Setting the glass down in front of the other, biting the inside of his cheek so not to laugh at the sight of the silly straw in it while making a note to give the bartender a raise, Boba sat down with his own drink and a deep sigh. “So, you’d say he’s doing better?” He questioned quietly.
His eyes were locked on Paz as the mando reached down and picked up the glass of booze, sticking the straw under his helmet to take a sip. And to buy himself some time to think likely about his answer.
“That is… subjective I’d say.” Paz finally answered, leaning back in the booth.
Seeing as he wanted to have a private conversation with Paz, Boba had opted to find the other and settle into a talk in the usual alcove the big blue warrior had taken as ‘his’ spot in the throne room, everyone recognizing that this was pack talk and therefore staying away.
Or well, most of them.
There were a few nosy ones that had to be sent away with pointed blasters on the table and the two alphas visors locked on them.
Honestly, Boba really liked the spot Paz had claimed as his own. It was near an opening in the building, so any smoke wasn’t caught in the alcove and instead disappeared out, leaving it a tad fresher than some of the other places.
The couch of the alcove was also damn comfortable and Din had provided this particular alcove with lots and lots of pillows when he recognized it as Paz place.
“Subjective…” Boba repeated, taking a big gulp of his whiskey, savoring the burn down his throat. If nothing else, the core idiots knew how to make decent booze.
Paz sighed deeply and set his glass down, the pink straw clicking slightly as it curves bumped into it. He settled his elbows on his thighs and pressed his hands together between knees as he leaned slightly forward. “He’s healing, so physically, he is good. Eating for sure, taking care of himself, sparring. Don’t need us to prompt him to do it and he comes willingly for skinship thankfully but,” Paz paused, mulling over it, maybe how to put it into words. “…But he’s struggling still mentally and I wouldn’t strictly call him happy as much as just existing.” Paz finally settled on with a deep sigh.
Boba paused before nodding slowly.
So, Paz had taken note of the same thing as him then. “…He laughing around you?” He questioned lowly, sighing deeply too when Paz shook his head.
“Some weak smiles but laughing, no. He’s struggling emotionally and mentally I would bet. The loss of a pup has always been particularly bad for a dam and Din…” Paz cut himself of, grunting slightly as he shifted in discomfort.
Boba narrowed his eyes at him, slowly setting his glass down.
“…Look, things are hard for entire coverts and we had to be careful,” Paz murmured. “Din was our only beroya. It meant he was often out for weeks if not months and his buir has been dead for good over ten years, he died with Din on a mission, so Din hadn’t really… it made it difficult for him to…” He struggled but Boba already got it.
“Are you telling me that the foundling, his pup was the first proper pack connection Din had?” Boba rasped, groaning deeply when Paz nodded.
Karking hell, no wonder it had impacted Din so hard. So not only given up his adopted pup but also his first deep and proper pack connection in years. Clearly, Paz had been trying to connect at some point, else Din wouldn’t have reacted to him as he did when he found him but Din’s primary pack connection had been gone at that time.
It put a lot of things into context for Boba, having done the same thing himself but he was an alpha and he hadn’t given up a damn pup at the same time. “…I’m gonna hunt down Skywalker,” He finally grunted out, watching Paz jerk to a bit. “This can’t go on. Din needs more than just we can provide. We’re his pack, we’re bonding but its clear that giving up his pup is doing a havoc on his mental and emotional state.” He growled out quietly.
Some alphas could take that as an offense, the idea of not being able to provide for their omega, the heart of their clans and packs as without one, there wasn’t a true pack.
Some alphas would take up the challenge to just knock the omega up, as if replacing one pup with another somehow soothed it all.
Thankfully, Paz was not like that as all he did was nod. “He needs his pup.” He agreed easily.
Too easily almost.
So, Paz had thought the same too then but didn’t have the resources or know how to find Skywalker then potentially. Well, seeing as Boba wasn’t the pack head, Paz not coming to him about it wasn’t too shocking…
He and Paz were still working out their relationship in the scale of this pack, one being the mate of the omega and the other being the brother so to speak.
“Do you think Din has what it takes to be the heart of the pack?” Boba decided to change the subject, picking up his drink.
“Omegas are always hearts of the pack,” Paz returned with strongly before hesitating. “…He needs to settle in, heal fully. Seeing his pup again, holding him, that might help him flourish. So he can hold onto the position as heart of a pack.” He muttered.
Boba hummed but nodded.
Din wasn’t at his best right now, still strong, but strong walls could fall without proper attending. ‘Guess I better get to work on my information guild, Skywalker is bound to be hiding somewhere with the rest of the Jedi… but Organa is on Coruscant…’ Boba paused, glass at his lips.
Now, there was a chance to get a message that way.
Owlishly blinking at the green thing on the ground as the troopers remained in a startled circle where Obi-Wan had been moments before, Obi-Wan shifted slowly before looking at the others with a chagrined look on his face. “I… apologize. I thought it was a snake.” He stated before slowly climbing down as carefully as he could, the bell around his neck chiming softly.
“You thought it was…” Cody started incredulously before sighing deeply, dropping his face in his head with a tired noise. “Alright, that’s it, we’re done. You need rest General, we all do if you’re starting to behave like this.” He stated sternly, without lifting his face from his hands.
“Cody, we really need to finish-”
Lifting his head from his hands to look up, finding the General still two meter up from jumping up a karking twenty meter tall tree, Cody levered a finger at his General. “Someone, and I will find out who once I’ve had a nap and give them latrine duty, just threw a karking zucchini at your feet and you thought it was a snake and proceeded to jump the full length of a tree to get away from it. We are all going to bed, we are going to sleep for at least four hours and so help me, I will have Helix drug each of us if need be.” He hissed, not unlike how a tired Jedi would.
Obi-Wan paused on the last branch before sighing deeply and dropping down the last meter, grunting as he hit the ground and brushing out his tunic. “I… see your point, but Cody, we do need to finish up.” He ventured cautiously, pointedly not looking at the innocent zucchini on the ground.
Glaring at the Jedi, Cody pinched the bridge of his nose. “…Three hours of sleep.” He stated sternly, staring at the other man over his hand, knowing he wouldn’t be winning the fight but knowing he had to try.
“One. One is enough for a nap.” Obi-Wan shot back at the other.
Struggling not to smirk, Cody shook his head as he finally got what he wanted, Obi-Wan into a negotiation. “We need more rest,” He countered sternly before gesturing to the rest of the camp. “Several of the troopers need more than an hour but they will not rest easy if their General doesn’t too.” He tacked on.
It was a tad in bad taste, using his vode in such a way against the General when he knew how much Obi-Wan cared. Thankfully, the others didn’t seem to blame him and instead quite a few of them made themselves look as pathetic as possible, giving Obi-Wan hopeful, almost doe eyed look of tiredness when he glanced towards them with a hesitant look on his face.
“…Hour and a half?” He tried slowly, frowning.
“Two,” Cody countered. “No less than two sir. We can manage better on two hours.” He argued.
Shifting slightly, glancing around the camp again, Obi-Wan opened his mouth again, clearly ready to argue some more.
“In the sun,” Cody interrupted, seeing Obi-Wan freeze. ‘Gotcha…’ He inwardly crooned even as he tilted his head. “Resting in the sun together?” He offered slyly, knowing that his troopers would get the message and already seeing a few run of to find blanket.
“…Sleeping pile?” Oh, Obi-Wan was clearly tired, to reveal how painfully hopeful his voice was as he stared at Cody with wide eyes.
Cody couldn’t help himself and just smiled softly as he nodded. “Sleeping pile, together.” He agreed quietly, knowing he had won as Obi-Wan stepped closer, letting Cody gently guide him towards a still grassy area with sun, a gaggle of of duty troopers following with blankets and a tired sort of cheer.
()()()
Glaring darkly at the terminal, his fingers stapled under his chin, Sidious felt a headache from the tenseness of his own jaw grinding his teeth together.
Ever since the damn maggots had started uploading the Jedi’s ‘endearing’ feline behavior, the galaxy had been turning on its axis for favor of the Jedi. They found them interesting, cute or even fascinating as the comment section had more than a few scientists that wanted to study the Jedi.
Hell, they were even donations to the Jedi, getting them tea and snacks and gifts sent to the Jedi temple itself, though the Jedi had swiftly made it clear that they wouldn’t accept extravagant gifts, that they wanted the civilians to take care of themselves and not the Jedi.
That had won them more favor.
This was against Sidious plans, he had made the clones the front figures of the war, the face of posters with just a few faces, like Skywalker, being on posters. He needed Skywalker to be known, as he was to be his apprentice.
But this… this had not been in the plan and Sidious wasn’t sure what to do about it.
He couldn’t get the site taken down, no, he had tried that already and it was clear there were backups, the damn clones having it up again in hours on new servers with better protection.
Nothing in the Jedi’s feline behavior would put the Jedi in a bad light either, so he couldn’t use it either.
“Blast it all,” He snarled, eyes flickering yellow. “They’re becoming bothersome.”
Here’s a soft moment I thought of! I’ve always liked the idea that Cody and Obi-Wan spend a lot of time silently working through paperwork with some caf and tea, just enjoying the collective productivity produced in a silent room with only the soft tapping of a finger on the screen interrupting the quiet. I’m not quite sure if this is sunrise or sunset, but either way, the atmosphere of peace at those times of day is striking.
This can be seen as either platonic or romantic because despite what you might think, I do still like the two as just friends!!
Okay, so, Din wasn’t actually quite sure what was going on. Boba had of course tried to explain, as he always did when Din encountered things he didn’t really understand in the grander universe even back on Tatooine and now on Kamino but… Well, Din’s head was already sort of aching with the idea of time travel and the changes in their bodies, not to mention the lack of helmet.
So far, Grogu was the one that had changed the least, if he had even deaged at all.
The idea that they were some thirty years into the past or something like that kind of broke Din’s mind as he relied on Boba.
In their child body.
With Grogu.
Apparently, this was the planet where Boba had been born. Or decanted as he had said, as Boba was a clone and while Din had been aware of that for a while now, it was still strange to see so many with a face almost identical to Boba.
Not to mention meeting Boba’s buir.
Then there was the lack of his Din’s helmet, which had Boba had tried to help him with by giving him clothes with hoods on for now, promising him that he’d get him one of the cadet helmets.
Apparently there were helmets here that should fit Din and he’d be so grateful to have one but he knew better than to push, even though his skin crawled any time someone that wasn’t Grogu or Boba looked too closely at his face.
Then Boba was trying to explain to Jango about how they arrived only to end up crying, considering he hadn’t seen his buir in almost thirty years, that was also understandable, so Din hadn’t scolded or thought any ill of his Boba at that.
Boba more than anyone deserved to cry in the arms of his buir, having actually seen the man be decapitated after the stories he had told Din.
But when he finally started in on the story, Jango closing his eyes with a small groan as the story of ‘time travel’ passed his lips, they had been interrupted.
By a Jedi.
A redhead, sopping wet from the rain of Kamino and Jango had suddenly turned from a caring and soft buir to a cold and calculated bounty hunter, something Din recognized from his own days and Boba had turned as pale as he could, watching everything with reddened, panicked eyes as Din moved out of the way, nervously standing between the Jedi and the doors as Boba and Jango stood in front of the Jedi.
When Boba tried to speak up, the Jedi seemed bemused by it all, looking closely at Boba as if he was a puzzle, giving Din the same penetrating glance and when he looked at Grogu on the couch, watching it all quietly…
Well, the Jedi seemed to stiffen and then he turned glacially polite, excusing himself, Jango making no move to stop him.
Something that sent Boba into a panic, Din could tell by the way his eyes widened and his lips twisted, even without the scars to give them its usual shape.
So, when Boba yelled, Din acted. “Din! Stop him!” Boba yelled as the Jedi made a move towards the door, passing Din.
Now, you could not accuse Din of being stupid but… well, he was only human and he might have panicked a tad too when Boba yelled. Which explains why he’s currently wrapped around the Jedi’s leg, eyes wide, staring up at the redhead before looking at Boba and his buir.
Everyone paused at that, staring at Din sitting on the Jedi’s foot, even the Jedi looked a tad lost as he stared down at Din.
“… I did mean shoot him with the blaster on the table.” Boba stated a tad weakly, rubbing slightly at his red, swollen eyes.
“…I panicked.” Din squeaked, still clinging to the Jedi’s leg and then blinking when there was a coo. All four looked to the noise, finding Grogu wrapped around the Jedi’s other leg, the kid blinking up at them all with wide eyes as his ears wiggled happily.
Alright, that was something Din was used to at least, Grogu moving silently and quickly without notice and he smiled shakily at his adiik, still clinging to the Jedi’s leg in case he tried to move.
Though, really, if the Jedi wanted him of off, he could easily manage it Din figured… least it buy Boba a few seconds?
Scratching at his hair, Boba blinked several times. “…I really, really did mean to stun him but I guess this works too since he stopped.” He stated in bemusement before walking over and carefully helping Din up.
Well, at least the Jedi had stopped, staring at them in utter bemusement now, blinking between the three time travelers.
“…I have the feeling that at least you,” Here the Jedi pointed at Boba. “Know what’s going on, as your buir,” All three mandalorians jumped a bit in surprise at the mando’a coming from the Jedi. “Looks about as lost as I feel.” He raised one, perfectly manicured brow at them.
“Don’t worry, we’re all confused.” Din whispered, shrinking a bit under the intent look of the Jedi and ducking behind Boba’s back when the other moved in front of him.
Stroking his beard, the man raised both brows as Din peeked up over Boba’s shoulder. Likely, Boba was glaring at the Jedi and Din pressed his cheek to Boba’s shoulder, feeling warm at the protectiveness of the other. Boba was always kind and good to him, even when Din himself didn’t know what to do.
“Yes, I can see that… well then, how about I hear you out… if you can explain to me why a Jedi youngling is on the planet, in your care.” The Jedi finished a tad more sternly. Din reached down and picked up Grogu, nervously cuddling his adiik to his child.
“If you’re willing to listen, sure Kenobi.” Boba shot back with a little growl, clearly upset with him for staring at Din.
“You’re making deals I’m not sure you can hold there Bob’ika.” Jango, his buir sighed loudly and Din glanced nervously at the man, finding him shaking his head.
Then Jango chuckled a tad as Boba guiltily looked back at him. “I know buir but… this is important… please?” Boba whispered, biting at his lips. He looked nervous and Din eased Grogu into one arm so he could reach out and hold Boba’s hand, squeezing the tiny hand in his.
All of this was strange and new and Din wasn’t quite sure where he fit in but… as long as he had Boba and Grogu… he could figure it out.
Even if the way the Jedi were looking at all three like they were a puzzle was a bit disconcerting
SWpromptsandask 