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Artoo + Luke
Artoo hates the frigid climate of Hoth. If you had asked him, and everyone should have, not only were the harsh temperatures terrible for droid joints, but the icy tundra created the perfect atmosphere for melancholy to set in. Red Squadron spent most of their evenings in their bunks, exchanging homesick coated stories of what they had left. All agreed that their home planets were far better than the ‘ice ball’ that was Hoth.
At that moment, he detests their surroundings due to the snow that accumulates in the hallways. The droid’s rollers catch a patch, and after numerous attempts at wheeling out, Artoo simply extends one of his arms and shoots the frozen ice with his flamethrower. Victory captured, he continues his way towards Luke’s room. Most of the base was gathered in the mess hall for dinner, yet the young man could not be found- Artoo would know, he even checked his X-Wing. Deciding the humans were too busy stuffing their faces, the droid put it upon himself to find the blond haired pilot. He should be thanked for this.
When Artoo reaches the door to the commander’s quarters, he tips back in annoyance once he discovers the room is locked. No matter, the droid extends the appropriate arm again and simply slices into the entrance. It slides open in seconds and Artoo whizzes into the room with satisfaction until he searches the space for the farm boy. Luke is compressed in on himself in his bed, back to the door, blue encompassing the inlet in the wall that the commander’s sleeping area resides in. From the angle that he is at, Artoo is unable to tell the source of the light and rolls forward to inspect the man. The blue light clicks off abruptly and Luke whips around, eyes tinged with red. Artoo also detects salt water tracks on his face and calculates that he must have been crying before the droid’s arrival.
“Artoo! When did you get in here?”
The droid beeps impatiently, ‘I just came in. You didn’t hear the door?’
Usually, Luke laughs when Artoo gives him lip, but the man simply shakes his head.
“Oh. Guess I was distracted.”
Artoo zooms in on the object in the pilot’s hand and spots a holoprojector cradled protectively. Luke seems to notice the droid’s nosiness, and glances down at the object as well. He rolls the projector in between his fingers as he bites his lip.
“Say, Artoo…”Luke begins slowly, Artoo registering this is one of those times that humans mean to be serious. Well, he does want to know. Luke takes a breath before rushing out his words.
“You got to understand this is serious, buddy. No one can know about this. If you’re ever captured, I need you to erase this information. Do you think you could hold on to something for me? Like you did for Leia?”
Artoo whirls his dome as he calculates what he will earn with the exchange, but supposes Luke has taken good enough care of him so far. He was very good about staying on top of the droid’s maintenance. Artoo’s supposes it won’t cause him too much trouble.
‘Got it, Commander Skywalker. Now give it.’
Luke huffs, but a smile appears on his face as he pries the data chip from inside the machine before Artoo opens the appropriate slot for the information, ready to find out the young man’s secrets-only to find the data locked. Oh, Luke wanted to play that game? The droid decides that a ‘malfunction’ is due and beeps out that he ‘has to play the recording, as it’s overrunning his systems’, blue static immediately appearing before him.
Luke smacks the side of the unit as he tries to stop the holovid, but he falters as a small human child appears in the image. Although the vid is tinted, Artoo is able to detect that it is an infant girl with dark hair and matching eyes.
“Ad’ika, can you look up at me? Say hi to your mother.”
A gloved hand appears in the corner and waves at the girl, who looks up from her tooka plush and gives a gummy smile to the camera with a wave of her own. She is surrounded by toys and is placed on a dark blanket, an emblem sewn in that Artoo is unable to detect. The light streams in from a window behind the child, bathing her in sunlight.
“Can you say ‘mama’?”
The voice comes from near the source of the recording and must be who is holding the recording source. Their voice is low and smooth, yet filled with affection as they call out to the child.
Artoo hears a sniffle from beside him.
“That’s my baby, Artoo.”
The droid wishes he could analyze Luke’s expression in the moment, but feels compelled to allow the video to play out. So he remains, even as he sees Luke’s fingers appear through the static and strokes the cheek of the girl’s image.
“She turns three next month… I won’t be able to see her for her birthday. It’s been so long.” The young man’s words sound constricted, as if it’s an effort to release them.
The video is not long enough, in Artoo’s opinion. Luke lays himself across the floor, close enough to his daughter that it appears he is almost in the holovid in himself, both love and sorrow washing his face. The person filming offers kind sounding words in a language Artoo is not familiar with, but that causes a hiccup to erupt from the pilot each time they are spoken.
“Artoo, can you keep another secret? That’s my husband talking.” Luke voice shakes, “It feels like so long since I’ve even talked about them. But nobody can know.”
As the man finishes his sentence, the holovid fizzles out, ending its sequence. Artoo spins his dome and sees Luke wiping the sleeves of his orange flight suit across his face, rubbing furiously at his eyes with his fists. He’s smiling, though.
“I will say it was better seeing her like that. The projector doesn’t really show the details as well.”
The droid ejects the chip, Luke returning it to its home.
‘I would think so. I’m much better than that piece of junk.’
Luke gives a wet laugh as he reached down to place a fond pat on the droid’s dome where they stay in silence after. Artoo doesn’t think he’ll ever spend enough time with humans to understand what to say in moments like these. Padme had told him things her handmaidens never knew, Anakin confiding on lonely trips, and now Luke seemed to find comfort in him as well. Maybe nothing needs to be said.
The droid grows greedy and can think of one thing.
‘I am capable of holding much more information than that thing too.’
The man stands up and tidies the sheets in his bed, sighing as he does so.
“That’s all I got, unfortunately. I didn’t really expect to get caught up in the Rebellion and I can’t risk asking for anymore to be sent. I’m lucky to have what I have.”
The droid rotates his scope as he watches Luke pull a piece carved wood from underneath his pilot’s suit. Artoo doesn’t stop the whistle of surprise when he recognizes it as the necklace Anakin gave to Padme-or at least the same style as it.
A japor snippet. A tradition on Tatooine to show love.
The man’s eyes widen in astonishment and he smiles.
“You know what this is? My husband has the matching one. Made them when I was nineteen.” Luke’s expression grows fond and he sighs as tucks the jewelry back under his clothes.
“Guess it’s time to join the others in the mess hall. And remember, our little secret.”
Luke + Han
Han zones out for the third time when it occurs to him he should probably be more focused with a torch in his hand and sparks flying off the Corellian freighter. He can’t stop himself when he clicks the fuel switch and shouts up to Chewie.
“Any word on the kid yet?”
Chewie’s furball head appears over the side from atop the ship.
‘Still nothing. No one’s reporting him in.’
Han tosses the torch to the side in frustration, glare cold as he watches mindless rebel pilots and technicians mill about the bay as if one of their most important people isn’t missing. As if there isn’t a gaping hole where the young farm boy should be. For all the time they had spent on the Falcon together, Leia had seemed to push them to the side until their use was needed after the Battle of Yavin. Han wasn’t oblivious to the fact that that would occur-frankly, he was only skulking around the ice ball of Hoth to drive the Princess up a wall. And to keep an eye out for the kid. No one else seemed to.
One of the officers that manned one of the entrances clips by with his head in a datapad, but the Corellian grabs him by the arm.
“Commander Skywalker, when did he last report in?”
The officer quickly swipes at the pad before shaking his head.
“He left for patrol this morning, but no word on his arrival.”
“And you don’t find that a little alarming? A lone omega out there possibly stranded in the snow?”
The other man ducks down in embarrassment before stuttering out, “There’s a storm headed this way. We aren’t going to be able to send anyone out on speeders or the Tauntaun’s.”
Han’s anger flashes and he shoves the officer away as he skulks back to grab a few supplies from under the ship. The comm may be useless, but that’s shoved into a pocket anyways and his blaster clipped in, his movements still doused with outrage. Han was familiar with Luke’s story, probably more than the farm boy thought. The smuggler knew that his aunt and uncle were killed horrifically by Empire, that Luke was oblivious to the galaxy and probably had never stepped foot of Tatooine before they met. But, despite that there was someone out there waiting for him. Han had his own sordid history across the planets, knew when love bit you in the ass, and you wanted nothing more than to be with them. Luke was a poorly hidden sabacc card.
It was obvious in their late nights on the Falcon, Luke’s eyes drawn with longing as he gazed out of the viewport, towards some star Han couldn’t see. The melancholy that was cloaked about him in the way that a laugh never fully reached it’s height or a smile never filled in. The urgency that ran through Luke to destroy the Empire at whatever cost. No one just did that because they wanted to return to a lonely life; Luke had someone. A person, or many, that would miss the farm boy if tragedy were to strike and he never made it home. Han doesn’t have the icy heart most claim he has, at least when it comes to the young man.
Maybe he sees a bit of himself in the kid, or possibly, he wants to aid in protecting whatever Luke has. Either way, Han’s not going to just leave him out in a snow storm. Every entrance is visited, with the same being reported and Han takes off on a Tauntaun. Of course he couldn’t take a speeder. He rides off into the endless ocean of snow and really doesn’t know where he’s headed. Maybe the Force really does exist, as Han searches the snowy planes with his binoccs, only to find nothing. The storm presses forward in front of him and it seems his destination is actually in it. He ignores this, cinches his coat, and pushes forward for hours or minutes, Han does not know. The snow beats against his face, the animal completely covered in a layer of ice from head to toe. Either Han was going to find Luke soon, or they were both going to be kriff out of luck. Out of desperation, he pulls out the binoccs once more and searches far ahead, a huff of relief coming out when Han spots a lump not far from them in the snow.
He urges the Tauntaun forward, heart racing as he shouts out the young man’s name, hoping that he will show some signs of life. Luke remains still and Han screams his name harder as he approaches.
“Luke! Can you hear me?”
Finally, the young man’s covered head pulls upward from the snow and Han is able to see that his face is smeared in bright red blood. But what alarms the smuggler the most, is the smile that Luke wears. His lips move and Han leaps off the animal to rush forward and grab the young man.
“Luke, are you alright?” The man pulls Luke back in his arms and sees the smile completely disappear off of the young man’s face, a crestfallen expression taking over.
“Oh…you aren’t Din.”
Han doesn’t have to fully understand the sentence to realize that might be the most heartbreaking things he’s heard. The young man’s tone is full of despair and his eyes close as he seems to accept his answer. And the smuggler can’t have any of that.
“Hey kid, listen, I’m not whoever that is, but I’m going to get you back to them. You hear me?” He shakes the young man, who jerks his eyes open and gives a weak nod. Luke’s head falls back as he falls unconscious. The Tauntaun is sacrificed and Han spends probably the worst night of his life trying not to turn into a human icicle. At least he doesn’t have it as bad as Luke. They’re rescued in the morning, the farm boy taken off to the med bay while Han attempts to drape himself over a heater.
Luke + Leia
Threepio reaches her six hours after the pair arrive back. The base was buzzing with the discovery of Han and Luke and their return, Leia allowing herself a brief moment to revel in the feeling of relief that comes with it. She’s stuck in their comms room for a good while as they continue to monitor for enemy activity, missions out into the tundra resuming. As much as she wishes to go and see the young man she’s started to view as a brother, the needs of the Rebellion come first.
“Princess Leia, I wanted to let you know that Master Luke has been placed in a bacta tank due to the condition he arrived in. They expect he should be in there for another few hours.”
Her eyes have been scanning the same document for the past few minutes and with a sigh she places it down on the desk in front of her. She should visit him. If not for his sake, then to give her a few minutes away from the constant noise of the base. She nods to a commander who crosses her path.
“I want to be contacted if there are any updates.”
She doesn’t wait for their response before she ventures out into the icy hallway. Threepio follows behind, complaining the entire way how the frigid temperatures are messing with his joints- Leia doing her best to ignore him. Thankfully, she is not stopped by anyone on the way through the base and she sighs as she enters the sliding doors to the med bay. This area actually runs hotter than the rest of their quarters on Hoth, simply due to the number of machines giving off heat.
A medical droid immediately zips over to her.
“I’m looking for Commander Skywalker.” She asks and the droid turns around to lead her towards one of the rooms. The white of the med bay is blinding.
If it weren’t such a dire situation, Leia would laugh at how ridiculous Luke looks in his underwear floating in the water or how his hair floats. Her eyes rove over his body as she searches for any other injuries, noting they all seem to center around his face. Except for one on his neck. Leia frowns, turning to one of the droids with the ability to communicate.
“What got him there?” She asks confusingly and the lights on the droid begin to flicker as its formulates the answer.
“That is his mating bite. That was noted in his file when he was originally examined when we first set up base on Hoth.”
Her eyes shaped into slits, a thousand possibilities turning in her mind as she went down the list of who could have been responsible for this. Luke was a kid, for stars sake! Sure, they had never discussed age, but it was clear from his mannerisms and physique that he was around her age, probably younger.
Luke had never made mention of a mate and worry began to grow in the young woman as she began to push pieces together.
“Does it say who his mate is in that file? I have the security to see it.” She sticks her hand out as she expects the data pad to placed quickly in her hand, which it is.
Luke is the same age as her, it confirms, but does not reveal who could have bit him. The area for his mate’s name is left unmarked. Could the mark have not been consensual?
Her eyes flit back to Luke and she notices a necklace hanging around his neck. Leia steps forward until she is almost pressing against the tank as she tries to discern the markings on the white piece that hangs from a leather cord.
She’s left confused, turning to Threepio as if he would have the answers, but the droid shifts his head sideways as he also takes in the jewelry.
“Do you know what that is, Threepio?”
The gold head swivels over to her before comically returning to Luke.
“Princess Leia, I am so sorry, but Tatooine cultures seem to be an area I do not have expertise on.”
Where was Artoo when you needed him? Leia wanted to interrogate the droid that spent the most time with Luke.
She spins around, zeroing in on a corner of the room where an R2 unit sits in ‘rest mode’. Leia’s boots beat against the floor as she storms over to the white and blue unit and she can already see his rollers began to shake back and forth.
The woman stands in front of him for a moment, crossing her arms over her chest as she glares down at him. She’s going to get her answers.
“Artoo…”
The droid’s red eye slowly fades in, a nervous noise exiting the machine as its dome moves past her to focus on Threepio.
The gold droid does not appreciate this.
“You know something I don’t and you were never going to tell me! Like I’m going to defend you!”
The medical droids begin buzzing with their own anxious noises before filtering out of the room, Threepio not far behind them.
“Threepio!”
The golden droid sighs before shuffling over to also lean over Artoo, “Artoo, what is the necklace that Master Luke has?”
“Better yet, who’s his mate? I haven’t heard anything about this person.”
The blue and white dome spins back and forth between the two as the unit's movements become more erratic.
Finally, Artoo beeped. Threepio translated.
“Secret. Can’t tell.”
He extends his legs out to try and move around them when Leia shoves a boot in his path.
“Says who?” She demanded.
The red light slowly lowers and Artoo gives out a low noise.
“Luke.”
Leia huffs, “Yeah, well, he’s out of commission right now.” Suddenly an idea occurs to her.
The woman lowers her body, placing a calming hand on Artoo’s dome as she leans in.
“Shouldn’t his mate know that he’s been injured?”
Artoo lets out a high trill.
“I don’t even know who it is!”
“But you know something.”
Threepio waves his arms in the air, “Just tell us, why are you so dramatic?”
Leia glares at the poor white and blue droid, “And you aren’t leaving until I get an answer.”
Artoo’s dome once again spun, angling on Leia to Threepio before finally resting on Luke.
He was quiet for a moment before finally beeping out;
“He told me he made the necklace for his husband. But that’s all I know!”
As Leia straightened herself, Threepio screamed behind her.
“Master Luke has a husband?! When did this happen?”
The R2 unit uses the opportunity to roll around them and Leia allows it, turning her brown eyes on to the man in front of her. There’s a sting of hurt. They had known each other for some time now, but he had never divulged anything that could have hinted to this. She obviously wonders who it is. Was it some other farm boy on Tatooine that Luke had left behind in order to save her?
Luke’s peaceful in the tank and Leia takes a few steps back as she prepares to return to the comm center. Once he recovers, she’ll ask him herself she decides. He should be awake soon.
Sleep also pulls at her and Threepio trails behind her as she makes her way to her resting quarters. The woman cannot stop imagining the life that Luke left behind and promises to him that she will ensure that he can return to it.
Luke + Bo Katan
General Organa is woken in the middle of the night by an aide rushing into her quarters. Leia jerks awake instantly, resolve hitting her as she realizes the Empire is attacking.
Except the expression on the man’s face reveals it to be worse, somehow, than the Imperials.
“General…Mandalorians are approaching our base. They have a code to gain entry, but have not entered Hoth’s atmosphere. They seem to be awaiting permission.”
There’s a lot to parse from that sentence (why were they here, who gave them a code, what was the Rebellion’s reaction going to be) and Leia picks apart her response as she stands up to leave with the advisor. She slept in her base clothes anyway.
“Have they given a reason for why they’re here?”
“Yes- Commander Skywalker. They would only say they are on a mission to ensure his safe wellbeing.”
They leave her quarters and her alarm immediately spikes at the sentence. Leia keeps the question to herself but wonders how word even reached them of Luke’s condition-worries that there might be a spy in their midst.
From there, the walk to the comm center is spent picking apart the possibilities of who could be an agent in the base, but she ultimately only ends up more frustrated with no answers. The room is buzzing when they enter and bodies move about the room in a rush with Leia weaving her way until she stands directly behind the main command center.
She turns to the woman operating it and holds her hands out for the comlink.
“Are they still in atmosphere?” She asks as she places them over her ears and when she receives a nod she begins to speak to the first Mandalorian she’s ever spoken to.
“This is General Leia Organa, state your business now.” She seethes because from what little knowledge she has of the Mandalorian people, this is not going to end well.
There’s a pause for a moment before there’s a crackle of static and a woman with as just as pissed off of a tone comes over.
“General Organa, how wonderful to speak with you. This is Bo-Katan Kryze, Hand to the Mand’alor. Where is Skywalker?”
Leia’s brows raise at the bluntness of the woman, but she supposes she can appreciate getting down to the point of whatever this is.
“What I would like to know, Hand to the Mand’alor, is why you are asking over one of our Commanders?”
All eyes in the command center are on her and she doesn’t care that she sounds a little more hostile than she normally would with…whatever the Mandalorians are to the Rebellion, but Luke is a tender spot. And he’s currently knocked out, unable to defend himself.
There’s a pause before the other woman spoke again. Kryze’s voice somehow only grew worse when it was coated in satisfaction.
“Because Skywalker himself requested it. Now, are you going to make me wait?”
Leia’s eyes pop open at that and she tries to run through every single memory she has with Luke because why would he be asking for help from Mandalorians? He was just a kid from Tatooine, for stars sake!
“Entry code?” Leia asks, because she wants one more confirmation Luke had a part in this.
“LS8502.”
Leia gave Han and Luke specific codes so that she would know when they specifically landed. The pair could barely take care of themselves and she always had to keep tabs on them.
Kryze just gave her Luke’s and she can only sigh.
“You’re granted entry. Leave all weapons on your ship when you land. I’ll meet you in the hangar.” Organa cuts the line before she can get a response, barely restraining herself from throwing the headphones onto the panel in front of her. Anger won’t help her right now.
It’s the middle of the night on Hoth so thankfully the base is quiet as they enter the hangar. There are only the minimum required crew members in the bay and she hopes that they can keep this quiet for as long as possible. Leia even begins to believe that it is possible when she hears a howl ring out through one of the passages.
Han ends up poking out not long after, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he plods out with Chewie not far behind. She wants to ask why the pair weren’t on the Falcon but decides against it. One problem at a time.
The bay doors open and a sleek looking ship fills in, kicking up snow as it lands. There is a buzz in the air as they all wait in anticipation for the ramp to descend, the moment finally coming as a woman in blue armor was revealed.
She was confident as she made her way down to the ramp, waiting until stepping on snow before reaching up to remove her helmet with a flourish. Bright red hair was revealed along with piercing blue eyes, Leia quickly stepping forward to greet her. Alpha stood off against Alpha for a moment, until Kryze rolled her eyes.
“Are you going to take me to him or are we going to freeze our shebs off?”
Han finally seems to blink himself awake as he finally stumbles forward to stand next to Leia.
“Who’re you, buckethead?”
Kryze does not seem impressed, pulling her lip up as she takes him in.
“You must be Solo. You have certainly been talked up more than you deserve.” Han, for his part, could only dumbly blink, seeming to ping between being offended as well as confused as to how she knew him.
Kryze’s eyes slide over them, to Chewie menacingly hovering behind Han, to the emptiness of the rest of the hangar.
“Again, Luke Skywalker requested me. He sent me his code for entry. I would like to leave this planet as soon as possible, if that pleases you.”
Leia still doesn’t buy it.
“He’s not in a condition to leave. You would just be seeing him. What does that do for you?” Leia asks.
“Exactly that. I just need to see the state he is in. For assurance. He is a treasure to the Mandalorian people.” Something about her tone insinuated she was not one of those people who shared the sentiment.
The General eyes the Mandalorian’s hips and the fact that the woman directly ignored an order.
“Didn’t hear the no weapons part?”
The other woman immediately bit back, “I am a Mandalorian. Surely, someone as knowledgeable as you knows how ridiculous of a request that was.”
Leia gets feelings from people, sensations, that help her feel them out. It’s always been like that. Kryze doesn’t come off as hostile. Maybe irritated at being there, but not there to cause destruction.
Decided, Leia jerked her head behind them. “Follow me.”
The other woman immediately does so, Han seeming to take a moment to catch up before rushing after them with Chewbacca.
Their boots beat through the snow, but thankfully that is the only noise that accompanies them. Most of the base still seems to be busy elsewhere or asleep.
There are only droids to greet them as they enter the med bay, Leia guiding them a few meters until they reach the door for Luke’s bacta tank. It’s already open as the droids seem to be pulling the young man out after numerous hours of rest. They make it in time to see him blink awake, confusion clear on his face before he’s pulled to the top of the tank.
Leia is so immersed in watching Luke pull himself over the lip of the tank as he removes the breathing tube, that she barely hears the shuffle of feet.
“I will be leaving now.”
Organa spun around to see Kryze’s armor disappear around the med bay door. Honestly, Leia has passed the point of caring, and is sure that the woman hated Hoth so much that she probably would beeline to her ship to immediately leave, that Leia stays with Luke.
Han only rubs his hand over his face as he mumbles to himself and both seem eager to forget what just occurred.
They both help Luke out of the tank, the man immediately falling unconscious again. He’s taken to another room in the med bay, the omega tucked into a bed where he slept deeply. Leia wanted to stay with Luke for as long as she could. Han picks up on her conundrum.
“That was all really weird. I’ll stay here and watch over him while you get back to…General stuff.”
Unconsciously, her eyes dart to the mating bite on Luke’s neck, covered by his tunic now.
She nods to Han and thanks him, but as she makes her way back to the command center, she can’t help but feel that wasn’t the end of it.
Luke + Din
Han ends up spending more time than what’s probably healthy lurking around Luke’s med room. The poor kid looks so helpless against the washed out sheets, his face all battered that Solo can’t help but stand guard. The whole Mandalorian thing also still irks him.
The man had actually been resting outside of the room that housed Luke’s bacta tank when Artoo had abruptly woken from rest mode to peel out of the room. Han and Chewie had barely been able to keep up with him in their sleep deprived state, but they had been there when the droid had made it to the end of the hallway that led to the hangar. The white and blue unit had taken one look out into the hangar bay before giving a sad whir and turning around to return from where he had come.
Han still didn’t understand what, or who, the droid had been looking for but Kryze hadn’t been it.
Solo also didn’t get any of that. The Mandalorian showed up seemingly out of nowhere and then just disappeared as if she hadn’t existed to begin with.
The ex-smuggler knew that Mandalorians didn’t just give up on things so easily. There was a reason she left so abruptly.
So here he waits, bored out of his skull as Chewie went back to the Falcon to work on repairs and Solo messes with his jacket cuff links. Artoo seems to have something on his mind as he whistled a tune while rolling aimlessly around the room. Han peers at him, but long gives up on trying to get anything out of the droid.
He was in the middle rebuttoning it for the fourth time when Artoo suddenly came to a stop, emitting a series of beeps as its dome spun.
“You got something, Artoo?” Han asks and watches in confusion as the unit pops out his scomplink.
“Artoo, what are you-” The droid rears forward to beat the extension against Luke’s sleeping form, the young man jerking awake in a startle. Han runs forward to grab at the droid, maybe even shake him and ask what he thought he was doing, when Artoo begins rocking back and forth.
Luke blinks at Han and then at Artoo as he works to pull together what was occurring. The R2 unit, for his part, was not helping as he continued to beep at Luke.
“Buddy, I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me. Give me a minute” Luke yawns and his hand seems to unconsciously grasp at the necklace around his neck for comfort. This only seemed to excite the droid more, screeching at this point, and Han and Luke can only exchange bewildered expressions.
Artoo has seemed to have had enough and uses another attachment to snatch the blanket off of the young man’s body to roll out of the room with it.
Han can only sigh before walking over to Luke and offering a hand up.
“I think he wants us to follow him. You okay to get outta of bed?”
Luke frowns, wiggling his legs, before taking the hand and shuffling over to the side of the bed to grab at his boots. He uses a little more support than Solo would like for the trek they might be about to make, but Artoo is quickly back at the door demanding their attention.
Han tries to offer Luke his arm for support, but the younger man blushes and refuses. Right, the whole mate thing. Out of all of them, Luke was the paired one. Explained a lot of things, though. Why the kid from Tatooine knew how to fly a ship, how to fire a blaster, and how to defend himself. Kriff, the whole Mandalorian thing was starting to make sense.
The hallway is full of activity as they make their way through the base, the droid reaching the end of a hallway before turning and seemingly beeping at them to hurry.
“I just woke up.” Luke whines as they squeeze through the halls, Artoo directing them on a path to the hangar.
The whole Rebellion seems to have gathered near the bays and Han has to stand on a storage crate to even see what’s going on. There’s a Corellian ship docked and Solo gets in a good enough position in time to see a figure come out in blinding silver armor. Another Mandalorian.
Now, Han Solo can admit he isn’t the sharpest tool in the box. But he hasn’t made it as far as he has for nothing. And he can put two and two together. Especially when he looks back at Luke and the young man’s blue eyes peirce through the crowd as if he can feel who is on the other side.
When the older man hops back down to the other’s side, Artoo already seems to be on board with the plan Han had been plotting and starts screeching once more as the droid pushes at the mass of bodies.
“You heard the droid, move it!” Han barks
The various pilots, crew members, and other Rebellion members quickly part for the commanders and droid, Luke seemingly in a haze as they make their way through. Han’s feeling pretty proud of himself for getting the young man through, liking what his status was affording him as no one questioned why they were forcing their way through. He could get used to this.
“Sorry, coming through!” Han’s confidant Artoo is still leading them and turns back to check on Luke, still walking as he assumed the other was following. Except Luke has suddenly stopped, his eyes blown wide and his mouth open-and Han is crashing into a duracrete wall. He falls on his ass with an ‘oof’, wondering when Artoo suddenly stopped doing his job and rubbing at his chest because kriff that hurt.
Solo looks in front of him and is confused because walls don’t wear boots made of very shiny metal. And have legs covered in the same metal. And, stars, the armor just keeps going until Han is being stared down by a very intimidating T-shaped visor.
The ex-smuggler isn’t your typical omega, doesn’t cow under every alpha that crosses his path. Right now, however, he wants to be anywhere else but there.
“You’re in between me and my mate.” comes out of the vocoder, low and a growl barely touching the timbre.
Han squeaks as he jumps to his feet, scrambling around in his brain for the appropriate reaction, which should be getting out of the man’s way.
Instead, he gives the Mand’alor, leader of Mandalore and the Mandalorians, a pat on a pauldron.
“Glad to meet you, Mand’alor. Been keeping your mate out of trouble, promise.”
This seems to shake Luke out of his stupor as he cries out “Han!” at the same time the Mandalorian sighs.
“Solo, get out of the way.” The armored man leans over him and Han’s omega instincts decide to help him when his brain isn’t- Han finally moves to the side.
The Mandalorian immediately stalks forward as Luke rushes to meet him, the pair stopping right before touching each other. The room silently watches.
The silver helmet traces over Luke’s face as the man must take in the new injuries.
“What happened?”
Luke shrugs with a rueful smile on his face.
“It was just a wampa. No big deal. Got to use my lightsaber.” Luke waggled his eyebrows and the Mandalorian groaned.
“Cyare, you stopped answering your comms. Thankfully, the code you gave us still worked or Kryze wouldn’t have been able to make it through. What would we have done if that hadn’t worked?”
Luke seemed to be aware of all those around them and only shrugged.
“But that didn’t happen…it’s good to see you.”
This seems to break the Mandalorian as he leans forward to press his forehead against Luke’s in some kind of gesture.
Thankfully, the Rebellion members see this and begin to leave. Soon it’s only Leia, Han, and Chewbacca watching over the couple.
Luke finally pulls away to turn to his friends, a bright smile over his face.
“Well, everyone. This is my mate, the Mand’alor.”
The armored man shakes his head and steps forward, slightly bowing to them.
“They can have my name. They are your trusted friends. You may call me Din Djarin.”
Han whistles, because he isn’t an expert on cultures like Leia likes to brag about, but even he gets that means something. Leia herself finally gives a smile to the Mandalorian and Chewbacca even lets out a growl, ‘It’s good that Luke has a tough mate. He gets in too much trouble.”
The ex-smuggler’s eyes widen when Djarin lets out a chuckle as he turns his visor to the Wookie.
“I try to keep him out of it, but trouble always finds him.”
Leia and Han turn to Luke as they expect some kind of rebuff from him, but they quickly realize that will not be happening. The young man has a lovestruck look on his face, working to take in every detail he can of the man before him. Luke leans in to whisper something to the Mandalorian and Din lets out a laugh.
“She’s perfectly fine. Just like you, though, always getting into things she shouldn’t be. The Armorer is watching her.”
Luke, who radiated the energy of a sun before, somehow brightens even more at whoever they are speaking of, his eyes sparkling as he nodded.
“We’re working on it, Din. Once the Empire’s defeated, I can return home.” The blond sounds so full of conviction that it squeezes at Solo’s heart and he has to believe the same thing too. Han wants just the same for Luke; for him to return to his family.
Leia, ever the opportunist, takes this as her cue to step forward and level a steely look at the Mand’alor.
“That would be easier to accomplish if we had the aid of Mandalore. If Luke’s your mate, why haven’t you offered it?”
While helmets didn’t have facial features, Han could tell that Din returned the glare.
“Where do you think some of your supplies have been from? Weapons, medical equipment, ships? Mandalore is still dealing with the Empire’s influence. We are trying to pull ourselves out from under them. I can’t send you what you need under the official Mand’alor title.”
Luke nodded from beside Din, “He’s been routing them through neutral planets with my help. It’s all we can do. We have to think of our people.”
Han caught that one.
“Wait, so do you have a title, Luke? Gonna beat Princess?”
Luke laughed, though a blush crept over his face.
“Yeah, but it’s just the Rid’alor. Nothing fancy, really the best translation would be leader-husband.”
It was good to see Luke joyous again, the melancholy leaving him as he was reunited with a loved one. Han knew that the younger man valued them as friends, but the omega understood that Din gave him a comfort they couldn’t. Luke seemed to melt in the other man’s hold. His troubles leaving him temporarily and looking sunny even with the marks across his face.
It can’t last long, however. They’re in the middle of a war. Din reluctantly pulls Luke away from him as the other pouts.
“I can not remain for long. You know this.”
The blond sighs as acceptance washes over him.
“Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum.” Han shouldn’t be surprised, but he didn’t expect Mando’a to come out of the kid’s mouth.
Din presses their foreheads together again and repeats the words. A few tears escape down Luke’s cheeks and he leans in to whisper something else to the Mandalorian.
The Mand’alor nods.
“I will tell her the same. She will be happy to hear from you.” Din stands back and digs into a pouch on his belt before handing what looks like a datachip to Luke, relief crossing over the younger man.
The Mandalorian finally pulls away and takes a few steps away from his mate before turning to nod to Leia, Han, and Chewbacca.
“Ret'urcye mhi. Maybe we’ll meet again.”
Han salutes after the man as Leia purses her lips, Chewbacca complaining that he didn’t get a spar in with the armored man.
They all watch as the man in silver climbs up the ramp, the alpha turning before the ramp fully closes to take one last look at his mate. And then it closes.
The group continues to stand there as the Corellian made ship begins to hover in the air before it flies out of the bay, becoming a speck soon on the horizon.
When Han turns to Luke, the tears continue to flow, but he has a smile.
“Well, now you know why I want to end this war.” Luke said before suddenly looking confused as he turns to the ex-smuggler.
“I thought you were leaving us?” He sounds hurt, but like had already accepted it.
Leia peeks around him and seems just as interested in his answer, even if she would deny it.
Han lets out a sigh, knowing he was kriffed the moment he met the kid in the cantina, when Leia had acted as if leaving meant nothing even as the hurt was evident in her eyes. And now if he pisses Luke off, he has a Mandalorian to contend with. So, obviously he has no other option.
“You heard buckethead. You get into too much trouble. Need to stick around so you don’t do anything too wild. You too, Princess.”
Leia rolls her eyes, but she still smiles. Han lets out an ‘oomph’ when Luke tackles him and even a cry of pain when Chewie tries to join them in on the hug.
Yeah, there’s no way he could leave any of them.