Chapter Text
“Here we are ahead of the next NHL season and there’s some big questions for the Yavin Knights to answer heading into their season.” Said some host on NHL Network
“You’ve got that right Biz.” His co-host replied.
“First of all, who is going to be the starting goalie. We saw Din Djarin start to take the reins from longtime starting goaltender Migs Mayfield. Can Djarin solidify the spot as his? Next up they’ve got the Skywalker kid coming in. Is he the real deal? Kid has been tearing up the NCAA for the past four years and now he’s hungry to make the jump to the NHL. The real question with him is how he plays without longtime teammate Biggs Darklighter. I’m not too sure what that adjustment will look like Yands. The real question is if the kid has what it takes for the-”
“Come on Han shut that shit off.” Luke called walking back into the house after his workout.
“What afraid of what they have to say kid?” Han joked from where he was sitting on the couch. Luke dropped his duffle bag at the foot of the couch and flopped onto it.
“More like tired of it.” Luke grumbled while laying face down on the couch.
“I understood their point the first sixty times.” Luke complains.
“I wish you understood my point about how you should shower at the rink before you come home from skates. Get off. My couch it’s gonna smell.” Han ordered while using his foot to try to push Luke off the couch.
“I don’t smell anything.” Luke says while shuffling closer to Han on the couch.
The skate had been a hard one. It was the last skate of the summer so Kenobi kicked their ass. Luke and a couple of other junior, college, and professional guys all trained together in the summer under him. Kenobi had a long career in the NHL and had taken to being a summer skills coach in his retirement. Luke had been with the group for the past four years now. They were great people and pushed him hard, which is why Luke stinks worse than roadkill at ten in the morning on a Thursday.
“Shouldn’t you be at work anyway?” Luke asked as he got up from the couch and made his way to the kitchen that connected to the living room. He pulled out the supplies for his protein shake as Han replied, something about a meeting at 11 and Chewie covering the morning. Luke simply nodded along as he added some Nesquik to his chalky protein shake. He may be a professional athlete but those shakes taste bland and the chocolate makes the greens bearable.
Luke gulps down the rest of his shake and rinses out his cup and then takes a sip of water from the tap before he can think twice about how he is 22, and really knows better to just use a cup.
“Well, enjoy the meeting. I’m going to shower. Don’t forget I’m doing that interview today at 1 so I’ll just lock myself in the bedroom.” Luke called as he grabbed his bag and began to walk down the hallway.
“That’s fine I’ll be gone by then. Both Leia and I won’t be back until around seven tonight. She has some stuff to finish up. Something bout a new bill.” Han yelled back over the TV which had been changed to the Cubs game.
Luke showereed quickly and changed into a pair of old shorts and a t-shirt from his college team before sitting on the floor in Han and Leia’s spare bedroom to stretch his sore muscles. He held back a groan at the stretch in his quads as he stood and pulled one ankle back towards his butt. The stretching after practice had become an almost meditative routine for him. He’s been meaning to get into Yoga all these years but still hasn’t gotten around to it. Between family, hockey, and school he never felt like he had time.
Those three things have really ruled Luke’s life. His aunt and uncle raised him on the values and when they died his Junior year Luke nearly considered leaving school and hockey behind for a few weeks before his sister talked him out of it. Instead Luke threw himself into his degree, a history degree focusing on Environmental and Agricultural history. Now here he was wrapping up his summer spent staying with his sister and Han before his first season in the NHL.
Staying with them had been Leia’s idea. At first Luke was convinced it was because they wanted a built-in babysitter for Ben but Luke wouldn’t trade the summer for anything. He got to spend the summer with them knowing that he would be away in Yavin for much of the upcoming year. Luke had spent the last couple days planning on asking them if they could keep the arrangement for next year too.
Luke finished his stretching and scrolled through his social media and realized he still had an hour and a half before the interview and figured he’d catch a quick nap. When he woke up an hour later Luke felt refreshed as he stepped into the bathroom to wash his face and use the restroom. After that he stepped back into the bedroom to make sure that it looked acceptable for a television interview.
He grabbed a blue shirt from his closet, the one Leia always said brought out his eyes and put it on. He decided to leave his shorts on because he would be doing the interview on his laptop, meaning they wouldn’t see below his chest. Luke made his way to the bathroom to check for sleep lines on his face and tame his hair from his nap. He’s actually looking forward to the interview. It feels like the next step towards his dream of playing professional hockey.
Satisfied with his appearance Luke made his way back to the desk in his bedroom and opened his laptop to the meeting. While he waited he scrolled through his social media. Biggs posted a story showing him walking into the rink in Arizona, and Wedge who Luke played with during college posted a picture of him tanned on a dock holding a fish in each hand. Luke chuckled at the photo before closing the app and throwing his phone onto the bed. Luke played with his hands while he waited for the interview to start.
He was doing this. In a week he will be in Yavin for training camp with his new team. He would be a professional hockey player if camp went well, and if things went really well, then he’d be an NHL player.
Luke is pulled from his daydream, by the sound of someone connecting to the video call. “And now here with us, Luke Skywalker, former Tatooine Womp Rat and Yavin Knights hopeful.” The interview introduced him. Not quite sure what to do, Luke awkwardly waved at the camera before saying hi.
“So tell us Luke, has anyone on the team reached out to you yet, do you know anyone going into this season with the team?”
“Yeah actually, Boba reached out to me earlier this summer. He had a run in at a youth camp a couple years ago after my freshman year at Tatooine, and I- uh didn’t make the best first impression.” Luke said, feeling his face flush as he brought a hand back to rub at his neck.
Luke remembers the day and is still mortified by it. He had been expecting the person laying on the ice resting between sessions for the camp some local NHL and college kids were putting on to be Biggs, but between the hat, the person not looking, and their sweatshirt hood being pulled up Luke couldn’t fully tell. Luke had charged at the person with speed and stopped right in front of them covering them in snow, something he and Biggs had done to each other a hundred times before at that point. Only when Luke expected Biggs to roll over and laugh at him, Luke was met with a seething Boba Fett. Luke apologized profusely and avoided Fett for the rest of camp.
Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago Luke received a call from an unknown number with a Tattonine area code, so he answered. It was Fett, who told Luke that the incident was water under the bridge at this point, and even if it wasn’t now that they were going to be teammates it was for sure water under the bridge. Luke had corrected him and said they were potential teammates, because he had to make the team first, and Boba laughed at him. So Luke took that as a better sign.
“What do I have to do to hear about this story?” The interviewer laughed.
“No way. You’ll have to ask him.” Luke replied, laughing slightly.
“Okay, okay.” The interviewer said, holding their hands up in surrender. “We’ll get onto some hockey questions then, What are you most excited for this year, and what are you nervous about?” She said, leaving Luke wishing she pulled her punches a little more.
“Wow you ask the good ones.” Luke said, laughing nervously.
“I think I’m most excited about getting there and meeting the guys. Whether I’m playing with Yavin or down in Endor on their AHL team I’m excited to meet my teammates. As far as being nervous, I think the change will be big for me. Family and friends have always been big for me and taking a step away from them this year is going to be a change. “ Luke answered honestly.
“Well I think Yavin will be no problem for you. Anyone ever tell you you're too humble?” The interviewer laughed.
The interview continued for a little bit longer and Luke felt himself drop into a more comfortable state by the time it was wrapping up. They didn’t have a ton of media opportunities in the college game, so interviews weren't something he was particularly used to. No matter how the next couple of weeks went, Luke had a feeling this would be far from the last interviews he would be doing soon.