses, that's where our interactions stopped. Never once have we stole nysillin" she finished off. "Now, I'll ask you one last time to get off my vod. I'd hate to fight you," despite her effort, her voice wavered in her last sentence.

Din glanced at her pauldrons. Both bulged out to create the shape of a Nydak skull. He looked to the zabrak who had the same pauldrons. Definitely of the same clan, it checked out. He stepped off him quickly and gently, getting away from them both.

The sister sighed in relief, yanking her brother, who had barely sat up, into a tight hug. "[Can't believe your last words were gonna be rubbing in how you told me so!]" She blurted out in almost a scold, holding him tight and lovingly.

The brother laughed. "[Gotta claim victory when I can, you know me.]"

The sister sighed, checking his wrist. Caring for him so whole-heartedly when he'd only had his wrists stepped on. The Tribe never did that. 

He'd walked in there plenty of times, bleeding, limping, and wheezing, yet he only got cursory glances of judgment. Other than the foundlings, they always seemed to have genuine concern and care for him, but those were children. They were the only ones who cared, and it was unfair to put his pain and woes on children. 

He couldn't help but feel envious. Envious of the siblinghood he wanted and the easy affection he craved. He had that now with his friends and Luke, with Grogu, but growing up that deep familial relationship would have been nice.

The sister grunted, holding her head. She looked at him, completely catching him staring. "You..." she tilted her head slowly.

Din stood taller and changed subjects "If you didn't steal the nysillin, who did?"

The sister paused. "I'm sorry, I have no clue."

"Guarantee it's those damn smugglers and Runnio just wants to blame it on us!" The brother snarled as he stood up, brushing himself free of dirt and stray leaves. He checked the two utility belts wrapped around his stomach and hips then his satchel. He nodded his head, satisfied with his brisk check.

"What are smugglers doing out here?" Din asked. The sister hesitated. The brother did not.

"Safer out here," He stated, "having a base out here means it's harder to be found and shut down, getting imports and exports without being taxed or looking suspicious. They also can move into the bigger cities and spread out if they're distributing. I've wanted to investigate for weeks but the Jungle Felucians and our House all refuse to help!" He hissed out, this clearly a long-standing issue.

"You make them sound like awful people talking like that" His sister chided.

"Well, they're not good people; standing around and doing nothing," He clashed back. They stared at each other, bodies tense and radiating anger. The brother backed down first, bowing his head reluctantly. "I'll find the next dead patch and meet you there." He grumbled, stalking off.

The sister sighed deeply. "I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing," she voiced, dipping her head politely. 

Din hummed. Smugglers that knew how to smuggle so well they knew the perfect place to set up a base of operations that was exporting and importing goods couldn't have been some small operation. That kind of thing was connected to something bigger. Syndicate big. And that meant credits, credits he wouldn't mind having right now. "Maybe not. Maybe we could help each other out."

"How so?" She questioned suspiciously.

"Well, I'm not leaving empty-handed. I can't take smugglers out on my own, you would have the farmers in Runnio's village indebted to you and reestablish trade. Plus, you'd give your brother the satisfaction of taking them out," He pitched. 

Din had to respect someone who did a good deed for the sake of it needing to be done. 

The togruta shook her head positively. "Alright," She said. She looked back to where her brother had walked off to, he was fairly far away, leaning against a plant, his arms crossed in a pout. "I'm sure my brother will agree to it too. We'll meet you by your ship."

"Will you be able to find it?" 

"I'll find it just fine." She chuckled confidently before sauntering off.

Din laid on one of the wings of his Starfighter, looking at the missing panels. Peli said the next time he visited she'd have the parts for him. When he returned to Tatooine, he'd stop by to get it fixed. The setting sun of Felucia shined brightly over everything.

He heard movement, he sat up quickly to find the siblings approaching, conversing about something random.

As they talked and moved about, checking their weapons, he got to see their full supply. Din was definitely envious of the brother's sniper rifle. It wasn't an Amban sniper rifle, but it was still gorgeous. 

He also had a single beskad across his back, while the sister had two crisscrossing hers. How strange it was as most Mandalorians he met had guns or heavier weapons. 

They had blasters, bombs, and vambrace weapons, but still, it was a little different.

“We should get moving. I want to reach the smuggler camp by nightfall so we shine less,” The brother said, bouncing in excitement.

The sister nodded. “Are you ready to go?” She asked Din. He nodded mutely. “Good. Come on then.”

The three sat behind fungi, the 4th moon beginning to rise, bathing the planet in dull white light. The brother used his range seeker to look at the smugglers. He wore no jetpack so he had to have only used it as a visual aid.

The sister, like Din, had a pair of binoculars. All three of them were watching carefully. The smugglers wore thick suits and gas masks as if transporting something dangerous.

"Could have sworn nysillin was a harmless healing crop," Din said, almost a question. Waiting for the siblings to explain.

"It is," the brother replied grimly.

"That's why this is weird..." the sister hummed. 

"What else could they be smuggling that would require that level of protection?" Din asked, it had to be toxic, should they be wearing gas masks?

"They have to be importing it" the sister defended.

"They are very clearly loading the boxes into a ship, not taking them out," The brother scoffed at her.

"Yeah, well I see that now" she retorted.

"Hey, don't get snippy with me 'cause you can't see." There was a slight pause in the conversation. "[So, the bounty hunter, do we trust him?]" The brother asked his sister, clearly not intending for Din to hear. 

"AH- Tooka! I mean- brother!" She corrected. Din merely looked up to them. "[He's also Mandalorian! He can understand us!]" 

"[Oh, right]" The brother paused. "[Or can he?]" 

There was a long, long lull, where the siblings slowly turned to look at him. Din sighed longly, "Yes, I can understand Mando'a, I probably speak it better than Basic."

"Ah... sorry," the brother cleared his throat, reverting back to Basic.

They went back to watching the smugglers in silence. It wasn't tense, it was nice, not as nice as the silence with Luke and Grogu on Yavin, but still. 

The sister sat up suddenly. "No karking way-" she snarled out.

"What?" Din asked.

"Left corner of the cargo hold, they opened up a box and... oh Manda, no. It can't be."

Din looked, finding what the togruta had to be talking of. But it was only a flower.

"Puffballs... how did they find them?!" The brother growled. 

"This must be what they're specifically here for! Stars! This is so bad, why do they have so much?!" 

"What do puffballs do?" Din asked, feeling well out of the loop.

"The flower itself does nothing, it's the pollen that's the issue. In small doses, it only causes slight skin irritation and numbness, but in large quantities? It could knock out a damn rancor," she murmured.

"From how much they have, it could probably K.O. Sando Aqua Beast." The brother added.

Din felt his chest tense, "What are a bunch of smugglers doing with it then?"

The siblings looked at him then each other. Their hesitation was clear. "Nothing good," The brother said definitively. Din had to agree with that. They step back, regrouping behind a patch of solid flowers and mushrooms clumped together to make a solid wall. They needed to construct a solid plan of attack.  

The siblings would thin out the numbers by taking out the few who stood watch on the edges of the ground. Once done, they'd signal Din who, being the biggest and (probably) the oldest, insisted he'd take on the biggest attackers, the large guards who wielded heavy slug throwers. The siblings would keep the ships grounded before taking out the remaining smugglers. After syncing their comms they moved out.

Din crept forward in a careful crawl, keeping low to the ground to not make a sound. Once close enough, he laid flat on his belly, waiting for the comm from one of the siblings.

He watched what he could as the lethal pair slipped along in the dark, snatching unsuspecting guards one by one. They didn't make more sound than a few leaves shuttering. In the shadows, the soft glint of a blade skewered a guard and legs wrapped around the neck of their partner. With a twist, the sister had snapped the guard's neck, and he fell limp. 

The guard never hit the ground, however, as the brother had snatched them up and dragged them into the unseeable part of the jungle, where he had just dragged his other kill. The sister softly dropped from the tree moving on without even making a sound. 

The siblings were brutal. He had respect for people who did their job and did it well.

His comm clicked on "Go, my brother is ready with his sniper rifle" the sister whispered. He nodded. 

He brought up his knees, his muscles flexing in anticipation. He grabbed a rock, tossing it to his left and hearing it make the satisfying rustle he hoped it would.

The guards perked up. Slowly they slinked towards it, Din waited till all their backs faced him. He struck. 

Running up he slid, slicing the heel of the closest to him. He narrowly missed the man as he collapsed to the sandy ground in a scream of agony. 

In the shock he got three more, shooting one in the neck and using the slug thrower resting in his target's hand to make him shoot two of his cohorts. 

He was doing well until he was nabbed by the back of his cape by a large Houk guard, similar to how a Loth-cat knabs up an unruly kitten. Only much rougher and painful. 

Din now saw the sister and brother taking out the other smugglers, the sister slashing them down with her beskads as the brother sniped from the protection of the night-covered vegetation. They were busy, he was on his own. 

He could deal.

He fired the whistling birds from his vambrace, getting the closest guards running at him to collapse as the mini-metal missiles tore through them.

The Houk got him in a headlock as one guard grabbed his foot trying to restrain him. Din brought his free leg up and grabbed his vibroblade from its sheathe in his boot, stabbing it into the Houk's thick neck. He felt his grip loosen immediately. 

Din broke free, using his momentum to slam his head into the guard clutching his leg. He heard the cracking of the man's far inferior helmet inward. The guard stumbled in his concussed daze. 

Din couldn't waste the opportunity, he snatched him by his shirt collar, slapping a grav charge to his chest before flinging him in front of his buddies, belly up.

Despite being protected, his ears rang from the loud boom of the explosion, drowning out the screams of the men left alive. He brought up his blasters, treating each of them to a blaster bolt to the head.

The siblings were struggling against the attacks. The brother had come from his hiding spot, standing by his sister. Their beskads -having to be made with mostly beskar from how they reflected bolts- swung heavily, as the brother shot back. 

They were beginning to get overwhelmed. Not that he could blame them. There were far more smugglers than they thought.

Lucky for them, Din had just made quite the ruckus. He raised his blasters as smugglers ran at him, blaster bolts ricocheting off him. 

He shot. 

Still too many were here, whatever they were using the puffballs for, they really didn't want it taken. Or found out. 

He felt a hot bolt graze his flank. Someone he didn't realize was so close grabbed his arm, twisting it until his hand spasmed, dropping one of his blasters. 

He turned toward his opponent, elbowing them away and dodging as another tried to kick in his knee. He felt pain in his upper arm, from the one patch that wasn't covered. 

They had cut him.

He shot fire from his gauntlet, getting the space he needed from them and lighting two on fire. As he walked back, he picked up his blasters, glancing about to try and get a decent view of how many he was facing off with. 

Too many. 

Din could do a knife fight, but not against more than a dozen men with guns. He had little choice. The only chance of his survival and the siblings' survival was using the one weapon he abhorred using. 

He holstered his blasters and grabbed it, holding it in front of him as blaster bolts caromed off him. The Darksaber unsheathed fluidly, making his attacker pause only for a second.

The silence let him hear the saber loud and clear. 'Kill them all!'  it whisper-screamed with enthusiasm. He loathed obeying it.

He sliced clean through the first smuggler, hearing the panic grow in his target's fellow men's voices.

He sidestepped one as they charge at him, and though it was sloppy he managed to stab the man in the back. He snatched his gun, a semi-automatic blaster that he used on every smuggler he could, feeling the saber's weight increase. 

He sliced two down in one strike, almost burning himself on the leg, the same way he did over a month ago. 

Somehow, by some work of Manda and pure adrenaline-laden fear, as he curved his legs and hips to avoid the scalding hot blade its momentum was fast enough to lodge itself in the man sneaking up behind him.

He yanked on the blade as he continued to fire at smugglers with the stolen blaster. It was hard to dislodge and once it was it still had little use, its tip dragging firmly through the ground. 

The saber was getting too heavy now, he couldn't swing it anymore. He still had more to face, smugglers were coming too close. He groaned.

He could feel his heart racing faster and faster. He knew he was hurt, more than he could feel right now. He needed to hurry up, adrenaline would only fuel him for so long.

"Kark it," He cursed.

He sheathed the Darksaber. He leapt back as one of his attackers swung at him. Mid-jump, he activated his jetpack, only for a second, it flinging him back further- just like Luke with his little Jedi moves, only he was far less graceful. 

He fired the stolen semi-automatic blaster before throwing it aside, switching it for his blaster as he ran forward. 

He brought the hilt of the Darksaber across one of his attacker's faces, hearing his jaw break under the hard hit.

Din felt a blaster bolt tink off his jet pack. He turned shooting a small cluster of smugglers before executing the broken-jawed man at his feet.

The larger ran at him. Din was ready, he slammed the hilt of the saber into the soft part of his throat, hearing his gasp get cut off as he unsheathed it.

He turned shooting the last few, more off-kilter than he wanted but he still got the job done. He let the smuggler he impaled fall to the ground limply with the rest of his fallen band of smugglers.

He gasped for air, bent over and groaning as the adrenaline wore off. His sides ached, his bolt grazes bled and he was sore everywhere. 

He just wanted a cold bath and a nap on the solid ground of Yavin. 

Din slowly stood to full attention, hearing nothing but the buzzing of the saber. He stared at it, its fuzzing sound turned into tentative whispers. 

He could swear he felt hands on him, delicate touching, and hums of concern. He took in a shaky breath. It almost felt... caring. 

He felt them leave quickly with squeaks of panic. 

The saber went silent. Then, in the voice of the white Jedi Mand'alor that haunted his dreams, it whispered 'Trust in me.'

"W-what?" He asked back.

"You're the kriffing Mand'alor?!" The sibling screeched in unison. He looked at them and then around. They'd taken out the remainder of the smugglers. Good. 

He retracted his saber- NOT... not his- the Darksaber. "No, I just have the saber."

The siblings stared at him, at each other then back at him. "Pretty sure that's what names the Mand'alor," the brother scoffed.

"Unless there was an election and he literally just owns the weapon... but we'd hear about that, right?" The sister asked her brother.

"Yeah! Which means he's the Mand'alor! Unless he stole it," the brother looked at Din suspiciously.

"No way, no one can steal from Moff Gideon! Plus did you see him fight?!" The sister argued, "He had to of won it... right?" She asked Din, looking at him directly. He felt obligated to be honest with her.

"I won it, but I don't want it," he looked at it "I'm not fit to be a leader at all, let alone the Mand'alor."

The brother hummed in awe. "A modest Mand'alor."

"Mand'alor the Modest," His sister corrected. The brother nodded quickly, humming in agreement.

"I'm not the Mand'alor!" He yelled, the siblings only tilted their heads at him. He sighed, "Let's just, investigate this place."

"Guess he's more of a Mand'alor the Reluctant" the sister grumbled to her brother. He snickered childishly. Din rolled his eyes, moving deeper into the facility, the siblings followed not too far behind.

The nysillin was spread among boxes, covering overly protected vials of powdered substances. As if they didn't want to waste a single molecule of the substance. This must have been the puffball pollen. 

At least it meant the nysillin wasn't contaminated, but he'd still have to let the villagers know it could be and to cleanse it.

As the sibling looked around the ships and hold, searching desks and taking what they pleased, Din collected the crops in three empty boxes. The nysillin filled their containers so full that the sides curved outward and looked ready to burst.

"You gonna carry all three of those?" The brother asked, looking at the boxes and then at Din. He looked him up and down, only to pause when looking at his side. "Are you bleeding?"

Din avoided the second question. "You two will help me take it back to the village," he said.

"What?!" They squealed in outrage. 

"No way! Those farmers would have happily let us die!" The brother barked out. Din nodded in acknowledgment. 

"They gave me permission to kill you actually," he admitted. The brother laughed, absolutely baffled. 

"We couldn't help even if we wanted to, we have to get rid of this place," The sister said before the brother could go on the rant he yearned to go on.

"Don't worry about that, this is already bigger than we thought." Din sighed, "I'm taking a vial for evidence, my friend will send people out here to investigate."

"Like... the New Republic?" The sister asked, inching closer.

"Don't know, don't care, just means we won't be cleaning it," Din shrugged.

The sister went to argue when the brother cut in. "Perfect by us!" 

"If you help me bring the nysillin back I'll split payment for my mission with you," Din offered, trying not to wheeze. His sides ached still, and his lungs felt constricted, he'd be able to carry one box, but all three? Probably not.

The siblings looked at each other, nodded, then snatched up crates of their own.

"Jeez, heavier than I expected," the brother murmured.

"Would you stop whining for once?" The sister snapped back with a cheeky laugh. They broke into a childish argument. Din tried to chuckle at their antics but quickly clutched the box in pain as his side burned. He'd fix his side on the ship.

The villagers had, very reluctantly, apologized to the siblings. They informed him they had given the money to Boba Fett, so the siblings would have to come along with him to get their payment. Not that they minded, they immediately agreed to having a little trip to Tatooine.

They had a ship of their own apparently. He gave them the coordinates and they separated.

Currently, he was treating one of his wounds with a fismyle flush. Most of his injuries were nothing, grazes or bruises or small slices, but this one was deep. It bit into the flesh just above his hip. He'd just have to take it a bit easy.

His comm rang with a call.

"Hello?" he asked when he answered it.

"Mand'alor! Hi-" The sister said without hesitation.

"Not the Mand'alor."

"Right, um, well, we have a small request-"

"Really small," the brother cut in. 

"Like, really small, um, our House lead called us home... he said it's urgent," the sister broke off into an embarrassed cough.

"We were wondering if you'd like to tag along on our detour? We might need your help," The brother stated. It was becoming increasingly clear these two were far younger than he pegged them for. If they were on their own, they had to be adults, hopefully. Maybe they were just very young adults.

"Fine, I'll tag along. I guess. Just send the coordinates" Din sighed. The siblings both thanked him ecstatically as he hung up.

He tried to stay positive. It might be nice to meet another Mandalorian Tribe- or... House? They called it a House.

He might even be able to find an armorer and finally make Grogu a clan signet necklace piece to go along with his mythosaur skull. He didn't get his hopes up though

The second he got the coordinates, he plugged them in and took off.

Their planet, Molavar, wasn't very far from Tatooine, it was only a slight detour, as the siblings said. 

He landed a little ways from the city, next to a modified Old Republic gunship- an Amphibious Interstellar Assault Transport to be exact. He couldn't help but admire it. It was stripped of the paint the red and white Old Republic would have painted, instead being covered in several pieces of graffiti. Some gorgeous pieces of places or animals, and others were just flat-out immature crude words. A few were clearly drawn by children, quite young children. Or maybe just a very bad artist. 

"Mand'alor!" The siblings chirped, crowding him. "How'd you know it was us?"

How they could talk in unison like that freaked him out a little, but maybe Din just didn't understand siblings, "I didn't, just appreciating the gunship."

"Oh- yeah! It's cool huh? It was our buir's" The brother boasted proudly.

Din nodded. "Well, let's see what your House lead wanted so we can get to Tatooine faster."

 The siblings nodded, quickly leading the way. Molavar was similar to Tatooine, only it had far more mountains and canyons. The town was shaded by the lip of the canyon. The sun probably only hit the settlement directly for an hour or two. Even better, not far from this town was a murky river.

Next to the river was an expansive farm. The town had rerouted some of the water to fertilize the soil and keep it moist. Plenty of people were working them, calling to each other about nothing he could understand from this distance.  

It was the perfect place to settle on, for a desert planet at least.

As they walked, Din saw no one in their armor. Everyone here was in... normal clothes? How odd. 

A cruel old part of him he was trying to outgrow wanted to reject them all, tell them all how they are all not Mandalorians. But he'd be a hypocrite. Holding people to his beliefs on how Manda should be followed was unfair. 

Now that he looked closer, he realized he was mistaken. Everyone here wore something. A very select few people wore everything but their helmets, holding them at their sides just as Boba did. Some wore only pauldrons and thigh plates. And some wore nothing but a necklace, holding both their iron heart and their clan crest.

'How interesting'  He thought.

"Is your home not like this?" The sister asked.

"No," he sniffed, smelling- he could cry!- gi dumpling soup! It'd been so long, the Armorer and other senior members of the tribe made it sparingly as it never lasted long. Probably because people actually liked eating it.

The city was big, bigger than the watch with more Mandalorians he'd ever seen. He smiled, before remembering his place. 

He faced forward.

They were approaching one of the few Mandalorians he saw in full armor, only his helmet was off to the side sitting on a fence post. He was a large yellow zabrak, a bit bigger than Din. He stood, pacing in front of a group of more than a dozen kids of varying ages. 

He had no clue that teaching could be wide-scale like this. He thought that was just going to be a him and Luke thing. In the Tribe, parents taught until children passed their verd'goten, and after that apprenticeships were one on one. He was an apprentice to the beroya before him, Paz's buir, Kreshiv. Before that, he and any other foundlings who didn't have buirs (or in Paz's case, had a buir who was gone all the time) were usually left alone with each other. Sometimes, one of the Mandalorians would teach them a story from history, and on the best days, they'd be taught some recipes or traditions by the Armorer, but, all of that was never consistent.

He guessed this made it a little easier, that he wasn't breaking more rules and traditions. Though, he'd broken so many at this point it was starting to hurt less, but knowing this wasn't one of them helped his conscious, even if only marginally.

"Buir!" the siblings harmonized, excited but trying to not show it. Their buir turned. 

“Ner verd’ika!” Their buir smiled, the brown almost black tattoos lining his face moving with it. He hugged his children close. ‘My little soldiers' he had called his ade.

It made Din smile a little under his helmet. He forgot about that little nickname for children. He never used those nicknames, never bothered to learn them as he never thought he'd need to. He didn't think he'd ever have a foundling.

He'd have to remember it for Grogu.

He looked over his children. "I was just teaching the hibire, clearly you need to join them, look at your armor!" The siblings groaned as the hibir giggled. The zabrak man spotted him. "[And I see you brought home a stray? Are you more like me than I thought?]" He asked in Mando'a, his accent thick and deepening his voice.

"[No, he's just a friend. We're stopping by since Kryze called us home]" The brother replied.

'Kryze... like Bo-Katan? Can't be'  He thought. It didn't make sense, Bo-Katan said she was the last of her line.

"Mmm, well, I'll have to get him to make you come home more often," he scoffed, switching from Mando'a to Basic.

'Him.Not Bo-Katan then'Din decided, reassured. He didn't want to meet up with her. Now, or ever if he could manage it. 

The buir changed again to speaking Mando'a when telling his students- "[Never let your children leave, students! They get ungrateful and never call!]"

The hibir cackled with laughter. The brother yelled  'Oi!'  playfully mad at them, giving chase to the kids who all squealed and ran. The sister rolled her shoulders with a sigh.

"Where is Kryze?" the sister asked, trying to stay on track.

"Sparring, with Crila" her buir smirked. The brother and sister gasped in excitement. They took off at the speed of ships kicking on their hyperdrives. Din sighed deeply as the buir snickered. 

"[Sorry]" he said, not sorry at all. Din rolled his eyes but admittedly smirked.

He followed after the sibling's deep footprints in the sand. He knew it was a big galaxy, but he still couldn't believe he never heard of this place. How many other places had he not heard of? 

He wished he met these people sooner. It would have made things easier. He might be able to seek these people's council when he needed it. If he needed it.

He didn't get to finish his thought as it was shot down when he began to hear cheers and the clashing of metal. He picked up the pace.

In a mini-stadium he saw a human male wielding two beskad swords, just like the sister, facing off with a strong iktotchi woman, bearing a heavy war axe. Both were in full armor, both their armors paint jobs were slightly worn.

"C'mon Crila! Keep up! Or are you getting too old?" The man- presumably Kryze- called out in a tease.

The woman laughed breathily. "You're asking for it, Kryze!"

"Oh, I most certainly am!" He got in a defensive crouch, pointing his swords out, one toward her and one to the ground, "Show me how much!"

She ran forward, blocking a sword swing and kicking the House lead. While he dodged the kick, he did not dodge the handle of the axe that collided with his jaw. 

He stumbled, and the woman quickly kicked out her leg behind Kryze's, tripping him. The second he hit the dirt, the iktotchi woman brought down her axe, clearly about to stop herself to show she won but the man redirected it. 

He pushed until her wrist went to a weird angle, leading to her having to drop the axe. He leaped up, bringing his beskads to an "X", the cross point stopping at her throat. 

There was a pause, silent and tense. 

“I yield.” She scoffed. The other gathered Mandalorians hooted and clapped. 

The two separated after a polite bow. Kryze grabbed a fabric from the sandy floor, bringing it back to his back.

It was a cape, and quite the cape it was. A dark blue with green at the bottom. It curled back up and around his helmet, clearly mocking royal clothing.

His beskar'gam had a blue base with thick white stripes coming from his shoulders to collide under his iron heart- which wasn't an iron heart at all, instead, it was an oval teal gem. A line drew down from his "gem heart" until it touched the bottom of his chest plate.

His helmet stood out the most to Din. There was no angular "V" like crest on his forehead like Bo'katan had. Instead, there was a maroon circle with a gem that matched his gem heart.

'Maybe they aren't in the same clan, then'  Din thought. He looked around, finding the siblings easily and approaching them. 

"Told ya' Korkie would win!" The sister laughed,

"Whatever, you know Crila has way cooler weapons! She's beaten him in every arm wrestle!"

"Well, why don't you use her weapon then- oh! Mand'alor!" She turned "Did you see that?!"

"I did."

"Yeah! Don't know if it's obvious but Korkie is the one who trained me," she said proudly, almost a brag. Her brother crossed his arms. 

"'s not that cool..." He grumbled.

"Cashla, Tooka! I'm glad you got here so quick" The house lead said, quickly approaching as he took off his helmet. He saw the man had graying ginger-blond hair, not like Bo-Katan's red hair, but the two had a few similar facial features Din could point out. Though it could be a coincidence. After all, he was also quite short, shorter than Bo-Katan who was around Luke's height. It was like playing pong on whether this man and Bo-Katan were related.

The man craned his neck to look at him. "You brought a friend I see, I'm Kryze."

Din dipped his head. "Djarin."

The brother and sister looked at each other slowly then at Din, as if only now realizing they never caught his name or said their own. "I'm uh, I'm Tooka Stokax," The brother chuckled nervously.

"Cashla Stokax" The sister waved. 

Kryze looked between the siblings. "You brought a man home and you didn't even introduce yourselves?"

"In all honesty? Didn't really occur to us" Tooka admitted. Kryze rolled his eyes but chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad you're going on adventures, but I'm sorry to say, you cannot go back to Felucia."

"What? Why?!" The siblings yell. Din considered taking a walk, giving the siblings privacy with their House lead, and grabbing some of the gi dumpling soup he smelled earlier, but he'd probably just end up getting lost

"I looked into the smugglers you told me about. They work with a crime syndicate I have a troubled past with and don't want to get involved with," Kryze said. Din cringed a bit, he had a feeling a crime syndicate was involved, he didn't even think to warn the siblings.

Tooka tensed, angered. "Happy you finally looked into it." He grumbled. Kryze looked at him in annoyance.

"What about the Jungle Felucians? My training? Healing Felucia?!" Cashla interrogated.

"The Jungle Felucians are perfectly fine on their own. They can heal Felucia, you told me you taught them how," Kryze said.

"And what of my training?"

Kryze paused. Din thought about offering up Luke's services, but he hadn't asked the man yet. He'd ask the second he got back. "I'll figure it out." The man said in a sigh.

"But we can handle ourselves just fine!" Tooka almost whined.

"I'm your House lead, you can go anywhere else, just not there!" Kryze hissed. "I won't let you interact with the Crimson Dawn syndicate!"

"Well, too late, Kryze! We already took the base out!" 

Kryze got a terrifying glare. "You did what?" He asked in a cold monotone voice. Tooka stepped back as Cashla scrunched in on herself.

Tooka tried to stammer a defense, but Cashla quickly cut in. "They were harvesting puffball pollen! Hundreds of vials!"

"The paralysis flower?" He asked, the siblings nodded. "YOU-" he growled. "When that happens you COMM ME! Or your buirs! But no, of course, you two would never do that! You went in guns blazing didn't you?!" He sighed shaking his head, switching over to concerned. "Were you hurt?" He didn't wait for an answer, checking both of the siblings over simultaneously. 

He gave gentle taps, urging them to lift this arm and then the other as the siblings groaned and moaned at the care. Whining of him babying them.

"We're fine, we had help," Tooka said, looking at Din, as did Cashla. 

Din took a step back as the House lead turned on him, eyes burning with fury. 

"The man whose name you just learned?" He asked tensely.

"Well, yeah..." Cashla mumbled.

"He almost took us both out so we knew he was a good fighter-" Tooka tried to defend.

"HE WHAT?!"

"He never did! He just pointed a blaster at me-"

"TOOKA! SHUT UP!" Cashla balled her fist, knocking the soft, flat part of it into the forehead of his helmet rapidly.

"Explain, now!" Kryze hissed at him. 

"I'm just a bounty hunter. I was there to get nysillin back for a farming village. The village thought they stole it-" he gestured to the siblings, "-turns out it was smugglers. We never knew it was a crime syndicate, though I had suspicions."

"Ok, let me get this straight. After almost 'taking out' two of our youngest adult members, you then invite them on your little bounty-hunting escapade? They've never been bounty hunting before-" the siblings glanced at each other than away ashamedly. So that was clearly a secret they were keeping, explained why they were so skilled, "-and you think taking on a smuggling ring of a crime syndicate is a good starter for them?!" He hissed.

“We scoped the place out, we counted the people there and made a plan accordingly. I contacted a friend to send New Republic soldiers there already and they will be handling it. You won't be under fire, I would be as my name is the one that's tracked, but I think the Crimson Dawn will be more focused on going underground for a bit so they don't lose more money," Din said, voicing his own thought process of the situation.

Kryze crossed his arms, still not satisfied "I'm careless but I’m not that stupid. And in all honesty, I thought these two were bounty hunters, they’re talented fighters, more talented than most,” Din finished calmly.

"If I may, I'd like to also remind you we're nineteen-" Cashla was silenced by a glare.

"Nineteen is plenty old enough to fight." Din backed her up, getting her to stand up straight again.

“What?! No! That’s still too young! When was your first bounty hunt?!”

“Thirteen.” Technically he was twelve turning thirteen, it was his birthday, and Paz’s buir had a strange definition of “gifts,” but he supposed going outside the Tribe's little burrow was good enough. Even if it meant killing someone for the first time. Or multiple people in his case. Plus, it did double up as hisverd'goten so, he at least got to drink afterward and then began his apprenticeship.

Kryze stared at him, stammering in shock. He took a deep breath and released it "You are somehow more troublesome than these two," Kryze gestured to the siblings who only grumbled their offense in response. "I think you should go."

Din held in his disappointment. He wanted to try and keep pleasant relations here, but he couldn't force it. This was probably for the best.

"No! You can't! He's here to unite us!" Tooka argued.

'Oh, for the sake of Manda-'

"What are you talking about?" Kryze asked grumpily.

'PLEASE, NO-'

"He's the Mand'alor!" The siblings shouted in unison. Kryze's eyes traveled to Din's belt, he stared at the hilt of the Darksaber. He looked up slowly, his eyes shifting from a hardened leader to the shocked face of a broken man. 

"You- You killed Gideon?"

Din wanted to scream, hating having to repeat this over again, "No, I handed him over to a group of Mandalorians who turned him into a New Republic jail. I only disarmed him."

Kryze scoffed a sad laugh. "You make it sound like nothing..." he shook his head before taking a breath. He looked to the siblings. "You two are in big trouble. You're not allowed to leave here for two weeks, go tell your buirs what you did."

The siblings groused their arguments but nodded. 

Tooka cleared his throat, "Can we still go with Djarin to get the credits from our fight?" It took two seconds of a glare for the brother to back off silently. The siblings trodded off.

Kryze looked back at him, his face trying to remain hopeful but still keeping stern. “When you unite and reestablish a new Mandalore, I hope you’ll be less careless. Mandalore has had enough action without forethought for consequences.” 

Din scoffed. “I’m not going to be some savior for the Mandalorians, I’m not meant for that, I’m just a bounty hunter and I’m barely a Mandalorian!”

The man cocked an eyebrow at that. "What does that mean?"

"I-" He sighed. "I follow The Way."

"A Child of the Watch," Kryze huffed out.

"Yes," Din nodded, "Only I... I broke the creed, I removed my helmet when trying to save my son. And again, when I thought I was saying goodbye. I'm not a Mandalorian, not by anyone's standards."

Kryze stared at him. "The Watch cast you out then?"

He nodded curtly, barely moving his head at all "They said the only way I could cure my misdeeds was by bathing in the Living Waters in Mandalore's mines," Din scoffed.

"You can't even step foot on Mandalore. And all the Living Waters are gone-"

"I'm aware," Din snarled. 

Kryze stared at him before bobbing his head solemnly. He let a pause drag on before asking "Am I a Mandalorian to you?"

"Yes, but-" Din tried to answer, but was cut off.

"Those two, the siblings you met? Are they Mandalorians?"

"Of course-"

"And my people? My people, some who don't wear armor at all, do they meet your standards?"

He paused, only to find a way to word it right, "I've grown enough to learn people can have different ways of following a religion."

"Then why are you so hard on yourself?" 

Din sighed, Kryze made it sound so simple. "I took the creed. I took an oath and then broke it."

"How old were you when you took that oath?" Kryze asked. Din didn't want to answer, already seeing the point he was trying to make. So instead, Kryze added another argument 

"With a broken creed, it gives chance for you to review your boundaries with religion. Resol'nare was vague, not to be strict but to be able to set your own boundaries, why let them be set so close to your breaking point?" He asked. So astute yet respectful in his explanation.  Din found himself unable to respond. Kryze carried on to his concluding statement, "By my standards, breaking your creed for your child is more Mandalorian than any oath."

A perfect argument, one that left him speechless. Din bowed his head, not sure what to say. Instead, he changed the subject. "Do you know Bo-Katan?"

Kryze went wide-eyed, straightening and stepping back with his shock. "I do... why?"

"I met her, a few times, she was meant to get this" Din said, gesturing to the Darksaber. Somehow blood never stuck to its ridges. "I didn't know she was supposed to win it in combat with Gideon."

"Course, years later and she can't let that damn saber go," He sighed, running his hand through his kempt and short beard, "I'm glad you got it instead of her." He paused only for a breath. "What are your plans for the Mandalorians?"

Din sighed. “None.” He admitted with a shrug. 

Kryze stared, he only hesitated so long before his patience broke, “I understand you don’t want to be leader, but clearly, fate has a plan for you. That saber has a plan for you.” Kryze scolded. He stared at the black hilt. His eyes glazed over and his body stiffened as memories seemed to haunt him before swallowing visibly. He made eye contact with Din “And you fighting it doesn’t change anything. People need you to stand up and lead us to a better future.”

“I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Don’t know until you try.” He replied. “Plus, if you’re bad enough, you’ll just get killed.”

“Thank you, very reassuring” Din snorted.

Kryze chuckled. “You… you are Mandalore's only hope. If you’re even halfway decent, we’ll be doing better than we are now.”

Din nodded. What was the cost though? His life? Would he end up like Aga Awaud? Uniting Mandalore only to end up dead and forgotten? Maybe that was for the best.

"I have one last question," he said quickly, Kryze waited for him to continue. "You... do you have an armorer here?"

"We do. But if you want something of beskar, you'll be sorely disappointed-"

"No. In the future, I might come to make armor for my son, I'll bring the materials and payment."

Kryze nodded, "Then they'll make it for you."

Din sighed in relief, "Thank you."

"Of course, Mand'alor," Kryze said, driving that title in as if stamping Din with it.

He gave a nod to Kryze heading off to say goodbye to the siblings and find a way to transfer them the credits.

He retraced his steps on the flattened sandstone streets, back to the schoolhouse the sibling's buir was at earlier. He slowed when he heard yelling, from a very angry feminine voice. Turning the last corner, he saw the siblings being vehemently berated by a human woman who stood next to their dad. This must have been their other buir. 

She wore long flowing clothes and a wide hat that dipped and flew up with every movement of her head. 

He hesitantly approached, catching into the scolding session pretty quickly.

"'-was only a base' ?! 'It. Was. Only. A base' ?!" She mocked, seemingly quoting one of the siblings. "Fierce, are you hearing this?!"

"Oh, I'm hearing it!" The zabrak buir scoffed out, mad but not nearly as mad as her. 

"I cannot believe you two! I-" she sucked in through her teeth "I'm glad Kryze has revoked flight privileges, cause guess what?! You'll both be working the farms with me!"

"MOM!" the siblings groaned.

"No! Zip it! I don't want to hear it! Act like ade and you'll get treated as such!" She screeched. She paused before looking to her riduur, glaring at him. The man quickly cleared his throat.

“Your buir is right! I’ve never been more disappointed in you two! So reckless!” The zabrak scolded. The woman nodded, satisfied with his scold. Cashla stood taller as Tooka curled in on himself.

"We were doing the right thing!" She defended, "You always told us to do the right thing!"

"Not if it killed you!" The woman's fury crackled, her face growing worried and saddened. "What would I have done if you didn't come home?"

The siblings bowed their heads. "Sorry," they murmured in harmony. At seeing him, Cashla quickly perked up, turning to him. She gestured him forward.

"Buir, this is who joined us on our... er-" Cashla struggled for words.

"Mission" Tooka cut in, looking at his mom only to be glared into clearing his throat and looking away. 

Both buirs looked at him. The woman had a fury ravenous like fire. She bared her teeth, snarling as any buir would. Where Kryze asked him to leave, he felt this woman might not give him that chance. 

Before she could turn her tirade on Din, the zabrak placed a hand on her shoulder. 

"You handle them, I got him," he said, he bumped their foreheads briefly in a soft keldabe kiss, his horns pushing up her hat even more than before. 

Upon pulling away, he gestured for Din to follow him. They walked. Din heard the woman shouting again. He couldn't be happier to not be facing her wrath.

Once out of earshot, the man beside him began to chortle "With wrath like that, you'd assume my riduur was a war general and not just a farmer."

"Most buir are, I know I am. Though, it might be her profession. I've met some pretty intense farmers," Din commented back, Luke sticking to his mind, though the man was far from a farmer now.

The man laughed deep from his belly, having to pause their walk. Once he settled they continued. "I'm hoping my verde'ika were actually invited on this little mission and not just inserting themselves?"

"They were," Din admitted. "I assumed they were more grown than they were. Living on their own and all."

The man sighed. "They're grown, been grown for six years, they are just... special to us all." He stopped, they were at the city's entrance, Din hadn't even noticed. "We moved around a lot when The Great Purge happened. Some clans collected foundlings and some had children of their own. With all that moving around, there was, sickness, starvation, injuries..." The man looked at Din, his yellow eyes dulling. 

"By the time we settled here, Tooka and Cashla were the only children of our house to survive. The others... victims to the galaxy's cruelty, along with several of our adult members" The man seemed to be looking through Din, to horrible memories, like Kryze had. Like Din had several times before. He knew the trauma of recovering from the purge. 

By the time Gideon had dropped the bombs, the Children of the Watch were already well hidden and locked away. But he remembered the wails of people crying about the loss of friends or family. He remembered comforting his fellow foundlings when the adults couldn't. Humming the songs from Aq Vetina to distract them. That time was the only time he and anyone else his age seemed to get along. 

Fear does that.

”…you can see why we might be protective. Not just our clan but the whole house.” The man finished softly.

"It must have been a great loss, I'm sorry" Din offered his condolence. The man merely smiled toothily at him, grateful for the condolence.

"It was hard times, but as you can see, we recovered. We've been here for eleven years now, and the House has never been stronger, you saw my class, and that was a small day, a good third were at the sparring ring watching Kryze and Crila. Tooka and Cashla are just... they're still... I don't know, a beacon of hope I suppose."

Din nodded. After all that? Any person would be. "Then, you should know, your beacons of hope were quite the fighters. So great in fact, I decided to split my bounty payment with them."

The man tilted his head at him. "Really?" At Din's nod, the man chuckled. "Consider it their punishment and keep it for yourself."

"Consider it my retribution for bringing them on such a dangerous mission," He pushed.

The zabrak laughed curtly. "Tell you what, keep it and invest it in New Mandalore, Mand'alor," He smirked. "I'm sure my children would approve."

Din stared at him, his mouth moving but words hesitating to come out "Your children told you then?"

"No. Saw that on your hip," he clarified, looking directly at the Darksaber hilt. "The entire House has seen it by now, I'm sure. We all know what that saber is..." He looked up to Din. "I'm hoping you'll be better than the last three we've had."

Din only nodded. "No promises. Like I said, stubborn bastard, bit of a jerk as well."

"Whose willing to go out of his way to make a pit stop so the people he's traveling with can go home. Then insists on paying them, even though they clearly didn't go through half the battle he did if this tells me anything," he gestured to Din's mostly treated blaster wound. 

Din quickly stepped back, covering the wound with his arm.

"Can we give you some proper care before you go?" 

"No, I can't stay out much longer. Have a son to get back to."

"Well, I wish you luck,..." Like his children, the man seemingly realized he never caught Din's name.

"Djarin."

"Djarin," he nodded, he gestured to himself "Fierce Stokax."

He nodded curtly, "Great meeting you."

"You as well. Safe travels."

Din had gotten far more than he bargained for as payment for taking out and reporting the crime syndicate, almost double what the original bounty was. Especially with the vial as proof.

Seemed the republic was willing to pay good money to those who were willing to do their jobs for them.

Now all he had left was to find Luke. A pretty difficult task given he wasn't in his room and Din was barely able to walk without wincing and gasping now.

He walked down the city streets, trying very hard to not be seen so no one thought he'd be an easy target to rob, or worse one of his friends tried to talk to him and dragged him into their many antics.

Although... He did drag them into more things than they dragged him into. It was a mutual thing.

Soon, he heard cheers and loud noises. Following it, he found himself back at the bar he was in a few nights ago. The same bar he was dragged from when Luke and Boba, and Greef too he supposed, decided to throw down in the streets.

Upon entering he was gifted with the confusing sight of Luke and Cara arm wrestling, a crowd surrounding them. Strangely, Luke had a sniper rifle- no not any sniper rifle, an Amban Phase Pulse blaster- strapped to his back, as well as a bandolier full of ammunition crossing his chest. 

He did not blush. He merely was shocked at seeing Luke looking like that. He'd never seen him use a blaster, let alone a sniper rifle. What amazing taste he had. This one was prettier than his old one.

While he was proud of Luke's excellent taste in the blaster. The bandolier was the proof not to give him too much credit. It was showy, yes, but the looping was inconvenient and the whole thing looked cheap.

In his distracted focus on Luke, he nearly missed Cobb standing among them with Grogu who was barely paying attention, blinking slowly in his tired haze. 

"C'mon blondie, I know that arm's getting tired!" Cara taunted, her muscles bulging with effort. Luke smirked deviously, like when they were sparring. He had to be using the Force.

"No, never-ending stamina, I'm good," Luke replied cockily. He smirked up at Cobb's childish laughter.

"Oh, Cobb, I think he's flirting with you," Cara teased, it was becoming clear she was trying to distract Luke. A meaningless task, really, he could multitask like no other. He wondered when Luke would just end it. Din knew he could easily.

"Oh is that so? Breaking a Jedi rule for me, Luke? Would Din approve of you making moves on me in front of his kid?" Cobb asked, a teasing flirt as always. At the mention of his name, Grogu popped up. His son spotted him and instantly brightened, bouncing up and down but no one seemed to notice. Din approached slowly.

"You two are trying so dearly to distract me but it won't wor-" Luke looked to Grogu, then to the doorway. To Din. His eyes went wide. "Din, your ba- OW!" He yelped as Cara took advantage of his few seconds of distraction and slammed his hand to the table. She didn't wait, turning to the surrounding crowd and whooping excitedly. 

Luke rolled his eyes at the jeers and cheers but left it be. He got up swiftly, jogging over to Din. Luke looked up at him. "Hi."

"Hi. Are you having fun?" Din responded, smirking.

"Very much so. If you hadn't distracted me, I would have won."

"I would say I'm sorry, but I don't wanna lie, I'm pretty pleased that your match ended so you'd come talk to me."

Luke snorted adorably. "Your hunt go alright?"

Din nodded. "Met some other Mandalorians, not of my tribe," he paused but continued on after lowering his voice and leaning into Luke's space. "One was a force user."

Luke gasped, staring at him completely stunned. "Are you kidding?"

"Dead serious, she's nineteen and in need of a teacher. I didn't want to bring you up to her without your consent, so, if you're interested-"

"I'm interested! I'm interested! I'm interested! Din this is-AH" Luke was bouncing. He lunged forward, hugging him around the neck. 

Din froze up, slightly startled. He didn't really know how to react. Slowly, he thawed, returning the hug by wrapping his arms around his blond Jedi friend.

"Thank you," Luke murmured, his voice traveling straight into his ear from the earcap.

"Any time," Din replied dryly.

They pulled apart slowly, Luke not removing his hands from around Din's neck but instead running them down Din's body. He refused to suck his teeth when Luke's hands brushed over his injured side.

Yet, Luke somehow knew he was hurt, he always saw through him.

He squinted at Din suspiciously. When Luke turned, Din turned. "Din. Let me see," Luke glared at him. Begrudgingly, Din held still as his friend tilted to look at his side. He heard him gasp quietly. "Din!"

"It's nothing-"

"Dust for brains! What did you do?!" He asked, both concerned and scolding, pulling up Din's arm and slouching over to get a better look. 

Din couldn't help but smile at his concern. "Blaster wound, it's ok."

"It is not! Din-!" Luke sighed, putting his gloved hand to the wound only making Din whimper. "Sorry! Sorry." He soothed, pulling his hand away and patting his chest plate lightly with his other hand.

"It's fine," he breathed out. All these little touches... it made his chest feel tight. He felt... nervous. Luke made him nervous.

Not bad nervous, not fearful, but tight chested. Flustered. That was the word. Luke flustered him. Especially now, with his light easy touching. His soft questions, both rhetorical and asking if this or that hurt, something Din could barely hear over the bar's loud chatter. He liked the softness and care it all held. It made that tight chested feeling tighter, his heartbeat harder... But it was all quickly shattered when he remembered what this was to Luke. Just because it meant something to him didn't mean it meant something to Luke.

"Woah, Djarin, what did you do?" Cobb asked, holding a squirming Grogu. 

"I decided to play with fire, what do you think happened Cobb? I got shot," Din snipped. 

"Well, what'd you go and do a thing like that for?" Cobb asked rhetorically, smiling widely and with the sarcasm he always was happy to dish right back out at Din. "But seriously, do you need a first aid kit? That looks bad-"

Luke grabbed Grogu from him. "It's ok Cobb, I got it. You should continue having fun, I can take care of 'it's just a blaster wound' over here" Luke smirked at Cobb.

The marshal chuckled in response. "I told you, Djarin's a crazy one. Tell me- how old's that wound?"

"Like, a day give or take"

"Din!" Luke scolded as Cobb only laughed harder. 

Right, Cobb should get to call him his first name too, right? He was one of his closest friends, "Cobb, you can call me Din, if you want."

"Oh~? I get first-name privileges now too? Don't spoil me, Din, I might get the wrong idea," He smirked. Din rolled his eyes, not a stranger to Cobb's flirtation. He flirted with everyone, it seemed to be part of his charm at this point.

"I'm gonna get him out before he bleeds all over the place. See ya, Cobb," Luke cut in quickly, and he nudged Din out the door. It was uncharacteristic of Luke to be curt, but he did seem concerned about his injury, despite his many attempts trying to reassure the man.

"See ya, 'Jedi Master' Luke," Cobb teased. Luke visibly rolled his eyes but smiled good-naturedly. Not fakely, it was genuine. Din was glad Luke liked his friends.

He all but dragged Din back to his room at Boba's palace as they repeated the argument they just had over and over again. "Luke I'm fine-"

"For the sake of the Force, stop! You'd say you were fine if you were missing a damn leg," Luke scolded. He made him sit on the bed with Grogu, who was hugging his non-injured side. 

"Grogu, hey," Luke called, kneeling on the stone floor to get eye level with him. It took a moment before Grogu looked up at his Jedi teacher. "I need you to tell me how to heal with the Force."

"No-"

"Yes!"

"You shouldn't waste energy like that- I'm fine!" 

"No, you're not, Din! I promise you it's not going to be that difficult or draining, and if it is, guess where we are? My room! I can crash on my bed. I doubt that'll happen though."

He sighed but didn't fight further. As Luke and Grogu communicated through their headspace, Din became transfixed on Luke. The bandolier was too loose, the gun strap too tight. He didn't even have the padding on his shoulder, it was just resting in the middle of the strap over his pec. Not to mention his clothes were unstraightened. The seams were folded over oddly and his black clothes looked like the starry night sky due to the sand speckling them.

"Alright, I think I got it" he scooted forward on his knees. He hovered his hand in front of Din's wound, closing his eyes to focus.

Din waited, feeling an odd tingling as the magic healed him. He didn't like it too much. Felt bizarre and a bit intrusive. He wouldn't win an argument with Luke over it though, the man was set in his place and would not give up.

So, instead, he busied himself with fixing Luke's appearance. He loosened the gun strap, bringing the shoulder pad to its rightful place. He picked at his tunic, straightening it and brushing off some of the sand onto the floor. Finally, he got to the bandolier. He could only hope Luke didn't pay much for it as not only was it made of cheap irritating fabric that felt rougher than rocks, it wasn't even adjustable.

"You done picking apart my outfit?" Luke asked, looking up at him, slowly pulling his hands from Din's side and placing them on his knee plates.

"No actually, show me your belt since you clearly don't know how they work, you're supposed to adjust it to a comfortable place, not as tight as you can," Din responded, smirking. Even though his face was always hidden- and admittedly, he spoke quite flatly- Luke always seemed to know how he was feeling and intended things. It was refreshing.

He scoffed at Din. "And to think I just healed your broken ribs and open wounds," Luke smirked, not even breaking a sweat. It really was nothing for him.

"I had broken ribs?"

"Yeah, two of them," Luke shrugged. "All better now though right?"

Din rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. Honestly, he felt pretty great. He looked back to Luke who had brought his elbows up to rest on Din's knees, clasping his face with his little smug grin. Waiting for his appraisal. 

Din chuckled softly, he returned a small friendly touch. He leaned in, placing his fingers beneath Luke's chin to lift it "Yes, thank you, cyare burc'ya" he responded, genuine and trying to push as much gratitude as he could into his voice.

Luke's face dropped a little as he curled in on himself slightly, not pulling his head away from the soft touch. Maybe he liked these effortless touches as much as Din did. "What's uh... what's that one mean?"

"Beloved friend," Din hummed. "Or closest and most loved friend, if your want to be specific."

Luke nodded slowly. "Think you're my 'beloved friend' too."

"Glad I made the cut."

They sat like that for a bit. In one of their serene silent lulls again. The ones that just followed all of their conversations. Calm, comfortable silence where they just enjoyed each other's company. 

It was perfect.

Luke was the first to snap back. "Right uh, I bought you this," he said quickly standing as he struggled to get the blaster off, messing up his clothes and now his hair as well. Din didn't fix it this time. He was preoccupied with what Luke was giving him.

"You're... giving me this? Why?" Din asked.

"Because you got me the Jedi texts! Though, I don't think any gift I give you is going to make up for that-"

"You don't have to make up for it, it was a gift and I only stumbled across them-"

"No you didn't, you can't even see the Jedi section from the Mandalorian section," Luke cut him off before he could rebuke his point, "You can say all you did was look it up, but that means you had the texts on your mind, and you were willing to put effort into getting me something."

Din grumbled, rubbing his fingers together to hear the orange finger grips squeak and distract him from the slight warmth spanning from his cheeks to his ears all the way to the back of his neck. He wasn't expecting a gift like this. Or a gift at all really. "Well, you don't have to repay my kindness. That's the whole point."

"Well, maybe I just wanna be kind back to you."

Din curled back even more at that. He stared at Luke, holding his gift. A weapon, a replacement for the old one he missed so dearly. He stood, crowding Luke's space as he did, but the Jedi didn't step back, he only looked up. "Thank you, Luke."

"You're welcome," He smiled wide. "Oh, and this is yours too," Luke took off the bandolier and passed it to him.

"I appreciate that," he said, taking the bullets from it and putting them in his own.

"What? Is mine not good enough for you?" Luke asked jokingly.

"Luke... I appreciate this very, very dearly, but whoever sold this to you robbed you blind 'cause it's a piece of junk" Din said. He watched as Luke's jaw dropped in shock, a smile tugging at his lips. "Ether they robbed you, or your taste in belts is as bad and plain as your taste in ships."

"Shut up! It was given to me for free!"

"Well, that's a relief-" he laughed when Luke punched his bicep.

"You're such a jerk!" Luke giggled. "I was being so nice! Never again!"

Din pulled up his leg, slotting each bullet into its place. "When did you get all of this?"

"Today actually, went to town with Cobb. I uh... I actually met up with some old friends from childhood," he scoffed slightly, "went as well as I could have expected."

"Were they mean?" Din asked. He did not say it aggressively, but not kindly either. Luke didn't deserve rudeness.

"Not mean, not kind. They just tease wrong is all. And just kept bringing up how they 'couldn't believe I was a Jedi' and all that" Luke answered, mocking them in the last part. "Which, it's fine, meeting people at the bar I was dealing with that constantly, but they were just so patronizing, ya know?"

Din nodded silently, not feeling a need to speak. It felt like Luke had more to say.

"I understand why if they were just talking about how I had no powers because until I started training I didn't really show any sign of having powers, but they seemed to be ...I don't even know, more shocked I even did the things I did? And they kept bringing it up over and over- I just... ugh" he groaned before taking a calming breath. He took a seat, his back against the foot of the bed. "I hated it. I said bye and hung out with your friends, who are positively lovely, by the way."

Din smiled, happy his friends could offer some comfort. He took a seat next to him. "People are assholes." He got what he wanted from the comment, Luke's pleasant soft laugh. "Sometimes they can talk so sweetly and be saying the cruelest of things," Din sighed. "I can't imagine the change-up of finding out your powers at- how old were you?"

"Nineteen."

Din chuckled softly. "Yeah. By that point don't even tell me, I know you had to do it to save the galaxy, but if given the choice? If it didn't affect me or people in a major way? Don't tell me."

Luke stared at him in shock. "You- you can't be serious. You really wouldn't want to know? At all?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Not even if it was like mine? Or something people could use against you? Or- or..." Luke stare at him, he didn't seem to understand why.

"No. I know it's avoidant to think like that, but I like my life right now. It's just all going so well. I don't want it to change," Din replied. He glared bitterly at the saber.

"Din, you..." he paused, seemingly letting something go. "What is the saber for?"

Din stiffened. "Why do you ask?"

"Just... you always stare at it, but you don't seem to like it too much... I'm just curious if you don't like it, why do you keep it?"

He hesitated, he didn't have to tell him this. He could tell Luke to buzz off, to mind his business... but he wanted him to know. Plus, after today... this will probably affect Luke down the line somehow. "I uh... Luke, I haven't been honest with you."

Luke went wide-eyed. "O-oh?"

He nodded, "By technicality, I am the Mand'alor. The ruler of the Mandalorians."

Luke blinked. "Oh... um, 'by technicality'? What does that mean?" He asked, being rather calm about this new information being exposed. Din was glad about that.

"When I won against Gideon, I won this," Din said, unclipping the saber from his belt and holding it up. It felt like it was holding his arm right back, the way he and Boba grabbed each other's forearms in greeting. Whispering like the static of a quiet radio. "Naming me Mand'alor."

"That's not a very sound way of picking a ruler," Luke joked. Din scoffed a grumbled 'yeah tell me about it,' that made them both laugh. "And of all people, you? You hate government-"

"I don't hate it, I just think it's a lost cause that never works."

Luke chuckled. "So um... are you leaving for Mandalore then?"

"No, Mandalore is tainted, the air is unbreathable and stepping foot on it probably means certain death from radiation poisoning," that was embelishing it a bit. The air had cleared a bit and the radiation from the nukes hadn't affected all of Mandalore's surface, just most of it. He took a deep breath. "Though they expect me to reunite the Mandalorians. And I have no idea how."

"So... you accept the role as Mand'alor?"

"Don't think I have a choice."

"There's always a choice," Luke told him sagely. 

Din huffed. "Do you think I shouldn't be Mand'alor?"

"I'm saying you need to choose it, don't be forced into it."

"I have no choice, it's been made for me."

"By who?" Luke implored, "whose making these decisions for you?"

Din looked at the saber, he tapped it twice with his thumb.

"The... the saber?" Luke asked.

"It sounds dumb but... It's strange... I hear it- and it's heavy cause... I don't know why, 'cause I haven't trained enough I guess..." he looked to Luke. "But it chose me. Why? I have no clue."

Luke nodded slowly, believing him, actually believing him. "Well, even then, you'd be choosing to accept the saber's call, wouldn't you?"

Din looked away from him. He was choosing, wasn't he? Even if it didn't feel like it, even if it felt like he was being forced into a role he never wanted, nor deserved, he could run. He could ignore it, ditch the saber and live with Luke and Grogu on Yavin... but what kind of a person would he be then? “Luke…" 

Din hesitantly pushed onwards. "I have no business changing our deal… but I need to if I do this. I’ll still come around but I might be busy for a while when fixing things, and Grogu deserves some stability… for once in his life…” 

‘He deserves a better buir,’  He thought, turning his head to look at his sleeping son. From this angle, he could only see the child's sand-coated little feet. He'd clean them before they went to bed-

“Din…” Luke palmed his shoulder, not continuing until Din looked at him “You are not a bad parent for moving around so much. And you are not a bad parent for having responsibilities other than your child."

"I know for Mandalorians family is important, very important, but being here isn’t the only important thing. You just have to be present, show you care, which you already do overwhelmingly well.” Luke said softly. Din huffed.

“When you have to leave, which is hopefully far, far away from now, Grogu will be safe with me, I will…” Luke scoffed a laugh, “-somehow I’ll learn how to cook, for his sake, and we can make a list of things you want me to teach him while you’re gone. And leave it open to changes in the future."

"When you come back, we’ll go back to the old routine, or if I have to that’s when I can take care of Jedi things outside of raising Grogu, you can take Grogu until I come back.” they stared at each other “We’ll raise him together. We’re a team in this, remember?”

“Yeah… a team.” Din echoed, Luke nodded, and slowly dropped his hand from his shoulder. Din swallowed “I like that plan.” 

He paused before saying, “And maybe...” he didn't know why he hesitated but watching Luke's smile falter made him continue quickly. “Maybe we could teach each other things. I could teach you Mandalorian things-“

“-and how to cook, I can’t express to you how immensely terrible I am at cooking, I can make one thing and that’s it. This is me begging, please, you can't give me good food and expect me to go back to rations,” Luke cut in.

Din laughed. “Yes, I’ll teach you how to cook, I promise. And you-” he tapped at the Darksaber hilt, “-maybe you can teach me how to use this?”

Luke stared in wide wonder at the saber. He nodded. “Yes… I’d love to.”

“Sparring with you again, how lucky am I?”

“Not lucky enough to not get your ass kicked. I’ll tell you that.”

Din laughed. “Getting beat by you isn't so bad either," he smirked. 

Confusingly, Luke blushed. He laughed it off quickly, getting up and offering Din his hand. "Glad you can find some joy in it."

He pulled Din to his feet. "Sorry to kick you out, but uh-"

"You just healed me and want to get to sleep?"

"Yeah." Luke smiled. "I'll see you in the morning."

Din nodded, picking up Grogu gently and going to the door. "Yeah, good night Luke," Din hummed.

"Good night Din."

Luke was a bad person, he knew that now. He groaned as he rolled in bed, reflecting on their conversation.

"-if given the choice? If it didn't affect me or people in a major way? Don't tell me."

"You- you can't be serious. You really wouldn't want to know? At all?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Not even if it was like mine? Or something people could use against you? Or- or..."

"No. I know it's avoidant to think like that, but I like my life now. It's just all going so well. I don't want it to change." 

He turned over again. 

It was... an excuse. To not change things. He knew Din deserved to know, and yet there he was, telling Luke not to tell him. That he didn't want to know. That even if it could affect him later, he didn't want to know.

Din, just like Luke, liked how things were.

Not to mention how much Din had done for him. Maybe... maybe Luke should just keep this to himself for now. After all, they had to focus on the Darksaber.

Din heard it whispering and he somehow discovered the saber chose him. It all proved Luke's theory of it containing some kind of conscious life force. Din didn't feel concerned or scared or pained, he only felt confused. 

Tomorrow he'd ask Din about it, but cleansing it was the top priority. Maybe then Din's power would draw back to its minuscule level before and he can live his happy life not being affected by his powers.

The second of the twin sun rises, Luke can't see it here, but he feels it. Feels the Force near him rise. He stretches until his joints crackle back to their right positions. He checks the feeling of Din's room, feeling no signs of life there. He and Grogu must be already gone. 

Now was a good time as any to pack up. He collects the remainder of his things, nothing more than an overnight bag stuffed too full of clothes and heads back to his ship. 

The cargo hold couldn't fit it. As bad an idea as it was he'd have to hold it in his lap as he drove, couldn't be that bad. He'd honestly done a lot worse. 

As he placed the bag in his seat for safekeeping for the day, he noticed his comm panel had a notification. He opened the message.

'All packed, meet us at Peli's shop whenever you wake up' 

'This is Din, btw'

He chuckled at Din's sign-off. As if Luke may not have him saved in his contact and not know who he was.

He supposed he'd be heading to Peli's.

Luke entered the shop to hear a small argument- better described as bickering- going on.

"-likes you!" Peli argued. "And I don't give droids up easily! 'Specially ones that have info like R5 here!"

The droid unit beeped loudly. He looked... familiar.

"Why does everyone call their droids by their unit number? It's like calling a Hoth-cat 'Cat', or a bantha 'Bantha', and they're only animals! If droids are so beloved and special give them a name!" Din argued, avoiding Peli's point entirely. Both were fuzing the last of the paneling to his N-1 ship.

"Well give him a name then!" Peli called

"No, no! Cause then you're gonna make me take him! Why do you want him gone so badly?"

"Cause-" Peli looked over to the droid "-shut down for a sec so you don't hear this-" the droid begrudgingly listen.  Peli didn't carry on until she was sure, "-cause he's an annoying little thing that wants adventure and can't fix ships! Plus he's gonna cost a bit to fix up, hence why I'm offering him for free. But he's got maps of the galaxy! It's the only thing not wiped from his memory. Fix him up and he'll be working faster than this Starfighter here!" Peli knocked on R5's head. 

The droid slowly came to life, creaking and stuttering as it powered up. He couldn't have been any older than Artoo, how little the poor droid was taken care of was painful. Luke could probably fix him up.

He glanced around, finding Grogu staring at him as he played with one, of the many, toys Din's friend- Greed or Greef or Gref... Creed? Something like that- bought him. 

"Hello," Luke called. Both Peli and Din looked at him. Din's warm happiness slowly fell on him like sunlight. It made him blush slightly. From the warmth. Obviously.

"Hello, Luke-" Din tried to greet, in his softened voice with the rough touch of the modulator that he always took now greeting Luke, but it was interrupted.

"Luke kriffing Skywalker!" She screamed, something about short women, how angry they could get and how terrifying it was despite being a head taller. She slapped his shoulder repeatedly. Speaking between each slap, "How- dare- you- leave- without- saying- goodbye!" she ended it with multiple slaps until Luke finally grabbed her wrist.

"I'm sorry!" He told her. Peli glared up at him before hugging him. He sighed deeply. Looking over her shoulder he saw Din working away on his ship, fusing the last few panels that were simply cosmetic at this point. Giving them privacy.

Peli pulled back "Nine years! No call! Then you send me a kid?!"

"I knew you'd care for him! Find his dad, plus I sent him with Artoo-"

"You were avoiding me! Get up and out every once in a while! Call people up! Just because you're a Jedi doesn't mean you get to avoid people!"

Luke bowed his head ashamedly though he couldn't help but smile. This is why he loved Peli. "I'm sorry, Peli-"

"You should be! You can make it up to me by helping Mando finish up his ship while I clean R5 over there for him!"

"I'm not taking him!" Din called, but Peli wasn't listening, she was walking off with the droid following her. He sighed deeply. Luke saw as Grogu walked over to him from his resting place and tugged on his pant leg. 

Din softened immediately like he always did with his son. He spoke in Mando'a, Luke tried to grasp the words and remember any of the translations he saw, but he couldn't get it.

Grogu was no help, as he gave a broken reply split between Mando'a and Basic.

Luke sighed, looking at his student as he walked forward. "Grogu apparently loves making my job as his translator difficult, he's splitting speech between Mando'a and Basic."

"What'd he say?"

"I don't know Din, I don't speak Mando'a."

Din sighed. "I gotta teach you. First on my priority list."

As he moved along the spacecraft he saw how much work Din and Peli had done. Last night several panels were missing, now it was less than five panels from being done. Still, Luke helped, fusing three on the fuselage as Din finished up the wing.

Luke couldn't help but keep looking at him, a man who was so big, bold, and gruff, but remaining a caring dad when telling Grogu to look away sternly when he lit up the light to fuse the metal. Grogu, even if reluctant, did so. As always.

Luke fused the last panel, rushed but still neat. He circled, making his way next to Din.

"Do you need help?" 

Din perked up, similar to Grogu when he was addressed: with a small grunt of questioning. "Hmm? Oh, no," he stepped to the side, showing off the well-fused metal. He felt prideful.

"Looks great Din, you should be proud," Luke smiled. Din nodded, but then sighed quietly. He tapped his fingers on the wing of the ship. "Still miss the Razor Crest?"

"Never a day goes by where I don't," he replied, joking but the words still held truth. "But hey, still got a good ship."

Luke smirked, shaking his head. His cheeks still felt too warm and his chest too fuzzy. He changed subjects with the clearing of his throat, "Since you hate droid names so much, what will you name him?"

"Oh, probably something equally as simple. Like 'Red,' something basic and easy to remember."

It hit Luke hard with a flashback. Red. That's why he recognized him. It was the droid he almost picked over Artoo.

He grinned, though he didn't mention it, it wasn't important and he wanted to focus on Din "That's a good one. Maybe he and Artoo could be friends, I think he gets lonely when I leave."

"Droids get lonely?" He asked as the red R5 droid beeped loudly as it wheeled towards them, faster than before and a lot cleaner. Luke would probably still change out several parts of his to get him running better, for the droid himself and for Din. 

"I think so, I like to think they're like us with needs beyond basic care" He heard

Peli came walking out but paused at the loud ring of a comm call. She held up a finger before dashing back into the office to answer.

"Mmm, another one to care for, fantastic" Din hummed sarcastically. Luke snorted, chuckling even harder when Grogu looked up at his dad with an angered little squint, pushing his feeling of offense into the Force. 

Din only looked at him, feeling sly and teasing. "Oh come on, you know you're my favorite."

With that, Grogu turned away confidently with a cocky little smile to match. 

Luke couldn't stop smiling at Din as he introduced Grogu to Red, with Peli translating the droid's speech. He couldn't get rid of that fuzz tickling his chest watching this man carefully pet the top of the droid despite the slight underlying anxiety. His promises to repaint the droid and 'fix him up a little, somehow' despite not knowing how droids work in the slightest. 

It was just cute. Din was cute.

...

He needed to wake up a little more, he should not have skipped caf this morning. 

Din shifted to Luke. "We should head home."

Luke nodded, "Caf first?"

"You didn't get it as soon as you got up?" Din asked in shock.

"I got good enough sleep that I felt alright for a little bit. Now I need that boost. Plus, I needed to properly prepare myself for the utter disappointment that is non-Din caf."

Din's fondness entered the force like the thrum of a heart. It made Luke smile wider, despite his best attempts to stop.  

"Guess you'll just have to wait until tomorrow."

"I think waiting is the only thing that could make it better."

Their trade of fond affectionate comments was interrupted suddenly.

"Hey, you finished up! Awesome job!" Peli praised, Din's mind settled the second she joined them. 

"Yes, thank you, Peli." Din grabbed a small, drawstring bag from a pouch on his belt, passing it to her. She smiled at him, not even looking, and tossing it to the table.

"Thank you for keeping in touch, make sure you teach Wormie here how to do the same."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I'll make sure to take notes." 

He felt confusion emanate from Din. "Wormie? That's a terrible name, Luke is very strong."

"Oh, I know, he could carry ship parts when he was twelve. I always called him that cause he 'wormed' his way out of work, always so caught up in the rebellion. His uncle told me all about it- oh shoot, sorry about them," she turn to Luke suddenly "-your uncle and aunt, I know it's nine years late."

"It's ok, Peli," Luke assured her. He hugged her. "We're gonna head out but, I promise to stay in touch this time."

"You better!" She slapped him one last time on the shoulder for good measure.

Luke laughed as she walked away.

Din placed Grogu in the cockpit before setting the ship to neutral, they pushed it out of Peli's hanger, to the sands outside, and next to Luke's ship. Luke used the Force to flick the ship back into park.

Din circled. "Back to Fett's palace then?"

"Yes," Din turned too quickly "but Din-!" Luke called, a bit too loud. The Mandalorian snapped back quickly. "I- before... You said, the saber whispered?"

Din sighed. "I know I sound crazy- in fact I might be- but-"

"No no, I don't think you are, I believe you... but I'm curious as it may tell me more about it, how to train you with it. How did it... choose you?"

"It told me, or... he told me."

"He?"

"There's a Mand'alor, the Jedi Mand'alor, I think he lives in here."

"In it?" Luke stared at the saber. He felt like it was staring back.

"Yes. And he... he came to me in my dreams, a few times actually... he told me he... I can't remember, he 'chose me' and I was 'perfect.' "

The words turned Luke's stomach, the Force shivered with him in disgust. "Did he... did mention anything else to you? How to bond with the saber? How to not go insane from the voices?"

"No, other than I need to bond with the saber by 'giving myself over to it entirely,' then and only then would it obey me," Din said, there was more to that, some threat to be had to make his friend slightly nervous like this. Tapping his fingers rythmically.

'What did that mean? Were they not bonded enough?' Luke thought. He could feel the force in the saber in Din's mind, the life force's threaded carefully together.

"You sound nervous... did he say something else?"

Din's shoulder rose. Luke prepared for a sharp comment, a correction, or a boundary being set, but on a sigh, his companions's shoulders dropped. "He said... He said that if I didn't control the saber, it would control me, that I would go crazy... hurt people" The guilt that laced every word punctured Luke's defenses and stung like salt in wounds, but with said grief came shimmering relief. Relief of getting that off his chest.

'Why didn't you tell me?' almost left his lips, but that was an unfair question, given his own secret keeping. It was also a question he could also probably piece together. Why didn't Din tell him? Same reason Din didn't tell him he was shot. He didn't like to worry people.

Luke knew that now. Just like he knew he didn't like that saber or anyone who lived in it a single bit now. "That doesn't sound safe," Luke murmured, Din only shrugged noncommittally. "You don't trust him, do you?"

"...I don't know. I  think  he wants me safe, I don't know why else he would have warned me..." Din sighed. "I think I have to, a little, but I trust you a whole lot more. It's why I'm... I'm hoping you can help me figure it all out."

It was like a knife twist. Din trusted him. Trusted him enough to be vulnerable, show fear, and ask for help.

Luke chose to make another dumb decision. One he knew would probably blow back on him. 

He would stay silent on Din's powers. Until he found out what this Mandalorian Jedi wanted, he couldn't let Din feel betrayed and trust solely in something that could be malicious.

"I'll help you, Din. Always. When we get home, I'll research ways to investigate the saber-" he took a breath, but Din cut in.

"We'll research ways. I want you to work with me, not take care of me, Luke. Like you said, we're a team."

Luke nodded slowly. "Ok, your right... we'll figure it out together." 'Somehow.' 

Din waited for Luke with Grogu, who had only just now gone to sleep, curled on his chest on the couch. His rifle was settled on the floor next to them.

Red had barely made it inside before powering down. He needed a lot of work, Din could tell just by looking at him. Not that he knew how to fix him but maybe Luke did.

He heard steps coming up to the door, which opened swiftly but silently. 

Luke smiled upon seeing him, going to laugh but quickly covered his mouth when Din put a finger to his lips, pointing at Grogu. Luke nodded slowly letting his hand drop, his teeth showing with his wide grin. 

"Can you move?" He whispered

"Not in the slightest, last time I moved he woke up and threw a fit, he's very cranky," Din responded quietly. Both men froze when Grogu tussled in his sleep, only for the child to relax further into slumber, his eyes rolling behind the lids as he dreamed of something unknown.

"That can't be a comfortable position."

"Not at all. I can feel my spine permanently changing shape. I think my discomfort soothes him."

Luke snorted as quietly as he could. "Here, I got him." 

Din smiled behind his helmet, watching as Luke took his son from his chest. He held Grogu close to his chest and glided away so smoothly, none of the wood floorings creaked. Or even made a sound. One could be fooled into thinking he was floating.

He took the chance to stretch, hearing his back crack all the way up. 

Old. He was old, dammit. Having a kid aged him from an exuberant bounty hunter to an aged dad with a messed up back. He was 36- how did this happen already?

He sighed deeply, rolling his shoulders back with a hum, each joint letting out a satisfying crackle.

"Back hurting?" Luke asked quietly as he re-entered the room.

"Oh yeah," he turned his head, his neck letting out a loud snap to show as an example.

Luke cringed. "Should I even ask how long you sat like that?"

Din scoffed. "Too long. How's the kid?"

"Sound asleep, he didn't even wake up."

"Glad he gave you less trouble than he gave me."

"Oh, I just swooped in last second, don't give me any credit. I think he's just exhausted from ship lag."

"Yeah, me too. I think I'll be able to sleep through the night tonight."

Luke looked at him. "You know, if you're ever having trouble getting to sleep, I can help." 

Din felt his eyes widen as he let out a scoff of stunned laughter, he didn't know Luke made those jokes. "Thought that kind of relationship was forbidden for jetii?" He smirked back.

Luke's head tilted slightly with a confused "hm?" before seeming to realize the implication. His eyes widened as he took in a sharp breath of realization. He straightened rigidly, his face reddening, and he almost squealed as he quickly spat out "No no no! With the Force! With-" he lowered his voice, "I meant with the Force!"

Seeing how red he was he had to push a little more "That has to be religiously taboo, right? I mean I'm not against it-"

"No! Jedi wouldn't- well maybe some have- but that's not what I-! I didn't mean-" he sighed, palming his face in embarrassment. Din chortled, letting it reverberate in his throat and chest loud enough for Luke to hear. "You're mocking me." 

"Only a little, take a breath and try again."

He rolled his eyes with an embarrassed snicker, "I meant that I can use the Force to help put your mind at ease, enough for you to sleep."

His smirk fell, his body hunched in on itself, uncomfortable with even the thought of that, "No, I don't want you in my mind."

"I wouldn't be-" Luke tried to refute only to cut himself off. He let it go with a sigh of defeat. "Alright. I understand."

Din nodded, "Thank you." He yawned after a beat, he was ready to go to bed, he picked up his new rifle and swung it over his shoulder. "Goodnight, Luke-"

"Before you go on your walk," Luke said swiftly, giving pause to think over his next words.

Din tilted his head. 'My... walk?' He thought in confusion. He remembered that he told Luke he was going on a walk when he went out to his Starfighter. He kept his mouth shut, unable- and frankly unwilling- to explain that he slept outside. 

"I'm not experienced with cleansing sabers... at all. So it might take a while to research and find ways to do this, especially since I don't know how it even works. If we can't find anything in a few weeks I'll try to contact the spirits, but they've been extremely hard to get ahold of as of late," Luke monologued.

"Sorry, the spirits?"

"Jedi spirits. Jedi can go through a process to preserve their consciousness in the Force when they die. Similar to how your... friend, " he glanced at the saber, his jaw clenched and his eyes grew hard. It was such a suspicious and disapproving glare it caught Din a bit off guard, "...preserved his life. Only he's in a saber and the spirits are free roaming."

Din was learning quickly that Luke didn't like the Jedi Mand'alor, and from the feel of the saber's radiant heat, the Jedi Mand'alor didn't like him too much either.

It was an odd choice to choose to take up space in saber for your afterlife rather than be free, but, in Din's opinion, it was a weirder choice to be alone with your immortality when you could join Manda. He'd ask the Jedi-Mand'alor why he made such a choice, but communication with the saber wasn't something he fully knew how to do. He doubted he'd get any answers if he did figure it out anyway. Seemed that the free-roaming spirits weren't the only ones that were hard to get ahold of.

Instead, he focused on Luke. "We already said we'll figure it out together. Your trying is enough. I don't expect you to know everything."

Luke smiled, "And we should build some of your mental walls."

"My mental walls?"

"Yeah, they'll help you keep the voices and this Jedi-Mandalore out. Build your defenses against them."

"Do I not have a lot of mental defenses?"

"No, but, that's normal for non-Jedi. I have to teach Grogu how to build up mental defenses."

Din hummed curiously "How would I know if someone was breaking past these defenses?"

"It's like um, you'll feel something touching your mind. Some are gentle taps, others..." Luke paused, the implication clear. "Mental walls help protect from anyone being able to get a good hold on you."

Din nodded. "Guess I'll be joining your lessons with Grogu."

Luke sighed, almost relieved "We'll start tomorrow then?" He waited for Din's approval before continuing. "Excellent. Goodnight, Din."

With that Din left on his little 'walk.'

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: The Saber

SPOILER WARNING: Clone Wars Season 5 episode 16

The saber was heavy, as always. Tilting Din's wrist down and dragging a blackened, searing cut into the ground. 

"Use your whole body to swing it, have the power move through you," Luke instructed, pausing in wait for Din to swing. "C'mon, don't let those buggers bully you!" He teased.

The whispers grumbled at the comment. Maybe they should have chosen someone else to be Mand'alor if they didn't want to be poked fun at like this. Someone more stupid and complacent, someone who wouldn't have even let anyone know they existed.

Din had got Luke to agree to only look into the saber when Grogu was asleep, he did not want to talk about such topics in front of him. He'd only worry him. This of course only prolonged their research.

Over the past four weeks, they’d been exploring the saber's power. Luke had asked to watch Din duel with it a few times, though most times they read on ways to cleanse the saber. Luke had tried to remove the souls, to 'release their energy' into the galaxy where they'd hopefully reunite with Manda. That didn't work out though. The souls only cried, and the holds on the Darksaber didn't give way to Luke. Despite multiple tries, Luke couldn't figure out how the saber was keeping the souls contained. And cleansing the entire saber of its darkness was proving more and more challenging.

Din, in reading the Mandalorian weaponry section categorized by the Jedi, had learned that the Darksaber had power coursing through, not just its crystal, but its hilt and blade as well. Meaning they'd have to cleanse the whole saber, not just the crystal. Because, of course, the Darksaber had to be special and extra difficult.

That had been easier for them both to figure ways around, as the wielder seems to lighten the saber. However, the saber's corruption seems to stem from the inside.

It was a ship crash of a situation, to put it lightly.

Din rolled his shoulders back, using his whole body to slam the Darksaber down on Luke's green saber. He couldn't help but smirk, "Hold this for me, would you?" He asked mockingly, letting the full weight of the Darksaber rest on his laser sword.

"Stars collide, Din!" He exclaimed with a laugh, huffing from the effort it took to keep both sabers up. He pushed at Din's wrist, getting enough room to slide backward, and put space between them. The Darksaber dropped, slicing into the sandy training ground floor.

"Pick it up," Luke told him excitedly, hopping from foot to foot.

"No, I was thinking I should keep dragging this on the ground like a damn fool," Din scoffed.

Luke stopped his bouncing. He rolled his eyes at Din, "Cute, you're adorable. Seriously, can you lift it?"

"It's extremely difficult."

"Ok, just turn it off then, we can take a break." 

Din did so. Sheathing the saber and feeling its power retract up through his arm and resting on the back of his mind. Sitting like a weight that pressed in on his skull. Luke had mentioned there was a connection between him and the Darksaber. That had to be it. The parasitic power exchange that happened with it, the voices taking all his energy and constantly sitting like a solid weight on the back of his mind.

"I've been avoiding this question, but, I want to ask" Luke held out his gloved hand, "do you mind if I try to use it?"

Din felt his hand clench around it on its own, as if someone else's hand had grasped around his, pushing it closed on the saber. The voices went dead quiet except for tiny whines. It sounded... it almost sounded like cries. Fearful cries of people begging against something. It was pathetic. 

He couldn't help but look down at these souls who were so willing to torment him yet beg him not to do something. To ask favors of him. He was even more upset that he was willing to oblige them. Maybe he was the pathetic one. 

"I do... sorry but I-" He shook his head as the voices buzzed with contentment.

"I understand, just thought I'd ask," He said calmly. 

Din smiled behind his helmet, safe and hidden. Luke didn't push, didn't try to point out how Din was making this more difficult, didn't compare how Din had already let him examine the saber multiple times so wielding it shouldn't be any different... he just accepted the answer as it was given. 

Luke looked at him. "Can you... are they speaking to you?"

"Yes, they were... whining."

"Whining? How childish. Maybe they should invade someone else's head if they don't want to be analyzed."

Din snickered, somehow able to feel the silent offense from the voices "That's exactly what I was thinking."

Luke grinned at him, his hands resting on his hips. Intentionally or not he carried himself extremely confidently, always radiating a sort of power. "What would you like to do on our break?"

"Drink. I need to forget how much I embarrassed myself" Din sighed, not entirely serious, but not entirely joking.

Luke snorted "Don't be so hard on yourself, the saber is heavy. I almost broke under its weight! No clue how you can carry it. Though, you obviously have experience carrying heavy things," Luke commented, "can't imagine carrying all that armor and gear all the time."

“It's not that heavy. The armor is only about 20 kilograms, the jetpack is probably another 20. And the gear is nothing."

"Well, so far, you're carrying over half my weight.”

"And you've lifted boulders at least ten times heavier than me," Din chaffed in reply.

"Yeah, but not constantly" Luke shrugged in admission. "I can still be impressed with someone else's raw strength, can't I?"

Din rolled his eyes, "Sure you'd be even more impressed if the Darksaber wasn't constantly embarrassing me."

Luke scoffed, "Well, once we fix it you can show me how much of a big, strong man you are," He razzed, giving his shoulder a playful shove. 

Din stared at him before chuckling, his cheeks growing warm at all the snark responses that flew through his mind. 

Ever since their little accidental play flirt when they got back from Tatooine, they'd engrained it into their friendship, it becoming a regular occurrence. This, however, did not mean it did not get Din's chest tight and his face flushed. It just meant that he rolled with it more easily. He smirked, "Bet you'd just love that," he taunted right back, admittedly lowering his voice a tad.

Luke stopped at the door to the house, he looked back at Din with a cocked eyebrow and a toothy smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I think I would like to know," he hummed, his voice a quiet rumble, crowding Luke against the door and lowering himself to be face to face, or rather face to visor.

Luke's lips tightened, his cheeks going a little warm with a pink-tinted hue. "Well, I think you need to get inside." He said, holding the door for him. Din merely snorted as he waltzed in, feeling rather accomplished. This pretend flirting was fun, more fun than when Cobb flirted with him at least.

Din read the text, the pages yellowed with age. The tablet's glow sometimes strained his eyes. Luke, however, never seemed to be affected by electronics, he sat across from him noting things as he read from his tablet. 

This current text had information on a lightsaber's creation process. How it had to be created to personally fit its user. Often people used sentimental objects to better connect with their saber or to let their saber better represent them. He wondered if Grogu would include the Razor Crest grip on his. 

He flipped the page. Ending up on one he had already read. 

He sighed, rereading just so he didn't have to go through more books. Who knew, maybe he missed something. 

He brushed up on where kyber crystals were found: on Adega, Ilum, and Dantooine. Din remembered the note sitting in his comm notes reminding him to check that Ilum mission out at some point. That it might have been more important than he gave it credit for. Especially given how powerful kyber crystals are.

He'd make sure to only scope it out though. Just to see what kind of effort the mission would require.

For now, he needed to focus on the task at hand. He flipped to another loose, yellowed page he had already read, this one on kyber crystal connections to Jedi.

Din looked at the hilt. Maybe that was his connection? Did the crystal choose him? He tried to remember his conversation with Vizsla. Had Vizsla ever even said the saber 'chose him'? Had something else chosen him? 

The eerie hiss of voices filled his ears, telling him inaudible things. 

He lightly touched the saber, feeling it became alive with energy for a second -as if being jumpstarted- only for that energy to fade into the expected draining sensation. But maybe... maybe if he gave it full control, he could fix it. It wouldn't have to drain him and it wouldn't have a kickback. Maybe.

"Luke?"

"Hm?" Luke answered distractedly, not glancing away from his tablet.

"If I... fully bonded to the saber, would it make it easier to cleanse?"

"It might, but I don't think so. It doesn't uncomplicate things with cleansing the blade and hilt. We also don't know if this bond could get more harmful than it already is. With how the souls are interlaced with you, it might get even more complex if you bonded with them. They already drain you enough of power, I wouldn't let them have access to more."

Din nodded in defeat, rubbing the back of his neck. His other hand tapped his fingers to his thumb mindlessly as he tried to work through a new plan. 

"Well, you know how to remove the souls-" Din hesitantly recounted, Luke nodded, continuing to not look up from his tablet, "-and you know how to purge the darkness... what if the holds loosen when I bond with the saber? What if it's easier to cleanse when I bond with it?"

"What if doesn't? I haven't even been able to remove one of the holds because I can't figure out the structure of them. The only person who would know that is the Jedi himself," Luke grumbled.

Din hesitated "...And, me..." Luke finally looked up. "Is there any way you can enter with me?"

"I would never make you do that-"

"You're not making me do anything."

"You had dreams in the saber, bad experiences, we can-"

"Luke, I think I can set my own boundaries," Din cut him off sternly. Luke looked at him, wanting to say more but choosing not to. "Is there any way you can enter with me?" He repeated.

Din couldn't help but smile as he watched him mentally piece a plan together. He did this head tilt and his mouth moved but no words came out. His eyes moved around as if watching the information zip around, piecing together like a puzzle right in front of his eyes.

"That could work. Maybe if we stage another one of your dream sequences it could put us in," he bounced a little in his seat, shaking out his hand in building excitement. "They want you... so maybe if you reach out, not connect but not fight to not enter the saber, they might take you in. I can piggyback, and we might be able to remove the souls and cleanse from the inside!"

"This is a lot of might's and maybe's."

"That bother you?"

"No. It's what I work off of," Din smirked, treasuring when Luke looked right back with his wide, mischievous grin. 

"Fantastic," he chirped happily. He relished how excited he got over this stuff. It made dealing with the saber easier; lessened its clasp on him. Luke made things... better.

After staring at each other for a prolonged moment, Luke slowly pulled in on himself. He looked away and cleared his throat. "Well, Grogu's about to get up... but when he goes down for the night, we'll get to work, deal?"

"Deal."

They finally were able to tuck Grogu in. They all had a lazy day where Grogu barely learned anything, but a good day overall. Din leaned over the crib to whisper the daily remembrance of his parents to him. They would have been Grogu's grandparents, so it was important he learned this, just as he learned Resol'nare. "[I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal, my mother and father Din.]" 

Grogu yawned and turned over, cuddling in on one of his many stuffed animals, this one being one of a nexu but well cuter than the actual beast. He and Luke walked out not speaking until they got to the living room.

"What does that mean?" Luke asked. Din looked at him confusedly. "That phrase. Every night you say it to Grogu. Sorry if it's personal-"

"No, it's a Mandalorian belief. It's uh... well it's a daily remembrance of my parents. 'Ni su’cuyi, gar kyr’adyc' means 'I'm still alive but you are dead.' 'Ni partayli, gar darasuum' means "I remember you, so you are eternal.' After that, you are supposed to recite the names of those you are addressing it to, but I don't remember theirs. So I just say 'ner buire Din' or in basic it would be 'my mother and father Din.'"

Luke nodded then paused. "Din, is your last name Din?"

"No, my first name is Din. It's just also my family name. Aq Vetina frames their names with our family name first, and our given name last. It's because we give our family name first when we don't know someone. So when the Watch asked what my name was..." he tilted his head, letting Luke piece it together. His friend smiled, shaking his head and chuckling.

"You told them Din, yeah I get it now" He shook his head with a chuckle. "Why does Grogu think Djarin is your last name then?"

"I mean, you did too. I just never thought to correct him, and I don't mind." 

"Would you prefer me to call you by your given name then?"

"No," he replied with certainty. "My family name has become sacred to me, it's what remains of my parents, and it's what I would prefer to be the name people call me," Din admitted, not meaning to be so candid but it was hard to shut up around Luke.

The man nodded slowly in understanding, never pushing "I can understand holding your family name to such held sacred. Though I don't hold my name in such high regard, mine ties me to the good parts of my father. I've been told I look like him too, but I never knew his real face." Luke took in a slow breath, his eyes darting away for a few seconds before he reconnected to the conversation. Do you remember what they look like? Your parents I mean. If you don't mind me asking."

Din huffed. "Try to. I can't... I have dreams, of the memories we shared but... can't remember exactly. I know they had dark hair like me. They wore red..." he shook his head, unable to think of anything more. He was pretty sure his dad had facial hair, he remembered he had a mustache but he could have imagined that in.

Luke paused before speaking, "I'm sorry, Din."

"Don't be. I remember them, they are eternal in Manda, and one day I'll be with them again. Just like you will join your family in the Force. Cuun aliit cuyir draar kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la." He translated quickly for Luke. "'Our family is never gone, simply marching far away.'" He paused "Though we may miss our lost loved one, we will be with them again. There is no gone."

Luke stared at him. "That's... that's a good way to look at it," he said, a smile growing on his face.

Din nodded slowly, smiling fondly. His chest was warm with it. A fuzzy feeling filled his lungs. A soft, fluttering feeling. He cleared his throat, quickly looking at the saber. "We should get on this."

Luke sighed. "Yes, take a seat on the carpet, I'm gonna get a drink of water, do you want one?"

He shook his head. They split off. The second Din sat on the living room floor's multicolored rug, Red was next to him. He worked much better with all the fixes Luke had done. No more rusty parts, new wheels, oiled mechanisms, all that droid maintenance Din had no idea how to do. The only thing he did was repaint him.

He pet Red's head softly. He didn't know why, but it just felt right. The droid deserved it, he was great with Grogu, always watching over him. There were also several times over the past month when he woke up with Red staring over him. How the droid knew where he was, was still a complete mystery to him.

Red also got along with Artoo just fine. More than just fine, they seemed like friends. Luke had translated that apparently, both droids worked with the old Jedi Order and the Rebellion, but Red just didn't remember.

Plus petting him just calmed Din somehow. The droid had a low trilling beep that sounded like the purring call of the Aq Ventina purrdok would sound out to beg for scraps. 

As a kid, before he was taken in by the Tribe, he was always too content to sneak some food to the gangs that walked the streets. He always was a bit soft, a little too empathetic. Too eager to have any kind of company. Maybe that's why he accepted Red in the end. He was nice company, particularly now.

Luke finally returned from getting his drink, taking a seat in front of him.

Din felt the pressure build in his mind as whispers spoke as loud as they could, all contrasting things. Not that he was listening. He was waiting for Luke to speak.

"You ready?"

"Not in the slightest, let's get this over with."

Luke snorted, patting his hands on his legs in an off-beat rhythm. At least he was excited about this "Do you need to turn it on to enter it?"

"No," Din answered. There was an awkward pause. "So, how do you do this?"

"Mmm, I'm going to partially sedate you, ease your mind. I need you to reach out to the saber," Luke instructed.

"How will you get in?"

Luke hesitated. "That's what I wanted to ask you. I would like to meld our minds in a temporary connection. Through that, I could follow your consciousness and stay hidden."

Din felt like there was something more there, something Luke wasn't telling him. Something in the way he averted his eyes. But he trusted his friend, now more than ever. More than he thought he could trust someone. Luke would tell him if there was something he needed to know. "How do we do that?"

"You have no questions about the mind meld? Really?"

Din paused, he needed to be sure

"I do actually, could you see memories?"

"Not unless you wanted me to."

"Then I'm ok."

Luke stared at him in shock "Are you sure? It was only a few weeks ago that you didn't want me to even help put you to sleep-"

"I trust you more now. Kinda how friendships work. You build trust over time." 

Luke still could only gaze at him, for a long moment there was tense silence before he jerked his head in a curt nod. "Ok, um... well, once you're in, if I'm not with you, with the mind meld I will see what you see and be able to talk to you-"

"Wait, I thought you'd be with me."

"In some way... I honestly have no idea how this will look or if it'll work. This is completely new to me. We'll just have to roll with it." 

'Oh,' Din thought. That was disappointing. He wanted Luke to be with him on this. The support would be appreciated yes, but it was more than that. He wanted him to be there so he could see it. Din didn't understand this stuff or even care about it, but Luke would probably find it fascinating, and he wanted to see that face. Wanted to feel his radiant excitement.

"Alright, let's get this done with then."

Luke took a deep breath before seeming to almost meditate. Din felt something soft brush his mind, the second touch being far more solid. Not painful, solid in the way the ground was. 

It was... grounding. 

He didn't know how this worked, but he liked the touch. It was different than when the souls of the saber grazed him, that being painful and headache-inducing, here it was... it was just better. Of course, it was, though. It was Luke. Everything was better with Luke.

"How... how do I make the connection... to you?" He asked.

"Reach back, your mind is only limited by the limits you set for it."

Din just barely resisted scoffing. What banthashit. But he'd do what he was told.

He thought about Luke, trying to push out. He didn't know how but he felt the touch on his mind being pushed back, but after a second, it settled. The loose spurs of power intertwined until they were braided into a strong connection. 

It was strange; he felt... strange. It was similar to his connection to the saber only now there was a constant equal exchange of power. The sabers press on his mind shrunk back, or maybe the slight discomfort just lessened.

"This is different," Luke hummed.

"Yeah, you're telling me," Din scoffed.

"It's not like my connection with Leia..."

"That's... who?"

"My sister. She's a senator."

Din thought. 'Not Senator Leia Organa, right? Couldn't be...'

"It is. Why? Have you heard of her?"

Din flinched. He hadn't said that out loud, "You heard that?"

Luke froze, "... sorry, I forgot to mention that- that's the mind meld." He said quickly, panicked about his slip-up. 

After a moment of settling, Din found he wasn't upset. A little exposed, sure. Not upset though.

He thought it was incredibly fascinating to have someone read his mind, he just wouldn't want it happening all the time. "I didn't know you were related to her. You would not believe some of the reasons people dislike her."

Luke laughed, breathless in relief. "Oh I can, people will find any reason to complain." 

Din beamed as a thought hit him "Can I read your mind?"

Luke blinked “I’m not sure. I've never made a connection to anyone other than people with the Force. We can try, though.” There was a pause, a short one before a thought in what sounded like Luke’s voice entered his mind. 'Hello, Din.'

Din straightened, startled by it. It was like when the Jedi Mand’alor whispered to him. His heart beat faster. Luke was staring at him in slight shock. “You got that?” At his nod, Luke almost squealed in excitement. He felt warmth fill his chest at seeing Luke’s excitement. “Maker! You got that!”

“Yes, how does that… how does it work? The communication, I mean.”

“Oh, well sometimes it’s directed messages, sometimes it’s unsaid comments and quips.”

"Well, I'm about to expose how mean I am."

"Or how funny," Luke smirked. He raised his eyebrows as he pushed forward a thought 'you're really funny.'

Humor laced the message. Humor that was felt through his mind, not just through analyzing Luke's face. The epiphany slowly fell into place- he could feel what Luke was feeling. “I can feel you’re emotions-“

“What?!” The shock hit him like a cold spray. Din could only laugh.

“Yeah- it’s like, it’s like with the souls. Manda, I can feel your emotions!” Din shook his head in disbelief. What was this? He clenched and unclenched his hands in excitement, not able to keep it to just finger taps. This was awesome! Luke was laughing in excitement right along with him. This was perfect! It removed the most complicated part of communication, the cryptic meaning behind it all. "Is this what talking to Grogu is like?"

"Well, yes-"

"Can I talk to him?!"

A somberness crashed into him like a starfighter, ruining his good mood. "We can try that, but Din, I would like to warn you, that you still don't have a lot of strong mental walls. And given he's a child, especially a child with a curious track record like his, he might..." Luke made a sound of hesitation, "explore. Delve into things that you don't want to show him. See things he shouldn't be seeing. Not to mention the saber might affect him."

Din dipped his head slowly. He... didn't want that. Nothing would make him happier than talking to his son... but if sharing minds meant Grogu would see things Din had been through, or what the saber had to offer... that wouldn't be how he would want to communicate. "Guess he'll just have to learn how to communicate the old-fashioned way."

Luke smiled "He'll get the hang of it. But we can continue to work on you building mental walls too."

"I'd like that."

Luke's smile somehow widened, crinkling his eyes at the corners. It, unfortunately, didn't last long. He gave a cursory glance to the saber, his face growing somber. "You ready?" his bright blue eyes darkened with the question.

After a long, long sigh, Din grumbled out an "As I'll ever be."

Luke didn't wait further. "Rest," he said with a wave of his hand.

The feeling was instant. The smell of warmth filled his nose and lungs, his body felt too heavy to keep up, and blackness crowded his vision. He tried to lie down but it was too late, he heard his body hit the floor but he didn't feel it. Too numb and tired to feel it. But he swore he felt the weight of Luke fall on him before he was fully out.

It was a few seconds before he woke in the open space-like setting of the Darksaber; it was only darker now through the visor of his helmet. He took in a slow, calming breath, it trembling like his heart. This was more like the second dream. With the darkness and the cuts of light. Only... now it felt different. Quieter and the lights were stationary, slices in reality and wide expanding.

"DIN!" a voice called; a body slammed into him in a tight hold not a second later. He turned quickly, slightly panicked but not by much. He knew that voice, it was the sudden grab that scared him.

"Sorry! Sorry, I just..." Luke laughed, letting Din go of the hug but keeping a hand on his bicep. "It worked! Maker... I was truly scared it wouldn't but it worked!" 

He smiled wide behind his helm as Luke shook out his gloved hand, his excitement feeling warm, he could feel Luke's excitement! Not that he needed to, he had noticed Luke tended to shake out his hands when he got enthusiastic. "We're in the karking Darksaber hilt right now!"

"Yeah," he grinned. He knew Luke would love it. Though, his happy moment was short-lived. He heard the whispers from afar. "Let's just keep focus."

"Right! Ok," Luke took a slow deep breath, whatever he was seeking out, he found. He turned a full 180. "This way."

They walked along the solid black path. Din noticed that with each whisper Luke perked up his head in alarm. "You hear them too?"

"Only now, yes, maybe it's because of the shared head space or me being in the saber... they are very eerie."

The voices rumbled with their whispers with distaste. "Careful, you'll upset them."

"They've upset me, feel it's only fair at this point," Luke retorted with a mock pout. Din smirked, he was being cute.

As they walked the lights came closer, and the voices only got louder and now repetitive. He felt anxiety and adrenaline that was not his own fill his chest, the pure fear of the voices was palpable. Luke sucked his head, he felt tense, Din was sure he pushed the same emotion into their connection. They shared no words on the matter.

The lights were solid cuts and holes in reality like they always were, only now they were sedentary. Looking more like doorways and windows than the orbs of light they were before.

He hears a familiar voice in a slice of light not too far from him. By the time he is approaching it, he can tell who it is. Whose perspective this is all from is the real question.

Bo-Katan clutched her stomach, wheezing as her right arm hung loosely, completely dislodged from its socket. 

The person looked away, glancing around the city- or rather a campsite. What remained of the campsite anyway. The entire thing was set ablaze with armor scattering the ground, but no bodies. Only ash.

The person looked back when there was a loud yelp. Bo-Katan was now on the ground, crawling backward as Gideon strutted forward, holding the Darksaber out.

The person looked to their side, to someone Din recognized. That was Kryze's armor.

With a curt nod, the person and he were running forward, toward Gideon and Bo-Katan. Gideon had since removed her helmet.

"Do you yield?" Gideon asked mockingly.

"No- never! Not to you or anyone!" Bo-Katan hissed back in reply.

Gideon gave the most sinister of giggles. "Then you," he raised the blade, "shall die-"

The person whose eyes he was seeing through shot a blaster, nicking the Moff's hand, and making him drop the saber. Fearlessly, they jumped forward, drop-kicking Gideon with the full force of their body, going further to punch him in the face when he was down, seemingly knocking him unconscious. 

They were fast, getting up in only a second and dashing over to Kryze who held Bo-Katan in a soldier carry. They fell into pace with him as they both ran back to a ship that was gearing up to circle back and pick them up. 

"...the saber- The saber!" Bo-Katan insisted in a screech comparable to a Tie-Fighter in its coarse shrill. She was fighting to break from Kryze with all her might, to go back for it. She seemed delusional, dazed, and only focused on one thing. 

The Darksaber.

"Forget it, Bo!" Kryze barked. 

"I'll get it, my Lady!" The person offered quickly.

"No-!" Kryze tried to argue but the person silenced him with a keldabe kiss. Din blinked as he realized what was happening. What he was about to witness. Dread crept over him. 

He understood Kryze's horrified look at the saber now.

"I got this. Get her out of here." 

They didn't let Kryze answer before dashing off to where they fought Gideon. Gideon was gone, and so was the saber. Even from an outside perspective, it was a gut drop. He knew this person's fate already, though, it was a little different feeling their emotions flow through him.

He doesn't know how, but he can feel it. Feel their fear as they turned, being faced with Gideon. He barely silences his wince as he feels what can only be a smidge of their agony as the blade of the saber is unsheathed, impaling them and wounding them fatally. 

Their death would not be quick, however. There was more here.

He heard a scream, both from the person and a more masculine one from far away. 

"Soniee!" Kryze screamed.

'Soniee' tried to crumble in on themself, but Gideon grabbed their collar, hauling them up as he pointed the saber at Kryze. "You should have left your aunt here Kryze!" He called.

Kryze stepped forward when a ship zoomed up, people calling to him from it.

"Come on, make the same mistake she did!" Gideon said, hauling Soniee a little higher as an example. The memory was starting to gain spots of black as this poor woman slowly died. He felt her conflicting emotions. Wanting- hoping- Kryze would come save her and at the same time hoping he'd leave. 

Kryze's focus was solely on her. There was stillnes for a long moment, he took a step forward. 

Soniee, audibly tearful, gave a curt shake of her head, her mind settling on wanting him to leave. After a moment's hesitation, Kryze did just that. He turned away, using his jetpack to fly up to the ship. The ship didn't wait but a few seconds before zooming off.

"Well, that was entirely disappointing," Gideon groused, dropping the moribund woman. She whimpered quietly as the last of her vision blacked out, and then the memory started over again.

They only watched in silence, Luke's lungs let out a shaky breath. "Force, that was horrible," Din looked away from the memory to find Luke already staring at him. "Is that what you've been seeing?"

He gave a curt nod. He wanted to move on now.

Luke swallowed hard. He wanted to ask more, to unload questions on Din, but he didn't. "Alright. Let's try to release her then."

He reached forward, holding out his hand. The cut began to sew itself up. Both of them huffed in disbelief, unable to believe that this was finally working. There was stirring excitement in Din's mind, his own, Luke's, and the voices. He could hear how rowdy the souls were getting the more enclosed the cut got.

The light shifted, exiting the cut a second before it disappeared. It appeared as one of the orbs of light like from his dream. It -or rather, she - flew to Din in a blink, spinning around him swiftly. 

"You know, for tormenting you so much, the souls in here seem to like you," Luke commented, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he gazed in wide wonder.

"I guess, I don't see why," Din replied. He offered an open hand, to which Soniee stopped whizzing around him, backing off to examine. She didn't float over it like he expected, instead, she hovered in front of it. Curiously, the phantom feeling of a hand entered his.

Din blinked, it didn't make sense, but none of this did. Not a single part of this made sense. 

Luke made a sound of effort and the soul began to dim and disperse.

It started on the side of his head, a painful growing heat before flaking off like flares of a sun. He hid as best he could, trying to force up more of the 'mental walls' Luke had tried to teach him. He seemed to do a good job, as his friend never asked if he was ok.

His head throbbed with the painful headache, his heart beat faster and faster, pulsing with sharp agony. His eye blinked tearing up with the heat, only to be joined by some other liquid, a warm, viscous liquid collecting at the corner of his eye. And then it was over.

He shook his head. What an odd feeling.

As the last of the light began to flake away out of the saber, he felt overwhelming forlorn, tired relief and he could swear he heard her whispy voice sob out a ‘thank you.’

She was gone. Din and Luke laughed at the same time. 

They had freed her.

He heard the voices stir impatiently, undoubtedly ready for their turn. Din sighed deeply.

"What?" Luke asked.

"Just realizing, we've got a lot of work ahead of us if this is how we're removing souls."

Luke sighed. "I had a feeling we would," but, as he always seemed to be, Luke was optimistic. He elbowed Din, "Come on, let's keep going."

They moved down the line, removing small little lights as they moved along the path. Some were easier to remove than others. The bigger the cut was, the more power it seemed to hold, and the more painful his headaches were. 

That dense liquid collecting in his right eye had spilled over and started collecting in the left as well. It wasn't tears, it felt thicker than that. He wondered if it was real, or if it was like the connection to the souls here. Invisible.

They had only removed a handful, no more than five when Luke froze mid-step. "That voice..." he murmured.

"Luke?" Din asked, getting no response.

Luke was taking charge, walking past souls that were having their final moments displayed through cracks and holes of reality working as windows into the past. 

Din followed him, barely keeping pace as Luke began running. He nearly bowled the man over when he suddenly stopped. They were staring at a particularly large stab in the saber's open space. 

This soul felt familiar, yet he'd never seen this memory. Maybe he was mistaken. As the memory restarted, he hoped it would connect something in his brain.

This person sat on her knees, looking at the ground of a throne room. The Mand'alors throne room that once sat under the domes of Mandalore. She looked up slowly, to a man who looked strikingly like Kryze. Albeit with shorter hair and wearing red and black armor. 

...he knew that armor style. That was the armor of those loyal to Mand'alor Maul. The Armorer had taught him of that. Hell... she used to be one of them. Her helmet still bore her loyalty to him.

Din shook his head, he needed to focus.

"Your noble flaw is a weakness shared by you..." said a deep smooth voice. The woman side-eyed him and his brother at his side. He wasn't as terrifying as legend said, his brother being far more intimidating. Even Fierce Stokax was more intimidating in build than Maul. though he knew better than to underestimate him. He'd heard of Maul's atrocities.

A grasp tightened around Din's neck, light enough to just startle him, but that was not the same for the woman whose death he was about to witness, "...and your Duchess."

'Duchess Satine...' Din felt his mouth drop open. Though the memory didn't stop to let him process it.

"You should have chosen the Dark side, Master Jedi, " Maul mocked. Satine was unable to see it, her eyes cast upward as she gasped and struggled to try and break free of the invisible grasp. "Your emotions betray you. Your fear and yes~ your anger! Let your anger deepen your hatred!" He encouraged.

Satine looked to this 'Master Jedi' "Don't listen to him, Obi!"

"Quiet!" The brother, Savage he believed his name was, hissed.

'Obi? Who the kriff is Obi?' He didn't remember Satine having a husband or any kind of paramour. Though... secrets were secrets. Especially since Jedi weren't supposed to have connections.

"You can kill me, but you will never destroy me. It takes strength to resist the Dark side, only the weak embrace it!" The Jedi hissed. The Death Watch Mandalorians by him reacted, one raising their blaster as a threat and the other yanking him back into place with a strong hand.

"It is more powerful than you know," Maul responded, his voice a rumble like a rock slide and just as rough.

"And those who oppose it are more powerful than you'll ever be!" Even threatened with death, the man seemed confident and wasn't afraid to offend his captor. Maybe confidence and sass just came with being a Jedi. "I know where you're from, I've been to your village. I know the decision to join the dark side wasn't yours. The Nightsisters made it for you-"

"Silence!" Maul barked out, pacing and gesturing wildly as he spoke, looking similar to a rabid anooba, "You think you know me?! It was I who languished for years thinking of nothing but you... nothing but this moment!" Maul gestured to Satine, for the first time in this conversation, the Jedi's face cracked, showing his concern as he made eye contact with Satine, who had been choking and gasping while this back and forth took place. 

"And now, the perfect tool for my vengeance is in front of us. I never planned on killing you, but I will make you share my pain, Kenobi." Maul hissed out. 

Din's heart sank, feeling Satine's fear fill him. The Jedi's eyes filled with panic, he tried to run forward only to be shoved to the ground and smacked in the back of his head with a blaster. 

Maul unsheathed the Darksaber and in a wrist flick, Satine was brought forward only to have the saber meet her gut. The second she could breathe, a new pain met her.

Once again, what could only be a sliver of her pain hit Din's abdomen. He gritted his teeth, still unable to look away from the horrifying scene taking place in front of him.

Satine grunted in pain, her vision blurred, as she looked at the horrified and pained face of the Jedi. Her head tried to drop only to be yanked back up by Maul's grasp.

He let her go as the Darksaber sheathed, the Jedi ran forward, catching the Duchess as he called out her name. Satine's gaze was blurry as she looked up at this 'Kenobi.' 

"Remember, my dear Obi-Wan," She said softly, huffing in-between breaths. She cradled his face with her hand, and he pressed his face into it, tears falling from his eyes "I've loved you always..." her vision began to black out. "I always will..." 

With that, she was gone. And after a second, the memory restarted.

Shock filled the connection. His and Luke's mixing in a concoction of hurt.

This death was worse than the one Din thought she had. In the fantasy where she was executed, at least she died for what she believed in. Her actual death, it only happened to hurt someone else...

And the Jedi was her lover... Was Kryze her and Kenobi's child then?! He looked just like the Jedi, and his armor... Kryze's armor made sense now! He was modeling it after Satine's royal gown! 

Din snarled. Was Kryze another person being kept from him? Another secret swept under the rug by the Watch?! Another limit of information?!

"...who is Kryze?"

Din paused, he had forgotten their mental connection. "Man I met on my last mission. He looks exactly like the Master Jedi."

Luke paused, shaking his head "But.. Ben would have told me..." Luke murmured, he felt his mind flurry, seemingly in a spiral like him.

Din hesitated, not wanting to push but unable to resist, "Whose Ben?"

"Him. Obi-Wan Kenobi- he went by Ben. He was my first master... but he..." Luke shook his head, "he always said Jedi couldn't..." Luke didn't seem able to finish the sentence verbally but his mind did.

'Obi-Wan has never mentioned anything-' His friend thought quickly, 'he always insisted on forgoing attachment. Him, Ahsoka, Yoda... and yet... did they mean something else?' His thoughts overlapped in a flurry of different questions and self-doubt. Din was only able to catch a single train of jumbled thought. 

'What if I misinterpreted-? What if I misinterpreted other rules too?! What if I'm doing everything wrong?!'

He didn't need the mental connection to know what Luke was feeling, he was feeling it himself. Feeling the tensing anxiety, and self-doubt, all stemming out from anger and betrayal. 

Luke, however, seemed to not be able to break from his spiral. Falling deeper and deeper. 

He didn't think pushing on this would help. He also knew Luke would spiral if he didn't talk, so he did what he and Luke were excellent at. Changed the subject. “Is he related to you?”

“No, he’s not,” He looked to the Master Jedi and then back at Din, his face somehow even more alarmed. “Why do you think I look like him too?!” 

So Luke's family tree was a bit of a blur too, he noted that.

“No, just you, Obi-Wan, even Ahsoka, have blue eyes,” Din shrugged, trying to take on the most sarcastic tone he could "Just want to know if Grogu’s gonna just suddenly wake up with blue eyes or it's just a major coincidence.”

Luke stared at him in bewilderment. He laughed dryly, reluctantly, it forcing him to take a few deep shaky breaths. “No, he won’t wake up with blue eyes, it’s just genetics. Guess it just runs common with Force users. You can rest assured he’ll keep his lovely big brown eyes," Luke sighed. 

His body wasn't exactly placid, but it wasn't as rigid as before and his face held a nice, hesitant smile. Din beamed, maybe just a little too proud of himself.

Luke turned his body to him, a move Din mirrored. "I thought... I thought you said Satine was killed for being a pacifist?"

That comment only reminded him of his anger, anger over finding another lie of the Tribe. He snarled, "She was. She was framed for crimes she didn't commit and killed, that's what Maul," he hissed, feeling his anger grow. "It's what I was always told. By the Tribe of course. Clearly, that was a lie to hold onto whatever fake beliefs they claim to have. I never looked into Satine's death..." Din sighed. He should have. How can he claim to appreciate Satine and never look into everything surrounding her death?

How could he claim to be Mandalorian when he didn't even know the history?

...well that was an easy answer. He wasn't a Mandalorian, not now... maybe not even ever.

Luke palmed his shoulder, a comfort Din quickly shook off, putting space between them. He regretted it, both because of the loss of comfort and the look on Luke's face. "Din, I... are you ok?"

"No, not at all," Din sighed, refusing to look at the memory again as he heard Satine die again. He focused all the attention he could on Luke. "You?"

Luke scoffed "No, not even slightly, spiraling a little bit, if you can't tell." He laughed, and Din broke, chuckling right along with him. They shouldn't laugh, it wasn't funny, but it was, just a smidge. 

"Yeah, me too. I keep forgetting I've been in... a denomination of zealots. And lied to for decades."

"I seemed to have gaslit myself into ignoring that the Jedi Order had flaws."

"I don't know if you gaslit yourself, you are getting advice on how to be a Jedi from some pretty big hypocrites," Din defended.

Luke chortled, shaking his head, their anger cooling to a simmer, morphing into comical disbelief and flat-out revulsion. "Victims of our religions again, huh?"

Din bobbed his head with a snort. That was unfortunately true. At least they could relate over it. "Glad we're raising Grogu right... or at least, as right as we can-"

"We're raising him right," Luke said confidently, raising his head high, "that's the one thing I'm sure of right now." He hesitantly glanced at the memory only to look back at Din. "We should-"

"Yeah."

Like before, compressing the light into its ball form seemed to come easy to Luke. Satine didn't come to Din, instead, she went to Luke. She wasn't chaotic and frenzied in her movements, even as a ball of light she carried herself with the elegance and grace she would have had when she was alive. 

She didn't say anything, not anything Din could hear anyway. He could only feel her calm aura. Luke took in a sharp breath before he lifted his hand, Din prepared for the incoming pounding headache.

Luke struggled with removing Satine, he couldn't tell if it was from exhaustion or if she was more intertwined with the saber, or some other reason. It also hurt more, a lot more. It was a searing, white-hot burning pain, spanning out from his mind as if someone was delicately cutting something from his mind with blades as heated by licks of scalding fire. And his heart... it beat so loud, so hard and so fast he was sure it might explode there in his chest.

Despite his best efforts to not give away how much pain he was in, trying to not distract Luke, he grunted in pain, taking in way too sharp of a breath.

"Din?"

"Keep going, I'm ok."

He felt Luke's hesitation but the man continued, as did the pain. It felt like when he split his head open on Nevarro, only this time it was along the side of his head, slowly moving out towards his eyebrow.

With a last gesture, Luke released her. There was one more pulse of pain for Din, he cried out quietly, feeling a tearing on his brow.

"Din!"

Din swatted Luke away when he tried to look him over. He didn't enjoy feeling this weak, this helpless.

"I'm fine! It just hurt a bit more this time-" Din tried to reassure, realizing his misspeak immediately but it was too late.

"Has removing the souls been hurting you this whole time?" Luke asked incredulously. At Din's- very hesitant- curt nod, his features pinched in frustration. "Ok, when I'm hurting you, I need you to tell me," he instructed, in a patronizing, annoyed tone.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child!"

"I wouldn't need to if you acted like a grown man and communicated!"

"We won't get this done with me whining like a little-" Din paused upon realizing something. He perked his head up. He looked around swiftly, the slices of reality were still there, they just seemed frozen now.

"Like a little what, Din? You know telling people you're in pain isn't weak! You've told me that!" Luke rambled, trying to continue the petty spat.

"Shut up." 

"Excuse you-?!"

"Listen," Din ordered, "...it's quiet." 

Luke did listen. There was silence once again. He turned with Luke watching his back. There was this foreboding feeling, a prey-like instinct when you know you're being watched. The hairs on the back of his neck raised. 

"Din." 

Din scrunched in on himself, feeling his heart sink. He knew that voice. 

"Din, we should-" Luke's voice was cut off into a squeak. He turned, finding the man gone and no longer able to feel a mental connection to him.

"Luke?!"

"Your jetii is safe," the voice said in a tone one would use when pacifying a whiny child.

"He better be or I swear to Manda I'll destroy this saber!" Din barked in response, ignoring his fears of this being.

The Jedi-Mand'alor laughed, deep and throaty. "Oh, hush up verd'ika," The man scoffed, his tone prideful and patronizing. It wasn't a heartfelt nickname, not like with Fierce and his children.

"Where are you? Why can't I see you now?"

"A question with such a complex answer. I'll simplify. I am the saber. I exist as the open space here and hold it together. What remains of my physical form... well it's painful to craft, and I was only able to do it when investigating your mind. In your dream space."

"Why couldn't Luke stay?"

"He isn't welcome here. He never was. You snuck him in, now look at what he's done. So much damage."

"Damage?"

"You think I haven't tried to remove the souls here?" The Jedi-Mand'alor asked in a hiss of offense. Din heard the souls roar as loud as they could their whispered defense only to suddenly go silent. "You didn't send them to Manda."

Din tilted his head. 'Where were they going then?'

"They're gone, Din. Purged from reality. Never to know the pleasure of uniting with Manda. Why do you think removing them hurt you so badly? You were connected to them and felt their pain as their souls were snuffed out like embers being stomped on."

He stepped back. No. No, that couldn't be. They seemed so relieved.

"Only because they thought they were going to Manda."

He didn't mean to.

"Yes, but you still did it. Just like you'll kill everyone you care for if you don't give yourself over to the saber. Intention doesn't change actions-"

"How are you reading my mind?!" Din demanded.

"I told you, you're special. You are," he chuckled that dark crackle of a laugh that made Din's blood run cold "open-minded. A genuine, welcoming presence. The souls and I are connected to you."

"Yes, Luke told me," he curtly responded.

"Oh? What else did he tell you?" The spirit chortled mockingly. 

'Are there other things to tell?' Din thought, getting only a snort from the Jedi-Mand'alor.

"Forget it, hollow helmet. Let me expand upon the Darksabers powers."

He felt a force nudging him along, something he cautiously listened to. He walked along the path, waiting for the man to continue. 

"I've worked with all the Mand'alors who wielded my weapon since I was succeeded... or at least, I tried to. Some are like you, Din Djarin-"

"I didn't give you permission to call me my name."

The man paused before tsking his tongue. "Some are like you, Mudhorn, " he corrected mockingly. "They didn't want to heed my warnings" 

"Yeah, the nightmares and whispers and murderous demands might be a turn-off for some people" Din grumbled in reply. The spirit gave no response. 

"Those souls being here is an error on my part. Ever since I built this… ‘place,' every Mandalorian victim of the saber joined me here. Like a vacuum, it sucks in the souls of the victims. If it was only the Mand’alors, I could maintain them, but it’s not. Hundreds of Mandalorians have been killed by the Darksaber. That is what you see here.”

“It’s formed a galaxy of life forces here," He continued as Din glanced around, seeing cuts of light flickering in and out. "As you've seen, the souls vary in power. Some are barely a hint of light, not able to make a sound, while others are bright and big enough to properly show their memories. They’re not strong enough to speak like I am, they can only whisper. They can demand things. They’ve lost their individuality and exist more on the pain they suffered than the good memories they had. They can’t handle it here as I can.” The voice sounded sympathetic, but not exactly guilty. 

"You're wrong. The souls I..." he shook his head, feeling guilt squeeze his chest.

"Destroyed."

Din sighed deeply, "Yes. They had personalities and desires."

"Maybe you can see things I can't. You do have a better connection to them than I do. They do seem to enjoy your company, not that I can blame them, I wouldn't much enjoy the company of my captor either," He huffed. 

Din nodded slowly. This man was lonely then. "Is that why you want me to connect to the saber? To 'trust in you'? You want a collection." he recited. The man paused. 

"Maybe it is that I want a connection. But I also want you to trust in me cause I know we can achieve great things. Fantastic things."

"We won't be achieving anything. I've seen how you served non-Mandalorian Mand'alors. You let them slaughter our people," Din blamed, keeping his voice calm.

"I never assisted the non-Mandalorian wielders, like Gideon or Maul. Not that it mattered. Even when the wielder was Mandalorian, the voices only amplified the holder's anger, their ruthlessness, their arrogance! Many thought they were seeing visions of the future of Mandalore, but they were actually being haunted by the past. It’d drive any normal person mad,” The voice gave pause. "But not you."

Din shifted, feeling uncomfortable. It felt as if there was a presence looming over him. "Because you, Mudhorn... you are no normal man. Your mind is... different. Your rigid demeanor is only a facade, you have a gift. A gift that gives you soothing presence to these wayward souls-”

"I never consented to that!” Din snapped back.

“No, you didn’t, but it happened. The galaxy has a plan for you and that involves the souls being with you. You must understand why they’d want to leave the Darksaber.”

"Yes, they want to leave your realm. Why is that? What are you doing to them?"

The Jedi-Mand'alor went silent for several seconds. Din felt nothing but anger boil around him. "I grow weary of your flippant tone, boy! If I wanted to really torment them, I could always do much worse than this-" he stopped himself, taking a conciliatory breath. "They are tormented by their memories of death. Admittedly, yes, their inability to find light and happiness is due to the corruption of the saber, but that is something out of my control as well. It's not my fault they can't grow past their trauma."

Din folded his arms, his shoulders raising with his irritation.

"I would like to offer a solution. A slight connection to the saber, to only comfort the souls until you find a way to free them."

"Why would I ever trust you?" Din hissed.

The man hummed, the same way the saber did. "It's not about me, it's about the souls. Do you have no loyalty to your people? Do you plan to just purge all the souls here?"

He shook his head defeatedly, feeling like a scolded child. The fear of the souls around him only fueled his remorse. How unsure they all were, it gave him no confidence in this conversation. 

"A Mand'alor can only be as good as he is to his people. If you ever want to be a good leader, you can't abandon these people-"

"It's a good thing I'm not the Mand'alor," Din mumbled, becoming less and less loud in this argument. "I'm not even a Mandalorian. He stopped, refusing to move even when the being urged him to.

“You can reject your name as Mand'alor, but whether you accept it or not, you are a Mandalorian, Din.”

“But- I took off my helmet… three separate times.”

The atmosphere changed, it took on this still room feel, not comforting, not caring but just, empty. “And it’s my understanding each time was to save your son. To ensure his safety. There’s nothing more honorable,” The voice hummed, almost proud. 

A Mand'alor was proud of him. 

Din detested how much of a salve that was for the emotional wounds left by the Armorer. 

“You are an honorable, strong soldier, whose not only intelligent but loyal to your allies and family, even to those with a difference of opinion. That makes you more Mandalorian than most."

Din huffed. "It doesn't feel like it." 

"So noble. So humble. So respectful. Yet so strong. You are the perfect example of a Mandalorian."

“It doesn’t feel like it,” he repeated, a murmur this time.

“It is because the Watch cast you out. They were the only people you had for most of your life, but you forget, you were thrown out because of their ignorance." He felt a heavy comforting weight slowly fall over him, like a heavy blanket. "They chose viewpoints over loyalty. Before they would have died for you. Yet they cast you out when you broke one rule, not even letting you explain. They are black and white.” The voice sighed, Din could envision him shaking his head in shame. “Mandalorians have fallen so far from the ideals we once held so dear. What a disgraceful bunch.”

The man took a deep breath "But you, my dear boy, you can make a change," Din flinched at an unseeable tap tap tap on his mind, "if you let me help you, one step at a time, we can make-"

That snapped him out of whatever little haze he was in, raising his defenses once more. He forced the presence that was drooping over him out; his mind pulsing with the thrum of his heart. "I will never listen to you! If I ever accept my role as Mand'alor, you will have no influence over me! You can advise, but I promise you, I will barely listen. Especially with your lack of help so far."

The voice chuckled, it going low and crackling sinisterly "I see. I apologize for making you feel abandoned" he taunted.

Din stayed silent. He pivoted, feeling his muscles tense as the spirit got condescending once again, “However, I did warn you the voices would be hard to deal with. I believe letting the voices in your mind might help, but it's your choice. Pain or trust.”

Din felt sick. He knew this had to be a manipulation, but what could he do? Refuse? Let these souls suffer? He'd be leaving his people to be tortured, be breaking Resol'nare. What example would that set for Grogu? He bowed his head shamefully.

"I'll ensure to keep you out, I won't let you play any Jedi tricks on my mind."

"How can you hate my Jedi powers so much but not Luke's?"

"I trust him more than you."

"Do you?" The man scoffed in disbelief. "You've only lived with him for a little under two months now... How much do you truthfully know about the man?"

"I've trusted far worse people far faster," Din spoke cooly. For this specter to even try to enter the same reign of trust Din had for Luke was ridiculous. "He also didn't make a saber that entrapped and tortured thousands of souls for centuries who now have to feed off me like epabaare just to get away from their trauma."

The voice grumbled in annoyance but didn't comment further. Instead, he changed topics. "He's teaching you how to use the saber?"

"Trying to. Hard to manage its weight."

The Jedi-Mand'alor accepted that "Opening your mind to comfort the souls will make the saber lighter."

"Are you and the souls a package deal or separate? Cause all I care about is keeping you out" Din asked, not minding how mean he sounded.

He laughed. "Separate. I promise you are in control" The man tried to soothe, his voice still too grating and patronizing to give any comfort. It made Din's back curl in disgust. 

He knew better than to underestimate this spirit's power, but he needed to remember not to upset him too much. He kept it to himself. This man was the only one knowledgeable about the saber. He had to keep semi-good relations.

"How do I open my mind then?"

He heard a self-satisfied snort of laughter. A sickly sweet feeling filled the saber's aura. It made Din's stomach turn with disgust. "Relax for them, welcome them the same way you reached out to the saber," once again, the man's tone was sewn with a belittlement. He didn't know what it was with Jedi and patronizing tones, but it was getting annoying.

"[Stop talking to me like I'm a child]" Din grumbled in Mando'a.

"[Stop being so delicate]" The Jedi-Mand'alor groaned back. Din rolled his eyes at the insult. He wasn't being delicate... "Just do it!" The man demanded.

Din obeyed him, forcing his muscles relax. It took all his strength to not shove out the intruding feeling as, what felt like magma, entered his mind. Hot and dense, quickly it was meeting the wall he set. This searing heat only lasted for a few long seconds, the pain in the back of his head fading and the stress tautening his shoulders released. The souls were silent and tranquil. He soughed in relief.

"Look at that. It's almost as if I know what I'm talking about."

Din snarled but shook away any rude words that begged to be freed from his mind, "Thank you," He lamented. "Will they bother me again?"

"Of course, this isn't supposed to be permanent. Only until you can cleanse the saber. Correctly this time. Don't go destroying the souls again."

Din blinked, that little knife twist hurting him deeply. At least the man was helping him now. “Thank you, for finally speaking to me, Jedi-Mand'alor."

"While I may not have consent to use your name you have permission to say mine."

“Glad to not address you as Vizsla."

Tarre chuckled again. “You say it like a curse.”

“I’ve met one of your descendants.”

“Yes, I'm aware, I was there during your fight after all. Paz is an adequate man, despite how entitled he can be,” Tarre commented. Din could at the very least agree with that. “You should leave now, some time has passed for you.”

“I- how do I?”

“You just leave.” 

Din paused, glancing around. “I don’t see a door-“

“Wake up, Mandalorian.”

Din did not jump when he awoke, having learned from the one too many times he smacked his head on the Starfighter. He did gasp, though, feeling his heart race with adrenaline, letting him take in his surroundings extremely quickly. 

He wasn't under his Starfighter, nor was he on the living room floor, instead, he was in the bed Luke set up for him in Grogu's room, but his son wasn't here. There was sound emanating from the kitchen. Music and someone-no, Luke- was talking.

He sighed, relaxing. 

He sat up unhurriedly, pushing the cover off of him. With each movement, he heard his joints crackle and pop. Yet, he couldn't find it in himself to complain. 

He could only feel elated relief. For the first time in quite a while, his head didn't have a heated pressure on the back of it. The voices weren't whispering in his ears. There was serenity.

He stood, checking himself over. He was both beltless and bootless. A glance around the room let him see said items tucked behind the foot of the bed. Luke must have taken them off.

Anyone else, Cara, Cobb, or even Boba, would just toss him on the couch. Admittedly, he'd do the same to them. Yet, Luke, had lugged him down the hall, got him in bed, took off his boots and belts, going one step further as to tuck him under the blankets. 

Luke was too good for him.

He smiled slightly, a small quirk on the corners of his lips, only to wince. Why was his eye hurting-

He remembered now; the soul removals, the eye goop, his brow tearing. He removed his helmet, glancing in the mirror above the dresser that was full of Grogu's things. Looking at his reflection only startled him. 

There was a long dried stream of liquid that had traveled from his eyes down his face. It was blackish red and smelled like rust. Blood. The pressure of removing the soul must have done this. 

A gash, while admittedly small, lined just above his brow but it had now scabbed over. It was odd looking, it almost looked like an exit wound. It was hard to tell now though.

Din cringed. Whatever steps they took next with the Darksaber needed to be cautious ones.

After wiping his face with a tissue, he slipped on his boots and belts, making his way to the kitchen. 

Grogu was on the counter, licking a bowl and spatula clean of a dark batter, while Luke took a sweet-smelling dish out of the oven. It strangely smelled familiar, but he had to be mistaken.

Red and Artoo's chittering came to a stop when he entered view. Red warbled longly upon seeing him, rolling up to him hastily. Din pat his head once he was in range, watching Grogu spot him.

"Patoo!" Grogu jumped, startled when finding Din at the doorway. 

"What? I already told you there is no more batter!" Luke teased. He tilted his head before looking to the doorway. "Oh, thank the Force," Luke exclaimed quietly, throwing his mitts off. He trotted over, looking him over. Din allowed it this time. Luke was brief, barely touching him. 

"Thank you, for caring for me when I was unconscious," Din murmured cooly, awkwardly.

Luke stared at him, his eyes scanning over his helmet. "You're welcome," he finally replied. "There's still, the darkness here..." He almost touched Din's head but seemingly decided against it, his hand curling back, he took a step away "but you feel different... calmer" cleared his throat, looking up at him hopefully. "Are they subdued for now?"

Din flattened his lips, considering if he should tell Luke or not. Only to have a question pop into his head. "The mind meld broke, how are you sensing my emotions?"

Luke looked up a bit wide-eyed. He hesitated before saying "I'm sorry, in the Force, I can feel the basis of emotions, the same way I could see your connection with the Darksaber. I should have mentioned that sooner," Luke admitted.

That felt like a big thing to just not mention. Though he didn't really know the Force, plus there were plenty of things Din hadn't mentioned. Plenty of things he didn't want to mention. He just accepted it, trying to not be upset that Luke didn't tell him earlier. 

It was just this one small thing.

"Yes, I guess, for now, they seem to be... at peace. They're... safe."

Luke tilted his head before perking up. "You opened your mind to them?"

"Yes-"

"Oh, Din why would you do that?!"

"Tarre said it would help!"

"Who the kriff is Tarre?!"

"The Jedi-Mand'alor."

"You mean the man who made that?!" Luke pointed accusingly at the Darksaber hilt "Who kicked me out of the saber and broke our mind meld?!" 

Din sighed. "Yeah, that was messed up. I wish he didn't, but we were... I don't even know how, but he said we were destroying the souls we thought we were releasing."

Luke straightened. He looked to the saber. "But I... I" He shook his head, "I'm sure they weren't gone... I felt their energy..." Luke looked so unsure, a look Din hadn't seen often from the man. He looked like he wanted to call Tarre a liar... but he resisted. Barely. "You're at peace? Mentally I mean, the voices, are they hurting you?"

Din shook his head mutely, "No, it was another reason I accepted, he said," he looked to the floor guilt-ridden, "he said it would help. The pain, the whispers, help me carry the saber, all of it." 

"Do you trust this... this other Mand'alor?"

He hesitated, tapping at Red's head, prompting the droid to grumble out a beep at him. "No... no not at all, but every time I could feel him reading my mind, feel him trying to enter, I have pushed him out. So I can trust myself."

Luke softened, shrinking back with a curt exhale. He looked like he was solving a puzzle in his head. "Ok... ok, but if anything starts to go wrong if you are in pain, can you tell me so we can find a way around it? I don't-" he stumbled for words, "If I can help you not be in pain, I want to do it for you. Please don't try to just suck it up like you did today."

Din groaned quietly, the sound rumbling in his chest "Ok, I'll tell you from now on."

"And we'll continue to look into ways to cleanse it?"

Din easily agreed to that, people living in his head were one of the last things he wanted. 

"Good." Luke sighed. He ran his hand through his hair, before trying to subtly hold his head, his face scrunched in minusculely. 

"Is your head hurting?" 

"Mm," Luke grunted, "I used a lot of energy with the souls, it's been in and out all day."

"Using the Force hurts?" Din asked, he tried to move Luke's hand to see his head. 'Maybe he had a cut on his head too?'

"No no," Luke waved dismissively, dropping his hand from his head to hold the counter. "Not always and not visibly. I just... I overdid it," Luke sighed. Din didn't move away, Luke glared at him softly before continuing "I had an... injury years ago. Sometimes its effects pop back up when I strain myself." He pulled at his sleeves, the same way Din pulled on his helmet when he felt overexposed.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was insecure over. 

He didn't exactly know how to react. Asking why he would keep using the Force if it had these drawbacks was a ridiculous question, Luke used the Force because he wanted to. He also had responsibilities to uphold, so he did what he had to and wanted to. Asking how he got the injury was completely off the table as well, it was none of his business. Plus he had enough to understand the bare minimum, the feathering scar patterns and symptoms are signs of electrical trauma.

He only had one question remaining, "Why are you insecure about your scars?"

Luke tsked his tongue. "It's a disfigurement."

Din blinked, disappointed in his friend for being so harsh. "You think all scars are ugly, then?"

"No, just..." Luke held back from saying something, he soughed softly. "I don't care. I just know that most people are uncomfortable with seeing them. It's easier to just hide it." He snipped the last part, his face showing he was annoyed. He nudged past Din to take the bowl and spatula from Grogu and put them in the sink.

He didn't mean to annoy him like that. He walked over, taking over the chore of cleaning the dishes since Luke cooked. "I'm sorry I annoyed you. In Mandalorian culture, injuries, scars, and all... 'disfigurements,' are praised. Hailed as trophies of survival. It shows you confronted something or someone, and persevered through it enough to be able to tell the tale," Din explained, he glimpsed to his left, seeing that Luke was listening intently.

"Funny. That's um... Tatooine holds the same belief," Luke cleared his throat. "Wish it was more popular."

"Why do you care about others' worthless judgment?"

"Because it's not just one or two people. It is millions of billions. And like I said Din, I can feel base emotions in the Force. I can feel their horror and disgust. It also has some pretty crappy memories tied to it so..." Luke shrugged, "As I said, it's easier and mentally healthier for me to just hide it."

Din nodded in understanding. "I hate people."

Luke snorted. "Yes, you've made that clear. Can't believe you're not a hermit living on a farm in the middle of nowhere."

"That is the dream," Din sighed contentedly. That would be the utmost perfect life for him.

"Really? I didn't take you for a farmer."

"I'm not. But I do like the thought, and I'm a quick learner, I just would want some people with me so I don't get bored."

"Ah, so, not the hermit life," Luke scoffed. "Is your dream life like the one we have now?"

Although Luke seemed to be joking, Din thought it over. "Yeah. Yeah, this is just about it. In the dream, of course, we don't have to leave though. There would be crops and animals outside for food. Friends living in a house close by."

Luke tilted his head. "We?"

"Yeah, we. We're raising a kid who ages by the decades together so we're stuck together for a long time. Might as well start planning with that in mind," Din shrugged, he dried and put away the dishes. "Are you uncomfortable with that?"

"No! No, not at all, it just never occurred to me," Luke smiled nervously before it went smug. "You sure you're not just trying to lock it in 'cause you know I was a farm hand and I can grow plants?"

Din snickered, going along with this accusation. "Damn, my plans are foiled."

"Now hold on, I never said I was against it, just wondering what the motive is and what's expected of me in this dream scenario. Though, please remember, I was only a moisture farmer, that's very different than agricultural farming. And don't forget, on top of all of this, we'd have students."

"You say students, I say free labor."

"Din, that's called slavery."

"Only from a certain point of view," Din quipped, making Luke snort and roll his eyes.

"Terrible. You are terrible. You know what? You don't get the afternoon treat I made."

"Come on, Luke-!" Din halted. "Sorry, afternoon?" He looked to the window. The sun was setting, the sky a bright orange touched with pinks and reds. It looked more like evening.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Luke glance at the window as well. "Oh, yeah, I guess evening is more accurate" he shrugged.

"I slept all day?"

Luke nodded, "It's no surprise, really, what we did was draining for both of us. And you were in there longer than I was. I woke up in the later morning. Artoo and Red got Grogu up and played with him."

Din looked at his droid, despite not having eyes it looked like Red was looking back at him. He kneeled, getting level with him. "Thank you, burc'ya."

Red beeped out a rapid sentence before rolling off, back to Artoo where they began conversing once again.

"He said 'you're welcome,' but told Artoo he doesn't know Mando'a," Luke snorted.

Din exhaled longly. "I'll have to download it on him. That's a thing droids can do right? Download languages?"

"Yeah! It's how I learned quite a few languages. I downloaded it on Artoo and then had him teach it to me."

Din hummed, wetting a cloth and wiping down the flour-dusted countertop. "Maybe he should teach you Mando'a then. I'm not a great teacher."

"Yes, but you are a lot nicer," Luke replied easily. An offended multitude of chirps and whistles came from Artoo. Red, however, was giving out a pattern of low-pitched buzzes that almost sounded like laughter. Luke looked at him, rolling his eyes dramatically.

He looked at the baked good on the counter, Luke had mentioned knowing how to cook only one thing. "Is this the recipe your aunt showed you?"

"Yep! I may be a terrible cook, but I know how to bake brownies, and I make them fantastically." 

"And who told you that?"

"Everyone who has tried them!"

Din tilted his head skeptically. 

"Don't judge until you try it!" Luke shoved his shoulder. 

"Alright, fine, tell you what, I'll try it after I clean the kitchen and when we get Grogu some real dinner. Deal?"

Luke had a self-satisfied grin. "Deal."

They switched off on tasks to get things done as quickly as possible. The kitchen was clean quicker than Din thought it would be and somehow Luke had gotten Grogu settled with his dinner.

Din side-eyed the blond, "You really want me to eat these brownies don't you?"

"Yes! This is my official submission to the Din culinary school to prove I'm not a lost cause."

He rolled his eyes playfully. He'd forgotten he said he'd teach Luke how to cook, he needed to get on that. "Even if you were a lost cause, I'd still try to teach you because you asked me to."

Luke smiled softly before shaking his head as if trying not to come back to reality. He cut a square of the brownie out and put it on the plate, quickly passing it to Din. 

"Don't worry, I'll cover my eyes" Luke hummed cheerily, putting his hands over his eyes and turning around. 

Din slid up his helmet only to pop the treat into his mouth and pull it back down. It was a rich sweetness, obviously, but not overly so, just enough to be addictive, with hints of fruit. It had a slightly fluffy texture like cake but a bit denser, with some type of nut in it. There was stickiness with it, a sweet-spicy stickiness.

He knew this taste. He recalled bounding into the kitchen, hearing his mother calling him. Listening when she told him to wipe his feet from running outside, barefoot of course. He was a heathen when he was younger. She had always made this treat, always in a blue mini-baking tin just for him; his one little treat for birthdays.

It was her recipe, a different fruit and nut, but this was the dessert she made him. So how the hell did Luke get it?

"Safe to look, or-?"

"Where did you learn this recipe?" He demanded. Luke paused, tilting his head slightly.

"My Aunt Beru... why?"

"Where did she get it?"

"Uh... a cookbook? It was something like 'Black Spire Outpost Cookbook,' she got it from some traveling traders. They called it uj cake in the book but Aunt Beru always called it brownies. She always removed the syrup on top but I always liked it," Luke shrugged.

Din huffed. Of course, his mom had a cookbook. But, uj cake- or uj'alayi- was Mandalorian... why would she make something Mandalorian? Aq Vetina wasn't associated with the Mandalorians... was it? Then again, how would he know? He hadn't been there since he left...

Then another thought came. Why would Death Watch, an extremist group of Mandalorians, save Aq Vetina from Separatist forces if it wasn't Mandalorian associated? Why would they care?

He never asked these things before. Getting scolded so much he just learned to stop questioning things. To stop wondering about the outside world. Stop wondering about morality and just listen to what he was told. To follow the Way, the Armorer, and nothing more. 

More lies. More secrets. More blind obedience. He puffed out a breath, not really a laugh but not a sob, somewhere in between.

In his defense, it had been a really hard day.

"Din?" Luke asked cautiously, "Are you ok?"

Din tried to clear his throat of the tightness. He wanted to avoid this. This would go on the back burner. "Uj cake is... it's Mandalorian. Did you know that?"

"No, I had no idea. Look at that, I already got my foot in the door! See, now you know for sure I'm not a lost cause!"

Din smiled softly. He patted Luke's shoulder. "Would teach you even if you were." 

Luke turned to him, smiling that wide, eye-crinkling smile once more "So, you never answered. What do you think?" Luke asked, clearly already knowing the answer. 

Din admittedly hesitated. He wanted to tell Luke, tell Luke he loved it and it was like his mother's, but that was a heavyweight to drop on someone. And it was a weight he was fully willing to drop yet either. So he didn't. "Honestly? Considering how worth it it would be to eat the entire tin."

Luke celebrated with a cocky, boisterous little laugh and a fist pump. Din let him have his moment, choosing to sit with his son and ask him about his day with the droids even though he couldn't respond in any way Din would understand. 

Luke joined them only seconds later, picking up his role as Grogu's translator. "He said his day was great. I got him to read a book, we took a nap, then I taught his two saber training forms for him to practice."

He dipped his head in thanks to him before looking at his son. He remembered the conversation he and Luke had before they delved into the saber. "Grogu," his son perked up with a cute, questioning coo. "On Aq Vetina, names are formatted differently. With family name first, given name second. You can keep going by Grogu Djarin if you want, or you can go by Din Grogu, or Grogu Din or even Djarin Grogu if you want. Whatever you want, you'll always be my ad."

Grogu tilted his head in consideration. He nervously mumbled as he gave his final decision. Din looked to Luke, finding his friend frowning "He said he likes Grogu Djarin." 

Din tilted his head, he could accept that "He took one of my names, that's all I can ask for." 

Luke nodded reluctantly, "It's his name, and he wasn't raised in Aq Vetina traditions so I can see how it'd be strange for him to change his name format. But maybe if we explain-" Grogu shouted a little, Luke tilted his head before making a sound of realization. "Grogu, it's also his family name-" he was cut off by another sound of protest from the green child. Luke let out a breath. "He said Din is your name, and Grogu is his. And he just wants to have your last name."

Din chuckled. He had a feeling Grogu wouldn't completely understand. He wasn't going to push it. "That's alright. As I said, he took one of my names. That's more than I ever could have asked for."

Luke looked at him. "But we can explain it to him! He'll get it, we just-!" He paused, slumping in confusion. "Your family name is important to you."

"Yes, it is, but only to me. Grogu he isn't seeing it like I am. And that's ok," he cupped his friend's arm. "I promise I don't mind."

His burc'ya sighed, placing his hand over Din's. "Ok." Luke looked up at him. "Sorry to push."

"No, I appreciate it."

He smiled, the conversation continuing with Grogu, and their hands never leaving each other.

Over the next two weeks, they did well in avoiding the Darksaber. Both willing to ignore it entirely. 

Instead, they focused on easier-to-manage tasks, like the droids, cooking, and Grogu's training. 

Luke admittedly took care of the droids alone. Din had about as much droid knowledge as a womprat had intelligence. He'd get around to learning things, currently, he was a bit busy being the teacher.

"I swear to the Force, I'm going to curl up in a ball and explode" Luke groaned in frustration. The crisped remains of a mix of aromatics, veggies, and beans still simmering in a hot pan. This was the first time he had cooked a meal on his own.

Din sighed, dropping a cup of water on the skillet and easily scrubbing off the burnt pieces, letting them journey down the drain. Luke picked up a chuck of what used to be a carrot and bit into it. He cringed in revulsion. "How are they burnt and still raw on the inside"

"Your heat is too high," Din answered simply, turning the heat on the stove down.

"You said this recipe was easy, a beginner's meal, but there are so many moving components," Luke huffed, gesturing to the sink full of dirty dishes. He didn't know how the man managed to be so messy every time they cooked. He chopped the balka greens sloppily, impatient and frustrated. Din made him stop, correcting his hand placement and then making him chop slower.

"It's one of the first things I learned how to cook. It lasts a long time, has cheap ingredients, also, not nearly as difficult to cook as other meals-"

"Right, says you. I don't think it's very easy" Luke scoffed. "At least it's spicy."

That made him smile, he didn't know Luke liked spice, "Most Mandalorian meals are. We probably can't go too spicy, but I'll show you some of them."

"Oh, well, thank you. I appreciate you sharing your culture." 

Din softened but moved on before it got sappy "You know what's great about most Mandalorian meals is they don't need constant managing, unlike you." 

Luke chuckled, he looked a little defeated "Ya know what's really sad? I'm genuinely trying."

Din frowned, maybe he was teasing him too much. "I know, you are doing quite well," he tried to encourage, only earning a chuff of disagreement. Luke dumped some of the herbs and veggies into the simmering soup water and the rest into the pan. 

Din tilted his head consideringly, glimpsing at Grogu who looked at him big-eyed. He sighed, deciding to tell his cooking nightmare, "The first time I cooked tiingilar, a Mandalorian stew, I may have... 'accidentally'... set someone on fire." Din admitted, adding finger quotes to the 'accidentally.'

Luke perked up. "You... what?" At Din's shrug, his friend was laughing. A hard wheeze that scrunched his face and made him curl in on himself on that. "Wh-why did you say 'accidentally' like that?!"

"Cause I don't remember if it was really on accident or not." Luke laughed harder. "He was a... jagyc'kovid," Din scoffed, not knowing any way to express his distaste in Basic.

"What does jagyc'kovid mean?" Luke chuckled, barely able to stutter the word out.

Din paused, how do you explain such an insult? "It's like-" he looked over at Grogu, "cover your ears," his son did so "It's like shebs'palon or osi’kovid."

"Din, I don't know Mando'a, you can't reference other words in Mando'a to explain a word in Mando'a," Luke snickered.

Din merely snorted. He walked over to his son, tapping on Grogu's arm before he picked him up. Grogu let his small hands fall from his big ears. "I thought you were learning."

"Not insults!"

"Well, I believe that's the most important part!"

Luke chuckled, rolling his eyes in an imitation of annoyance. "What did the guy do to deserve to be lit on fire?" He asked as he dumped the now lightly cooked remaining veggies and herbs into the salted water, stirring it briefly before dropping the spatula into the sink.

Din shrugged off his discomfort at answering; turned away from the urge to throw up walls. He wanted to talk about this. 

They switched positions, Luke taking Grogu and leaning against the counter and Din cleaning the dishes.

"He called me a very bad insult in Mando'a, 'vaar'ika hut'uun.' Which roughly translates to cowardly runt," He looked to Luke who wore his signature head tilt of confusion. Grogu was entertaining himself with a toy figurine of some animal, not interested in this conversation in the slightest. "In Mandalorian culture, to be a coward is to be un-Mandalorian, it's the worst insult you can say to one of us as it takes away our identity. And runt was just thrown in to spice the wound, I was very skinny and scrawny as a child."

Luke shook his head. "What a bantha foddler," he hissed, he bounced Grogu, "anyone talks to you like that, you do what your dad did."

"Luke!" Din turned quickly, unable to stop himself from chuckling. 

"I'm joking. Mostly," He gave an exaggerated wink to Grogu.

Din scoffed but genuinely appreciated Luke not defending Paz or scolding him. 

It may have been an overreaction, he knew that but Paz had always picked and poked. Calling him that just went too far that day and, honestly, Paz just deserved to be put in his place most of the time. But, maybe he was biased, maybe there was a reason Paz disliked him so much. Not that he'd ever know now anyway.

"Listen, how big and strong you are doesn't represent how good a fighter you are, and how good a fighter you are doesn't decide how good a person you are" Luke stated sagely, "I'm smaller than you, leaner too. Hand-to-hand? You'd kick my ass. But since I'm..." Luke snapped his fingers, trying to spark his memory "Oh, what’s the word you used? Care-a-tigan-ish?”

“Kare’tigaanyc. Kah-ray-tee-gah-neesh” Din said, saying each syllable so Luke could get it right. He couldn’t help but beam a little.

“Kah-ray-tee-gah-neesh. Kare’ti-gaa-neesh. Kare’tigaanyc?” Luke looked for approval. Din nodded. “Yes! Since I’m kare’tigaanyc, I always kick your ass.”

"Not always-"

"Almost always."

Din scoffed, drying the dishes he had just washed. "You do beat me frequently. You are very powerful. You should be proud of that," Luke smiled wide. "And you can make soup."

Luke froze, looking at the soup pot, then gasped. "I can make soup!"

Din laughed, radiating pride for his friend. 

Luke's cheeks brightened, but he "What's next?"

"We let it cook for two hours. Then we eat."

"Oh..." he looked at the pot then back to Din. "So sparring?"

"Sure."

He lowered the heat on the pot, setting it to a simmer and they left. They walked to the flattened top of the hill. Luke set Grogu down on a rock as Din grabbed the staffs.

They admittedly took way too little time to stretch, they'd deal with any pulled muscles afterward. 

"You ready to get your butt kicked?" Luke asked, tilting his head up and smirking a cocky grin. He pointed out his staff with a steady arm.

Din rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah," he scoffed.

They stood on opposite sides of the ring. Luke barely let Din get in position before swinging at him. His staff lodged under the back of his knees, forcing his legs up and making him fall back on his shoulders and jetpack with a shoved-out oof.

"We doin' a point system, or-?"

"You didn't even let me get ready."

"Sorry, what is it you always tell Grogu? Grogu, what does your dad always tell you?" Luke asked loudly, turning to the child, Din sighed longly, knowing already what Luke was going to bring up. "Yep, Green Bean says you taught him 'always be ready for a fight.'"

"Don't call him green bean," Din scolded playfully, not really caring either way, he's called Grogu some strange nicknames plenty of times.

Luke snickered, holding out his hand and helping him to his feet. "Your right. He's more like Green Pepper, with all his little wrinkles and spicy comments, isn't that right Grogu?" He turned, looking at his student. Grogu giggled, raising his stubby arms in a mock cheer.

While his back was turned, Din pushed on the back of Luke's knees, forcing his friend into a kneel and then to his belly. Din put a knee on his back, holding him in place as he jabbed him lightly with the wooden staff he held. 

"What were you saying about 'always being ready for a fight'?" He asked.

"Yeah yeah, get off me."

Din laughed, getting off and tugging Luke to his feet. "Even score now, come on, let's go again."

They went back and forth with pins and hits with the staffs, some of the rounds shorter but most were longer. While Luke ended up being thrown around more, he still had more points, remembering that you needed to stab to win. Something that Din couldn't remember. Or maybe he just liked throwing Luke around.

All the while, Grogu had settled himself with a little rock, carving designs into the dirt.

Din hit the ground, rolling to the side when Luke's faux saber came down in a harsh swing. Despite this flawless dodge, he wasn’t spared, he turned the staff slapping into his flank. He groaned deeply.

“Do you want me to go a little easier?”

“No, I'd rather have you embarrass me than pity me.”

“How are you both humble and prideful? Make it make sense Din.”

“I’m a living oxymoron.”

Luke rolled his eyes. He got in a fighting stance. Din countered, knowing this stance by now. Luke would fake a stab left and then go the other way. He’d get Din panicked, take control of the fight, mess with him, and then claim victory.

This time Din would try to just strong-arm him. In his faux stab, he grabbed Luke’s gloved wrist, yanking it up. His friend turned, barely missing the stab Din tried to deal out. 

While Luke wasn’t as physically strong as Din, he wasn't weak either. It only took a few pulls before he was free of his grasp. He put space between them by swiftly jumping backward. 

They circled, before deciding to attack in the same instant.

Their staffs clashed, and again, Din kept using his raw strength to overpower him. Pushing Luke back, his heeled black boots kicked up dust as they skidded on the soil's loose top layers. He shoved back with a mix of his Jedi magic and his own brute strength, only enough to put space between them once again.

Din widened the gap, jogging backward and as he did he fired his whipcord. It snagged the staff at the hilt and yanked it from Luke’s hand and into his. He puffed, shocked it actually worked.

“Kriff,” Luke cursed. 

Din dashed forward, he slashed only to have Luke duck. He stabbed at the floor, then kicked out. His friend didn’t go left like he always did, he went right. It hit Din that he was going for one of the staff. 

Not ready to lose yet again, he threw it. 

He tried to stab Luke with the remaining one, only for to have flung it far off into the foliage of the forests. They both lingered, watching as the staff disappeared. Then turned back to each other. 

“First to tap out loses?” Din proposed.

“Works for me.”

Luke just about dove to the ground. He kicked out his leg and with a spin, Din found himself on his back. Thankfully he wasn’t completely winded this time, having tossed his jet pack aside after the third time he was tripped up like this.

Din rolled away, getting on his feet and attacking him back. He ran at him, and once in range, he grabbed Luke by one of his thighs and slammed his shoulder into Luke's abdomen. They toppled over, colliding with the soil. He heard Luke let out a high-pitched yelp.

“Luke?”

“I’m fine!“ he kicked wildly, trying to get out from under him.

Din lifted his torso, letting Luke move his legs but only slightly. He reached to grab Luke’s wrists only to have strong legs tighten around his neck and his arm get yanked upward. He coughed, trying to wiggle out, but the only way out was backward, and going back would take his helmet off. Luke had him in a solid triangle hold.

‘You little-‘ Din thought. If Luke was playing dirty, he’d reciprocate. He got his knees under himself as he held Luke’s thigh with his free arm.

“Din? Din, what are you-“ Luke was cut off by his own squeal as Din lifted him upwards. He clung to Din's arm and tightened his legs around him. 

It would hurt more if Din wasn't in bliss. From breaking his losing streak. Obviously.

"Tap out" Din demanded

"Din!" Luke screeched, failing in his attempt not to laugh. Din only wordlessly leaned forward, successfully scaring his Jedi friend into thinking he'd bodyslam him. "Alright! Alright, congratulations! You win" Luke cackled, tapping his bicep rapidly. 

He smirked, slowly- very, very slowly- kneeling and placing Luke down on his feet. They both took a second, catching their breath. Din felt eyes on him, while he would be just giddy with Luke's pout this felt... appraising. He must have been dreaming. 

Even with his write-off, he couldn't help but glance at him, only to find this feeling to be true. Luke's eyes were soft and proud, staring at him. "You fought well" he praised, hands behind his back. "You feel better now that you showed me how strong you are?"

Din chuffed in response. "Yes, though I'm more proud that I beat you."

"You've beaten me plenty of times."

"Yeah, and I get happy every time I do."

Luke rolled his eyes. Any further moves in the conversation are stopped by Grogu's sounds of alarm. Both of them turn, jogging over to check in on him. He tries emphatically to tell Din something, but he was gesturing so wildly that he couldn't understand any of it. 

"Settle down, then tell me what's wrong," he instructed. Grogu gave him an annoyed glare, one more adorable than heated. He took a breath and then tried again. He gestured to Luke, then his right hand. Din looked at Luke who was looking the other way already. "Luke-"

"I'm ok."

Din sighed, "Thought we agreed to tell each other when we're hurt. That we weren't going to do the 'I'm ok' when we're not ok anymore."

Luke looked at him before he- very reluctantly- showed him his right hand. If Din was a squeamish person, he might be sick. Despite being gloved, the fingers were bent in odd, unnatural ways, very clearly broken, and the palm even looked misshapen.

"Manda, Luke! When did this happen?"

"Remember when you pinned me and I cried out?"

"I remember you saying you were fine!" Din responded curtly.

Luke cringed "Yeah, I just wanted to keep wrestling you."

"Luke-!"

"I know, I know, but in all honesty, it didn't hurt! I swear I didn't know it was this bad!"

Din groaned. "Get your shebs up. We gotta fix this."

Luke sighed but got up. 

After grabbing Grogu they trekked back to the house. The droids took to distracting the child while Din grabbed a medium-sized toolkit- that was heavier than he expected- that Luke directed him to. It was multi-level, with different color-coded sets of tools, all of them small and lightweight. Whatever was on the bottom level of the box, Din couldn't tell, but he had to guess that layer was the one that weighed it down. 

The ones Luke was picking from were red, they were long and thin, not exactly surgical but genuine tools like you'd fix a droid with. Maybe these were unique medical tools?

Luke didn't hesitate, taking off his glove, without even wincing, and pulling up his sleeve carelessly. Since their talk about scars, Luke seemed less conscious about hiding them. He still tugged his sleeves down but not every time now. Progress was progress and trust was a slow-building thing, Din knew that. 

Luke tapped his wrist, and two doors opened to expose metal and wiring. 

Din felt his jaw drop. Luke had a mechanical hand. That was new information, it explained why the broken fingers didn't hurt him. 

Luke looked up slowly at him. "Something wrong?"

"I didn't know your hand was robotic" Din hummed. Luke looked a little embarrassed, laughing falsely and shrugging it off with a mumbled apology. "Don't apologize, I'm not owed that information," he tilted his head at the tools and chuckled dryly, "in fact, I should probably apologize, I'm terrible with any mechanics other than a ship's, even then I'm mediocre at best. I don't think I'll be very helpful here."

His friend laughed for real this time. "I can show you. I'm an expert at fixing it now since I've broken it so much, but it's always nice to have another set of hands."

With his brisk nod, Luke was instructing him on what to do. Unscrewing the broken fingers at their base joint and the thumb's plush stretch buffer, setting the broken pieces aside. They were unsalvageable. 

"In the bottom layer, there are replacement parts."

Din checked, seeing several parts for a mechanical hand, including fingers, joints, and palm pieces. "How often do you break this?"

"How often have you gotten shot?"

"Fair point."

Din took his time fixing it, needing quite a bit of direction on what to do on the first finger but not so much for the rest. Luke lost interest rather quickly, only looking back when Din asked for some guidance. The materials the fingers were made of were, to put it kindly, cheap. It was no wonder they broke so often.

He pulled the synthetic skin back to its rightful place and sealed it shut with the laser. 

Luke pulled out a needle, poking the plush parts of his hand and causing the fingers to curl. It seemed like a rehearsed thing. He continued, going through a set of hand exercises: a fist, spread fingers, holding something, tapping his fingers, and finally a middle finger. 

"Yes, don't want to forget that. Gotta make sure that's calibrated in there."

"It's a very important gesture," Luke snickered.

Din rolled his eyes. He wavered. "I'm sorry... for breaking your hand."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I break it often."

"Probably because the mechanics for your hand are shoddy pieces of garbage. You should buy stronger ones."

Luke looked at them and tsked his tongue. "When I get the money I will, but credits are not something I'm well-endowed with currently."

Din nodded. He'd save for it then. Luke got him the sniper rifle after all. Plus, he just deserved nice things. He didn't just want to help Luke when he needed it, he wanted to make him happy. 

He wanted to see him be happy. Every time he did, every time he saw him smile knowing that he caused it, it made him happy. It was odd to be so heavily affected by someone. 

"I think-" Din perked up as Luke spoke, "since we haven't found anything on the saber, I want to try to get a hold of the spirits now. I think I can talk to them. I can ask if they know anything about the saber. If you'll allow me to."

Din dipped his head eventually. "Yeah, yeah that'd be ok," He stood, "but later, we should eat first."

Luke smiled wide. "Yes! Maker, even if it tastes terrible, I'm happy I made it."

They settled to eat, Grogu still a bit hyper. He did have a low-activity day today. They'd have quite a bit longer before he'd get to bed, but staying up and talking to Luke was the opposite of a punishment.

The second Luke had his blindfold on, Din's helmet was off. He hadn't realized how hungry he'd gotten. The soup was absolutely delicious, even if toned down in spice for Grogu's sake.

He did miss spicy food though.

"I know we're toning down the spice for Grogu, but we should get hot sauce."

Din beamed, it was like Luke could read his mind. "Yeah, we absolutely should." 

Time seemed to move so fast now. With their routine, what felt like a few days had actually been several weeks.

Din sat with Grogu, going through the book of Mand'alor's. He wondered if he'd ever end up in a book like this. Wouldn't be so bad; to have Grogu always remember him as some leader. He might even make him proud. 

But, if he was being realistic, at the end of the day he'd probably end up back here, with his son and Luke. He'd be called Mand'alor the Deserter. Not something to be proud of but at least Grogu would have good memories with him and he'd be able to spend as much time with him as possible, that's what really mattered. 

Grogu was fond of Bo-Katan's blurb, shockingly enough. He loved the stories of her constant resistance against the Empire. It was a time he was alive for, and from what Luke said Grogu didn't remember much of it. 

Din still wondered what it would be like, to talk to his son through his mind, but by now, he didn't let himself hope for it. As much as he wanted to make that mental connection he still held back. He might not ever let Grogu in like that. Not for a lack of trust, no, more of a fear of what Grogu would see. And how he'd react to seeing it.

He knew for certain he wasn't a good person, there was a reason that the dreams of seeing others' deaths didn't seem odd to him at first. Being a beroya, you get used to it. The least he could do is shield his son from the same horrors. But that wasn't it. There was something else here, something dark that rose Din' hair at the thought of it getting anywhere near his son.

Tarre, the souls, and the darkness in the Darksaber. He wouldn't even think about trying to build a mental connection with Grogu while he still had it, even if it was calm currently. He needed to train with it, control it, then cleanse it. 

Something he probably needed to get on with. He'd been avoiding the Darksaber as much as he could, happy to just pretend as if it didn't exist now that it wasn't a problem. He looked to Luke, who was watching a show in Mando'a with Basic subtitles on. It was a children's show, but it was a good way to learn and Luke didn't seem to mind that much. His hair had gotten longer, it's longest pieces resting against the muscles where his neck and torso met.

"Burc'ya," Din called, the too-on-the-nose nickname now commonplace. He had started calling Luke it when he couldn't remember words for relationships, he'd call Luke's sister burc'ya vod so he'd remember sibling, he called Grogu ad'ika more, and over all just started to use Mando'a more to help Luke associate the words. Luke paused the show before turning. "When Grogu goes down, would you like to train with me using the Darksaber?"

Luke seemed a bit shocked by that. "Really? You wanna train- like not the staffs but the actual saber?" Luke asked. At Din's nod, he blinked in stupification. "Alright... yeah. Sorry, you're right. Just thought we'd avoid a bit longer," He chuckled nervously.

Din shook his head, not really able to speak more than that. There was no point.

It was a few hours later when they finally got to the training hollow.

The Darksaber, for the first time, wasn't carrying a wrist-breaking level of weight. Granted, it was still heavy, but not to the point it was before. He could actually swing it without using all of his strength now.

Looking at it now, seeing each cut, dot, speckle... he knew what they were. They were once people who were alive like him. He dipped his head in respect, giving the nameless daily remembrance to the souls. It was less personal than the one he did for his parents but he hoped it helped the souls stay at peace. He also gave a quick apology for not being able to free them. All he got back were quiet, tired touches of reassurance. It did nothing but make him feel worse.

"Din?" Din glanced up at hearing Luke, finding the man in front of him. "You ok?"

He didn't want to nod, he and Luke had been good at not breaking their rule on not lying about being ok. They didn't always explain why they weren't ok, but they hap stopped lying about being ok when they weren't. He weighed his options, deciding to come clean. "There are so many cuts, so much history… So many deaths." Din glanced at the blade. “Over this… this stupid saber.”

Luke nodded in understanding. “It's quite the obsession. I'm sure becoming Mand'alor is quite the ego boost as well. Some people will do anything to get more power, even if that means killing innocents."

“Yeah," Din scoffed. What a terrible thing to desire. While these deaths weren't all caused by Mandalorians, most were. Maul got the saber because of Death Watch. Gideon got more kills with it because Bo-Katan cared more about getting the saber than saving the people... and he... well, he was careless with it too. Only he did something almost worse...

"Din, you know the souls... it's not your fault that they're in there," Luke stated soothingly. Din looked away. "And it's not your fault that they were destroyed when they were released, if that's anyone's fault it's mine-"

"No-" Din cut in a bit too quickly. Something about Luke blaming himself was unacceptable. "No, you didn't know-"

"And you did?"

"I knew it was hurting."

"Yes, but you thought that pain was necessary to get them free," Luke walked closer. Despite his urge to walk back, to turn away, he didn't.

"We've had this conversation before..."

"And we'll have it again until you believe me when I say it's not your fault. We were both in there. If you don't want me to blame myself, don't blame yourself either."

Easier said than done. 

Everytime Luke laid it out like that it seemed simple and easy to understand, but when the talk was over, sometime later, Din would look at the saber and feel guilty again.

That couldn't be healthy... nor did he like the thought of constantly putting his sadness on Luke. He needed to correct it. Now was the time to do it anyway, they had credits for food, no running from other bounty hunters or the Moff. Plus, Yavin 4 had been a haven and completely stress-free. It's been the first planet he's called home since he was 8. He nodded standing tall again. "You're right." 

"Force, I love it when you tell me that," Luke groaned in sly delight. "Almost as much as when you yield in a fight."

"You seemed to be pretty happy when I win."

Luke glanced away "Cause you get happy when you beat me."

Din smirked. He liked this part of staying on Yavin 4 too. The sparring, of course, he was a Mandalorian after all, but it was that he was sparring with Luke specifically. That he did anything with Luke was fantastic, actually.

It was the fact that they were bonding. Having a give and take of sharing parts of themselves. He liked that he and Luke taught each other things, and liked hearing about Luke's childhood shenanigans. Above all though was watching Luke and Grogu bond.

Seeing Luke care for Grogu so diligently, so lovingly... and how when Grogu did something extraordinary, Luke looked at him first, with bright eyes and a wide smile... 

It was just... nice. It was nice to have someone he was so close to. He had found himself fond of his and Luke's friendship pretty early on but now? He didn't know what this feeling was... but it was divine. It was alleviating and comforting. It made him feel good to just be around his friend, but to make him happy? To be able to even have the opportunity to make his day just a little bit better? Indescribable. 

"Din."

"Hm?" Din hummed in question, straightening to attention lazily. Luke was smiling at him again, forgive him if he was a little distracted.

"We gonna duel or what?" He asked.

"I'll duel you when you get out that overrated lightstick," Din smirked.

"Lightstick?" Luke laughed, he unsheathed the saber, pointing it out to his side, its tip almost grazing the ground but he had enough control to not let it go, "You get more and more creative with these nicknames for my saber. Curious about what other names you got saved for me. Plus, I think I've moved past burc'ya."

"Good, that's the most boring of the bunch. I have a wide range of names for you, varyingly insulting, most of them pretty dumb" Din shrugged, hunching down to gather his strength. They circled, side-stepping carefully to keep their stances and eyes on each other. His heart thrum

"Well, as long as they're creative."

"I wouldn't ever give you anything less than my best."

"We'll see about that," Luke leapt forward, clashing his blade against Din's. The Darksaber was virtually effortless to move now. With the forms Luke had shown him with the staffs, ones where he used all of his strength, he'd all but plowed his friend aside. 

Luke stuck the landing. Din took a guarding stance, something like the bantha guard, the Darksaber's tip aimed at Luke's chest. He backed away slightly. He needed to remember to still hold back.

"Throw me around a little more and I might just need you to carry me back!"

"I think it's my turn this time, right? You kick my shebs, I kick yours, I break your hand, you have to drag me back home." Even though it had been several fights since that wrestling match gone wrong, Din couldn't help but keep bringing it up.

"Think I've beaten you so much you couldn't ever catch up!" Luke teased. Din laughed, they circled again, while further physically, they were far more focused, circling faster, in a lofty fashion. 

"Clearly, I don't learn."

"Oh quite the contrary, you're finally becoming a worthy opponent," Luke said in a phony snobbish tone. Din scoffed. 

He stepped forward, only to have the Darksaber be blocked. His friend redirected both of their sabers left. Din turned his body, shoulder-checking Luke and putting space between them again. 

Luke was getting excited. If he did a little antagonizing, Din knew he could get him to switch to offensive fighting. 

"You really do like getting thrown, huh?" Din asked, making his confidant roll his eyes. "If you only know how to fight defensively, you can say that, no shame there."

With a stare of captured interest, he knew he got him. 

Luke favored defensive fighting, most likely due to his moral code. It wasn't a bad thing, it worked extremely well for him, however, it meant he did not always fair well when taking the offensive fights. That didn't make him a bad fighter at all, and he knew Luke knew he was teasing... but something about even the ribbing implication that he couldn't beat Din got him revved up.

Luke charged. Their sabers clashed in a rehearsed fashion, having learned each other's attacks well by now.

Luke was twisting and turning wildly, forcing Din to back up. He was going harder today, not that he took it easy on him, Luke knew he could handle it, he just seemed determined on winning today. But, so was Din.

He worked with Luke, countering him but not attacking back, only remaining defensive. Their sabers met in a stern position, Din kicked out, hitting Luke's right side. 

He panicked for a second, losing his footing as he scrambled away from another hit. He jumped skywards, as Din swung the saber at him. He knew this move, Luke would end up behind him, and win. He wasn't good enough with back blocks either. Instead, he rolled forward, ending in a kneel with his right side facing Luke. He held the Darksaber out, finding Luke in a similar stance only he was standing. 

His friend bit his lip in barely contained pride and giddiness. He backed up, letting Din get to his feet before rushing forward, striking with grace and skill. 

He knew he couldn't keep up with Luke, he wasn't fast and he wasn't good in defense, but, he was physically strong. Every time he'd won, it had been due to him wearing Luke's defenses down enough for him to slip up and offer an opportunity. An opportunity in with Din would overpower him wihch ferocity and raw strength. He believed the form was called Vaapad. It was something Luke had been teaching Grogu, and something Din did further research on.

He began to get excited, hammering his blade against Luke's and forcing him to go back on the defensive. Their blades met in a harsh clash, the energy hissing. Din walked with it, hearing Luke's feet skid on the loose ground beneath them. His knees caved in shakily, forcing him into a kneel as Din loomed over him. 

"I think I win, right?" Din said though he seemed to have jumped the blaster. 

In a second he was flown back in a powerful shove what felt like a massive imperceptible body had slammed into him. It had to be the Force. He hit the dirt shoulder first, this being far from the first time he'd been flung by some force, but it was the first time he was tossed around by Luke.

He sat up, regaining his bearings. The Darksaber was three feet from him, sitting in a stunned silence of its own. Luke stood, clipping his now turned-off saber to his belt. He quickly made his way over to him. At his offered hand, Din took it immediately. They both were out of breath, Din now covered in dirt. 

"Are you alright?" Luke asked. At Din's nod, he sighed. "For a second, I thought I hurt you..."

"You... used the Force on me," he chuckled, smiling wide under his helmet.

He nodded. "Sorry, that was uh... I hit ya hard."

"No, no, it was fun! " Din said eagerly, bouncing a little. "You should do it more!" He paused "I mean, as long as it wouldn't hurt you or drain you."

"No, throwing you around with the Force is nothing, it's like a drop of water out of a full cup," Luke shrugged. "But, I have to ask how is that fair training?"

"Cause..." Din didn't really have an answer, he just thought it was fun, especially now knowing that it was nothing for Luke. He thought of something quick "cause some people I fight might be as strong as a rancor or something! Or might use their whipcord to trip me!"

"Well- I mean you can cut whipcords... Guess I could use the Force and rope to trip you up with..." Luke hummed. "But I don't want to hurt you-"

"I'll be fine. This is training! I've thrown you around plenty of times!" Din felt like a child begging and bargaining like this. 

"Fine, fine," Luke laughed. "Ya know, we can't all be gruff, rough, and tough Mandalorians. If we were, well you'd lose all your charm!"

"Oh, so you think I'm charming?" Din hummed lowly, keeping a razzing flirtatious tone. Their little flirtatious banter was an on and off thing. Sometimes Luke was open to it, other times he shut Din down instantly. With Luke's smirk and cocking an eyebrow, Din couldn't help but grin wider. 

"Oh yeah," he mocked right back, his voice going into its teasingly low timbre. The one that made Din's neck burn. "And so big and strong, too."

"Yeah?" Din asked, it wavering. His stomach was already fluttering and his heart shuddering. This wasn't exactly a new feeling, it just kept coming back, more and more intense. But, the good kind of intense.

"Yeah, and you're so funny, and just a little smart, I'll give you that" Luke's voice sunk, softening to a whisper. Its quietness was only an excuse to step closer to Din, leaning into his space. He wore this wide pompous smirk, one that gave a glimpse of his teeth.

Din laughed breathlessly, not able to take a breath in from how tight his chest was. His gut no longer fluttered but instead, it rolled like the pistons of an engine. He grunted, in some half-attempt at a response. His face and ears started to heat like his neck. He didn't know why he was affected like this. He knew it was a joke, it was just teasing 

"And your voice~," Luke purred, his face only a few centimeters from Din's "I would listen to you drone on about anything for hours, just so I can hear it."

Din stepped back a little only to have Luke follow, delighting in seeming to push his buttons. Or... or maybe... maybe this wasn't teasing anymore... and maybe he was ok with that. His heart thrummed harder at the pleasant thought.

"And you..." Luke paused, his smug grin faltering into a confused half smile and his eyes widening a bit. His cheeks went pink. "...you stink."

No, this was definitely teasing. He couldn't find himself too disappointed; too caught off guard by the insult. "What?" Din asked on a confused laugh. Luke stuttered, giggling, their body positions switching, with Din now leaning into Luke's space. "I do not!"

"You do! Just a little," Luke snorted, gesturing the 'just a little' with his hand. "Just sometimes after we've been sparring and wrestling, you smell bad. But it's fine-!"

"Obviously it is! You think it's a positive! Let's see, what was that list of likes, I'm charming, big and strong, I'm funny and a little smart, my voice is sexy, and I stink. There's your list of likes about me."

"No, no, no, I never said your voice was sexy-!" Luke laughed hard, beat red from embarrassment and laughter. He covered his face with his hands, wheezing so hard it sounded like he was mocking a bird's chirp. 

"Oh, so it's a list of dislikes?"

"No- I didn't say that!"

"Well, now you're in a predicament, cause you either have to admit that you like that I stink, or you have to say you hate that I'm so charming and strong and funny and that you hate my voice."

Luke groaned dramatically before snickering again. He looked at Din, his smile so wide it crinkled the corners of his eyes and scrunched his nose. Seeing it, Din couldn't help but smile too. Not that he wasn't already, it just shifted. From a wide toothy grin to something softer. Back to that feeling Luke made him feel... 

He had a sense he knew what it was, he'd been infatuated with people before, but not to this degree. He needed to work some things out before deciding on how to deal with this.

"Come on. I know you want to teach Grogu some things before dinner and apparently, I have to shower."

Luke scoffed but followed, they walked home, not talking but occasionally, their giggles returned.

Luke ran up the hill and through the woods, feeling the Force roll through him as the wind blew through the trees. He had been trying to contact the spirits for two months now. Now is when they finally answer. At a time when the sun hasn't even risen. Just his luck. 

Speaking of his counterpart, Luke's remaining fluster around him had faded. Only leaving questions in its wake.

Why did he take the play flirting that far? Why did Din's fluster get mixed with deep want? Why was Luke so willing to oblige that want at first before he got a hold of himself? Did Luke feel similarly? And why did he say Din smelled bad?

Now- that last one was easy to answer. He said it as a scapegoat and his attempt to change subjects. Technically it worked, they stopped flirting, and the comment wasn't untrue. Din smelled musky and sweaty sometimes when they wrestled and sparred, it was expected and fine, Luke didn't care. The other questions though, Luke was avoiding like they were a plague.

He couldn't think of them now. If he was talking to a spirit, he needed to have a clear mind. A clear energy.

He skidded to a halt on the edge of a stone cliff, where the stronghold lay. Here, the Force was palpable with its power, one and the same as the cave on Dagobah. He felt someone here, their Force signature unclear.

He reached out. This wasn't Yoda, his signature was much more playful and intricate. Nor was it his father, Anakin's, his was bold, not cautious like this. This only left one other.

"Obi-Wan," Luke smiled, seeing the apparition of his old Master finally materialize. 

"Hello, young Luke, I sensed you had questions for me," Obi-Wan said, he looked a little grim. "I'll let you ask, but after, we have something important to discuss."

Luke felt his chest constrict, all his questions leaving his mind. What was it? Another mission? Did he know about Din?

...not that there was something to know about Din...

Right?

"Before you spiral, know this isn't about your Mandalorian friend, or the secrets you keep from him," Obi-Wan said, judgment unmistakable in his voice. He wasn't about riddles like Yoda was, he gave his opinion unapologetically.

Luke sighed. "Thanks. Should I go first?" At his old master's gesture of encouragement, he continued. "There's a weapon called the Darksaber, made by a Jedi-Mand'alor. I wish to cleanse it."

Obi-Wan nodded. "For your friend."

"Yes."

"I have no experience with cleansing sabers, especially one as special as his. However, there is one other who can help, she's cleansed both of her sabers."

Luke thought, searching the Force for an answer, as always, the Force provided. "Ahsoka."

Obi-Wan dipped his head. "She will help you on your quest."

"If I can get in contact with her," Luke sighed, she'd been busy with... something. Some enemy of the past who was involved in the Empire. She'd essentially gone off the grid at this point. He'd track her down somehow. Din's safety is all that mattered currently. That meant getting that saber cleansed of all the souls and darkness inside of it. "Thank you for your help master, I can always rely on you for guidance."

Obi-Wan straightened awkwardly. Something in Luke's heart twisted. He knew some kind of rejection awaited him.

"My deepest apologies young Skywalker, but I can't be your guide any longer," Obi-Wan murmured.

"Why not? Have I done something wrong?" Luke questioned.

"I can no longer mess with fate."

He didn't mean to, but Luke openly scoffed. "You can't be serious. You helped me fight the Empire. Is that not manipulating fate?”

"The Empire and Darth Vader were a problem I helped cause. Therefore a problem I had to at least help deal with. But for your future… I don’t think I should have any influence over you.”

"But... I need you..." Luke murmured.

“You are twenty nine, and you have been a Jedi master for over five years. I should have let you go on your own when the war ended. The other spirits have agreed to not see you,” Obi-Wan explained.

"My father agreed to that?!" Luke asked, feeling himself get angry.

“Yes" Obi-Wan confirmed.

"What?!"

"Only as to not trigger any bad memories for Grogu,“ Obi-Wan quickly replied in justification.

“What bad memories would he bring up for Grogu?” Luke asked

Obi-Wan let out a long breath. “Your father... wasn’t particular of the age group of the Jedi and Force-sensitive he was killing. And Grogu saw some of the heinous acts he did.”

Luke’s mouth fell open, he covered it with his hand not knowing how to emote. What was the right reaction here? He couldn't deny it, the Force radiated with certitude. This was the truth. “He… he killed children?”

Obi-Wan nodded, slow and regretful.

Luke shuddered, hugging his shoulders. It was always painful to hear about the sins of his father. “Oh …”

“Anakin regrets what he did-“

“He still-!” Luke grunted, calming himself. “He was very sick mentally, as well as manipulated by a very powerful man. I know this...” Luke sighed intensely. He needed to keep his cool. “But I just… it hurts.”

“Take your time. Embrace your grief and work past it. Don’t let it fester.”

 “I know.” He replied simply. “Will I ever see you or any other Force ghosts again?”

“You will. Just, not for a long time. Anakin especially. The other spirits… they fear his connection to you.”

Luke shook his head. “His connection to me is what saved him! It’s not fair.”

“No, but you are strong, you will endure and persevere through,” Obi-Wan stated.

Luke nodded. The talk of connection reminded him of something- or rather someone... someone he said he wouldn't think about during this meeting but couldn't help himself. Thankfully, the thoughts of his Mandalorian friend led him to remember another Mandalorian. Satine. He'd almost forgotten to ask about her and Ben's relationship, this conversation had gone all over the place. “I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“Do you remember Satine?”

Ben's face shifted to instant agony, it made Luke regret bringing it up but the words had already been spoken. Obi-Wan put a hand on his chest. He cleared his throat. “Yes... yes, she… was a very close friend… why do you ask?”

'Understatement' Luke rolled his eyes, the more he thought of Satine the more he remembered what he saw in the saber. "She... was in the saber."

“She’s-“ Obi-wan takes a deep breath. “She’s been in there… for so long then…”

Luke didn't mention what happened to her soul. He'd omit the truth for his master, "She's been released now... but I saw her memories. Were you two ever-?"

"No," Ben replied swiftly. "We were nothing more than friends."

The Force was still with resistant emotions. So, they were something... Luke didn't know why but the cover-up of it, even in death, maddened him. No Jedi code left to uphold, and here Ben was lying about it. "My Mandalorian friend says he met someone, a Kryze, who looked like you. Just thought I'd ask, see if you had any relation."

The shock on Obi-Wan's face was visible. He seemed to search the Force with questions before his eyes widened more... so it was true then. "I see..." Ben looked at Luke, there was now a tension between them. Luke didn't exactly want to clear it. “Thank you for telling me, Luke. I must go and process this… information. May the force be with you.”

“May the force-“ he was gone. “-be with you…” Luke sighed. He rubbed his head, a headache returning. He couldn't tell if it was from stress or from the electricity that touched him years ago. It had been going so well recently... he almost forgot he had these pains at all. 

To salt the wound, he now lost his master and his father all over again. He was alone in his Jedi teachings. 

He didn't know why it mattered. He knew he would be on his own eventually. He wanted to stand alone, to be independent.

He fell to his knees. Why was he crying? He knew it’d come someday, he had no right to cry.

He sat, crossing his arms on top of his knees, letting his head fall onto his forearms. This sitting fetal-like position helped him and gave him slight comfort. He tried to take a deep breath, at first gulping at the air as a thirsty man gulps at water slowly simmering to shaky shallow breaths, which was the best he could manage.

His residual panic heightened when he felt a tap on his shoulder, scared to find a cloaked presence leering over him. He looked up swiftly only to find- "Din..." He greeted, and he briefly observed the man standing over him. He was in an undershirt and his pants- which apparently had suspenders- and his boots. No armor covered him other than his helmet.

He felt Din’s concern in the Force now. His mental defenses lowered just like his physical ones. Luke felt… pathetic. “Good morning, how are you?” He asked, trying his best to avoid acknowledging the situation.

“Concerned,” Din replied softly, “what happened?”

His voice held no pity, only pure worry. Yet Luke couldn’t help but evade answering. “What are you doing out here?”

Din sighed. Though he seemed to accept the dodge from the conversation for now, “Heard something.”

“And you chose to investigate? Ballsy,” Luke wiped at his eyes fruitlessly, there was no point in trying to cover up he was crying. Though it was better to save some sense of modesty by trying anyway.

“I’m always armed, got nothing to worry about,” he stated, taking a seat next to him.

“I’m sorry if I woke you, I felt the spirits and left in a hurry.”

“I can tell," He commented, gesturing to Luke vaguely. "Your about as dressed as I am... you didn't even put shoes on... or your glove." Luke looked at himself. He was wearing his sleep clothes. His soft baggy pants were now covered in grass stains and mud. His t-shirt was not much better, it had holes from years of use that had worn it thin. His arms were exposed, the white feather-like scars marking his skin and his right hand was indeed missing its glove. He couldn't even remember if he brushed his hair or not. More embarrassment to the pile then.

"You didn’t wake me though. I wasn’t sleeping well. Plus, something felt… wrong.” Luke wanted to ask further about what exactly felt 'wrong' but given Din’s distant feeling of exhaustion, he didn’t wake up on his own accord. Which meant one thing.

“I thought the nightmares subsided,” Luke half-asked, half-stated. Din perked up at that, seeming to realize he gave himself away.

“The saber isn't the only thing that haunts me," Din answered quietly, not needing to give any more context than that. Luke knew that burden as well. "Doesn't matter though, I get up this early anyway. Who else would make the caf otherwise?”

Luke chuckled softly. They sat there in silence as the sun finally began to peek out from behind the crest of the horizon. It was slow on the rise this morning, and the air was getting cooler. He had to guess that winter would be coming early this year. 

Luke felt worry only grow from Din. It only made him feel more guilty, but he never spoke. 

It seemed Din was more impatient, "So... the spirits summoned you? I'm guessing it didn't go well."

Luke huffed. That was one way to describe it “Well, I learned who to talk to about the saber. To learn how to cleanse it.”

“Does it need some cultish sacrifice?”

Luke laughed, only slightly. Softly. “No. I don’t think it needs that,” He took a breath. “Though, it does require tracking someone who doesn’t want to be found.”

“I’m pretty good at that.”

“Certainly hope you'd be good at that by now, it's your job after all,” Luke smirked, Din snorted briskly. “But she’s kare’tigaanyc." The word easy to pronounce now.

“Ahsoka then?” At Luke’s nod, Din groaned. “She's not easy to find. Couldn't they just help you? Aren't they supposed to be all-knowing?”

Luke felt a shake go through him. He quickly stuffed his emotions back down. “They... uh, can’t help me anymore, or even visit for that matter. My old masters… Yoda stopped talking to me after the battle on Endor, and now Ben… he says he can’t visit anymore either. Says he 'Can't mess with fate,' so, we're alone on this.”

Din’s mind bristled with sparks of outrage. It made Luke jump a bit. “They don’t have to give prophecies or guide you every time they see you, they could just talk! You are close, are you not?”

“Yoda had been clear that he couldn’t help me in life once he passed. After I became a Jedi master… he left me to my own devices. He gave his last words to me before we left Endor's forest moon, where he told me to restore the Jedi order.”

“He makes it sound so easy. Restoring an entire group of people.” Din grumbled bitterly. "What's wrong with people where they can say that so flippantly?"

Luke laughed at that, it was funny how both he and Din were told to restore their respective cultures as if asked to do a household chore. Yoda was a special case though. “Yoda never saw anything as impossible,” Luke sighed. “Sorry, we should focus on the Darksaber.”

“Not really caring about it currently, it's not actively hurting me," Din hummed

“Yeah well, luckily for you, I care. Your mental health is important to me.”

 “And what of your own?”

“My own is fine.”

Din looked at him, merely looking him over before he huffed in agitation “Yours is important to me too, and I don't think it's fine. I'll stop pushing about this, I'm sorry I pushed in the first place, but remember we said we wouldn't lie to each other, especially about being fine when we're not" He reminded sternly. It made Luke swallow, nausea and guilt washing over him in a cool wave. "You’re not ok. I’m not either," Din continued "but when every time I have opened up to you…” He hummed awkwardly. “It’s like the saber, it… it got lighter. Easier to deal with. Easier to manage.”

Luke stared at him. He knew this, he felt the same after all. When he talked to Din about the war, about the pressure of bringing back the Jedi order, the weight was less crippling. Its hold on him loosened.

It just... it didn't seem possible to lessen the weight of this. Nor could he ever let him know who his father was. Din would never feel comfortable around him if he knew. Luke couldn't lose him.

“Do you think you won’t burst when you bottle things up like that? That fear?” Din asked, turning his body to face Luke. After a beat, he sighed harshly “I'm not... you don’t have to talk to me, but you should talk to someone, anyone. Tell them what’s bugging you.”

“Nothing is bugging me-“

“Please do not lie to me,” Din cut him off, more upset this time, it cutting Luke deeply. He took a breath “I don’t need you to tell me anything, in fact, you can ignore me, but do not actively lie to me… please.”

Luke nodded hesitantly. “I won’t…” the guilt twisted in his gut, he'd lied so much to him already. “I won’t lie to you.”

"Thank you," Din sighed, he got up. "If you ever want to talk, I'll listen. Always."

Before he could even step away, Luke cut in, the words escaping like a bout of word vomit “Ben said-!" He took a breath, not able to directly look at Din, "My old master, Ben, said he shouldn’t visit for a while because he can't interfere with fate. That the spirits have all agreed to not influence me or the school. Including my father.”

Din paused. "Your own father refuses to see you?" He asked, his voice a low rumble like thunder, only it wasn't a comfort, it was venemous. His aura threaded with fury and malevolence.

Luke hadn't heard this tone from him, his annoyed one, sure, but never flat-out hostility. "Din, he can't, he doesn't have a choice-"

“There’s always a choice.”

“Trust me, he’s making the right one,” Luke snapped. He felt tears well in his eyes again. The realization of why his father made this choice hit him all over again. He killed children. Not just through the Inquisitors Ahsoka had mentioned, but with his own saber. “My father was a man of poor decision making, and mentally ill… and he… he did things. Really, really terrible things. He was fully submerged in the Dark side.”

“The Dark side...” Din repeated in hesitation, "That's when Jedi go bad, right?"

That was a bit reductive but essentially correct. "Yes, it's when they are willing and actively trying to do whatever they can to get what they want,” Luke replied.

He continued “My father killed many for selfish reasons. He was being manipulated by a very powerful man and was led to believe the Jedi Order was evil. That they were the root of all his problems. While they weren’t evil… I do believe there were flaws to the Jedi Order, but not enough to warrant what did. My father was still the one to choose his path. Once he did, he didn't turn back until my life was on the line,” Luke shook his head, 'And even then I had to beg him to save me.'

Din's reply seemed delayed as he processed everything. “I see,” He looked at Luke. “That must be a hard burden to bare.”

Luke scoffed as he looked skyward. “You know, I still love him. He’s good now, but every time I hear what he’s done, it hurts. I mean anyone else wouldn’t be shocked, just another atrocity he's committed. In fact, I think it’d be expected. People would hate me if they knew who my father was, you would-“ Luke took a deep breath. “I need to stop talking about this.”

Din looked at him. He hesitated but chose to say, “In Mando’a, there’s a phrase. ‘Gar taldin ni jaonyc; gar sa buir, ori'wadaas'la.’ It doesn’t directly translate to this, but it means ‘Nobody cares who your father was; only the father you'll be.’ And from how you treat Grogu,” Din took a breath, affection blooming in him, entrapping Luke in its tenderness. It was almost overwhelming, but not in a bad way. Never in a million years could this feeling be associated with negatives. Din loved Grogu so-

Then Din looked at him. It made Luke freeze. That affection was… it was for him. “I’d say you are a very good man, a good teacher, a good dad, and I’m honored to have you raising my son with me.” He looked to the sunrise. Luke was struck silent. “So no, I wouldn’t hate you if I knew who your father was. I like you. Who your family is couldn't ever change that.”

Luke didn’t believe him. Couldn't believe him. “You don’t know what my father has done.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“What if he almost killed Grogu?”

Din froze, his mind muddled in confusion. He was unsure now. Luke shrunk back; felt his chest tighten, his lungs unable to take a full breath once again.

“Did you try to kill Grogu?”

“No-“

"Would you ever try to?"

"Absolutely not! I would never hurt Grogu!"

“Then why do you insist on persecuting yourself for the sins of your father? Do you think I’m going to hate you?” Din questioned. Luke looked away shamefully. “Do you want me to hate you?” He asked, quieter this time.

Luke curled in tighter on himself, now hugging his knees to bring some level of comfort. “I don’t know- I don’t- I just feel like I don’t deserve… I don’t- I haven’t earned people's forgiveness.“

“Your father hasn’t earned forgiveness.”

“He’s earned mine,” Luke sobbed, pitiful and hushed.

“And you think that makes you a bad person?”

“It doesn’t make me a good one! I can't-“ Luke felt a hand rest on his shoulder. 

“I think it makes you an extraordinary person. You aren’t ignoring what he did, you hold him accountable for his actions. But, you forgive him. People struggle to forgive over something someone did to them years ago… and yet, you are here, forgiving your father, holding him accountable, and trying to take on the punishment for his crimes” Din dropped his hand; Luke missed the touch instantly. “You are a good man, the fact you don’t see that is baffling to me.”

Luke looked away and wiped the last of his tears from his face. Talking about this, just having someone listen helped- as it always did. Not by a lot, the pain was still there, and it would probably always be there, but Din was right that talking it through helped lessen it.

Leia set a stern boundary, never wanting to talk about their father, and Han... well, Han wasn't good with any kind of emotional talk. He'd always say something dreadful in an effort to make Luke laugh and end up making him cry more. Chewie wasn't much better, he would merely stare at Luke in concern. And silent judgment.

With Din... there was just, calm. Serene understanding and reassurance. It was refreshing. He looked off the cliff they sat on, finally relaxing enough to uncurl from his balled-up position. His legs now dangled off the edge, as his lungs finally loosened enough to take a full breath.

He flopped back against the stone ground, resting his head under his folded hands. His eyes closed; each breath slowed his heart back to the rate it should be at. He wasn't usually a person to break down like this. He had always been good about working through his emotions and hardships. Yet this- this broke him. There was something about being abandoned so suddenly by his old master and father, and then the punch of his father's vices, and the other hit of once again realizing that yes, connections did happen in the Jedi Order, and he had forced himself to live in solitude for no reason. ...there wasn't any way to process that easily. 

Maybe crying and unpacking it all with someone willing to listen is what he needed. 

He heard a grunt to his right. Upon opening his eyes, he found Din laying next to him. His state of undress hit Luke again.

His undershirt was ribbed, black, and soft looking, his brawny torso outlined by it yet leaving his arms bare. His skin had a slight tan to it, one he had to be born with as it was still paler in color, having not been touched by any sun's rays in years. His exposed skin bared dozens of scars, all of varying widths, lengths, and sizes. His neck had a blaster graze scar, a small one but one that indented the skin just a smidge, like a bite had been taken out. Yet, even with that proof of his strength and ruggedness, he still looked almost plushy. Without his armor on, he overall had such a soft appearance. 

"Where is your armor?" Luke asked. It seemed like a dumb question once he said it, obviously, it was in his room-

"Under my Starfighter."

“W-what? Why?” Luke looked at his helmeted face, finding Din already looking at him.

“I sleep there.”

Luke huffed in surprise, his brain trying to process that. "Since when?"

Din felt a bit amused in the Force, "When did I first come here?"

Luke tried to not laugh but failed, it coming out in poorly stifled giggles. "Around four months ago."

"Yeah, four months then."

Luke broke, laughing quietly, then loudly. It was so... ridiculous. "What was wrong with the bed inside?"

"Too soft. Didn't like it as much as the ground."

Luke shook his head as he laughed harder. “Why-why didn’t you just ask for a different bed? Or sleep on the couch or even the floor inside?”

Din chuckled and shrugged. “I don’t know, didn’t occur to me.”

Luke scoffed, then gasped as he realized something "Oh my Maker, that's what the walks are!"

“Yeah, I didn't want to correct you. Couldn't find an explanation that made sense at the time,” Din snickered.

Luke palmed his face before dragging his hand down and covering his mouth. "Force sake, Din. You're..." he shook his head with a more tame snort. There were no words. Din was Din. And he couldn't help but tease further. "What the hell are these?" He asked, pulling up on one of his suspenders. They were soft and strong, barely able to move more than a sum of centimeters from his chest, and that was with great effort.

"Suspenders. I carry so much on my belt, it's only rational I have them."

Luke hummed in admission, a solid answer. He let the suspender go, forgetting it was elastic in nature and hearing it slap against Din's chest. 

"Skanah!” Din cursed loudly. He looked back at Luke “Why would you do that?” he asked, rubbing at his pec.

“It slipped,” Luke excused, unable to not smirk.

“Banthashit! You absolutely did that on purpose!” 

Luke snickered, unable to defend himself. His smile started to hurt his cheeks from how wide it was, and Din only added to that with his hurling of delighted feelings at him.

He spoke when Luke settled, his voice soothing and kind. “Thank you, riye, for opening up to me.”

Luke wanted to ask what that word meant but didn’t. As selfish as it was, as much as his brain screamed at him not to, Luke scooted closer. He laid his head on Din’s shoulder.

The man paused, only for a few seconds. The Force lit up with his elation, though he kept his movement casual. Wrapping an arm around him and bringing Luke snugly against his side. He ignored his hopes at what that reaction could mean.

No words were exchanged. None needed to be. Grogu wouldn’t be up for a few more minutes. They could just enjoy this.

He knew this wasn't friendly affection anymore, he didn't exactly know now what this feeling was, it felt familiar but distantly so. Whether it was just infatuation- a small crush- or...

...no, it couldn't be... could it?

He'd talk it through with Leia. 

"You were right by the way," Luke said.

"Hm?"

"Kryze, he's Obi-Wan's son. Ben didn't know but searching the Force, he found it to be true."

There was a pause. "Manda, you're right, that does feel good. You should tell me that I'm right more often." 

Luke snickered. "Be right more, and I will."

Din scoffed but didn't comment further.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: The Mand'alor

TW: Religious Trauma

GW: There is a good chunk of hurt/comfort and angst (basically me bullying Din) this chapter, so buckle up

Din woke peacefully slow. The wool woven mat he laid on was cozy, less backbreaking than the ground but still hard enough to not let any bad dream trick him. The voices were still in a consistently sedated state, rolling over like disgruntled tired children. 

Din, however, was ready to get up. Checking out Grogu's window, he saw the other moons lingering far off in the sky, the gas giant of Yavin's vague imprint coming into view. The sun had been rising slower and slower. It was officially winter for this moon, but being a jungle moon, the coldest it got was 10 degrees Celsius. That didn't stop Luke from whining every morning about the chill in the air. He would wear thicker clothes when they trained outside or nestle himself under a pile of blankets if they studied inside.

Grogu was no better, picking up on Luke's habit and creating his own ever-growing hoard of blankets. Din had given up trying to take any blanket to bed at night as he'd wake up with it in Grogu's crib. 

As he tightened his last belt he heard the comm on his gauntlet beep. He had a new message. If he rushed, he could make it to his ship, check it, and make it back to make breakfast before Luke or Grogu got up. 

Just in case, he started a caf pot before jogging out to his ship.

He was excited at first, foolishly thinking it'd be Cobb with an update on Cara's attempts to woo the Savarian vendor woman, or Cara asking him some things about Tusken sign, or Greef bragging about how Navarro was coming along, hell maybe even Boba asking for advice on how to deal with the unruly biker gang he had adopted. 

When he got in his ship and checked his comm, however, he could only be disappointed. Of course, it wasn't his friends. It was one of the many people he hoped to never hear from again.

LMF_B-KK_912302: Hello, this is Bo-Katan Kryze. I've heard wind of you from other Mandalorians. Of your story passing like wildfire through the beroya; how you've been seen with the Darksaber and have accepted your role as Mand'alor. 

I told you to come to me first. Please get back to me immediately so we can talk about this.

The voices shifted, getting caught up with his rising anxiety. Despite the fearful pain they began to burn him with, he couldn't seem to quell them. This punch of reality, this reminder that there were responsibilities he had to uphold, responsibilities he'd done well in avoiding, it was awful. He liked his life here, he was finally happy here, and now... what? Would he have to leave? His stomach churned at the thought. 

That was the last thing he wanted, but what choice did he have?

...he'd figure it out. Figure something out. He'd put aside weeks to come back, to come home and see Grogu and Luke.

He took in a shaky breath, feeling the whirlwind of panicked whispers abate their cacophony; going back to a composed, somnolent state once more. He begrudgingly called her. It took a few rings before she picked up.

"Hello, Djarin-"

"How did you get my comm code?" Din asked. 

"Tracked it through a friend of yours. You should tell him to privatize his network," She hummed proudly, Din nearly snarled. She wasn't wrong, though the only one who wouldn't have an encrypted connection would be Cobb. He'd get Boba to privatize everything for him.

He sighed deeply, cracking his fingers as he thought of a reply.

"Who did you hear that I accepted my role as Mand'alor from?"

"Rumors from the chatty younger Nite Owls who have befriended ver'verde and other beroyase," Bo-Katan answered easily. 

"Well it's not true, I haven't accepted anything."

"Oh, so you didn't use the Darksaber to attack a Crimson Dawn base?"

Din pursed his lips, how the kark did she know about that? "Who told you?"

"As I said, you've made impressions. Your story has been traveling. So, have you or have you not accepted your role? Cause if not, I won't protect you from those who will want to claim the saber."

Din didn't have to think long. He had done all but verbally said his reluctant acceptance of his new role. "I guess so," he answered with a huff.

Bo-Katan seemed surprised by that, humming curtly and quietly. "I see. I'll summon the clan leads for you then. Do you have a specific place where we could hold this meeting?"

'Not here'  he thought immediately, he wouldn't let anyone step foot on this planet. If he could help it, his sentence as Mand'alor would never intercross with his life as Grogu's buir and Luke's friend. He considered his very limited options. "I'll talk to a friend, but I'd prefer to go to Tatooine."

"Fett's Palace, then."

"So you've heard of that too."

"Just cause I keep my head down, doesn't mean my ears are covered," She replied snippily, seemingly insulted by the implication that she might not know something.

"Right," He grumbled. "When will we meet then?"

"A standard month from now. Bring a list of planets we can all reside on since Mandalore is off the table."

He grunted in confusion "Where would I find that?"

"You tracked down Luke Skywalker, I'm sure you can find a list of habitable planets." 

Din sighed longly. "Are you sure everyone will come?"

"Just because we don't all follow 'the Way' doesn't mean we don't follow Resol'nare," Bo-Katan snapped, Din rolled his eyes. She didn't have this short of a fuse the last two times they met. To be fair, the last two times they met, he had not (even if accidentally) taken away her seat as ruler. 

"They will respond to your call since you are a rising Mand'alor. Now, if they accept you? Well, that's to be decided when we get there, chances are, you've already won their hearts though." Bo-Katan sighed, less indignant and more... disappointed. Disappointed that she wasn't in his position.

He didn't understand why she would ever want to hold this position, but he did feel bad for taking it from her. Though he wanted to, he was very much petty like that. "Thank you. I'll see you at Fett's Palace in a month then," he said politely, or as politely as he could manage.

"See you then."

The call ended. Din clenched his fist, he leaned back as far as he could in the Starfighter. His frustration was stirring the voices, making a dull hum similar to static hang in his brain. In one huff, the frustration was gone. There was no point in keeping it. 

He pushed up and out of the Starfighter, hitting the ground, it let out a soft crunch under his boots. He straightened himself, perking up when hearing the soft whir of a droid. Though he knew who it was by now. The surprising- yet somehow not so surprising- thing was who was with him.

Red rolled up, Grogu clutching to the top of his head. 

"I told you two to stop doing this!" He sighed in a scolding tone. He picked up Grogu, admittedly a bit roughly. His son let out a chirp of shock. Din bumped his forehead against Grogu's cheek as a quick kelbade kiss of an apology. Then his attention turned to Red, placing a hand on his hip when looking down at him. The droid whirred descendingly, almost guilty- well not almost. Din had learned droids had quite the emotional range, not all of them. He couldn't believe that all of them did. But Red sure as hell did.

"[He wanted to help find you, but couldn't keep up. I had no choice.]" Red warbled. Though he was rusty with it, Din was getting better at understanding Binary with Luke and Red's help. He supposed Artoo helped as well, though the droid would spend most lessons mocking him.

"No, I don't care that he rides on your head, he's not supposed to leave the house without supervision!" Din tried to scold, his voice only softening as his son hugged him languidly.

"[I was his-]" and then he said something Din could only assume was 'supervision.' Then he said something Din didn't understand. At the pause, Red projected a translation, then repeated what he said. "[The howlers have burrowed for winter and we are not near water. No predator of Yavin 4 would hurt us.]"

Din sighed. There really wasn't any danger here, especially since he was only a little over a hundred meters from the cabin. He was just taking his anger and anxiety out on Red. "You're right, sorry," he admitted, petting the droid's head. "Is Luke up yet?"

"[He wasn't when we left, he might be now.]"

Then he needed to get back.

The trip back was quick, Din admittedly might have been speed walking. He was trying his best to cover up that he had something happen this morning. The less he talked about it the better.

But of course, they had their morning routine. And when a routine isn't stuck too, it's always going to be noticed.

"Hello, Din," Luke greeted. Din could only respond with a grunt in greeting. "Mmm, bad news then?"

He grumbled to himself, somehow both happy and annoyed that Luke could read him. "Bo-Katan contacted me."

"I remember her, from the ship and Grogu's book..." Luke snapped his fingers trying to spark his memory, miraculously, it always seemed to work. "She was  'Mand'alor the Resister,'  right? There was a lot redacted in her story, wish I could have learned more. What was she calling about?"

Din stared at him, unable to verbally say it.

"Oh,"  Luke murmured. Din thanked Manda for his friend's strange sense to just seemingly know what he wanted to say. Luke put his oversized mug down beside him. "It's...  wow ... why now?"

"My story... spread, I guess. I'm favorable on many accounts... apparently."

"Not shocking," Luke smirked, biting his lip slightly. "I like you plenty"

Din scoffed, not letting him know how that comment heated his cheeks, "I've been told we'll have a meeting in a month to see if all the clan leaders accept me or not."

Luke nodded. "And after that?"

Din shrugged. "I... I don't know, I hope... is it bad I hope they challenge me? So I can pass off the saber?" 

The voices reverberated in sleepy anger. Their displeasure with his statement dripped into his mind.

"No, to be the saber's beast of burden is a hard job. To carry the future of your people is only adding to that. I understand the disinterest," Luke took a breath, "but I also think that's why you're the best for the job. As much as the thought of you not being here pains me, I want you to go because I know the Mandalorians need you."

"It pains you to not have me here?" Din asked. His heart beat faster, his mind muddling with that warm hopeful feeling, a yearning for any kind of confirmation that this affection wasn't entirely one-sided. Affection that wasn't conditional or holding some underhanded plan behind it. Something pure.

Luke tilted his head. "Of course. We're close friends, are we not? I thought I was your cyare burc’ya! Your... what's the one you said the other day? Ru-yay? Ray-yay?"

Riye. Now that nickname was an accident. He had thought of Luke as that but he never meant to call him that aloud. He was just proud Luke had opened up about his familial issues, happy at the thought that Luke trusted him so deeply that he was willing to confide in him something so personal. "Riye. Ree-yay," He sounded out slowly.

"Yes! Riye." Luke smiled curious and confident. "What does that word mean again?" 

Din hadn't ever revealed what riye meant, nor would he have told him if he had asked, not at the time anyway. But... given that Luke had revealed he cared enough about Din to miss him when he was gone... he didn't know. He didn't feel obligated to tell him, it just felt easier to offer that information now. 

"Life changer. A person who makes someone's life better, usually in the very second they step into it. A person of good luck. You and Grogu, you are ner riye'e. My life changers," Din explained, hesitant with each sentence. Luke seemed to struggle to digest it, given he spluttered a fair bit under the praise.

"You uh... wow. I didn't know it meant so much," Luke murmured.

Din felt his mouth go dry, his neck flaring up with the heat of his shame and growing humiliation. He could hear the scoffs of the tired voices, mocking him. Maybe lying would have been better.

Luke made a quick sound, as if trying to cut him off even though he hadn't said anything. "I-... I don't know how to say it in Mando'a but you... I don't know. Grogu was my um... my vencuy; my hope and motivation as a Jedi and a teacher. But you... you were... I guess riye is the right word, you've changed me to accept relationships, but I don't know if it does you justice. You've just... you mean a lot to me, and I'm sorry if I haven't made that clear." Luke cleared his throat, indicating he was ready to move on.

Din would let the topic change, he wanted to leave it where it was. But he had to affirm one last thing before that, "You mean a lot to me too." 

Luke took in a sharp deep breath, holding it, then nodded curtly. "So, do you... can you do anything before that meeting?"

"I have to gather a list of habitable planets the Mandalorians can live on, and I have no idea where to start," Din sighed. It wasn't from not knowing the galaxy, he was good at astrography, but knowing where things fit on a map of a galaxy was much different than knowing the socio-political climate of each planet and which ones would be welcoming to a few hundred Mandalorians," Din grumbled. There weren't a lot of planets left unclaimed. 

"Oh- Leia can help you with that!"

Din perked up at that, meeting Luke's twin sister was an opportunity he couldn't exactly pass up. Not for political reasons, he still believed the New Republic was a lost cause and would try his best to stay away from it. Rather, he needed to meet the Hutt-Slaying war general who helped lead the Rebellion and openly spoke her distaste to grand admirals and lords of the Empire.

Though, given that Luke told her everything, it might not be in his best interest to meet with her. While Luke was accepting of his connection to the Darksaber... she might not be.

...he might also have the incentive of being able to ask about embarrassing stories she had about Luke. He needed to even the playing field a little after having been beaten so many times in spars.

"Only if you want to, I know you're not a politics person-" Luke tried to correct, taking the wrong conclusions from Din's silence. 

"I would be honored to meet your sister," He cut in swiftly. 

Luke smiled wide, unable to contain his excitement. "Great! She'll be ecstatic. She's wanted to meet you and Grogu for a while."

Din's smile shifted to something wrier as he tilted his head, putting Grogu on the counter so he could walk around. "You talk about me and Grogu to your sister often?"

"Oh, only all the time! You two are just so interesting! What with Grogu's endless gluttony and cheekiness and your sarcasm and combativeness, I have nothing but stories to tell!"

Din admittedly felting his cheeks warm. Luke was the only person who could get him like this. "So when do we leave then?"

"I'll talk to her, then get back to you. For now-" Luke picked up Grogu "We're gonna teach the little man some saber training!" He cheered. He took the last few sips of coffee in one big gulp. While Din got started on breakfast, they headed out.

The comm buzzed as it tried to connect the call. Currently, Luke sat at one of the many indoor arenas he had made, this one was still a while from being finished, but it had a roof and was in direct sunlight, keeping it warm. However, there were no walls currently, so he could see everything around him. 

To his right- and far out of earshot was Din with Grogu, practicing saber forms. Din was using a staff and Grogu the saber Din had whittled months ago.

To his left though, even farther, was the academy. It was almost done by now. He saw the builder droids adding the last touches to the walls. Everything on Yavin 4 was almost done. Three years, and it was almost finally time to open the doors to students.

How terrifying and thrilling that was.

The comm connected finally. "Leia!" Luke called a bit too eagerly.

"You're chipper," Leia squinted suspiciously. "What have you done?"

"What- nothing! Why would you think I've done something?"

"Cause you always do this when you need something or have done something, you act like you haven't talked to me in years and I'm just the greatest person ever. I do the same, specifically to Han and other senators. So what have you done or what do you need?"

Luke sighed. "I want to ask a favor, would you be willing to meet with Din to-"

"Absolutely."

Luke paused, his eyebrows raising at Leia's hasty response. He chortled, "Eager much?"

"Of course, I have to meet the man who's been driving you crazy!" Leia teased.

"Not crazy!"

"Crazy enough to make you stop doubting all your connections. And talk through your emotions. Specifically about our sperm donor."

"Our father," Luke tried to correct.

"I prefer sire," Leia replied curtly. "But to get you to talk about all of that... what a man he must be." 

Luke's smile softened. "He is," it all faltered as he glanced outside through the studs. Din was still practicing saber forms with Grogu, only now they were combatting each other. 

Grogu ran at Din, attacking his ankles and making the man fall like a tree. Grogu claimed victory, only to get snatched up by his dad and held skyward, while they were out of earshot, he could tell Din was mocking the sound a ship makes. Grogu's large ears twitched with his presumed giggling. Pure delight flowed from his friend, warming him like sunlight warmed a planet. It made his heart beat faster, and the cold winter chill tickling him was vanquished.

It felt amazing. To not only see how much Din loved Grogu but to feel it. To be immersed in how much he loves his son. It was one of the reasons he adored Din's empathic power.

That is until he remembered a specific thing about this power. Din's lack of knowing its existence. "I guess I have two favors to ask then. The second being I need you to not mention his powers to him."

"You still haven't told him?" Leia asked. Upon Luke's lack of response, she groaned. "Luke!" 

"I know-"

"No, you do not! I've told you for over four months now that you needed to tell him! I warned you the longer you waited the harder it was going to be to tell him! You've chosen silence each time!" Leia's snarl softened to confusion. "Why are you keeping this from him?"

Luke's frown deepened, pressing his lips together to try and stop himself but the words still escaped in a torrent. "I couldn't at first! I couldn't make him more uncomfortable and nervous about the Force and with me- and I didn't even know what his power was so... I don't know I waited until we knew each other a little and I was understanding his power so I could fully explain it to him. Then we visited Boba's palace and he said he would never want to know if he had powers! And now I need him to trust me so we can fix the Darksaber, and he's already stressed with everything else so I can't tell him!" He took a breath, all these thoughts and reasonings that had been spinning in his mind for weeks leaving him breathless upon their escape.

Leia stared at him, shaking her head in disbelief and visible disappointment, “Why is it you think Mando needs you to protect him? To take care of him?"

Luke was stricken silent. He looked away, trying to search his own mind for an answer. Yet he had none. "I don't think he needs me to protect or take care of him," he mumbled.

Leia leaned in, hunching forward to a point her shoulders lifted like jagged mountains and her head dipping to level him with a challenging glare. Over comms was the only time she could look down at him. "Luke, you take on a lot for people. You like helping people, you like fixing everyone's problems, and I love that about you. But you seem to forget not everyone wants it. You also seem to forget boundaries, and that protectiveness can easily cross over into controlling behavior. And finally, above all else, I think the real reason you haven't told Din is because you don't want to lose what you have. But it's not going to progress much further without this being revealed somehow."

Luke swallowed, finally loosening his throat enough to speak. "I don't want our relationship to progress," he said, not knowing it was a lie until it left his lips and the Force reeked of falsehood. He blinked in confusion, quickly speaking before Leia could call him out. "Even if I did, he said he would never want to know, so I won't tell him. Especially now that he has to be Mand'alor, which is a role he never wanted to take," Luke tried to defend, but it came out weakly.

"Yeah, well, I don't think that matters. I think this is a 'need to know' kind of situation!" She leaned forward more, if they were in person she'd likely be nose to nose with him, it'd been a while since she got this angry with him "From the day you told me of his powers, I have warned you keeping it secret was going to bite you in the ass. I'm telling you now, once again, you are digging a mighty deep hole for yourself. A hole that will cave, and you will have to deal with the carnage."

"You're going to tell him?" He asked anxiously.

Leia let out a long, deep breath, looking away and bowing her head. "No," she grumbled reluctantly. "But, when he figures it out- cause let's be honest, it is only a matter of when- I will not defend your actions. Just as I don't defend them now."

"I will own whatever consequence comes from shielding him from a path he specifically said he never wanted," Luke told. He cringed a bit as he heard it. 'Shielding him.' Guilt gnawed away at him, it only growing more vicious as Leia's eyes turned to a dour glare. 

"I'll see you next Primeday. Goodbye, Luke" She stated tersely. The call ended before he could reply. Luke sighed deeply. 

He knew it was wrong to keep this secret, he knew it'd come out sooner rather than later, but if he could prolong that, especially until after the stress of this Mand'alor stuff settles, it'd be ok. 

...But this is what he did every time was it not? He waited until they were at peace, then it was waiting for the perfect opportunity, then it was never telling Din cause he didn't want to know about his power and they would fix the Darksaber... and deep down Luke would hope that fixing the saber would make Din's power go away. But it was five months later. Fixing the saber was on hold until they could get ahold of Ahsoka who wasn't returning any of his messages and had gone completely off the grid.

Now what? Did he just wait until Din found out on his own? What would he do then? 

Leia was right, why was he prolonging it? He did enjoy Din's trust but... maybe this wasn't a fear of losing trust. Maybe this was a fear of losing bigger than that. ...of losing Din entirely. The thought made him sick, he could only cradle his face in his hands. 

He messed up... bad. This had snowballed far beyond his control. 

He just needed to find a way and time to tell Din. He just needed more time to fix it.

"Hey." Luke looked up, seeing the very man he was thinking of standing at the doorway to the training room. Grogu was standing on his shoulder like some monkey-lizard. "You alright?"

"Fought with Leia. Not about you, don't worry." soothing Din before any panic could begin to bud. Technically not lying, they were arguing over Luke's actions. "I just pissed her off. But, she's ecstatic to meet you."

"She doesn't judge me for my connection to the Darksaber?"

Luke didn't attempt to hold in his scoff. "Course not, she respects you for it. You are too hard on yourself, Din."

"I think I'm just preparing for those who are less understanding," he hung his head a little, "I think people will fear the connection I have with it, rally with those who state I'm not a Mandalorian."

"And they'll stand with those who say I'm not a Jedi because I'm not willing to live in solitude in a cave meditating for decades," Luke explained, almost laughing. Not at Din but at the people who judged them. "We will always have our critics. We will never satisfy everyone, so why try? There's no point. We should just live our lives, and make the choices that will be the best for us and those we care for."

"Optimistic nihilism is a good look on you" Din hummed, grabbing Grogu from his shoulder and setting him down on the dojo's wooden flooring carefully. 

The boy didn't wait, he beelined to Luke. He could only welcome his student with open arms, letting Grogu climb into his lap and settle himself. In his little clawed hand, he held up the metal ball he adored. Though Luke knew immediately what he wanted, Grogu made sure by vocalizing his request- or more rather, his demand- into the Force. 'Make it fly!'

Luke indulged him, making the ball float and swish in tiny slothful circles. The child giggled and clapped his hands eagerly. 

"I picked it up from you," Luke replied, resuming their conversation after its brief intermission.

"Did you now?"

"I did. Seeing how you lived, how you could accept changes to 'The Way' to accommodate your life and your son... I allowed the same for myself.

"It takes an extremely intelligent and amendable person to self-reflect like that," Din remarked, talking in the way where Luke imagined the smallest of smiles gracing his face.

He rolled his eyes dramatically "Please, intelligence is not something I have in my skill set. I make plenty of dumb decisions," he dismissed.

"Everyone makes dumb decisions, think I'm the king of making those actually" Din snickered, he strolled over, taking a seat next to him, their shoulders pressed together. "Even people we deem the smartest can be foolish and rash." 

"You want to list people specifically?"

"No, just everyone. Think dumb decisions are just part of the life experience." He pressed closer to him, "Intelligence shines through in what you take away from those dumb decisions." The cold of his pauldron seeped through Luke's clothes, shocking him and making him flinch away. Din only mirrored him. In a brief moment of silence, he felt anxiety and slight hurt permeate into the Force. 

"No- I'm sorry! You're pauldrons are just freezing cold."

"Freezing? Luke, it's only 13 degrees out-"

"That's cold to me!"

Din stared at him, before chuckling quietly. With how he moved his head, Luke could tell the man was rolling his eyes. "How did you serve on Hoth?"

"Miserably," Luke grumbled, leaning into his space now, trying to get back that touch. An effort that was rewarded as Din scooted closer, covering it up by catching the metal ball Luke had forgotten he was floating around with the Force and leaning in to talk to Grogu. Now instead of his pauldron touching Luke, their sides were brushing.

Din was much more liberal with affection now, for his standards at least. He'd brush against Luke, or press against him, wrap an arm around the back of his chair, stuff that was normal for friends, but not for him. Not for the not-so-aloof Mandalorian who hesitated at giving high fives he'd been living with for months. 

While slow, he had earned the right to see the man's personality, then slowly earned the right to be basked in his warmth and tenderness. Din was willing to be close to him. Which Luke obviously couldn't be happier about.

Though, maybe he was a bit too happy about it. It had to be odd to feel such sentiment for a shoulder pat. Or such joy when they cooked together, and instead of asking him to move, Din would lightly grab his hips to move him. To seek out hand brushes when passing things to each other. He wouldn't even talk about their sparring and wrestling, which always brought on a brain-melting temperature of blush.

It also couldn't be normal to want to be so close to someone, both physically and emotionally. 

He had crushes, plenty... a lot. Never like this though. Never this intense, so pact with desire and absolute adoration to the point he felt sick. How Din's voice could make him shiver. How he could let go of his crushes but not of him. Not of this man who had impacted his life in such a short amount of time.

And how much he affected Din's life. 

Leia was right, the guilt of keeping his power secret was eating at him. How long until he accidentally revealed it? Or until Din found out on his own? What would he do then?

'Kriff.'  He thought. 

"Din?" Luke asked.

"Hm?" Din hummed back, still teasing Grogu with the ball. Luke could only hesitate. What was the best way to articulate.'You have powers, and I've known about them for over four months and never told you cause I made a rash dumb decision and never looked back'? Maybe saying exactly that would do it.

"I- see I um..." Luke paused, glancing down at Grogu when hearing his confused cooing. This wasn't appropriate to talk about in front of him. If it did delve into a fight- which he knew it absolutely would- Din should have the freedom to get mad without worrying about his son, shouldn't he?

He peeked back up, finding Din still waiting patiently for him to explain. And yet- Luke only laid his head on his shoulder, the cold of his pauldron cooling his forehead. The man stiffened, only to slowly melt into it, his emotions confused but thrumming with hesitant warmth and happiness. Din held the back of his head, threading his fingers in Luke's hair to scratch at the nape of his neck lightly. Luke barely stifled a shudder, wanting nothing more than to stay like this for hours. To get closer, touch him more, have Din touch him more-

He blushed. 

He was so karking screwed. 

"Do you want to spar?" He asked quickly, looking up at Din quickly and pulling away a little but not enough to lose his touch.

"Sure!" Din answered, he stood with a drawn-out groan, as if the very act of getting up was strenuous. "Come on," he offered out a hand.

Luke smiled, making Grogu stand before grabbing it and swiftly being yanked to his feet, his knees crackling as he stood. When he tried to walk away, Din stepped in front of him.

"Are you sure there's nothing else you want to talk about?" he asked, pushing but still being soft.

Luke swallowed, hanging his head a little. Shame pricked his throat like vomit. "Nope."

Din stared at him, waiting for more. He didn't sigh but his shoulders slumped a smidge. "Alright," He said softly, turning his body to let Luke lead them out.

He placed his pauldron back on his shoulder, it shining gloriously in the sunlight. This had been the third time he had polished his armor: once at home, once in the ship, now again, in the hanger of the congressional building. He might be a little nervous to meet Leia.

He hadn't wanted to gain someone's approval like this since he was an apprentice. Though, then, he would challenge Paz to a fight or go off on his own to hunt something, a womprat or some other animal... sometimes he'd track down the petty criminals and pickpockets of Nevarro. Cause mischief; he'd cause mischief. 

He had a feeling that wasn't the way to earn Leia's approval. He'd have to try appearing as worldly and educated as he could.

It didn't help that Tarre was currently creeping across his mind, similar to the way shadows creep across a house when a sun sets. Slow, dark, leaving Din with a sense of foreboding. 

Any time Din separated from Luke now, Tarre would inch across his mind. Only retreating when he returned. It, somehow, was only slightly hair-raising. There was nothing they could do about it though, so he didn't see a point in telling Luke. He'd only stress him out.

Tarre was scrambling away, being replaced with a familiar warm presence that seemed to slightly illuminate this side of the hanger. Luke was near then. He merely looked up as the X-Wing landed, not wanting to look too eager. They were separated for only a few hours, there was no need to be dramatic.

He watched Luke as he descended the ladder to get out of his craft. Luke had disclosed he was never one to use the Force in public; unlike Grogu. He tossed his helmet back into the cockpit, his hair tussled and messy from its sudden freedom. Not that Luke cared, he was swiftly approaching Din, barely giving Artoo time to get free from the X-wing and fall into tow with him.

"You look tense," Luke called to him teasingly. Din huffed, almost laughing but not quite meeting the mark. Grogu stayed put on the bench as he stood to greet him.

"I am meeting your sister, that is very nerve-racking, though, I'm glad I was clearly over-worrying about my appearance." He tried to smooth down his burc'ya's hair, only for it to pop back up rebelliously.

In return, Luke circled him, dusting off his shoulders and fixing his cape to cover his jetpack. Slowly he made his way around to face him once more. "You look fine to me! Your armor is radiant!" 

“Thank you, I was hoping to be so lustrous she couldn't see or hear me and she'd just give me a list of planets to choose from."

Luke snorted, "I promise she doesn't bite. Unless you're her husband." That made them both giggle childishly. A mistake on his part as laughing only seemed to encourage his burc'ya's mischievousness, "Is it the New Republic that scares you?" He taunted. 

Din resisted a scoff. He wouldn't ever tell Luke that he thought the New Republic was only a place-holder, too weak to stand on its own, but Luke knew he wasn't fond of them "I scoff at politicians, but your sister is no coop-fed senator," Din explained. 'She's also your sister and if I kark it up I am screwed friendship-wise.'

Luke shook his head, palming at his shoulder, "Yeah, my sister's pretty intense sometimes. There's a reason she was made a war general at nineteen and got a guy like Han to commit. But don't worry, as I said, she'll love you. I know she will."

"Han Solo is her riduur, right? The past smuggler?" Din asked. He'd heard of Han Solo- just about every bounty hunter had. He'd occasionally look into the man's whereabouts, like how one occasionally checks in on those holo novellas. He thought the man lived quite an interesting life before he joined the Rebellion. Not that fighting a war wasn't impressive, it just didn't have the hijinks that Han Solo had been living for years.

"Yeah, you won't be meeting him though. He's out doing stuff for his shipping company today, plus he hates political stuff."

Din nodded at that, probably for the best. Grogu pulled at his pant leg; insisting on being picked up. He was becoming very needy affectionate-wise, not that he minded. He held out his arms and Grogu had leapt into them in an instant. He took his time, worming into the crook of Din's arm and resting his head on his shoulder. He switched positions, then again. He couldn't seem to get comfortable.

He didn't even need to look at Luke to share his idea, as he had already grabbed the fussy boy. Din flipped his cape to his front, turning it into a birikad, it was much easier to do now since he had gotten the knack of it. Grogu's post-training tantrums were chaotic at best, life-threatening at worse. To put it shortly, there was a reason he and Luke hadn't given him a real lightsaber yet.

Luke dropped their boy into the soft pouch, he could only cheer happily in his nonverbal way. "He's such a picky little baby sometimes," he commented, his smile never faltering.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Din snorted.

"Oh, Master Luke! It's so good to see you!" A robotic voice greeted

He turned swiftly, instantly putting Luke, Red, and Artoo behind him at the sight of it, reflexively palming his blaster with one hand and holding Grogu that much closer with the other. 

For a second, the droid looked like a clanker. Something about human-sized droids still made him nervous. Most droids were fine now if they were smaller, but big droids like this... all he could see were Separatist battle droids.

This droid was not, in fact, a clanker, however. It was gold, and much more human-looking, making Din more disgusted than annoyed. Its voice grated on his nerves as well. The droid didn't seem to pick up on any of this.

"Oh my! You must be the Mand'alor! It's a pleasure to meet you!" The droid noticed Grogu. "And this must be your ward-"

"Son, actually," Din corrected, turning to the side as the thing tried to take a peek at Grogu. His heart was already racing but now, it might as well be a ship engine piston with how fast it was pumping.

The droid only tilted his head in confusion at him. Luke palmed his arm comfortingly, squeezing it before he crossed to stand next to it. "Din, this is my friend, Threepio. He's Leia's protocol droid."

"Ah... I see," Din replied in a gruff voice, one that seemed to go right over the head of 'Threepio',  who was rambling on some apology for not introducing himself. That was a good sign, any dangerous droid would have responded more assertively than that by this point. This truly was just an assistance droid, nothing more.

He noted to try to keep an open mind. After all, it was an assassin droid that saved him and Grogu. Though, IG-11 was much better than this irksome rustbucket.

"If you'll follow me, Senator Organa is ready for you!" Threepio chirped, turning eagerly and marching away. Din fell into stride behind him, Luke at his side with Artoo and Red bringing up the rear.

The inside of the congressional building was strikingly elegant. It was painted with white, an array of browns, and gold highlights. The floors were so clean he could see his vague reflection. He'd been in places like this, but never this big. 

There was chatter filling the entire building no matter what hall you walked down, and the tapping of dozens of fancy shoes that sounded like a march as groups of rich, political figures walked in herds, discussing topics that sounded like a language he didn't know.

He grumbled, tapping his fingers together mindlessly as a comfort.

As they walked a hall, he saw eyes on them. Not a threat, but observing and shocked. They weren't on him but rather on Luke.

"You're pretty popular," Din murmured. Luke snorted looking at him with a grin that crinkled his eyes at the corners.

"Yeah, blowing up two Death Stars is pretty impressive to some people."

"I thought you only blew up one?" Din tilted his head.

"Well, one and a half. The second wasn't done being built" Luke shrugged. "Did you think people were just staring because of my charming good looks?"

"I would be."

Luke fell silent, turning a lovely shade of pink. They stayed in relaxing silence, up until they entered the lift tube. He spoke, "Can't tell you how excited I am for you to meet her."

"I'm excited to meet her too," he hummed in reply. "More excited to ask about embarrassing stories of you."

Luke turned to him dramatically "You wouldn't."

"Absolutely I would." 

"[I have far more on him]" Artoo offered.

"Artoo!"

"Good to know, we'll talk later," Din smirked at hearing Luke groan in annoyance. 

"Turning my droid against me, how dare you," Luke whispered in a faux scold.

Din went to reply when the lift tube doors opened. Up here it was quieter. They only walked a few steps before entering a room.

"Senator Organa, I present to you the Mand'alor, his son, and your brother, Master Skywalker!" Threepio announced as they filed in.

A woman with long brown hair done up in an intricate braided bun turned to him. She had a hard stare, analytical and fierce. Though she was small- smaller than Luke and even Kryze- she was intimidating. That was to be expected, she was a war general after all. Yet, there was something more to it. A sense of power and deep mental strength.

Despite this, he couldn't find it in himself to be threatened or intimidated. Rather, he was soothed by her. The voices seemed to enjoy it too, settling into a quiet deep sleep. Tarre however, had scuttled off to some deep corner of his mind, still and silent. 

It was strange for him to feel. He'd only felt this with Luke and Grogu, but that was because-

Ah.

She had the Force too then. Luke had hinted at that before but never outright said it.

It was odd that he could tell, but maybe he was just becoming more observant.

She took a deep breath upon seeing him, her dark eyes widened as she stared at him, as if mesmerized. It was similar to how Luke looked at him at first, though he seemed far less... dissecting. Maybe he should have worn something more classy. Or was he not meeting etiquette? Should he kneel? Luke wasn't kneeling... but maybe that was because they are family.

"Mand'alor, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," she greeted, her smile cracking through. She curtseyed, Din responded with a stiff bow, it only managing to push through his head and shoulders. 

"Pleasure is mine, truly. I can't express my gratitude for your assisting me and my fellow Mandalorians" he expressed, trying to make his voice as gentle as possible. Leia's smile only grew, her gaining comfort in the atmosphere.

"Of course, it's what I do," She looked at Grogu as he peaked out of the birikad. "This must be Grogu- oh, sorry, is it okay if I say his name?" She asked, covering her mouth hesitantly.

"Grogu has not taken the creed, who speaks his name does not matter much. Even if it did, you are Luke's kin, you can speak his name," Din explained.

Leia paused, looking at Luke slowly. "He told you we were siblings?" Luke looked away. Obviously, this was information that wasn't supposed to be shared. Din was pretty well aware at this point that they had a complicated family dynamic.

"I mean... I kinda found out on my own, I heard him talking to you on our first few weeks together and assumed you were family. Then he kept mentioning his sister, the woman who slayed Jabba, war general of the Rebellion, and one day brought up how you were a senator and I kinda... pieced it together." Din explained. Leia looked him over then nodded, breathing a sigh through her nose.

"Well, we aren't really supposed to talk about that," She murmured. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone."

"He wouldn't, he knows how complicated our family is, plus, Din isn't a gossip!" Luke defend. Leia only groaned.

"Great gods, Luke, did you tell him who our parents were?!"

"I would never dream of it!" Luke barked back. He looked at Din quickly. "No offense."

"None taken, I don't really need to know either way. It's none of my business." He shrugged. Luke gestured to him as he turned to Leia in an aggressive 'See?' motion.

Leia rolled her eye. She looked at Grogu, "Your teacher is a meanie," Grogu giggled, then began to squirm and whine reaching out to her, begging to be in her arms. "Do you mind if I-" She stopped herself as Din offered him.

Leia didn't hesitate in scooping him up. She smiled wide at Grogu, holding him close to her chest. "Does he need anything? A snack or something?" 

Despite Grogu's enthusiasm Din and Luke, both shook their heads vehemently. "Absolutely not," they harmonized.

"He'll eat everything you got and beg for more," Luke chuckled.

"Sounds like Ben. Growing boys, am I right?" Leia huffed.

'Ben eats? Do all the Jedi spirits eat? What's the point? They're dead.'  Din thought confusedly. 

Leia pursed her lips trying not to smile, Luke however failed, giggling adorably.

Had he said something funny?

"Has someone said something funny?" Threepio echoed his thought. The room went quiet for a second. A long second.

"Sorry, um, Ben is Leia's son. He's named after Obi-Wan," Luke explained quickly to him. Din nodded confusedly, but curtly. That made more sense.

...but had he said what he thought aloud? He must have, Leia and Luke, had reacted. Maybe he did and the mindless droid just didn't know of Jedi spirits or of Obi-Wan.

...that had to be it.

"Speaking of, Threepio, will you go look after him? Make sure he doesn't start anything again?" Leia asked. The golden droid hesitated before nodding reluctantly.

"As you wish," he walked off noisily, metal feet clanking against the floor, each step pushing on his nerves. 

Din felt Red push into his leg firmly, beeping faintly and descendingly. Without looking down, he pet him. It was odd that Red could provide such comfort while Threepio could cause such discomfort. 

Probably something he should unpack... some other time he'd deal with it.

"Shall we get started?" Leia asked

"Yes, I'll try to make this quick as possible" Din responded  'for both our sakes.' 

Leia's smile widened. She turned it quickly to Grogu and then back to Din. "Do you mind if I keep him with me?"

"Go ahead."

They took their seats, Luke sitting next to him. Din ever so slightly shifted his chair closer to him. They swiftly moved into the business talk.

"Do you have any specific necessities for the planet your people need?"

"Knowing the Mandalorians? Somewhere in the Mandalore system is the only option they'll all agree to."

Leia looked up at him, "What about Kalevala?" At his head tilt, she continued, "Bo-Katan Kryze's planet? She has a castle there..." She trailed off, expecting some response. Din only shook his head, of course, she did. Petty shebs'palon. "Bad blood there then?" Leia asked.

"Definitely. As in she was supposed to get this," He gestured to the saber. "But didn't."

"Oh, I see. And her being past Death Watch adds to that, huh?"

Luke and Din perked up at that. "What?!" They barked in unison. 

Luke looked at him. "You said she judged you for being in the Watch?"

"She did!" He sighed, taking a calming breath before the voices could get in any way excited. "That was unprofessional, I apologize. I never knew that before."

Leia merely chuckled, "It's alright, I understand. I can provide those files for you if you want."

He paused, now that would be nice. "Whenever you can, please, and thank you."

She smirked at that, "Happy to help" She chirped, bouncing Grogu a little to make him giggle.

Din continued with his list of requirements, which may or may not have been a list kept under his gauntlet, held snuggly between a miniature blade and its sheathe. "It needs to have farming options of some kind, somewhere the least bit desirable to Empire and the New Republic so no one will bother us. We can make anything else work," he finished off.

Leia hummed. "Well, I can give you a list of planets that meet some of those requirements, but if you want one in the Mandalore system, your best choice is Mandallia, homeworld of the Mandallian Giants," she explained, the last part being an aside for Luke who still looked confused. 

Din thought, Mandallia certainly was a good choice. From the history books he read recently, it seemed like Mandalorians and Mandallians got along. Though clearly, things had been removed from those books. He'd see when they got there, "The bad news?"

"It seems to be owned by the Quelii sector."

Din and Luke groaned in unison. The Quelii sector was a strong supporter of the Empire and had gotten dirty, old Nevarro level dirty, probably worse then that. Despite their current campaign claiming that they had reformed, it was heavily rumored to still be full of corruption.

“I know, I know” Leia sighed, “but they took over the whole Mandalore sector when the Empire fell. Most of their elected leaders are manipulative bastards, but I am friends with their sovereign.”

That was a plus. "Do you think they'd be willing to barter?"

"She would, she is happy to form allyships. I'll set up a meeting. I must warn you though, she... she's not the easiest to get along with, and her advisors are even more negativistic."

"I can manage that," He'd dealt with plenty of insufferable people. Hell, he was an insufferable person to deal with.

"Great, when would you like the meeting to happen?"

"On Tuangsday of the third week of month one, I'm meeting with the Mandalorians, how soon after that can the meeting take place?"

"Probably Zhellday of week five, is that ok?"

"Yeah, I'll bring some clan leads and we'll discuss."

"Try to keep the number of people you bring low, her advisors are an antsy bunch," Leia warned. He'd keep that in mind. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, I can't proceed with anything else currently," he said, smirking as a thought came back to him. "Though, I would love to hear the stories you have on Luke."

"What type of stories specifically?" Leia smirked back, Luke looking at him and shaking his head. 

"The most embarrassing ones your willing to give me."

"Din-!" Luke tried to scold, Leia cut in with her response.

"Oh, I can do that!" She laughed, Luke's only defense was to groan loudly.

Din placed his bag in the small cargo hold of the N-1, it laying next to his pulse rifle and a few other blasters he had picked up on supplies runs. It was the ship's biggest flaw. He loved going fast, of course, but he much preferred something big, with storage for days, a bed to sleep in, and a privy so he didn't have to make stops. On the Razor Crest, he had a hot plate and some pots that were probably older than him that he cooked with. He had a cooling supply unit. 

He missed it.

He sighed, patting the N-1. He shouldn't be so ungrateful. He had a ship. That was enough. Most of this sadness wasn't even directed towards the N-1, it was to what he had to do today.

"Missing something?" Luke called. 

Din smirked, "Yeah, my Razor Crest-" He paused when he turned around. His friend approached with the droids trailing him. He was helping Grogu move along by boosting him in an arch to go in front of him anytime the child fell behind. Red was wheeling up quickly, chirping and whirring disgruntledly at Din, accusing him of leaving him behind.

"I more meant, missing someone, Red was very insulted you packed up without him," Luke chuckled.

"I was coming back for you," Din fibbed. The droid buzzed an 'Mhm, sure' with far more sass than needed. Artoo was rubbing off on him too much. He looked to Luke who merely chuckled. 

"But if you miss your gunship, we should save for one" Luke suggested, as if that was the obvious solution.

"W-we?"

"Yes, we. Plus, it might come in handy what with you being Mand'alor, and we could use it when we have more students to take them places," he shrugged easily.

He smiled softly. Luke was too kind. "Yeah, well, if we get a gunship, you're taking the N-1. It's fast, agile, and way better looking then an X-Wing." 

Luke shook his head. "No matter how much you talk smack about them, they'll still be my favorite ship!"

"And that fact will haunt me all my life."

They both chuckled. The silence that followed was peaceful, until it wasn't. His burc'ya crossed his arms over his chest. "So, big day."

"Understatement" Din scoffed. Luke chuckled, though he looked to the floor ashamedly. The awkward silence hung in the air between them. Grogu paid no attention to it, waddling over to Din with his arms raised and demanding to be held. He obliged him, picking up the child. "I'll be back soon."

Luke nodded. "Right, of course. And, you'll be ok? Are you sure you don't want me to go?"

Din hesitated before nodding, trying his best to reassure Luke. "Bo-Katan says that most Clan leads have grown fond of me, and she's an underseller. And, I don't know if me bringing you would be the best look."

"And... if your Tribe shows up?"

"They won't." He was sure of that. They'd already rejected him, and they wouldn't go out and about together. Whether it was some type of war-bred agoraphobia or fear-mongering, Din still had no clue, but the Tribe didn't go out more than one at a time. "I will be fine. I will come home to you and Grogu. I promise."

Luke nodded hesitantly. "I know, and I know you can take care of yourself and I know you have allies who will help defend you. I just... I worry, and I'm sorry to put those worries on you."

Din shook his head quickly, "Don't, it's ok," more than okay. While it did annoy him on the surface level, he appreciated it deep down. He never had anyone worry over him as Luke did. It was... nice. Not that he'd ever admit it. 

He gestured for Red to get into the ship. Though before the droid could respond, Luke made a sound of hesitation, as if he wanted to say something but cut himself off. Din gave his full attention back to him. He took a second to speak, but when he did it was rushed. "I have to tell you something." He dipped his head mutely, awaiting Luke's elaboration. Though he clearly was hesitant, he finally spoke again. "In private, could Artoo and Red take Grogu for a second so we can talk?" 

Din tilted his head, "Luke, does this need to be addressed now? I'm about to leave and I can't stay for a long talk." He felt bad that he was dismissing Luke like this but he didn't have the time. Nor did he have the strength to deal with more stress currently. If he could extend it, he would like to.

Luke released the breath he was seemingly holding, nodding quickly "Of course, it doesn't need to be addressed now. Sorry, I was being selfish. You have a lot on your plate."

Din shook his head regretfully, stepping closer so Luke would look at him. "No, it's ok, when I return we can talk. I'm sorry to push you off."

"It's ok" Luke smiled warmly, he clasped the indented cheeks of Din's helmet. "Go be Mand'alor."

Din could only respond with a grunt in disgust. What a terrible title to wear. As he passed Grogu off to him, he continued. "I'll have uj cake waiting for you when you get home."

At that fix, he smiled, "See, now you know how to get me to do anything."

"I've made it quite the bargaining chip, haven't I?"

"Oh it's not a bargaining chip, it is an irrefusable incentive. Basically a type of mind control."

Luke laughed, pushing at his chest playfully with his free hand. He didn't pull back though, his hand traveled before firmly planting over Din's iron heart. "They'll love you."

"Hopefully not. Maybe I can pass this off to someone," Din joked. 

Luke shook his head, his long, shaggy hair moving with it. "You wouldn't do that."

Din didn't exactly know if that was true, but the thought of doing it did disturb him. He released a breath slowly. "No, I guess I wouldn't." 

The comfortable silence they carried with them settled in, the forest breathing with life and animals going about their daily lives. Din hesitantly cupped Luke's face, his other hand pressing to hold his side. His burc'ya only leaned deeper into the touch.

He felt his own heart quicken, his stomach churned with a sensation of fluttering lightness. It was a feeling only Luke could make him feel. A divine feeling of comfort that made everything easier. It spawned an infatuation that made him blush so intensely he wondered how he didn't pass out. And a hope thrived in him; a hope that Luke felt this too. That he wanted him here and wanted him...

'Oh.'

He definitely knew what this feeling was now.

He pulled away, painfully turning his back to Luke. "Red, in the ship."

Red whirred confusedly at his curtness but obeyed, flying into his seat with ease. Din climbed in himself. As the canopy closed he peeked at Luke. 

He was still there, still watching him go with the utmost patience. Din waved to him. Luke smiled waving back, Grogu followed his lead only he had quadrupled the eagerness. 

He didn't mean to pull away, but he didn't know what to do. What do you do when you realize you're in love with your best friend?

As he took off he couldn't help but think. Think of possibilities and what-ifs he'd thought of a dozen times before. Luke had made an exception for a connection before... maybe he'd be willing to do it one more time.

Odds weren't entirely in his favor, but when were they ever?

That was a problem to deal with when he got back.

His boots printed the sand as he walked towards Fett's palace. Red trailed behind him silently. As he made it to the palace, Boba greeted him at the door. "Din." He welcomed curtly, tilting his head only slightly in greeting. Din could only slow when he realized Fett had his helmet on and his gaderffii stick on his back. Things were serious already then. 

Boba stared at Red. "Whose this shabuir?"

Red squealed in offense. "This is Red. He's my droid." 

"Thought you hated droids?" 

"I'm trying to correct it. Red is good," Din shrugged, not acknowledging Red's chirps of thanks. He tapped his own helmet. "Why do you have your helmet on and gaderffii stick?"

"The wench is here. Make her leave." Boba snarled.

Din sighed longly, he was hoping to have got here before Bo-Katan. He should have known she is a person who always arrives early. "Where is she?"

"She's sitting on my throne. MY throne! I didn't want to start anything in case this was some Skywalker situation." Boba grumbled, folding his arms petulantly.

"It is, she's helping me with this... Mand'alor fiasco. Have other Mandalorians shown up?"

"Oh yeah. Kept them out for now but more keep showing up. No idea there were so many of us left." 

Din nodded, he was sure he'd have the same reaction. This was a meeting of Clan leads though, surely there wouldn't be an exuberant amount. 

He walked through Boba's palace, needing to be redirected only a few times by his companion to finally reach his throne room. Bo-Katan was lackadaisical in her sitting position, sprawling across the entire throne with some white fur coat beneath her knees. None of her Nite Owls were here. 

"Lady Bo-Katan Kryze," Din called. She looked at him curiously, sitting upright before standing. She strutted towards him, seeming to have regained whatever confidence she had lost when losing the Darksaber.

While Grogu would probably love to see her, he could not say the same, nor could he honestly say he had a noncommital opinion, especially after reading the file of her history that Leia had sent over. It held many things removed from most history books. He tried not to judge her for younger mistakes, though it was difficult. It was hard to not look down on her, especially given how she had judged him so harshly upon learning he was in the Tribe. Not to mention her treatment of Boba. She was a hard person to keep an allyship with. 

"Djarin, good to see you could finally step up. Even if it took you a few months." She sneered. 

"I told you I didn't want to do this, I don't know what you expected," Din replied curtly. 

"I guess I expected you to be a good, loyal, Mandalorian." She folded her arms and scoffed at him. "After all, I should expect nothing more from a Child of the Watch. Should I not?"

Din swallowed hard, the whispers hissed sharply like searing meat, or maybe that was his own brain frying from the heat of their anger. "What's that supposed to mean?"

“The Watch has a belief that they are the hero to our people, that they don't need help." She glared at him "Your cult fractured our people, where were you then?”

Din scoffed deep in his chest. “During the Clone War? Freshly a foundling. Sitting on Concordia with the other Children of the Watch as Maul and the Shadow Collective were falling out of power. Then the bombs dropped.”

Bo-Katan stilled upon hearing that. “Freshly a foundling- how old were you?”

“Eight. But hey if you wanted to slap a gun in my hand and tell me to start shooting, well I wouldn’t expect anything more from you at the time, Lady Kryze. After all, you were a past member. For how much you judge the Children of the Watch, at the very least, I can say that I never killed civilians, pillaged cities, or lead a coup against my sister,” Din commented the last part with a sneer, watching the flames of fury in her eyes only grow.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t challenge you now?”

Din tilted his head at her. "Why don't you?" He asked, now knowing the answer. Who would want the saber? Once you're free from it, would any sane person want to take it back? He offered the saber out and, just like on Gideon's ship, Bo-Katan stepped back. 

"You fear it. Is it because of the superstition? That you have to fight to earn it?" Din pushed. A stalking tenseness pulled on his muscles, edging up his shoulders and creasing his face. "Or is it because the voices haunted you too?" She stared at him wide-eyed. She did know then. He lowered his head, uttering a tsk. "Little warning would have been nice."

"I thought I was crazy..." She whispered back to him, and he couldn't help but sense it was genuine. He relaxed, despite the best attempts of some foreign consciousness trying to reignite the embers of anger he had stomped out. Din observed as Bo-Katan looked at the saber and then back at him. "Then, the saber truly accepts you?"

“Unfortunately, it seems despite my best efforts I'm favorable to both the saber and the people,” Din droned in response, feeling the voices rejoicing in support, completely ignoring his sarcastic tone.

She nodded slowly. After a pause, she gestured for Din to follow her, leading him back to Boba's throne. She grasped the white folded blanket that lay on the armrest, flicking it out to show it was a new cape, pristine white fur with a mythosaur skull cleanly branded on it. 

She took the liberty of taking off his old cape to put on this new one. It seemed to have a latch to lock it into place, making it easier to take it on and off. As she spoke she folded up his old, very tattered cape. “I think you’ll do a shit job without help, and I won’t let you fail our people. This wampa pelt cape is the Nite Owls gift to you, and our acceptance of you as our Mand'alor.” She passed him his now folded cape.

"Ah, thank you." He was a bit shell-shocked at how fast she turned. Din looked it over, the wampa's arm crossed his neck. Arm, singular , the other one was missing. "What happened to the other arm?"

"I don't know, we found him with only one," Bo-Katan shrugged. 

Din dipped his head. He'd have to tell Luke, he'd find it hilarious. He might also steal it and use it as a blanket, but that wouldn't be entirely terrible. "I'll take good care of it."

"Only wear it when addressing official business," She instructed, "your bounty missions will only end with it being dirtied."

Din rolled his eyes at that. He knew that, he'd never wear something so heavy on a mission anyway. "Yes, Lady Kryze," he responded mockingly. She merely snorted at him. 

"I'll lead in our Mandalorian brethren," She stated, walking past him and out to where, presumably, the Clan leads were. 

He sighed, looking to Boba, ready to criticize Bo-Katan but his friend was much closer than expected. He held a sight and a jet pack attachment; a single missile. 

"Thought you could use a new weapon. It's no Amban pulse rifle, but it's good," Boba huffed, almost embarrassed of his gift. He didn't wait for permission, grabbing the bottom of his helm and sliding the sight into place. Din pulled up his new cape to let Boba have access to his jetpack to clip in the missile, which quickly became hidden under it. All of it matched his armor, having a monochrome finish. "Now we match."

Din smiled fondly, "Thank you," he said, much more genuine than how he spoke to Bo-Katan. Boba nodded curtly, remaining stoic.

"C'mon, Mand'alor, let's go greet your people."

"You sure you don't want to challenge me? Earn the right to lead two groups of people?" Din asked, walking with Boba to wherever Bo-Katan had herded the other Mandalorians.

Boba laughed. "In a puffer pig's eye!"

Din clicked his tongue. "Worth a shot."

The two chuckled, their modulators flattening it even more than their monotone voices would. They made their way to the meeting room, the conversing Mandalorians only grew more clangorous the closer he got.

He slowed, stopping just outside the door. Boba didn't rush him, he patiently waited. He was nervous, of course, but he could power through. The sooner this ended, the sooner he got home to his son and Luke. 

Red pressed into his side, reflexively Din pet him. Unfortunately, Red could only relieve so much anxiety.

He entered the room, everyone so entrenched in their own conversations that they didn't notice him. There were far more people than he ever expected. There had to be well over than a hundred people, maybe closer to two hundred. As he observed, he noticed some clans had brought a plus one or two, but not a lot. The majority of these people were single representatives of their clan. Everyone had unique armor that while similar, still sang the unique corridos of its owner.

He took a breath. The Tribe only had six clans, and each only had a few people. He couldn't imagine how many people were in each one of these clans. His eyes searched the crowd, finally finding a familiar group off to the side. 

Kryze's armor was hard to not notice, he stood out more than most due to his royal cape. There were sixteen people with him. He recognized the iktotchi woman as the one Kryze sparred with. Glancing along the helms, he saw three that genuinely brought relief to the tenseness tightening his chest. He approached quickly.

"Mand'alor!" Cashla squealed quietly. Kryze's and his companions perked up as Cashla and Tooka approached Din excitedly. 

Unlike the rest of her present clan, Cashla's helmet was off, revealing her yellow skin and white markings. There were stripes marking her cheekbones, and freckles sprinkling her nose and cheeks. Three triangles dipped from the start of her montrals down her forehead, the middle being the longest and stopping at the browline. Unlike Ahsoka, her montrals were purple and white, and her stripes were wavy, looking like water. On her lekku she wore jewelry; bracers with four interesting purple gems equally distanced around it. Her wide smile, while showing off her deadly sharp teeth, was bright, like her armor. She took time to look nice for this meeting.

Tooka on the other hand had not, he remained in the same outfit Din met him in. His armor wasn't even polished. Even though he couldn't see his face, from how he bounced from foot to foot like an excited massiff, Din could tell he was just as happy to see him as his sister. It felt nice. 

Cashla went to speak when she paused, staring at him in wide-eyed wonder. "Wow... your mind is darker than it was before," She murmured, seemingly in shock.

Din cringed. He forgot that kare'tigaanyc could see that. "It's the Darksaber's toll."

"Yeah, but it... it didn't look like this before. It..." She tilted her head, squinting in assessment. "What is that?" She muttered, almost to herself. At the slightest of brushes on the edge of his mind, Din quickly threw up mental walls, just as Luke had taught him.

Cashla straightened immediately, her gray-green eyes going wide in shock. 

"Do not enter my mind," Din scolded, in shock that she was so casual with her complete invasion of privacy. 

Cashla bowed her head shamefully, "Sorry Mand'alor... your mind is so open, I forgot it was not an invitation." 

Din paused. 'My mind is... open? Why hadn't Luke mentioned that?'

Neither he nor Cashla spoke, the chatter of the room covered any awkward silence that would follow an interaction like that.

"Ahem, uh... I like your droid!" Tooka chimed in, changing the subject entirely. "And your cape looks snazzy."

"Thanks, it's new, and this is Red."

"[Greetings.]" Red chirped. 

Cashla wasted no time, squatting to the droids level. "Hi!" She whispered excitedly, any sadness from her scolding now bypassed. "You go on any adventures with the Mand'alor?"

"[No, mostly staying at home. He and Luke don't go out much.]"

"Red-" But it was too late, the siblings were looking at him.

"Whose Luke?" Tooka asked.

"My son's teacher." He answered. They both nodded then paused in confusion. Right, they didn't know Grogu had the Force.

Din's memory hit him. The last time he saw Cashla, she didn't have a teacher and Luke had agreed that he could offer his teaching services. He felt slightly guilty, that was three- now almost four months ago. "He has the Force. Which reminds me, do you still need a teacher?"

Cashla looked at him her eyes going even wider in shock as she stood slowly. She looked to her buir, Fierce, who stood silently behind her with his arms crossed. He hesitated only a moment before nodding, gesturing her away- no, he was gesturing her to go ahead, to take the opportunity. Tooka stood stiffly beside her. "Yes. I do- need a teacher I mean. I need one." She stammered in response.

"Well, Grogu's teacher is looking for more students. He's ner cyare burc'ya, and when I told him about you, he said he'd love to teach you," Din said. 

Cashla's eyes searched the face of his helm as she seemed to process something. She gasped loudly. "YOU KNOW-" She stopped herself from shouting further, looking around sheepishly as people glanced at her. She only continued when they looked away. "Does this 'Luke'  happen to be Luke kriffing Skywalker?" She whispered.

Tooka gasped quietly and Fierce tensed. The Stokax clan stared at him. He nodded. "But-" Din held a finger to his helm, "Keep it quiet. He lives in private."

"Of course," Cashla nodded fervently. "Thank you- thank you, Mand'alor!"

Tooka seemed frozen. He puffed his chest, looking up to his vod, and patted her back. "Congratulations," he said, breathless. Din could hear the hurt and shock in the man's voice, even with it being changed by his modulator. He hadn't thought of that. He was splitting up these siblings. 

Hopefully, Tooka wouldn't be too mad at him.

"Djarin," Kryze greeted, having strangely excellent timing. "It's good to see you not bleeding out."

Din chuckled dryly. "Kryze, I'm delighted you could make it."

"Of course, Mand'alor," He responded teasingly. He glanced around. "More clans showed than I thought."

"Is this not all of them?" Din asked in astonishment.

"No, I'd say we're still missing a lot more clans. Though, honestly, they may be dead by now. All the house leads are here from what I can see, so that's good."

"Do you think they'll accept me?" Din asked, not afraid to show how lost he was here. Kryze shrugged.

"I know the fact that you were a Child of the Watch bothers quite a few people, but your story has been spread." He replied easily.

"What is the story being spread?" 

"That you, a beroya, found out your bounty was a child and that you took off with him instead of turning him in. That you went on the run for a year, only to eventually be tracked by Gideon, and have your child stolen from you. That you fought Gideon, won the saber, and your son. Some people add on to that, saying you let your son return to the Jedi only for him to come back to you, but that's not known by all."

Din nodded, that basically summarized all of it. "And... how do people feel about me removing my helmet?"

Kryze tilted his head. "The only times people cared about that part of the story was to ridicule the Tribe. That's how little they care."

He swallowed hard, nodding more for his own comfort than anything else. It was still hard to accept the thought that removing his helmet wasn't taboo to the masses. Just to him. "I guess I should give a speech."

"Yes, many have noticed your presence. I think the cape gives it away."

"It was a gift-"

"From my aunt, no doubt." Kryze hissed. He shook his head. "Sorry, give your speech."

Din turned to Boba. His friend gestured to the small stone stage to his left, it barely a full step off the ground. "Good luck," he muttered, clapping Din on the shoulder. 

He stepped up, hearing the voices of the room quiet down, but the ones in his mind only grew louder. They whispered incomprehensible suggestions on what he should say, or do. Din stood before the crowd, seeing them staring at him expectantly. He found himself mute.

"My fellow Mandalorians" Bo-Katan called, walking out to the left of the mini-stage he stood on, but not stepping up on it. She held her helmet to her side. "Years we have been hidden, retreating, licking the wounds from the Night of a Thousand Tears. Here, we finally gather again, under a new hope. A new leader. Our new Mand'alor. He who did what I and no one else could. He defeated Moff Gideon- not for money, not for glory, but for his son!" She looked to him, "Let me be the first to say," she kneeled, "I, and the Nite Owls, accept you as our Mand'alor."

The Nite Owls who were here, about twenty people, kneeled with her, echoing what she had said. 

"House Kryze accepts you as our Mand'alor," Kryze called. He too had removed his helmet, kneeling with his people. Some of them removed their helmets, others didn't. Din didn't see the significance of it. 

More and more, house leads called out their acceptance, some removing their helmet, some not. They didn't even know him, and yet they accepted him. Din felt his breath leave him. He couldn't believe it.

There was a pause as a few groups remained standing. He recognized one of the clan's signet, Vizsla. It must be House Vizsla. 

"House Vizsla is divided," A man called. Din had expected this, he stood taller. A Mandalorian in the most colorful Mandalorian armor Din had ever seen walked forward, removing her helmet, she shook out her short hair before looking up at him.

"I am Sabine Wren, Lead of Clan Wren. As Mandalorian who once wielded the Darksaber and is well aware of the toll it can take on a person, I can’t accept you until you answer me this. How do you plan to deal with the weight of the Darksaber?" She asked. That was easier to answer than he expected. 

"As a former wielder, you know this does more than take a toll," Din commented, pushing to see if this 'Sabine Wren' also heard the voices.

"Yes, it can drive one mad. Not only when it isn't one with you, but also if you insist on dealing with its toll alone," she glanced at Bo-Katan. Din nearly winced at the sharpness of her glare. "That is when you lose to it."

"The saber is with me, I can assure you of that. I hear the voices, I'm haunted by the casualties this weapon has laid," He replied, seeing eyes grow wide with shock as he spoke. This may have been new information for some, but not for Sabine, she patiently stared back at him. "And I have an ally. One who is helping me with my plan to cleanse it, so no one will have to know the pain we suffered."

Now he'd lost them. As Sabine had tilted her head at him murmurs of confusion filled the room. Even Boba and Bo-Katan were staring at him with tilted heads in puzzlement. 

He went to speak when a voice spoke into his mind. 

'Do not tell them of my mistakes,'  Tarre Vizsla hissed swiftly. 

He snarled. Help Din? No, Tarre could never possibly do that. Cover his own ass and protect his legacy? Yes, now that was acceptable.

He shouldn't expect anything more from the man. He thought, forming an explanation before speaking, "The saber is stained with blood. Tarnished by those who were unworthy, by Maul and Gideon, and plenty of unworthy evils before that. It contains the souls of our brethren, keeping them from Manda. I've been working with a powerful Jedi to try and free them-"

"You work with Jetii?!" Someone screeched. The crowd grew disgruntled. In the corner of his eye, he saw House Kryze crowd closer, pulling Cashla into the middle of their protection circle. Tooka and Fierce palmed at their blasters. This was bad.

"We've worked with Jedi before!" Bo-Katan called, though no one listened. The crowd only grew louder. 

Din glanced around, catching the eye of Boba. His friend gestured aggressively, urging him to speak. He thought quickly, screaming would do nothing. He made a snap judgment, grabbing the Darksaber from his hip and unsheathing it. Its hum was louder than ever before, sounding unusual. It mixed with the voice's whispers and begged for attention. 

Slowly, the crowd grew silent.

"This saber was forged by a Jetii Mand'alor, Mandalore was saved and protected by Jetii many a time! Any honorable, strong warrior will make an enemy and ally when the time calls for it. We do not have the courtesy of being well populated enough to make enemies of a potential ally," Din called, his voice dipping to a scold. Silence greeted him. He dropped his arm, the tip of the saber barely missing the stone floor. He looked to Sabine. "Clan Wren, I do not wish to dwindle our numbers. I have presented my plan to cleanse the saber so that no future Mand'alor will know its weight. But if that doesn't meet your standards, if you wish to challenge me, I accept."

She gazed at him sternly, maybe he was too aggressive. He swallowed hard. Though, his anxieties were lifted when she bowed her head, "Your answer was sufficient for me. I accept you as my Mand'alor."

Din finally breathed as Sabine finally kneeled, along with the rest of the clan leads of House Vizsla, them echoing their acceptance. He sheathed the Darksaber, clipping it back onto his belt. All the Mandalorians were kneeling now. While they might not all truly accept him, they were willing to give him a chance, and that was good enough. He felt some semblance of relief.  'One step forward.'

That relief was short-lived when the doors opened, welcoming in a late party. He couldn't help but feel like a child, spinelessly taking a step back as his brain processed who had entered. 

There were only two, but it seemed everyone knew who they were. The Armorer's helmet must have given that away. As she and Paz snaked their way through the crowd, whispers grew. For the life of him, Din couldn't tell if it was the voices of the saber, the crowd, or both. Nothing seemed real, maybe he passed out and this was just some cruel dream.

The Armorer stopped before him, Paz surveyed the crowd, seemingly fixated on House Vizsla.

"When I heard of a new Mand'alor, I had hoped you lost the saber to someone truly worthy," The Armorer stated plainly. Din swallowed his pain, unable to respond to her. "Have you bathed in the Living Waters?"

Din shook his head with a quiet tsk of his tongue. "I'm still standing here, not dying of radiation poisoning, so clearly I have not."

Paz glanced at him, his shoulders rising defensively. The Armorer dipped her head. "Then you do not follow the Way. You weren't born on Mandalore, and you have no Mandalorian family. You are not worthy to be a Mandalorian, and you certainly are not worthy to be Mand'alor."

Other clan leads stirred. From their faces, Din could see some warily nodding, they were agreeing with her. He was losing them. He wanted to shrink in on himself, he wanted to run away from here, hide from the shame of being rejected once again.

He wanted to run home to Grogu, to Luke. Luke. How disappointed he would be that Din still couldn't stand up for himself.

'Don't let her speak to you like that, verd! Speak up!'  Tarre commanded.

Din took a breath. "I am worthy." 

That brought a scoff from Paz. The Armorer held out a hand to halt him from speaking. "And what makes you say that?"

“I have proven myself time and time again. Which is more than you can say for yourself,” His voice picked up strength.

Paz stepped forward, ready to argue but the Armorer stopped him once again. “Explain.” She said. Maybe he picked up his monotone voice from her.

He nodded, addressing the crowd at large now, “Our most rudimentary code is Resol’nare, it’s how we keep our souls, get into Manda.” 

Begrudgingly, the crowd nodded. Din regained enough confidence to step off the stage and approach the Armorer.

“Since leaving the Tribe, I have found I have been able to follow the Six Actions far more easily. And the removal of my helmet was done for my son," He explained. Stopping a few steps in front of her. "I removed my helmet the first time to survive when I had split my head open on Nevarro. Something I only agreed to when I realized my son would die if I died. A droid saw my face and saved me."

"I took it off again when on an Imperial ship, pretending to be an Imperial soldier so I could save my son from Gideon. I took it off a third time in front of many when I thought I was leaving my son forever, so he could go through with Jedi training without me.” Din stood as tall as he could in front of her. “Everything I do is for him, my clan, my ad’ika. To protect him, to show my love for him, and to ensure a better future for him when I pass on."

“So you’ve removed your helmet multiple times then?” The Armorer inquired.

'Of course that's all she took from that' he rolled his eyes. “He’s in my clan. He gets to see my face.“

“Is your adiik a Mandalorian? Or a Jedi?”

“He is akin to Tarre Vizsla. He is Mandalorian and Jedi.”

“He cannot be Mandalorian if he believes in the Force-“

“They are not mutually exclusive, and how I raise my child is none of your business! Not since you banished me,” Din barked out.

“Din-“ Paz cut in.

“Don't ever refer to me by name! We aren’t in a Tribe together, you lost that privilege,” Din spat out with the same venom Paz- or Vizsla as he should now say- gave to him for years. 

Vizsla stared at him. “I challenge you-“

“You already did. You failed. Or did you forget? Do I need to take your whole leg so that you remember?” Din questioned, getting into Vizsla's face, “Or maybe you could gather up what remaining brain cells you have to rub together and, for once, shut your mouth.”

Vizsla grumbled to himself, he glanced to the Armorer then to House Vizsla. Eventually, he stepped back, bowing his head in shame. He felt warm pride radiate from the voices and from Tarre.

Din slowly looked to the Armorer. She stared back at him fearlessly. "When you fix Mandalore, and you bathe in the Living Waters, then and only then, will I accept you as Mand'alor. Until that happens, you will remain an apostate. A code-breaking disappointment to all true Mandalorians. You are nothing to us until you can make up for your transgressions. You are not a Mandalorian. You are dar'manda."

He felt his heart almost shatter all over again. Never before was he this thankful for his helmet's hiding his face. Though it was probably clear in his body, he could at least hide just how much the Armorer had gutted him. He held his breath to not let himself break in any audible way. Not now.

He blocked out the voices and Tarre trying to speak to him, muting them entirely. He swallowed hard. "I will fix Mandalore for the people. Not to please you or prove myself."

The Armorer nodded curtly at that. She turned and walked away, retracing the path she had taken coming in. Vizsla hesitated, glancing at House Vizsla. Slowly, he kneeled, bowing his head in respect to the House lead. Vizsla always was a man proud of his heritage. After a brief pause, Vizsla stood and followed after the Armorer.

Din let out a shaky breath, unable to look at any of the Mandalorians that had just kneeled before him. What they must think of him now... the regret they must feel for ever kneeling to him.

“You may all rise,” Bo-Katan called. Din looked up, watching the Clan leads rising. "Our Mand'alor has taken the initiative of gathering planets we could live on. Mand'alor?"

Din nodded slowly. He felt something solid nudge his leg. Then again. Red. He pet Red's head, his breath steadying as he managed to escape his thoughts of self-loathing. He just needed to hold it together a little longer. “I am working with the New Republic to get a planet in the Mandalore system-" The Mandalorians cut him off with a chorus of groans. 

He sighed, “Listen, I don’t like them much either, however, it is a must as Mandalore itself is inhabitable at the moment. We will fix it with their help. In the meantime, the planet that I think is best for us to habitate is Mandallia" The crowd seemed pleased "Currently, the Mandalore system is owned by the Quelii Sector and I need two Clan leaders to step up and go with me to negotiate.”

Immediately debate broke out. Boba approached.

“I’d put my own hat in the ring but uh, I’m kinda a controversial man,” Boba chuckled next to him.

"I'm aware" Din mumbled, not able to laugh along with him.

The room's sound seemed to meld together as his mind ate away at him. He felt sick. His thoughts kicked into hyperspeed. What if she was right? What if he didn't get into Manda because of this?

It was childish to think- felt childish to think- but he wanted to run. Far, far away and never come back. Never leave Yavin 4 again. Call him a coward, it didn't matter anymore. To be labelled dar'manda... there was nothing worse than that. 

He shouldn't be here, he shouldn't have the saber, shouldn't be wearing this armor- he was a disgrace. And now everyone knew it.

"Din." He jumped a bit, looking left to see Boba, his hand resting on Din's shoulder. "Is that uh... that a voices episode or um, did seeing the Tribe shake you up-?"

"Shut up." He grumbled, shrugging off his hand. "I didn't need soft gloves before, I don't need them now."

Boba raised his hands in submission. "Ok." He said simply.

He looked up, seeing the lead of House Vizsla step forward. "House Vizsla, Rook, and the Nite Owls are in support of Bo-Katan Kryze-"

"Absolutely not!" Kryze barked. He cleared his throat and straightened, regaining his composure as the entire room stared at him. “I don’t believe Bo-Katan should be an advisor.” He communicated firmly.

“Why?” Sabine asked.

“Bo-Katan helped Death Watch rise to power. She then led us into failed battle after failed battle with the Empire, never calling on allies to help us.” Kryze hissed. “It’s clear she’s not a proper diplomat.”

"Korkie, I've grown from my mistakes-" Bo-Katan tried to say but Kryze cut her off.

“You’ve only grown to be more manipulative but you are just a cruel di’kut!” 

Din didn’t agree. Was Bo-Katan instigative? Sure. But not cruel and stupid, but then again he didn’t know her well. He didn't speak, not that he had the time to.

“How dare you!” Bo-Katan growled back at him. 

“How dare you step up and try to take a leadership position after everything you made us lose!” Kryze bit back.

“I made choices to try and save Mandalore-“

“Yeah? And what of your choices to divide our people?!”

“I made a mistake as a teenager! I tried to make up for it by fighting the Empire! Now, clearly, I failed, but I was still a leader! I have experience-“

“I’m a house leader now, I also have experience. By your logic, I should go!”

Bo-Katan stared at him, shaking her head. “This is about her, isn’t it?”

Kryze stiffened. “If you had retreated, she’d be alive, instead you just needed to have that saber!”

It occurred to Din now. They were speaking of Sonniee, the Mandalorian he saw die saving Bo-Katan that fought with Kryze. 

“I knew it. This is why you shouldn’t go. You are stuck in the past! And you have no respect for the Darksaber!” Bo-Katan rolled her eyes as Kryze laughed in shock.

“I will never get past what you did! The Darksaber was a weapon you could get back! You can’t get back lives!” He looked to Din “If she goes, then I go! Someone has to keep her in line!”

“If he goes, I will not go!”

“Neither of you are going!” Din shouted. They both looked at him in shock. “Both of you turned this into an argument about your issues, this is supposed to be about getting a planet for our people. You're both too confrontational to be any good in a meeting with the Quelii sector. Your help can be saved for our people later."

Both Bo-Katan and Kryze huffed, crossing their arms in the same exact way, only they looked away in different directions, trying their best not to look at each other. 

It looked like Din would have to choose anyway. He needed people to both challenge his beliefs and not be stiff enough with beliefs that they themselves can’t be convinced. Ones that speak from life experiences of hardships, just different hardships. 

He had a gut feeling about who to choose, he hoped it was right. “Clan Wren and Clan Stokax, you will assist,” Din said. “Any objections?”

There were grumblings of disagreement.

“Clan Wren I get, but Stokax? Really?” Clan Rook's lead asked.

“What is wrong with Clan Stokax?” Din questioned right back.

“Just, given the history with Mandalorians and zabraks, especially Dathmirian ones… ” The House Vizsla lead grumbled.

“How dare you!” Tooka hissed.

“I am not Maul!” Fierce roared at the same time.

“I didn’t say you were, just saying, you probably shouldn’t be a representative of us,” Vizsla growled.

“That is completely inappropriate, Vizsla! Maul's takeover was almost 30 years ago now!” Clan Saxon's lead hissed.

“Course you would defend them.” Someone grumbled from the crowd.

“What is that supposed to mean?!”

“Honestly, Clan Wren is no better, she helped build weapons for the Empire and chose Bo-Katan as Mand’alor” another Mandalorian argued.

The crowd erupted into an argument once again. Din scoffed. These people called themselves intelligent warriors. He had no patience for this. He climbed on stage once again, stomping as he did so to wordlessly get his people to shut up and pay attention. Thankfully, it worked. 

“I chose Clan Wren because she spoke against me! Challenged me without using weapons and still upholding respect. She showed intelligence, and she is a noble. I chose Stokax because of past conversations we have had. He is a teacher, has helped establish many camps with House Kryze, and his riduur works in agriculture. Both combined can speak on many worldly ideals from completely different perspectives and be reliable voices of the people!" Din explained “Everyone here has just further proven they don’t deserve to be advisors due to their focus on repeating the past instead of learning from it. Or worse, taking the past and using it as a weapon to gatekeep others from our religion!”

He saw his people huffing, crossing their arms in petulance and disagreement. He swallowed, carrying on before he became too nervous to speak. “I believe I am making enemies already, challenging me is always open. I have to make choices to mend our culture. To rebuild. I ask for you all to be malleable. Just because we are reinforced with beskar doesn’t mean our opinions must be. Especially in these trying times.”

The crowd reluctantly agreed. Slowly, the clan leads filed out. Leaving Din alone with Sabine, the Stokax's, and Boba.

“You definitely know how to make an impression,” Boba chuckled in shock.

“Apparently” Din replied huffily.

“Din, you shouldn’t have chosen me just because you know me and favor me,” Fierce murmured.

“I didn’t. I meant what I said.” Din declared, “I believe you and Sabine will hold me accountable and bring important viewpoints to the table. I also think you two will be able to help me build camps on Mandallia and restore Mandalore.” ‘I also refuse to work with hardheaded assholes in a job I already hate.’

Cashla laughed boisterously and then covered her mouth. “Sorry I-“ she giggled and whispered to Tooka. He laughed even louder before covering the part of his helmet where his mouth would be. Din tilted his head but dropped it.

"I will contact you all when the meeting is scheduled. For now, I believe we should take a break to decompress from this meeting," Din instructed. The four nodded. Din offered his vambrace to Sabine. "Program your comm code in so I can contact you."

Sabine did as told. Once she did, she placed her helmet back on her head. "It was good meeting you Mand'alor."

"You as well, Sabine," Din said. She bowed her head in a respectful goodbye then took her leave. Once she was out of earshot, Cashla caught his eye.

"And, my training with Master Luke?" She asked.

"I will stay in contact, I promise," Din answered, his voice showing his exhaustion. She straightened, nodding. 

"Right, sorry, thank you Mand'alor," Cashla said, she and her brother left quickly. Fierce hesitated.

"It's none of my business, and forgive me for speaking out of turn, but you should know the Armorer is wrong. You are a Mandalorian. You are not dar'manda. Manda will accept you when you pass over."

Din bristled at the cruel reminder of that conversation. "Your right, it's none of your business," he corrected sternly. Fierce froze, he murmured an apology before leaving.

In the silence, her words echoed in his head. Each word a vibroblade nestling deeper and deeper into his heart, the biggest wound bleeding from what she dubbed him. 

Dar'manda.  He was dar'manda.

"Din?" Boba asked.

"Thank you for hosting Boba, and for the gift... I-" he found it hard to speak. "I'm unworthy of your kindness-"

"Shut up." Boba cut in, "I'm not kind, I'm paying back favors. When I need something, you owe me."

"Of course," Din murmured. He held Boba's shoulder. Both of them weren't big on affection, so this was the closest they'd get. "[We are brothers in arms, after all.]" His voice to soft and broken for his liking.

Boba didn't tease him on it, he only slapped Din's back affectionately. "[Damn straight. Now go home, your kid is missing his dad.]" Boba told in Mando'a. He let Din pull away on his own accord. "[That zabrak is right by the way. That bitch doesn't know what she's talking about. You have more soul than any Mandalorian. Water isn't going to change that.]"

Din nodded noncommittally, not able to look at Boba. He trudged out of the palace, the shame only growing with every step he took. He hated it, he shut out every emotion he could. He just needed to get home.

Red nudged him, beeping deeply in concern. Din didn't look at him.

"C'mon, let's just go home."

Luke turned down his radio, the delightful music of Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes becoming almost inaudible as he felt Din's ship enter the atmosphere, the N-1 silently landing somewhere in the woods. He didn't feel any pull of emotion from Din, in fact, it felt empty, entirely hidden. Maybe he was tired.

He pulled the uj cake out of the oven, it working as both a gift and an apology to Din. Luke had tried again to tell him of his power and failed due to his poor timing. 

He couldn't help but consider whether it might be better at this point to deal with the guilt of not telling him, to give him any kind of solace, any kind of peace. After all, that was what Din gave him.

He just... he wanted Din to be comfortable around him. To talk to him, to trust in him, to find any comfort in him. He just wanted to make Din happy.

But that was escapist. He'd have to tell him sometime. Hopefully, when they talked tonight. Or maybe they could just talk about anything else.

Luke waited patiently for him, only seeing him when his luminous armor shined in the other moon's light as he walked over the hill and approached the cabin. He looked bigger, a new, fluffy cape draping over his back.

Grogu would love that. Though the boy was already asleep, he would probably cuddle into it in the morning.

The front door opened, Din entering quietly. 

"Hey!" Luke greeted.

Unusually, he didn't greet back, he only swiftly made his way to his and Grogu's room. The back of the cape was branded with a larger version of the skull that Grogu's necklace bore, a creature that, if he remembered right, was called a mythosaur. 

He waited patiently, watching Red slowly wheel in a little while after.

"How'd it go?" He whispered.

The droid warbled back some grinding negative response that sounded like someone blowing a raspberry. He wheeled over to Artoo and his charging corner. They greeted each other in whispered binary before both droids powered down for the night.

He now tapped his fingers on the counter, his worry steadily increasing. Din still moved as a blur, he was trying to keep something hidden. He stayed silent, waiting for a sound. Anything.

Soon, there came the quiet closing of a bedroom door and approaching footsteps. Luke saw Din making a beeline for the front door and before he could think it over he had already quickly rounded the corner; lightly grabbing his friend's arm. 

“Hey- wait, Din! Where are you going?” Luke asked.

“A walk.” He responded flatly, not turning to face him but not trying to pull away either.

“Well, can it wait a few seconds? You just got back. I thought…” He hesitated. “I thought we could talk? I…” He was going to sound so pathetic and desperate. “I missed you.”

Din only stayed silent, still not looking at him.

“Did it not go well today?”

Din stiffened. Slowly he turned his head to look at him. “Luke...“ He murmured, his voice breaking slightly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to guilt you,” Luke bowed his head and stepped back. “You can go. Don't worry about it, we can talk tomorrow.”

Din glanced at the door then back at him. He turned, facing Luke fully now. Slowly- and admittedly a bit awkwardly- he held his arms out ever so slightly. 

It took a second of processing for Luke to get it. Din was asking for a hug! Din barely ever asked for any kind of affection, let alone hugs, so there was no way Luke would skip out on the opportunity!

He pulled the man in close, nuzzling into his neck. He smelled like salt, sand, and hints of clay. Like Tatooine with hints of citrus fruit at the back of his neck where the edge of his hair sometimes peaked out of his helmet. He knew Din used citrus-scented soap, the bathroom permeated with the scent every time he showered, that had to be it.

This new cape was made with pristine white fur that was thick and soft, it'd make a great blanket but it looked too grandiose to be one. It was undoubtedly fit for a king, and it looked great on him. 

As Luke pet down his back, he noticed that his jetpack felt different. It was bulkier with some kind of new attachment. Someone must have gotten him a missile, that would explain the new range seeker on his helm. Hopefully, Din would tell him all about it later.

They stood there for at least over a minute. Luke expected his friend to pull back at some point but he didn’t, he only held him tighter.

“Din?” Luke asked.

The man sniffled, tucking his helmet into Luke's neck, his mental wall completely shattering with it. 

In a surge, he was drowned with overwhelming hurt, rejection, and self-loathing. Luke almost sobbed at the sudden wave of emotion that flooded his senses. “Din, who hurt-?” Luke went to ask, feeling himself get angry only for Din to cut him off.

“Please don’t make me talk about it, Luke- please,"  Din's voice broke off, so quiet in the last part. He hadn't heard this voice. It was so soft and pitched with a whine, a whine that was almost a sob.

Luke listened, refusing to push any further. He held Din tighter, trying to provide the comfort he needed. 

He felt Din's knees trying to give way as he gave another sniffle. Luke led him to the floor. Letting his friend curl around him, crowding into his lap. Never once did either of them let the hug break. He didn’t cry, or if he did, Luke couldn't tell, but his shoulders shook with the stuttering shaky breaths heavy with grief. Sometimes he'd let out a tiny whimper, but that was all the noise he made.

“I made uj cake. If you want to eat your feelings or something,” Luke offered. He barely resisted gloating when Din chuckled wetly. 

“I’ll eat them later, can I just hug you a little longer?” He asked, nearly timid in nature.

“You can hug me as long as you want, Din.”

Luke heard him sigh in relief, he was sure he wasn’t supposed to hear it when Din murmured 'Never letting go.'

He held him just a bit closer, cradling Din's helmet into his neck and pulling the man even more into his lap. Though he was heavy, Luke couldn't find it in himself to resituate. He could deal with this if it meant being close to Din.

They didn't separate for a while, probably over half an hour- just holding each other. Ultimately, they tried to lay back. It took a few seconds of resituating, and Din had to drop his jetpack to get at all comfortable laying down. 

Eventually, they both settled on laying on their sides, holding each other in a mix of a hug and cuddle. Unlike when they were on the cliff nearly a month ago, both were now clinging to each other as if letting go meant the other would leave forever. Din's furry cape that wrapped them into a tight cocoon only furthered this tight embrace.

Luke rubbed his back, tucking his face into Din's neck. “If you ever wanna talk about what happened today… I’ll listen, no judgment, I promise,” he whispered.

Din paused. “You were right to worry this morning, the Tribe stopped by." 

Luke tightened his hold on him, petting down his back and sides, waiting for him to continue when he was ready. "The Armorer disowned me, again,” He scoffed. There was something else. Something he was hesitating on mentioning. He was willing to accept that he wouldn't get to know but, after sliding his hand up Luke's back to his head, interlacing his fingers in his hair, Din explained further. “She called me dar'manda." 

The way he whispered it, so ashamed and disheartened... not only did it have to be something terrible, whatever it was Din believed it.

"That-" Din sighed "That essentially means I am not only not a Mandalorian, but that I lack a soul, and am unworthy of joining Manda.”

Luke felt his heart drop. What a horrid thing to say. “I’m so sorry she said that-“ he murmured, scratching at the base of Din's neck.

“It’s not your fault” he replied, continuing to play with his hair. Slowly, he felt the slightest of lights of happiness shine through. “I don’t know what I expected.”

“Care, an apology, anything other than coldness,” Luke suggested sardonically, his contempt for the Tribe only growing. Din merely scoffed. “You put in so much labor- physically, emotionally, and mentally- into that Tribe, only to get pain and rejection as repayment. You have every right to be upset and to expect some kind of care in return.”

“I really shouldn’t. I can't force people to care about me-“

“Well, they should care about you! They’re idiots not to appreciate you and everything you do. You’re everything someone could ask for and more Din.” Din hummed noncommittally in response. “I’m serious. You’re… maker you’re just such a good man,” Luke grumbled. This anger, this hate he felt for the Armorer, it scared him. He let it go. He couldn’t let himself hate.

"I am not, and she was right, I am-"

"Don't," Luke pulled back to look at Din through his visor. "Don't ever let yourself believe what she said. I-I don't know Mandalorian customs or culture well, but I've heard Resol'nare enough to know it by heart now." He held Din's chin. 

"You speak the language beautifully and were kind enough to teach me. You defend Grogu with your life, and bring him up as a Jedi Mandalorian. And you gave your money to provide for them for years. You are the perfect example of a Mandalorian." He shook his head. "I know you don't believe me, I don't know if I can ever make you believe me, but you are. And you'll be one with Manda, because I refuse to believe that an oversoul would be cruel enough to punish you for removing your helmet to protect your son."

Din whined, pulling Luke close again. “You're a blessing,” Din whispered. Luke rolled his eyes only to have Din snuggle into his neck. “Ni kar’taylir darasuum” he said even quieter.

“Hm? What does that mean?” Luke asked.

“Don’t worry about it, riye, I’ll tell you another time. Just... please lay here with me a little longer?”

Luke felt himself blush at the nickname. That might drive him crazy one day. “You do love to lay on the ground." He couldn't help but tease. "Tell me- how long were you sleeping under the Starfighter?”

“Luke-“

“Four months, right?”

Din snorted, he grunted as he readjusted, his back cracking satisfyingly “About there yeah.”

Luke pet down his back once more.“I think you’d be comfier in my bed,” he commented. He felt Din stiffen; heard his breathing halt. He pushed back to look Luke in the eyes but remained silent. It took a few seconds for him to understand the implication. Luke felt his face go beat red, he batted him on his head the way a loth cat would. Light and swift. “Not like that! Perv.”

“You’re the one inviting me into your bed.”

“Because it’s comfy and sturdier, but not back-breaking like the floor.”

“I’m sure it’s a good bed.”

“It is, come on," Luke sat up, keeping a hand on Din's shoulder and keeping their legs intertwined. "I’m serious.”

His friend paused, staring up at him from his laying position, “Luke, it’s your bed, I don’t want to force you-“

“I’m inviting you in.”

Din wavered before breaking. “Ok.” He whispered.

Luke felt elation, both his own and Din's, entangling sweetly in the Force. They slowly got up, still keeping their hands on each other as they journeyed to his room. 

"You can get in your sleepwear and get in bed, I just have to pack up the uj cake," Luke promised. Din barely paid attention, stripping off his boots and gloves the second he sat on the edge of Luke's bed.

He made his way back to the kitchen, beginning to slice the uj cake so it could be picked apart throughout the week. Admittedly, he was rushing, trying to go as quickly as possible so he could get back to cuddling Din.

It made him pause.

...That was a bit romantic. Though, maybe that was just him being hopeful. Which he shouldn't, Jedi couldn't have romantic relationships. Then again, they weren't allowed any kind of relationship, and Luke had friends, family... so what if he added a partner to that?

Plus, Obi-Wan had Satine, so clearly there were double standards with that rule.

...

He was being presumptuous, Din probably wasn't even interested.

Then again, Din didn't speak to anyone as he spoke to him. He wasn't touchy with other friends, only with him. Maybe...

'Maybe'  is what it would stay for now. Din needed support, not Luke being a love-struck idiot.

He finished cutting the uj cake, placed the lid on the dish, and put it in the cooling chamber.

He made his way back to his room, making sure to knock before he entered.

"Come in" Din called. Once the door opened, Luke found Din carefully placing his armor and clothes in one corner of the room. He still wore his helmet, but other than that, all he wore was that dangerously tight ribbed tank top and some shorts, which were thankfully not tight. 

Luke's throat felt like it was closing, he might pass out. What he decided to focus on was the fluffy cape, and how it was laid out on the bed as a blanket.

"This is fancy," he commented, approaching it and petting through it. "where'd you get it?"

"It was a gift, from Bo-Katan and the Nite Owls. There way of 'accepting me as Mand'alor,' or whatever." Din grumbled temperamentally, making his way to stand next to him. "She said I can only wear it to fancy events so, the rest of the time it'll get used as a blanket." 

Luke chuckled at his pettiness. "What pelt is it?"

"Wampa, it's funny actually, it was missing an arm when the Nite Owls found it," Din chuffed.

At that, he could only pause. It couldn't be the same wampa he fought, but the Force only projected confirmation of his theory, it was. Luke blinked, at least he hadn't killed the wampa like originally he thought. Seemed it lived another ten years before being taken down, plus, he'd gotten his karma only a few months later. "Poor guy," was all he said, glancing at his gloved hand.

He glanced up, seeing Din looking at him already. The silence between them was peaceful, but at its edges, it was awkward; tense with its insecurity on how to proceed.

"Are you ready to go to bed?" Luke asked. At Din's silent nod, he flicked off the light with the Force, not wanting to put any space between them.

The bed creaked as they both climbed in. Luke's bundle of blankets he had collected on his bed was dismantled, most of them hitting the floor to be retrieved in the morning. Din settled himself quickly under only the thin comforter.

Luke took a minute, picking at the blankets to ensure he and Din were both equally covered, especially with his wooly cape. Finally, with far fewer blankets on him, he felt comfortable, settling on his side of the bed.

In the silence of the bedroom, Luke could only hear Din's breathing, his modulator releasing his breaths quietly, but robotically. It reminded him of...  someone. Someone who still struck a bit of fear in him despite his best efforts.

He didn't know why, he had heard Din's breathing before, it sounded nothing like Vader's, but in the dark, in the quiet, with him this close...

"Do you..." Luke hesitated, "do you mind taking your helmet off?"

Din wavered, "Do you mind wearing your blindfold?"

"Not at all." He had a few scattered around the house as he was always misplacing them. He had meditated in his room earlier that day and left one of his blindfolds on his bedside table. 

As he tied the long cloth around his eyes, he heard the click of Din's helmet. The bed dipped with him as he leaned over the bed to put it on the floor. 

After a few minutes, they settled again. Din's discomfort slowly faded and his mind permeate warmth and nervous want.

Luke took this as an invitation. He inched closer, just close enough that only his chest brushed Din's arm. He couldn't find it in himself to push further. 

Thankfully he didn't have to, Din's arm slipped under him, hooked around his hip, and pulled him close. His head now being cushioned by Din's shoulder and their bodies not having any space between them.

When Luke worked up the nerve, he slid his ungloved hand across his chest, settling over his heart and feeling its pumps through the soft fabric of Din's tank top. While no words were shared, he felt warmth and happiness gush from his friend's mind. His hand slid over Luke's, holding it firmly in place. Surprisingly, his hands were softer than he thought they'd be, hell Luke had more calluses than him. Though, he supposed that came with the territory of wearing gloves all the time.

He didn't touch him more than that, but the temptation was there. To run his hand through his hair like Din had done a hundred times to him.

"Luke?"

He tensed, "Yes?"

Din paused, "I don't want to wake you if I have a nightmare, and given how today went I... Could you..." He huffed, simmering with anxiety. "Could you possibly put my mind at ease?"

Luke sat up quickly, eager to help Din in any way possible. "Yes, of course." Not wanting to move his hand from his chest, Luke wriggled his arm out from under Din's back. 

Slowly, he pressed two fingers to his head. "Rest."

"Thank you" He whispered, and Luke felt his breath grace his cheek. So close, and yet... 

He felt Din's body go limp with sleep.

He could barely breathe, his face burning as he felt Din's heartbeat beneath his palm slow a smidge. He felt calm, drowsy happiness stir in the Force; warmth and affection filling his senses until it was all he could feel. He nestled back into his place by Din's side, feeling the ridges of his tank top brush against his cheek. 

His arm slid easily back under Din's shoulder, but he lifted it up slightly. His fingers slid into soft short curls. They diverted into wildly different directions and Luke could imagine how crazy they looked. He smiled as he slowly felt sleep crawl over him.

Luke awoke slowly, having to quickly remember that no, he had not miraculously gone blind overnight, he merely had a blindfold on. When he felt around on the bed, he only found an empty space next to him, still warm with the presence that had only recently left. He sighed, cuddling deeper under the blankets, clutching the wampa fur cape that he was growing way too fond of.

He pulled off his blindfold, looking to the corner where Din's armor once sat. The corner now only held his jetpack and its new missile attachment. 

Luke sat up, stretching to hear his joints crack before managing to slink out of bed, bringing Din's cape with him. He huddled under it as he went through his morning routine, using it as some lifeline to get through the morning until he could get some caf. It was much too big on him, dragging on the floor with every step he took. Luke would wash and brush it for him.

He left his room, finding Din in the kitchen with breakfast almost ready, his back turned to him. He made his way to Grogu's room, finding the sweet boy waiting tiredly for him. Once he was in his arms, Luke tucked him into the cape before he could even whine about being dragged out of bed, only able to let out a confused chirp and then a giggle.

Luke brought him to the table, setting him up in his highchair. He draped Din's cape over the back of the couch, watching Red and Artoo enter the living room from the library. Red chittered a  'hello'  to Luke before continuing his discussion with Artoo, something about some show they both liked.

Luke wandered into the kitchen, Din passing him his massive caf mug, blue milk, and sugar already in it as well as a half-melted ice cube. Luke smiled, pressing his forehead into Din's back.

"Thank you, riye," Luke murmured, taking the mug from him, but keeping his forehead against his back. He felt Din's muscles tighten, his aura filling with fluster.

"Ba'gedet'ye," He replied stiffly. Luke translated the 'you're welcome' immediately, though it was kind of easy. He was slowly getting better at Mando'a. He pushed away, moving to get Grogu some juice. 

"Did you sleep well?" Luke asked.

"The best I've slept in a while," Din replied easily, chuckling slightly.

"I could order you a mattress like that for Grogu's room," Luke suggested. 

Din sucked his teeth. “No- it’s,” he sighed, his mind lighting up with awkwardness and fluster. “It wasn’t the mattress that helped me sleep better.” 

Luke tilted his head, "My power then? I could do it again-"

Din shook his head. "No, it-" he sighed, radiating deepening mortification. "It was more the fact that you were just... there. With me." He cleared his throat. "You comfort me." 

The words rolled in his head before falling into place. He felt his cheeks warm- no, not warm, hot. Burning red with fluster. “Oh,” he said, it slipping out too fast for him to stop. Din’s shoulders raised a bit, he seemed ready to run for it. “Well, then, you could just-“ 'What am I doing?' “-you could just keep sleeping with me…” 'WHAT AM I DOING?!'

“It’s your bed. I’d never put that on you. I’m perfectly content with my mat," Din urged. 

"No, it's fine. I slept better too!" Luke was screaming into the Force; kicking and screaming in awkwardness. He could feel Grogu staring confusedly at them.

"You... did?" Din asked, finally turning to face him. 

Luke nodded, "Mhm. I'm actually more shocked you slept well at all, I'm a terrible cuddler. I steal blankets, I kick and twitch, and talk in my sleep." He chuckled. "Just awful."

"Well, I don't really need blankets, I'm usually fine with or without, and I didn't feel you kick or twitch or hear you talk in your sleep. Even if I did, I have no right to judge as I do the same." He lingered, "I don't have to sleep with you Luke, don't feel obligated to-" 

"I don't" Luke cut in. "I want you to sleep with me."

"Really?" Din asked, almost incredulous. "Are you sure?"

Luke looked away, grabbing his mug and Grogu's cup of juice. Leia would cackle when she heard about this. "Din, while I appreciate you wanting to make sure I'm ok with this, when I say yes to something I mean it," he responded, taking the drinks to the table and giving Grogu his. As expected, the child was staring at them confusedly. "You comfort me too." He sipped from his mug, trying to cover up his blush and keep his voice neutral. "Plus, bed-sharing isn't that big of a deal."

Din plated their breakfasts before looking at Luke again. "Ok, vor entye, riye. "

As predicted, Leia was giggling, snorting, and guffawing. 

"It's not that funny," Luke sighed, glad he'd gone to one of the student dormitories he was finishing up. He might die of embarrassment if Din heard any of this.

"Oh no, it definitely is!" Leia shook her head, snorting loudly. "I'm glad you finally realized it though! Pretty sure you've been in love with him for months! It only took sleeping with him to realize it!"

"I'll have you know, I realized it on our last call a few weeks ago! And I was sleeping NEXT to him, your phrasing it dirty on purpose!" Luke groaned. Leia quacked out another peel of laughter. "Yeah, yeah, yuk it up."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. This is very serious," she took a deep breath. "Ok, so, you are in love with the Mand'alor," Luke covered his face. "Who also happens to be the father of your first student," He slumped, "And is your best friend who you are also lying to right now."

Luke lamented a long moan of frustration and embarrassment.

"Least you got good taste," Leia shrugged, sipping from her tea. Luke wondered if it was ginger root, she'd been complaining of nausea recently.

"Is that ginger tea?" Luke asked.

"Don't change the subject," his sister scolded, Luke's frown returned, growing in its deepness. "So, how is 'bedsharing'?"

Luke nearly melted. 'Fantastic.' He thought. It'd only been a couple of nights and yet they started making a routine. At night, he and Din would crawl into bed and cuddle, sometimes talking, until they both fell asleep. Having him there, permeating with happiness and affection, he worked as an anchor of sorts from the Force. 

He knew Din wasn't a panacea; he couldn't cure his trauma or keep away bad dreams, nor could Luke do that for him. And neither wanted that responsibility to fall on the other. But, there was something about being together that brought some semblance of tranquility to each other. Din hugging him, combing through his hair with his fingers, holding his hand in place as an affirmation that he wanted to be touched too... Luke just felt reassured. He felt loved.

And that was dangerous.

"Dangerously well," Luke sighed. "I think I'm letting myself... I don't know, the only way I can describe it is I'm oyacyir o'r vercopa" Luke mumbled. 

"Huh?" Leia tilted her head, pausing mid-sip.

Luke groaned, covering his red face. "Its a Mando'a saying! I don't know how to describe it!"

"Papi Mando is teaching you Mando'a?" Leia teased.

" Ugh- Leia!"

"Oh, stop, I'm teasing, what does the saying mean?"

He sighed heavily. "It means... a waking dream. Living a fake like- fantasy! That's it! Living in a fantasy!" He ruffled his own hair to relieve the tension in his mind. The stress pulsated through it and down his spine, out through all his scarred nerve endings. Nueropathy was a bitch period, but worse with stress. He took a large calming breath, letting the Force alleviate him. "A fantasy where Din likes me back and I'm working up the nerve to ask him out and I'm not keeping any secrets from him," Luke sighed.

Leia's lips flattened. "Well... not to get your hopes up, but I don't think normal friends call each other pet names. And raise a kid together. And play flirt until each other is blushing and stammering. And share a bed. I mean I'm not doing that with any of my friends, you know who I am doing that with? My husband."

"Well, it doesn't matter, I'm still keeping his powers from him," Luke sighed.

Leia nodded. "You are. And every time you've gone to tell him you flaked out." Luke sighed at her too-true jab. She wasn't wrong. "Maybe we can rehearse some ways to break the news to him?"

Luke perked up at that. "Yeah! Yeah, that'd be great! Thank you!" 

"It's what I do. Professional problem solver," Leia smiled. She cringed, rubbing at her throat. "Except with sickness."

"Maybe you should go to the doctor?"

"I'm not going to the doctor over some slight vomiting and stomach aches, Luke. Now come on, let's figure out how you're going to tell Daddy Djarin he's a magician."

Luke cringed in disgust. "You sound like Han."

Leia merely chortled, then they began rehearsing.

Din sat with Grogu, the table projecting the galaxy divided into its sectors. It was Centaxday, so he was teaching astrography. And since it was winter, they did indoor lessons in the first half of the day. 

While it was after lunch, Luke asked Din to teach Grogu while he went and grabbed something. Obviously, he couldn't pass that up, he needed Grogu to learn where to go if he was in trouble. And also to know the galaxy overall. If he knew where to go, he'd never be lost.

"Ok, where's Tatooine?" Din asked.

Grogu looked across the map, humming adorably. He gasped, pointing to Geonosis, before he could correct, Grogu corrected himself, changing his choice to Tatooine. 

"Good job!" Din praised, "Now, where's Yavin?"

Grogu didn't hesitate, easily pointing it out.

"Guess that one is too easy for you now, huh?" Din asked, Grogu nodded smiling at him confidently. "Ok, let's get hard, where's Mandallia?"

Grogu's ears lowered slowly. He turned back to the map with great hesitation. Din grunted as he moved the map further from the Mandalore sector. Grogu went back, going in the right direction. This trigged a game of hot and cold through grunts to get Grogu to pick correctly. 

His son, finally, pointed to Mandallia. 

"Good job, now can you tell me what this planet is?" Din asked, pointing to a planet in the far right corner of the sector. Grogu tilted his head before cooing loudly.

"He said Nevarro," Luke translated, bringing in something small. "Was that right?"

Din smiled wide, nodding proudly. "Good job, Grogu, I think that's enough astrography for today."

Grogu bounced confidently, he jumped down from his lap and quickly ran to Luke. 

"Uh oh, think he figured out what I have planned," his riye chuckled. Din looked up curiously. Luke presented a small lightsaber hilt. Din 'ah' ed in recognition, he'd wondered when Grogu would finally start using a real saber. He'd been practicing forms with the wooden saber for months.

Luke knelt "Today we're going to learn how to deflect bolts," he explained, Grogu nodded excitedly, reaching out for the saber. "I'll give you the saber when we go outside, ok? And even though its on a low setting, I want you to treat this as if it is a real saber, got it?"

Grogu bounced eagerly, running to the door. Din stood, chuffing a laugh, "I think he's ready to go." 

Luke snorted, "Understatement."

The three of them made their way up the hill, to the tree next to the small pond Grogu loved, even with its newfound lack of frogs due to the season's cold chill. 

Din leaned against the side of the tree watching as Luke prepped everything. As soon as Grogu had his saber, Luke released a small robotic ball. It zipped around the area as Luke stepped back slowly, eventually leaning against the tree next to Din, his shoulder pressing into his chest.

He was getting used to the frequent affection Luke showered him with, though it'd probably never fully lose its effect on him. Hell, the quick delicate forehead touches he kept giving him might make him explode. They weren't exactly kelbade kisses, but it still flustered him.

The ball shot a bolt and Grogu failed to block it. He squeaked in shock as the bolt grazed him. It would not leave any marks but probably still had some kind of impact. He looked back at Luke.

"Try again" Luke urged. The boy's large ears drooped. He turned back. While he was able to block the first bolt, he completely missed the second due to how sedentary he was. Once again he looked back, now looking to Din.

"Don't look at me, focus on the ball," Din corrected. Grogu looked frustrated.

"You gotta move around buddy," Luke suggested. 

"Yeah. What good is learning all those Jedi moves if you don't use them in battle?" Din added.

Grogu seemed to finally understand, nodding quickly as he let out a quiet 'ah' of understanding. With this third attempt, he was able to deflect two bolts and dodge the third, getting struck by the fourth. He didn't look back at them though, he corrected himself and continued.

"Now he's got it. Kid's a fast learner," Din mumbled.

"Well he's got some pretty great teachers" Luke smirked. Din only snorted in response. "So, are you ready for your meeting on Zhellday?"

Din groaned openly, making his burc'ya snicker amusedly. He'd done his best in trying to forget about that meeting, but given it was now two days away, he needed to start planning on what he was going to say to the Quelii sector. "I guess so. I have the clan leads of Clan Wren and Fierce helping me. Hoping that the Quelii sector's sovereign is bearable to work with."

"I hope that for you too, sure you'll just charm her anyway," Luke joked. Din scoffed at him. "Fierce, that's the buir of the two Mandalorians you mentioned, right? The togruta and the zabrak?"

"Yes, they're all in Clan Stokax."

"Am I sensing nepotism from the great, Din Djarin?" Luke gasped dramatically, all in a tease.

"Obviously. I'm not going to work with unbearable people in a job I already hate," Din smirked as Luke laughed uproariously. He only continued when he settled enough to listen. "I think it's partly nepotism, but also because he's a teacher. He's intelligent, well traveled and he speaks very even tonely. He comes from Dathomir, has lived a rougher life, and doesn't hold any noble blood. He's also the riduur of a farmer."

Luke nodded, smirking widely though he didn't speak. He was always such a good listener. Din continued. "He's a person of the average day people. Which is the opposite of Sabine. Being a clan lead is one thing, but she's a clan lead House Vizsla- yes, the same Vizsla as Tarre and the shebs'palon who bullied me and visited the meeting" he cut himself off upon seeing Luke's confused expression. "Their family history is very complicated."

"I get that," Luke chuffed.

"I'm sure you do," Din snorted, giggling a bit harder when Luke lightly shoved him. "Sabine was also a leader in the rebellion, and once held the Darksaber, but she gave it to Bo-Katan, and we know how that went," He gave pause, trying to perfectly word his reasoning. "She represents the nobility, somewhat understands what I'm going through with the saber, and has experience dealing with other people. She also is unafraid to speak up. I think she and Fierce could make a great duo with advising me on what to do."

When he looked at his friend for his opinion, he only saw prideful admiration. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing, just... I'm proud of you, you really thought through that decision so intricately."

"Or I just defended my bias really well."

"Well, I think a bit of nepotism with dealing with the Mandalorians is ok. Or anyone for that matter- sometimes nepotism works. Plus, it's not like you actually know Fierce, you've met him once. I think I'd only judge you if you gave Boba power," Luke shrugged.

"Last thing Boba needs is more people relying on him to do stuff. He might murder someone just to get out of it," Din scoffed. "Honestly I've considered it."

Luke snorted. "Did anything else go well at that meeting?"

Din sat up, he'd forgotten about Cashla entirely. "Yes actually, do you remember the togruta girl I told you about?" He awaited a nod before continuing, "Well, I got to talk to her. She accepted your offer to be her teacher."

Luke's jaw dropped. "You're serious?"

"Course, I wouldn't tease you like that."

His face broke into the widest of grins. He eagerly hugged Din, tucking his head under his chin as he fired repeated 'thank you's out rapidly. Din only patted his back, smiling more than Luke would ever know. 

His riye pulled back. "Do you know when she'll be here?"

"Soon, but maybe a bit later then you hope," Din answered easily. "Mandalorians are very family oriented, I think she- while willing to let go- is still taking time with her clan." 

Luke nodded. "I understand that. I think anyone would do that, Mandalorian or not."

Din nodded, remembering Tooka. He couldn't help but wonder what he would do, losing someone so instrumental in his life. He hoped that the man wouldn't be too mad at him for taking his sister. In the few conversation they had since the meeting, Fierce hadn't mentioned Tooka acting bitter, though that's not exactly been a topic they discussed deeply. 

He had been messaging Fierce and Sabine about the meeting with Leia, something quickly approaching now. It was only three days away. 

"Has she... when you met her again, did she mention anything? About your mind and aura?" Luke asked. 

He could only tilt his head at that. "She did actually. Why?"

"Oh, I just uh... I wanted to know if she could sense it. Yours is... it's powerful. Kinda hard to not sense."

Din didn't know that, maybe he shouldn't have scolded her. "I forgot that you guys just saw things without trying. She mentioned that my mind was... 'darker than before,' and..." he thought back. "She said something like 'what is that?' and then tried to investigate, but I blocked her out and scolded her. I think she sensed the voices."

Luke nodded. "The darkness did change when you let it in, but it's still just sitting in your mind and aura. It's similar to the rough side of a sponge, noticeable but not all-encompassing, and definitely different from you" he explained. He suddenly smiled softly "I don't know if I ever told you but, Grogu named it 'the Shadow.'"

"It doesn't... scare him, does it?" Din asked. Luke shook his head, any spiraling thoughts he had became snuffed out. 

"No, he's a brave boy. He only worries about you and your health," Luke's smile widened, turning prideful. "Clearly, he's got nothing to worry about! Not only can you block people out with your mental walls but you've learned to be quick with the action! You should be very proud of that, I know I am." 

Din chuffed, looking away as he cleared his throat. Only Luke could get him flushing like this. He didn't even need to bask in it anymore, he just moved on as if it was nothing. Which, it very much was not. It was things he held very dearly.

"I'm sorry Cashla explored. Grogu was a little adventurer too before I corrected him, I think it's just a temptation they can't resist. I think restraint will be a lesson I'll have to highlight with both of them." 

Din nodded, hesitating on asking the next part. He knew he had to. "She uh... she mentioned my mind was 'open,'  so much so that she forgot that it wasn't an invitation," he watched as Luke's face paled a bit. Feeling discomfort wade in as he stepped back creating space between them. "Do you know what she meant by that?"

"Oh...uh, yeah... I should have told you about that sooner, I'm sorry," Luke hesitantly said, looking down now and refusing to meet his eyes. "Your mind is more open than most, in fact, it's more than that. It wants a connection, it's-... it's welcoming."

'Open-minded' and 'welcoming.'  Din remembered Tarre mentioning that exactly... but he thought it was only for the souls of the saber. 

'Your jetii is keeping secrets,'  the Jedi Mand'alor hissed. 

No. Not purposely, Luke wasn't like that... right? He stared at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was nervous it might freak you out." He replied, looking up at Din shamefully.

Din searched his face, seeing his discomfort and shame heighten with every second that dragged on. "I don't like that."

Luke looked back at him nervously, though he kept his arms crossed over his chest, his hands gripped his sleeves until his knuckles bulged out so much they where white, and his chest didn't move with his breaths like normal. As if he was nervous to even breathe. "I'm sorry."

As the silence dragged on, he felt the voices awaken with murmurs of inquiries to each other, then turning their inquisitiveness on him. He felt Tarre wriggle angrily, trying to make him react a certain way. He wanted him to get mad. 

A question caught in his throat. An accusation that he wanted to throw out but refused to. 'What aren't you telling me?'

'Ask it!'  Tarre demanded.

The voices stirred with a newfound sense of vigor. There was a migraine building in his mind as anxiety and anger trickled in. Emotions 'the Shadow'  was trying its best to make bigger, to flare them up to a point that was all he felt.

No. If Luke had something to tell him, he would have done so already. He already knew his mind was welcoming. He muffled the voices and Tarre as they tried to argue, pushing them to a back corner of his mind and building the walls up. He wouldn't listen to them. 

He looked away from Luke, back to Grogu. The kid had moved around a lot. He was far from his original standing place the ball going a bit faster with its bolts now. 

After almost a minute, Grogu was finally hit. He barely made a sound, only correcting himself before continuing once again. 

After reciting daily remembrance with Grogu, Din made his way to finish up his nightly routine, having already gotten into his sleepwear which was only a tank top and shorts. He'd grown quite fond of his and Luke's sleeping arrangement, though ever since their talk from earlier their energy had been off. They'd barely spoken and the room held a growing tensity that was hard to ignore. 

He made his rounds, ensuring all the lights in the cabin were off, and everything was picked up. Grogu had grown the nasty habit of leaving things out on the floor.

He rapped his knuckles lightly on Luke's door. Silence followed, then a quiet "You can come in, Din" was spoken from inside the room.

Hesitantly, he entered, seeing Luke sitting in bed with a book he'd been reading for the past two days. Something about 'The Art of Lightsabers and How They are Built' or something similar, maybe. The book was written in Twi'leki which he didn't know very well.

Din tried not to let anything pause in the room, to not let the tense awkwardness hang there in any way. He got into the left side- which had been wordlessly designated as his- and turned his back to Luke, trying to cover it up as if he was turning from the light.

The silence dragged on, all he could hear were the bugs singing the songs of their people outside and the droning of the air cooler. He wished Luke would just go to bed. That they could sleep off this awkwardness and not talk about it. He was willing to let it go if Luke let him. He trust that if he needed to know, he would have known by now.

They could just sleep it off.

He heard a soft yawn. After a long pause, the book shut and was quietly placed on the bedside table. There came a click, and with it, the light left the room. The sound of Luke's shuffles behind him covered any silence, it seemed he- thankfully- had settled on going to bed too.

Din felt something close to his back, but not quite touching. He inched toward it, his back meeting Luke's. With the touch, he couldn't help but sigh a bit in relief, hearing it being echoed from Luke's side of the bed. Neither of them dared to push this comfort further. 

This was just a fluke. A weird little dip in their momentum but it would be fine.

Din sent off the last message to Fierce and Sabine. They'd all be there at noon for the meeting with the Quelii sector sovereign and her advisors. Upon Bo-Katan's insistence, he picked guards. He didn't follow her suggestions of taking Axe and Koska- both because he didn't like them and didn't trust them- but instead the Stokax siblings. Call him biased all you want, he knew they wouldn't start anything. Maybe. Hopefully.

Honestly, he couldn't trust that anyone wouldn't start anything. Not even himself, but he'd try his best to be well-behaved.

He'd spent any free time he had these past few days researching the Quelii sector's history. The sector was still run by the Drackmarians, though the sector was still a bit of a mess. It was great economically, and a limited monarchy with a democratic form of government but it had extraordinarily high crime rates.

He wouldn't be mentioning that.

What mattered is that they never moved into the Mandalore sector. They had no property or laws placed over any government. Maybe that would make things easier for him.

Red beeped at him from outside the N-1. "[We should leave soon.]" 

"I know, I know. You say your goodbyes?" At his beep of affirmation, Din continued. "Alright, I'll go do the same, you get settled in your seat."

Din left the N-1 as Red got in. He made his way to the dojo Luke had made. He opened the door, walking in to give his chaste goodbye. No reason to drag it out, he'd only be gone for the day. 

Luke halted in his stance as he did so, straightening and flicking off his saber. Grogu flicked off his saber as well, raising his arms in demand of attention. As always, Din obliged him, crouching to lift him gently. The boy hugged him, rubbing his face into the ruffles of the cape gathered at his neck. "I'll be back later tonight ok?" He promised.

Grogu only gave out a disgruntled coo.

"He said 'ok' but he said it with attitude," Luke translated, chuckling a bit.

"I'd expect nothing more of him."

Silence entered the room, tugging a line of tension taut. Din was good at avoiding things, the Empire, other bounty hunters, and his Mand'alor responsibilities for a little while there. He could avoid this too. Whatever funk he and Luke were in would pass. He was just looking too far into things.

"Din, I..." Luke took a breath, he brought his hand to Din's shoulder, palming his pauldron. "Good luck. I hope she's nice, or at least palatable."

He nodded, putting his hand over Luke's. "Either way, still get to come home to you."

What would once make Luke blush and chuckle, only made him smile sadly now, just for a few seconds before it became more happy, though it wasn't genuine. What had he done to make his friend so uncomfortable with him?

"I'll be waiting, however long you take," he swore softly. Din could only nod, he swallowed hard. 

"Are we... ok?" He asked. Luke stared at him owlishly.

"Yeah, yes, I think so... aren't we?" He asked.

"I want to be, I'm not upset with you. I just... it feels awkward, for some reason. Did I do something?"

"No! No, you" Luke brought his hands to the indents of his helmet. "You haven't done anything, I've been weird 'cause I've been avoiding something and... and I should just address it." His hands fell with his eyes, away from Din. "I don't want to distract you, you have a big meeting today and that should be your focus. Depending on how your meeting goes- and how tired you are by the end of it- we can talk about it tonight or tomorrow night. I promise. And once again, it's nothing you did."

Din sighed in relief, still not feeling great about this 'talk'. "Ok, thank you for telling me." He passed Grogu off to him.

"Thank you for listening."

He grasped the outside of Luke's biceps, feeling apprehensive affection for him as the man situated Grogu into a comfortable hold. "Ret', riye" he whispered.

Luke looked at him with a serene smile, his eyes warm and soothing. He ran his hand through the pelt of the wampa arm that circled his neck before giving Din's chest a light shove. "Travel well, Mand'alor."

He gave a chuff of laughter. Finally comfortable with leaving, he turned and walked out of the training room.

His starfighter landed smoothly on the platform. Red warbled happily, jumping from his seat. Din stood once the canopy of the cockpit opened, swinging his legs over the edge and stepping out onto the hanger floor.

Red's vent huffed out air as he recalibrated into a mobile state. He rolled around in a circle, testing his mechanics. 

"Are you ok?" Din asked, seeing the droid spin a bit more than usual.

"[One of my wheels is off-kilter, it's toeing out.]" Red grumbled. He kneeled next to his droid.

"Well... how do I fix it?"

"[Luke will fix it when we get home, it's simple, just unscrew, realigning it, then screw it back.]"

"I can take care of it." He paused, looking the droid over. "Do you want me to... I don't know, pick you up and put you on a table or on the floor, or-"

"[I weigh 235 pounds.]"

"And?" Din tilted his head. "I'm not carrying you across the desert, I'm setting you on your back to fix your wheel."

Red hummed negatively. "[No, we can just wait until we get home. Luke can take care of it-]" The droid was cut off by his own squealing as Din lifted him and set him gently on his back. He looked at the droids wheels on each of his three legs, finding it to be his left one. While only one wheel needed to be realigned, all of the wheels could use a replacement.

He pulled out his pocket tool from the small bag on his utility belt. 

While working quickly, he tried to be careful. Not that Red could feel anything, but it was more a respect thing. When the wheel looked right, he packed up his tool lifting Red back into a vertical position. Once again, he circled, testing his wheel's positioning.

"[Thank you.]"

"Course. When I get the money, I'll get you new wheels. Some real strong and sturdy ones so Yavin and Mandallia can't tear them up quick," Din stated, patting Red's cylindrical head as he stood.

"[I would appreciate that.]"

He trodded along with him, holding the door for the droid before following close behind. The senate building was as glamorous as it was last time, and no less intimidating. Loud and filled with political figures in suits and fancy clothing. 

Thankfully, his Mandalorians had already arrived and were waiting in a corner of the entranceway for him. He hadn't noticed their ships in the hanger bay, though he wasn't exactly looking. All of them looked great, their armor freshly polished, and wore clean, untorn capes. All of them remained with their helmets on.

"Mand'alor," The group harmonized. They all dipped their heads respectfully. He dipped his in return.

"Thank you for coming." He looked to Sabine and then Fierce so they knew he was now addressing them "I have been warned that the people we are meeting are 'hard to get along with.' I am asking you both to be patient and not let these people get under your skin." He then looked to Tooka and Cashla "And you two aren't to speak, period."

The siblings nodded obediently. 

"I know we are bartering for Mandallia, but I'm curious so I must ask. Does the Quelii sector own the entire Mandalore sector?" Sabine asked.

"Yes, though they don't really seem to want to hold any governmental power over it. Senator Organa has informed me that they only tax a few planets, not seeing any worth in the others. Including Mandallia."

"So what are we giving up for Mandallia?" Fierce tilted his head, squinting at Din. "Not much I hope, they aren't even using it."

"Doesn't matter, they will try to push to see how much we are willing to give up for it," Sabine shook her head. "I say we settle for an allyship with trade and a plan to pay off whatever we settle on paying with the lowest interest rate possible."

Din nodded. Leaving as little debt as possible for the next generation was the only way they could ensure their people's survival. Red beeped at him. He projected a holoscan of information on Mandallia. 

"[Mandallia's current worth is 656 billion Republic credits. With no Republic or Empire settlements. Having only housed the Mandallian giants and 500 years ago the last Mandalorian citadel was abandoned]" Red rambled.

Din stared at his droid. "When did you learn this?"

"[With you, I downloaded all the information surrounding Mandallia so we didn't forget anything.]" He turned back to the group at large. "[I suggest offering 675 billion for the planet with an interest rate of 10%, and settling for- at the very most- 750 billion with an interest rate of 5%.]"

"I can agree to that." Sabine shrugged, and Fierce nodded in agreement as well. 

"You should send the offer to Korkie and Bo-Katan Kryze. It'll soothe both of their egos, I know they both left the last meeting quite wounded," Fierce suggested.

"Good idea," Din huffed, it was best to stay on the Kryze's good side. He brought up his vambrace, sending a copy-pasted message to both of them, updating on everything and adding a  'what do you think?'  Not to genuinely get their opinions, but to ensure feelings and egos were tended to. 

Both replied instantly, as if they were awaiting his message. Kryze gave a short message of approval, stressing that Din should push to get the lowest offer possible and thanking him for the update.

Bo-Katan on the other hand had a very long-winded message. While she also approved the deal, she gave a few different variations of the exact amount he should offer, none going over 700 billion and all keeping the interest rate under 10%. She did have one great suggestion, that they offer goods and services that the Mandalorians could provide. Such as personal escorts and guards for the sovereign and her democratic government. With the crime rate what it was, that could work.

He exited his messages when feeling someone looking at him, that someone was approaching. He turned to the door at the same time Cashla did, watching as Leia rounded a corner, and entered the entranceway. 

She wore a black, flowing dress, with curled metal at the top. It spanned across her collarbones, jumping up to collar her neck. Her shoulders bore bejeweled adornments that almost looked like pauldrons- if pauldrons were given useless patterns and made with thin metals- and climbing down her arm was metallic painted lace sleeves, mocking chainmail. Even her brown boots somehow looked both well-worn and fancy. What he liked best was the hood, which obscured her face if you weren't looking at her head-on.

She was paying tribute to him; to the Mandalorians as a whole. Showing her silent but very observable support. 

She found them easily and made her way straight to Din with a polite grin. "Mand'alor," she greeted, curtseying to him.

'Right, keep it professional.'  "Senator Organa," he bowed to her. As he stood he couldn't help but look over her armored dress again. It was truly shocking how supportive she was of people she hardly even knew. "You look magnificent."

"Thank you, I like the cape. Makes you look like quite the formidable leader."

"Hah, well, can't take the credit. It was a gift."

"Well, whoever got you that knows how to balance an outfit. You look dashing and dangerous." 

"Thank you. If I ever splurge on a fancier kute or jewelry I'll either go to her or you since you seem to be a great judge too," he said gesturing to her outfit. "The support is appreciated." 

"I'm glad." Leia turned to the rest of his group. “Who are the fellow members in your council so I may greet and introduce them properly?” 

"Right, excuse my impoliteness. These are my advisors, Sabine Wren, leader of Clan Wren, and Fierce Stokax, leader of Clan Stokax," he recited. Exactly as he had practiced in the N-1 a thousand times over.

"I thought that was you Sabine," Leia beamed. "I see you painted your armor again."

"I am an artist, Senator, I'm always itching to paint something" Sabine replied, she removed her helmet to flash Leia a cocky comfortable grin.

"Well, it looks fantastic," She turned to Fierce. Despite his helmet concealing his face, Din saw the man's discomfort in his stiff body, how straight he stood. He bowed, deep and politely. 

"Senator Organa," He greeted, his voice devoid of any emotion. Not disrespectful, just more closed off. To someone who hadn’t had a conversation with him before he’d seem professional, but it held discomfort. "My student love hearing the stories of the battles you led in the Rebellion."

"You're a teacher?" She asked, smiling politely. Fierce nodded curtly. "Well, I'm honored to be in your history lessons then. Even more so to be a fan favorite."

He nodded again, remaining silent. Leia turned to Cashla, staring at her for a second. Slowly her head tilted with a squint. At this, Fierce took in a breath, cutting her off before she could ask anything. "Is the Quelii sector here?"

Luckily, Leia was fluid, taking his curtness in stride. "Yes, how rude of me to keep you all waiting. We should join them, follow me."

As they walked, Din nudged Fierce, glaring at him. The zabrak man merely stared back, not ashamed of his actions in the slightest.

He huffed, catching up to walk side-by-side with Leia. "The two other Mandalorians are my guards." He needed to handle this how Luke would. Charming and joking. “Hand-selected as the only ones who I can trust to not start shit.

She snorted, looking at him as they continued to walk the hall. "They are the children of Advisor Stokax, correct?" He realized she must have noticed their matching clan signets. He confirmed it with a nod. "And, the girl..."

"I'm aware. She is to be my friend's apprentice," Din stated cryptically. Leia looked at him a bit shocked before smiling.

"Good. He needs more students." She smiled at him. "Speaking of your friend, how are you two?"

Din wavered, Leia must know what's wrong with Luke to be asking this. "It's been... awkward recently. He's been shut off and quiet, but we're talking when I get home so..." He looked at Leia. "He said I haven't done anything but is his sudden reserved nature because of me?"

She hesitated. "I'll answer this after the meeting, ok?" While he didn't want to, cautiously, he nodded. Leia picked up the pace, after turning a corner she rounded on the group. "Here we are, they're already in there waiting for us." 

Din went to open the door for her, only to find Tooka had already done so. 

"After you, Senator," he urged.

Leia smiled "Thank you..." she paused, waiting for him to introduce himself.

"Tooka. Tooka Stokax." 

Did he lower his voice? Why would he do that?

"Tooka. Thank you." She entered the room with grace. Din rushed in after her, trying his best to ignore Cashla whisper-calling Tooka names foul enough to make spice runners blush.

The meeting room held a long table that spanned from wall to wall with several chairs lining both sides. At it sat two humans, in between them sat a tall drackmarian woman, and behind them stood many guards. He'd say at least eight but maybe twelve at most. 

The humans at the table were wearing gray and black suits while the drackmarian- who had to be the sovereign- wore a black bow tie and a matte blue-green suit that contrasted her orange scales freckled with shades of reds. Her spines were an off-color white, long, and sharp, their edge glinting like the edge of a knife. A gas mask covered her snout, the straps crossing her head to hold it snuggly in place. If he remembered correctly, drackmarians breathed methane, so that made sense. 

They all stood as they noticed the incoming party. As she stood, Din had to look up, the drackmarian woman towering over him, having to be quite a bit over two meters tall.

"Sovereign Korogea, this is the Mand'alor," Leia introduced, gesturing to Din.

“It's good to meet you,” she greeted, her gas mask stretching with her jaw movements as she spoke. Her voice was deep and sultry in a beguiling way. She looked them over then stared at Fierce and Tooka specifically. “What a diverse group. Are you both Dathomirian zabraks?”

Fierce hesitated before answering. "Yes."

Korogea smiled falsely, it was far more menacing than Luke’s fake smile. “I didn’t know your people survived the Empire.” She said.

“I escaped when I was a teenager, many years before they took over Dathomir and executed my people. Didn’t much like it there anyway.”

“Can’t blame you, given how they treated the men there and all.” She turned back to Din. “It’s good to see people and cultures persevere through the oppressive dictatorship that was the Empire. Though I should expect it from Mandalorians. No one's been able to kill your lot."

Din crafted a quick reply from facts he had learned in research and tried to redirect this meeting to the point. “We are happy to see you too. The Drackmarians were among the few to give Mandalorians a run for their money as the best soldiers of our galaxy. Along with the Mandallian Giants, of course.”

She smiled toothily, it being authentic this time. “A charmer and smooth transitioner, I see.” Korogea sat, her advisors following soon after. "Straight down to business, then?"

“I would hate to waste your time.” Din took a seat in the chair across from her, Sabine and Fierce flanking him while the Stokax siblings remained standing.

“Well, we’ll see if that’s true by the end of this meeting won’t we?” She hummed. She held her head in her hand, getting eye level with Din with a cheeky smirk. He couldn’t tell if it was meant playfully or disrespectfully. He could pick up sarcasm easily, passive aggression was different; he was awful at picking that up.

How fun this would be.

He sat taller in his seat. He told a shaved-down version of how the Mandalorians have come back together, everything they needed to know. Then brought up the Quelii sector, “After having the Empire removed, and being renamed, the Quelii sector has bounced back a lot easier than other sectors-“

“So you think that means you deserve handouts?” The human girl next to Korogea hissed.

He saw Sabine and Fierce straighten at the woman's harshness. This would be more of a battle of words than a calm conversation. “Believe me, if I wanted handouts I wouldn’t have brought in the New Republic. This is a deal.” Din replied curtly. 

He carried on, trying to think through everything thoroughly before saying it. “You’ve bounced back more painlessly. So while we will be paying off a mortgage to you, we can also offer goods and services that could be used as a way to help pay off our debt, if you're interested.” Korogea looked curious, she nodded as her human advisers scoffed. “So, just so I know, what do you use Mandallia for currently?”

“Well, we actually-“ Korogea tried to say but her male advisor held up a hand, cutting her off. She rolled her golden reptilian eyes, taking a deep huff of methane from her mask as her chin fell into her hand. Bored.

“Our own personal uses. Now, is Mandallia the only planet you’re interested in? Or are you wanting the whole Mandalore system?” The man asked snidely.

“That isn’t what we are here to discuss,” Sabine answered for him. “For people who are so concerned about ‘not wasting time’ you sure do know how to derail a conversation.”

"Sabine," Din scolded. She stared back at him in shock before crossing her arms and sitting back in her chair.

“I’m just saying we should have all the information on the table,” The male advisor grumbled, refusing to meet Korogea's gaze. Clearly, he'd been chided as well.

“We are only interested in Mandallia right now. Mandalorians have many talented fighters who would make excellent guards and militarized escorts. With our new allyship, we hoped to establish long-standing trade with you as well,” Din explained, trying to keep any tinge of annoyance from entering his tone.

“We have our own guards and military. You’re not offering anything special! Mandallia is our planet, why should we sell it to you if you have nothing to offer?” The human woman asked with a sneer.

“If you weren’t willing to sell you shouldn’t have agreed to this, we can end this now.” Fierce sighed.

Korogea sat up, glaring daggers at her advisors. They quickly corrected themselves.

“Now hold on-” the human male said quickly. “We never said that, we just want you to offer something actually valuable.”

“Well, what do you want?” Sabine asked.

“To own the planet, have you live as tenants on our land. Any profits you make, whether from mercenary work or farming or whatever else you people do, we get 25%, on top of the mortgage for the planet.” The woman crossed her arms. Din nearly laughed. She was serious.

“That’s ridiculous!” Fierce argued.

“Then make a better offer! I’m sorry you empty-headed brutes can’t figure it out, but this is how politics works!” The woman yelled back.

“Mind your tongue!” Sabine hissed.

“You mind yours!” The man barked back.

As they fought Din took time to think. ‘If the Quelii sector was so defensive of Mandallia, why did they agree to this meeting? Blackmail?’  He eyed Leia who was unamused, but not surprised, sitting at the tables head sipping tea. ‘No, too good. She may be a politician but she was still good enough to be above blackmail.’ Then it occurred to him. Mandallia is something they’re willing to give up… what if they’re more willing than they appear and this is their way of pushing boundaries to get more than it's worth? It would explain why they want them to offer more. They wanted to make it seem precious.

A plan formed in his head. He saw Korogea sigh, bored. She looked to the balcony longingly. 

'Perfect,' He thought tuning back into the conversation

“-you come in here looking for handouts and are disrespectful?! How dare you!” The woman advisor hissed.

“It’s not a handout! This is clearly not some gracious act by you!” Fierce said, digging his fingers into the table. Leia stood trying to intervene, but her voice was inaudible over the yelling.

“Well of course not! All you offer is worthless things! Why would we ever want to be guarded by the ‘great warriors’ who fell to the Empire?! You won't get anyone else to agree to give you a planet with a government as flimsy and unorganized as yours!” The male advisor barked.

“That's enough!” Din said, making his voice boom demandingly. He stood quickly, the Quelii guards instantly palmed their weapons. The male human advisor stared up at him, shrinking back in his seat. “I think everyone here needs to take a few minutes to take a deep breath. Come back in here, and remember how to act professionally” he growled, staring down the advisors of the Quelii sector then at Fierce and Sabine. He'd apologize to them later. 

Sabine sighed but relaxed a little, leaning back in her chair. Fierce stood and walked off to a corner, Tooka and Cashla followed him. 

“I’m going to the balcony,” Korogea grumbled. She lifted her methane tank onto her back, slipping its straps onto her shoulders. Then she quickly made her way to the double doors.

Din watched her go, counted to ten then followed silently when her advisors were distracted. Sabine saw him and he gave her a nod. She nodded back; a mutual understanding was shared. She'd keep the Quelii sector advisors and guards distracted while he was with Korogea.

He closed the curtains but not the doors to the balcony. They were far enough to not be noticed or heard.

“Ah, was hoping to get away for some peace, too much to ask for I guess,” She sighed. “Come to barter in private then?”

“Course. I’m hoping our speaking will allow for a calmness that our advisors don’t appreciate. I did promise to not waste your time, did I not?”

She sighed, tail flicking in annoyance, but nodded. “Very well. Carry on.”

Din leaned on the stone railing looking up to her then out over the bustling city below. “Do your people even want Mandallia?” He didn’t look at her but he knew she was looking at him. Felt her looking at him, the air between them holding her suspicion but curiosity. “Cause it seems a sore spot for your advisors. As if they’re trying to protect it, yet this is a sale deal. Make it seem precious, but they’re willing to pass it up. Almost as if, inflating its value-“

“That’s a serious accusation,” she cut in sharply.

“Is it false?” Din asked. He finally glanced at her. She was very close, using her elongated neck to get in his face while she still stood over him, only bending at the hip in the slightest. It was domineering; an attempt to intimidate him. It definitely worked, but Din had a plan he wanted to stick to. He couldn't back down now. “Your advisors are offering outrageous payment plans, not even offering alternative ways for us to pay you all off, making us do all the work when you wanted to sell it. You're seeing how much you can sell it for. And by comparing us to mindless barbarians, your advisors seem to hope we'll get prideful and try to prove our status. It's a smart move if it wasn't clearer than water."

She stared at him, her slit pupils boring into him before she reluctantly sighed. She backed away, letting herself slump onto the balcony, her shoulders arching to hold her hanging head “I apologize about my advisors, they’re idiots but they’re the only ones I can trust right now.”

“I’m confused, I thought there was peace on your planet?” A slight lie, but playing dumb might earn him information on things he didn't know before.

She snorted at him. “There’s not been peace for years now. I’m barely in charge, which I would be fine with if my people weren't in the hands of monsters,” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her snout. 

“The rest of my 'democratic government’ is nothing but Empire supporters. Only the rich can afford to run campaigns for office, and in all our recent elections it was between outspoken Empire minions or quiet Empire supporters, or just... flat-out greedy drydaks. And the people chose their best options of the bunch." She shook her head. Each of her defined features was pinched with sadness and discomfort. "Years after managing to fight the Empire off, now I and my people fall to it.” 

"Could you not fix your election system? Help those who you think should run, ...run?"

"I can't touch my election system with a hundred-meter pole, especially not now. After we ran out Admiral Zsinj, the people fear control now more than ever, and if a person born into power starts messing with a system where the people have the power..."

"They see it as a threat. I see your predicament," Din hummed.

She lifted her head a little higher. “The worst part is my senators have brought in a crime syndicate, making deals with this- this heinous group who have cut out the tongues of those who have betrayed them,” She snarled out. Din tilted his head at that. He knew that syndicate, that was Crimson Dawn. "They’ve made my cities places of terror, paying off senators and mayors to look the other way with credits they don’t even need!" She put her head in her hands. 

“My people are frightened and are having to turn into criminals themselves just to try to get by. There is a grand schism in my economy between the rich and poor. Those who speak out against my senators- those who learn too much- disappear. My own family…” She swallowed hard, letting out a shaky, deep breath. That information clearly was too sore for her to share. 

“It doesn’t matter. You are correct though. We can’t even establish anything on Mandallia. The Giants were not interested in making an alliance. The workaround was to try and forcibly colonize the planet, but the Mandallians would simply decimate any establishment put there. They have canons and radio towers that track ships and refuse to let them enter, going as far as to shoot at us if we get too close. Their planet is untouched."

"I'm aware, I've done research." Din hummed, hearing Korogea snicker and mutter something in Drackmarian. Not that he cared to listen or decipher, a plan was falling into place in his mind. “The syndicate you're likely dealing with is most likely Crimson Dawn. I've dealt with one of their bases myself once with my guards.” He told. She side-eyed him with interest. 

“Mandalorians also have a history with the Mandallian giants, a long-standing alliance. We have well over 300 clans moving onto this planet, more than enough people to establish a strong city... but still leaving more than enough room for any citizens you might need to move there. I think that'd be a smart move, I mean, after all, they’d be under the protection of my people." 

Korogea turned to face him, now openly staring. He continued. "And we can help you, with whatever else you need. Whether it be, the Crimson Dawn or… other political problems.” He wasn't above assassination. He was still a bounty hunter at heart, after all. 

How proud Luke would be, to hear him making deals to save people he didn’t know and overthrowing the remaining government of the Empire. He might be upset by the offer of assassination services, but Din was sure he'd understand.

She gaped at him, chuckling under her breath. “Tempting. You have such clever thoughts in that tin head.” She smirked toothily, even through the gas mask he could see how sharp each fang was. “I could say you are under our rule. Make it seem like you were part of the Quelii sector and that would give you power in deciding who lives on Mandallia. You’d trade with us, maybe I could ask you to assign a few guards to my family and once you help me get my 'problems'  fixed, you and your people can have the entire Mandalore sector for all I care. All those planets are worthless to me anyway, a purchase by my senators to try and get a cash grab and it was all a loss. All I want is safety and security in my sector again.”

He felt his jaw drop. The entire Mandalore sector. "And how can I trust you'll stick to this deal?" He asked skeptically.

Korogea stared at him, her eyes softening. "Because you are my only hope at gaining peace," She replied in a pathetic croak. She pulled herself together. "You'll also have my people in your care, my family in your care; if you get suspicious, you can pull out that trump card."

Din couldn't refuse. This was a mutually beneficial deal. Plus, chances were if he didn't deal with Crimson Dawn now, he might have to deal with the consequences later when they had more power. Or worse, he'd shove the problem off onto whatever poor bastard took the Mand'alor title after him. 

“Then it’s a deal. When we go in there we'll agree to a contract that is believable and will fly under the radar of your government. We'll set up goods and services of military protection, we'll establish trade, and add in a clause that you can move people here and they would be under our protection. Along with a mortgage of 680 billion credits with an interest rate of, let's say 6%?"

"10%"

"I can do eight."

"That's good by me," Korogea nodded, smiling widely at him. "Thank you, I think I'll now, and forever on, be in support of Mand'alor the Gracious as your title."

Din rolled his eyes, only briefly. He couldn't help but still be proud of how surprisingly well this all worked out. "I’m glad I didn’t waste your time after all,” He remarked.

“Oh no, in fact, I can highlight this as a largely pleasurable experience” She hummed, almost a purr. She placed her clawed fingers under his chin, lifting it up, slowly. “I hope we keep this energy for our next meetings,” Her voice dropped a bit to harp on the sultriness of it.

‘Oh... no... uh oh.'  Din gulped, maybe he was being presumptuous. He took a step back. “I will.”

“Good” She smiled wide, “I like a man who can... keep up.” She used her thumb to try and push up his helmet a little, but it was on tight. He pushed her thumb away gently, taking another step back. “Helmet stays on then. Noted,” She snickered. Din felt wildly uncomfortable, it seemed he had lost grasp on the conversation. When had this turned to flirting? And why?

Someone cleared their throat. They both looked, finding Leia standing with the curtains closed behind her. 'Thank Manda, please help me,' he thought in relief. 

She looked at him with a nod. “We’re all calmed down in there. We’re… ready for you both.”

“Perfect. We just finalized the deal. Didn’t we, Mand’alor?” She hummed, flirtatious and teasing. Din held in a scoff. He took yet another step away, seeing her cheeky smirk only grow. He was hoping this was more about her liking making people uncomfortable, instead of actual flirting.

"Yes. We did.”

Korogea turned to him. "Thank you for listening, you are a very easy man to talk to." She walked past Leia and entered back into the meeting room.

“Mand’alor-"

"It's just us, you can call me Din, Leia."

"-Din. I’m going to have to ask how you convinced her... for record's sake.” She said.

He couldn't help but hesitate. He wanted to tell her, but he didn't know if she would be fond of this pact he and Korogea made. These senators Korogea wanted gone might be Leia's coworkers. She might not even know that Korogea is struggling with a crime syndicate. Regretfully, he decided to keep things as sparse as possible. “Well our meeting here is off the record, everything you need to know will be discussed inside” Din replied simply.

“…you didn’t use illicit methods, did you? Or… offer illicit services?”

Technically, she hadn't fully accepted his offer to assassinate her senators, only said it was tempting. "No illicit services were agreed to,” He said evenly. “I simply talked to her. She was happy to tell me of her hardships. I offered a solution.”

Leia paused before sighing, slowly nodding in understanding. “She told you of the crime syndicate.”

Good. He could tell her more now. “She did. I identified the group as a syndicate called Crimson Dawn due to the cruel, signature method of torture they use. I have already made enemies with them, I’m sure. My guards and I intercepted one of their bases, took it out, and called it into the Republic.”

Senator Organa’s eyes widened. “I remember hearing of that call. You did that?”

He nodded “It wasn’t hard," he shrugged off. “Since you obviously know Korogea well, I’m sure she can tell you our deal. It’s not my news to share, but when you go in there, you may see that the deal seems like we’re getting screwed over, I assure you, we aren’t.” Leia stared at him, her gaze held a contained curiosity. He stepped past her, holding back the curtain to gesture in. “After you, Senator.”

"Thank you."

Wrapping up the deal was rather painless. Korogea's advisors remained silent as Din and Korogea explained to Leia the terms of the deal- or rather, the terms of the deal they wanted the public to know. Sabine and Fierce kept quiet, looking at him confusedly every so often. 

As the meeting wrapped up, they all stood. Korogea reached out her talon-like hand, Din shook it.

"Great making your acquaintance, Mand'alor," she said.

"You can call me by clan, Clan Mudhorn."

She hummed. "I think that animal symbolizes you well."

As her advisors and guards left, he heard her murmur that she would stay to have a drink with Leia. Din frowned at that, he had planned to talk to her after the meeting. He supposed he could always wait his turn. This had lasted far shorter than he thought it would anyway.

He approached Leia quickly, pushing through the crowd of Quelii guards, "Do you mind if I stay until you're done with Korogea? I want to finish our discussion from earlier."

Leia nodded. "Of course, you can tour this senate building, there's plenty of things to see. I'll come find you when I'm done." 

He thanked her before leaving with his people and Red to the hanger bay. There was a mutual silent agreement shared, that they would reconvene after the meeting. Fierce let everyone into his ship, Din didn't speak until the door was closed.

"That wasn't the deal," he said quickly. He explained everything he and Korogea discussed. He told them why citizens of the Quelii sector would be moving to their city, about Crimson Dawn, what he agreed to, and most importantly, what the reward was.

"She can't be that generous, no one is that generous" Sabine murmured suspiciously.

"To be fair, we are agreeing to chase out a long-standing crime syndicate, that's one of the- if not the- most powerful crime syndicates in the galaxy, from her entire sector," Fierce huffed. "I think it's a pretty fair trade."

 Sabine sighed as she looked at Din. "You're sure she's not manipulating you?"

"Absolutely. She's sending her citizens towards us and requesting us to protect her family, if she betrays us, she'd be putting all of them at risk," Din reassured. 

Sabine seemed to settle at that, finally satisfied. Fierce shook his head "Korkie's not going to be happy that we're getting involved with this."

"Well, he'll just have to deal," Din sighed. "This is what we had to do, we don't have money; we never could have afforded what the advisors wanted. Plus, this way we have the upper hand."

"Should I stay here then?" Cashla asked.

"No," Din answered, Fierce and Tooka harmonizing with him, only with increased intensity.

"You're going," Fierce said definitively.

"You are not putting your life on hold for this," Tooka followed soon after, his hand landed on his sister's shoulder. "We'll live on without you here, I promise."

She bonked her head against her brothers in a rough kelbade kiss. "You won't, loser. You'll perish."

"Slana'pir," he cursed with a chuckle, shoving her away playfully.

"You love me!" 

"Nope."

"C'mon!"

The siblings continued their pointless bickering. Sabine took the chance to leave, waving to Din and Fierce as stepped out. Once she was out of earshot, Din turned to Cashla.

"Can I send you the coordinates to Luke's school?"

Cashla bounced a bit, "Yeah! When can I start?"

"I'm not sure. Sooner rather than later, but I'll just send you his comm code, that way you can ask him."

She froze up. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. You'll be his student, you'll need it anyway."

Cashla beamed, flapping her hands excitedly. "Thank you, Mand'alor Djarin! I'll never repay this debt!"

"I don't need repayment, and please, when we're not in a work setting just call me Din. That goes for all of you." She and Tooka nodded eagerly while Fierce just dipped his head. "I'll be staying here a bit longer. You three get home safe."

He opened the door, stepping out as it lowered into a ramp. Red followed close behind. As he reached the door of the hanger, he heard quick footsteps behind him. He turned seeing Fierce trotting up to him. 

"Almost forgot. I uh, know it's not much but thought your son would enjoy it," Fierce offered out a tiny plush lizard-like creature. "It's uh... it's a scyk. It's our clan's gift, accepting you as our Mand'alor."

Din tilted his head. They'd already given a gift, they were the firsts, letting him take the whole bounty for the Crimson Dawn Base. He took the stuffed toy, hearing the granular beads move as the large toy settled in his hand. It wasn't extravagant or a shiny weapon... but it highlighted a commonality between him and Fierce. Holding their children's happiness above all else, whether it be the short-term happiness of a new toy or special treat or long-term happiness... like letting them go. That's how he saw it at least, maybe Fierce just wanted to get Grogu a gift with no other true meaning behind it.

"Thank you."

Fierce nodded, he turned, walking back to the ship, Cashla was waiting at the door for him. He shoved her inside and even from this far away, he heard her loud laughter echo from the ship. Din watched the ship leave the hangar.

He examined the scyk plush, petting his thumb along its fabric. Over the soft imprints sewn into it to give it a soft bumpy texture, mocking scales. He tucked it into his satchel.

Walking down the halls of the Senate building, he noted how most of it was just office after office and meeting room after meeting room. Despite its stunning architecture, it was quiet and had a bland color palette. Same with most political buildings. Though, what made this one special was the center held a garden that spanned multiple stories.

"[I never understood this architecture choice. Why bring the outside indoors? I thought the indoors were to escape the wilderness and nature?]" Red questioned.

"Eh- something to do with mental stuff and not going crazy with living in a city," Din shrugged. He didn't really understand it too much either. He didn't see how having this could make you hate a job less. Might make you hate a job more if you were allergic, or if it was springtime. He couldn't imagine how stuffy with seasonal allergies this building got because of its central garden. 

Admittedly, the thought did make him giggle a little.

As he observed the plants on each floor, he saw a familiar, gold humanoid droid two stories down.

'Threepio?'  Din thought. The droid was glancing about suspiciously, checking to make sure no one was following him before quickly trotting off down a hallway. The voices stirred in interest for the first time in hours, murmuring for Din to follow him. He squinted, hauling himself over the railing of the story he was on.

"[Din? Where are you going?]"

"That droid looked suspicious. I'll be back in a little bit, stay here unless I comm you, ok?"

Red whined but didn't speak further. Din leaped off his story, using his jetpack only once to slow his fall as he tuck and rolled onto Threepio's floor. He prowled down the hall, keeping low and moving swiftly as he followed him down the winding corridor. 

He paused at a corner, seeing Threepio entering a code into a thick metal door. The door opened, then a second set of doors opened. Whatever was in this room needed to be protected... so what was Threepio doing accessing it?

Once Threepio entered, Din ran in after, nearly bowling the droid over as he did. The droid yelped but louder than that, a high pitch squeal of terror filled the room. 

Din looked around, finding a dark-haired human child staring at him in wide-eyed horror. He had to be five or six.

"Sorry!" He said to the kid. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I won't hurt you."

The boy swallowed, settling as he nodded in understanding.

"Master Mand'alor! Oh, I am so terribly sorry but you are not allowed here! Why did you follow me?!" Threepio shouted, almost scolding.

What he saw was a room that wasn't some room full of classified information, or some great threat to the Republic. It was a playroom; a child's playroom. There were mats on the floor, along with toys and blankets scattered everywhere. There was a real kitchen in the left corner, and adjacent to it was a toy recreation of it. Each wall held plenty of child-sized shelves, each littered with toys from all over the galaxy. 

While big enough to hold twenty to thirty kids, there was only one, the dark-haired boy, who kept staring at him. He couldn't blame him, he nearly scared the life out of the kid.

Din felt quite bad for being so suspicious of Threepio now. This room must be secret to protect the senator's children as they work. Or rather, a senator's child.

"I saw you glancing around in the halls and thought you were doing something suspicious" Din stated, rubbing his neck in shame at how quickly he jumped to conclusions.

"Oh, my deepest apologies! I must have looked very suspicious indeed!" Threepio exclaimed, dropping his poor attempt at a scold. "This is meant to be a hidden safe room. I try to make sure I'm not being followed when I go to it. I must be more observant from now on, but I'll try to look less suspicious!"

Din stood tall. "Well, I'll just be-" Before he could finish announcing his leave, there came a tiny clearing of someone's throat. He and Threepio looked down at the same time, seeing the boy standing next to them. 

Now that he was closer, Din noted quick things about him. His dark hair was cut into a long bob that dipped past his rounded face; each lock was unruly, curving it to stick out at every chance it got just as Luke's did. His cheeks were fluffed with baby fat and skin pale. 

None of that really stuck out to him. What did was the energy the kid had. He'd been around the system enough to recognize it by now; that strength that brought comfort. This child was Force-sensitive.

Explained the panic room. He'd build something like this for Grogu if he had the credits for it.

The child seemed to be studying him right back. As he tilted his head, his lips pursed curiously and he hit Din with a tense squint.

"Ah, well, Mand'alor, this room is off limits, we should leave-" Threepio tried to urge but the boy cut him off.

"He can stay," He said. Threepio didn't seem stunned by the boy's disregard for his discomfort. Instead, he simply turned, heading to the kitchen with a sigh. Din stared back at the boy who had dropped his squint, instead holding his head high and his hands behind him.

“You're the Mand'alor?”

“I am.” 

The boy nodded in interest. "Mama has talked a lot about you, she likes you. I like your cape.” He didn't ask before grabbing the edge of it and petting the wampa pelt. He looked back up at Din, then held out his hand, “I’m Ben.”

Din paused. So this was Leia's son. He shook the boy's hand. "You can call me Din." Despite his baby face, he now saw some of her features. His dark eyes, eye shape, dark hair, and most obvious of all, his powers. Should have been hint number one. Maybe he and Grogu could be friends. "It's nice to meet you. Your mother and uncle have told me about you."

He cringed. "Nothing embarrassing, right?" 

Din chuckled. "No, nothing embarrassing."

The boy squinted at him once more. "What's wrong with your mind?" He asked.

He nearly cursed, pushing up walls quickly. He thought for a second. "I'm a bit sick," he told, trying to keep it in child-friendly terms. He squatted, getting to the boy's level. "An ancient Mandalorian weapon put a curse on me, but your uncle is helping me get rid of it."

Ben hummed in adorable understanding. "I'm sorry. That must be hard."

"It is, but it's ok. I can handle it. I'm pretty tough."

He tilted his head to one side and then the other. Din felt the boy trying to find a way to see around his walls but he eventually gave up. "The shadow I saw, is that the curse?"

"Yes."

"But it's... alive?"

He cringed. Hopefully, Leia would forgive him for exposing her son to this. "In a way. The curse is that I now have Mandalorians in my mind. They all have passed but their souls got lost. They never made it to Manda, which is what Mandalorians call our afterlife. I must hold them until I can help them pass over properly." Din explained. Ben 'ah' ed and nodded. He had always believed children were smarter and far more understanding than people gave them credit for, especially after accepting Grogu into his life. 

"They must have seen your power," Ben stated.

Din tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if I was a ghost, I'd definitely want your mind to hold me, it's very nice-" Ben tried to explain.

"No, I mean, what power?"

Ben looked as confused as he felt. Then he gasped. "You don't know you have a power?!" 

Din felt his heart stop. '...what?'

"You don't!" Ben looked just giddy to know something someone else didn't. "Wow! Well, I don't know what it is but it's really cool! Your emotions are getting thrown out, and your thoughts are too! You also did this thing when sneaking in where I couldn't even sense you in the Force like mama taught me to! It's why you scared me! You were totally hidden! Then I saw you and you stopped hiding and I saw your mind and I knew you weren't going to hurt me! It was so cool!"

Din stared at this small child. His mouth felt dry, his heart hadn't yet restarted. He just felt frozen. Unable to move or say anything.

'I told you your jetii was hiding something,'  Tarre whispered.

He wanted to hide. Needed to. He did what Luke taught him- Manda he had so many things to ask him!- pushing his mental walls up all around him. Entirely enclosing his mind to the best of his ability.

"Wait- did I do something wrong?" Ben asked in a panic. "Please don't shut me out! I'm sorry!"

"No, no, you-" He took a breath. He needed to contain his anger. Contain his emotions, just for now. He could focus on Ben. "You didn't do anything wrong, Ben. I'm just... thinking. Thinking things I don't want you to hear."

The boy nodded. "Oh, ok. Mama does that sometimes. I really struggle to build my mental walls."

How powerful was this child? Maybe he saw something Luke didn't. That had to be it-

'Loyalty will get you nowhere with liars,'  Tarre growled.

'You shut up!'  Din hissed. He felt the Jedi-Mand'alor slink back to his corner. Silent but his words still ringing in his ears.

"Thank you for telling me about my power, Ben," Din said evenly. Ben only nodded, smiling so brightly and innocently. "I have a question though, can you answer it for me?"

"Maybe," he shrugged.

"Is Luke and your mom powerful enough to sense my power?" Din asked.

"Oh yeah, definitely! Uncle Luke is the strongest in the Force. But one day, I'll be stronger than him-!" Ben covered his mouth. "Uh oh..."

"What?"

"I wasn't supposed to tell you I have the Force... mama said I'm supposed to keep it secret," Ben murmured. He tugged at his hair nervously, tearing up. "She's gonna be so mad-"

"No no no, hey, it's ok," Din soothed. "Listen, your mom's right you should be careful and not tell people you have the Force, ok? But it's ok you told me, I'll keep it secret."

"Even from Uncle Luke?" Ben asked with a sniffle. Din sighed, 'This whole family just loves keeping secrets, huh?'

"If you don't want your uncle to know I won't tell him, ok?"

"Mama doesn't want him to know. I don't like keeping secrets. They make me feel icky." Ben sniffled, rubbing at his eyes.

Why Leia didn't want Luke to know of Ben's power wasn't any of Din's business, nor did he care, he just needed to get Ben to not cry. "Sometimes you have to keep things secret. I think your mama wants you to be her kid a little longer before you start talking to your uncle about Jedi stuff."

Ben hummed, seeming to settle at that. “I get that. I am pretty great.”

Din snorted. "Yeah, you are. You remind me of my son, he's honest and great like you. Though he's not nearly as talkative."

Ben smiled wide. Seeming to have rebound from his small breakdown. He walked around the playroom grabbing a book and bringing it back to Din. "Can you read to me?"

"Sure," he said, as soon as he agreed, the boy pushed the book into his chest hard enough to make him fall flat on his ass. Not skipping a beat, he climbed into his lap.

"You're not too comfortable," Ben complained, trying to sit back and only knocking his head on his chest plate. He whined out, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry, ad'ika," Din murmured. He unclipped his cape, swinging it in on large motion to wrap the furry side around him and cushion his head as he leaned against his chest. It completely dwarfed the kid.

"Ah~! Much better," Ben sighed cutely. Din only snorted. He opened the book to begin reading when a tiny hand slapped down, stopping him. "What does ah-DEE-kah mean?"

"It's a Mando'a nickname for children and sometimes with friends, it means little one," Din explained. "Do you mind if I call you that?"

"Well, I'm not that little," Ben grumbled.

"No, I suppose not," Din chuckled, humoring the kid. "Hmm, maybe verd'ika? It means little soldier?"

"But I'm not little!"

"No, but you're young. And verd'ika is what we call our youngest soldiers," Din explained. 

"Ok! I like that one!" Ben giggled. He reached up, grabbing the rim of his helm. "Can you take this off?"

"Yes, but I'm not supposed to in front of people," Din replied.

"Is it because you're a king and you don't want people to know your real 'identity' ?" He asked, over pronouncing 'identity' like it was a new word in his vocabulary.

"You got it." Din agreed, that explanation was far easier than the real one.

Ben nodded. "Ok, you can read now."

Din huffed, thankful for this child, both for his honesty, and his ability to work as a distraction so he could fully process how he felt.

He had a power. Luke and Leia both knew. Cashla knew too- though, thinking back, she must have thought he also knew, just like Ben assumed he knew. She'd compared him to a ysalamari... He'd look it up later.

Ben knew the second he saw him he had a power so Luke...

Hidden behind his mental walls, where Ben couldn't feel, his anger grew. But surface level, he was calm, reading a story to the boy as he slowly leaned more and more onto him.

It was only when he heard quiet, even breathing, when he felt the complete dead weight of the child put on him, that he stopped. He pulled the edge of his cape back to see Ben was sound asleep.

Din put the book aside, lifting the child gently. "Droid- er- Threepio," he called in a whisper. The droid rounded the corner about to speak when Din held a finger to his lips. "Ben fell asleep. Where's his room so I can put him to bed?"

"Oh, well, yes, I'm not surprised. When I first came in here, I meant to take him right to bed for a nap." Threepio whispered back. Din sighed, that was almost half an hour ago. 

"Sorry about that, once again. I'll get him to bed if you lead the way."

"Of course! Follow me!"

He led the way out of the playroom. After a trip in the lift tube and passing many hallways, Threepio led him to a double door. Opening it, Din felt his jaw drop at the luxurious penthouse that lay before him. Large comfortable couches, an enormous holovision above a fireplace. 

As he stepped in he saw a kitchen big enough for three people to cook three separate meals in to his right. The dining table was large enough to comfortably sit twelve, with plates, napkins, and utensils preset. Above it hung an expensive-looking chandelier, heavy with glittering cut glass. There was a balcony with a quite large round table and an outdoor kitchen. 

There were two offices, one smaller and full of model ships, which must be Leia's husband's office. The other was crowded with bookshelves and filing cabinets. Tables overflowing with papers and files that somehow remained organized. Leia's, definitely.

He heard a strange repeated cawing bark. He looked down at a strange small feathered canine that approached him fearlessly, sniffing at his feet.

"Shh!" he pleaded with the creature. The pooch looked up at him. Its beak opened and its tongue flopped out as it panted. The creature rolled over, begging to be pet. Din, unfortunately, had to ignore it, following Threepio who was waiting by a door for him.

The hall held three doors, all shut. The one Threepio stood at was the only one that held a sign. It illustrated an ARC Starfighter, and below it, in big bold letters it said  'Ben's Room.'

Threepio opened the door and turned on the light before slipping past him. Din could only stare at the travesty that was Ben's room. Toys were scattered everywhere and his bed, which was in the shape of an aircraft, was a mess of tangled sheets and blankets. He shuffled, not daring to lift his feet and possibly step his full weight on one of the toys, or worse, slip on one and drop Ben. 

He slid the boy into bed, untangling his blankets before taking back his cape.

"Noo," Ben whined quietly. "I wanna keep it."

"No, verd'ika. It's for a king."

"I can be king."

"You don't want to be king, too much stress."

"I can handle it," he yawned, cracking his eyes open.

Din chuckled. "Tell you what, when you're older, you can become king and get a cape just like this, then you can design it however you like. But for now, let's get you tucked in with your blankets, ok?"

Ben sighed but nodded. Din draped the blankets over Ben one by one, seeing the boy's eyes droop but he was fighting it. The dog barking earlier hopped onto his bed, circling before snuggling into the bend of his legs, tucking its face behind its large feathered tail.

"What's your dogs name?" Din asked quietly.

"Indy," Ben murmured, he yawned before finally letting his eyes close and snuggling into his pillow. "She's a mooka. They're from Alderaan."

"Well, she and Threepio will take good care of you until your parents get back. It was nice meeting you Ben-"

"You're leaving?!" Ben shot up, almost crushing poor Indy but the dog just scooted back. Clearly, she was used to this.

"I have to," Din insisted. "I have to serve my people."

"Will you come back?!"

That depended on why Leia kept his power secret. He didn't want to make Ben false promises. He sighed, deciding to go with something else. While Ben certainly didn't need any more toys, it would make Din feel better if he ended up never seeing the kid again.

"Tell you what," He pulled out the plush scyk from his satchel. He held it out to Ben. "I'll give you this so you can take care it for me. Keep it safe. If I don't see you again, you can keep it."

"But... if you do see me again, you can give it back. And we'll go back and forth. Ok?" Ben asked.

Din nodded. "Sure kid."

Ben accepted that, taking the lizard. It was so much bigger in his hands. He ran his thumbs over it. He peaked at the door. "Mom's home." He said.

Din didn't let his readied anger escape just yet. "Well, you better get in bed then. Threepio told me your nap time was supposed to be thirty minutes ago."

Ben giggled mischievously, laying down once more and cuddling under the covers. Din shuffled to the door, flicking off the light.

"Goodbye Mr. Mand'alor Din," Ben called sleepily. Din turned back.

"Goodbye, Ben," Din murmured, hoping this wouldn't be the only time he said it. He hoped this was some misunderstanding, some terrible accidental miscommunication.

But it wasn't. He knew it wasn't.

Everything made sense. Why Luke, Leia and even Cashla, would chuckle after he thought of comments and comebacks. How Luke knew how he was feeling. How he seemed to always know what Din was thinking.

It wasn't some connection- not in the way Din wanted it to be- but a manipulation. A cruel lie of reality.

It was stupid that was what he was thinking about. Stupid that he was upset that he and Luke didn't have that genuine connection. That Luke didn't pay attention enough to just learn how to read him, but rather that he had a cheat sheet. And the scary thought of what else Luke could be hiding from him.

Trust was gone, shattering more and more the longer he thought about this.

Din left Ben's door open a crack for Indy's sake, seeing Leia down the hall. He gestured to the door and she nodded, flashing him a smile. It made his skin crawl. How could she smile so kindly at him when keeping such a large secret? She was a better actor than he gave her credit for, her and Luke both. 

He made sure his mind was walled off, feeling the voices stir with unbridled rage. Once out of the penthouse Leia turned to him. "Threepio messaged me, let me know of your meeting my son! Hope he was polite."

"Very. He's a good kid, honest. Shocking, given his mother is a liar."

Leia's eyes went wide as she held her chest. "E...Excuse you?" She asked, her voice hurt.

Din nearly snarled. "No, no, excuse you, actually," he sneered. Leia looked completely shocked by the sudden change in his voice and nature. He supposed he owed her an explanation. "How long were you and Luke going to wait before telling me about my powers?"

Leia sighed, her eyes closing slowly. "Oh shit... Ben told you?"

"Yeah, guess he wasn't in on the family secret."

Leia rubbed the back of her neck. Her guilt... it seemed genuine- it felt genuine. "I'm sorry, Din, I-" she looked up. "Do I still get to call you that?"

"Depends. I have a few questions, can you answer them?"

"Can I check something?" She asked.

Din squinted at her suspiciously. "What is it?"

She looked at him. "I hate olives, am I lying or telling the truth?"

Din could only tilt his head. "What?"

"Lie or truth, I hate olives."

Din paused, confused, but more so freaked out that he could tell the answer. "Lie..."

"I have gone almost four weeks without showering."

"Truth, war?"

"No, Ben was a petulant baby and I was working from home at the time. Lie or truth, I have never wanted to throw my husband out a window."

"Lie." He couldn't blame her for that.

"Ok. So, you can tell if I lie, which means you can tell if Luke lies to. I know you can't really trust in either of us right now, but you can trust in yourself, right?" She looked at him. At his nod she continued, sighing through her nose. "Right. I'm going to tell you the timeline I know. I can tell when my brother is lying so please know that it's true on his side too. There are only two drawbacks, I don't know his reasoning and I don't always know when he's not telling me stuff. So if I'm missing things, I have no clue."

Din could only find truth in her rant. He crossed his arms, nodding sternly. "Ok. Go ahead."

Din entered the house slowly, hesitant to approach the fight that needed to happen. He had told Red to stay with the ship, he knew this wouldn't take long.

The orange-yellow light from the kitchen lights illuminated where Luke stood, leaning against the counter with his shoulders raised and his head hung low with guilt. Din had no sympathy for him. The voices were silent, letting him feel his raw emotions on his own: anger, betrayal, sadness. His mind couldn't decide, letting the emotions muddle together in one sickly thick feeling that churned his stomach.

"Can we go outside for this? So Grogu doesn't hear?" Din asked, he was shocked by how cool he kept his own voice. Luke nodded mutely, following him out.

He led the way trying to get far enough away so that not only would Grogu not hear them, but, hopefully, he wouldn't feel what he felt. They ended up back at the training ground where they sparred at least a hundred times. Hundreds of memories, of laughs, now it all felt sour. Washed out with the overhanging knowledge that he had been lied to.

Not in every sentence shared, but in every interaction it held that. Every time Luke noticed he found something funny, when he noticed he was down, it wasn't because Luke knew him, or because they had formed a bond. It was mind-reading.

Din rounded on him, taking a few deep breaths to gather his thoughts, to not blow his lid immediately. "Wh-" he swallowed at the voice crack, "Luke, what the kriff?"

"I know-" Luke covered his face shamefully. "I'm so sorry."

Din snarled. He didn't want that, he wanted answers. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-" he hesitated. "At first, it was because I didn't want to freak you out-" Din scoffed, seemingly making Luke only speak faster "-Because even I didn't know what your power was or what it was capable of, so-! So I- I don't know, I-"

"You just observed me like some karking test animal for months?!" Din barked out.

Luke cringed, "Only at first-"

"Karking Manda, Luke" Din sighed, he stopped to hold his head. With a sigh, he let it slowly roll back to face the sky.

"But- I always wanted to tell you! I just wanted to when the opportunity came, and then we went to Tatooine-"

"That was a month later! A month you were 'looking for an opportunity' to tell me of a power that invasive?!"

"I know- I know! I just- I had a theory-"

"Oh, please, enlighten me!" Din sneered.

Luke paused before bowing his head and starting his explanation. "Your power was weak before you had the Darksaber, when I took Grogu on the Moff's ship I felt your emotions but only touches, Grogu told me that's how it had been before as well, but with the Darksaber, it seems that you... fed into each other. It was alive with power that intertwined with yours! I thought-" He shook his head, "I believed that if we cleansed the saber, we would rid of 'the Shadow' in your mind, and your power would go back to a minuscule level. And then, when you told me what the Darksaber had been doing to you, I knew we had to do that no matter what!"

Din shook his head with a scoff, "Oh, crink off with that osik!"

"No, I promise that's how I saw it!"

"I still would have had my power!" Din barked out.

"Yes, but your mind wouldn't be doing what it is now! Throwing out thoughts and emotions and manipulating the Force- it would not affect you anymore!" Luke argued back, his voice pitching a little higher, "And on Tatooine, you said you would never want to know if you had powers-!"

He could only feel outraged that his own words were being turned on him. He turned back to Luke, feeling his face crinkle into a snarl, "Oh, oh so it's my fault?!"

"No! That is not what I'm saying! I'm trying to say all of it was excuses to just not tell you, I own that! Maker, I'm so sorry Din," Luke whispered the last part, holding his head in a wince.

Din paused. That's exactly what Vizsla did in their dream space. Was... was he doing that? He stepped back, his anger cooling slightly. He heard a relieved breath leave Luke's lips. 

He almost sobbed. He was hurting him. Actually, physically hurting him. Din pulled in his emotions as much as he could. "Are you ok?" He murmured nervously.

Luke nodded quickly, too quickly. "It's fine, Din, just a pinch-"

"No, it's not! I just-" He took in a breath, feeling the voices grumble their displeasure at his attempts to calm himself. He pushed up more walls, silencing them. "Can you still feel my emotions?"

"No, you're a blur," Luke answered easily. Din nodded, looking at him.

"Have I done that before?" He asked, scared to hear the answer.

"No. But it's odd, you've... anger is the only one that has ever hurts, and it's... it's hot, and tense like a headache. When you're annoyed with me, it only heightens my annoyance. If you're sad, I feel a portion of it, it- it feels like heavy, cold water, sometimes it's rain sometimes its a flood," his face changed, to a sad smile, "but when you're happy, especially if I've somehow made you happy, it's warm in my chest and it feels-" he shook his head, "amazing."

Din felt his heartache. He stared at the ground, he needed to stay on topic. "You should tell me when I hurt you."

"You haven't ever been this mad at me before, so it never hurt. I think... I think your power, it's like... because of how it manipulates the Force, it can manipulate the very mind of those who are kare'tigaanyc. Make them feel what you are feeling, or things you want them to feel," Luke explained.

"I never wanted to make you feel pain-!" Din cut in quickly. 

"I know, I'm sorry I implied that. Let me rephrase," Luke hummed in thought, nervous with his loss of words. "Ok, so your mind it's like... a signal and I'm... a comms dish."

Din stared at him in confusion. "What?"

"Yeah, 'cause you send signals out, and I pick it up. Sometimes it's a small chirp to get my attention or long touches of whatever emotion you're feeling. Sometimes your signals are overpowering and you... your all I can see. Other times, it's like you change frequency so I can't find you in the Force and-" He paused. "I'm not making any sense am I?"

Din shook his head "No, I'm not getting this simile."

Luke sighed. He took a pause then finally tried one last time. "You have a hold on the Force, which is why you can hide from it or use it to get people's attention... but I think because of that hold, when your mind has emotions about someone, it not only says it into the Force, but pinpoints it to that person, sometimes causing great feelings or bad ones. I think extreme anger is one that just... I think it causes pain in the Force, whether you mean to or not- which I know you don't mean to! Your anger toward me is completely justified right now! But I think your brain has subconsciously just directed this energy and the pain your feeling any way it can." 

He didn't know that. He'd have to be careful with his feelings, wall them off. He'd learn how to do that.

Before his mind could get too far off track, he focused. He had to clarify something though. "So... reading my mind, my emotions... you do that unintentionally?"

"Yes, up until you built mental walls, I held back in the Force so I wouldn't go further," Luke stated.

"So you never went deeper?" Din asked.

"No, never."

He didn't want to believe him... but he did. Maybe only because he knew that he would have felt him delve deeper, or because he could somehow tell if he was lying, or maybe because, in some sick, deep part of him, he wanted to trust Luke again. But couldn't. Not now, maybe not ever.

He made sure to not point his emotions towards Luke. He managed to put together a thought, a refute. "You know what else I said that day on Tatooine?" He asked, Luke stayed silent, becoming aware that their argument was resuming. "I said I wanted to work with you. I specifically said I didn't want you to take care of me. We could have worked together on this, found these things out together," he shook his head, looking at the ground. "I could have helped. I would have listened to whatever you told me. Instead, you decided to take initiative and take the reigns of my life!" His voice climbing back into a yell.

"I know! I- kark, I was so scared of ruining what we have that I tried to fix it all on my own! I just- I didn't want you to..." Luke shook his head but Din knew now what it was he didn't want to lose.

"Not trust you?" He hissed out.

Luke shook his head. "I-" he squeezed his eyes shut. "I didn't want you to leave."

Din scowled. If Luke had told him months ago, if he had been honest before feelings got this involved... then he probably wouldn't have stayed. He knew himself, but he wasn't comfortable now either. Maybe at some midpoint if Luke had told him... but still, he should have known from the beginning. "You should have told me." His burc'ya- no, not his burc'ya, not anymore- Luke, could only look away shamefully.

"I was going to tonight when you got home, that's what we were going to talk about-"

"Five months later!" Din shook his head in disbelief. More then that, nearly six months now. He'd worried that something was wrong, that he'd done something or something happened to Luke, but no. It was this. "Listen, just because you're a Jedi, slapped with fixing the galaxy's problems, doesn't mean you have to fix mine- especially behind my back! You don't just get to keep that from me! I can make my own decisions! I-" He sighed, his mind ran with a thousand thoughts. "I trusted you so much," his voice crackled, breaking from its rising anger to sink into the hurt and sadness trying to push through. "Why didn't you trust me too?"

"I did-!"

"Not enough! Not enough to tell me about my powers! To trust I wouldn't freak out and run away from you!" Din shook his head. He wanted to run now, not because of his power but because he couldn't look at Luke. He could barely stand being near him right now. His heart hurt; his eyes were on fire with unshed tears. 

"I'm so, so sorry Din," He whimpered, and Din couldn't face him. He heard the sincere regret in his voice, the hurt. 

He sighed heavily. "I know you are... I just- I don't-" He took in a deep breath, stopping himself from stuttering. The tears he'd been managing to hold back broke out, running down his face. It was odd, how fast things changed. This morning, he was in Luke's bed, holding him with thoughts of how nice it would be to go to bed like that every night. To... to be with Luke. 

Now he couldn't look at him. He didn't want to be in his bed, his cabin, not even on Yavin 4 with him. He wanted- no, he needed- to leave.

He hated bringing Luke's fear to fruition, hated confirming it as valid, but he couldn't stand to be around him right now. "We got approved to move to Mandallia. For the next few months, I'll be there," he said, keeping his voice steely as possible. Luke looked away from him, staring at the ground through teary eyes. "We can switch off every few weeks with Grogu, I don't want to take you from him, but I need space from you."

"I understand," He responded, his voice so quiet it was barely a squeak. "Are you leaving tonight?"

Din swallowed. "Yeah."

Luke made a tiny sound at that, one that tore his heart out. "Ok," he whispered. "I- I can stay here, while you go grab your stuff, if you want."

Din couldn't find any response. He merely bobbed his head in confirmation, clearing his throat in the same motion. Luke sidestepped, letting him leave silently.

He sat in his cell. At least his was a single cell in solitary. It was supposed to be an extra punishment to not have contact with the outside world, but he was pretty happy about it. That he didn't have to sit with other common insignificant convicts. He was different. Just cause the Republic changed the law, doesn't mean they're in the right. 

The Empire brought order, justice, to the galaxy. 

Now he was sitting in a cell.

"Ey, Gideon" The guard called. "Supper."

Gideon watched as the tray was slid through the slot in the door. He scoffed, standing slowly and taking it. Admittedly, it was about as good as ration packets, though he was pretty sure one or more of the guards had spit in it.

He had only just sat again when he felt a distant loud sound, one that rumbled the complex. Soon after he heard footsteps. Running footsteps mixed with the panicked orders of guards. He rolled his eyes. Were they really so pisspoor at their jobs? The Empire would never let this stand. No one would get near the complex, let alone stage a prison break this obvious.

Then he heard it. Blaster fire. He approached the door in quick stride, trying to peak through the eye slot. Passing his door was three guards. They didn't make it far. They fired five shots, and Gideon watched all get reflected. He heard bodies hit the floor. In the silence that followed, the alert lights flashed and the alarm sounded piercingly loud.

In a second, he heard beeping on the other side of his door. He dove away, the bomb only going off a second later. The door was blown to smithereens, in the smoke the figure stepped in. She looked at Gideon. She didn't need to say anything, when she tipped her head curtly for him to follow, he was smart enough to not question a thing. As she ducked out, running down the hall, Gideon followed, running as fast as he could. He was getting out.

The twi'lek girl slashed through guards with vibroblades, leaping around with grunts and shouts of fury. He skidded to a halt at the end of the hall. There was a large hole in the wall, peaking over the edge, he could only see the ocean below, shaded black by the night sky.

He didn't get much time to ask questions as the back of his prison uniform was snatched and the twi'lek leapt out the hole she must have entered through. A ship slipped in below, flying sideways with the door open.

His breath left him in a harsh wheeze as his back hit the inner wall. She slammed the door shut. He grunted in pain as the ship turned right side up and hit the hyperdrive. 

She turned to him, dropping her hood. She was a lethan; a twi'lek with red skin, and it was marked with black tattoos. Before he could question her, she spoke, "Thrawn wanted to see you."

Gideon felt his eyes bulge. He heard whispers of the man's return but he didn't think that he actually would, let alone that the man would ever want to interact with him. He swallowed hard. "Any reason why?"

"He believes you are worth the risk" She smiled wide. "Pray you don't disappoint him."

"And who are you?" Gideon snapped, snarling at her.

She kneeled in front of him. "Talon. I'm a Marked One."

Gideon paused, swallowing hard. 'Shit.' 

He chose silence the rest of the way back.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: The Descent

TW: Mentions of drinking, depression, emotional abuse/manipulation (from Tarre Vizsla), anxiety attacks, the aftermath of nuclear warfare, and religious trauma

Spoiler Warning: Season 3: Episodes 1 and 2 (or chapters 17 & 18)

Greef had been kind enough to let him stay at this tiny hut out of town. He said he'd been saving it for him anyway, which Din didn't know if it was true or not but he didn't have the energy to argue over pity gifts. Especially not when a pity gift involved a housewarming bottle of Mandallian Narcolethe. Which had been drained within the first few days he'd been here. 

The other food and drinks he bought when he first got here had slowly started to diminish, but he wasn't going out again. He wasn't meant to stay here long anyway.

The voices had been a mixed bag, which might have been his fault. He had noticed that they seemed connected to him, influenced by his emotions. If he was angry, he heard their war cries in his head encouraging him to go further. Which may or may not have led to him scorching the ground around his home. In his defense, it was the middle of the night and he was wasted. Plus, he was isolated out here. 

Maybe they influenced him just as much.

It was weird having them here sometimes though. On days like this, when he couldn't get the energy to get up, he felt hands on him. Light hands, so cold that it made him shiver, that made his skin prickle. On his shoulder, arm, or head, whispering something he'd never get to hear. They were sweet, or at least were trying to be, but he... he didn't want to listen.

They were stuck with a pretty terrible host.

Tarre was quiet, just as Din wanted him. The minute they left Yavin 4 the man had tried to discuss his distaste of Luke. He'd silenced him. He didn't know how he did it; at the time he just wanted him gone, and with a pained squeak, the cretin had scurried off into some hidden part of his mind.

He didn't have the energy for him.

He didn't have the energy for anything.

His comm had been blowing up with messages as of late. Some of the messages were from his Mandalorians, updating him on their preparations and progress on gearing up to go to Mandallia. The other messages were from his friends, odd as they barely commed every few weeks. Either Greef or Red had to have messaged his friends letting them know at the bare minimum something was wrong.

Boba had been messaging him nearly daily since the incident with the Armorer just to 'update' him on what was going on in Tatooine. Cara had been nice enough to only message him every few days or so. Cobb on the other hand, did it every few hours. Either dropping a joke or something he saw or anything really.

Though he never expected anyone to stop by.

He heard his front door open. "Din? Hey, I knocked but-" Cobb stopped himself. The hut was small, so even at the front door, you could see everything, the kitchen, dining room, the door to the privy, and the door to his room, which he'd stupidly left wide open.

Currently, Din was lying on his side in his bed, it barely even dipping under his weight. The blankets he had kicked off and thrown to the floor, they were unnecessary, he had his armor on anyway. There were also probably bottles still in his room... definitely bottles still in his room. He hadn't cleaned up in a while.

Hesitant footsteps entered the house.

Red trilled loudly, too loudly; his head was killing him. The droid chittered away to Cobb and Fennec. The little snitch was ratting him out for everything he's been doing the past two weeks. Which was, a whole lot of nothing.

"You haven't showered in two weeks?" Fennec asked.

"I've gone longer," Din called back, it barely a grumble. Her only reply was a sound of disgust.

"You are not helping," Cobb scolded. He cleared his throat. "Uh... Greef told us you were a little down and you haven't been replying to our messages so... just thought we'd check in."

"I'm happy as a Hutt in a mud bath" He scoffed. Why was everyone suddenly so worried about him? The one time he wants to be alone and no one can seem to do it.

"You need a bath" Fennec grumbled.

"Fennec!" Cobb scolded. "Maker, you're worse than Boba. I've seen rabid wamp rats have more emotional intelligence than you."

She sighed deeply, he heard footsteps enter his room and circle to the window. She ripped open his curtains and turned to him, hands on her hips. 

"Why are you acting like this?" She questioned.

"[He and Luke got in a fight]" Red warbled. Din glared at the droid. 'Traitor,' he thought bitterly. 

"...and?" She asked.

"Fennec, you are not helping!" Cobb sighed. He stood over Din. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not even in the slightest."

He nodded curtly, "Can I get you anything or... I don't know. Help you clean up around here?"

He released a long, deep breath. "No. I'll... I'll get it tomorrow."

"[Thats what you said yesterday,]" Red beeped sadly. He rolled up to the bed, nudging him. Din only scooted away. He didn't want to be touched right now.

"I know you and Luke were close... I'm sorry that you guys are fighting," Cobb said softly. "I know you don't wanna talk about it, but is there anything you wanna do?"

"I just want to lay here," he replied in a whisper. The room stayed silent for a few peaceful seconds.

"Well, I'm gonna guess you've been laying here for a while if Greef called us in. You don't have to talk about it, but you do have to deal with it, and laying here drinking all day isn't going to make anything easier for you." She stated.

"I haven't drank that much."

"There's an entire empty bottle of Narcolethe on your counter," Fennec argued. 

"That's from a week ago!" He retorted, she only cocked an eyebrow judgementally. He may have developed an issue of not picking up. Funny, he once made fun of Luke for the same flaw. He huffed, laying his head back down. 

"You wanna go fight something? Greef said a reptavian has been bugging the city's livestock," She offered. That did sound nice, getting a little anger out. "Plus he said he's calling in that red-headed Mandalorian next if you don't get up, and I know she'll be far meaner than us 'cause we, at the very least, like you."

Din sighed, the last person he wanted here was Bo-Katan. She was already mad he pushed the date to move on to Mandallia back... twice. He did have responsibilities to uphold. And, in a little over a week, he could grab Grogu. He turned over before sitting up.

"And look at that, he's up," Fennec gloated. "Screw your emotional intelligence."

"You solved it by being compassionate," Cobb pointed out.

"I solved it with reality, incentive, and a threat." She shouldered past him, almost knocking him into the doorway. "I'll be outside, you should probably clean up a little."

Din stood with a sigh, picking up the few bottles by his bed and making his way to the kitchen to toss them.

Cobb helped him straighten up the rest of his house, not asking about anything further. For as long as he could manage at least.

It was when he grabbed a fresh kute, that the marshal cleared his throat. "Are you sure you don't want to talk?" He asked. Din looked at him. "It's just... last I heard, the most you and Luke argued about was minor. Little disagreements that got settled the same day and such. What changed?"

He could only pause. This had been all he had been thinking about, in between being sorry for himself and being royally pissed off. "He hid something from me, and despite there being many signs that he was hiding something from me, I continued to make excuses. Until it was put right in front of me and I had to confront it." Din lamented. "I think he was going to tell me anyway, but it didn't really matter if he did. Trust was given, broken, and now we're taking a break from each other."

He knew he was saying it callously, but to expand upon it was to tear his heart out. And he'd been enough of a pathetic sad sack already.

"Gee... I'm sorry, Din. I know you liked him."

'Understatement' He thought bitterly. That was his mistake, though. He should have remained disconnected. "Yeah, well, we're keeping it clean for Grogu. I comm him every night to say daily remembrance." 

"Well, that's good of you both!" Cobb smiled widely, showing off his teeth. "When are you going to Mandallia?" At Din's head tilt, he explained. "Boba told me."

"You and he are pretty close then?" Din asked, avoiding the question entirely.

"We've gotten there! We're actually not that different!"

He couldn't help but scoff. "Yeah? What's your commonalities?"

"We got like this... sun and moon dynamic, going."

"So polar opposites."

"Yeah, but similar in a way that we both revolve around the same planet, both give light-"

"A planet revolves around a sun, a moon revolves around a planet, and a moon doesn't give off light, it reflects a sun's light. You're wrong in three ways."

"Well, then we have a Twin Suns dynamic!" Cobb chuckled, waving off his cynicalness with his prosthetic arm. Now that Din could agree too. Cobb and Boba had massive personalities that you needed to revolve around, not self-centered, but sedentary people who were stubborn as all get out. In the same breath, however, he couldn't ignore how they provided for people. They sure as hell lit up his life. Both were leaders and made themselves quite untouchable in their own respects...

Maybe they were more alike than he gave them credit for.

"I can see that," He hummed.

Cobb smiled toothily, leaning over the counter. "Did you know his dad was once the best bounty hunter in the galaxy? So good that the Jedi made him the clone template for their soldiers," He was bragging as if it was his dad. Or maybe it was more that he got a backstory out of Fett. That was Cobb's talent, after all, getting people to crack open and spill their insides like eggs. Clone template though... that was a bit odd.

He turned slowly. "Is Boba... a clone of this 'Jango'?"

"Apparently! Dude wanted a son, so he asked for an 'unaltered' clone as payment. Whatever that means," he shrugged. Din shrugged back, he had no clue either. However, it did make things fall into place. Conversations with Boba and Bo-Katan made a lot more sense now. 

Something else fell into place as well. This wasn't just to gossip, as much as Cobb liked to do that. His friend had completely distracted him from his feelings. Given his proud social skills, it had to be purposeful.

Din didn't smile as much as he did no longer frown.

"Well, with Cara all over the place with her Republic job and Fennec getting back into bounty hunting, I'm glad you two have each other. I know it's a long trek to the palace from Mos Pelgo but-"

"Not for long! Boba's making plans with Mos Espa and Mos Eisley to have a train run back and forth through the towns. Make it more convenient," Cobb chirped proudly.

"Nothing about Tatooine is convenient."

"Well, it seems that's changing!"

"Yes, it's finally upgrading from an unbearable barren desert to a slightly bearable barren desert," He scoffed. "How do the Tuskens feel about the train?" He opened one of the very few cabinets he had as he spoke.

"Oh, Boba is ensuring we avoid them at all cost. You know how he respects them" Cobb moved somewhere else in the house, probably taking a seat at the table.

Din hummed, barely listening now as he grabbed a towel and headed to the 'fresher. "That's nice. Tell Fennec I'm taking her advice and I'll be a minute."

Cobb snorted but obeyed.

Din landed his N-1 on Mandallia, seeing Bo-Katan stand by her Kom'rk-class fighter, with Axe and Woves facing her as they discussed something he couldn't hear. There were other ships here too, only three that he could see. Kryze stood by a Teroch-type gunship, one that did not make Din jealous. Not in the slightest. Sabine's ship was an Aka'jor-class shuttle, painted in a similar style to the Stokax gunship. Animals, places, and people were displayed in a mix of art pieces. In fact, she and Fierce seemed to be talking about each other's art. He hopped out of his ship, approaching them first.

He liked them more. So sue him.

As he got closer, Red's wheels crunching the dirt as he followed him, he noticed something. Behind Fierce's ship, he saw Tooka and Cashla arguing and gesturing wildly to a V-wing. A very rough-looking V-wing that's only well-maintained part seemed to be the cockpit. Which... at least it was somewhat safe.

He didn't interrupt them, instead deciding to wait his turn on Fierce and Sabine's conversation.

"-lines are beautiful," Fierce remarked, in true awe of a piece of a blue-haired man looking over his shoulder at them. Sabine scoffed.

"My lines?! Look at yours!" She gestured to his ship, pointing out a specific piece that Din hadn't seen before. It was the headshot of a human woman, with a large sun hat and long flowing black hair. It was Fierce's riduur. "Gosh, is that your riduur?" Fierce hummed in proud confirmation. "She's mesh'la... how'd you meet?"

"I jumped around a bit when I was younger. Did work for... a lot of people." He stood taller, getting back on topic subtly. "One job led me to Korkie, I helped him out of a jam but..." he sucked his teeth, "I got hurt, badly." He rubbed at his abdomen subconsciously, remembering the injury well. "He took me back to a hospital on Mandalore. My riduur's buir happened to be my suitemate, recovering from an injury himself. Ja, my riduur, visited him until he was discharged. And then continued to visit me. She was one of the people who helped me recover."

"And she's the reason you stayed?" 

Fierce nodded. "How she talked of Mandalorian loyalty, and the afterlife of Manda, always being together... I wanted that comradery. Her family had been Mandalorians for centuries."

"They're not unknown, " Sabine confirmed. "There's a story of her ancestor who made a scythe so sharp it could cut the soul out of a person."

Fierce snickered. "Yes, she's fond of that one. Xiathu Stokax. She still sings the song about her to the kids before bed." 

"Oh my Manda, yes! I remember singing it in school! Um-" Sabine hummed the tune, singing it unsurely and off-key. "A... scythe so sharp it cut a ship in half in a single swing! And the blade, it shined so bright that you might even think it sing! And- uh..." She sang the melody some more before gasping, dancing a bit in place now. "And boy oh how she could behead about any king! Instead, she chose a life of work, outside of the bloody ring! Xiathu! Xiathu!"

Fierce wheezed out a laugh, Din found himself smiling slightly as well. "Yes, though she knows the whole thing! Dance and all!"

"Well excuse me for not remembering a song I sang like twenty years ago." She noticed Din now, nodding to him curtly. "Sorry, Mand'alor, didn't see you there."

"You can just call me Din when we speak alone. And don't apologize, I'm intruding on your conversation. I'm avoiding my tasks a bit longer." He admitted. Fierce and Sabine snickered.

"How long were you there for?" Fierce asked, still jovial and not seeming to mind that he was eavesdropping.

"Just enough to hear the song and dance. I think I remember the legend of Xiathu, she led Mandalorians out of famine, right?" Legends were something the Tribe loved to tell, but it left him pondering on what was fiction and what was true. You could never tell with them.

"The very same!" Fierce was nearly giddy with pride in his riduur and the history of her family.

"You love her a lot," Sabine smiled softly.

Fierce seemed to melt where he stood. "She's my everything, ori'shya ner vencuy, kaysh ner runi." Din felt his eyes bulge. That... was a very strong way to describe love. It was terrifying to think of loving someone that much, and yet Fierce seemed so wistful about it. He straightened, not letting his mind wander with the thought of love for too long. "But, you better stop me, I'll go on about her for hours, my aliit even more so." He looked over Sabine's ship. "Whose your subject?"

"A friend from the Rebellion," she murmured, her voice somber. The person she painted was tan and looked smug. He had a blue buzzcut, as well as dark blue eyes, with two scars marking his cheek. Only the start of an orange collared shirt faded in. "That actually reminds me, do you mind if I speak with you in private about something?" She faced Din directly.

Hesitantly, he nodded, letting Sabine lead him away. They weren't entirely out of earshot when she turned to him. Checking behind him, he saw Fierce had gone to break up Cashla and Tooka, who, for whatever reason, had changed their argument into a full-out fistfight.

He minded his business; deciding to turn back to her to try and pretend he had not seen it at all. 

"I was elected the leader of Clan Wren when my buir passed. Due to respect to my fellow Mandalorians, I took the position, I'm sure you understand that struggle," She stated. He scoffed in agreement. Did he ever? 

She took a breath before continuing. "Years ago, when the war ended, a friend and I spent three years looking for someone who went missing. I gave up that search when the trail had only gotten colder the more we searched, and I had no hope that my missing friend was alive. But now..."

"There's a lead," Din dipped his head in understanding.

"More than that- I..." she growled in frustration. "My friend is Ezra Bridger, he was... is a Jedi. He went missing with Grand Admiral Thrawn and now I'm working with an old friend to track him down, track them both down!" Sabine huffed. She seemed to have given up on secrecy despite his understanding.

He could only stare. "Is your friend Ahsoka Tano?"

Sabine took a step back, almost shocked. "You know her?"

"Yes." He couldn't help but be a little upset. Ahsoka had been tracking Thrawn and her friend, which was understandable, but if she could respond to Sabine surely she could send Luke a message too. Or check her comm code, at least. "Did she comm you?"

"No, Ahsoka doesn't exactly comm people, she hasn't used hers in months, she was terrible at using it even before then." Sabine scoffed. So Ahsoka was bad at messaging everyone. He'd let Luke know-... or, not. Maybe in the future, he could pass that on. Maybe. "She showed up in my room one night, told me what was happening and where to meet her."

This was set and stone then. He was being selfish, cleansing a saber wasn't as important as stopping the Empire or finding a war hero. He knew that. He let his frustration move through him, then out. "What exactly are you asking?"

Sabine stared up at him, standing a bit taller and raising her chin. "I'm telling you I'm stepping down. I've assigned a new clan lead for Clan Wren."

"Would you recommend them as taking over your role as advisor?"

"Absolutely not," Sabine almost snorted, not mockingly but just simply envisioning the humorous chaos that would follow. "I would like to recommend Clan Awaud's lead as my replacement actually."

"Like, Aga Awaud?" Din asked. He heard a hiss in his mind.

"Yes! Their clan lead-"

He stopped hearing her as Tarre screeched out a booming 'NO!' that rang in his ears. He grunted shaking his head.

"Mand'a- er- Din?"

"I'm fine...what- what were you saying?"

"I was just... I suggested them because their clan worked in the Slice, doing mercenary jobs. They know politics pretty well because they worked with many different governments-"

'Including the Separatists! Weak-minded fools! All of them! Don't trust the Awauds!' Tarre barked out, scrambling to silence the other voices that snarled out murmurs of arguments.

Din could only freeze with this newfound information, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat. "They sided with the Separatists?"

"Well... I guess technically, yes, but they only worked as mercenaries, and I can assure you they've changed over the past 29 years. I wouldn't suggest them otherwise." She stared at him, almost disappointed. He was a little disappointed in himself. He pushed Vizsla back. 

"Ok, well, I trusted you because of your understanding of the Darksaber, nobility, and how you stood up to me. What do they bring?"

"Clan Awaud, but especially Dizudu is firmly against the Children of the Watch, and so are quite a lot of other clans. Picking them would soothe those who oppose you. Which would lessen challengers waiting for the right opportunity."

'Dizudu' must be Clan Awaud's lead. He needed to focus to not miss details like that again. "Are they flexible? Will they be willing to work with me for the good of the people?"

"Yes, as they also are a lot like you. More than anything, their clan also holds many talented builders and goran."

Tarre slammed and slashed at his mental walls painfully. He'd never been this active before, nor this hostile. Din cursed, gritting his teeth, refusing to let this toddler of a man push him around. "And how would they react to the Korogea deal?"

Sabine smirked. "That's another reason why I chose them. Out of everyone, Clan Awaud would understand and appreciate this kind of deal. They were affected by Crimson Dawn. They took in dozens of refugees affected by that syndicate. They also could help assign guards to Korogea's family, they lead House Arumorut, with over 800 in clan Awaud alone."

His jaw dropped, and Vizsla finally went silent. Two months ago, he would have thought that was the Mandalorian population as a whole, but only one clan? He panted in shock, thinking it all over. 

If Clan Awaud had strong builders, it'd be necessary to have them working with him. Not to mention they would have intricate knowledge of Crimson Dawn's interworkings, and with their clan in a governmental position, they'd be able to pour their skill into the city more easily. With Boba leading that bounty hunters guild, he could set up their remaining mercenaries there. It'd be difficult to dissect and remove Sabine from his government, it'd probably anger plenty, but Clan Awaud's lead would fit nicely. Hopefully, it would all work out. He nodded. "I approve of them then. Let's hope they approve of me too."

"They won't at first, but they're smart enough to not bite the hand that feeds," Sabine admitted with a shrug. "I'll send you their comm code."

"When are you leaving?"

"Once we get things sorted here with the Mandallians."

This was urgent then. "I wish you luck in finding your friend," he said. She dipped her head. "Thank you, Din."

They both perked up at a whistle from far away. When they turned, both of them saw everyone gathered at the edge of the forest. Bo-Katan waved impatiently.

"We should go," they harmonized. Din trotted over, hearing Sabine behind him. He heard the temperamental growling of Tarre, grumbling of how he 'got no respect.' He could only roll his eyes.

"Finally, what took you so long?" Bo-Katan adjured impatiently. 

"Sabine was letting me know she was respectfully stepping down as a political advisor and helped me elect her replacement," Din explained curtly.

A chorus of questions arose from the group, focusing their attention on Sabine. It was now that Din took note of everyone. Most everyone had their helmets off except for him and Tooka. Cashla wore a dark green bruise on her cheek and judging from his stance, her brother was nursing a gnarly contusion on the flank of his ribcage, not that he could see it under his armor to confirm. 

Tooka noticed his staring and attempted to straighten only to whine out. His vod leaned to support him, holding his shoulder as he breathed through the pain. Whatever fight they had was resolved now.

Bo-Katan and her friends seemed angered in a disappointed way as Satine revealed who her replacement was. Kryze seemed almost giddy that his aunt wasn't chosen.

Working with them wouldn't get any easier, he was beginning to realize.

He clapped his hands as Satine wrapped up. "Great, let's go talk to the Mandallian Giants."

"Do they even know we're coming?" Fierce asked.

"Course, I took care of it," Bo-Katan huffed.

"By hacking their system?" Kryze probed snidely. 

"How else was I supposed to message them?" She demanded.

"Oh, I don't know Bo, but maybe hacking people's messaging is a one-way ticket to getting shot-!"

"Enough, Kryze," Din chastised, growing bored of this charade. "She got a message through, we'll deal with any consequences when we get there."

Kryze's face grew sour. He dawned his helmet but didn't speak again.

He let Bo-Katan lead the way, walking close beside her to keep an eye out.

' Verd '

'No,' Din thought in a scold.

'You must listen to me, verd!'

'After what you just did? Absolutely not.'

'I want to help!'

'Help me by shutting the kark up, you useless shabuir-!'

"Thank you," Bo-Katan murmured.

"Hm?" Din asked, convinced he missed something. "For what?"

"For standing by me. I know I'm not... I know you never wanted to do this, and in your mind, I am a shabiir... but I'm trying." 

Din looked at her as they walked. "I've seen what you've done, what you went through with the saber."

She bowed her head shamefully.

He continued. "Then your mind was not your own. But since then, how you judged me and my company, that was your decision. And I find it funny, as you opened the door to help me realize there are many ways to worship Manda, and that I have no right to exclude others from our religion." She finally looked at him. He wondered if she was genuinely curious as to where this was going, or whether she was only waiting to say her pre-prepared argument. "Exclusion of anyone is a repeat of past mistakes, and it will only divide us."

"If this is about your cult-"

"Before they were mine, they were yours," He cut her off. "I don't plan on inviting the Tribe here, they've made their stance clear. However, I do want to acknowledge that everyone deserves to have their beliefs respected. As I rule, what I will make abundantly clear is all those who follow Resol'nare and believe in Manda are Mandalorians. Nothing more is required, but if you wish to be orthodox that is fine, and should be respected. I will not let mistakes be repeated, or history be weaponized."

He stared at her once more. "If you can't stand by me with that if you insist upon holding your beliefs, biases, and hypocrisy above the good of the people, then I will always know that I made the right decision in never letting you have any true governmental position. Prove me wrong. Cause what we build here, with or without you, will make history. Only you can decide who you want to be remembered as." 

He looked back, glancing at Kryze who was already staring at him. He lifted his chin, a mute 'same goes to you' was shared before he looked forward. 

No one spoke from then on until they reached the Mandallian village. The buildings towered over them, each built around the thick jungle trees. Most of the giants were anywhere from three to five meters, with children running around the village streets having to be well over a meter. Din kept his head high and eyes straight, making his way to the center with Bo-Katan. This would (hopefully) be a quick in and out.

In the city center sat a luxurious home. It had to be the leaders. He went to knock only for the door to open on its own. Out stepped a man, the largest of all the Mandallian giants he'd seen so far. He was wearing extravagant armor and looked strong enough to tear a tree up with its roots all intact. His skin shimmered with moist green scales and purple cloths circled his waist. When he looked down at Din, he smiled, showing off his needle-like teeth and his fin-like ears twitched similar to how Grogu's did when he was excited.

"Mandalorians! When we r'ceived your mesh'age, I mush shay, we were shocked. D'ought you all died long ah'go." He stated in broken basic, his accent slurring the words together and giving them odd sounds that must have aligned with his native language. He surveyed the group. "Ish this all?"

“No, there are a lot more clans, this is only our current government. We are on a mission to reestablish a home for ourselves," Din replied. 

“Re-eshablish?” He huffed in interest. “Where?”

“That's why we're here to see you. We have gotten the deed for your planet from Quelii sectors sovereign and made an alliance of sorts," Kryze cut in. 

"We were hoping to make a similar deal here, with you, for residence,” Bo-Katan added calmly. 

“Dat shector was of no wo'ray to ush,” the man scoffed. Din stood taller, hearing something in the far corner of his mind. 

'He's lying,' Tarre whispered.

Why Din could tell when Luke and Leia were lying, but not this Mandallian giant, he may never know. He decided to trust Tarre's words, coming up with a counterpoint quickly. 

“They were going to become one though. I’m sure you knew that.” Din tilted his chin up. In response, the Mandallian leader only squinted at him. “Given what’s been happening in the sector. You knew it was only a matter of time before those ‘problems’ in the Quelii sector started affecting everyone in the Mandalore sector. You included. Crimson Dawn is known for taking over planets like this, ones that aren't metropolitans and instead, holding indigenous cultures such as yours that respect the land."

He continued, not letting the leader cut in "They'd set up camps here on parts of the planet you haven't checked in on for years, arm themselves to ensure you'd leave them alone, and branch out, infecting the rest of the sector. It'd be easy too, especially since the Mandalore system is so abandoned no one will go near it. You'd be overwhelmed and know the pain so many others have felt thanks to those criminals.” Din proclaimed coldly.

The Mandallian leader walked closer and kneeled heavily, making the ground shake a little. “Ish dat sho?”

“It is, and I think you know that,” he made his voice sharp. “But, we plan to drive off Crimson Dawn from the Quelii sector. Far from all of us. Through that deed, I have been promised to be repaid with ownership of the Mandalore sector again. Then you can have your planet all to yourself, as you should. All I ask of you is a re-establishment of our alliance from years ago and let us have a temporary residence for the Mandalorian people. If you agree, we’ll trade with you, and fight with you to keep Mandallia safe. While on the side fixing Mandalore’s pollution issue so we can move in over there as soon as possible. I believe we can- and should- help each other,” He took a breath. He needed to give the Mandallian leader a final push. “But if you refuse, I will step up and do what is necessary for my people.”

The Mandallian ruler huffed in disbelief. He stared, then chuckled, his face crinkling with delight. “You Mandalorians don’t ch'ange. Gutsay ash evar.”

Din sighed in relief. 'I can't believe that karking worked.' “There’s a reason we get along.” He quipped back.

He laughed, shaking his head. "I am Chif of the Mandallians, Wanrog, Shon of Zarog."

"Din Djarin, Mand'alor of Mandalorians."

Wanrog nodded. "I will ay'llow your pe'ple to shay, ash long ash you live far from here an' leave ush en peash."

"There is a citadel, in the grasslands between the 'Great Mosay Woods' and the 'Hollow Hole Desert'." Bo-Katan cut in, trying to add an accent to pronounce the places but failing to get it quite right. "It was once owned by Mandalorians, we planned on staying there, is that alright?"

He couldn't help but be thankful, he had no clue where they were going.

"Yesh, not like my pe'ple coh'uld shay there. Far too shmall." He hummed. "D'ere’s a rivar, fertile land an' it ish open but hash woods. It’ll be goo'd for you and your pe'ple.”

“Thank you. Can we talk territory, so we don’t cross boundaries and push your limits? I’d hate to be a bad guest,” Din lightened his voice to be as polite as possible.

“Yesh, but aye mush shate, aye can on'lay be sho kind. Aye will not let you shay forevar. You will have, at mosht ey'ight years to be rid of 'Crimson Dah'wn' and fix'sh dat radiated rahck of a planet. Aftar dat, my pe'ple will chase you out for being leeches on our land," Wanrog promised. "And I expect shome kind of 'repaymant'."

“Trust me, your kindness will be rewarded,” Din said in relief. He wasn’t too bad at this.

'I'm glad I could be of service,' Tarre snorted. At his silence, the specter sighed dramatically. 'Use and abuse me, I see how it is.'

'Is that not what you're doing to me?' Din thought in response.

'Don't mistake me for your jetii. I just want what's best for you.'

Din snarled fiercely, 'Don't. Luke isn't like that.'

Tarre snorted snidely. 'Got kicked in the face yet you still lick his boot? I thought you were smarter.'

He shook his head. He knew Tarre was just trying to get under his skin because of the Awaud situation. Whatever personal vendetta he had was none of Din's problem. 'Even after what he did, I'd rather lick his boots than even so much as kneel before yours.' 

'I do nothing but help you-!'

'You forget that you also kept my powers from me! And you have hurt me far more than you have ever helped me!' Din hissed the last of his thoughts, kicking a bit of his anger at the man. At that, Tarre became noiseless; holding a stewing, enraged silence. Maybe Din was wrong for that, but he was in this because of him; these other souls were stuck here because of him. Not to mention the crawling, admittedly slightly fearful, feeling the capricious Jedi gave him.

Luke had hurt him, that was true, but Tarre had lied as well as caused the suffering of millions. To even try to compare the two was ridiculous.

He shook his head, clearing the fog to come back to reality. His dazed state seemingly went unnoticed.

Wanrog led him into his home, helping him to a seat where they drafted a territory agreement. He signed, and with that, the land was his. They walked back in excited silence.

Once at their ships, Din shared the given specific coordinates of the citadel with everyone. How they would all get there, he was unsure, but Kryze and Bo-Katan assured him they'd take care of it. Sabine was the first to leave. The Nite Owls decided to head straight to the citadel.

As Din went to follow, Red beeped at him.

"What?" He asked. The droid turned, and Din could only follow his gaze, seeing Cashla hugging Tooka tight. 

She was leaving then.

It was wrong to feel bitter that Luke got Cashla, as he only felt it now after their fight. He wouldn't throw a fit, there was no point. He approached quietly, watching the siblings bump foreheads. 

"I'll visit whenever I can!" Cashla promised. She then quickly shoved her brother away, leaping into her buir's embrace. Fierce held her tight, squeezing his eyes shut before pulling back. He squatted slightly to be at eye level with her, his brown eyes were soft and a bit teary.

"You are going to do so much. And I'm so proud of you" he said, running his thumbs along her cheeks. He wiped away the tears trying to make a mad dash down her face. 

"You'll tell the vod'ike I'm sorry, right?"

"No, because there's nothing to be sorry for," he pulled away. "Go learn how to be a jetii. Show me how far you can push those powers."

"Yeah. Save the galaxy or whatever," Tooka snorted, though it was weepy. "Put that ship to good use you spoiled brat. Before I get jealous and try to steal it again."

'Ah, so that's what they were fighting over.' Din realized, holding in a chuckle. It was also probably Cashla's leaving but the fact that's what made Tooka snap was humorous. To him at least. He cleared his throat. The Stokaxs and Kryze, who'd respectfully remained quiet as the clan bid farewell, all looked at him, standing straighter instantly. He approached Cashla. "I wish you luck in all your endeavors. Mandalore will miss you."

She smiled at him, tucking her head. "Thank you, Din. I- I can't thank you enough."

That helped alleviate his jealousy. A soft reminder this wasn't about him or Luke, it was about Cashla. "Any time, kid."

He watched as she hopped into her V-Wing. Its engine spluttered before starting and in seconds she had taken off. 

He looked to Fierce. "Go pack up your family, and get back soon. I'll really need your riduur's help in starting the farms as quickly as possible."

His advisor nodded obediently, and with that, Din was left alone with Kryze.

He expected him to leave with the Stokax but the man seemed stern on having a private word with him.

"Kryze," He greeted, offering him to speak.

"I want to apologize for Bo-Katan and I's feuding. I can't promise I'll stop, but I'll try to remain professional from now on," he declared. He kept his chin raised and arms stiffly to his sides like a soldier reporting to a colonel. 

"Thank you, I appreciate your effort" Din replied. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, I uh... well not I, but House Kryze, my House Kryze, not my aunts, we got you-" he sighed. "Just, follow me." 

Din went willingly, following him to his gunship, and opening its cargo hold. He clicked a button on his vambrace, and after some whirring, a floating pram flew out. 

It was nearly twice the size of Grogu's old one and way more reinforced. It looked like a mini-starfighter, having long flat wings with mini-blaster canons on the end, and a canopy over top. With another click, the pram's wings sucked in and a thick armored top clamped over the glass canopy; making it look like an armored egg. The final click pulled back the armor and front part of the windshield, revealing the padding and blanket in it.

"I talked to Fett, he told me you lost the carriage Grogu had and... I don't know, given how we live, and what Grogu's been through, thought he could use this.

Din stared at him. "Thank you." 

Kryze preened a bit, standing tall- or at least, as tall as he could- and nodded. "You are our Mand'alor. And your boy is our alo'adiik, he deserves gifts just like you."

"Heh. If you ask me, he deserves way more than I do. I'd give him the galaxy on a string if I could."

Kryze snorted. He helped calibrate the pram to Din's vambrace before climbing into his gunship "See you in the next few days."

Din ducked his head. With that, the cockpit's cover closed and Kryze was flying off.

He went back to his ship, packing the pram away to keep it safe. The first part was done, with only hundreds more to go. Thankfully, in a few days, he'd be able to grab Grogu.

The only bad part was he would need to update Korogea, and unfortunately, therefore Leia, about where on Mandallia they were located. He wanted to respect the Mandallian giants so he'd be sure to emphasize the territory borders.

He shot a message to Senator Organa from his starfighter. 

Din: Mandallian camp is set and construction should start soon, when should we meet?

Right now, it'd be about midday on Coruscant, but he didn't know when she'd respond. While he was able to start a small fire, cook his meal, eat, and settle into a comfortable position to sleep when she finally responded. Reluctantly, he got up. 

Leia: Korogea and I are free next Taungsday.

He confirmed before finally going to sleep. Though, it would not be very restful.

He felt the press of a warm body on his. He held it close, clinging to them as tightly as he could. He never wanted to let go.

"Riye- you're crushing me a bit," he snorted

"Sorry," Luke murmured, loosening his grip on Din. The man turned in his arms holding onto him lightly and snuggling into his chest. He worked his fingers through his curls as Din navigated the scars lining his body through touch alone.

"We should get up soon."

"Soon. Not now."

Din hummed, leaning into his ear. "Is that what you said every time you decided to lie to me?"

Luke felt his heart freeze. "...pardon?"

"I trusted you so much... Why didn't you trust me too?" Din whimpered, his voice teetering on a sob. Repeating the words he said on the night that haunted Luke still.

He felt Din leave, not as if he left the bed but as if he disappeared in a second. He ripped off his blindfold, glancing around to find only his empty bedroom. He sighed.

Dreams were cruel.

It had been three weeks. Not obscenely long, in fact, there was a time when weeks went by in a flash. Now each day seemed to just drag on. Mornings were the hardest, maybe it was him growing used to their routine, or he'd been spoiled by Din making him caf. 

It didn't taste the same.

He didn't know how, he used the same grounds, the same sugar, the same milk... it just tasted bitter again. Maybe even more so with the reminder of what he had that he probably would never have again.

The first days were the most difficult, with explaining to Grogu what happened and having to deal with the child's justified coldness. He'd never live down the mortification of how excited he got when Din first called, only to find out he didn't want to see Luke at all and just called to tell Grogu good night. He understood it, but that stung. Badly. But he was able to be happy overall, Grogu seemed very happy to have his dad call him, teach him some Mando'a and then go to bed as his dad recited the daily remembrance. By the time Luke got back to take the tablet, Din had hung up.

The first few days he realized the sub-losses he had taken in Din's leaving: he didn't have someone to alternate cooking with, he didn't have someone to help watch Grogu, he didn't have someone to spar with. 

He had lost his best friend.

Artoo was more than upset that he'd lost his friend too. He gave Luke far more of a hassling than Grogu did. 

Though, he did still have a cuddle buddy, whether he wanted it or not. He pulled back the covers, revealing his green student curled next to him

"Hey cutie, we talked about you needing to sleep in your own bed," Luke murmured. Grogu whined, climbing into his lap and rubbing his face against Luke's sleep shirt. He pet the back of his head, tiredly. "We have to get up ya know..."

The boy only whined louder, clinging to him tightly. 

He held Grogu close as he got up. He moved to the living room, trying to set the lad down on the rug. He was able to trade the freedom of his shirt for a cozy blanket that he wrapped around his affectionate student.

All in all, he took Din's leaving better than he thought. Tears were shed obviously, but Grogu seemed relieved that his dad called him each night, and even better with the promise to grab him soon. In the only comm messaging conversation they had since their fight, they'd agreed to switch off every three to four weeks. Which... he hoped that wouldn't be horribly awkward. They hadn't discussed any pass-off plans, and honestly, Luke was too terrified to even try and start a conversation with Din. 

Not afraid of him, obviously, but afraid of pushing any boundaries. Though, he might need to.

His holotablet rang loudly, halting his thoughts. He knabbed it off the counter and picked it up once he saw who it was. He placed it flatback on the counter so Leia's projection could properly filter through.

"Hey," She greeted, cool and calm, but held back. "How are you?"

"Better than yesterday," he admitted.

"Well, that's good!" She looked at him sadly. "I know I said it a thousand times already but... I'm sorry it ended the way it did."

"Yeah, me too," he sighed. He glanced at Grogu, who had made a cacoon of the blanket he had been given. At least he got to keep his student. He perked up, feeling a light twitch of anticipation from his sister. Slowly he looked back at Leia, knowing already that she wanted to tell him something. "How are you?"

Leia hesitated. "It's not that big of a deal-"

"Leia," Luke urged.

Her face broke, but she covered it. "I'm pregnant."

The only thing he could feel was unbridled joy. "Leia, that's fantastic! How far along are you?! How long have you known?"

"A few weeks and I just found out an hour ago! You're the second I told, I promise!"

"Well, who was the first?!" 

"Uh, my husband?" She chuckled as Luke 'oh'ed. "I was going into the doctor thinking I had something wrong with me, and left finding out I was pregnant, of course, I'm telling him first."

"You didn't tell him about Ben first," he jabbed, it only joking and in good fun.

"Yeah, well, I didn't know how to tell him then. I needed support!" Leia snickered.

"How'd you tell him this time? Sit down conversation?"

"No, I texted him, I can't listen to him practice dad jokes with me and fake scenarios for the next three hours."

"Han does love his fake scenarios," Luke chuffed in response.

His sister smiled wide, holding her face with her hand. She huffed looking at him. "I'm sorry, I made this about me."

"No! It was... a nice distraction," he sighed. "I have to contact him today, and ask about pass-off plans for Grogu."

"You could just drop him off here," she suggested easily. "Din and I have a meeting planned with Korogea soon anyway."

"He's... still seeing you?" Luke asked, trying to not let his envy show.

"He doesn't really have a choice, Luke. We are connected through Korogea and politics, plus I'm sure he and his people will need some help building up their city. It's not like he and I are going to be having tea and talking about life. It's all business."

Luke tilted his head in acknowledgment. Even if it wasn't, he had no right to be jealous. "Yeah, alright. That might save us some headache." 

He sent off a quick message to Din asking if Leia could be their middleman in the pass-off. On Mandallia currently, it was in the early morning, about three. So he didn't count on him responding anytime soon-

Din: Sure, sounds good.

Luke blew out a breath. It pained him not to ask why Din was up so late. If he was ok or needed anything. They weren't like that anymore. And who was he to judge Din's sleep patterns? He'd not been sleeping well either.

"He agreed," Luke told her simply. He tapped the counter. "Maybe he could use the building droids I did for my school? I mean, I'm not using them anymore and..." He saw his sister's face morph into a barely maintained scolding look. He sighed. "I just want to help."

"I know, but it won't be seen like that," she sighed. "I can offer the droids to him, but that would mean a Republic ship would get the droids from you and send them to him."

Luke nodded, better to offer and be shut down than never offer at all. Leia noted it. A silence dragged on between the twins. He felt her gaze fill with pity. Or maybe he just felt pitiful. She had warned him, time and time again; like an oracle, she called exactly how this lie would cave in on him. Yet he kept it up.

She wouldn't coddle him, Leia wouldn't tell him things would be just fine, and inflate him with false hope. She also wouldn't beat on him when he was already this far down. Now would be one of the few times she'd allow him to dodge the subject.

"So, the baby... boy or girl?"

"What do you not understand about a few weeks?" Leia scoffed.

"Well excuse me, but a few weeks for you could be anywhere between two and twenty!" Luke smirked as his sister laughed.

She rolled her eyes dramatically, shaking her head at him. "I don't know, I don't really care either as long as they're healthy."

"I think you want a boy."

"And what makes you say that?"

"Having a girl might mean a mini you," he smirked as horror filled Leia's face. "You'll finally know how your parents felt raising you."

"You're evil," she whispered in a fake sneer. Giggling she palmed her chin, "Though to be fair, pretty sure Ben's got more of my personality than I want to admit."

Luke snorted at the thought of Han being triple-nagged and dominated by his wife, son, and new baby. It did tickle him, just a bit. 

He jumped up feeling someone enter the atmosphere. He tilted his head, this person was unfamiliar. Then he perked up, this must be Cashla. "She's here."

"Oh, the new student?"

"Yeah, I gotta go! Love you, bye!" 

"Wha- oh ok- bye!" She said quickly before being cut off. He picked up Grogu, giving him a small sweet roll from the cooling chamber. He'd give him something more fueling after he greeted his new student. 

As he walked out he saw the ship- a very rough-looking V-Wing- landing on the front lawn. 

The canopy lifted off the cockpit with the creak so deafening it nearly hurt to hear, revealing her colorful curved montrals. She peeked over the ship's edge from her seat before climbing out, nervous as all get out. 

She was... much taller than him, and even though her montrals were shorter, she was likely taller than Ahsoka too. She smiled toothily, her brows angled to give away her anxiety.

"Hi, I'm Cashla! ...Stokax- Cashla Stokax! Ahem. It's nice to meet you, Jedi Master Skywalker," She bowed stiffly. 

"Please, just call me Luke, and it's nice to meet you too, Cashla," he smiled. 

She nodded, glancing at Grogu. She seemed to relax with him, her face changing and giving away that they were conversing. He took the opportunity to look her ship over, which if he was being honest, wasn't that bad. It was missing some plating and definitely could use some new parts, but it was a good ship. Something Cashla would get good use out of for years.

He perked up when he heard his new student gasp. "This is Din's son?!" She asked. At his nod she squealed, putting her hands on her bent knees to be at eye level with the kid. "Well, I bet you just have all the best stories of your dad, huh?" She looked up at Luke. "You know him pretty well, yeah?"

"Din? Uh, yeah, I do- or I did." He sucked his teeth. What a way to start things off. 

She strongly hesitated before seeming to decide it was better to ask and apologize than not ask at all. "His power... what is it?"

"I'm unsure, and it's not my business to push," he tried to redirect.

"I know- I know I should ask him but it's just I have met a species with his power before. Granite, it was nonsentient so it didn't have as complex emotions but-"

"Wait, you've seen his power before?" At her nod, he prodded. "Where and what species?"

"The ysalamiri on Mykr. I always wanted to study them but I never got to." 

"What did you learn?"

"That they, like the Mand'alor, can repel and disable the Force's influence in a certain range. They can even hide themselves from Force users by hiding their Force signature by almost blurring themselves into their surroundings. Though, he's complicated. He can push his feelings on others and sometimes seems to be affected himself by others, like an empath. However, I think this emotional influence affects people like us more because-" she stood tall, seeming to deem that she'd been talking too much. "I'm sorry, I know it's wrong to observe others-"

"To observe is to be aware." Luke thought over his next words carefully. "You should inform him of your thoughts though, Din is knowledgable of his power but informing him of everything you notice and things he can compare it to might help him learn ways to hone it even more so."

She nearly beamed. "You think he'll appreciate it?"

"Yes. Once you do that, you should meet me inside to eat breakfast, and we'll then work on honing your skills."

Cashla bounced now, giddy with excitement. "Yes, Master Luke."

He couldn't help but feel a little enthusiastic at that; he now had two students, and he'd slowly gain more. 

Din watched as each craft soared above. There were hundreds of ships; Bo-Katan's Nite Owls had brought an entire Star Destroyer they had claimed after the Empire's fall. There were several cargo ships, most likely heavy with supplies.

The citadel was old, crumbling, and definitely needed work, but it was beautiful. It sat on barely higher ground than the open fields surrounding it. 

The open fields once held sparse farmhouses, now only holding their carcasses and foundations. The land was flat and clearly once was farmland. The river that ran next to it was a torrent, a large waterway that raced from the Great Mossy Woods, curving and weaving its way out and then back in. They'd source the water, build a large crater to fill into a lake, and then redistribute the water to go to the farmlands, and to the city.

The insides of the citadel were not so open. It held close-knit buildings and homes long decayed and broken down but they'd be easy to rebuild. At the heart of it all, where one would expect a castle, there was a colosseum. It was filled with seats on the bottom half, and the top held rooms with balconies to watch the fight below. 

He had many ideas on what to do with that.

'You'll keep it a colosseum, won't you? History and traditions matter you know. When I was Mand'alor, I used it too-' Tarre asked.

Din scoffed. "Do you ever shut up?"

"What?" Fierce asked, his accent inflecting it. 

"Nothing, just..." he sighed through his nose. 

"Is uh... that the...?" He pointed to his head and then made his hand flap as if mocking someone talking. He was asking about the souls. Clearly, the awkward comedic nature his children held came from him. 

He also couldn't help but think that maybe he shouldn't have been so candid with everyone. He looked around self-consciously. No one was looking, but how many judged based on what he revealed about the saber? How many were just waiting for him to show weakness? "...yeah," he mumbled in admission.

Fierce bobbed his head in understanding. "Ya know, Cashla, she had nightmares a lot, about things happening to people, ...guess those are called prophecies or, something I don't know." He shook his head, taking a breath. "But uh... she talked to me, about it. I'm not the smartest man, sometimes my own students educate me on things, but I'm a hell of a listener."

Din relaxed a little. That... would be nice-

He felt a phantom feeling of a hand on the back of his neck. It gripped him tight, and a heinous voice hissed in his ear. 'Remember what happened the last time you trusted someone,' Tarre hissed.

Din swallowed hard as the pinch released from his shoulder. "Thank you, but I'm fine."

The unbridled joy Tarre felt was sickening, Fierce's look of disappointment and concern only added salt to the wound.

"Right." He stood tall, puffing his chest pridefully. His rejection barely phased him. "Ja is putting in posts, marking off areas she wants as farmland."

"Didn't she just get here this morning?"

"Barely hit the ground when she hopped out with her stakes and tape," Fierce huffed. "But that enthusiasm is why I married her, so, to be expected."

Din chuffed. "Well, I'm excited to see how she leads things with agriculture. Anything she needs, I'll provide."

"She'll want digger droids, to reroute the water. She doesn't exactly need it, give her two weeks she'll get it done, but..." He shrugged. "Droids make it easy."

Din nodded, "I can arrange that. When we talk to Kryze, Bo-Katan, and Awaud later, we'll figure out things. I need to bring the request from Korogea and Senator Organa."

Fierce looked a bit excited, though it was reserved. "Have you met them yet?" He asked. Din could only tilt his head. "The lead of Clan Awaud, I've heard they have wicked armor."

"Ah- not yet," he grumbled. All he'd done was message them, finding out their clan crest from Sabine and not much else. They were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago. 

Looking at the sky, he saw a massive fleet of ships enter the atmosphere. There were several large Old Republic cargo ships, each with the Awaud crest painted on the side. He took a breath, "There they are, can you go get Bo-Katan and Kryze? Meet me at the colosseum." 

As Fierce nodded, Din trotted off to where the Awauds were landing. If things didn't go right with them, what would he do? He'd only gotten this far cause people were compliant and helpful when working with him. All he could hope was that Awaud would do the same.

The citizens of House Arumorut seemed to be more fond of wearing armor, with a good third wearing all armor including their helmets. Odd as Sabine mentioned them disliking the Watch. Maybe it had more to do with the Watch's actions and not their orthodox beliefs.  

Most of the citizens barely acknowledged him more with a head jerk of greeting. He stood a bit taller upon seeing someone. He knew what Fierce meant about Awaud's armor now.

They wore the skin of a krayt dragon as their cape, it draping behind to be grabbed and used as a shield if the blaster burns told him anything. Their body, while wearing metal armor, were also adorned with trophies from the beast. Some of its claws, spikes, and maybe even its teeth were attached to the joints of their body, while their chest plate and thigh guards held grafted parts of the bone. Most interestingly was the helmet; while still Mandalorian in style, it now held spikes cut from the krayt dragon, making the helmet mock the creature's head shape with the back of the helmet bulging out. The front, however, remained flat, only imitating its snout by painting the beast's teeth on the cheek dips of the helmet. 

'They feel off.' Tarre hummed in hesitation.

'You think everyone feels off.' 

'Yes, but they feel like you when you hide. Disconnected from the Force entirely. They just feel... foreign.'

'Foreign?'

'Not of this galaxy. It's very interesting.' 

'Well, feel free to jump in their mind. Manda knows I wouldn't miss you.'

Tarre snarled in response, settling into his spot at the back of Din's mind firmly.

Awaud approached, and they only grew the closer they came, standing at two meters at least, not towering over him as Korogea did, but still tall. Their hand outstretched. "I'm Dizudu Awaud. Where is the Mand'alor?"

"I am the Mand'alor, you can call me Djarin." Din dipped his head. 

"Oh," they slowly tilted their head at him. "I imagined you would be more... well-built," they remarked, almost taunting him. Not in a playful way either.

Din huffed. 'Jagyc.' He thought though he didn't dare say it aloud. "Can you step away for a second? I was hoping to talk to you and the others about where to start with the city."

"Are you incapable of making those decisions on your own?" They asked, so kindly that it almost sounded genuine. 

His jaw dropped slightly. He heard a boisterous laugh erupt from Tarre as the voices grumbled about how rude Dizudu was. 

"I can, but I thought I'd get your opinion. Let you have a say in it," Din replied, trying to ride the line of keeping his voice stern but not angry.

Dizudu hummed in thought. "Interesting, I didn't know a Child of the Watch was capable of working with others outside their cult." 

He barely held in a groan. He did not need another Bo-Katan.

They gestured for him to lead, which he did. going straight to the broken-down colosseum. He caught sight of Fierce, Kryze, and Bo-Katan waiting. While they were talking, they stopped upon seeing him, and they all went a bit wide-eyed at seeing Dizudu. He couldn't tell if it was over their armor or size and stature, maybe both. Din went to introduce them, but it seemed they didn't need that.

"Greetings, I'm Dizudu Awaud of Clan Awaud, lead of House Arumorut," they stated. Everyone else introduced themselves as well. 

They didn't wait when diving into discussing the next steps with their city. Everyone seemed to agree that they needed to focus on farming and building homes before anything else, but also that they needed to send people out to make money in any way possible, whether it be through trading or mercenary work. The whole mention of financials stirred sickening feelings in Din, it made his chest feel tight and was entirely headache-inducing. Hell, all the responsibilities he was taking on were anxiety-inducing.

They were assigned sections of the city and tasked to each make a list of items needed. Each person agreed to scan the city for specific numbers of supplies; with the help of others and droids, of course.

“Fixing the colosseum can come after we get everyone settled. Senators and other leaders can stay there when making business deals, as well as any other guests," Din suggested. That would please Korogea. "I did a sweep of it this morning, there are dining halls that would be-“

“Perfect for eparave and celebrations!” Bo-Katan finished, getting openly excited. He was glad someone was having fun with these plans. “Some clans suggested we get rid of the whole thing, but I like that better!”

“Why would some want to get rid of it?” Din asked.

“They say it’s barbaric. It was where the Mand'alor would fight challengers," Kryze admitted. He could only hesitate. Was that why Tarre wanted it? But... wouldn't that mean more souls get trapped in the saber?

'Tarre?'

The specter hesitated, and then he blew up. 'I never said I wanted you to keep it for challenges! I have done nothing but try to help control the voices! I've even numbed them so they only whisper to not bother you! How dare you accuse me of such!'

Din gritted his teeth. 'Sorry,' he thought reluctantly.

The spirit only huffed indignantly. He blinked back to reality, realizing he'd gone quiet for too long.

"Well, I don't plan to do that. Maybe we could make it a... spectacle of some sort. Something less..." He made a sound of hesitation.

“‘We kill each other for leadership roles’-y yeah,” Fierce finished. “What about a training ground? For our ade and apprentices?”

"Course our teacher would suggest that," Kryze chuckled. Fierce rolled his eyes with a small grin.

“People may view this as you being ashamed of our soldier ways,” Dizudu expressed.

He straightened subconsciously, trying to be more professional with them. “Not ashamed. Just keeping up appearances. It’s still a colosseum but I’m trying to show that we can’t run into every situation guns blazing, as easy as that is.” Din explained. “I hate those verbal battles of wit as much as the next person, probably more so, but it has to be done for the sake of Mandalore.”

“If you had let me go along, I could have assisted,” Bo-Katan said passive-aggressively. Kryze snorted.

"I'd do twice a better job than you-" Kryze argued.

“Once again, neither of you is going anywhere unless you fix this feud you have,” Din cut in.

“Korkie is just being a child.” She scoffed. Kryze glared at her.

“Kryze has reasonable grievances. The fact you both can’t address it and talk it through makes you both worse than children, you're stonewalling each other and I see that. Our people can see that.”

Bo-Katan looked away. “That’s not what we’re here to talk about. We need to start fixing the city. Get the farmers started on the fields. Everyone needs to contribute somehow.”

“Ok.” Din sighed. “Let's get started.”

As everyone broke, Kryze stopped him. "Din, you know you can call me Korkie, right?" he asked.

He tilted his head. "You never told me I could."

Korkie tilted his head right back at him. "I didn't know I had to." He paused seeming to realize something. "To you, calling someone by name is a privilege. Isn't it?"

"It is." He hadn't ever considered that people might not know that. 

"I'll make sure others know to give the name they want you to call them."

He dipped his head in thanks. As Korkie trotted off, Din saw Dizudu waiting for him by one of the many arches the colosseum held. He closed his eyes. There would be no break for him. He needed to get used to that.

"Where is the Watch located? I want to avoid them," They stated plainly.

"Not here." At their head tilt, he reluctantly explained. "I removed my helmet multiple times in many efforts to save my son. To them I am dar'manda."

Dizudu gasped a bit at the word, straightening stiffly. They stared at him, the quiet drawing taught with tension. "I see." They murmured finally, quietly. "I don't entirely belong here either. Removing my helmet would disgrace me, not only because of my creed but..." They paused. "I would reveal that I don't belong more than most realize."

He stared at them curiously, feeling that Tarre was almost doubly interested. Pushing and begging for Din to interrogate them on what they meant, where they came from, and what exactly they were. He refused skillfully. He didn't care, and it was none of his business anyway.

"It doesn't matter. Either way, if my friends or clan were in trouble, I would do the same as you," they stated easily. They looked at him, "Though I'm sure some of my clan would still judge me, they would never disown me." They paused, seeming to regret being so callous... but not enough to apologize. "I have no respect for you. As a member of the Children of the Watch, I think anyone could and would do better than you... but I hold empathy as a person who was disgraced and cast out by their own species long ago; as well as a fellow follower of the creed who would hate to be humiliated like that. I hope you can find some way to forgive yourself."

Din swallowed hard. That day felt very, very far away. "Is House Arumorut accepting of all? Both those who have and haven't taken the creed?"

"Of course. We are much too big to all follow one strict belief system. We view the creed as a way to unite those who need that close connection to Manda. Some find enough community and have a close connection without taking the creed." They straightened suddenly. "Why? Do you plan on enforcing the creed?"

"No, quite the opposite. I want what House Arumorut has to be what all Mandalorians share. That there isn't gatekeeping and everyone accepts one another and their beliefs," he clarified hopefully.

"You will never achieve that. Even in House Arumorut, we argue over our beliefs, and we are a close community. Here," they shook their head, "you are fighting an uphill battle."

"Better to try and fail than never try at all," he hummed. Dizudu only scoffed.

"You function very well for how foolish you are."

"Glad you figured that out earlier rather than later. Now you can't be disappointed by me." 

They shook their head with barely contained mirth. "For building the city, we may also need builder droids to help this all go faster."

"I'll get you anything I can."

They nodded curtly before walking off. Din took in a deep breath. That was... a lot, being Mand'alor was a lot. There would be so much debt accrued, and though no one challenged him now, it was a matter of time until they did. But they were getting things done. 

'Pushover,' Tarre grumbled.

He rolled his eyes. He didn't know what had suddenly changed in the spirit to make him so talkative, but Din hated it. Not that what Tarre said was untrue, it's just he didn't want to hear it.

His chest just felt tight. He leaned against the archways wall. There was still so much to do.

'There's so little you've done,' the Jedi pushed. 'You've barely done anything.'

"Shut up," Din snarled, it coming out much weaker than he expected.

'I'm just being honest! Do you even know what to do next once the city is built?'

He swallowed. "That's... far from now-"

'Not as far as you think! Where are you even going to get the supplies from? Do you think Leia will help you? Do you even want her to help?'

He felt his heart beat faster as his breaths grew shallow. "Yes-!" He yelled.

'Then you are even more pathetic than I thought! You'll just end up alone again, cast out! Like the dar'manda you are.' Din whined quietly at that, clutching his chest. He felt his heart beating through his armor. So fast and hard that it hurt, his head pulsing right along with it. He tried to stabilize himself on the wall of the archway, but his legs were too weak to hold him, ending up with him sliding down it. 'Let me in.'

"What?!" Din barked out.

'I can help! Let. Me. In!'

"N-No!" 

'You can't do this, Din. You were barely a notable bounty hunter, what makes you think you're good enough as a leader?'

"I've done fine so far!"

'Because of Luke! Now he's betrayed you, and you have no one! You can't handle this- you never could! Let me in! I can take care of this- you cannot!'

Each breath he took was shorter than the last. He was mortified at how hard his body was shaking, his ears ringing, stomach lurching. Maybe he couldn't do this. How could he be a leader if he couldn't even control his mind? Couldn't control his own body?

He watched as his vision blurred at the edges, darkness edging in as warmth forced its way into his senses. 

Then he felt something press into him, his mental wall slamming back into place at the sudden contact. He ignored the angered shouts of Tarre as he looked to Red. The droid was pushing its head into him, the way a loth-cat bunted against you, only much harsher

'What in the name of Malachor has gotten into you?!' is what he meant to say, but all he got out was a mumbled, breathless "Wha...?" 

The droid warbled deeply. Nothing comprehendible, or maybe he just couldn't understand it. He needed to pull it together. He tried to stand only to be bowled over. "Red!"

"[You must stay sitting! You're still hyperventilating!]" He scolded.

Din stared at his droid in astonishment but stayed seated. He focused on slowing and deepening his breathing, petting Red's head. Somehow... somehow that offered comfort. He sighed shakily, feeling his lungs slowly released from their constricted state. Gradually, the voices returned to him, whispering in concern and touching his body softly.

"How did you know where I was?"

"[I always keep track of you. I have to take care of you- that's my job.]"

'Great, so now I'm a child.' Din thought bitterly. "Sorry, I'm a grown man, you shouldn't have to comfort me-"

"[It's not childish to need help. Anxiety is very common in both sentient and nonsentient beings.]" Red explained easily. Din groaned in embarrassment. "[Plus, I like being here for you.]"

He sighed, resting his chin on Red's head. That... that felt good to hear. He wasn't alone, he just... he needed to not listen to Tarre.

But saying that was much easier than doing it.

He was nearly bouncing as Coruscant's surface entered view. He couldn't wait to see Grogu. Escaping Mandallia, even if for only a few hours, was a luxury. Even if he wasn't entirely alone.

"Sorry you had to come on this kid," Din sighed.

"You kidding?" Tooka snorted, looking at him as he effortlessly landed his buir's ship in the hanger. "Not only is it my job, as your bodyguard, but also, spending time with you is fun!"

"Well, this probably won't be," he admitted regretfully.

The man merely shrugged. "Then I'll just find some way to entertain myself." Tooka turned off the ship's engine. "Is your son here already?"

"Yes!" He replied excitedly, maybe a little too excitedly. He cleared his throat, making himself settle, but it was hard. He had missed his boy so much.

On top of that, Tarre was quiet the second they left Mandallia, and he had retreated into his little corner the second they entered Coruscant's atmosphere. Which was a treat all on its own. The voices, however, were ecstatic. The ones he could hear were whispering incomprehensible praises about Grogu, and how cute he was. How excited they were to see him. He was puffing with pride. 

"He is. We have some time before Korogea arrives, so I'll get to spend it with him."

Tooka perked up, "Will we be with Senator Organa?"

Din hesitated. "Yes... why?"

"I want to ask her some things," he answered, overly sly. 

He only squinted at the zabrak, "Don't you start anything. We need good relations." 'And if anyone gets to start shit, it's me but I'm going to be good.'

"No, I won't! Promise! Innocent, professional questions only, I swear!" 

Din hummed as he fixed his fluffy, fancy cape. He looked down to Red who chirped at him. He pet his head and felt his body relax further. "Alright then, let's go."

They walked down the ramp, entering the congressional building with confidence. Din remembered the layout pretty well from the last meeting, but it seemed he didn't need to.

"Master Mand'alor! Master Stokax! Oh, it's ever so good to see you both!" Threepio greeted cheerily. He looked to Red. "You as well, Red. You are much more palatable than Artoo."

Din blinked. He had no idea that Threepio would dislike... well anyone. He seemed like such a gregarious people pleaser. "Hello, Threepio. Do you know where Leia is?"

"Yes, of course! Right this way!" 

The droid's clamorous steps were less annoying this time. Everything about Threepio was less irritating, though that might be just due to Din's good mood. 

The golden droid wasn't leading them to the meeting rooms but rather to the wing with penthouses. They were going to Leia's home. He hid his discomfort.

Threepio opened the door letting Din and Tooka in first, talking to Red about something he didn't hear. He heard the zabrak gasp quietly, his head tilting as he gazed around the room. "[Holy shit, I'd have to do so much illegal shit just to get half this stuff.]" He murmured in Mando'a.

"Tooka!"

"Wha- I'm not wrong!"

Din shook his head. He heard the click of heels; reluctantly he turned to it. It's good he did.

"Patoo!" Grogu squealed as he ran forward past Leia's legs.

Din immediately ran forward, sliding on his knees to scoop up his boy. "Oh look at you! Ner ad'ika!" He cooed, pressing his forehead with his sons. He tucked Grogu under his chin holding him close, his son clutching to his neck. His baby boy.

"Mr. Mand'alor Din!" 

Din opened his eyes to see a dark-haired boy bounding towards him. He had not expected Ben to hug him. He could only chuff a laugh and pat his back. "Hi, Ben." He greeted.

Ben pulled back quickly, looking playfully betrayed. "No, verd'ika! You said you would call me verd'ika!"

“I did! My apologies verd’ika,” Din chuckled. “You are strong! Almost knocked me over.”

“I know! Look at me!” Ben giggled, raising his arms in a flex. He was thin and gangly, still having that childhood metabolism. Though his might have been a little too high. He was as skinny as Din was when he was a kid. 

"He hasn't stopped talking about you since our last meeting," Leia voiced, her voice soft and hesitant.

He stood up at hearing her voice, double-checking to make sure his mental barriers were in place. Admittedly, he had more trust in Leia than Luke currently. While she didn't come out and tell him about his powers on her own, she did explain everything. She also showed him how to trust her. 

And unlike Luke, Din had only surface-level, friendly feelings for her. There was no deep betrayal. Only mild embarrassment that he wasn't in on the know.

He watched her as she closed her office door before approaching. Din bowed a little to her, seeing her bow back. "Good to see you, Leia."

"Is it? Are you sure you don't want to call me anything? I'd still let you" Leia asked jokingly, smiling wide but not confidently.

"No. I don't want to call you anything," He responded.

Her smile somehow went even more hesitant, "Don't suppose I could argue my brother's case?"

"There was a lot more trust involved with your brother," Din admitted quietly. She nodded though it was sadly. 

He cleared his throat, turning his attention to something- anything- else. "Tooka, you remember Senator Organa."

"Of course! Honor to see you again, ma'am," Tooka greeted. Seeing himself as the conversation changer he was, he took full advantage. "I have a question. Given you were a war general and you are still a Commander of Armed Forces, what advice would you have for a young person- such as myself- striving to be in a similar position in my own government?"

Din gaped a bit at Tooka, he had no idea he was interested in that position. What a chess move he was pulling, showing his interest, showing he wants to put in the work, and getting advice from a well-experienced war general. Though, he was probably too young and inexperienced to wear that position now, maybe when he was older. Din would definitely consider him. Plus, that would take more off his massive plate of responsibilities.

“I would love to give you some advice, Tooka! If I may call you that?” Leia asked, Tooka nodded curtly to her. She smiled widely, looking at Din "Do you mind if I steal him for a talk?"

"Only if you don't mind me stealing your son in return." 

Leia chuckled gently. "Don't mind at all, as long as you don't give him any more gifts."

"No no, next time I might but for now I won't." Din smiled behind his helmet. Nervously, and very, very hesitantly, he pushed a small pulse of mischievous happiness before putting his defenses back in place. Leia flashed him a shocked grin.

It was... nice, to mess with his powers like that. Perhaps he should do it more.

She turned to Tooka. "Your Mand'alor is a real troublemaker."

"If you think he's a troublemaker maybe I should better introduce myself" Tooka shimmied his shoulders playfully.

"Behave," Din scolded curtly. The man looked back at him, hands resting on his hips. 

"Yes, Mand'alor, but know I would never be naughty in front of Senator Organa. ...she'd kick my ass." 

Leia snorted loudly, then she gestured towards the table for Tooka to sit. Din turned to Red. "You stay out here, buddy. Take a power nap" The droid grumbled gratefully. 

He let Ben lead him to his room. It was easier with kids. "I took great care of the stuffie you gave me!" Ben announced, pointing to the reptilian stuffed animal he had placed on one of his many shelves. It was clean, and sitting atop a toy ship. "He's a pilot now."

"That's great, kiddo." He scooted Grogu up a little, not letting the boy leave his arms despite his squirming. "What's that?" He asked, pointing to the fluffy black thing in the center of his bed.

"Oh! My cape!" Ben snatched it up, slinging it on and clipping the little neckpiece to hold it in place. "I'm a king now! Just like you! And Grogu is my advisor while Indy is our head guard!"  

Din looked at the mooka, sprawled on Ben's bed lazily and her feathers were well ruffled. The kids clearly tired her out.

"She's a good guard," Din commented.

"The best guard! That's why everyone likes her so much!" Ben added confidently. He looked at Din then frowned a bit as a question seemed to hit him. "Why does my dad not like you?"

Din felt a little speechless. He thought it over. "Well, your dad has never met me, so if I had to guess? Who my friends are is probably why." Din chuckled as he remembered Boba and Luke's almost street fight. Then quickly snarled at it. He didn't want to think fondly of Luke right now, he wanted to stay mad. ...though that anger was fading, leaving him with hurt and sadness. Anger was much easier to deal with than that.

"What do you think Grogu?" He asked. Grogu gave him a confused look before shrugging, giggling, and then headbutting him. He scoffed amusedly, "Yeah, I love you too bud."

"I like you too Mr. Mand'alor Din! I think you're awesome!" Ben agreed loudly. Din kneeled to get on his level, "Plus Dad dislikes most people!"

"Hm, well, thank you for telling me that, makes me feel better," Din smiled, trying his best to push his thanks forward. He knew he succeeded when he saw Ben's face light up. He took a glance at Grogu who looked enamored and- maybe he was imagining it but- proud.

"I like your power so much! Mama told me you would have to keep it locked up around me because of the Shadow." Ben looked a little sad at that. He was thankful Leia had taken care of that difficult conversation for him.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about him. He's locked away. I won't let him hurt you."

"I know. I don't think he wants me anyway, he was trying to hide last time and Grogu says the Shadow hides from him and Uncle Luke too." Ben looked for approval and Grogu who nodded. 

So his theory was right. For whatever reason, Tarre hid from those who were kare'tigaanyc. While he knew he should look for reason, the spirit had so many odd habits it was easier to just write off. And it was definitely not to be discussed with children.

"So- what can I be in this game your playing?"

Ben smiled wide. "Grogu and I must fight you to the death! I demand you release him!"

The game was starting now then. He set Grogu down, he'd be carrying him all over New Mandalore so he could afford to not hold him at this second. "Am I evil?"

"Obviously!" Ben scolded. 

Din snorted in response. That sass would get Ben in trouble someday. And it... It reminded him of Luke. 

Kark that, and kark Luke for being able to live in his brain rent-free.

Ben, Grogu and he had this elaborate fight. It all ended with him on the floor on his back and both children standing on top of his "dead" body triumphantly; claiming victory for the galaxy. Dragging their speech on so they could continue to stand on Din's "corpse."

He heard the door open and glancing up found Leia and Tooka taking in the scene.

"Having fun Mand'alor?" Tooka asked with a chuckle in his voice. 

"No, I'm actually dead, Ben's the New Mand'alor," Din stated sarcastically. Tooka snorted loudly. Ben looked at his mother then at him and back, when he jumped off, he took all of Din's air with him. Not that the boy paid the slightest attention to it.

"Don't make him go!" Ben begged his mother, pulling at her dress in a plea.

"Sorry, love, he's got to attend this meeting for his people." Leia ran a hand over his hair, tucking it behind his ear. 

When Din could finally breathe, he picked up his son as he stood. Ben ran back to him, giving him the tightest hug he could manage. "Do I have to give you back Scalesy?"

"...who?"

Ben pointed, following it Din saw the scyk he'd given Ben last time he was here. "No, Ben, you can keep him."

Ben smiled toothily. He gave him one last squeeze before giving space. "Bye Mr. Mand'alor Din!"

"Just Din is fine Ben." He said as he patted the boy's back before pulling away, and heading to the door.

"Wait, why does Grogu get to go?" Ben whined.

"Because Din hasn't seen him in a long time sweetheart. You don't want to go to this meeting anyway, it's very boring," Leia soothed.

The boy pouted and crossed his arms but ultimately sat silently.

They left. He whistled to Red, getting him to follow as he, Leia, and Tooka left the penthouse

"How long were you laying there?" Leia asked, taking the lead as they walked the halls.

"A while." Din huffed. Tooka laughed mockingly at him. 

"Tooka, I sent Threepio to the ship bay to gather Korogea and lead her to our meeting room, do you mind accompanying him?" Leia asked. "I think she'll appreciate your company."

Tooka looked at her, ready to argue his case but only sighed. "Alright."

Din watched him trot off. It seemed Leia wanted to talk to him. That was... fine. He could do that. Probably.

He switched Grogu to his left arm, letting his right arm hang free. He pet Red's head gently and subtly.

"I like him. He's a good man. Might not be the strongest but he's a problem solver, far more clever than he lets on," Leia shared.

"I'm aware. His sister is similar but she was the stronger one. I think time apart, while painful for them, is good. I think they'll both grow up a lot, from what I hear Cashla's pretty happy so far," Din said.

"So, you and Luke are talking?" Leia asked.

He sighed, he didn't much enjoy this needling. "No. We aren't," Din replied stiffly, "The last few times I called the tablet was picked up by Cashla, so I've been able to talk to her." He glared at Leia a bit, not that she could see.

"I see..." She seemingly wanted to ask something, and it was bugging Din that she wouldn't. She merely decided to change topics. For a war general, she sure did know how to avoid confronting something.

"You're good with him, Ben, I mean. More than your power, he just... likes you. He's usually not so kind and affectionate to... well anyone, especially people he just met." 

"The Tribe believed that apprentices had duties to help care for foundlings when their parents couldn't. There would be periods when bounties weren't coming in or where a supplies run was more important than a bounty, so my mentor and I would be stuck at home. That's when I would care for the foundlings. Mostly just make games that helped train them in weaponry or sparring. Make sure they don't all die."

"I see, did you ever desire to have foundlings before Grogu?" Leia questioned.

Din felt his mouth thin. Not in the slightest. After seeing his mentor's relationship with his ade, he had no desire for it. Kreshiv was gone most of the time, leaving the Vizsla children at home. He never spoke fondly of his ade, only complained of their shortcomings. Complained of the hardships of being a buir. 

He had slowly realized that Kreshiv was just a bad father. Not much of a good mentor either.

While he was a good mentor in the sense he taught Din how to fight, he wasn't good in the sense that he never taught Din how to have a life of his own. Just to serve the Tribe. Though it was Din's fault for ever listening. For ever believing that bounty hunting was all his life was meant to be.

"No. But there wasn't much I wanted back then." Din shrugged. "I guess I just have a soft spot for kids."

“Quite a good quality, if you ask me.” Leia seemed the be mentally processing something. She chuckled, “You’re also just, overall, very charming.”

“You’d be shocked to know how untrue that is.”

“There’s a reason they’re calling you Mand’alor the Humble.”

Din scoffed. Who'd called him that? Who the kark was talking about him other than Leia and the Mandalorians? “If I could name myself, I'd dub the name Mand'alor the Reluctant.”

Leia laughed, her eyes crinkling with it. It was so genuine... he used to make Luke laugh like that. He didn't even know he'd said something funny and yet, the man was there giggling...

“Oh, you would love my husband. He might need some time to love you, he doesn't really like you-”

“-Because of Boba Fett, I'm aware" Din smirked. They'd reached the elevator. Leia let him enter then entered herself and hit a button. 

Din wanted to talk more, but there was only one consistent thought in his mind. "Your brother ever tell you he nearly started a street fight with Boba? It was a misunderstanding, he saw Boba holding Grogu and flipped but yeah. Nearly killed my friend 'cause he thought Boba killed me and took my son as a prize."

Leia snorted. “Yeah, sounds like the brash thinking my brother would have." The lift's doors opened and Leia took the lead again.

"Can't blame him. Boba's an instigating bastard," he scoffed.

"Let's agree to never let him and Han meet again then because if they somehow become friends, I might murder them both," Leia scoffed.

"I might also murder them, from the stories I've heard, your husband is a handful." 

Leia giggled and nodded. "We can hide their bodies together."

"No, I'll bury them, I need you to get us a cover story." Leia nodded then chuckled. Din smiled and looked to Grogu who babbled back at him. 

"As much as I whine, I do love Han, I think you would charm him easily," Leia cocked an eyebrow, her smile going wily. "Plus, think of how funny it would be with Han and Boba fighting over the best friend seat."

"I do not wish to be the conquest of anyone," Din scoffed with a snicker. "Plus, Boba's best friend is Fennec or Cobb. Maybe both, never know with him."

"Well, who's your best friend then, Din?" Leia asked.

Din couldn't help but be annoyed now, the pleasant feeling beginning to light in his mind being snuffed out with bitter disappointment. Loneliness felt so much worse when you were reminded of it. His best friend was someone he wasn't even talking to anymore. He never talked to anyone as much as he talked to Luke and yet...

"I don't have or need one," Din answered, letting his voice go cold. He saw Leia ever so slightly straighten, her face dropping. "I have my son, and that's all I will ever need."

Leia stopped, and having no idea where he was going, Din had to stop as well. He stared at her, swallowing as she squinted quizically at him.

"Din, do you... Did you love Luke?" She asked.

It hurt. It hurt so bad to hear that question. He felt so raw and displayed... and how dare Leia ask that as if that was any of her business as if she had any right after keeping that secret from him too. 

Out of nowhere, she asks it. As if asking about the weather.

She stays on Luke's side, defends him, and tries to argue his case, despite saying she knows he's in the wrong. Well- where was Din's defense? Where was his care? Who was in his corner? No one! The only person who cared was his son and he was too young to understand and didn't deserve that pressure. Not to mention, he had to not speak ill to not negatively impact Grogu's opinion of his teacher and take away opportunities.

'I care' Tarre whispered from far, far back in his brain. And, gods, it felt so good to hear. Just to be reassured at all. 'Every soul in here cares, Din, can't you feel them? We love you.'

It felt warm in his chest, with hands pushing gently on him. With things brushing him and whispers saying the sweetest of things he just couldn't quite make out. 'Yeah- yeah, I feel it.'

'Good. Good... Be honest, Din. She'll know if you're not. Let her feel your hurt.' Tarre encouraged. Devious bastard.

He wouldn't be doing that, he didn't want her to feel anything of his. Nor did he want to fight in front of Grogu. He needed to stay calm. No need to argue with her. The question was all he needed to address. "You don't get to ask that," He rebuked, putting enough of an edge to his voice that he could show he was offended. Leia nodded in acceptance.

"Sorry. You're right." 

She led the way to the meeting room, where everyone was already seated. Korogea lit up at seeing him, her gas mask bending with her smile. She wore a purple dress with a light top but that got darker the lower it got, as well as a bit more makeup. She looked more glamorous than business formal; it suited her more. She also only had two guards this time and no advisors.

What concerned him was how sunken her eyes were. She looked tired. Something was keeping her up at night.

"Mand'alor Mudhorn! Good to see you!" She called. She stood rounding the table to shake his hand firmly. "I was talking to your guard here, he's quite the entertaining troublemaker! You might want to consider a leash for him," She snickered and Tooka did too.

"No, you underestimate me, sovereign! I'm plenty obedient! Right, Din?" Tooka smirked.

"When you want to be," Din remarked. Korogea and Tooka laughed. The drackmarian finally took note of his son. 

"Oh, is this your son?" She asked, splaying her scaled fingers when Grogu reached for them. His son grasped her forefinger tightly, inspecting her hand and the contrast of dark red on the back of her hand versus the pale orangish-yellow of her palm. 

"It is." He answered politely.

Korogea crouched, getting eye level with Grogu and tilting her head at him. She snickered, "Look at those peepers. Can get anything he wants with big browns like that."

"Trust me, he does, and if he doesn't, he takes it anyway. Spoiled little womprat," Din teased. Grogu giggled at him. "Now, let me update you on Mandalore's progress."

"Of course. Guards, to the doors, I don't want anyone coming in," Korogea instructed. The guards looked at each other and then at Tooka. 

'Right, it'd be weird if I kept my guard.' Din cleared his throat. "Tooka, you guard the balcony. I want to keep our sovereign safe."

Tooka nodded respectfully, standing and taking his bow to Korogea. He walked to the balcony and Korogea's guards left the room. The second the door closed, Korogea released a sigh, her gas mask fogging as it rushed to release the breath. Her face creased with stress.

"My senators grow weary of me, of why I sold Mandalore to you and why I wish to protect my family with your soldiers. I didn't know they'd catch on so fast," she pet Grogu's head nervously. That explained her stress.

"Just make it sound criminal." Din shrugged.

"You make it sound so easy," she sighed deeply, standing slowly from he crouched. Leia stood by her, rubbing her arm.

"Just say I am your investment; explain that I am a bounty hunter. That you plan to use me to do your bidding but you first want me indebted to you. That way the more you give me, the more they think you are just getting control over me and my people," Din suggested calmly. He didn't know much about government but he knew a lot about scummy manipulative people.

'So smart, look at you,' Tarre whispered, barely audible from the back of his mind.

'Don't talk,' Din hushed.

"That's... yes that could work, thank you." Korogea blinked, a weight being lifted from her. He dipped his head. "How do I repay you?"

"...well," He tilted his head thoughtfully. "We're rebuilding everything, we need builder droids and materials, would you be willing to help fund that?"

She hummed thoughtfully. "Have you found a place for my people?"

"Yes, the colosseum, but we are prioritizing our people's homes-"

"I'll help build the colosseum. That's all."

Well, couldn't blame him for trying. "Thank you."

"I could send the same droids I sent Luke, as well as some other droids and machines to help speed up your farming process." Leia offered.

'Great, another reminder of him,' Din gritted his teeth. He was growing so bitter. "Thank you."

The rest of the meeting ran well, with them making plans for the next few months. They'd be building the colosseum with the droids and any spare builders they had. They'd incorporate ventilation systems to push in the air of whatever species needed to breathe.

Korogea stood, extending a hand to Leia first, they shook then she turned to Din. When he offered his hand, she enfolded both her hands around his. "Thank you, Mudhorn, truly. Your son is lucky to have a father like you in his life."

Din smiled to himself looking at Grogu, who could barely keep his eyes open. He needed a nap. "I'm lucky to have a boy like him."

She smiled that sharp toothy smile of hers. "Hopefully, the next time we meet it's under better circumstances." Her eyes narrowed and her smile turned cheeky. "And more private."

Din rolled his eyes. He watched her leave, her guards following soon after. Tooka took his place by Din's side.

"We should probably go to," Din suggested to Tooka. The man showed his agreement with a curt nod. 

"Let me walk you out then," Leia held the door. He sighed through his nose. It was a few clicks, wouldn't be long before he got to go home and have his boy all to himself for three weeks. 

He let Tooka carry the conversation, a weight the man carried like it was nothing, going on and on about almost anything. They were only a few steps from the shipbay when someone just had to stop them. 

"Senator Organa, I- I need to inform you about something..." The person looked like your average office worker. Din sighed deeply.

"Can it wait or at least make it quick?"

"Um, I'll make it quick. I know you told me to keep an eye on the Sunspot prison, but... it must have slipped my messages or something- it's not in the news at all because it's only one prisoner. Some guards died, but that happens all the time there. They're still investigating and the galaxies a mess-" The poor person was becoming a mess of themselves trying to ramble excuses. 

"Raz, out with it," Leia demanded.

Raz swallowed. "There was a breakout, or... break-in, rather, about three weeks ago. A group blew up a wall, killed some guards, and..." They looked at him, at his son then to their feet. "Gideon escaped."

...

There aren't words to describe what Din felt. Sudden and all-consuming, that's about all he could pin on the feeling. He looked at Grogu, who whimpered and stared back at him fearfully. He was waiting to see how to react. He shook his head. 

'Stay calm, stay calm...' Din thought in a panic, taking a deep breath and feeling Red press into his leg like he always did. He looked to Tooka who was stiff as a board. Everything in his stance permeated with fear and horror. In a sick way, it felt good to know that he wasn't alone in this fear... but he had to keep Grogu safe.

Luke sat in front of Cashla, the forest calming as this side of the planet switched from the day shift to night, the setting sun pushing through the trees. He watched as her face shifted from the effort. Finally, the large boulders around them began to rise, higher and higher. Until Cashla broke, gasping for air as the boulders slammed back to the ground.

She groaned loudly, cursing the sky in snappy Mando'a, too fast for Luke to translate. He was still learning, after all. 

"You did good!" Luke urged. Cashla shook her head at him. "If it helps, it seems that meditation is your weak point, active force seems to be where you strive. Growing plants, healing, force jumps, dashes, pulses, you keep it moving constantly, and swiftly. So to slow it all down, to take a pause, it's difficult for you, yes?" Luke asked. His student nodded frustratedly, her jaw clasped tightly shut. "Then it's something that will take a while to get the hang of. That's why I want you to work on this before we train you on lightsaber combat. I want you to find balance."

She nodded patiently. "My lightsaber... how will we build it?"

He smiled, "I have tools and books that we can refer to. Yours will just be... well it might be a little bit out of the ordinary. A little more hand-crafted."

Cashla grunted but smiled all the same. "All my own."

"Exactly!" Luke encouraged. 

"But how-" she hesitated, looking oddly guilty for some reason. "How will I make it without a kyber crystal? I don't even know where to find them or... or what they look like..." 

"It doesn't have to be a kyber crystal. From what I've read it wasn't uncommon for Jedi to choose a crystal or jem from their home planet." 

"Really?" 

"Yes, maybe even a family gem of some sort, we'll find substitutes that suit you." He smiled as he saw relief fill Cashla. He stood, helping Cashla to her feet. "Now, you head in, get some dinner started, I'll be there to help in a little bit." 

"Yes, Master Luke," she bowed her head before standing and readorning her long cloak. 

He had purchased the tunic and robes for her, asking that she only make them her own in return. Make them her own she did. She kept her robes and tunic their original colors but added bleach dye patterns. She'd also cut down the edges of her cloak, making it look more like a wide cape with a hood. She had chosen to limit some of the armor she wore of her own accord, even her helmet, revealing her beautiful patterns. However, she never got rid of her pauldrons; presumably because they bore her clan crest.

As she walked off, Luke perked up, feeling a ship enter the atmosphere. He wasn't worried, the ship held no threat in the Force, plus he recognized Grogu instantly, the other easily present person, not so much, but the last one- his heart nearly stopped.

'Din!' He looked up quickly scouring the orange sky for the ship. He saw it break through the clouds and in the same instance he heard Cashla call to him.

"Master! It's Din, Grogu, and my brother! May I please come along?" 

He hummed, too caught off guard to really think clearly. He never thought Din would come back, especially so soon.

"Sure, sure! Just keep your distance, it might be an emergency and I might need you to grab a medkit!" Luke quickly instructed, dashing off to where the ship was quickly landing. He heard Cashla falling behind, and he couldn't manage to slow himself. He needed to get to Din, they all felt distressed- extremely so! 

He halted, leaves and dirt kicking up under his feet. He watched Din hop out of the ship before it fully landed. Their eyes met and for a second, it felt peaceful, he felt the slightest touches of Din's cool relief like a breeze- but it was snapped away fiercely. His mind was locked up like a sealed metal box, not letting anything in or out. 

"Luke, we have to talk," Din said, his voice was steely cold. He could only give a curt nod in response. Understanding that this was a talk that needed to happen in private, he led him aside into the woods, far from the ship to allow the man to talk freely. Red followed, almost attached to the Mandalorian's side, but keeping silent. 

He stared, waiting with his hands folded neatly.

His friend bowed his head, refusing to look at him as he spoke. "Gideon broke out of Sunspot prison." 

"What?!" He asked in shock, looking at Grogu who was tearing up, clearly not for the first time in the past few hours.

"A group broke him out, Leia is overseeing an investigation but... it happened three weeks ago, which means there- there was an attempted cover-up..." Din reached down, petting Red's head, taking a shaky breath. "All I know is Gideon is free and he has people on his side, powerful people. And that means Grogu is no longer safe, not with me-"

"Din, that's not true-"

"Please," his tone was sharp, containing aggravation and hurt... but then he sighed, tension leaving his body. "Please let me speak, then you can speak." 

Luke hesitated but then finally nodded, biting his tongue to keep from speaking. 

"There's nothing I want more than to have Grogu with me, and I-" he laughed humorlessly, "I don't like you at all right now, so this hurts even more to admit..." Luke cringed. That admission hurt, but this wasn't about him. He let Din continue. "I'm not strong, I'm a man, a simple, human man who is not even the best warrior among my people. I can not protect him, I don't have that power- I don't even know how to control my power. I will do everything I can do to catch Gideon again but that... I know that it's unlikely... so-" Din's voice cracked, he curled in, clutching Grogu tightly. Luke clenched his hands at his sides to resist comforting him. 

That wouldn't be welcomed.

Slowly, Din held out Grogu in an offering. "I need you to take him."

"Din-" Luke couldn't help but cut in, but the man spoke over him.

"Luke, you are the most powerful person in the galaxy, you could bring down entire Star Destroyers in minutes, I'm sure of it."

"You have an entire army of Mandalorians at your will!"

"And yet none of them brought down the Empire, you did that! I saw you mow through those Dark Troopers in seconds, you..." Din slowly stood tall. "You are the only person I know and..." he hesitated, growling slightly in reluctance, "and the only person I trust, to take care of him. So, please, please... please take care of my son." He begged, the last words, going to a whisper.

Luke wanted to accept, to take Grogu and appease Din... but what good would that do? Having Din on his own? Separated from his son? The last time that happened Din admitted it nearly killed him. "I could come to Mandalore-"

"No!" He hissed. He shook his head and began to pace, grumbling for someone- no, he knew who- for Tarre to stop talking. "I do not want you there. And- and I know that there is still tension between Mandalorians and Jedi, and that is evident in my people! You would not be safe there, and my aversion to you currently would only add to that- so I can't risk you being there! I won't let them-!" Din sounded short for breath. He was panicking, badly.

Luke swallowed hard. This was a hard situation then. Why did Gideon have to escape now? Why couldn't that man just leave Din in peace? 

"You're strong Din," Luke argued.

"Not as strong as you-" He cut in. All his anger, all the fierceness and fight had left him leaving him a mess. "I'm never going to be strong enough to protect him-"

"You already are!" Luke barked. "I didn't take the Empire down alone! I didn't even take Palpatine alone- I told you that! Leia, Han, the Rebellion- they took down the Empire, don't you dare pedestal me like I was the only one in that fight!"

Din hunched back guiltily. 

"You have millions of people who support you and who will fight by your side! You have me by your side! You have the Republic by your side! You are currently in the process of taking out a crime syndicate!" Luke yelled. He took a breath, softening his tone as he realized he was scolding the man. "Don't you dare let that weak worm of a man terrorize you, he is nothing and you are... You are incredible, Din. You defeated him with a ragtag group of rebels and criminals. You will have no trouble taking him down now."

Din stared at him, straightening in shock. Grogu clung to his chest and he hugged him that much tighter. Luke swallowed, looking at his feet awkwardly.

If there was any chance of Din forgiving him it was probably gone now. He could live with that, he couldn't live with himself if he let Din dig a hole for himself in his panic.

...it was so hesitant when feelings of gratitude touched his mind. He couldn't hide his relief, letting his body relax. He stood tall again, smiling nervously at Din.

"Sorry for yelling-"

"No, it... I needed it," Din admitted. "I wasn't hearing you. Sorry, for pedalstooling you. I know you said you didn't like that, I... I don't know why I started thinking like that." He shook his head, his breath finally coming in at a normal pace.

"Insecurity, panic, trauma, the usual stuff that make us act irrationally," Luke chuffed. Was he allowed to joke like that? He looked at Din nervously only to hear the man chuff back. He smiled widely before correcting himself. "Are you okay, now?"

Din shrugged. "No, I'm terrified, but I'll... I'll take care of it. I'll have Bo-Katan track that demagolka down and bury him."

"Think burial is saved for those deserving," Luke sneered quietly. Din snickered. Then... then reality came back. Silence settled between them and they both remembered where their relationship was standing.

Din straightened, clearing his throat. He bowed curtly. "Thank you,..." He drew out the last part with hesitation.

It was then Luke remembered calling Din by name... well it was a privilege. He cringed. "You can still call me my name... can-" he hesitated. He found himself too scared to ask, that gave it finality, didn't it?

"You can," Din answered. "Call me my name, you can... if you want to."

Luke nodded gratefully. With that, the stillness returned. The awkward, terrible reminder that they weren't close anymore. 

But... this was a step, right?

"Think I should get him home. House Kryze, Korkie, he got him a new pram, sure he'll enjoy it." Din nodded to him.

"Oh, yeah absolutely. He missed his last one. Does it uh, does it look similar?"

"Yeah, well no, actually, this one um... You might approve, this one has a canopy and armor-plating cover, um..." There was a pause before something appeared in his head. An image of a large pram, that was more accurately described as a mini-fighter jet entered his mind. The memory played on a loop; the floating pram sucking the wings in and quickly putting the armor plating around itself like some reinforced metal egg. He chuckled as Din pulled away and quickly slapped his defenses back into place.

He seemed a little shocked and proud of himself that he was able to do that. 

Good. He should be.

"Oh, he's going to abuse that," Luke chuckled

"Very much so. But um... he'll" he took a breath, much more peaceful now. "Long as he's safe."

Luke bounced on his feet. "You could stay the night... if you want."

Din immediately shook his head. "No. My people are waiting for me. We should actually get going, this detour wasn't planned."

Luke nodded his understanding. "Right. Then... I guess this is goodbye, for now, Din."

The Mandalorian- though, he supposed the Mand'alor is how he should refer to him now- the Mand'alor, grunted at him, tipping his head up. "Goodbye, Luke."

He walked back the way they came, back to the ship he came in on, keeping a hand on Red's head and the other holding Grogu, talking to him in Mando'a. Faintly, Luke heard the boy giggle. He sighed in relief.

Things weren't fixed exactly... but they were... ok? Better than before, at least. 

He trotted back to his cabin, starting dinner the second he entered.

It was only a few minutes later that Cashla entered, holding a jewelry box and gazing at its contents with tear-filled eyes. Had she or her brother had a bad night too? Was Gideon just as much a sore spot for her? Had to be.

"Cashla?" 

"Hm?" She perked up before chuckling and wiping at her face fruitlessly. "Sorry, Master. Don't fret, they're happy tears. Ner vod, he gave me something I'd... well that I'd completely forgotten about," She huffed. Cashla had mentioned her brother, Tooka, the most of all her family members. She closed the box. "I heard mixed things. Is the sweet prince staying with us?"

"No. Due to Gideon's escape, Din felt that Grogu was safest here, but he let me correct him." Luke explained shortly. "He's just as safe here as he is on Mandallia with millions of Mandalorians defending him. Though, when he is here, would you mind continuing translating for him when Din calls?" 

Cashla paused. She'd done well as to not ask why he and Din were so awkward with each other, but it was only a matter of time before curiosity got the best of her. Today would not be that day though. 

"You kidding? I would love to talk to my Mand'alor and translate for the alo'adiik!" 

Luke couldn't help but smile. She was always good with Grogu. He knew she had to be an excellent older sibling.

"Alo'adiik? Guessing that means child of the Mand'alor?" Luke asked even though he knew the answer.

"Right! Good job, Master! And the riduur of the Mand'alor would be alo'riduur, their clan becomes the alo'aliit, on and on for all of the Mand'alor's clan. Technically they hold no real political power but due to their relation with the Mand'alor and how strongly Mandalorians feel about family, they do socially," Cashla rambled, playing with her lekku as she talked.

He was happy that Cashla was such an optimistic influence on his thoughts. He could only hope Tooka, or really anyone, had a similar influence on Din. He deserved happiness, more than anyone.

"Thank you for sharing your knowledge," Luke smiled. He glanced at the jewelry box, pausing his chopping. It was quite large, old, and, adorably enough, it was very clearly decorated by a child. "Do you mind if I peek at the jewelry your vod brought you?"

"Oh sure! It's just some cuffs, only two." As she talked, Luke washed his hands, drying them on a nearby dish rag. "I always wore them on my lekku until I got my armor. I don't know they just made me feel safe and strong. I don't know why." She chuckled, seeming to be slightly embarrassed.

As he opened the box, he found out exactly why. The grand jewel of the two cuffs was a kyber crystal, pulsing with live power. He breathed out heavily, feeling the crystals shimmer under his presence in the Force. Neither called to him, but they both acknowledged him. 

"Do you know what that is?" Luke asked, pointing to the crystals. She peered over the box and then shook her head. "It's a kyber crystal."

She tilted her head and looked at it then gasped. She looked at it and then back at him. "That means I can actually build my lightsaber!" 

Luke chuckled. "Yes, I guess my only question is, how did you get these?"

She looked at him, her eyes going wide like an animal caught in a floodlight. "Um..." she began to reply, her voice full of fearful uncertainty. 

"You don't have to tell me, you don't owe me anything," Luke stated softly, bowing his head to catch her darting eyes. She stared at him, biting the inner corner of her lips. "I just want you to know, if you ever did tell me, I wouldn't judge you. I understand under certain circumstances, things can happen and we do things to survive." He left it at that, closing the box and going back to chopping the veggies. 

"When I was a kid-" she started. She sighed, clasping her hands together and cracking her knuckles with how hard she squeezed them. "My parents were smugglers, hard times you know, when the Empire ruled. There came this job, it was this black market crystal collection job... I think it was on a planet called Ilum?" She shook her head unsurely. Luke only nodded, Ilum made sense. It also meant he knew where this story was going.

"There was an Empire base there, being smugglers, it wasn't the first time they had run this job and stole from them, it just happened that this time they were going big with it. They got ballsy and thought it'd be easy. They collected a few boxes there. But, before they took off, they were evidently found out and tracked down. In the takeoff, my dad was shot, and my mom flew off with me. She was chased, and something happened, maybe the engine was shot, but she tried to emergency land. There was a part of the ship, a safe room that my mom locked me in, and... she didn't make it either." She pressed her lips together, resting her chin on her hands. The hardest part of the story seemingly over. Luke placed his hand over hers and squeezed it comfortingly. 

"After that it's blurry, but the next thing I remember is one of my buire, Fierce, finding me. He took me in, and once I was settled, he gifted me with my mom's bracelets," she pulled her hand from Luke's, placing it on top of the jewelry box. "It was all I had left of them... I can't believe I forgot about them." She looked guilty. In a quick but caring motion, she kissed her fingertips before bringing them to the back to rest on the box, reciting the customary remembrance speech.

"Thank you for sharing that, it was very personal," Luke said. 

"Thank you for listening," she quipped back, the cheer returning to her face. Luke smiled toothily back at her. "Get in here, I need help deciding what should go in this recipe."

She quickly rounded the counter going to her own station.

She helped prep by cutting veggies, and cooking rice while Luke cooked the meat and sauce.

When he went into the fridge he chuckled at looking at a container of some leftovers.

"Would you like some frogs in this?"

Cashla shot him a scowl of disgust. "No disrespect to you or Grogu master, but I'd rather eat my robes. frogs are way too rubbery to be enjoyed."

He sat on the floor of his room, sitting in front of his tablet. He narrowed his eyes, the voices stirring with barely kept excitement. Slowly, he sunk a bit into his mind, trying his best to force the desire to be hidden more outward.

Grogu gasped and then giggled, looking to Cashla who sat behind him.

"Yeah, he's gone!" She cooed. Din sighed in relief, hearing the voices cheer. 

'Finally,' He thought.

"What's it like? When I hide, I mean. Can you... still see me? On the holotablet?"

Cashla looked at him like he was saying something ridiculous. "I'm not blind, Din. You're just gone in the Force."

Din shrugged, "[I got no clue how this shit works,]" he grumbled back in Mando'a. He looked at the notes he'd been taking. It was not often that he practiced his powers with Grogu, especially when it wasn't his weeks, but he wanted to see his reach. Both he and Cashla had been the ones to help him the most with understanding his powers. Cashla even had some helpful theories on how his power might work. Thankfully Luke had been accommodating. Or that's what Cashla said. They... still didn't talk.

Which is how he wanted it, he was still upset, still struggling to trust Luke... but it was getting hard to stay mad.

As for Grogu, he'd kept up in teaching him Mando'a. He was now able to recognize words, read them, understand them, and even translate them. He just couldn't speak them or write them. Din could accept that speaking wasn't for everyone and that with time he'd learn how to write. It was easier to teach him Tusken Sign, even if he was restricted due to him having fewer fingers than most. Communicating to the best of his ability.

That's why Cashla was there though, to assist and be a translator when he was on these calls.

"Okay, Grogu, tell me if you can feel this."

He pushed forth his affections, it took a second before his son went a little wide-eyed and his ears twitched. He giggled, kicking his feet and smiling so wide it made his heart melt.

His baby boy.

"I felt it too, maybe try to angle it more?" Cashla suggested. Din nodded, trying his best to only focus on Grogu. After a few seconds, Cashla beamed. "Gone! Good job, Din! You find anything else out?"

He hummed a long nearly negative sound. "No, same old."

He flipped through his journal, a third of the way full with detailed notes and theories. He had confirmed that his power did affect most others, it just seemingly affected any kare'tigaanyc a lot more clearly. Exactly as Luke and Cashla had explained it would.

Upon further research, he found that Jedi's had a power similar called Force empathy. However, it didn't seem to reach his power, it remained just empathy. In no way did it seem this power could suggest and even force emotions upon others. 

Which, to him, indicated that he had the Force, but Tarre told him very firmly he didn't have the Force. He just manipulated it... somehow. 

'You have midichlorians, like everyone else in this galaxy, but, yours are mutated, to a point in which I don't think they can be considered midichlorians. Most midichlorians are directly connected to the mind of the user, to the primal system: the brain stem, limbic system, and amygdala. This means our senses are heightened. Instead, yours are only connected to the limbic system, only to your emotional processing. They also function differently, they do not contain the energy that midichlorians do. They also do not connect to other Force users though it recognizes them. Whatever you are, it is no longer what we consider the Force- your abilities are different. Even though it's powered by the same connective energy source, you are different.' Tarre had explained. 

Nothing he read mentioned midichlorians mutating or what they had called these new mutations but then again most Jedi scripture was burned. Not to mention, Tarre was a cryptic bastard who only told him what he wanted to. He even tried to fight Din on the fact that he had fed his power at some points. To tell when he was lying or telling the truth was a coin toss. 

Din took it upon himself to name them. By asking Cashla to name them.

She suggested mitofluerodin, which she said was a combination of basic root words that essentially meant "connective, flowing, and frenzy," which honestly was accurate.

He also read up on ysalamiri's anatomy, he'd already had articles stashed after he found out he did have powers, he'd just never let himself have the time to read it before. His powers, from what he knew of them, were quite similar to it, which meant they had to have mitofluerodin as well, right? He was curious to find out. The only thing giving him pause was, for some reason, his being more emotionally based. He could only guess it was due to his sentience. 

Over the past three months, he'd been testing his powers along with his research.

Tooka and Red had helped him see some of the lengths his powers could reach on those who were not force-sensitive. When he pushed his feelings of anger, Tooka admitted he felt a little angry too, not pain, while Red wasn't affected. He probably should have expected that but sometimes he forgot Red was a droid. 

What this told him was his powers and emotional pushing were merely suggestions- influencers- to those who weren't kare'tigaanyc. He also learned that the person he was pushing said emotions on would react in accordance with their personality.

He learned to hold back around everyone after an intense fight with Bo-Katan. He'd gotten pissed with her and subconsciously pushed his annoyance. She slugged him in the gut, hard, and it was downhill from there. Course later she apologized and admitted she had no idea why she'd gotten so angry. She felt like he was mocking her and just suddenly felt enraged and took it out on him. She blamed stress.

But that wasn't it.

It was him.

There was another thing else he noticed. Occasionally, if he focused hard enough, he could ever so slightly feel others' emotions. Not as easily as he felt the Darksaber's souls' emotions, but he could. He didn't do that with people though, not even with the souls or Tarre. It was an invasion of privacy; he knew that better than anyone.

Admittedly, sometimes emotions were offered to him willingly by the souls, or when they panicked- usually after nightmares or in stressful situations. Then he'd accept it and push soothing emotions back. Other than those specific instances, he let them keep whatever privacy they could have living in someone else's mind.

Upon Tooka's insistence, he tried pushing to see if he could hurt him with his anger. But even if he was pushing those feelings out with all his might, Tooka reported not feeling pain as Luke had. It was interesting but definitely not something he tried again. He didn't exactly want to see how he could hurt people with this power. That thought scared him.

He couldn't, and honestly didn't want to, test anything more. He wanted to continue building his walls and get full control over his emotional influence, and occasionally, he'd show Grogu mental images of what he had done that day. Everything else felt too... experimental and scary, and he didn't exactly trust his mind in making mental broader connections with people.

'I'd like if you made some mental connections, then I could show you what you could really do' Tarre grumbled.

'Or you could just go back to your corner' Din snarled back, slapping up mental walls to scold the man in private. The voices joined in. Along with him growing more attuned to his power, he'd been able to hear them better now. Not completely but better, to the point he could make out words sometimes.

And they talked very vilely to Tarre.

There came a knock on his door.

"Come in."

Tooka entered, lackadaisically leaning against the door frame. "I've come to collect you for breakfast."

Din hummed approvingly. "Excellent. I got to go Grogu, I love you."

Grogu waved excitedly and, as with almost every morning, Din held up his tablet so Tooka could wave to his sister.

He hung up. As he put away his holotablet, he gave Red a good pet on the head. Like most mornings as of late, he'd let the droid sleep in since he probably wouldn't be able to power down in the middle of the day for a recharge. He'd begun to lean on Red more and more emotionally... the droid just seemed to know exactly how to calm him down. Always pressing against him, whirring comfortingly... it was nice.

He flicked off his lights and then followed Tooka out.

He sat on the flat roof of the Stokax house. Fierce had no right to make food this good. Currently, he was back to back with Tooka. Though it wasn't exactly traditional to the creed, he found himself caring less and less about tradition. He'd still uphold the creed and he wouldn't allow himself to be seen without his helmet by anyone outside his clan, but to put trust that others would respect his boundaries... he could do that. He did that with Luke, he could do that with Tooka. 

Though maybe Tooka respected his boundaries because he too never removed his helmet. Not because of a creed but because he didn't want people to see his face. 

'Got tired of people misgendering me,' He admitted one day when Din had bugged him on it. The two of them building someone's house. They'd gotten good enough to be left alone after a few weeks.

'Some people forget that we don't all get gifted with the body Manda intended for us,' Din had responded. After that, he dropped it, he shouldn't have pushed in the first place and he was thankful Tooka had gifted him with a reason rather than ignore him. Tooka respected him because Din respected him right back. That's why their friendship worked. It also worked because Tooka was stuck to him like glue, and the young man was in the only family on Mandallia he trusted to care for Grogu when he was in diplomatic meetings.

He shoveled another bite in his mouth, peeking just slightly over the roof's half wall. Some of the builders were up for the day, most heading to the homes to the west. There were still, a few hundred left to build. Some of them however were moving towards the colosseum. They had reinforced the first floor and stylized them to be proper eparave rooms. The second floor held rooms, one of them being his. Though it was temporary, a blanket on the floor a flat pillow, and the fluffy cape Bo-Katan gifted him with to cover himself. 

Uncomfortable? Yes, but most nights it did keep away the disturbing traumatic memories of the souls inside his mind. He knew they didn't mean to but Manda... they really did mess with his head. Whether he was awake or asleep.

As for the rest of the city, they had shockingly been able to finish most of the homes and stores relatively quickly, even with a separate group of both people and droids building the colosseum. They were still building homes currently but still, this was faster than he ever could have expected.  

They'd also been doing well with funding. Those who went out, from mercenaries to merchants, they brought in plenty of funds. They were even making the smallest dents in their mountains of debt. 

These slow mornings, even when Grogu wasn't here, they were his only peace as of late. Not to mention Tooka had become somewhat of a close friend. He'd grown fairly fond of the lad, and Fierce, as well as both Kryze's.

...but none compared to the man he missed the most.

"Your buir makes an excellent spread, I feel spoiled every time I eat here," he hummed, finishing the last bite of his poached eggs by placing it on the fried bean cake and stuffing the whole thing in his mouth. Tooka made a grunt of acknowledgment, taking a second before responding.

"Yeah, he really knows how to show love through food. Pretty sure that's why he and my ma got married. That and ma is a badass bitch."

Din snorted. "Never heard someone fondly call their buir a bitch."

"Yeah, well no one's buir is an'edee like mine!" Tooka barked back with a laugh. That was true. He'd learned rather fast just how militant and intense Ja was. Fierce and Tooka were not kidding, in fact, they might have been underwhelming him for it.

She ordered people around like it was second nature and she stood down to a select few: her husband, Korkie, and Din. Though with him, she always scoffed or something similar, showing she receded based on his power only, not on respect or that he was right. Not that he disagreed with her often, or even ordered her around, it was Fierce and Dizudu who were overseeing the farm and city design. Plus, he trusted Ja's experience and knowledge and felt little need to tell her how to do her job. The farms were built first and currently, they were in the midst of a harvest and they were gathering one of the last harvests of the season, already preparing for the next season.

He wiped his hands and mouth with his napkin before pulling on his helmet, waiting for Tooka to do the same. He picked up his plate, taking his friends from him so he could open the ladder door. 

"So-" the zabrak asked as he stepped down the ladder, Din following soon after. "What are we doing today? Building more houses?" He called as they entered the chaos of the Stokax house. Apparently, after they settled on Molovar, they had four more kids, or rather, they found four more kids. And by they, he meant Fierce. The man had been a mercenary before he was a teacher, and he had a habit of bringing home children before Ja made a house riduur of him for good. Fierce explained his eagerness to adopt away by saying the Empire had left too many dead and too many orphaned, and that he wouldn't be the reason a child went marching far away. 

Understandable, but even so, six kids was a lot.

"Yes, we have to try and finish those last few houses as fast as possible, though I might send you to check in on how colosseum builders are doing," he said. He dodged as two of the kids, a Rodian and a Nautolan, ran past him. He didn't dodge the third that bowled right into his leg, but he kept steady. The little Tholothian child instead fell flat on her butt.

"Oi! Vaz! Stop running around! Go tell Snuuv and Knux the same! Take that outside!" Tooka scolded. The girl only laughed deviously, crawled between Din's legs, and took off down the hall. Tooka shook his head disapprovingly. 

Din moved to the kitchen, beginning to wash the dishes when Fierce grabbed them from him. 

"You cooked," he insisted. 

"Now I'll clean, it's no big deal," Fierce pushed back. Din hesitated, the man was nice... but they had a routine now. He didn't mind Din cleaning dishes any other time he stayed for a meal. Unless...

"What am I dealing with today?" He asked with a sigh. Fierce side-eyed him with a wince.

"I'm that see-through, huh?"

"Yes. What am I dealing with?"

"Dizudu wants you to meet with them so you can come to an agreement on the Unitists, they're waiting at the center of the colosseum," Fierce admitted. 

Since they had settled, several clans had come together to bring up concerns that they thought all Mandalorians needed to be involved with rebuilding Mandalore. Including the Tribe. They had dubbed their group as the Unitists, Mandalorians striving to unite all Mandalorians, it was a nice thought but not achievable in practice. They'd been pushing harsher and harsher for Din to at least reach out to the Tribe and get them to agree to come here and respect other beliefs. They made it seem easy. Why Dizudu had suddenly taken to hearing them out was beyond him.

"Manda, why have you cursed me..." he growled out. "Fine. Tooka, you'll be overseeing the house building until Dizudu or I come back. Fierce, help the merchants package the rest of the harvest. I'll message Bo-Katan to attend this meeting, I want her opinion on it." And by opinion, he meant backup. Dizudu was a dice roll reactionary, you never knew what side of them you'd get on any given day. Though most-if not all- of their decisions were rooted in sense.

Both men nodded, and with that, they broke apart. He sent a message to Bo-Katan through his gauntlet. The upgrade came as a gift from House Vizla. Slowly, others had been gifting him things to show their acceptance, anything from weapons to small foods. He appreciated it all, Red had especially enjoyed his upgrades; Din loved that the droid had a new set of wheels and a multitool arm. Things his little buddy bragged about constantly. 

He messaged him as well, he'd need him there too. Just for emotional support, especially with what this talk was going to be about. Red confirmed he was on his way seconds later.

He checked his messages again, having not received any confirmation from her. He didn't keep it from the Mandalorians that Gideon escaped. When they were informed, Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls took the lead in finding the bastard once again. That is what mattered. For now, he felt secure that for once he was doing the chasing. 

But there was more on his plate than Gideon that he had to tackle. He picked up his pace, jogging to the colosseum. Dizudu was waiting for him already, as always, they wearing their full suit of intimidating armor. While Bo-Katan was helmetless and seemed to have just arrived.

"Great, we're all here," Din said. He looked to Dizudu, gesturing for them to speak their piece.

"The Unitists have become an issue, they've begun organizing protests. I feel they won't rest until their placated in some way," Dizudu sighed. What did that mean? Din felt his throat clench, his hand reaching to his side but finding nothing. With a quick glance around, he realized Red wasn't there yet.

"What do you suggest?" Bo-Katan asked her tone so even and calm. Din envied her ability to not react.

"I don't know. With my people, it came to a point that it was always 'agree to disagree'... but even a good portion of my people are Unitists. Claim that we all just need to get along, and find a way to work together," Dizudu snorted dismissively. "Idiots."

"I agree with them," Bo-Katan shrugged. Din felt his jaw drop. The woman who had mocked him, who called him a cultist, made him feel inadequate as a leader because he was raised by these zealots. Now she wanted to welcome them back? "I think... I think we need to be together otherwise it'll just lead to issues again. To separation again, to Death Watch all over again!" 

"Bringing them here could start Death Watch! They don't respect us! They are perfectly fine living on their own in their cult with no other interaction with the outer world!" Dizudu snarled, their voice a deep rumble.

"But I think that leaving them there can cause issues later! Resentment, aggression that we are 'impersonating them,' not to mention the issues we'll face here for not even trying to unite our people! It'll raise questions of whether we would willingly cut other people out of our religion. It'd cause distrust."

Din could see that. As they argued, he took time to think. He believed Bo-Katan and her fellow Nite Owls were imposters. With more of his people there, with even just Vizsla by his side, he might have tried to fight them for daring to wear their armor when they didn't follow the Way. Allowing children of the Tribe to build a connection with other Mandalorians, where they can choose how they want to follow their religion. It was worth the fight.

'You just always keep making things harder for yourself don't you, Djarin?' Tarre sneered, a pressure built at the back of Din's mind as he pushed at his confines. 'With choices like yours, who needs enemies?' The second they left Yavin 4 with Grogu he had been more bold in invading Din's mind, especially on the weeks Din didn't have Grogu. He was happy there, happy to be in control.

He ignored him, both because he wasn't worth it and angering Tarre only made things worse.

"Fine." Din sighed, Bo-Katan and Dizudu instantly looking at him. "We should at least try. I'll go given I know the Tribe the best."

Dizudu growled, their shoulders rising, but then they fell with a sigh. "Whatever, you're only building a coup against yourself, Djarin. When they take you down, I won't catch you."

He nodded. "I know. I don't expect you to."

Dizudu snorted, but then tapped their foot, crossing their arms. "How do you plan to get back in their favor?" They asked finally.

"By cleansing myself of sin," He answered simply because saying it was so much easier than doing it.

"To do that, you'd have to bathe in the Living Waters of Mandalore," Bo-Katan stated.

"Yeah, but, if I show proof that I physically cannot do it, perhaps I can sway them enough to give me another task," Din explained, all of it coming from the top of his head at this point. The voices praised his quick thinking, suggesting ideas of their own on how to prove Mandalore's dangers.

"Are the radiation readings not enough?" Bo-Katan scoffed.

"They're from six- almost seven years ago, so, no, they're no longer accurate. I have to gather new readings-" he grunted as the voices chorused in worries about how the Tribe would accuse him of fudged numbers. "No, you're right, they'll think I fudged them..." 

"She didn't say anything," Dizudu said, almost a question.

He ignored them with a shake of his head and a flick of his wrist. He wasn't talking to them anyway. He began to pace, trying to stir a steady stream of thought. Something he could put into words.

'Pictures? No- can be faked. Everything can be faked...' and then he heard it. Picking out one of the voice's suggestions and bringing it to the forefront of his mind. "I have to get Vizsla to go with me."

"Wha- that mini rancor in blue armor?! He'll never do it-!" Bo-Katan nearly laughed but Din cut her off.

"He'll be the only one they'll believe because he hates me! He's also the only one I know who is curious about other Mandalorians beyond the Tribe, and if somehow, Mandalore isn't just a radioactive rock, I need him there to watch me be redeemed!" Din disclosed harshly. He soothed himself in the comfort of the voices praising. When Tarre didn't speak, Din quite enjoyed his power. Only when he didn't speak though. Which was few and far between.

Bo-Katan squared her shoulders. "Fine, but let me know when you are heading to Mandalore. If it is somehow... habitable, and you can enter the mines, you'll need a guide."

"You know the mines?" Din asked.

"Better than you and him. They've probably shifted a lot but I can figure it out."

'I know them better. You don't need her, you just need me!' Tarre hissed. Din scoffed at him.

"Alright, I'm heading out now then, no point in wasting time. Everyone will continue tasks as normal, I want Tooka assigned wherever he is most needed, and if you hear anything on Gideon, let me know immediately." 

Bo-Katan sighed. "Din, you aren't going to hear anything for a while-"

"Just-" he held out his hands, only now did he realize they were shaking. Whether it was over Gideon or the Tribe... he had no damn clue. "Let me know, ok?"

She looked at him with pity. "Ok."

Din swallowed hard.

'If you let me help, I would be able to find him, easily.'

'I trust you about as much as I trust Gideon.'

Tarre huffed, 'Now that's just hurtful, I've been nothing but good to you.'

That was mostly true. The man was helpful, even if he always followed these tasks with guilt trips and demands. There was just something telling him to not trust Tarre. Maybe it was how aggressive the voices were to him. Maybe it was how erratic Tarre could get when upset- driving Din over the edge into panic attacks plenty of times now. But, that was his fault for letting Tarre get to him.

He just- he didn't know why but nothing with the man was the middle ground, it was always extreme emotions. With the baseline being distrust sewn with fear.

Something bumped into his leg and he looked down. Red looked back at him. When the droid got there he didn't know, all he asked was, "[Am I going with you?]"

"Yeah, yeah, you're comin' with me bud." Din patted him softly. "Come on."

Din pierced through the atmosphere on the desert planet. He'd always kept tabs on the Tribe, call it obsessive or stalkerish, but he just wanted- needed- to know where they were. All he knew was the planet though, not where they were.

"Red, let me know when you see any life forms- sentient and humanoid, only! I'm not trying to start shit with some beast." He instructed. His friend chirped positively in response. He heard him whirring as he scanned, listening carefully. It took a while, over an hour, but it was when they approached a lake that Red chittered loudly.

"[There! The Tribe is down there!"] he alerted. Din nodded, seeing the Tribe in the water. As he circled, looking for somewhere to land, he heard Red whirr, unsettled. "[Uh...oooooh.]"

"What?"

"[...beast. In the water.]"

Din peaked down, dropping the range seeker Boba gifted him. It zoomed in, finding the beast suddenly burst from the lake, the Armorer hauling away a child. 

"Haar'chak!" He cursed. He turned the Starfighter to kick up speed and turn back. 

'Kill it with the saber!' Tarre demanded.

"What is wrong with you?! Not a chance in Malachor!" Din barked. "Red, gear up the missiles!" 

The droid didn't even respond, instead, Din only heard the ship beeping and gears moving as the missiles loaded into place. The ship's seeker popped up, asking in only the way a machine could for a target to hit. Din waited, getting the starfighter lower to ensure the missile would go deep into the reptilian beast. 

He fired in the same instance he pulled up, slowing his ship to circle back. The beast blew up spectacularly, leaving the beach covered in its remains. He landed his starfighter on a patch of sand, as far from the water as he could. He got out of the cockpit quickly, standing and staring at the Tribe gathered before him. 

It was Vizsla who stepped forward first. "You're back."

"Correct."

"Exiled by the others so soon?" Vizsla hummed.

"No, still the Mand'alor. That's why I'm here, I've come to collect the rest of you," Din stated. The group grew loud with scoffs and snickers. He tilted his head, about what he expected. "People believe we all need to be united to start a new Mandalore."

"We disagree, especially since none of you are Mandalorians!" A man hissed, he recognized his voice as the lead of the Shriek-Hawk Training Team. Din didn't turn to acknowledge him. 

"I am willing to cleanse myself of my sins in the Living Waters, and become a Mandalorian again, but if I do, I'll finally meet your requirements to become the Mand'alor. And you will follow under me then, yes?"

No one answered.

"We would," Din's breath caught in his throat as the Armorer stepped forward. She looked him over, then noticed his droid. "This one is yours then? I didn't realize you of all people would ever have a droid."

"Red changed things for me," Din said. He felt Red nestle into his leg, his motor trilling in that purr-like sound that provided so much comfort to him on hard nights and days. 

"I see," She tilted her head at him. Din felt urged to continue speaking.

"If I don't succeed, what then?"

"Succeed?"

"If I cannot make it to the Living Waters, is there anything else I could do?" Din asked.

The Tribe mocked him. It hurt, the complete lack of care they had for him. How they had changed opinions of him so boastfully after removing his helmet. Had they forgotten he was raised with the rest of them? Or... or had they never cared about him in the first place?

The Armorer tilted her chin up. "You will remain what you are now, an apostate. If you truly care about making up for your sins, you'll make it to the Living Waters."

With that, she turned and left into the cave, the majority of the Tribe following her in, but a few stayed out. A sizable group tended to the corpse of the lake beast's body. They'd be fed for weeks with a kill like that. The others were children with a few adults watching over them as they praised the boy Din had watched take the creed.

He wore a helmet for Clan Vizsla, and given how close Vizsla was to him, this boy was most likely his foundling. 

Vizsla caught him staring from across the clearing, choosing to stare back. Neither spoke or even moved. 

'Pull him aside already, Din! Don't be a dal’hut!' Tarre barked. He rolled his eyes. He gestured to a flat rock in the shade, maintaining eye contact with him.

Vizsla dipped his head in confirmation. He palmed his boy's shoulder, saying something before approaching the flat rock. Din strolled over as well. They both sat, while Din crouched in on himself, Vizsla puffed his chest and spread his legs to take up an obnoxious amount of the rock. Din would be shocked, but he knew this man, was raised with him. This was the norm. Their norm at least.

"You have an adiik now, I see. When did you find him?" Din asked.

"Not long after you were exiled. Found him at the market, pickpocketing strangers. Reminded me of... someone." Vizsla glanced at Din before turning away.

'Me?' Din looked at him in confusion. No that was stupid, obviously it wasn't about him. He scoffed at himself, earning a sharp, offended head turn from Vizsla. "Sorry, that wasn't directed at you. After that, you guys came here?"

"Yes, we call it Vhekadnovor," Vizsla explained curtly, he glanced at Din's ship. "Where is your adiik?"

He smiled. "He is with his Jetii teacher. We trade off weeks so he can be both Jetii and Mandalorian." 

"Ah yes. I've heard he's both. Like my ancestor, Tarre, yes?" 

Din nodded in confirmation. Speaking of people he didn't like, it brought another man to mind. "We- the Jetii and I- we've had to keep a close eye on him. Gideon has escaped prison."

Vizsla growled. "You should have slaughtered that demagolka the second he was in range."

"I'm aware. But I made a deal with Bo-Katan Kryze," he sighed regretfully. He fantasized about Gideon's death regularly, he could only hope he was the one to deal it to him now.

Vizsla snorted, crossing his arms and planting his feet with two huffy stomps. "You are more level-headed than me. I've only had Ragnar for a few months, but if anything happened to him, I'd kill this entire galaxy and then myself."

Din smirked, he could relate to that. "It's our burden as buire, to love so much it hurts us. They'll never know how much we'd do for them."

"I hope he'll never know. I think he'd judge me harshly."

They sat in silence for a bit. Din tapped his foot awkwardly. He couldn't find anything to say. His chest felt tight just sitting next to Vizsla, he was waiting for the man to haul off and punch him- not for any reason. They barely ever fought for any good reason, they just... did. That's just how they were.

Or... perhaps he had elicited that with his powers. Luke and Tarre said his powers were weaker before but... could he have influenced others when he was growing up? Without even realizing it? He didn't even want to pet Red's head for comfort because he feared showing just how much he really needed that droid. He couldn't be vulnerable, not here.

"What are you doing here, Mudhorn?" Vizsla asked finally.

He looked at him. "As I said,-"

"No, I know what you said, but that's not it. You clearly have been keeping track of us and where we've been going. And you knew you would get rejected if you came here. So why come back?"

When Bo-Katan explained it, she made so much sense and phrased it so well, but now? He was lost for words, only left with deep want and fractions of hopes that he was struggling to lace together into a comprehensible sentence. 

Deep down, he knew why. He agreed with Bo-Katan; he agreed with the Unitist. How could he not? To have Mandalorians living together, maybe not in complete peace and compliance with each other, but just coexist. There'd always be arguments over the right way to follow Resol’nare, to respect Manda. But maybe... maybe they could respect each other, and come together for the better of their future generations.

Instead of answering, he asked a question in return. "Why did you hate me so much growing up?"

Vizsla stared at him. "I didn't hate you-" He cut himself off as Din looked at him. He didn't have to verbally argue with the man, staring at him seemed to do the trick. He slowly looked to his boy who was still wrestling with another foundling. "You had something I wanted. I wanted to be my buir's apprentice, I wanted to have his attention, I should have been taught by him. Instead... he chose you." Vizsla scoffed. "I know why but... still..."

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why did he choose me?"

Vizsla gawked at him for a second, seeming to realize something Din was blind to. "Cause you didn't have anyone. No friends, no family, not a single attachment, even as a child. The only people you did care for were the Armorer, which we all did and do, and the younger foundlings. Even then, you always kept them at arm's length. You work hard, you're aloof, and you were and probably still are- more ruthless than any of us. You were the obvious choice. No one would miss you, you wouldn't miss anyone."

Din tilted his head, that would be Kreshiv's thinking. "I wouldn't say ruthless-"

"You set me on fire when I was nine."

"I'd do it again. You were asking for it; calling me a coward like that. I showed you, didn't I?" He and Vizsla stared at each other before both men snickered, relaxing into more pliant stances. 

"Do you remember them just tossing me into the snow to put me out?" Vizsla giggled.

"Very vividly! I was the one to dig you out! Bet you forgot that part." Din rolled his eyes but it was easy this time, held no malice.

"Nah, I remember, fondly. Felt like you were my shorter older brother. Liked you just a bit after that." Vizsla's chuckle died into a sigh. Then he mumbled, "Still was a jealous prick, though. I only hated you because it was easy to."

Din nodded. His mind seemed locked on something Vizsla had said earlier. "None of you missed me?"

The blue Mandalorian looked away, tsking his tongue. "Some did, some didn't. Got harder over the years. You didn't let anyone get close, so no one knew who you were, not really."

The words hit hard, his chest layered with the pressure of hurt, rejection, and sadness. "Yeah, well, you all seemed to know me when I brought credits home."

"That was your job," Vizsla retorted. Din only hunched in on himself as the man stood. "I would love for Mandalorians to be unified on one planet, it's what I hope for. But it won't happen, not with you as the leader." He halted and let out a long sigh, his voice going ever so slightly soft. "Good luck on getting to the Living Waters."

Din swallowed hard. He couldn't let him go, couldn't let any of them go. If they left, how long before others left too, then where would they be? The least he could do was try, to make the offer he came here to make, like he said he would. "Then help me scout Mandalore!"

Vizsla paused midstep, turning back to him. "What?"

Din stood, approaching him swiftly. "You said you want us unified. Help me get to the Living Waters and I can finally unite our people."

Vizsla groaned. "Mudhorn-"

"I need you. If I can make it to the Living Waters, I need you to be my witness, so no one thinks I'm lying," he debated. He waited but the blue Mandalorian remained silent. "If we all reunited, you would finally be able to meet the rest of clan Vizsla. Your son would be able to meet them."

Vizsla clenched his fist before growling. Din knew he had him. 

"Scout the planet, find its radiation levels, I'll follow you, if it's safe, I'll travel with you to the waters, and I'll vouch for you. If it's not, that's it, and I want you gone for good." Vizsla commanded. 

Din felt the tension leave him. This was it. "Thank you."

He hesitated outside Mandalore, seeing the purple-gray storm swirl. He flipped on his stabilizers in preparation. He fired off a message to both Bo-Katan and Vizsla, letting them know he was going in. 

"You ready back there, Red?"

"[As I'll ever be.]" The droid grumbled back. Din only snorted.

'Come on let's go already!' Tarre demanded, thrashing at the back of his mind like a wild animal. He could only roll his eyes but he proceeded. 

The storm shook his ship as he entered the atmosphere. He fought against the winds, struggling to not flip over. The clouds crowded his windshield; he heard the rain and small balls of hail clanking off the canopy. He sucked his teeth, feeling the tension in the wings and seeing them bend to the wind's will. If he didn't do something they'd crash. He had an idea- a really, really bad idea.

'Do it!' Tarre emboldened, right in his ear. He felt hands on his shoulders, massaging them. 

'Shab ibic,' He thought.

"Hold on tight, Red!" He hissed. He steered hard right, turning off the stabilizers in the same motion. The wind ate them whole like a sea, spinning them in its intense currents. Red squeals filled the comm as they turned faster and faster. He heard a peal of deep, fiendish laughter from the back of his mind as the voices squawked in panic like a cluster of panicked buzzards. Some new level of adrenaline filled him, it drowned out the nausea and the fear of it going wrong.

He quickly turned down, breaking free of the storm in a rush as he flipped back on the stabilizers, fighting their spinning. 

He gasped for air as they slowly stopped rotating coming out upright, somehow they made it. He chuckled. "You good back there, bud?" Din asked.

A deep, almost nauseated beep came from his little droid. He laughed, huffing as he still gulped down air, his heart still thumping as fast as a piston in a ship engine. Though the storm completely encompassed the upper part of the troposphere, the lower layer was fine, letting him see the ground.

He could see multiple divots all over the planet's surface, some a few miles apart and some only a meter apart, but all doing the same damage. The sandy deserts once here now were radiated to a point where they looked like rocks and crystals- but not the pretty kind. They were a sickly dark bluish-green that looked toxic and turned his stomach. Admittedly, that may be from the move he had just pulled with his starfighter. 

The domes looked the most disturbing, however, thousands of millions of homes, nothing but rubble and blackened remains. The Sundari castle that once served the Mand'alors before him, what once held people, millions of people... were all gone.

He had gotten coordinates of the main entrance to where the Mines of Mandlaore should be from Bo-Katan. He followed the little dot on his Galactical Positioning System or GPS, watching as he got closer and the green dot grew bigger. He landed once the navigator arrow that represented him hovered above the dot, landing a bit rougher than usual, probably due to the damage suffered in the storm. 

He ran a diagnostic, seeing frost damage to the wings, gunking up the gears, as well as some strain damage to the stabilizers on the elevons. The main outer metal layer on the fuselage and the engines' cone tails were probably dented but he could buff those out. Easily.

He glanced back to Red, not quite able to get him in his sight. "Ready to take a look around bud?"

"[No.]"

"Ah, c'mon. You'll be fine, I'll be right here."

Red's grumble sounded close to an old paper shredder, but, eventually, he freed himself from the ship and settled down to the surface of Mandalore. He peered back at Din before slowly rolling off, scanning the surface, a small, thick antenna, looking solid and tolling out a fluctuating sound that was similar to a metal detector, but it got quieter the farther he got.

Din watched him circle whatever perimeter he had decided on. He had disappeared behind some rocks that reached upward like a wave of water frozen in place. He picked at the seam of his pants as he waited for his friend to return, each second drawing on longer, and longer. The wait for him was unbearable. He lingered to hear the squeal of a panicked droid, to hear some complaint or anything. Anything.

"Red?"

No answer came. Only static.

'Come on, bud, you can't leave me now,' He thought anxiously. He couldn't lose Red too.

'Don't you dare!' Tarre snarled.

He slapped the button to the side of his helmet, it vacuum sealing in an instant. He didn't have much oxygen, but he had enough, enough to find Red. He leaped from the starfighter, jogging quickly, following his droid's tracks in the circumference he had been traveling. He'd circled to a little over half a circle and then the tracks just stopped, leaving nothing. He glanced around swiftly, the pit in his stomach growing as the voices silenced themselves.

"Red?!"

"[Din?]" Came a warble above him. He whipped around, finding the droid on an uplift of the ground. His breath left him in relief. "[Get back to the ship! You could be infecting yourself with radiation!]"

"Had to make sure you were ok, you went quiet." He sighed.

Red paused longly before chirping a sound of affection. "[What channel are you on- no, you know what? It doesn't matter. Thank you for caring, but I'm fine. Now back to the ship!]"

He nodded, traveling the rest of the circle, Red trailing behind him as he continued to test the ground and atmosphere. As soon as Din reached the ship, he turned on his heels, leaning on the ship to wait for Red. The droid made it to him in seconds, processing the information.

He seemed... shocked.

"[...it's clean.]"

"What?" Din sat up straight.

The projection expanded before him. The air quality was a moderate 76 on the index scale, in this area at least. The massive divots where larger bombs hit might have higher ionization but here the air was breathable. The worst of the radiation had faded.

Course, the atmosphere was still suffering and the entire surface would need quite a few inches torn off to get good soil, but, no matter what, Mandalore wasn't toxic. It was liveable.

He unlocked his helmet, its hiss even louder than normal as it depressurize. He took a deep breath, the air humid. It was alive, the planet was alive. Sick but alive!

The Empire had lied, why? He didn't know, probably to keep the Mandalorians in despair, keep them controlled. It had worked after all, they were only now having the courage to come to Mandalore and check the facts for themselves. A check, mind you, that was driven not by a desire to live here, but a desire to unite them all again.

How sad that such cruelty and rejection from the Tribe is what led to this.

He attempted to shoot a message to both Vizsla and Bo-Katan, copying the projections that Red had shown him. He growled as the comm failed to go through. Then, he looked at his droid.

"Red you have a mini comms dish right?"

"[Yes, but it can only go a little beyond the exosphere.]" 

"Good enough, help boost the signal."

Red's small comms dish expanded, and Din hardwired the comms connection. Finally, the message went through. He added in a small warning of the strength of the storm and then left it at that. They'd be here soon, but he could go into the mines, and scout it out himself.

He entered the cave mouth, Red following at his heels. It was dank with a grimy green sticking to the rock walls. His boots printed in the wet muddy gravel of the floor, letting out a grotesque crunching squelch sound. Ahead, he saw holes in the roof of the cave, illuminating... something, something far below the cliff, he just had to get closer. He jogged a bit, letting his breath leave him in a rush of shock as his eyes took in the city.

An abandoned city... or so he thought. There was this feeling, one he couldn't explain, just a feeling. There was something deep in his gut that told him he was not alone here. He flicked down his range seeker, zooming in further, and further. As he could swear... swear he saw the glint of a helmet. 

He perked up as he heard a footstep, attempting- but failing- to be light.

'Turn around!' Tarre hissed in warning. Not that he needed it. He unclipped his saber from his belt; in a smooth motion, he turned, stepping in front of Red and swinging his Darksaber in front of him. Tusked muscular humanoids snarled at him, sidestepping left and right at the sight of his weapon. 

He heard Red chirp in panic, quickly darting behind a cluster of rocks. Good. Now Din could focus on these cretins.

He swung the saber easily, it much lighter and now only feeling like an extension of his arm. Luke's training... it served him well. He was defensive as he got a feel for their weapons, and how they attacked. 

He steadied himself, feeling phantom hands correcting his stance. 'Stop leaning so much, you won't stop falling if you don't keep your feet steady' he heard Luke's voice echo. A correction from months ago. Touches from... months ago.

He inhaled sharply as he came back to the present, just in time to dodge a bashing from one of the creature's clubs. 

'Stop thinking of your little boyfriend and focus! Fight!' Tarre screamed.

Din snarled, twisting his sadness into anger. Something more malleable, something easy to fuel him in a fight. Every swing came with the sizzle of skin as he cut the creatures down. When one lept on his back, He thrashed, slamming himself- and therefore the thing on him- into a cave wall. Dazed, the cave creature dropped to the ground. He grabbed them by their tusk and threw them over the edge of the grike.

Lifting all those building materials killed his back and arms but Manda... it made him much stronger than before. He turned back seeing the last of the cave creatures hesitate. They snarled, seeming to have enough sense to preserve their own life. They dashed off, letting out loud shrieks into the long caverns breaking off like hallways. They were probably getting reinforcements, he needed to leave sooner rather than later.

He glanced at the saber, the voices were quiet. Too quiet.

"You guys are judging me," he grumbled, eyeing Red as he slowly wheeled out.

Suddenly the voices were loud, refusing the suggestion and instead offering that they were worried. Or at least, that's what he gathered. They were more discernable now but they were still only whispers.

"Those uh... those weren't like... mutated people, right?" Din asked.

The voices snorted and squealed with laughter. Though embarrassed, he could only sigh in relief. 

'No, they're called alamites, verd.' Tarre snickered. 'Don't worry. They've been here since I was alive.'

Din shook his head like a kovedee shaking away gnats. That's all Tarre was, a gnat; an ear-gnawing, irritating gnat.

 He glanced over the cliff's edge again. He knew what he saw. "C'mon Red, we're going in."

"[Perhaps we should wait for Bo-Katan, she knows the caves best-]" Red cut himself off as Din turned to him.

"Is your loyalty to them or me?" He hissed out; not attempting to hide his irritation in the slightest. Red was struck silent, then he sounded a high-pitched whir that sounded similar to a whine. It made him feel guilty. Having been nothing but kind, loyal, and helpful, why was it that he was pushing Red to do more? That he was questioning him like this? There was no need to test his loyalty and push him away like that. 

Vizsla's words from earlier ran through his mind and he swallowed harshly. He wasn't Kreshiv, so didn't need to act like him. He pushed away his irritation. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't talk to you like that. We can wait here if you want I just... I got angry. I thought I saw something."

Red perked up. "[I could scan for lifeforms!]"

"Are you sure? I didn't-" he sighed, correcting himself, "I shouldn't have tried to pressure you. We can wait." 

"[If people are here we need to help them! You're their Mand'alor!]"

Din nodded, feeling lighter, though Tarre was getting antsy, kicking at the back of his mind like a toddler throwing a tantrum. He wanted to go now.

"Stay near me, I need you to be safe."

"[Yes, Din. Of course.]"

He activated his jetpack, descending the open chasm slowly. Closer now, he could see that the city had fallen into disrepair the farther he went down. Buildings were sent sideways as the floor split into grikes and sinkholes. A large landslide of radiated rock consumed a good portion of it. The fusion bombs had visibly affected the top layer of the cave.

Not to mention the instability of the cave's upper ceiling, with holes and cracks, kicking in rocks and dust. 

No one lived here. Yet, his gut still screamed there was someone here. There were people here.

Perhaps traveling further into the cave would gift him with some... being. He stopped on a ledge that led into a larger opening in the ravine. Ther

He went into the small pouch on his waistband, pulling out a small flashlight and clipping it to his helmet. The light was brilliant, even in the humid cave. It reached nearly a kilometer, shining off the slick rocks and litter decorating the ground of this cave.

"Red, scan for lifeforms." 

Red chirped. a blue light projected from him in a thin long ray as he scanned the cavern. 

His blue light hit something, metal in the dirt. He tilted his head approaching it quickly. He picked it up, brushing the dirt from it.

It was a helmet... a Mandalorian helmet.

He frowned deeply, cradling it gently. "I'm sorry, verd. I hope you know peace," he murmured in a prayer. 

He went to stand when he heard a metal click. He heard Tarre yelp for him to move but it was too late. He barely had time to call out before a metal cage clasped around him. 

It rolled and he watched as this tank of a droid flipped over and scuttle away, him trapped in its cell of an abdomen.

Tarre was going rabid in his mind, screaming for him to move, to break free, as if he wasn't trying that already. He wriggled, but the cage was painfully tight, he was not even able to move an inch.

He looked around at the floor as the creature crawled over the remains of its past victims. Mandalorian armor scattered the floor, forcing Din's heart to sink further and further.

Slowly he twisted his arm back and forth, managing to work it to his hip. The number of weapons on his belt alone was ridiculous, he just needed to pick the right one. Bombs couldn't work, he'd never aim a blaster right, then he felt the saber. He gripped it, unclipping it from his belt, and then-

Then the massive door moved him. The sudden movement shook him painfully, making the Darksaber drop from his hand as well as knocking loose several things from his belt. It then slammed the cage he was in on two beams to holster it up over... over hot coals.

He was in a grill gate. He was about to get cooked alive.

'No! No- you are not dying here! I am not waiting another thousand years in that saber! Come on, Din! Fight!' Tarre barked out.

Din rolled his eyes, trying to grab anything from his belt now... and then he could only pause.

He looked at the droid as its back opened and something crawled out. Its legs erupted first, gripping the door first then lugging its cyborg bug-like body upward. Tubes yellowed with age connected from its spiny back to this box on its chest- a life support device Din figured. It looked run down, needing new parts. And the paint it once held was almost entirely scraped off.

What was most odd is this droid was kare'tigaanyc. Not like Luke, Grogu, Leia, or Cashla; not even like Kryze, though the cyborg seemed to have a similar low power level like him- probably weaker than him actually. 

No, this thing was dark. This... this was a malicious, ravenous evil. 

With its magnified single eye, the creature looked him over as it prowled towards him. Its eye grew wide the more it observed, that ravenous feeling growing with it. It made him feel sick.

'What is that thing?' Din hissed in thought.

'I remember these from my time with Pre Vizsla and Bo-Katan. They're called JK-13 droids, or... Jedi Killers.'

He felt worse than sick.

The creature stood up oddly on its back legs as if it wasn't meant to go bipedal. As it loomed over him, it paused, tilting its head as if listening to something. Something Din couldn't hear.

'Kark- it must be Red! Tarre, what do I do?!'

But the dead Jetii-Mand'alor was quiet. No- not quite. He was whispering... just not to him.

The creature let out a robotic chuckle, mocking him in a language he didn't understand. It grabbed a staff, poking him roughly in the ribs before rooting through the cage. It stole his belts, then any of his remaining weapons. 

'Osik-' He growled, wriggling even though it felt hopeless. He had to fight! He had his son, he hadn't made up with Luke- he needed to fight! 

He didn't notice when the cyborg had picked up a large dirty needle connected to a tube. He gasped out a whimper when the creature stabbed him with it.

Now, he couldn't move without being in agony.

'No- this shouldn't be happening,' Tarre murmured. The voices hissed at him. The cyborg scolded another droid, some medical pump. The thing kicked on, Din whined as he watched the tube connected to his torso fill with his blood. The pump droid had two containers, the larger one- big enough to hold over a gallon- filled with his blood, and the smaller one looked like it was filling with his blood's plasma. 

Though he'd seen plasma, it was vibrant yellow, not dark like that and this was draining much slower than harvesting plasma would. What was this thing taking from him?

He heard Tarre howl out in alarm and outrage. Felt the man's pure fury 'This wasn't part of the deal!'

The man wriggled and screamed, trying to push his way to the front of Din's mind. Hurting him and the voices with his fury and panic. "Tarre- shut up!"

'He's stealing your mitofluerodins-! Din, fight! You can't die! I need you alive! I need those mitofluerodins, they're mine dammit!'

It was the voices who shoved him back. They then loaded his mind with encouragements, pushing their care for him to drown out Tarre's muffled demands.

Din sighed and began wriggling again. Then he froze. He stared as Red rolled into sight from the cavern's shadows. He sighed in relief. His little buddy came back! 

The droid's utility arm was extended. Din whined before reluctantly pushing down his walls just enough to push a thought to Red, hoping and praying it would work.

'Hit the pump droid, then go get Bo-Katan and Vizsla! Don't save me- save yourself!' He commanded. He quickly slapped the walls back into place, waiting to see if it worked.

Which it seemed to have. The droid perked up, looking at him before hunching back down again and aiming at the pump droid. 

He fired a bolt of electricity. The pump short-circuited and blew a fuse, the electricity traveling through Din's blood and giving his body a small shock. He choked, his entire body tensing and feeling the tube unsuction from his ribs. His vision whiting out in agony. 

After a few seconds, he could finally breathe. He gasped, looking around to see the cyborg finish climbing into his larger body and chasing after his droid. Din whined, petrified of what may happen to Red.

It was then that two Mandalorians in differently styled blue beskar armor emerged from the shadows. He sighed in relief, Red had already gotten them. Clever boy. 

"One mission- you can't go one mission without almost dying! Not one!" Bo-Katan scolded as she undid the claps on the other side. The second Din felt the cage go completely lax, he shoved it off. He scrambled to snatch up his belts, clipping his weapons back on in an unorganized fashion. Then, grasped the saber. 

He paused. Slowly turning back to Vizsla and Bo-Katan. The last time he went off on his own... he got here.

'You don't need them, you pathetic worm! Fight it yourself!' Tarre yelled at him before being recaptured by the voices.

"Please, help me save my droid?"

Bo-Katan easily nodded, though she sighed as she did. While Vizsla merely tilted his head.

"You really like that droid, huh?"

"Kept him around, didn't I? That should say enough."

The man seemed a bit shocked but he nodded following it with a shrug in admission.

They ran together, following the prints in the wet gravel of the cyborg's massive armored, body. He heard a squeal from Red, and he couldn't help but push himself to run faster. He rounded a corner, seeing Red had wedged himself in a crevice of the den, one the cyborg was trying to brute force its way into.

Din grabbed the saber from his belt. He wished he brought his pulse rifle but he... he hadn't touched it since his fight with Luke. He grabbed a bomb from his unorganized bag before running forward.

Vizsla and Bo-Katan both yelled in panic as he did.

The cyborg machine turned to look at them and Din took his chance. He slid under him, slapping the bomb onto the creature's underbelly. As he came out the other side, he brought the saber up, then back down on one of the legs of the droid body. The weight of the saber brought it a good portion of the way through. The cyborg turned his tank-like body suit, the leg popping out of its joint under the heat and pressure of the saber. 

He jumped back when he saw blaster bolts hit the side of the spider-like body suit, Vizsla was firing on the droid as Bo-Katan crept to Red's hiding spot. Din took his chance to switch arsenal, sheathing the saber and clipping it to his belt, going to grab his blaster next. He never got the chance to grab it.

Despite now missing a leg, the machine still easily darted forward, ramming into Vizsla and sending him flying. He hit the ground, skidding over the ravine but managing to grab the edge.

Din chased after him, managing to secure his hand over Vizsla's on the cliff's edge. "Osik- got you!" He huffed with a snarl.

He tried heaving him up but quickly felt the ground shake. He turned seeing the droid coming at them fast. He crawled down Vizsla like a monkey-lizard, the man squawking at him in confusion. He flipped around, holding onto Vizsla's torso tightly then pressed the button on his vambrace to set off the bomb.

It'd been so long, he'd almost forgotten how loud they were. He clung to Vizsla, both men watching the droid fly over them and over the edge of the ravine, smoking and the metal screaming as rubble followed after it. He breathed heavily, grabbed the cliff, and hoisted his elbow on it to stabilize himself. He waited and far, far down, he heard the machine hit the bottom of the cave. He sighed, climbing up the cliff, rocks crumbling under his boots as he lifted himself up.

"Alright, come on vaar'ika, get up there," Vizsla gave his butt a hard shove that sent him visor-first into the mud and gravel. He flipped onto his side, glaring back as the man climbed up. Din grabbed his shoulder and hauled him up the rest of the way.

Once he caught his breath, he turned back to the open area where Bo-Katan and Red sat. The pebbles flew under his boots as he scrambled to look his droid over. 

"Stupid skanah! Almost got yourself killed!" He scolded, tilting his droid this way and that, checking his legs and body. "You're ok?"

Red chirped gleefully, slamming into him. He rumbled with a purr of gear parts; Din could only hold him close.

Bo-Katan and Vizsla were kind enough to let him hold his droid. 

"Manda, thank you for saving me."

"[Anything for you, Din. You saved me too once. And you just did again.]"

He sat back and winced, feeling a pain in his side that adrenaline had chased away. He examined himself, seeing that his side was oozing blood. He cursed everything and anything. 

He pulled the saber hilt from his belt once more and brought the hot blade to his side, cauterizing it. He roared at the searing pain, better to scream than grit his teeth and chip them.

He sheathed it, then slowly stood. He looked at Bo-Katan and Vizsla who stared at him. Should he tell them? About his powers? About why this creature was stealing his blood?

'Don't even think about it.' Tarre hissed. 'They don't care about you, remember? They don't care about your problems.' He knew that.... so why did the reminder hurt so bad? 'I care though' he hummed.

'No you don't' Din thought.

'I do. I want to keep you safe. If you would just let me have control, I could-'

"We should go, Din insisted, cutting Tarre off. "The faster we get this over with, the faster we get to get the hell out of here." 

The four of them descended deeper into the mines, Bo-Katan leading them easily. She really did know them. 

"Who taught you?" He asked as they walked.

"My father. He... He trained my sisters and me both to be equal parts a leader and a warrior," she frowned. Din nodded, Bo-Katan had mentioned her family a few times. Whiamu Kryze was the third and final Kryze sister, the unwed mother to Korkie.

Or rather, adoptive mother, not that Korkie knew that.

From his needling, Korkie and Bo-Katan had revealed that Whiamu never really wanted to have partners, but she did want a child. She had Korkie and never revealed his father, then unfortunately passed away when Korkie was young. 

The story Din had put together was that Satine had fallen pregnant once she and Obi-Wan- Or Ben? He'd just stick to his last name- Kenobi had split ways. Thinking of her and the Jedi's future, she gave her child to her sister, and never got the chance to tell either Korkie or Kenobi the truth. Terrible thing, to take that secret with you to Manda- or... not. She didn't go to Manda, She went to the saber and then he... didn't matter. Not now anyway.

Whaat did matter was Bo-Katan knew, she knew Korkie's parentage. She also knew he knew, and she hated hearing his opinion on it. It didn't stop him from consistently giving it.

"You and Korkie being the last of your line, it's a hard burden. Secrets don't help that, maybe you could-" He suggested calmly, getting cut off.

"Just because you know something doesn't mean it's your business. You have no right to tell me how to deal with my family dynamics. You don't have one, what reference do you have?" She hissed. She stiffened instantly, looking and feeling regretful. 

Din checked his mind, trying to see if he influenced that reaction... but he hadn't. He just hit a nerve, so she hit one of his back.

Bo-Katan stalked off, far ahead, and led them into a pillared building built into the cave system. He began to hear water dripping loudly. He jogged forward, finding an archway that led to-

"The Living Waters," Vizsla gasped behind him.

Din froze in the doorway, Paz hiding behind him like he did when they were adiik. He took a breath before walking forward. 

"Din-" Vizsla called, grabbing his elbow. He glanced to the water then back to him. "Your stuff can't get wet, give it to me."

He scoffed. Right. Vizsla didn't care about him.

That was fine. He'd finally be redeemed. He'd be a Mandalorian again, he'd be accepted by the Tribe, and everyone would be together on Mandallia. They'd start working on Mandalore.... then everything would be okay. Everything would finally be okay.

...right?

He took off everything but his armor, putting them by Red in a neat pile. He hesitated at the edge of the water.

"Din, come on, just recite the creed so we can go... please." She added the please impatiently, but at least she was attempting to be nice.

He slowly waded in, feeling his kute grow heavy with water. He spread his arms, then began to recite the Creed he said years ago. So many years ago.

"I swear on my name, and the names of the ancestors, that I shall walk the Way of the Mand'alor..." he stopped, the water consuming him past his hips and just below his pectorals. He took in a deep breath, "And the words of the Creed shall be, forever, forged in my heart. This..." He leaned back, letting the water soak his back and shoulders. His flashlight danced across the ceiling of the cave, illuminating the wet rock. "...is the Way."

He submerged himself. 

He quickly stood, shaking off the water, taking a few steps forward with the force of it and almost down into the sharp drop-off. As he straightened, he found he didn't feel any better. He didn't feel clean, he didn't... he still didn't feel like a Mandalorian. He hugged himself tightly.

He didn't feel good at all, he actually felt really damn terrible.

'I told you this wouldn't make you feel better,' Tarre commented priggishly.

Din swallowed the vomit tinging his throat.

"Are you sure this is the Living Waters?" He asked timidly. He turned, seeing Bo-Katan's confused face.

"Are you serious? Din, there's no other mines with these waters, this is it!" She looked him over. 

"Does... does it not feel right?" Vizsla called in a question.

Din shook his head. He let out a shaky breath. "I'm still dar'manda-" he was mortified when a sob racked his body. "I'm still dar'manda."

He felt the voices whine, hands touching him softly-

"DON'T- Don't touch me! Don't you ever touch me!" Din screamed, thrashing away as he felt his heart beat faster, his chest tighten.

"I didn't!" Vizsla barked back. 

"He's not talking to you," Bo-Katan murmured softly. So... so sympathetic. Or pitying. That's what it was, pity. He snarled, turning on them.

So confident in themselves and their identity. Kark... them. 

He went to take a step forward when something bumped him. Something big.

"...what-?"

He didn't get his words out as a set of jaws locked into his ankle and took off with him, dragging him deep below the surface of the water. He knew he should panic- but he never really reacted like that, did he? He just... got angry. 

He curled in on himself grabbing the small blade from his boot and slamming it into the eel-like creature's skull. The thing writhed before falling limp, releasing him. He shook his head, looking around the deep pool, only finding limestone around him.

His mind was screaming, warning him that there was something else here. He could feel it! The voices were screaming of something, and Tarre- he had retreated to the farthest part of Din's mind. He was scrambling, he was scared.

What was here?

He looked around seeing nothing but open water and rock-

Rock that just moved.

His light scanned the smooth stones, slowly finding something curved... he slowly looked up, following the dents and cracks to.... gray. Just gray. It had odd cracks but at this point, he couldn't tell what it was. He swam a bit closer, moving towards the rock.

Then suddenly, an overlap of rock peeled back, revealing a dark brown iris. An eye.

Din jerked back, swimming away slightly as the voices screamed in panic, his vision blacking out in the corners at their shrillness. Even in his panic, he knew this creature. 

The mythosaur stared at him, its pupils large and having a slick film over it to protect it from the water it sat in.

It stared at him, blinking slowly. Din felt a smaller arm wrap around his chest. He tapped them blindly, but swiftly, and after a few seconds of struggle, he felt the person freeze. 

Sick as it was, he felt a little cleaner now. A little better to be in the presence of something so holy... so grand.

Tarre ever so slightly shifted backward, as if retreating even further.

The mythosaur seemed angered by him, it groaned and turned away. Its movements made the cave shake. And yet he only stared after it as it settled, facing its back to him.

He felt the hands tugging on him, feet kicking as Bo-Katan dragged him upwards. It was only now he felt the ache in his lungs. Stupidly, he took a breath, but he hadn't sealed his helmet. The moldy water filled his lungs, only more so when he coughed. He might drown.

He felt his eyes close as his head pounded from lack of oxygen.

'No! Not yet! I need you alive! Don't you dare karking die you pathetic slimeball!' He heard Tarre hiss out, trying to cling to him but his vision got starry. He heard the cries of the voices turn to static.

Far away, he saw a figure. Shining like metal and twinkling stars. It only glanced at him, and then- in a blink- it was gone, along with the stars.

He awoke on his back, Bo-Katan above him pressing on his chest and his helmet barely above his mouth. He coughed up the water, turning on his side to vomit. It made him shiver with disgust. He pulled his helmet back down and fell back, groaning. 

"You don't have to bathe yourself for that, right? I kept my karking eyes closed-" Bo-Katan huffed, wiping her mouth with a scowl. "Do you know how hard it is to do CPR with your eyes closed?"

Though she was scolding him, she continued to rub his shoulder as he burped and groaned sickly with disgust. "You're also heavy, but hell, maybe if this pathetic useless child of a man helped me get you to land I wouldn't have dropped you, twice. Sorry if your back hurts later."

Din peeked up, seeing Bo-Katan glaring at Vizsla. It was a bit unfair to blame him for not helping, he wouldn't be very helpful anyway. 

"Leave him alone," he grumbled defensively. She looked at him incredulously, insulted. She consistently saw things in sides, and if you weren't supporting her, you were against her. It got tiring. "He doesn't know how to swim," he explained easily.

She snorted, thinking he was mocking Vizsla but in the silence, she realized how true it was. "Manda, nearly 40 and you don't know how to swim, are you serious?"

"It never came up! I'm a guard and infantryman! Swimming isn't part of that job description!" Vizsla snarled.

Din pulled up his helmet and retched, again. His stomach now empty. He heard beeping as Red rolled up next to him. He pet the droid's head and then sat heavily.

His back did hurt.

He watched Vizsla pick up his stuff and bring it to him, kneeling next to him. Din began to organize his belt.

"You just got redeemed and you're already trying to join Manda? That's cheating don't you think?" Vizsla asked in a joke. "You gotta live a little longer! You can't die after you redeem yourself!"

"Didn't plan on dying, trust me" Din groused. He burped wetly, having to pause for a solid few seconds to see if he was going to get sick. He did not. 

Red pushed into him again. It gave him a chance to check in with Bo-Katan about what they saw.

"You saw that, right?" He asked, a bit desperately.

She looked at him fearfully, the same way she did when he spoke of the voices. As she seemed to realize she wasn't delusional. She wasn't crazy. 

"Saw what?" Vizsla asked.

Bo-Katan blinked rapidly, panicked, then turned away. "Nothing, he's clearly delusional."

Din didn't argue with her. In traditional terms, he was a Mandalorian again... he just didn't feel like one. He still felt like... like he'd never make up for his sins.

Slowly, he stood ushering both Bo-Katan and Vizsla away when they tried to help him. 

After their trek back to the ravine, he felt exhaustion settling in. When he looked up to fly upwards, he noticed his head was leaning too far back. Then he hit the ground.

When he blinked awake again, he saw he was in someone's ship. Bo-Katan's ship, he now realized.

"...Bo?"

"Hey. Vizsla flew you out of the mines. He left a few minutes ago to wrangle the Tribe." She explained simply. She walked around her ship as she prepared last-minute things for take off.

He stayed put on the floor, less by choice and more by pure fatigue. His weariness is probably also to blame for his lack of filter. "Do you think the Tribe will accept me now?"

She looked back at him, her face softening ever so slightly before turning away. Which for her, might as well be a full reaction. "I thought you'd gotten over their rejection?"

He shook his head. "Never. Never..." 

She paused. "Were you hoping that the Living Waters would make you feel better? Feel... 'clean'?"

He nodded, instantly regretting it as his stomach stirred with nausea. "Not clean, never..."

"You are though, Din." She soughed longly. "Listen, this is hypocritical as hell... but you can't hold on to that stuff. There are things that can't be forgiven but that," she turned back to him. "Guilt and trying to prove your identity to others. You'll never escape it if you keep trying to appease it. You have to let that stuff go." 

He hummed in acknowledgment, thinking over his day. His descent into the mines... felt like he was chipping away pieces of himself. He had a few realizations in his two near-death experiences. Found out some interesting things, about Mandalore and himself. Big day.

In his daze, Bo-Katan had crossed over to kneel in front of him, placing the back of her hand against where his neck met his chin.

"Manda. You are burning up. I'll get you home quick." She declared. 

"You lied."

She paused for a long time, most likely to decipher what he was talking about. "I did not-"

"I know you saw it, why... why did you-?"

"Because why talk about it if it doesn't mean anything?"

"To see the Mythosaur, it's a sign-"

"No, it's not! It's just a beast that happens to not be extinct, big deal!"

"But if they lived, if that harvester and those other creatures lived, what if others lived too?"

Bo-Katan stared at him, she looked horrified at the thought then unsure. So insecure in herself and her words. "Then may Manda have mercy on them, because they must have a tortured existence living on this planet. And I hope one day we will find them. But that day is not today." She squeezed her eyes shut and then shook her head. "We need to go. While you're still... not dead."

Din sighed, but nodded. He sat up, painfully scooting himself to one of the chairs to the side of the ship, as he buckled himself in, he glanced to Bo-Katan. "Do you think I am uncaring?" She glanced at him, seeming to need him to expand. "Think I don't care about anyone? And no one... no one cares about me?"

She softened before him. "No. You care for your son, and for our people. For your droid, the Stokaxs, my nephew and... for me, though I-" she scoffed, "I don't know why. You care for that man baby we just sent off. You care a lot, and in return, we all care for you. There's a reason you haven't been challenged yet, Din. Even in chaos, people know you. We see how much you care. I think whoever told you that is holding some of their own resentment against you and wanted to hurt you by saying that."

Din blinked slowly, nodding. "Like you did when I pushed about Korkie's parentage."

She let out a long sigh. "Yes."

He leaned his head back. Maybe he'd hurt Vizsla, and made the man feel... bad. When he returned to Mandallia, he'd make sure to start trying to make up with him. They'd fought so long over Kreshiv's attention, only to now both hate the man. How ironic. Maybe they could bond over that.

And maybe... maybe he could finally start working on forgiving someone else. Start. Not completely, but just... start.

For now he just needed to sleep.

He awoke, groggy, shaking, and covered in sweat. He sat up, crying out as he bumped his side. He looked at his ribs, seeing a bacta-patch covering where the harvester had stabbed him. His foot was also wrapped. 

...and he was only in his underclothes- no, not clothes, just his underpants.

To his left was a note and a bottle of strong antibiotics. The note was from Tooka, even without his signature, he recognized the man's hard-pressed sloppy handwriting. It apologized for his dirty sheets, explaining that he and Korkie only tended to his wounds, highlighting that they didn't want to remove his helmet so they left him in his clothes. They had, however, thrown out his boots.

Din glanced around, seeing his clothes scattered around the room. As if thrown there.

He blinked blearily, looking to the door when he heard it open, and saw Red roll into the room with a tray on his head. The droid squealed happily upon seeing him. He took the tray from him, putting it down and to the side.

"Red, what happened?"

"[I drove your ship home, Bo-Katan took you on her ship. When we got here, Korkie and Tooka carried you back here with me. They tended to your wounds, put your armor- other than your helmet- aside, and threw out your boots. They were destroyed.]"

He rubbed his head, hearing the voice groan. Seemingly, his sickness affected them. 

"Did I... did I take my clothes off?"

"[Yes, at the peak of your fever. You, very angrily, stripped down. You do that when you're sick, or drunk, I've learned.]"

Din groaned in embarrassment and laid back down. He still felt sick to his stomach, the soup on the tray made his intestines curl with queasiness. 

"Did... did the Watch come by yet?"

"[Yes! They've settled on the back end of town. People are not entirely happy but none of it seems to be angled at you. In fact, many have sent their concerns over your well-being. As well as their praises for your findings on Mandalore's radiation readings.]" Red answered. He nodded, feeling sleep claiming him again.

"Thank you, Red."

"[Anything for you, Din.]"

Din blinked slowly. "Still don't feel like a Mandalorian."

Red paused. "[I don't think the shame of removing your helmet will ever leave you if you keep giving it power. You deserve forgiveness, Din. You deserve good things.]"

He closed his eyes, pressing his face into his pillow. Bo-Katan had said the same.

It was odd. Although he was in the colosseum on the second story, far above ground, he felt like he was still in the cave. Like he had descended into some deep, deep hole over the past months. Only now was he looking up and realizing how far he had fallen. Only now was he trying to climb out.

When sleep claimed him, for the first time in a long time, his dreams were peaceful.

He stepped off the ship, still in his tan prison uniform. They were on a base on some desert planet in the Outer Rim. Talon flashed him a devious smile before walking off on her own, leaving him to be led away by the guards. He could only imagine reasons Thrawn wanted him, and he could only hope all things led to him getting that saber back. It felt good having it in his hands, and the voices inside bent to his will. If that was how Jedi felt he envied them even more than before.

He and that saber had accomplished so much. They could have done so much more but the thing had betrayed him. The controller of whatever was in the saber suddenly turned on him, choosing that damn Mandalorian instead. He was led into a control room with a chiss man standing center, a human man by his side.

"Thrawn," Gideon greeted. The grand admiral turned slowly to him, his red eyes glowing threateningly as he looked him over. Gideon didn't hesitate to continue, he was used to these intimidations. "I assume you broke me out to help you control the Mandalorians. I always believe that they were a threat to the Empire if not properly culled-"

Thrawn held up a hand, silencing Gideon sufficiently. "I have no interest in your hyper-fixation on the Mandalorians and their culture. They are of no import to me. What I need from you is the information to unlock the files Doctor Penn Pershing has gathered. I have clients who are interested in a trade."

Gideon blinked slowly, but he knew better than to ask too much before doing as told. He didn't have much of a board to play a long con with here either. So, he was forced to comply. He unlocked the files passcode. "Is that all?"

Thrawn looked to the man beside him, who opened a folder, pointing to a few things. They exchanged whispers with the human male- who was speaking quite curtly to Thrawn- kept glaring at him disgustedly. "My advisor tells me you failed to control the Mandalorians?"

Gideon scoffed. "I didn't fail. I was simply usurped. Doing tasks assigned to me by the Empire, tasks for you, I guess, if rumors are to be believed."

"Correct," Thrawn confirmed.

"May I know why you need so much information on the Force-sensitive and midichlorians?"

"Like I said. For a client. Personally, I have no interest," Thrawn scoffed.

"Is that client the Marked Ones?" Gideon probed further. "Cause if so, I don't think you understand the danger you are putting yourself in-"

"Unlike you, Gideon, I can handle myself and my responsibilities." Thrawn retorted. "Luckily for you though, I would like to keep you around. I feel you know a lot given your experiments, and that you only unlocked so many of the files, correct?" Thrawn asked rhetorically. Gideon gritted his teeth. He wasn't expecting to get caught so fast with that. The chiss man chuckled. "I will have to demote you though, since you are no longer of governing standing. I want you to handle and organize the files for Doctor Pershing and pass them to our ally and client."

"And what of the Mandalorians?!" Gideon couldn't help but bark out.

"They are not of import. You lost, they won, now they are trying to build a government of their own. What they do makes no difference to me."

"Then you are a fool!" Gideon snarled.

He regretted it as Thrawn leveled him with a dangerous glare. "Careful Gideon, I'd hate for a prison break to go to waste because you can't hold your tongue. You are a liability enough with your track record of failures."

Gideon swallowed hard. "I'm just encouraging you not to make the mistake I did of underestimating these people."

"I'll consider it. Now, let the guards show you your quarters and work station."

Gideon scowled but walked away with the guards eventually. Thrawn watched him go.

Eli stood by his side. "I do not like that man." He commented.

"I know, starlight," Thrawn hummed. Eli took his hand and led him down the hall. "Where are you taking me?"

"I have a gift for you," Eli smiled. "I know your facing dangerous people who abuse the Force like Vader, I need you protected so we can save your people."

"Just because of that?" Thrawn asked, fauxing a pout.

Eli looked back at him unamused. "You know how I feel about you. I just don't want me to be your motivator. I don't matter that much." Thrawn barely held in a scoff. How wrong that statement was. "But that's not the point."

Eli stopped at a door, punching in a code. When the door opened, Thrawn felt his breath leave him. He stepped into the room and saw a ysalamari; the yellow lizard relaxing on a removed piece of tree bark that had been fashioned into a back attachment. He let Eli work the lizard onto him, then took the time to cover the creature with a cape.

“The man I got it from says it’s like a blur in the force. And it’ll blur you.” Eli explained, finally ceasing to mess with the cape. He let Thrawn turn back to him. "Now they can't find you."

This would make taking the helm of things in the Empire much easier. Thrawn smirked, gripping Eli's chin with his thumb and forefinger. "Thank you, Lieutenant. Your Grand Admiral appreciates your services."

"Yeah, I'll bet you do," Eli scoffed. The two chuckled.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: The Mend

TW: Religious trauma and continued abusive tendencies (from Tarre)

Din awoke, groggy and foggy-brained, but still feeling fabric over his head. His vision was... odd, he was looking through a rectangular window of a net-like fabric. He shifted, knocking his elbow against something plastic. He turned in the hard bed seeing that he was not in his room. As he glanced around he took in things quickly, or as quickly as he could in his drugged state. There was a large IV bag and a tiny one next to it: the larger was filled with something clear and the smaller was pale yellow, dripping at an extendedly slow rate. He blinked in confusion, feeling the voices grunt, each one filled with a deep sense of enervation, as he sat up. Even Tarre was dazed and confused, murmuring questions about where they were. 

He was in a hospital. When had he been put in the hospital?

He felt his face, touching the loose cloth face covering, something that must have been put on him to respect his creed but still not let him overheat in his helmet. Which must have been necessary as he felt remnants of a fever lingering. He heard a chirp, and when he looked to his left he saw Red approaching the bed.

"Red, who put the face coverings on?"

"[Droids. I made sure of it,]" Red replied. He then whirred to him in concern as Din looked at his medical chart. His diagnosis was sepsis, borderline severe and he had surgery performed on his foot to remove a large tooth. Seemed the creature that bit him had the last laugh after all.

'Fabulous.' He thought bitterly. He rolled his eyes, a clear mistake as it made him feel dizzy and sick. Still, he tried to persevere, going to stand when Red barked- as close as a droid could get to barking anyway. He blinked at him in shock, mouth open but words struggling to come to him.

"Red-!" Din went to argue, but his droid cut him off.

"[Get back in that bed!]"

"Red, I'm fine-"

"[Really? Look at your foot.]"

Din tilted his head before glancing at his foot. It was wrapped but at his toes, they looked almost bruised from how dark and swollen they were.

"What happened to me?"

"[Mandalore kicked the crap out of you, that's what happened.]"

"No, but I was fine, I remember being in my room-"

"[Yeah, you got a lot worse not even an hour later. I had to call for help.]" Red huffed out air through his vent, approaching Din quickly and pressing into his leg. "[I should have called for help sooner. I'm sorry.]"

"It's ok buddy." He went to pet Red but he ducked lower. Whirring in guilt. "C'mon. It's ok, you're ok. Please let me pet you." 

Red whined but finally accepted. Lifting back up and letting Din pet his cylindrical head. 

Once they both relaxed, Din scooted back into bed, getting under the covers once more. Similarly, Red settled on his charging pad. 

"[Din?]"

"Hm?"

His droid hesitated. "[Do you... do you remember anything that happened in your dazed state? Specifically, do you remember trying to tell me something before you got to the hospital?]"

Din thought. The last thing he remembered was a brief stint of consciousness where Red brought him some food when he was in his room. "No...?"

"[You don't remember tapping Mandalorian Morse Code to me?]"

Din snorted, in confusion. "Red, I don't even know Mandalorian Morse Code. I know Basic Morse Code. I think it might have just been that tapping stim I do."

"[...right.]" The droid hummed unsurely. He'd let it go, and so would Din.

"Where's the Darksaber?" He asked, following the tired grunts and whispers to the bedside table to his left. He pet it.

"[You were clutching it when you were taken here.]" Red explained.

"Good." He responded.

'The voices, when we were like that, you were trying to comfort them even when you were dying,' Tarre whispered sickly. 'They reached back. We're bonded after all.'

"Yeah bonded," He hummed, holding the Darksaber and tracing the hilt. "The souls are ok?"

'Mmm, just tired, pushing to make sure you didn't die. We protected you,' Tarre hummed. 

"Hmm. Thank you." He whispered. He looked at Red who just... looked uncomfortable.

"Din!" Bo-Katan shouted.

Din looked up, blinking rapidly and seeing that he had at some point turned on the Darksaber. The blade hummed loudly, louder than before, almost, singing. He looked at the Kryze's. When had they gotten there? 

He sheathed the Darksaber. "Hi." He greeted, sleepy and dazed. "Just... making sure it's ok."

Korkie cringed, standing stiffly. Nervously. Bo-Katan, however, rounded the bed, taking the Darksaber from him and setting it on his bedside table.

"I'm going to look at your wound, don't move," Bo-Katan told him, not asking for his permission. Korkie simply picked up his medical chart from its holder at the end of his bed, grumbling about things Din couldn't here. Bo-Katan prodded at him and checked his bandages. It was now Din saw his bandage on his side where the 'Jedi Killer Droid' or whatever had gotten him. Spreading out from it were feather-like scars like Luke had, not as prominent or widespread. His were a bright red, still fresh, tender. Whereas Luke's were an aged dark grayish pink and wide-spanning, from the bottom of his chin seemingly down to his feet in many different stripes.

Manda, he missed Luke.

'Oh for Manda's sake- stop talking about him!' Tarre groaned.

"I'm fine," Din grumbled as the Kryze's finished up their examination. Korkie simply rolled his eyes at him, checking the medication before finally giving him space. 

"You need to rest. You shouldn't have even gone into the mines on your own" the man scolded. Din rolled his eyes. "And uh... Bo-Katan mentioned you had a bit of an episode, at the Living Waters-"

"That's an exaggeration," He bit back, glaring at the woman in question. She only stared back, blank-faced. Or trying to be. Her face twitched, once and only slightly. She was concerned, and he knew it. He huffed in compliance, letting her win this time. "I just got sad, am I allowed to experience emotions?"

Korkie frowned at him. "Of course. We just... we want to support you. And you're... you've really been going through it this past year."

'They pity you' Tarre growled from the back of his mind. Din hummed negatively, squinting at the older man. That did sound like pity to him.

"And you seem to be holding things in," Bo-Katan said quickly.

"Do either of you have much of a right to tell me how to process things?" He asked with a sneer. The Kryze's looked at him, unamused by his comment. However, he was too tired to care. "I mean really, let's unpack the trauma sitting in this room right now. I'll go first, I am dealing with massive amounts of religious trauma and fears that I won't get into Manda because I can't make up for my sins." He rambled out easily, as if saying a joke though he knew this was no joke.

He regained himself, shifting the conversation to discomfort the Kryze's. "Now, let's unpack your family trauma-" He insisted insolently.

"Din, that's not happening-" Korkie hissed.

Bo-Katan paused. "Ok," She answered easily.

"What?" Korkie asked, meanwhile, Din was merely struck silent. Well... he was not expecting that.

"He's right, let's talk. You blame me for Satine and Soniee's death. I think that's valid. I'm mad you left me."

Korkie seemed entirely dazed, looking at Din, then around the room. As if waiting for someone to pop out and tell him it was all a joke. No one did. "Ok... uh..." he glanced at Bo-Katan. "I don't know what you want me to say to that. You took Satine from me. Your actions led to the death of Soniee, as well as a good part of our people. How did you expect me to react? How do you want me to react now? Do you want me to just forget?"

Din had glanced away at the mention of Soniee and Satine. At... at Tarre's push of memories of what he did to them. To their souls.

Maybe that's why the Living Waters didn't clean him. Maybe that was why he cried. He was uncleanable. Not for the removal of his helmet, but for his crimes in his attempts to shirk his responsibilities.

Bo-Katan's voice brought him back to reality. "I'd never ask that. You should never forget them... I just- I'd like to try to be family again. Or..." she sighed. "I don't know."

Korkie stared at her, arms crossed as he tensed more and more. "Spit it out."

"I don't think you can forgive me, especially since... Korkie, Satine wasn't your aunt she was-"

"My mother, I know," Korkie cut in easily. Bo-Katan stared, as did Din.

"Who... who told...?" She stuttered out, unable to fully say it.

"Whiamu. Before she died. She told me to not hold family secrets. I've known since I was a child." Korkie shrugged, though it was timid now. "That's why I was close with Satine. That's why I... That's why I always liked the Jedi. I knew exactly who my parents were." Korkie huffed at the admission. Bo-Katan stared at him, eyes wide and pain-filled. This might of been a mistake.

"Right." She huffed. "Then... I'm sorry. That you never got to have that moment of reveal with them." She crossed her arms defensively, mirroring Korkie's body language. "And I'll never say it enough... I am sorry about Satine and Soniee. I regret it every day of my life."

Korkie nodded. "I know," He responded quietly. "I just... I don't think, that I can ever forgive you for it." The pause in the room lasted for a long time, far longer than anyone felt comfortable with. "But I'm willing to try. I... I will work with you, and be cordial with you. As long as you give me space when I need it."

She nodded, she seemed... satisfied with that. Din huffed, that went... better than he hoped. Call him immoral, but he wanted chaos, chaos for everyone like there was chaos for him. The Kryze's looked to him expectantly. Expecting him to open up even more so. He just stared back. How dare they think it was just that easy. It wasn't. What would they do with his fears? His knowledge?

He was great at staying silent- ask anyone. The Watch, they'd joke they forgot he even existed sometimes because he was so quiet. Tooka and Fierce joked he was like a desert storm, appearing in and out of conversation at will with no warning. Luke too, but he... he liked Din's quiet... 

It was his talent, to hide away, to run away. Despite being a warrior, running is what he did best, was it not? He ran from the bounty hunters, he ran from Gideon, he ran from being Mand'alor. 

He was a coward.

"Fine, you don't have to talk." Korkie finally sighed, Bo-Katan looking at him betrayed but settling quickly once he continued. "Will you at least let us help you recover?"

"...from my trauma?" Din asked.

Korkie pinched the bridge of his nose. "No. I mean if you want us to help you with that, sure, but I mean with your literal medical issues and workload," He corrected. "You're not allowed to leave the hospital wing for two weeks anyway," he added.

"What?! No, I can't stay here!" Din barked out.

"And that's why we're here! Fierce and I will take over the stuff here on the planet. Bo-Katan and Dizudu can handle political meetings and you can focus on recovering," Korkie said as he looked him over. "Red and Tooka have both said you haven't been sleeping well."

Din glared at his droid through his veil. 'Traitor' he thought. "Fine. Whatever. I didn't want to do it anyway." He laid back down in his bed, glaring at the wall. Not unlike a grumpy toddler but Din would never admit to that.

"I have some things to attend to with the farmers," Korkie sighed. He looked at his aunt. "Coming?"

"No, I'll stay." She said, much to Din's disappointment. Korkie nodded. He heard his footsteps get quieter as he left. Once the door shut, Bo-Katan spoke. "You're making a mistake by not talking about it, Din."

He perked up, rolling over slowly to look at her. "Huh?"

"Whatever complex you've been building, whatever self-loathing you've been drowning in, you need to talk to someone. I told you that when you picked up the saber. You can talk to me, or Fierce, or Tooka. I can even program therapy techniques and exercises into Red if it'll get you to talk! Just, tell me how to help you," she took a breath before speaking again. "Tell me how to make sure you don't make the same mistakes I did."

"You can't. Just..." He sighed through grit teeth. "Leave me be."

Bo-Katan stared at him, she sat on the edge next to his feet, facing the same wall he was. "You know, my father used to tell me 'treat others how you want to be treated' And when I was a teen, I thought it was funny because... what do you do when you think you deserve to be treated badly? You make sure you are treating everyone how you think you should be treated. And I think... I think he would have answered that with 'then treat yourself how you wish you treated others'. Simple inverse." She looked at him. "Why don't you treat yourself like you treat others? What heinous things have you done to deserve such hatred from the only person you could always rely on; from yourself?"

Din blinked. Why was he tearing up at that? He cleared his throat, taking a breath. Wanting to tell her off, to yell, to ignore. But how could he? "I did something bad," he mumbled before he could reconsider. "I don't think any water can clean me."

"...this isn't about removing your helmet is it?" Bo-Katan asked. He shook his head. She stared, looking a little nervous to hear. Still, she pushed on. "What happened?"

He stared at her before sighing deeply. "In attempts to free the souls I... I..." he felt ill. That same feeling he felt at the waters. And Tarre, he felt so giddy at it. Despite how exhausted the Jedi specter was, he felt nothing but uncontained glee at his suffering. "Luke and I vaporized souls. Not just a few; many. They will not join Manda because of my carelessness."

Bo-Katan stared at him. She took in a breath. "That must be really hard to deal with."

Din nodded curtly. "I was dar'manda before doing it. I just sealed my fate when I did it. Intentionally or not," He sighed. "Doesn't matter though. I made my choices. And I'll die with the saber, make sure no one knows our pain of carrying it. Better me than someone else."

Her face pinched softly. "I don't think Manda will judge you for that. And I don't believe that they didn't somehow, someway, reunite with Manda, at least parts of them." She hesitated with her next words, going through a myriad of responses. "I wish someone loved you like you deserved growing up. I wish you weren't convinced of your worth being so low, because honestly Din, you're a very good person. An asshole sure, you're like the little brother I never wanted," she scoffed, audibly tearing up a little. It reminded Din to be conscious of his own reactions, but it was too late. Tears tracked his cheeks. He simply pushed his face into his pillow. "But I'm so glad I met you."

Din looked away. "I'm sorry you're stuck with me-"

"It's an honor." She cut in. She looked dead at him. "I'll follow you anywhere. With our people trailing us. Just... make sure you don't go somewhere we can't help you. Ok?"

Din nodded, though he wasn't sure he could keep that promise. "I promise."

"Good." She sighed. Then she chuckled. "Should have seen everyone's reactions when I told them you were hurt. The Stokax clan went rabid, as expected. I sent Tooka to go pick up Grogu to not have him hover, he's been caring for him since yesterday, he's a good babysitter."

"Thank you," He bowed his head, before perking up in slight panic. "Eh-...the rest of our people aren't aware of my condition, are they?"

"Unfortunately they are." She cringed. "They've been sending well wishes and a few gifts. The heir of the Vizsla clan, Castimir, has stopped by once or twice. She seems to like you."

"We talked a few times, I like our talks on dogs," Din remembered fondly.

Castimir handled most things with house Vizsla, her father being a little too old now to do it. She was similar to him, blunt, hard-working, and brutal. She didn't like him too much at first, but after a few conversations, she started to stop by just to talk with him. She was even the one to deliver each acceptance gift from House Vizsla. 

Castimir had told him of her love of dogs many times, especially the ones on water planets, it came with the territory of being half Nautolan, he supposed. He loved dogs too, though he preferred massiffs or barghests. Dogs who were beastly but sweethearts, like mini-rancors, that's what he liked. How Luke could love cats more boggled him.

Bo-Katan chuffed at his response, "Sounds about right. Course she's nice to you, but to everyone else she's an absolute bit-" She hummed, stopping herself before speaking the foul names she wanted to. "Doesn't matter. The point is, I think every single one of our people would have stormed Mandalore to hunt down anything and everything for you. And I want you to stop questioning why people follow you, why people care about you, and accept that maybe, just maybe, you deserve love. And whatever judgment Manda may have for you, I know can't be too far behind."

"Plenty of people love those deserving of hate," Din refuted.

"Good thing you're not one of those people." She said, curt and decisive. This wasn't an argument he would win. So he just nodded. Maybe one day he'd believe it. "Good! Then Korkie and I will download therapy programming onto Red." She patted his knee. "Now what do you want for dinner?"

He took a second to think before deciding. "Can I have uj cake?"

"No, you need real food." She replied curtly. Din groaned, huffing in a pout. "You're acting like a child," Bo-Katan scolded.

Din glared at her through his cloth face coverings then he crossed his arms. "... can you ask Fierce to make me something?"

"Absolutely." She stood, heading for the door. "I'll be back tomorrow. I'll bring my work here so I can work and watch you. Get your opinion on some things. Oh and Castimir wants to talk regarding the Vizsla's in the Tribe using their name. Do you want me to handle that?"

"No, I'll take care of it, since apparently she's difficult to work with," Din said.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Bo-Katan hissed. Quickly she straightened, standing. "Ok. But, that's it. That's the only work you get in recovery, alright?"

Din nodded. Sounded fair. "Thank you, Bo-Katan."

She nodded. "Of course." 

Din smiled, it faltering quickly. He was curious, about whether he could be completely peaceful in his interactions with the Tribe. He... had less than positive feelings for them, but he could, maybe forgive them. Or, at the very least try to. 

They were broken, like him. From the Night of a Thousand Tears, from their devotion to their beliefs. Their blindness to their own hypocrisy. So how could he judge? He was once like them. None of them would follow in his exact footsteps, but surely, they could all walk the path to improvement. Couldn't they? 

Din jumped awake at someone entering his room, three people actually. Tooka held a sleeping Grogu, scoffing at something Fierce had said before looking at Din. "Din! I'm glad you're alright!" 

Grogu stirred, excitedly looking at his dad and squealing. He leapt into his arms and Din hugged him close. He hummed, looking at the zabrak men. "Thank you for grabbing him," He said in a sleepy rumble.

"Of course!" Tooka replied, smiling wide. Fierce held a plate which he set on the overbed table. 

"We'll be staying to ensure you eat," Fierce added, then pulling the curtain close to give him privacy. 

"Yeah, that's never really been a problem with me" Din chuckled, slowly beginning to dig into the food as Grogu leaned into his side, falling back into slumber easily. He sighed. 'Thank you, Manda, for bringing Fierce and his blessed cooking skills into my life.' 

He ate, Tooka talking on and on about everything. 

Like Luke used to.

He felt... sentimental, especially after talking with Bo-Katan, having his son in his arms, getting the Watch back. Forgiveness always crossed his mind, but this was the first time he genuinely wanted to start working on it. Instead of just purging all that Luke had done from his mind.

"Tooka?" He asked, interrupting Tooka's story, he'd told it a hundred times anyway.

"Yes?" The man responded.

"Have you spoken to Cashla recently?"

"Oh yes! Just last night I did! She's doing really well and hopes you get better soon!" Tooka chirped back.

"Mm, hows uh... how's Luke?" He asked. Tooka was silent. Understandable. When Tooka told him about his first call with Cashla, he tried to tell Din how Luke was, and Din told him never to speak of Luke in front of him. Tooka obeyed. Now he was going back on that.

"Cashla says he's good... do you want to know what he's been up to recently?" He asked.

"Please."

Luke sat on the ship, ratcheting the last panel of the V-Wing. He tugged at it with the Force and the metal didn't give. 

He'd been bringing Cashla's ship to Han's shop every time he came here for Grogu's pass-off, whom they were waiting on currently. It was losing its junker glory and looking more put together. The engine no longer spluttered, and the wings no longer creaked with rust and age. He'd just finished the ship's outer paneling. No longer was its innards exposed for the galaxy to erode away. 

"Luke?" Cashla called, sliding out from under the ship on the mechanic's creeper. Once clear of the ship, she sat up, holding something. "What's this?"

Luke offered out his hand and she floated it to him with grace and speed. He knew what it was before it hit his hand. "This is a spark plug. A badly burned one. We'll get you a new one."

Cashla nodded. She turned to call out to someone in the garage then hesitated. "Which one should I call?" She asked.

"Chewie," he said. 'Definitely Chewie.'

She nodded. "Mr. Chewie!"

A loud roar came from the back of the workshop, then the Wookie stuck his head around a corner of the office.

"We need a spark plug for a Nimbus-Class V-wing- you got one?"

Chewie merely scoffed. He went away and for the next few seconds, there was the loud rattling of searching through drawers. He then emerged tossing the shiny new replacement to Luke. 

"Thank you."

Chewie nodded. He patted Cashla's head before walking off.

"He's got soft hands," she commented.

Luke snorted, ushering her off the creeper and taking it for himself. He slid under the ship to access the bottom of the engine, quickly screwing in the spark plug. He checked the rest of the engine but it looked good. They already replaced the pistons and the battery, the rest of the engine would be good for a few more years. As he slid out he heard Han's booming voice. 

"So! What's a Jedi do now anyway?"

"You say that as if you knew was Jedi did before," Luke scoffed.

"I know you got that sparkle finger banthashit," Han teased.

"Never call it that again," Casha grumbled, disgusted offense carved into her face. Han merely snorted at her.

"We mainly are focusing on restoring peace. I'm working with Leia to help clean up the remains of the Empire. Training my padawans."

"Can't you just say students? That's so much clearer."

"I'm not being a Jedi if I'm not confusing the shit out of you."

Han chuckled, punching his shoulder. "Well, if you're not too busy, do you mind going to this thing Leia has set up?"

"What 'thing' exactly?" Luke asked back.

"I don't know some- stupid, political ball or whatever. Politics and shit. You know the drill."

Luke nodded, he did know. He didn't entirely like the political balls and galas Leia helped set up. People were very disconnected from what was appropriate to ask and therefore invasive as hell. Those people were why he never attended. He much preferred his selective solitude, far from people and their judgment. Plus, he wasn't missing much. It was all just a bunch of stuck-up rich, political leaders who he wouldn't even try to talk about the impact of the Empire with because they would never truly know. Not in the comfy chairs and fancy clothes, no. Royalty and the rich, those whose only losses were money, didn't understand the Empire's true impact, cause they only cared about money-

...those were Din's words, and now they were his.

He nearly sighed.

Force... Din. 

He still missed that man with everything in his heart and that was terrifying. And exhilarating. But mostly terrifying. How he went from not being able to admit his attachments at all to now being deeply attached to a man he only knew for a few months. Too long for him for months after he left. It felt wrong. 

...but being able to admit and embrace his attachments, that was thanks to Din. Din helped him work through that. What had he given him in return?

Betrayal.

He sighed. Constantly thinking about it didn't help. It didn't make things better. Not that he deserved to have things get better. He ruffled his hair, loosening the stress from his mind, letting the Force alleviate his stress, rather than contain it in himself. Stress and neuropathy did not mix, he'd done well to not overwork his mind like this for several months.

...maybe it'd be good to get out like that. He should probably be getting out and about overall. Din would hate a pretentious thing like that, so he didn't need to worry about running into him. 

 "Uh- I don't know, I uh... I don't think I should."

"C'mon, please Luke! Leia makes me go to one every year and I don't want to be bored and alone," Han whined, acting more like a child than his son did. Chewie grunted in offense. "You don't even stay and talk to me! You go and talk with Tarrful or go home 10 minutes after the Gala starts!"

Luke rolled his eyes, glancing at Cashla as the two argued. 

"What do you think? Do you want to go to this Gala?" 

Cashla was looking giddy. "Please?! I know it's going to be so stuck up but I would love to see what it's like! I've never been to one!"

He sighed. That answered it then. "Fine."

Cashla cheered. He'd be able to tell Han when the man stopped fighting with Chewie.

Luke twirled in the X-Wing, Grogu giggled in his lap while Artoo screeched at him from his seat. "Oh, you're fine!" He huffed back at the droid.

"[I'm dying!]"

Luke rolled his eyes with a smirk. He had been taking Cashla out, now that her ship was up to code and wasn't a crash risk. Plus, he'd been sensing she wanted to see the galaxy more. Whenever he had Grogu, he'd take him with them, though he made sure to never go anywhere too populated as to steer clear of Gideon. That was always a thought plaguing his mind. He wished he'd taken the man out, he couldn't imagine Din or any other Mandalorian felt different.

The avoidance of people did lead to the exploration of weird places, however. Currently, they were coming back from a planet called Ossus, one in deep wild space that Ahsoka had told him about. Seemed like it was a planet used as a hideout for Jedi at one time, a good place to hide too. In the middle of unexplored parts of the galaxy, on a planet that had a stronghold for the Force, he'd hide there if he was a Jedi in the Empire era. Now, however, it was just a good place to visit with his students. It was beautiful too, isolated, fertile land, safe for kids...

...Din would have loved it...

And that was why it was good for him to get out too. His obsession with the man was still... strong.

There then came an alert on his comm.

"Cashla. What's up?"

"Uh," there was a rough sound. Of metal grinding and flips switching. "Nothing big- quite small actually compared to how big it could be! But-" She cursed loudly, an alarm sounding in her ship. Rattling rang through the comm connection. "That seems to be an issue! Maybe they're stronger when they're smaller?! I- I don't know astrophysics- I don't even know physics on planets!"

"Cashla focus, what's wrong?" He asked sternly, sitting up straight.

"I just need to know how to escape the pull of a black hole. Is that- Is that even possible?" She seemed to be crying now. "Luke, is that even possible?"

Luke couldn't even gasp, his chest merely tightened. No air could even leave his lungs. He heard Grogu coo in concern, the sound of it seemed to snap him out of his stupor. He immediately flew to her coordinates, she was only a dozen clicks away. 

He felt the heat of the gravity well first. The small black mass waiting for him, pulling at his student's ship, and radiating with warmth. 

Cashla was right in the fact that this black hole was small compared to other black holes. However, it was still a threat, and the hold it had on her was not escapable, not from how close she was but getting pulled in wouldn't be the thing that killed her. The energy- the mere heat pouring off this force of the galaxy. It would simply evaporate her before she could even reach the cold center. His ship's external thermometer told him where she sat was twice as hot as the hottest Tattooine day, it wouldn't be long before the heat seeped through the metal. His student- his young padawan- was slipping through his fingers right before his eyes. He couldn't lose her too.

His mind worked quickly. He didn't know much about astrophysics either, but he did know some things. Theoretical things, mostly relating to what he knew about energies and their counterparts, about balance and therefore the effect of unbalanced forces.

He had an idea. If he could push the black hole's energy particles to not meet at the boundary and instead have the radiated particles flee the black hole. Then the outside particle could enter, thereby meeting and destroying a particle inside the black hole. That would shrink it. 

Course, he'd have to do this on a larger scale than one particle at a time, which would be extremely draining. But he didn't need to completely erase the black hole- he could never do that anyhow. He just needed to shrink it at an accelerated rate, enough to allow Cashla to escape the gravity well.

"Cashla, you listen to me, kick your engine onto the highest setting, and fight that thing with everything you got ok? Don't worry about the ship's condition."

They could always fix it later.

She tried to respond but it was only static. Luke watched as her ship's engines spat out dark blue flames, it only scooching forward a few millimeters at a time.

Grogu gasped in astonishment as the energy in the black hole was palpable, heavy with the energy it had vacuumed up from its surroundings, collected, and utilized to gather more strength. It was a conglomerate force of nature that seemed entirely unnatural. And yet, it was more natural than most things built in society.

He manipulated the black hole's event horizon on a minuscule level, compelling the particles to slip past each other at an accelerated rate. The black hole released its radiated particles like a plant would release pollen. Billions or trillions of particles flew out in seconds as the black hole shrunk millimeters. It took over a minute or two for the black hole to begin to change in the Force. Once it began to change, it seemed to deflate faster, and faster. Its weight in the universe was loosening; what would take decades- centuries even- was happening in seconds.

Tremors wracked his body now, his mind beginning to tense with the power he was exerting as pain coursed through faded pale scars. He then felt a power join his efforts, and then another. Cashla and Grogu were attempting to follow his lead. They both, they were trying so hard, and they shouldn't have to. 

He pushed his mind further, far beyond a point of comfort, far beyond what he thought were his limits. His body hurt, but there was his student, creeping away from the black hole, meters away.

When his vision began to blank out at the corners, Luke switched from shrinking the black hole's mass to fighting against it. He yanked on Cashla's ship, getting Artoo to back up.

Painfully slow, he extracted Cashla from the grasp of the galactic force, and out onto the outer ring of it.

"Cashla, go left now!"

She did, letting the pull of the black hole swing her around and slingshot her far off into space where she could safely enter hyperspace once again.

Luke sighed, feeling nothing but tingling numbness like his entire body had been suffocated from blood flow. His nerves prickled painfully, his mind pounding like he was concussed.

"Holy Manda, Luke- I thought I was a goner!" Cashla sighed, chuckling quietly. In a state of shock, Luke tried to speak but his vision was full of static. His mind went blank as he sank into his chair. 

"Master?"

He chuckled, very quietly, to the point he almost didn't hear it.

Fighting off a black hole. That had to be an accomplishment right? A new one for the books? Sure he didn't wipe it from the galaxy, but he didn't fall to it. He had shrunk it noticeably, and he did it with his padawans.

He could rest his eyes now.

Just... just for a bit.

Luke awoke with aches in places he didn't even know existed. Like all the hangovers he ever had combined with the full-encompassing pain of getting slammed into a wall by a pissed wookie. He winced as he tried to sit up. 

He heard his door open. 

"Luke, don't sit up too fast-!" Cashla went to run to him but Luke just held up his hand.

"I'm fine just-" he grunted, looking at his hands to see twitching but no longer trembling. He glanced up seeing Artoo bringing in a tray with tea on it, Grogu bounding in after.

"[You're an idiot, I hope you know!]" The droid scolded.

"I was saving my student," Luke scoffed, taking the warm drink and sipping it as Cashla placed Grogu on Luke's bed. It was a mixed tea with different herbal flowers that greatly aided in soothing aches and pains. He didn't know whether it was due to the natural nature of teas or if the medicinal properties just worked on him. 

He hummed as his muscles cramped and ached. He'd need a day or two more of rest. 

"Cashla, for the next two days, due to my state I won't be able to teach you or Grogu things regarding using the Force." He set his tea aside for now. "So, instead, I want you to read the Jedi texts about the code over the years and how to live as a Jedi."

"Ok," she looked a little unsure. "Am I... supposed to follow it?"

"No, I just want you to be fully informed on how it's changed over the years," Luke answered easily as he shook his head, his lengthy hair flicking with the movement. "How you follow our religion is how you follow it. Do not let anyone tell you that you have to follow one way or another. It's your life, your boundaries, your choice. A religion should never limit your life, it should only add to it. Better it."

Cashla smiled wide, showing off some of her sharp teeth. "Yes, Master. I can also make dinner if you want."

Luke tilted his head. "We'll see when evening comes. If I'm well enough I'll make it."

She nodded curtly. "You got it." She paused, "and thank you. For saving me."

"No problem, I'm sorry you had to help me-"

"Luke, you were shrinking a black hole, to save me. Of course, I'd help you." She petted Artoo's head before walking out of his room and off to the library. 

Luke stared at his droid, Artoo quickly wheeled back and out of his reach.

"[Don't even think about it.]" He warbled.

He only snorted. "Cashla's the only one who can pet you, gotcha."

Artoo only beeped positively.

He grabbed an end of his hair. It was quite long now. He'd be sure to cut it soon.

Luke looked to his left, finding Grogu had taken that side of the bed, sprawling out like a loth-cat would. He smiled, finishing of his tea before setting the cup aside and bringing the boy against him.

It was good to have him here. A small comfort. 

Thankfully, by the next day, Luke was mostly better. He was able to sit with his students on the library floor, reading Jedi books. He was reading teaching padawan books, the current one with some more new age beliefs. As new age as it could be 30 years ago at least. It stated on accepting changes to the Jedi code in respect to culture like with a Jedi named Ki Adi-Mundi as well as noting "some" Jedi might benefit from relationship options and learning how to process grief rather than avoid it. However, it states it as an explanatory essay. Never truly taking one side. 

Grogu was switching between practicing lightsaber forms with his wooden lightsaber Din carved and floating his favorite little metal ball around, lazily using the Force. It seemed much easier for him to use now.

Cashla however was reading a more spiritual book. One she had many questions on- which he couldn't blame her. The books mentioned Jedi spirits as more of a guiding light motif. Never explicitly saying that it was past Jedi coming to teach them. Luke was sharing everything he could. 

He looked up when he heard his student clear her throat. 

"Yes, Cashla?"

"Are the Jedi spirits real or is it like... just the Force manifesting as people we know to give us comfort and guide us?"

Luke went to answer then paused. He could see that happening, most anything was possible with the Force, it was a logical question. He hummed then settled on it. "I'm mostly certain that it's past Jedi's spirits souls. Mostly. I never considered that it might be the Force using puppets."

Cashla nodded, she pet Grogu's head. "Have you talked to them before?"

"Oh yes. Only a few. I believe there is more than what they tell me. I hope there is, at least." Luke sighed.'Please let there be more than four.'

He had never officially met Qui-Gon, but he hoped the man had taught more then just Yoda and Obi-Wan on how to be Jedi spirits. That he knew what was coming and... and was able to preserve some of the Jedi...

Cashla flipped through the book, pages she had notated with slightly translucent slips of sticker paper. She noted something in her notebook before looking back at him. "And, how do we know who is and isn't a Jedi spirit?"

"We don't, they have to inform us. All I know is it is very rare. The practice was passed on by word of mouth." Luke explained, having heard the story before.

She stared at him before looking back at her book. "I wonder why they didn't teach it more. They wouldn't need to worry about generations abusing it because honestly, it doesn't sound entirely desirable. To live like that, it's the most selfless act. Being in servitude to the Force and its knowledge; awaiting future generations to call on you for wisdom. Not many would accept that calling. So why hide it?" She asked.

"Well, there are a thousand and one reasons it might have been lost to time. I'll hypothesize it was seen as a negative thing because of the fear of it being against the true nature of the Force. It does, theoretically, upset balance being that there would be a pause on one's energy, and it wouldn't fully return to the Force to be recycled into new life. So, perhaps in an attempt to avoid that, the knowledge was simply purged." Luke presented. "Or, it could simply, become a hassle with many Jedi trying to achieve it and competing over it, so it was taken. Like taking a toy from a group of children who won't stop fighting over it. Or undesired, like you said, on and on. Many possible reasons-"

"But if that's all ridiculous! Why not teach students becoming a spirit isn't about your connection to the Force but rather your willingness to be a teacher- a guide?!" She asked, incredulous and angry. Luke smiled softly, amused, and listened. "And just because you don't see something as desirable, doesn't mean students won't! A Jedi should have a choice to pick their own boundaries with the Force! A true Jedi should be offered many things, even Dark Side temptations, and have the power to refuse and still remain in the Light." 

Luke nodded in understanding, they'd had this talk before. On many topics, agreeing on some, disagreeing on others. "That's not how they saw it back then. And the Order that most likely got rid of any traces of the force ghost ability over was over a thousand years ago. When the Sith Wars took place. Same with how the Jedi Mantra was changed." 

Cashla snarled at the reminder of that debate. That was a big one, a borderline argument with her and the books. The mantra used to be ' Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force. ' However, it was changed to be ' There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.'All of this discovered history coming from the oldest scroll in Boba's palace.

It was the certitude of the new mantra that bothered her, the limitations set. Cashla rightly pointed out that all these rules were set in festering fear. And festering fear, any negative festering emotions undealt with, that is what causes falls to the dark side. Not connections, not love, not freedom of expression, the hiding of one's true self. That is what births a Sith. And, Luke agreed with her beliefs. 

After all, it was Din who helped him realize that first.

A shame it is, that the Mandalorians and Jedi were enemies. Luke is sure they would have done great things together.

"Yes Cashla, I know," Luke chuckled at the togruta's angry face. "They needed to ensure protection of the future generations! They couldn't have a Sith mucking about! So they just had to deny and hide history! It's all they knew what to do!" He argued in a mocking tone, sure that this was the exact thought process of the Jedi who made this code.

"No- it's all they were willing to do! Do or don't: Live by the code or don't be a Jedi and get cast out! How is that any different than the Watch?!" She barked back, not even willing to entertain that joke.

Luke felt his smirk grow. "How do you think it differs?"

"I think the only difference was morality. Jedi cared more about the galaxy and politics, and Mandalorians cared more about themselves. Still, the point stands, both were wrong." She rolled her eyes. "Now I know why the old Order failed, they were blind.'Oh if we just ignore the issue it'll be ok! Oops! The Dark Side is real! Well, surely if we just participate in a political war it'll be ok! Aw, now we're at war! Well, let's trust this Palpatine dude! Aw, now we're dead!'' Same as Death Watch. 'Yeah- let's bring a deranged lunatic in to dethrone our Duchess- aw he killed our leader! That's alright, we'll follow him- well gosh darn it, he brought in criminals!' " She mocked.

"Try not to judge so harshly." Luke chuckled amusedly.

She sighed. "Yes, sorry master, I just... I am disappointed. These aren't the Jedi I've heard stories of. Korkie, he'd talk of the great Jedi of the war, of Ahsoka Tano and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Of what they did for others." She shook her head, looking at the book, a deep mournful look clouded her face, one Luke could only make in kind. If only she knew what the great Anakin Skywalker had done. "I see only things to be ashamed of here." She looked at him sadly. "Promise me we won't make the same mistakes here. That we'll teach all history."

Luke nodded, and he patted her knee consolingly. "We won't make their mistakes. I promise. Everything I know, you will know. All the students and fellow Jedi will know."

She looked at him. "Could we consult the spirits on more history? History that may have been hidden from us or just... forgotten?"

Before he could answer, Grogu perked up excitedly. ' [I want to see the spirits!]' He communicated telepathically.

Luke tensed at that. He straightened, glancing at Cashla only to see her just as excited. 

"Uh- Yeah, sure we can try that." He murmured unsurely. His padawans celebrated as he thought about how to inform Grogu about what he was really asking.

It was later, when he went to put Grogu to bed that he brought it up again. "Grogu, among the spirits... there will be someone who you might not want to see..." Luke murmured. Grogu stared at him curiously.

'[Who?]'

"My... Darth Vader," He said, eyeing the door nervously.

Grogu instantly looked startled but then, slowly, settled. " [Is he safe?] " He asked telepathically, it still quiet and nervous.

"Yes," Luke answered.

'[... then, it's ok.]'

He nodded slowly. "Ok, and if it gets uncomfortable, let me know if you get uncomfortable, and I'll tell him to go away."

'[And he'll listen to you?]'

"Yes, I promise."

Grogu sighed, seeming to relax even more. '[...ok]' He yawned adorably before looking left, pointing to his favorite book on the shelf. It existing as a silent plea for one more story. 

"Ok, one more" Luke chuckled.

Luke sat at the cliff edge, the very same one he'd been to four and a half months ago. 

To not focus on anything but the spirits, he brought something to distract the other half of his focus. Especially since, knowing the spirits, it'd be a while before any appeared.

One hand mirror was propped on a rock and another lay beside him. On the cliff lay large snips of cut hair as Luke cut it back to a short length- shorter than it'd been in years. About the length, it had been at the end of the rebellion. Shorter actually

He'd been pushing demanding thoughts for the spirit's presence for over an hour. It seemed he wore down defenses enough to get a reaction.

"Master Luke. What is it you need?" Obi-wan asked tiredly. 

"I want the spirits here, for teaching," Luke responded curtly.

"Luke, we've discussed this, we cannot interfere-" his old master sighed.

"You wouldn't be. I don’t need you as my mentor, I need you as a fellow Jedi to teach of the past. I need all Jedi Spirits to teach me things you all knew- catch me up on lost knowledge so I can help my peers. I can't make a better Order without knowing everything from the past! And what if a student wants to live like the old ways? I won't be a good mentor there! I need you and the other spirits to offer different perspectives!"

"Luke, you don't understand. Anakin-" Obi-wan tried to defend but Luke cut him off.

"Will be allowed to stay here, I already talked to Grogu. He'll probably need to keep his distance, but you and the others are welcome her! ...if ...if there are others." Luke hesitated.

Obi-wan stared. "So, you wish to see the spirits, so they may teach students about the past?" 

"And masters. Jedi are so alone now, and they never should be! No Jedi was ever truly alone. They had each other, yeah? Like Mandalorians- they were family," Luke shook his head sadly. He shouldn't have mentioned Mandalorians, made him miss Din, and he needed to stay focused. "You had hundreds of Jedi around you during your time. I have none. I need help- all remaining Force-sensitive do. The kind of help that was offered in the war. The spirits should support in the good and bad times. When you were alive, didn't you wish for help?" Luke asked the last part softly.

Obi-wan nodded. "I can see your point." He sighed. "We were able to preserve some Jedi masters, in some way or another, most are... gone now."

"But they're still here! All knowledge is knowledge! I'll take anything." Luke sighed, feeling the weight of building the Jedi Order lighten.

"Can you... lead other Jedi here? Any remaining ones?"

"Are you ready for them?" Obi-wan asked in shock.

"...yes." Luke breathed. And for once, he felt it was true. He could do this.

Obi-wan smiled proudly. "You make me proud Luke."

"Thank you," Luke responded. As Obi-Wan went to leave, Luke made a sound of hesitation. "How... many spirits are there?"

"Many, but of my time? There are only 13, including myself."

Luke stared at him in horror. "I'm so sorry Obi-wan."

Obi-wan stared at him sadly. "Nothing of worry... fate was written and I am simply just a character in the Force's galaxy." He released a sigh, breaking the tension with it. "For the first advice I give, take Grogu to Ilum. He should get his own kyber crystal."

Luke nodded, he had taken his own journey to Ilum years ago. He had forgotten its importance. He let the spirit leave. Hopefully. he'd convince the others. And maybe... maybe if he could unlock the spirit's help, he could learn enough to be a good Master. Maybe even learn things about the Darksaber, then... then he could save Din. 

He'd make plans to go there soon.

Din grunted as the medic droid pulled the strong bacta patch off his tensed abdomen, the electric scars reaching out like fractured glass, only touching his hip to just under his last rib and spanning only a few inches across. 

"All healed." The droid said in its robotic voice.

"Good, and I just keep taking the antibiotics until...?"

"They run out. Twice daily. Should last about three weeks."

Din nodded reluctantly, he hoped to burn the bitter bastards, but the medic droid knew better than he did. "Alright, thank you." He replied, holding in a sigh. He pulled down his undershirt then his kute. "Am I good to return to normal duties then?" He asked.

"Yes."

He smiled wide, standing up now. "Great, thanks." He dipped his head, respectfully, taking his leave to which Red trailed. Wherever he went, his little droid companion followed. "I'm all set buddy, c'mon. Let's go meet with Castimir and Paz."

Red chirped happily. "[I'm glad your good, Din! Let me catch you up, Korkie and Dizudu finished the financial plans for the next three months. Bo-Katan and Korkie want you to talk to the Tribe to find a representative for them.]" Red explained eagerly.

Din huffed. "Anything else?"

"[.. well, we have some homes left to build, some farming things Fierce and Korkie haven't handled.]"

"Great, so I can skip the Vizsla meeting and do that instead?"

"[It is not something I would recommend. Given this is the first in-person meeting those two agreed to, you'll want to be there to buffer.]"

He sighed deeply. "I'll never escape the Vizslas."

'I mean, I'm in your mind so you're not wrong.' Tarre snickered, entertained by his own jokes. Din only grumbled to himself.

"Alright, let's go." He said.

Din stood in the sparsely furnished meeting room. Vizsla was next to him, bouncing from foot to foot. Occasionally he paced. Castimir decided she'd be late. That was great, totally didn't leave Din in an awkward position.

"So, ah... you healed up nice?" Vizsla asked.

"Mhm." Din hummed, sipping his caf through a straw. He preferred hot but he hadn't time today.

"You got cleaned up of that uh..." he flicked his hand in lazy circles. "Blood infection, whatever it's called."

"Sepsis."

"Yeah, that. You all good now?"

Din huffed in irritation as the voices drowned him with their overwhelming contrasting feelings. Some were fairly interested in Vizsla, some were feral, hating him as much as they hated Tarre, and some were caught somewhere in the middle. He always felt so engulfed by stress and emotions now. He sometimes lost track of his own. "Yeah, Vizsla. I'm fine."

Vizsla stared at him, bowing his head a little. He hated when he looked like this, like a hurt little kid: so easy to forgive with a sad head bow like that. "You can call me Paz still. Even though I can't speak your name."

Din snorted indignantly. He turned away, hoping to drop the conversation there. But he couldn't. He couldn't turn down such a peace offering. Reluctantly, he turned back to face him. "Thank you."

Paz perked up instantly at that. Only to sink again. "...so, whose healing Mandalore?"

"Droids for now. They are clearing areas of radiation but honestly, it's not a large focus right now. Especially since we don't own it."

"I see, yeah. I get it." He responded. He looked forward, staring at the door. "You scared me."

"Hm?" Din questioned, tilting his head. He didn't remember being particularly scary recently. "When?"

"At the Living Waters. I... I've never seen you cry. Not over emotional things anyway. Not when you first arrived. Not when the bombs dropped. Not when I was a dick to you... never." 

Din felt a weight pour on him. He was scared of himself in that headspace too. He... he was quite rough for wear. He looked at the floor shamefully. "I wasn't in a good head space. Still not."

He paused for a long time. "Can I help?" Paz asked.

He shook his head in response. "It's my journey. Finding my new boundaries with our religion... This time I won't mistake my breaking point for my limits; I won't stress over proving my worth." He pet Red's head, the droid huddling closer to him. 

"I'm glad you get to do that," Paz said softly. He paused for a long time. "Maybe I should do that too. Now that we're here, for Ragnar's sake."

"And your own." He looked up, seeing Paz already staring at him. "Do it for yourself too. You deserve it."

The large man seemed a little shocked. He chuckled that deep laugh of his. "Alright, mir'sheb. You sound like a jetii with that emotional sage shit."

Din scoffed, smiling only slightly. That was Jedi sage shit. That was Luke's advice to him. The voices hummed in uncertainty, while a few grumbled grievances with Luke. "You shabe- you cannot be serious!"

"Wha- I didn't mean anything by it!" Paz barked back.

Din sighed deeply. "Piss off laandur, I wasn't talking to you. It's-" he scoffed, "whatever, don't worry about it."

Paz stared at him before glancing down, catching his nervous tapping on the Darksaber. He straightened. "Oh shit! The voices thing, that's real? I always thought that was just a gross exaggeration!" Paz grabbed Din's head with both his hands, the same way a rancor would grab a large ball, turning it this way and that, then shaking him violently. Din shoved away from him. 

"The hell is that going to do?!" He hissed, Paz held up his hands defensively. "Yes, it's real! And don't shake me like that. I'm brain-damaged enough."

"And you say I'm soft," Paz grumbled. "So... are my ancestors in there? Is Tarre in there?"

"Yes. I hate him." Din scoffed.

"Aw, he's a shebs'palon ?"

"The biggest."

'Fuck you' Tarre bit.

Paz groaned longly. "That's so disappointing! I thought he'd be cool at the very least." He sighed deeply.

"Well, the good news is Castimir is nice. She's quite friendly, at least she is to me. I mean not at first. We got there though."

Earning anyone's favor was always something he had to work for, but some were definitely harder than others. Hell, he still hadn't completely earned Dizudu's favor. He was sure there was plenty more than them. 

The Vizslas were among those who openly approved of him, however, it only took winning Castimir over, which was relatively easy. There were the talks they had sure, but he was sure what won her over was his feelings regarding Kreshiv.

When she found out he was Kreshiv's apprentice she openly ranted about her hate for him, a hate built on stories from her father and Kreshiv's cousin. Turns out he was always a terrible prick. 

Big shocker there.

That was when she began to stop by for kinder talks with him. She was a good ally, maybe even an acquaintance, but not much more. He knew he should probably try to be more social... but he didn't want to. He had Tooka and Fierce, Bo-Katan, Korkie, sometimes Cashla and Grogu. That was all he needed. He couldn't make time for others beyond business.

Plus, Tarre didn't like him talking to other people. Though Din was not a happy follower, it was easier to just appease him. 

He continued on. "She's around our age, her father is the one who leads House Vizsla but he's older now so she's leads on most duties." 

"Oh, well that's just great but news flash, we wouldn't be here if she was so nice. I'm really radiating with confidence here, Mudhorn." Paz huffed temperamentally. 

Din went into his belt's mini satchel pulling out a little trinket. "You have an in." He offered the toy out to Paz. "Give this to her, she'll like you- at least, more than she does now."

"What is this?" He asked taking it from his open hand.

"A huēyxolotl fidget... toy... thing. It's a dog-like animal from Glee Anselm. Her mother's home planet."

"Ah... an animal of her culture then." Paz hummed. "I should have come with a gift, didn't even think about it." He looked at Din then. "Thank you."

They both perked up at a door opening, seeing Castimir enter.

"Hello, Mand'alor!" She greeted cheerily, smiling kindly. She turned her resting blank stern face to Paz, lifting her chin. Her long tendrils flicked with the harsh head movement. "Imposter."

"Now, now, let's keep it civil. Paz, give her the gift you have before we start," Din commanded. The large blue Mandalorian nodded, approaching her and offering her the palm-sized trinket. It was made of many pieces, making it a great thing to fidget with. 

She took the huēyxolotl from his hand, slowly messing with it. She stared at him with squinted eyes. "How did you know I like huēyxolotls?"

"Their pets of your culture. I took a wild guess." Paz lied. Not that his powers were telling him that, that still wasn't in his skillset, and probably never would be. 

He just knew Paz.

'I could cover what your powers don't. You do the same for me-'

'You're not getting control of my body!' Din shot back. A harsh thudding pain hit the back of his mind. Tarre was throwing another tantrum. As per usual. While he still could find the strength to ignore him, it had long grown tiring.

Castimir continued to stare at the fidget, messing with it in her hands. She looked a little angry at first before sighing and smiling slightly. She put on a face of indifference when addressing Paz. "Thank you." She said curtly.

Paz merely nodded, puffing his chest a little. 

"Right! Let's discuss your relation to Clan Vizsla." She announced.

They took their seats. Din watched as Paz messed with his hands, pulling at his finger to crack each of his joints. A habit he had since they were kids. Maybe he should have gotten two fidgets. Or three, he was counting his fingers again.

"Who was your parent?" Castimir asked.

"Kreshiv."

She made a negative sound, side-eyeing Din. 'Don't.'' He thought. Only communicating with a small head shake. 

While Paz knew what man his dad was and hated him as much as everyone else unfortunate enough to interact with such an intolerable being, he was protective of him. He didn't let anyone speak badly about him other than himself and his siblings. So it was best to keep silent on that.

She sighed, jaw clenched as she let it go. He could only nod his thanks as she pursed her lips petulantly. "Is he alive?"

"No."

She hummed, seemingly more positive than she meant to. Paz looked at her and then at Din. He shook his head to him, and thankfully, he listened. "Were you adopted or born to him?"

"Born, but all my vode were..." he paused, clearly nervous, "...adopted."

Din patted his arm encouragingly. There were many differences between the Watch and other branches of their religion, but all still upheld the affection for adoption. On differing degrees, obviously, some still valued bloodlines more, but still. Castimir wouldn't judge.

Castimir nodded politely. "Do you know what he said to your vod in their gai bal manda ?" 

Din tilted his head, but Paz answered. "Yes. He'd say ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad , then their names. That was all. Very to the point."

"Sorry, gai bal manda?" He asked.

"You know, adoption vows?" Castimir explained, looking at him with a confused smile. Paz seemed just as confused, head tilted to the left.

He was left sitting there shocked. Why wasn't he told about adoption vows?

'Cause you were never adopted.' Tarre answered simply.

Din tensed.'Your descendants suck as much as you do,' He hissed. 'I should conduct a study on whether being an asshole is genetic and use your family as the proof.'

'You seem pretty cozy with Castimir. Although, maybe insufferable bastards are your type. I mean there's your friends, Luke, maybe it's your picking.' Tarre scoffed. Din rolled his eyes. 

"Mudhorn?" Castimir asked, soft and kind.

"I'm here. I didn't know adoption vows were a thing." He responded curtly. He sat tall again. Paz and Castimir stared at him. 

"Kreshiv never told you?" Paz asked quietly. Din simply shook his head. The larger man sat silently, hands curling to fists before he sighed. "What an asshole." He muttered.

Castimir perked up at that. She didn't push it much further, but she did smile genuinely as her view of her lost kin changed from hate to curiosity. The meeting went better then expected. With minimal biting comments, Castimir agreed to assimilate Paz and his clan into Clan Vizsla.

In a flash they were shaking hands and Paz was prancing off to tell his siblings. Castimir, Red, and Din were left tailing him.

"Thank you for your time Castimir," Din said softly. "I know accepting them won't be well received by all."

"Oh, I don't mind. I have a good feeling about him." She straightened, nearly beaming "And... thank you for the huēyxolotl." She brandished the trinket, making it shake loudly. 

He felt his jaw drop a little. "How'd you know it was me?" he asked incredulously.

"Because there is no way that helmethead was getting me a gift like this. Logically, the man who listened to me go on and on about my culture, fidgets and my love of dogs would be the one to know that I would love a stupid trinket like this." She smiled softly.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have tried to control the situation like that-"

"Don't. I just thanked you. I appreciate you," She smiled, it a little timid, then it went sly. "You know, I was hoping an argument would break out, you'd jump in and I'd see you finally show emotion, finally get angry!" She whispered to him in a tease, it barely audible over the hustle and bustle of the town. They had even begun to welcome some of Korogea's people to the colosseum, making the town busier every day. 

"I get mad. Quite often, actually. I still fight first and ask later. I'm very emotional." Not entirely true, he was better than he was a few years ago. Better than when he was as a teenager and early 20s, that's for sure.

"Guess I'll just have to get to know you better." Her voice was softer than before. The voices went silent at it. He'd question it but honestly... it felt pleasing just to have some quiet in his brain. 

He missed silence. Real silence...

Yavin 4 silence.

"I would like to say, if you are quick to anger and impulsive, you've done well at keeping passive." She praised.

He sighed. "I guess. Though recently... I don't know, emotions are harder to feel out. I just feel so..."

"Stressed?"

He nodded shamefully. "I don't think I handle... feelings, very well."

"I think you handle it remarkably well. You just... it lingers, yeah?" She pet his cape, up to his shoulder. "You always seem to be stressed, you're as rigid as a mountain," she hummed, pursing her lips a little in exaggerated thought. "Maybe you need to relieve some of it. What helps you, relax?" She asked softly, almost leadingly.

"Bounty hunting," he replied without a moment of hesitation. He missed it so much.

She made a sound of surprise before snickering, her white freckles dipping into the crinkles of her smile lines. She turned to be in front of him, walking backward and leaning into his space. "Well, sounds like someone needs to get out and about! Take up a job. Get that anger out in a violent Mandalorian fashion!"

"Yeah, I do. I'm a very pent-up man. Keep my mind locked tight," he joked right back. Though it wasn't exactly untrue.

"Clearly! Just bring someone with you so they can have your back, can't have you getting hurt on us again!" She teased, patting his chest.

"Yeah, I'll probably take Tooka, he's a riot." He responded. It helped that Tooka was the person he was closest to currently. The boy barely let him know personal space, but his presence was always appreciated. By most, that is. Tarre didn't seem too fond of him but Tarre wasn't fond of anyone.

"Oh... yeah... Tooka's pretty great." She chuckled awkwardly, immediately leaning away and turning to walk side by side with him again, her hand falling from his shoulder and linking with his arm. He didn't remember her being so touchy the last few times they met. "He's pretty young though, not even old enough to drink on some planets. Are you sure? You might want someone who has more... experience."

"I've actually done a mission with him before. I know he's great. No need to worry."

She nodded curtly. "Well, if plans fall through with him or if you ever want to hang out just let me know. I'll happily make time for you."

He looked at her. Castimir wanted to be friends? That was nice. He nodded. "I will."

Her hand finally fell from his arm as they approached the Tribe's part of town. "Should I go?"

He smiled. "No, I think they'll like you. Plus they are technically your family."

She stared at him, her eyes bright. After a moment of looking at him, she chuckled, ducked her head, and trotted off, going over to where Paz was gathering his family.

'So you just flirt with everyone now? I thought you were still obsessing over Luke?' Tarre hissed. 

Din groaned longly. This is why he didn't talk to people. Every conversation was just met with accusations that no matter how he answered he was screwed. "Please stop, Tarre, just for today. I was just talking-"

'I'm not doing anything, you're being so sensitive. It's simple questions. This is what's wrong with this new age of Mandalorians-'

Din sighed deeply as he continued spewing his toxic sludge, running his fingers along the Darksaber.

Yeah, he really needed to go on a bounty hunt.

Red chirped at him and he merely pet him, feeling soothed at the contact.

'Always the easy way out with you. Hide and run, that's what you do. What are you really running from Din?'

He barely held back from screaming at the man as he felt him try to crawl out, to prod at his brain and forcefully take the answer he wanted. 

He pushed hate at him, anger, hearing both him and the voices cry out. 

"Sorry-! Shit, sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." He murmured, pushing calm to alleviate their anguish. The voices settled as he realized a bit too late that he said it out loud. 

He kept doing that. He peeked, seeing only a few nearby glances at him. Though they wore helmets, the discomfort they felt was clear in their body language.

'Oh. Oh~ this is sweet. They know.' Tarre taunted. And despite his anger, his desire to scoff and not care. He felt nervous. He looked around at the people staring back at him, with their blank visors of judgement.

'Isn't it funny that the Vizslas were adopted- but no one mentions how you weren't?'

'Shut up.' 

'Kreshiv found you yeah? So you should be a Vizsla too-'

'I'm a Din.'

'You don't even remember your parent's faces. How can you claim the name of a family you don't know? You have no family.'

'Wrong, I have a son!' Din argued in thought.

'No, you don't, you haven't even adopted him!'

Din scoffed. 'Yeah, 'cause I purposely didn't inform myself on adoption vows, 'cause I just don't want to adopt my boy.'

'You should have worked harder.' Tarre hissed. 'You're so lazy.'

Din sighed, slumping back as his head felt light, his chest so tight, his breaths so shallow. His fist knocked against his chest in a subconscious stim. Red rammed his leg, an alert that Din needed to sit down, somewhere, anywhere, before he passed out. 

"Mudhorn?" 

He perked up, staring at a familiar golden helmet. He shook his head at her, he couldn't deal with her- he couldn't deal with more right now.

"No- I- sorry, no-" He cursed himself for stuttering like a child. His hands clutched to fists that shook with a dangerous mixture of fury and anxiety. "Get. Away." He told the Armorer simply.

She didn't listen, which should have been expected- given her track record. She simply grabbed his cape in one hand, his sleeve in the other, and dragged him to her new home, some cave she had fixed up. It held a large forge in the middle, with a hood that connected to the roof of the cave. She had installed support beams and a furnace in the kitchen, which was currently ignited with something delectable smelling inside. She even decorated lightly with her replica mythosaur skull and her table with two mats to sit on either side. She led him to the table, helping him sit before walking off, and putting a kettle on top of the furnace.

In her leave, Din brought up his knees, placing his head between them and hugging himself. From the therapy sessions that Red gave him, this position should help a lot when he got in this state. Which was the quickest fix of all the ones he was taught. Everything else? Like a slow-motion video of watching beige paint dry. The dullest, most draining experience that seemed to have no end.

Just dissecting... everything. Everything done to him, everything he did to others, every trauma lived and given. And yet it only lasted an hour. Red had warned him that he might not see progress until session ten, and currently, he was only three sessions in. And apparently no, he could not speed that up by having a session every day. The 'professionals' all said once a week was the most a patient in his position should be seeing a therapist. 

He felt relieved when he felt Red press against his back, letting out a low rumbling mechanical whirr, similar to a purr, that eased him. He felt the tension in his chest crack and fade. He jumped a bit as he heard something get placed on the table. 

It was a mug, with a straw. 

"It's tarine tea. Unfortunately, I don't have any cookies currently, the foundlings just ate the last of them," the Armorer said, sitting on her knees in front of him. 

"Not hungry anyway," He sighed, grabbing the mug to try to stabilize his hands with its weight.

She hummed negatively, looking him over as he sipped. "You used to sit like that as a kid, you know. When you first came to us. You'd sit in the corner of a room, you wouldn't make a sound, just watch everything happening."

He didn't remember that time well, but he did vaguely remember how fearful he was. Like an animal in a snare, not unlike how he felt now. "I was afraid," He admitted.

"I know," She said back. "Are you afraid now?"

He stared at her setting his mug back down slowly. " Terrified ," He said, the ceramic clinking against the wood.

She stared at him intently. "What of?"

He looked at his hip. Slowly, he grabbed the saber and set it down on the table, hearing the voices whisper to him curiously. Why he was here, why he was talking to her so calmly, why he was being so trusting of her. And it was simple. This woman who sat before him was the closest thing he'd get to a living mother, she was his religious leader, and she was, for a long time, the only person he truly cared about, despite never knowing if she really cared about him back. And now, now when he had so many who cared for him, he still chased her, chased that maternal relationship.

One would think he learned his lesson, what with how he got burned for chasing a paternal figure in Kreshiv, but no. Despite hating her so much for everything she put him through, he cared. He wanted her to care too.

She tilted her head at the saber. Slowly she reached forward, taking it in hand and inspecting it gently. "What scares you so much about this saber?"

He stared at her, struggling to speak, to find the words... and then they found him.

"Tarre Viszla," he murmured. 

The Armorer stared at him, tilting her head curiously. "So the voices legend is true..." She said in awe. He nodded, swallowing hard, leaning harder against Red, who was still purring. "Amazing..."

"Not really," he mumbled.

She looked at him. "Tarre Vizsla... he's been terrorizing you in the saber?"

'Well, that's dramatic.' Tarre snorted. 'I haven't even touched you.' 

He scoffed as he rolled his eyes, Tarre had touched, tormented, and hurt him multiple times, but sure. Whatever Tarre called reality. "Yes."

She hummed, truly believing him. "I remember my buir telling me stories of the Darksaber. Of it's spirituality. I was so honored when you brought the saber to me."

"You must have been so disappointed to know I am dar'manda," he hissed. She looked up swiftly, for once, seeming shocked.

"But you're not anymore. You're a Mandalorian again, you've earned the saber," She defended calmly. Din laughed humorlessly.

"Doesn't feel like it," He looked down at the table. "I will never be clean."

"Don't-" She stopped herself as Red cut in.

"[Din, no self loathing talk.]" Red corrected. He huffed, laying his head back against his droid. 

The Armorer spoke up "The droid is right, you shouldn't say that. Manda will forgive your transgressions-"

"Have you?" He asked, lifting his head slightly to look at her through his visor. She stared at him, and before she could speak he cut in. "Or did you even believe in me before that? 'You do not follow the Way. You weren't born in Mandalore, and you have no Mandalorian family. You are not worthy to be a Mandalorian.' That is what you said to me."

She looked at her lap. "That was wrong to say."

"Did you believe it?" He asked. "Because if so, you, of all people, know how messed up that is. It is not my fault that I was born on Aq Vetina, that I was orphaned, that Kreshiv didn't want me..." He shook his head, his breath shaky. "I never wanted any of this. I just wanted... I just want someone to care about me."

The Armorer placed the saber down. "Djarin..." she whispered. She moved to stand on her knees, pressing her fingertips on the table for slight support. "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't believe it, I just... I knew what would turn the others against you-"

"That's worse," he sighed, rubbing his legs as he shifted forward, legs falling to be crisscrossed. She sighed, clearly struggling for words.

"I see that now. And I shouldn't have judged you so harshly. So cruelly, I... I felt personally betrayed by your helmet removal, and I shouldn't have." She said softly. "It... it was old beliefs, coming back. Shame coming back, things that I thought I buried."

"Your Death Watch beliefs."

"Precisely." She concurred. "You know, when Maul took over, many of us stayed loyal. I stayed loyal. And then he brought in those syndicates... I saw what was coming, and I left, with many of my allies. We decided, the next step, was to go back to our roots."

"I've heard this story before," Din grumbled boredly. "You were one of the 31 Death Watch members to go back to Concordia, the rest stayed to defend Maul. And that's why you wear your helmet." He jeered.

"You missed the lesson, verd'ika " She corrected softly. "That wasn't a story praising those who left, it was a marker of shame. As is my helmet. The fact my people could betray their ancestor's ways, their own people, and follow some dark jetii because he held a saber? It disgusted me. And it disgusted me more that I once stood with them." She sighed. "Following Satine would be better than Maul. I know that now."

"But your beliefs pop up sometimes," he hummed. Realizing where the explanation was going.

"...yes, and, that happened with you. I shouldn't have said that, the Way has taught me better." She paused before standing and moving to sit next to him but still giving him space. "I am sorry that when you first came to us I didn't push Kreshiv to adopt you. There were so many ade left orphaned, and he was an old friend so... I let him get away with a lot."

Din looked at her, feeling himself snarl. "I'm well aware. I'm aware enough that we hid away from all other Mandalorians because they cast the Watch out, we hid from the world because of the Empire, and I know that you thought following the Way of the Mand'alor was what would save us. I get it" He sighed deeply. "I just wish you didn't... hide so much history. So much culture- I didn't even know we had adoption vows!" 

"That was Kreshiv's job-!" She snapped back defensively.

"And when he failed you should have stepped in!" He screamed over her. "I am lost, I don't know any of my culture! And I'm stuck with this stupid saber that is destroying me!" He shook his head, stopping from ranting about the Darksaber any further. He looked down at his tea with a face-crinkling glower. Feeling sick pleasure from Tarre.

She stared at him, bowing her head in thought and then glancing up. "I'm sorry I failed you," She murmured. "I can't take your pain from you now, as much as I wish I could. But... I will answer your questions, if and when you have them. As I should have years ago."

Din stared at her. He'd make a list, and come back. For now? He only had one shaky line of questioning. "Aq Vetina... why was Death Watch there?"

"Aq Vetina was under the protection of Mandalore as it was an unrepresented part of the Council of Neutral Systems. The Separatists didn't much enjoy neutrality, so they attacked planets like Aq Vetina."

"Were my parents Mandalorian?"

"I don't believe so. But... we didn't exactly check."

"You didn't check for any family?" Din asked, far less surprised than he thought he'd be at this reveal. He supposed he always knew, deep down.

"...no." She said, not looking up at him. Her head bowed like a scolded child.

"Why?"

"Phaetec was a traditionalist, if you remember." She said. He only nodded, Phaetec was Kreshiv's riduur. "She insisted Kreshiv keep you, and, I insisted he take you with us when we left for Concordia." 

Din nodded, picking at his clothes. "Thank you, for your honesty."

She looked up at him finally. "Of course. I never should have shut down your inquisitiveness as an ad, none of you. You all... you deserved answers, to know a galaxy existed. But... I lost everything once, all my old family and friends in the Night of a Thousand Tears..." She rubbed at her legs, bowing her head once more. "As horrible as it is I- and I'm sure every other adult in the Watch at the time- felt we needed everyone to have our fear, so we would stay together. Be hidden. Stay safe."

The Armorer took a breath before continuing. This all fell out like word vomit, like she'd been feeling deep shame about this and waiting to say this for too long. Apparently, she didn't feel guilty enough to change before she and everyone else in her generation traumatized the next generation. "I think... that's what forced the responsibility of providing onto you."

Din nodded, sighing softly. "Like I said, I understand." He whispered, looking away. "And like I said, I just wish you, or Kreshiv, or Phaetec, someone, anyone, cared. About my peers. All of us felt unloved. And I... you treated me like you were expecting me to leave you, for nearly two decades. And, ironically enough, it was you who left me." He said, realizing now that sometime in his lament he had moved from crossing his arms to hugging himself. Trying to self-soothe.

He paused, slowly looking back when he heard a shuffle. He watched as the Armorer stood, stepping over to her forge, to a tin box hidden by it that he hadn't seen before. She got a bag, came back to Din, and presented it to him. It was tied to replicate the mythosaur skull. 

Din untied it, revealing a Mudhorn charm to go on Grogu's necklace, as well as the cloth itself which was a tiny black clothing set. Some mix between two styles: Jedi robes and Mandalorian kutes. He looked at her, clutching the signet and clothes closer.

"It's... not showy, or impressive, but that is our gift to you. Our acceptance of you as our Mand'alor." She explained softly, still seemingly leaning emotionally raw from the conversation they just had. "I am sorry, Mudhorn. There were so many things we could have done differently, to stay true to what the Watch was meant to do, a free, orthodox expression of religion... and it became tainted." She sighed. "I do care for you... I just... I didn't show that well."

Din smiled softly at his gift. "Thank you." He dipped his head respectfully, sniffling a little. He'd been crying too much recently. How much he had done it this year alone was probably more the he'd done it since he was eight.

She looked at him. "Would you ever let me try to repair our relationship?"

Din heard Red beep in alert, standing up and circling to look at both of them. "[I would recommend a therapist to monitor your conversations in repair. I can download family therapy sessions!]" The droid suggested.

He eyed the Armorer at the label of family... but she did not correct Red. She simply looked at Din, waiting for his answer.

"I'd like that."

She hummed, monotone like him but he heard her relief. "Thank you." She said softly.

'She won't change' Tarre hissed, slithering in the moment Din found peace to stomp it out. He ignored him, only glancing to the entranceway when a shadow fell over them. Paz stood with Ragnar by his side. He cleared his throat, looking to the Armorer. "Is now a good time...?"

She spoke as she stood. "Yes, Mudhorn this is-"

"Din." He corrected. She froze, staring at him stiffly before huffing in relief.

"Wova." She responded. He was honored to have permission to finally say her name. "Din, this is Ragnar Vizsla. Paz's new foundling." 

The boy looked at Din, tilting his chin up before looking at Paz, speaking in a too-loud whisper. "Who is he?" The boy asked suspiciously.

"He's our leader. Our Mand'alor." Paz said back, his voice the kindest Din ever heard it. 

Wova looked at him. "I missed a lot in our time of hiding, we all did. I would like to be caught up in history since we are living here now. Can we borrow your books?" She asked.

Din frowned. The majority of his books were still at Luke's place. "How about I send holopads and droids with lectures?" He offered.

"Do you think we can't read?" Ragnar asked accusingly. 

"The digital copy of the book will be on the holo pad," Din bantered back, the boy pulling his crossed arms tighter.

"I'd rather have it read to me," The boy responded in a grumble.

He barely resisted chuckling. Slowly he stood, heading to the entranceway of the cave and giving a wave to them before exiting and heading back home. He pet Red as Tarre began to review how all of the ways everything with the Watch could go wrong.

Din walked with Tooka. Every one of his advisors had their assigned meetings with sector leaders. In Dizudu's case, multiple. As he passed their meeting room door all he heard was boisterous laughter. Their meeting might be more of a reunion party. 

Tooka was bouncing in place. Din chuckled.

"You look like a fathier readying for a race," He huffed.

"Feel like one too! Ready to rock and roll!" He jumped exaggeratedly. Red laughed at his theatrics robotically.

"Alright kid, you're a little too much now" Din stopped fully, pushing on the top of his head and having him sit still. He then patted him lightly, prasingly, once he settled. "You've talked to her multiple times before, no need to get excited."

"Uh, yes, every right to get excited. She's awesome! She's literally a war hero! And she's badass! Only one woman killed Jabba the Hutt, and she's named Leia Organa!" Tooka still practically beamed. Din quickly led the way to their other meeting of the day. The voices stirred in barely contained excitement themselves, and Tarre was reserved. As he always was when on a planet with Force users.

He knocked on the door but opened the door before receiving a reply. "Buir!" Grogu called, leaping from his carriage and running across the table and straight into his arms. He pet his back, holding his head into his chest. The voices squealed in delight, spinning in warm feelings, relieving his mind of the growing fog that seemed to haunt it. He took a seat, listening as Tooka and Leia conversed. Red stood next to him. He didn't seem to find space from him now. The droid was always talking about his health and doing his therapy sessions, ensuring he was not getting too stressed, about usual things.

"Hello, Leia! How are you today?" Tooka asked with the cheeriness of a morning bird.

"Little tired, little stressed, but good overall." She responded. "Very happy for you." She smiled at Din.

Din nodded in kind.

"How's the pregnancy?" Tooka questioned further.

"Easier than the first," she scoffed in response.

"You find out if it was a boy or girl?"

"Girl."

"Breha it is then," Din commented. He remembered their last talk, if it was another boy it'd be Bail after her dad. But, since it was a girl, she was named after her mom. She didn't seem to want to pay tribute to her biological parents which Din couldn't blame her. He was a Mandalorian after all, of course, he would be more supportive of her using her adoptive parents' names. 

He'd been able to forgive her, mostly. Being here, talking to her every few weeks, it was easy. She was kind like Luke and Tarre retreated to his corner while he was here, so, he had thoughts free of his influence. Course, Tarre scolded him on the way home, but he didn't care, it was worth it. He liked talking to Leia. She... she wasn't the one to betray his trust anyway. 

And even Luke... he was finding it hard to cling to his anger. 

She seemed to beam at Din simply remembering their conversation before settling. "I'm hoping she's less chaotic than Ben."

"Not going to happen. The chaos goes away when they're adults," He snorted in reply.

"And if you ask my buir, not even then," Tooka snorted. 

Din pointed to Tooka "Bingo. Sure if I still had parents I'd still be giving them heart attacks nearly every day." 

Leia chuckled. "You two are adorable, but you forget your men."

"And, again, please remind me, what were you doing at nineteen, Senator Organa?" Din retorted playfully, smirking as Tooka snickered. Leia scoffed, crossing her arms with a begrudging smile. 

"Listen mine's an exception-"

"Right, right, I forgot the war is what made you rebellious." He scoffed.

"Piss off," she rolled her eyes.

"No cursing in front of the child!" Tooka faux scolded. 

"That child has heard far worse!" Leia bit back.

"It's true," Din shrugged, tapping his forehead on Grogu's. Leia shook her head, chuckling. "You got anything else today?" Din asked.

"Unfortunately. I'd love to go out with you boys but maybe another day. I have to plan a political ball."

"A ball? Like a party?" Tooka perked up instantly.

"No, no! We are not going." Din interjected. Tooka deflated on the spot. If he wore no helmet he knew he'd be hit with serious puppy eyes. Somehow it was working through his helmet. He looked at his droid, only to see him looking at him. He whirred in a high pitch; a whine. "No!" He restated even more sternly this time.

He would be more lenient. He would but... he couldn't risk seeing him. He was just starting to forgive the bastard, he couldn't see him now! He'd only mess it up by being bitter and awkward!

His guard thankfully listened, seeming to understand his reasons without words being exchanged. He knew he and Cashla talked, he knew the boy had questions, but he was kind enough to not ask. 

"Well, if you ever change your mind, it'll be in a month. I'll send you the details, could be a good chance for you to make new alliances." Leia shrugged noncommitally. "But no pressure, I understand there are some people there you don't want to see."

Din nodded his thanks to her. "I'll let you know if things change." He said softly. "In the meantime, how's Korogea?"

"Opposite of better. She wants to move more people to your planet. As soon as possible."

Din nodded. "Colosseum is done now, we can do that. I'll let her know. I'll also start sending Mandalorians to guard her." 

The meeting continued, it consisted mostly of them planning ways to get Korogea's people to Mandalia without raising too much suspicion. 

When he and Leia worked together, they got things done, as they both didn't like wasting time. At least, not with each other, it was entirely possible Leia was just a socialite who understood people's personalities very well. 

As always, their meeting stuck to the hour time constraint that Din knew his advisors would not abide by. 

"Have a good day Leia," Tooka called.

He and Tooka left quickly after that, not for any reason other than the meeting was over and all of them had other things they wanted to do.

"I'm going to go grab some food, you want anything?" Tooka offered.

"Nah. I'm good, I'll just wait for the others." Din responded.

The zabrak nodded before waltzing off. He still held Grogu, his carriage from House Kryze followed him as he sat on a bench and looked at his boy. 

Castimir had been very informative on gai bal manda. It was a vow, like riduurok. Formal and legal in speaking the words. As it should be. Words are bonds. Din had already filled out the legal document, however, with... with Luke as a guardian if he died.

They weren't good yet but... he'd never take that kid from him.

"You ready?" His son babbled excitedly. Right. "Mando'a then basic. I want you to know these, alright?"

Grogu nodded slowly, truly understanding what was being asked. 

" Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad, Grogu Djarin," he spoke, pausing before restating it in basic. "I know your name as my child, Grogu Djarin." He smiled. "And now you're my ad. Officially, this time. I'm sorry it took me so long, I didn't know-"

Grogu hugged him tight. He huffed, holding him back as Red played a basic fanfare sound effect. The happy private moment lasted for only a few painfully short minutes before they were interrupted.

Dizudu opened the door, a group of senators, sovereigns, and royalty from the Slice filing out and patting them approvingly. Praising them and confirming their support for Mand'alor before waltzing down the hall like the group of prideful, snubbed-nosed, spoiled loth-cats they were. 

He watched as the imposing clan lead sat next to him with the grace of a dead animal. They then sighed loudly. 

"Tired?" Din asked.

"Exhausted." They scoffed. "I hate socializing."

"Yet you're so proficient." He watched as Dizudu reached over, petting Grogu's head. His son giggled adorably. "A person who is both asocial and gregarious, what fun you are."

"Shut up." Dizudu sighed in annoyance. "Where's Tooka?"

Din remained quiet.

Dizudu perked up curiously. "Mudhorn?" They asked.

"Am I allowed to speak now?"

Dizudu growled. "You know what? Forget I asked."

Din glared at them. There was a silence that dragged on between them. "He's on lunch. Tooka, I mean."

"Didn't he eat already?" 

"He's a growing boy, he needs sustenance. I think it's all the muscle he packed on from building houses." Din looked at his own body. He'd also grown a more muscular build. Never lost that slight pudge in his middle though it had solidified considerably.

Dizidu shrugged. They stretched, bones cracking before they relaxed. "My meeting went well."

"I knew it would. You're good at what you do, better than me anyway" Din hummed.

His advisor nodded in admission. They reached over and let Grogu grab their armored, clawed finger. "How'd your meeting go?"

"Good. I get along with Senator Organa."

"Really? I always heard she's difficult to get along with. Very hard-headed. A debate champion, they say."

"Debate champion is an insult," Din scoffed. He had bore witness to many of Leia's teardowns over the four months. "She's a war general, past, present, and future. On all topics, but especially politics, but she's easy to talk to for me at least."

Dizudu hummed curiously; barely curious, but still curious. They paused for a bit. "Is talking to people normally hard for you?"

"I'm still struggling to transition using words and not fists," Din mumbled. Dizudu snorted in amusement.

'I much prefer fists.' Tarre grumbled.

'No, you prefer bloodshed,' Din bit back.

'Your hands were plenty bloody before I got here.' Tarre scoffed.

He rolled his eyes at that, if Tarre thought that would hurt his feelings he was sorely mistaken. Din was plenty fine with the murders he committed. Shame only came with the fear of letting others down, like... Luke. He snarled, turning that unearned anger onto someone who had earned it. Tarre. 'And they'll be plenty more bloody long after you're gone!'

He continued talking, drowning Tarre out with his own voice. "Most of the time I don't get language." He offered Grogu and Dizudu happily took him. They held him up before settling the boy on their leg. The clan lead then looked at him expectantly. They seemingly wanted to hear more. Then again it was always hard to tell with Dizudu. 

"I don't get how people feel if they are not 100% open with me." Even with his gift over kare'tigaanyc. "Let alone why they feel that way. And I can't expect people to be entirely open. I'm not owed that. But it's worse when people try to hint at why they reacted or why they feel a certain way because I don't get it. I don't get secret messages or hints. Like Bo-Katan and Korkie, they hint shit all the time about why they're upset with me." Din sighed.

"Manda, I hate it when they do that stuff," Dizudu hissed.

"Right?!" Din asked in a whisper yell.

"What the hell do they think I am?!" 

Din scoffed. "No clue. Just know I hate it. Social cues are hard. It's like, we speak the same language, but not the same words."

"Exactly!" Dizudu shook their head, looking at Grogu sideways. "Makes me wish I could be a Jedi or something like your boy. Just read minds or something like that, make it easy."

Din straightened instantly. He spoke before he thought. "That's super invasive. You can't do that to people. It's manipulating them."

Dizudu didn't even look at him. "Yeah, absolutely it is. But it's a tool to be used. Same way social skills are. The same way relationships are. I think it's just a scarier tool to be used."

"Because minds are the one thing we truly have control over, if someone can infiltrate that, who knows what they have or haven't seen," Din snapped, realizing he was getting a bit angry.

"True. Guess that's the terms and conditions with it." Dizudu huffed. 

He could only scoff, crossing his arms guardedly. Tarre stirred with his negative emotions, reveling in them, exasperating them. Reluctantly, from a hatred of Tarre and... whatever cruel hopes he had for his and Luke's remnants of friendship, he spoke. "How would you use a 'tool' like that?"

Dizudu hummed. "Well... accomodate others I guess. If I don't care about the person and they're sad, fine whatever, I move on. But if I could just use that power to... understand how someone I care about feels, I think I would be able to help them. To help them carry that weight," they looked at Din then away sheepishly. "Guess I'm being the cryptic bastard now, huh?"

"No, no I understand what you're saying." He'd never do it... but he understood. Or, he was starting to. It was hard to get over his own emotions on the matter. He glanced at Dizudu, curious to get their opinion again. "Would you ever tell anyone of your power?"

"Pfft, Manda no!"

"Dizudu!"

"C'mon, Mudhorn, you can't tell me you'd be telling everyone who comes your way about that power!" Dizudu scoffed. "And if you do, then come the questions and suspicions of mind reading you cited, manipulation. Which, we agree, it is."

Din nodded. After all, who had he told of his power? Very few. He gave his full attention to them now.

"But, I ask you, who would trust me with a power like that? I either reveal it at the beginning and risk always being at arm's length or I keep it to myself." Dizudu rambled on.

He remembered his arms were crossed when his fingers tapped on his bicep as he tried to count them. He kept them crossed, not ready to relax just yet. "Yeah but secrets don't stay secrets, it'd get revealed and you would hurt them even more then," He commented.

"Correct. It would be pretty selfish. Still, I don't think I would change my actions." Dizudu huffed.

Din stared at them, the voices lashing and fighting in a confusing storm. Tarre the loudest of them all, commanded a refute from Din. Screaming so fast and loud it sounded more like barking with how incomprehensible it was. How he drew out certain words in a long raspy holler.

"And what about the flip side?"

"Hm?"

"What if your partner- er- or friend, whatever, anything really..." Din clarified. "What if they told you they could read your mind?"

They stared at him for a long time, rigid at first then softening. "I'd be pissed-"

"See-!"

"But Manda... that's best case scenario for me."

Din tilted his head. "You can't be serious?"

"More than a dying star." They looked at him, passing Grogu back. "I am... a mean, unreactive, and emotionally constipated shebs'palon. I keep everything-" they gestured to their head "-in here."

He nodded, continuing to soothe the voices, knowing Tarre was a lost cause at this point. Though he was quiet now, he was still lurking like a beast, pacing and hissing. Pissed Din was even listening to this.

"To have someone be able to understand how I am feeling, to finally have someone accommodate me, to care... that's the dream. Might even marry them." They stared at Din. "Call me easy, but I'll take anyone who cares that much about how I feel." 

He nodded, finally relaxing despite the animal going rabid in his mind. That was relatable enough. "...after you kick their ass or something for lying to you first."

"Oh absolutely! Kicking their ass to next week for lying to me! Probably will ignore them for many weeks, play hard to get," Dizudu replied quickly, genuinely giving him a laugh.

He chuckled too. He couldn't help but possibly, maybe... agree with them. It was a better way to look at the situation. Helped remind him of something. That one lie didn't mean everything was fake. It full well could be, but he'd have to ask.

So... maybe he could, at the very least, give Luke a chance at forgiveness.

He went onto his comm, finding several unanswered messages from Cobb and Boba. From Cara and Greef and even one or two from Fennec. He ignored them, clicking on Luke's messages, all of them were sparse and revolved around Grogu. He nearly typed something out. Then closed the messaging out.

He'd contact him after he got his anger and stress out of his system. No point in putting misguided emotions on Luke, he didn't deserve it. Not anymore anyway. At the very least, he deserved a chance to earn back his trust. 

The question remained what mission he would go on. 

He went aimlessly through his comm. Finally entering his notes, finding nothing but disorganized thoughts.

In his cleaning- deleting, organizing, and expanding- he found a note. A mission on Ilum. From months ago.

He quickly went back to his chat with Boba. 

Din: Hey, is that Ilum job still available?

He waited, ten minutes, then twenty. Spending that time just catching up on messages but not responding beyond a reaction or two.

Fett: Had no takers for it yet. You in?

Din: Yes. I'm bringing Tooka.

Fett: Done, sending you the info. Also, Cobb saw you comm me and he's royally pissed. 

Fett: Might want to comm him.

Din frowned. He didn't want to comm him. Cobb would know something was wrong. 

He'd comm him later.

But that's what he always said. And yet later never came.

Luke landed his X-Wing on the icy planet, with Grogu bouncing excitedly in his lap. He chuckled as the boy leaped out of his lap and onto the snowy ground, quickly squealing and trying to leap back into the X-Wings warmth. Luke grabbed the back of his thick clothing to haul him back into the cockpit. Grogu sighed in relief.

"That's why you wait to put your boots on." Luke snickered, slipping the dense booties onto the child's small green feet. He then also slipped on his large crocheted hat to tuck his ears into, the large things turning the hat into a nearly rectangular shape. Finally, the hard part, his mittens.

Grogu whined, hiding his hands as soon as he saw the things he must have considered torture devices. 

"Grogu-"

'NO!' He yelled into the Force, he ran to the edge of the X-Wing, going to leap out but Luke grabbed him. He held him with one arm, gripping his tiny arm as the boy squealed. He sighed. 

"Fine! Fine, no gloves. But your hands are going to get cold!" Luke relented with a sigh. Grogu cheered happily, getting out of the cockpit and wandering across the snow to the cave entrance. Artoo whirred as he followed him, not waiting for Luke at all. 

Luke merely unpacked his pram, something Din had started to pass off with his son. He packed it with a heat pack at the bottom and a thick blanket. Connecting it to a remote he created from a spare memory board and droid parts. Anything for Grogu's protection.

He saw Cashla round and land her ship as he finished up running a diagnostic on the pram, ensuring it was in working order. They repaired the black hole damage to her ship when they picked up Grogu, and thankfully, it wasn't too bad. His older padawan leaped out of her V-wing. Instantly she shivered, pulling up her fluffy hood and hugging herself. She looked around hesitantly.

Luke tilted his head as she walked closer. "Cashla," He said softly. She perked up, her eyes tinting more gray than green in the snow and bright sunlight. "If you want to stay in your ship you can, I know being on Ilum after what happened to your parents-"

"I'm fine," She said quickly. "I can decide my own boundaries, Luke. If I didn't think I could handle it, I wouldn't have come." She didn't have a rude tone, just curt, and to the point. She clearly didn't want to talk about it.

He nodded simply. They ventured to the cave entrance, standing before it as the top began to lower, slowly, mere millimeters by the second with a thick ice wall. They had until sundown- about 6, maybe closer to 7 hours.

"Alright, let's try to make this fast, huh?" Luke smiled.

Cashla tilted her head, pulling out a small, pocket-sized notebook. She flipped through it loudly as Grogu climbed atop Artoo's head and squealed as the droid went round and round.

"Master Luke, this says we're supposed to go alone."

Luke looked at her incredulously before schooling his face. He realized what she was suggesting. "Do you have your sabers?" He asked. She nodded excitedly, showing off her new sabers. They were definitely more hand-crafted than Luke's. To be fair, Yoda had him make from scraps of other Jedi's sabers. However, it seemed Cashla didn't really care. "Would you like to go on your own to explore while I take Grogu to find his crystal?" He asked, his breath fogging in the cold biting air. Cashla nodded excitedly. "Ok, go have fun," he said.

She took off, into the crystal cave, her boots going from crunching on snow to stamping against the stone floor. He looked at Grogu, before walking into the cave, the floating pram and Artoo following quick after.

The cave was cold- freezing actually. He wished he had more layers. He pulled up his face cover, the cloth hooking over his nose. 

"Grogu, you cold enough to put your gloves on yet?" He looked at his student, seeing the boy under his blankets. He hummed and shook his head. "Right then, what direction feels right to you?" He asked. Grogu looked at the halls through squinted eyes. Left, then right. And then he pointed towards the ice wall splitting the two halls.

Luke looked at his student curiously. He handed him the remote to his pram, sliding it into place. Grogu hummed before hitting one of the red buttons without thought. In a second one of the mini-missiles flew out and hit the ice walls, blowing it open. Luke glances at his young padawan, the boy not even hesitating before driving forward.

"...straight on then," he scoffed in a snicker, following Grogu closely. He looked around, seeing Grogu passing, crystal after crystal, the tunnel getting darker the further they went. Until, finally, he stopped when they reached an opening. He turned, going far up on the cavern's wall, to a specific crystal. Grogu reached up and began digging it out. He stepped on the edge of his floating reinforced carriage, stepping on its extended wing and the rim of the cockpit.

"Hey Grogu, be careful ok?"

"[Glad you told him that, you know he's such a good listener.]" Artoo scoffed. Luke looked at him, unamused, before walking closer to his student. 

He heard Grogu getting frustrated, yanking harder, and harder on the gem. When suddenly it came loose. Grogu stumbled back, tripping-

Luke quickly caught his younger padawan with the Force before he could even get a foot from his pram. Slowly, he floated the boy back to safety. 

Grogu flew down silently, ears drooping as he got to ground level and saw Luke's blatant disappointment. He silently showed off his crystal. Luke could only stare at him angrily for so long, those big browns would be the end of him someday. He sighed, petting Grogu's head. 

"Good job, buddy," Luke mumbled, he knelt, taking a better look at the kyber crystal. When he held it up to the light, it didn't have a green, or blue, or even a yellow tint. It looked more... silver.

"Well Ahsoka will be proud when she finds this out... if she finds this out" He mumbled the second part, a grumble really. His irritation at the aloof togruta was forgotten when Cashla requested a call. "Hey, Cashla, we just got Grogu's crystal, are you ready-?"

"There's an Imperial base here," She cut him off urgently. Luke straightened, instantly falling back into his rebel commander persona easily, as he always did when facing the Empire.

"Are you safe?" He asked. Cashla gave a quiet hum of confirmation. "How close are they?" 

"A few hundred meters. Under a kilometer. They have minecarts over here but it seems they're broken down, and a strong snowstorm is brewing, we need to strike now!" She said determinedly. Luke paused before sighing. This was clearly important to Cashla, given what happened to her birth parents, he couldn't blame her. 

"Wait for me, we'll go together, send me your location," He didn't give her the chance to refute, ending their link.

"[I never get a vacation.]" Artoo grumbled.

"The life you live now is a vacation," Luke bit back. Artoo simply grumbled with a low-tone beep. He traveled through the tunnels, finding Cashla in only half an hour. She stood at a man-made entrance to the crystal cave. A careless intrusion only the Empire would do. 

Luke looked her over before looking to the base. Smoke billowed from its chimney, polluting the air. The walls were black and metal, it was built into a mountain.

"How far is the storm?" He asked Artoo.

"[Five to ten minutes out, if we're going, we need to go now.]"

"Great, we'll follow the minecart track, scope, and entrance and bust in. This is a stealth mission " He looked at Cashla, Artoo then Grogu. "None of you will be loud, do your best to not be seen, no blasters will be fired, no explosions. Grogu, you will stay in your pram, and if you stir any trouble, I will take your remote privileges and close the pram. Got it?" Luke asked, his voice hard and stern. The child stared at him wide-eyed, slowly nodding. "Good." 

They followed the minecart track, using it to travel to the building the storm starting as they neared it. Once flush with its wall, white and fast-falling snow shrouded the vision anywhere beyond three meters. 

Luke flinched as Cashla knocked on the minecart door. He looked at her incredulously, but even more shocking, it worked. 

The door opened about halfway. Cashla quickly pulled, it open, rolling in at the same instant. Luke sighed, crawling in and finding Cashla had quickly eliminated the team in the mine room. 

"Was that out of anger or necessity?" Luke asked, gesturing to the bodies of the workers, as Grogu and Artoo entered the room.

"Necessity," She said, glancing away as she did.

Luke wouldn't push it. Instead, he carefully reminded her of her responsibility. "Good, we can be angry, you know. As long as you don't let that anger consume you," Luke explained. "Just try to not keep doing it, these people need to be turned over to the Republic. To be investigated. Any intel on Empire remnants is a great asset."

She looked at him, eyes soft with guilt before she bucked up, chin raised as he gave a curt nod. "I understand, Master."

He smiled. "Good, let's go then.

Luke moved forward through the base, Grogu following him closely. He sent Cashla ahead with Artoo, his older padawan silently she took out people as she went while his droid got a lay of the base blueprints, eventually finding the copied and pasted design the Empire used. She dashed down a side hallway to scout it out with Artoo, and Luke continued down the main path. Cashla would call him if help was needed. He was light on his feet, quick as he moved along. 

As he turned a corner, he halted at the sight. Bodies. Many of them, but it was another entranceway, it could have been Cashla. He settled until heard his student bringing up the rear and he glanced.

“Cashla, come here” Luke whispered into his commlink, his padawan joining him quickly “Did you take out the people in this hallway?” He asked, kneeling to look at the bodies. Dead, by blaster bolts, and not just any blaster bolts, pulse blaster bolts. He had his answer before she spoke.

“No, I’ve been following you mostly, the other hallway led to a dead end,” she said, Artoo pulling up a holographic map of the base. On it were dots showing where they stood. and paths where they traveled. They were in the South East wing, moving West, to the hanger, they needed to head to the center.

But first, they needed to find out who else was here. He lingered curiously, but no one revealed themselves. "We're not the only hunters here. Stay on your toes.”

Grogu suddenly cooed excitedly, not able to shape a solid image in the Force for Luke to know what he was going on about. Instead, he hushed him, continuing to creep the hallway.

As they came to the end of the hallway, coming to a fork in their path, Luke expanded his range in the Force, there was another presence down the right corridor. He hummed curiously, “Cashla, stand guard here with Grogu. Artoo, with me. We’ll be back.”

Cashla nodded, clearly a bit disappointed but not arguing. Luke ventured down the passageway with Artoo. As he came to a room, he found a stocky zabrak Mandalorian messing with various tech in the wall, wires open and exposed as he rewired it. 

As Luke crept to check the other doorway, he clearly made his presence known somehow as the man turned to face him. In classic Mandalorian fashion, the man did not hesitate to throw a punch. Luke dodged, grabbing the man’s arm.

“Osik, you're stronger than you look blondie!" The zabrak male chuckled. In a second he screamed as Luke threw him to the floor, pinning him. "AH- ow! Mand’alor! Help!”

Luke tilted his head, was that term used for any leader figure? Surely Din couldn’t be here-?

His thought was cut off by someone tackling him. He was admittedly winded, he should have been able to feel this person in the Force… unless…

He tried to pin Din only to find himself on the ground, the man above him. He’d somehow gotten stronger, a lot stronger actually. He felt himself shrink as Din looked down at him, he tried to curl in but the man had hooked his legs around Luke's in order to keep them pinned. That familiar wampa cape made him look so much bigger.

Luke couldn't move, and Din's power- it was pushing at the Force, dulling it. Now, he could still throw Din across the room but this... being beneath him like this wasn't so bad.

“Hello, Din” Luke murmured. Din was frozen over him. His defenses lowered and Luke felt the darkness in his mind suddenly retreat, the same way when you flick on a light and just catch a bug scuttling under some cover.

Its sudden calmness was only confirmed by Din's overwhelming relief. But his defenses went up again, quickly. The entire moment only lasted a couple of seconds.

“Luke, what a surprise" Din replied in a curt greeting. Not mad, not sad, nothing. Somehow that was worse.

Din stood, helping his fellow Mandalorian to his feet- quite gently. Asking the man in Mando'a if he was ok. Gently trying to look him over only to get groaned at and pushed away.

"I'm fine!" The man bemoaned. Though he permeated with warmth and admiration towards Din. Not romantic or sexual in nature by any means, but still... Luke didn't like it too much. Which was unfair, and wrong. Still, he couldn't help but wonder about their relationship. He stood slowly, brushing off his tunic as he observed.

Luke watched as Red rounded a corner, and Artoo barreled over, the two droids spinning in greeting and discussing each other's lives.

“Wait, did you say Luke? As in Luke Skywalker? Then you're…” The man looked at Luke and then all around. He began bouncing excitedly. “Is she here?”

“Is who here?” Luke asked, tilting his head. No explanation was needed as he heard the loudest running footsteps of his life approaching. Cashla barely stopped herself from sliding when she saw Din's friend, Grogu following in his pram. She pointed at the man.

“TOOKA!”

‘Tooka’ squealed as he ran at Cashla. She tackled the man in a big hug, both talking rapidly in Mando’a. Too fast for a beginner like Luke to translate. He could now see the man’s left pauldron, it holding the same signet that Cashlas had. So this was Cashla's brother. How could he forget him, what with her talking of him nonstop?

Din had moved to Grogu, Luke shuffling aside to let Din greet him.

“Buir! Buir!” Grogu cheered in his mind. 

“Hey kid, how’ve you been?” Din asked, his voice pitched with excitement as the bumped foreheads. "Been a day or two." He snorted. Luke had expected a scolding, or acknowledgment for bringing Grogu on a mission like this... but it was like he didn't exist.

He sat, alone as the Mandalorians caught up. As Artoo caught up with Red. He was, most definitely, not upset.

Cashla looked at him, smiling widely. “Master I’m so sorry! This is my brother, Tooka”

“I gathered, it’s nice to finally meet you Tooka. I like your name.” He chuckled.

“Thanks! Picked it myself!” Tooka said proudly, puffing his chest just that little bit more. The man was about his height, maybe a bit shorter but it was difficult to tell with his horns and boots. He was definitely stockier than Luke though, if he had landed his punch it would have hurt. 

“What are you doing here?” Cashla asked her brother.

“Could ask you the same thing! Thought you had Jedi peace-keeping banthashit to learn!” Tooka mocked.

“Watch it,” Din grumbled defensively. The man corrected himself by saying “No offense,” quickly to Luke. 

Luke smiled his thanks at Din who was trying his best to not look back. Right. They still weren't talking. He needed to remember that, just cause he was eager to see Din, didn't mean vice versa was true. He contained himself.

“We’re on a mission!" Cashla said eagerly.

"Yeah but you on Ilum, given your history-" Tooka said leadingly, tilting his head this way and that. "Thought you'd never come back here."

"I owe it to the galaxy and myself to do this. We originally came here to get a kyber crystal for Grogu's saber then Luke and I saw the mining facility... I insisted we take it out. He agreed, as long as we turn the people over to the republic officers.” Cashla explained.

“Oh really? That’s what we’re doing only we did a mission before for the Empire people here so they’d lower their defenses and we’d get paid double. Then we take their money and get to turn them in-!“

“Tooka,” Din scolded. Tooka looked at him with his head bowed. 

“Sorry, sir, but it's my sister. You know she can be trusted-“

“I’m not scolding you for that, monologuing our plans only delays us. And we only have so much time. We must keep moving.”

Tooka hesitated. “They could help-“

“No.” Din cut him off, his voice stern and making both Tooka and Cashla straighten. Only for a second, Grogus slapping at Dins helmet took away from his command and intimidation. 

Din held his son lower, much to Grogu's disappointment. Continuing on, he said “We have a plan set-“

“Yes, but it’d be safer with us helping you! We’re better working together!” Cashla cut in. She cleared her throat and stood at attention after a pause. “Respectfully, Mand’alor.”

Din sighed deeply and longly. “Fine. We should stay split up, what places have you two taken out?“

“South East wing, closest to the mine. You?”

“West wing. The hanger is completely locked down, they think it’s due to snow, but they won’t be fooled for long. If you two-" He was cut off by Artoo's offended beeping. "If you three take out cams and comms, Tooka, Red, and I will take out the last entranceway in the North, and we’ll meet to take out to the central quarters.”

“Sounds good, don’t get caught” Luke commented.

“Thank you, without you telling me I would never have known not to do that,” Din replied with snark. Although he couldn't see Tooka's face, he audibly heard the man suck his teeth. Awkwardly, he glanced at Cashla who was a bit bug-eyed.

Luke cleared his throat, blushing a little. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Din paused before sighing longly. It made Luke smile a bit, he was still every bit a huffy man. “Whatever, let’s just get this over with.”

He walked off, still holding Grogu, Tooka, and Red in tow with him. 

Meanwhile, Cashla and Luke went in the other direction, this time taking the left hallway and heading towards cams and comms in silence. They split up, Luke trusting Cashla to handle cams as he handled comms.

It was easier than he imagined. Not many people were in the comms, only about five, and most ran at him the second he entered the room. He sliced through the first two with ease. Frowning as he felt their life energy enter the Force. It wasn't enough, but he did bow his head in respect. As the third ran at him he threw them into a far wall and the other two, he individually sent to sleep with a touch to their foreheads.

Quickly, he accessed comms, typing in the comm code Leia gave him, and then sent out his galactic and global coordinates. In minutes, he got an estimated time of arrival, six hours and seventeen minutes, probably more thanks to the storm than anything. Luke sighed.

“Master?" Cashla called from the hall. Luke exited to meet her.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yes, cleared cams. You?"

"Got an ETA from the Republic. Over six hours. Have you heard from Din and Tooka?" Luke asked.

"Yes, they said to head their way as it seems their entranceway leads to the Empire's mines," Cashla said.

Luke nodded, once and only curtly. "Let's go then." He said. They walked back, the silence only lasting a bit before Cashla spoke.

"Master, do you know Din well?”

“We’re acquainted.”

“But you call him by his first name? And after Gideon escapes, he comes to you first?” She asked suspiciously.

Luke blinked, looking away and avoiding eye contact. “Yes, well... we did live together for a sum of time. We got close.”

“But you said you’re only acquainted…” He could envision the cheeky grin she wore when she said it, though he never looked at her to check. There was no way she could know she was pushing a sore spot.

Luke hesitated, picking his next words carefully. “It’s not my story to tell but let’s just say I made a bad decision, kept a secret and it snowballed. Pretty spectacularly.”

She seemed to soften, understanding the pain in that statement. “Can you not fix it?”

“It’s-“ Luke shook his head as he sighed longly, “...it’s not about fixing it. It’s not that easy. It's two people trying to navigate a situation where trust was given and then broken, and unlike a tangible thing, I can’t fix it or- or mend it or buy a new one, nothing in that realm. I have to be given a second chance and then slowly rebuild what I broke.”

Cashla nodded. “Yeah… relationships are complicated.”

Luke huffed. 'You could say that again.'

After sorting their new prisoners in a room and having Artoo take control of the lock system, overriding the passcode and locking the remaining men in the cameras room, they headed to central quarters.

They meet Din, Tooka, Red, and Grogu outside the central room. No one looked even slightly ruffled. Red now eagerly greeted Luke, only to quickly saddle himself next to Artoo, while both men looked tense. Luke was curious if Tooka asked the same questions his sister did. He was curious if Din responded in kind or... if he was angry still.

"Red went ahead and scouted the facility. There are more mines this way," Din said, his voice curt and emotionless. He walked off, keeping a hand on Grogu's pram to pull it along. Red whirs descendingly but in the end, followed Din. As did everyone else.

There's a door, and behind it, there is a steep ramp leading down. 

"Ok, who's going with who?" Cashla asked. Before anyone could answer, Din spoke.

"You and your brother are staying here with Grogu. Take out anyone we flush out. I'm not risking either of you going in there." Din commanded, passing Grogu to Tooka. Despite the sibling's clear displeasure, they didn't argue. 

'Wait... but that means-' Luke thought, clearly a little slow as Din looked dead at him. He was looking for any arguments, there to be displeasure of some sort. Luke said nothing. 

Satisfied, Din looked at Red. "You mind leading the way?"

The droid chirped, happily taking the lead, Artoo only following Red closely. As they descended into the cave, Luke flushed at hearing Tooka's question to his sister when he thought they were well out of earshot. 

"[Do you think they body kissed?]" He asked in Mando'a- a rough translation of baar'mureyca , which has to mean... well, exactly what it sounds like. 

Luke barely resisted squeaking, it only made worse when just for a second he felt Din's shock and embarrassment break his barrier before the man sped up and walked down the rest of the ramp. 

Luke followed but still heard Cashla snort. "[Nah, but, maybe they should. Or maybe just fight it out. It'll end with one of the two happening!]" Then the siblings giggled like children.

They explored the mines, Artoo scanning the rooms and confirming the count of people with Red before Luke and Din headed in. They were moving through each room quickly.

Luke had never forgotten how Din fought, he'd commemorated that to his eternal memory, along with any memory of the man being soft or him with his son. However, the part of him he saw now, the bounty hunter hunting down its targets, he'd never had the pleasure to see before. 

He vanquished from the Force, stalking down the hall like a nexu hunts prey, shockingly quiet and sneaky for such a big beast. He was skilled, silent, and graceful.

In the dim light, he moved like a shadow, ruthlessly killing people with his vibroblade and saber whereas Luke mostly influenced sleep, having to kill a few, but leaving plenty of prisoners to interrogate and hopefully unveil remaining Empire bases to snuff out. Luke would rather these people go to prison, and face trials, but he couldn't blame Din's decision to kill them. After all, he'd probably killed more than the bounty hunter ever could. Unless he blew up a planet or something.

When the last person hit the snow, he looked around, checking one last time to make sure that was everyone. "We're good to start packing this evidence for the Republic," Luke said. He shivered as the air bit at him. He was beginning to get cold again. Though he didn't let it show.

"Artoo, find the Empire lackeys, try to find a sled or hover carrier to bring them to Cashla and Tooka so they can herd them all to one room," Luke instructed. 

"Good idea. Red, go with him. On your way out do a loop around and broadly note all the inventory of every room for the Republic. Bring the sled back here when you're done transporting people." Din commanded. Red chirped, the droids obediently before zooming off, Red having uncharacteristic speed. Luke looked down, noticing his wheels.

"You got new ones for him," Luke said. Din grunted in acknowledgment before walking off. He cringed, deciding to just get to work.

As they packed everything up- the stolen gems and other evidence- silence settled. Uncomfortable and tense. 

Luke tried again to start a conversation. “How's it been on Mandallia?"

"Good," Din replied swiftly. Monotonely, even for him.

"Good!" He chirped back, finding he was a bit too eager. He settled himself, letting silence linger for as long as he could. As he organized things for easier transport, he looked to Din again. "And you?"

"Been better."

"How is it going with your powers-”

“Don’t.”

"Right. Sorry." Luke replied sheepishly. He continued to pack. Of all the rooms, he was glad they started in this one, it seemed to be the biggest. He could hear Red and Artoo working with the siblings to transport everyone on a large hover transport. 

Once the room was nearly fully packed Red eventually returned to bring the boxes up.

"Where's Artoo?"

"[He's still assisting Tooka and Cashla with the other prisoners. He will be back.]" Red replied.

Din and Luke loaded the craft up as much as they could, before sending Red away to deliver it to the siblings to unpack in the main room and organize. 

Once they had moved to a new room to organize the silence was broken. By Din this time.

“Grogu, he's doing well in school?” Din asked.

“Yes, studying hard. Clearing out Yavin 4 of its frog biodiversity. Though he does seem to accept when I cook now,” Luke huffed. A half laugh.

Din nodded. Not answering beyond that. An awkward pause grew between them.

“How’s ruling the Mandalorians?”

Din scoffed. “Terrible. I hate being a leader. Just telling people not to kill themselves or others and finding a way to get other people to think we’re valuable but not manipulatable.” He shook his head in annoyance, effortlessly lifting boxes and moving them. His thick kute still pulling to show a small impression of muscle whenever he flexed. 

Luke must note, again, that he had gotten stronger. Something that was definitely not getting distracting. At all. “Yeah. No idea why Leia signed up for that willingly.” He scoffed.

Din hesitated but finally said. “She’s been a big help.”

“I’m glad.”

There was another uncomfortable pause. One long enough for them to reload Red's transport craft and send him off again, move rooms, and begin moving things into boxes. The conversation only started again when he and Din both moved towards the middle of the room, getting close. Like they used to.

“You uh... cut your hair,” Din murmured.

“Oh, yeah, started getting too long," Luke replied, not exactly remembering why he let it grow out so long in the first place. "Thought I’d cut it back.”

Din hummed. A thought seemed to escape his defenses. An almost saddened thought, ‘Hm... I liked it long.’

Luke almost screamed. He remembered now. He liked how Din messed with his hair, how he'd braid it when they stayed up late studying texts and he needed something to do with his hands instead of counting his fingers. If Luke could forcibly grow his hair out now, he would-!

...

That was desperate though. He was fine, he was fine. He wasn’t desperate.

He let himself calm down in their next stint of silence. They repeated the process. Organize. Load Red up. Switch rooms. 

This final room had barely anything compared to its counterparts. 

"So um... What other missions have you gone on?" Luke asked, hearing his own awkwardness.

Din slammed down his box. "Ok, I can't do the awkward conversations anymore. We need to talk."

'Oh no- not talk!' Luke stepped back. Maybe if he ran- no! He couldn't be a coward! "Ok."

"Being here with you, now, I have to hold back, to not sense your emotions, because of my... power. Is that how it was for you?" He asked.

'Oh, well, that's easy,' Luke thought. "Yes. I never meant to look at your mind. I did hold back around you, but not all the time. You have my permission to read me for lies and to read my emotions. It's ok, Din," Luke answered softly. Din nodded, and he did noticeably relax. 

"I didn't know that before- or not know. Understand, I guess. I didn't understand how you could accidentally look in my mind." He said. He tapped the box and looked away. 

Luke understood. "I am sorry, about everything Din, I... I can't say it enough."

"Yeah, well, you made your bed, so..." he shrugged in response. Luke nodded in admission. The silence carried on, heavy with regret and unsaid things. "...it's been picking at my mind for weeks and... I would like to know everything you kept secret when we were living together." Din finally said he crossed his arms across his chest.

Luke felt his chest tighten. "Everything?"

"Everything. Every omission, every dodge, all of it. That you can remember, at least."

He thought. Luke took a breath, "My father is Darth Vader." He almost gasped at himself. 'Why did I start there?! Gods Leia's gonna kill me-!'

Din however stayed calm, to calm. He tilted his head. "Am I supposed to know who that is?"

Luke might scream. He huffed in shock. "He- he was a Sith... right-hand man to the Emperor."

"Oh... I didn't keep up with politics." Din shrugged, he organized his box a bit more than shutting it. "Ok..., what else?"

"What else?! I tell you my father was Darth Vader and you say, 'What else? '?!" Luke felt angry, how could Din be so blasé about this?!

"I told you I didn't care who your father was, only the man you were. And despite being a liar to me," he paused, tapping his hand on his arm, "I know you're still a good man." He looked at Luke, tensing with irritation. "Were you hoping for outrage?"

"No! You said you wanted to know everything I kept from you," Luke replied.

"Yeah but that's..." he sighed, shaking his head and flicking out his hand lazily. "That's personal, you don't owe me that. Sorry, let me be more specific. I want you to tell me the things you should have and didn't. Things regarding us."

Luke nodded, that was easier, though he still had to think. Other than the magic, he hadn't kept much hidden... other than.... nope, no way. He wasn't admitting to that, not now. That chance was long gone. He thought, a few things coming back. "I didn't send Grogu back to you because he chose you, I knew given the choice he would choose you. I was scared to become a teacher, but... I think more than that I felt guilty I took him from you in the first place. I should have welcomed his relationship with you. I'm sorry I did that."

Din stared at him, nodding slowly. "Thank you... what else?"

"Most of our spars I went easy on you."

Din sighed. "I know. Tooka told me you shrank a black hole to save Cashla-"

"Oh I only minorly shrunk it-" He tried to play down.

"Still a black hole Luke. You're more powerful than you'll ever let me know," He said it in a way where it was... praising, and appreciative. The way he'd just talked about Luke's hair. Clearly, he was dreaming though. "Why couldn't you let me keep that lie, huh?" Din joked softly.

Luke chuckled, looking down a little. This one was a little worse, but Din probably should know. "Grogu has gone into your mind before. He didn't go through memories or anything... but he did go through. And he has intercepted your dreams before to stop them and wake you up. I curved his behavior before."

Din clenched at that but released. "You mentioned something like that before. Not to that detail but..." He sighed, slumping as he leaned on the boxes. He looked so tired. "I could have helped you with that behavior if you told me."

"I know." Luke sighed, rubbing his forehead. "You're right, I should have told you when he told me."

Din nodded. "Did you ever-?"

"No. Never once did I cross that line." Luke sat on his closed box, rubbing his palms up and down his legs. Then together before blowing his breath into them. He was so damn cold. 

He heard a shuffle before feeling something heavy and soft cover him. He looked, seeing Din clip the wampa arm into place over his chest, it dwarfing Luke. "No, Din this is yours-"

"I have armor and I'm well layered. I'm fine."

"I'll make sure to give it back before you leave."

"Thank you." Din hummed.

"... thank you, too." Luke nodded back. He thought, trying to get back on topic. This was the time to get it all out on the table. "Sometimes when you sent out little thoughts, I'd... I would use it. Like if you... if you said some thought how you thought you were a bad buir, I'd reassure you. Or if you made a comment on how you hated someone I'd speak freely on how I also didn't like them, or I'd start a debate, that was fun too. If you said you wanted something, I'd get it for you, or make plans to get it for you. So on, so forth."

Din tensed. "Did you ever make up stuff to appease me?"

"No, just treated it as if it was something you said out loud. You didn't do it often anyhow. But when you made a funny joke it was really hard to not laugh" Luke smiled fondly, remembering some of the jokes. He quickly dropped it. He'd probably never get that closeness back. "But no matter what, it was an invasion of privacy, and I'm sorry."

Din nodded. "Anything else? Power-wise or anything like that?"

"No, I told you everything with that," he said. Trying to think. "I think that's it. Unless you... you want to ask something?"

Din thought. "Did you... how many of my thoughts did you hear?" 

"Not a lot, just stuff you really wanted to say but never did."

"There's a lot I don't say that I really want to say." His friend grumbled.

Luke chuckled. "Nothing embarrassing, if that's what you're worried about."

Din side-eyed him. "You're telling the truth."