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Blaster fire rained down on you and Luke as the lift doors opened to yet another hallway of Dark Troopers. Your lightsabers swirled and arced in the air as you deflected the blasts, kicking, spinning, and using the Force to take down your enemies. Security cameras followed your every move as a powerful Force presence grew stronger the closer you got to the blast doors—and it was big. You’d only ever sensed the Force flowing that powerfully from Luke and wondered what you’d find one the doors opened.
All the sparring you’d been doing with Luke had clearly paid off for both of you as you sliced your way through the droids. A Dark Trooper moved quicker than you’d anticipated to cut Luke off and you used the Force to send him flying into a fellow droid. They both hit the wall next to you hard with a clang and you heard the familiar drone of them powering down as you slashed through them both at once with your saber. You and Luke continued on through the hall, taking the troopers out with ease until there were only a few left. One landed a blaster shot right on your hand and you cried out in pain, dropping your saber. The droid came rushing at you, but froze before it could close the distance. The metal groaned and you turned to see Luke several feet away, his outstretched hand suddenly closing into a tight fist. The droid’s body began crumbling into itself, it’s head twisting at an odd angle before it’s red eyes went dark and it fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.
You glanced around, meeting Luke’s gaze under the hood once you were satisfied you were safe. “Don’t forget who you learned that move from,” you said as you stood.
Luke chuckled and strode towards you, handing you your weapon. “How bad is your hand?”
You sheathed your blade. “It burns, but it didn’t go deep. I think it just grazed me enough to surprise me.”
“I’ll take a look at it once we’re back at the ship.” He took a deep breath as he turned his attention towards the blast doors, a deep dent in their center from the Dark Troopers’ efforts.
You followed his gaze before returning to meet his eyes. “Our first student—well, possibly.”
Luke nodded, gently brushing his fingers against your uninjured hand as he stepped ahead of you. “I’m glad we’re doing it together.”
You fell into step with him just as the telltale beeping of the doors’ buttons rang out. The blast doors slowly started to open and you and Luke stepped out of the smoke from your battle to see several weapons trained on you. Two human women and two fully armored Mandolorians stood before you, with a small green creature peeking his head around the back of a chair: your Force-sensitive quarry.
Luke calmly sheathed his saber before reattaching it to the hook at his belt. He glanced back at you before you both carefully removed your hoods, allowing the strangers to see your faces.
“Are you Jedi?” the Mandolorian—a male—in the silver armor asked.
“We are.” Luke smiled gently at the small green creature as he cooed in wonder. “And who is this?”
“This is Grogu,” the Mandolorian answered. He turned to look at the small creature, who you could sense was just a child.
You waited during their tender goodbye, your heart swelling at the sight. The Mandolorian gently set Grogu on the floor and he waddled towards you just as R2 entered the room with a series of excited beeps and whistles. Grogu gurgled happily, gently setting a little hand on the astromech.
“You’re welcome to come with us,” Luke said, “and get him settled in. I sense a great bond between you two.”
The Mandolorian hesitated and the women lowered their weapons. The one with the braid and Shock Trooper tattoo spoke first. “You should go. You could use the downtime.”
“We’ll take care of him,” the other said, nodding her head towards the unconscious moff on the floor.
“Patoo!”
You looked down to see Grogu had now turned his attention to you, playing with one of the straps on your boots happily. You smiled down at him and he cooed, holding his little arms up towards you.
“Hi,” you said softly as you picked him up. You felt yourself melting as he yawned and snuggled into your arms, telling you through the Force how tired he was. Go ahead and sleep, you sent back. You’re safe now, and we’ll take you to a new home where we’ll teach you to protect yourself.
“All right.” The Mandolorian turned his head back towards you. “I’ll come for a bit. Where are we headed?”
“Yavin IV,” Luke replied, quickly introducing himself and you. “We have a Jedi academy we’re building. Grogu will be safe there and learn how to use his powers. You’re welcome for as long as you want to stay and can visit or holovid him anytime.”
He nodded, and turned his helmet towards you. “I think he likes you.”
You smiled down at Grogu as he placed a little hand on your shoulder, glancing back up to catch Luke staring at you with a dreamy look in his eyes. He turned to leave, gently rubbing a hand up and down your upper arm as he did so. You waited until the Mandolorian caught up with you before handing Grogu back to him. “He wants you to carry him and wants to fly with you.”
“How do you know?”
“He’s telling me through the Force.”
He sighed, letting Grogu settle against his armored chest. “I’m never gonna get used to this.”
Eventually, the time came when the Mandolorian had to not only return to work, but move on so as not to attract too much attention to Grogu or the growing school. Although both you and Luke assured Grogu that he would see and hear from his father again, he was still distraught the day Razorcrest sailed towards the atmosphere. He watched from the backpack on Luke’s back with big, sad eyes and downturned ears, holding onto your finger as you gave him a comforting scratch against his chest.
You and Luke decided it would be best to take a few days off from training to allow Grogu time to get acclimated to being there without his father. He was a bit listless at first, but soon grew a love of exploring and was never far from either your or Luke’s side. He was fascinated by R2 and giggled as he and the droid took turns chasing each other around the small settlement the ant droids continued to create. The small stone huts soon took shape into a little village complete with its own communal kitchen—which you were endlessly pulling Grogu out of. The kid was a bottomless pit and one night, when you found him breaking into Luke’s dessert stash, you finally caved.
“All right, come on.”
He grumbled, his mouth smeared with chocolate, as you pulled him away from the bag. “Patoo!” He reached out with his hand and used the Force to break open a bag of flour and fling a small clump at you. It hit you square in the face and you froze, Grogu suspended in midair from where you held him by the back of his little robe.
A laugh suddenly bubbled up from behind you and you turned to see Luke doubled over in the doorway.
“I thought you were asleep!”
“I came to see if you needed help,” he said, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement, “but clearly you’ve got it under control, so I’ll just head back to bed.”
You slowly turned and met Grogu’s eyes, a mischievous glint in your eyes that the child returned. Before you could leave, you and Grogu used the force to pelt him with balls of flour, turning his golden hair white.
“Hey!” He started to turn. “Now, let’s be mature about this and not teach him bad—” A ball of flour pelted him right in the mouth and he staggered back several steps.
“Oh, shit,” you muttered under your breath.
“Shit!” Grogu repeated confidently from in your arms.
“No—” you started to scold him, but stopped as Luke’s own throwing arm proved its worth.
“Concentrate, Grogu,” Luke said from where he sat cross-legged beside you. “Feel the Force flow through you.”
You squinted an eye open from where you sat in the circle the three of you had made, smiling to yourself as the child settled down again. I think he’s getting hungry, you sent through the Force. You couldn’t help but laugh as your own stomach growled. And so am I.
Luke chuckled and you opened your eyes to find him staring at you fondly. Grogu giggled from where he sat, his attention now fully broken. “All right, we can break for some food.”
You felt the little one’s excitement through the Force as you opened your pack and handed him a small box. He gave you an open-mouthed smile, showing off his little teeth that were starting to come in more and more each day as he recognized the cooked frog meat inside.
The three of you ate in companionable silence, Grogu happily munching on his food as Luke scooted closer to you and put an arm around your shoulders. You leaned against his chest as Grogu played by the stream.
“So,” you began as Luke traced gentle patterns on your arm with his gloved hand, “is teaching everything you thought it would be?”
He chuckled. “It’s a bit tougher than I anticipated. I’m beginning to understand how Ben and Master Yoda felt while teaching me.” The breeze gently blew his hair in his eyes and he smiled down at you as you reached up to brush it aside. “But I’m glad I have you by my side to help. Grogu really likes you.”
“He likes you, too.”
“I know, but you have a more…motherly way with him. I think he needs some of that, as young as he is.”
You snuggled further into Luke’s chest. He pressed a gentle kiss to your hair before replacing his lips with his cheek.
“What about you? Are you enjoying…all of this?”
You sensed his nervousness through the Force and answered truthfully, “I always enjoy anything with you.”
He sent a strong wave of affection towards you and you sent one of equal measure back, sending Grogu one as well.
You coughed from where you lay in your and Luke’s shared bed, turning your head to watch the rain beat down on the window for the fifth day in a row. While training, you and Grogu had been caught out in the first of many storms. Since you’d used your own jacket to keep him nice and dry, you had paid the price with your own cold and had been in bed the past two days at Luke’s insistence.
The door slowly creaked open and you turned your head to see Luke smiling down at you. He set a mug of steaming tea on the nightstand before sitting down gently next to you, stroking your hair. “How are you feeling?”
You sniffled as you sat up. “A little better. Did Mando say when he was coming to visit?”
“He’s aiming for next week, as long as his current job goes well. And I think I may have found another Force-sensitive child, if he and his family decide to let us train him.”
You sighed. “I want to go with you.”
His thumb stroked your cheek. “Y/N, we’ve talked about this. We rescued Grogu together because he was the first one, but unless we find more masters that survived the Purge, we need someone to stay here with Grogu and keep an eye on things.”
“I know, I know.” You cleared your throat at the sudden tickle. “I just hate not knowing—” You paused and broke out into a fit of coughs.
Luke rubbed your back and handed you the mug of tea. “I’ll be careful, I promise. And I’ll keep in contact with you the whole time.”
You sighed as the warm liquid soothed its way down your throat. “You’d better. And then next time, I’ll get to go.”
Luke pursed his lips.
“Hey, if you get to go off adventuring and collecting students, I want a turn, too.”
He shook his head and laughed. “You’ll get your turn when you’re feeling better. Speaking of which…”
Both of your gazes fell to the slowly moving door and you smiled as Grogu carefully approached. “Hi, buddy,” you said as Luke lifted him onto the bed. You set your tea down, beaming as he held a tiny bouquet of wildflowers out to you. “Are those for me?”
He nodded and smiled, letting you know through the Force that they would help you feel better. You could sense both his and Luke’s adoration for you and pulled them both into your arms.
“Congratulations,” the Mandolorian said from where he leaned against the doorway. Although his voice was it’s normal monotone, you could sense his happiness through the Force.
The newborn in your arms cooed from where you sat on the bed, a curious Grogu sitting by your side and showing your son all his favorite toys. Luke sat on the bed next to you with an arm around your shoulders, beaming proudly at his small family. “Thank you.”
“I wanna see, too!” an excited voice tittered from the hallway.
“Wait your turn,” Leia scolded. “Wait, Jacen!”
“Wait for me!” a girl’s voice added as two little brown-eyed rascals raced passed the Mandolorian to jump onto the bed.
Grogu grumbled as Leia came racing in after them just in time to avoid them jostling you too much. “Careful! Jaina, off the bed now.”
You chuckled and leaned into Luke’s chest. “It’s okay. He sleeps like a rock, just like his dad.”
“Hey,” Luke said in annoyance, but you could hear the smile in his tone as he snaked one arm around you and another to gently rub his son’s hand. The baby wrapped his tiny hand around Luke’s forefinger and you could hear him suck in a quiet breath behind you. Pride, love, and amazement poured through the Force as you gently swiped your thumb over his wrist.
“What’s his name?” Jaina asked.
“Ben,” Luke replied, his voice cracking slightly.
You sighed, suddenly feeling the exhaustion from giving birth deep in your bones and leaned your head against Luke’s.
“All right.” Leia’s tone brooked no place for argument. “Everyone out. Y/N needs to rest.”
“But Mooommmm,” Jacen and Jaina both said at the same time, making you laugh.
“Nope. Out.” She shook her head as her kids filed out of the room, the Mandolorian gently removing a grumbling Grogu as well. “This is what you have to look forward to.” She smiled and squeezed your shoulder, giving her brother a quick peck on the cheek before retreating from the room.
You smiled, looking down at the perfect baby boy in your arms, his hair the same color as Luke’s. You turned to look at him to find his blue eyes watery and felt his love flow through the Force with such magnitude, it would’ve forced you to sit down if you weren’t already. You gently wiped his eyes with your thumbs, giving him a lingering kiss on the lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he breathed reverently. “Both of you.”
Ben gurgled in your arms and you smiled. “Are you ready for the chaos of introducing him to the other students?”
He chuckled behind you. “Always.”