AFrankTalk: if Boba thought that Din was beat up then, he’s going to be very unhappy when he sees him after saving Grogu.  And need a bigger medical kit.

Landing in the Emperial light cruiser, Boba scowled darkly to himself as he got up and made his way through Slave 1.

Karking Luke Skywalker.

Of course the only Jedi in the known galaxy had come to the cruiser and of course Boba had to get a glimpse of the whelps face. ‘At least it wasn’t karking Han Solo. Not sure I would have held back if it was that karking asshole.’ He thought grumpily at himself as he lowered the ramp, eyeing the remains of the dark troopers laying around.

Bore all the signs of a Jedi having gone ham and Boba had to force himself not to shiver at the sight even as he hoped that the sight of Slave 1 had sent a stab of ghostly fear through the blond.

The Jedi might have been wiped out when he was still young, but he could still remember them and their powers. Even now, he couldn’t help but wonder how the other clones managed to win over them, how the Empire managed to wipe out most of them in just the first few days with the power they had at their disposal.

The thought disappeared however as the elevator opened, Fennec stepping out with a hand on Djarin’s shoulder with the Marshal following behind, the moff on her shoulder and Djarin’s helmet in one hand.

If Fennec hadn’t already commed him and informed him of the child being with Skywalker, he would have been alarmed but as it was…

Boba was already alarmed at the sight of a bared face if down tilted face, Djarin’s hazy eyes still visible as he stumbled along at Fennec’s guidance. “What…” He bit in his questions, simply took Djarin from Fennec and directed Dune to the carbonite chambers as he pulled the other bounty hunter with him.

It was clear he was karked up and Boba knows his ship and equipment better than Fennec, so she would get them out of the light cruiser and away from the damn princess and her Nite owls.

Guiding Djarin to the medbay of Slave 1, Boba furiously kept himself from looking too closely at Djarin’s face.

Not until he had permission.

Djarin and his group of Watch Children were practically religious about the helmets, so why the fuck was the other exposed?

What the hell had happened on the cruiser?

Boba wasn’t even sure he wanted to know as he carefully guided the other onto the medbed, feeling the vibrations of the ship taking of off, Fennec short words over the intercom telling them she was getting them out as Boba pulled a medkit onto the bed beside the man and popped it open for use.

“Djarin, can I look at your face?” Boba growled quietly, squeezing Djarin’s thighs when there wasn’t an answer. “Djarin, you’re clearly hurt but you aren’t wearing your helmet, I swe-”

“Doesn’t matter,” Djarin’s voice was low, raspy and Boba felt his heart break at how lost it sounded. “You can look… the others… saw. I… you can look.” He repeated, voice trailing of.

‘The kark, the kark, the kark…’ Boba swallowed, closed his eyes and then looked up, meeting the hazy brown eyes of the other.

Djarin looked so very lost even as he couldn’t meet Boba’s eyes, either due to the clear concussion he had or because he wasn’t used to it.

So very lost and so very small, his face had blood on it, coating down the side of his neck and into his kute. At the sight Boba felt the air in his lungs freeze even as he was certain there would be more injuries below the beskar andkute. “…What happened?” He whispered, unsure if he meant the look or the injury.

The question had Djarin shoulders hunching, pulling up to his ears. “…I gave Grogu to the Jedi… I… accomplished my task.” Djarinslurred out.

Slowly, carefully Boba reached out to touch his neck, making a questioning noise. The touch had Din’s shoulders slumping though, leaning into it despite the pain it must have brought.

“Fought a dark trooper… it hit my head against the wall. A lot.” Djarinblinked at him before squinting slightly, as if the light was too much.

Three things became very clear to Boba in that moment.

One, Djarin was even more reckless than he had anticipated when he had taken the stormtroopers blasts head on, seeing as he had not informed anyone that he was properly injured and likely not that he had fought one of those karks of robots Boba had seen in the landing bay.

Two, the other was clearly very out of it, having given up his foundling. For all that it had been his tasks for months, it was also clear to Boba that Djarin had more than just cared for a foundling, he had loved the child.

Three, Djarin needed someone to take care of him, because right in this moment, the other was more than just slightly out of it, to the point he wouldn’t even do the basic of caretaking for himself.

This man had carried Boba’s armor out of the desert, had fought a krayt dragon for it, this man had gone to bat for his foundling and when push came to shove, when someone better equipped to train and protect him came along, had done the difficult choice to hand his child over.

So Boba would step in for now, when it was clear Djarin needed someone because this man had been the one to give him his armor back, give his father’s legacy back.

And just maybe, maybe Boba felt a connection to this man and maybe, just maybe he didn’t want to loose it before it had a chance to bloom.

Slowly, carefully, he reached out and slid his fingers through the others matted, sweat and blood slicked hair and drew the others face towards him, settling Djarin’s forehead on Boba’s shoulder.

A low, confused noise escaped Din.

“Shh… I’ll take care of you. I’ll make sure you heal.” Boba murmured quietly, Din’s gloved hands coming up to grasp at Boba’s breastplate, holding on as Boba slowly prodded at the back of the others head, feeling the broken and swelling skin.

It made him hiss with worry.

The amount of Force the dark troopers must have been able to exert for that to happen with a karking beskar helmet to protect the skull… kark, thank fuck Skywalker had dealt with them.

Reaching down, Boba quickly pulled out a tub of bacta. “This is going to sting and you’re going to need a water shower later Djarin, but we need to get bacta on that.” He rumbled out, feeling the other shift against him, his forehead coming into contact with Boba’s scarred neck.

“Din.” A soft, slurred whisper came to his ears and Boba paused in uncapping the tub, wondering if he had heard what he thought he heard.

Soft breathing was all he heard and swallowing Boba let out a small, questioning hum for clarification, holding his breath as he waited for Djarin to speak again.

“My name… Din Djarin. Its… its yours to use.” Din continued at the prompting, his breath washing across the scarred skin.

Swallowing thickly, Boba wondered if the other realized he had given Bobahis full name. Instead of doing him the discourtesy of questioning him, Boba set the tub down and raised his hand, cupping the back of Din’s head with his palm. “Vor entye, Din.” He whispered.

Without covert or foundling, Boba couldn’t help but wonder who was going to look out for this lost, doe eyed looking man with shockingly soft features behind the smooth metal of his helm.

The answer came to him as he stroked the others filthy hair. ‘Me. I’m the one that’s going to look after him. And woe be the one that harms him on my watch. I’ll smear them to the ground.’ Boba pressed his nose to the filthy hair, not yet daring to press a kiss to it yet needing to give him some affection before he continued taking care of the injuries of the lost one in his arms.

Vor entye = Thank you

Old and sweet- Ani decides he never wants his Obi to ever be in the pain that Ben is in…

Getting
back on the Negotiator and the Resolute is a relief for all of them
as they are being recalled to Coruscant, officially because its both
the 212th
and 501st
decompression rotation time at the core planets barracks.

Unofficially
its to bring Ben to the Jedi temple.

But
being on the Negotiator allows for Helix to finally give Ben a full
physical evaluation as he now has access to all his tools.

Obi-Wan
doesn’t even try to stop Anakin from joining him for the evaluation
when the blond asks to join, Rex left in charge of the Resolute with
the blond gaining permission from Ben to stay during the evaluation.

Instead
the redhead just gives him a wry smile and shrugs as he rests a hand
on Anakin’s shoulder. “You might learn some uncomfortable things
Anakin… remember to keep calm, for Ben’s sake.” He murmured
quietly as Helix helped the older man undress.

Nodding,
Anakin leaned against the medbay wall with a grim smile on his lips.

And
yet even Obi-Wan doesn’t quite expect what becomes apparent for as
Helix helps Ben out of the clean tunic that Obi-Wan has borrowed him,
a mass of thick,
shiny red scars become apparent on the old back.

There
is no mistaking those scars, not for a former slave who has watched
others get punished and carries their own similar scars.

Those
are whip marks, Anakin has two thick ones of his own with three paler
ones on his back from the only time he was punished with a whip as a
child.

Five
lashes for breaking a plate when he was still owned by Gardulla.

And
Ben, soft, confused Ben who was already in pain from his body being
aging, had been whipped. And by Obi-Wan’s wide eyes its clear that
he does not carry that many
scars at least.

Trying
to find his voice as Helix guided Ben to sit on a gurney, Anakin
swallowed heavily. “…Ben, what happened to your back?”
Anakin finally questioned softly as Ben sat quiet watching them
curiously, still shirtless with goosebumps breaking out over the aged
skin. “Where did you get those whip scars?” He feared the answers
as much as he needed to know.

Tilting his head with some
bewilderment, Ben smiled endearingly at Anakin. “From Jabba the
hutt,” He answered, as if the question had an obvious answer. “Or
well, his henchmen more like since Jabba does not lower himself to
such physical activities,” He tapped at his chin ponderingly. “I
wonder if he gets carried everywhere…” Ben mused to himself,
seemingly not seeing Anakin’s rapidly reddening face.

Before the man could explode, Obi-Wan
placed his hand on Anakin’s shoulder and squeezed to the point of
pain. “Breath Anakin, keep calm for Ben.” He warned.

Taking a sharp, hiccuping breath and
holding it for a moment as he closed his eyes, Anakin slowly breathed
out before repeating the action five more times with each breath
releasing the building emotions in his chest but not ignoring it.

There was no ignoring those thick mass
of scars now that he had seen them.

But there was also no changing them,
they had happened and now they were permanent.

‘Maybe we can just soften them with
scar reducing cream to make it less painful at least.’ Anakin
thought as he opened his eyes to meet Obi-Wan’s concerned eyes. He
relaxed when Anakin nodded and patted the blond on the shoulder
before he turned back to find Ben having his blood sample taken.
“Didn’t you do that already?” He asked in confusion.

“I did,” Helix nodded. “But the
instruments on the Negotiator is more advanced and I can run a more
throughout checkup.” Helix set the vial aside with a grin to Ben as
he dabbed the syringe site with a bit of bacta.

Ben just smiled brightly in return
before eeping as the medic placed a heart and lung observator tool to
his chest. “Cold!”  

“I told you it was.” Helix
singsonged as he moved the tool slowly, staring at the display for
the readout.

“No you didn’t! You just put it to
my chest.” Ben wiggled his feet, wringing his hands before slowly
relaxing as his own body heat finally warmed up the metal of the
tool.

The amused grin Anakin had gained from
watching Ben’s behavior however started to fade as Anakin’s mind
once more reminded him that this was Obi-Wan
in the future. Obi-Wan old and gray, lonesome and hurting with his
back covered in at least twenty lash marks from a whip with varying
thickness. ‘…I can’t let that happen, I can’t change anything
for Ben but I can change things for Obi-Wan. This will not
become Obi-Wan’s fate.’ Anakin swore mentally.

To his
surprise he noticed the master beside him jerking and glancing about
in confusion and for some odd reason it felt like a change in the
Force had breezed in.

But
that must be Anakin’s imagination…

Right?

Old and sweet- Ani decides he never wants his Obi to ever be in the pain that Ben is in…

Getting
back on the Negotiator and the Resolute is a relief for all of them
as they are being recalled to Coruscant, officially because its both
the 212th
and 501st
decompression rotation time at the core planets barracks.

Unofficially
its to bring Ben to the Jedi temple.

But
being on the Negotiator allows for Helix to finally give Ben a full
physical evaluation as he now has access to all his tools.

Obi-Wan
doesn’t even try to stop Anakin from joining him for the evaluation
when the blond asks to join, Rex left in charge of the Resolute with
the blond gaining permission from Ben to stay during the evaluation.

Instead
the redhead just gives him a wry smile and shrugs as he rests a hand
on Anakin’s shoulder. “You might learn some uncomfortable things
Anakin… remember to keep calm, for Ben’s sake.” He murmured
quietly as Helix helped the older man undress.

Nodding,
Anakin leaned against the medbay wall with a grim smile on his lips.

And
yet even Obi-Wan doesn’t quite expect what becomes apparent for as
Helix helps Ben out of the clean tunic that Obi-Wan has borrowed him,
a mass of thick,
shiny red scars become apparent on the old back.

There
is no mistaking those scars, not for a former slave who has watched
others get punished and carries their own similar scars.

Those
are whip marks, Anakin has two thick ones of his own with three paler
ones on his back from the only time he was punished with a whip as a
child.

Five
lashes for breaking a plate when he was still owned by Gardulla.

And
Ben, soft, confused Ben who was already in pain from his body being
aging, had been whipped. And by Obi-Wan’s wide eyes its clear that
he does not carry that many
scars at least.

Trying
to find his voice as Helix guided Ben to sit on a gurney, Anakin
swallowed heavily. “…Ben, what happened to your back?”
Anakin finally questioned softly as Ben sat quiet watching them
curiously, still shirtless with goosebumps breaking out over the aged
skin. “Where did you get those whip scars?” He feared the answers
as much as he needed to know.

Tilting his head with some
bewilderment, Ben smiled endearingly at Anakin. “From Jabba the
hutt,” He answered, as if the question had an obvious answer. “Or
well, his henchmen more like since Jabba does not lower himself to
such physical activities,” He tapped at his chin ponderingly. “I
wonder if he gets carried everywhere…” Ben mused to himself,
seemingly not seeing Anakin’s rapidly reddening face.

Before the man could explode, Obi-Wan
placed his hand on Anakin’s shoulder and squeezed to the point of
pain. “Breath Anakin, keep calm for Ben.” He warned.

Taking a sharp, hiccuping breath and
holding it for a moment as he closed his eyes, Anakin slowly breathed
out before repeating the action five more times with each breath
releasing the building emotions in his chest but not ignoring it.

There was no ignoring those thick mass
of scars now that he had seen them.

But there was also no changing them,
they had happened and now they were permanent.

‘Maybe we can just soften them with
scar reducing cream to make it less painful at least.’ Anakin
thought as he opened his eyes to meet Obi-Wan’s concerned eyes. He
relaxed when Anakin nodded and patted the blond on the shoulder
before he turned back to find Ben having his blood sample taken.
“Didn’t you do that already?” He asked in confusion.

“I did,” Helix nodded. “But the
instruments on the Negotiator is more advanced and I can run a more
throughout checkup.” Helix set the vial aside with a grin to Ben as
he dabbed the syringe site with a bit of bacta.

Ben just smiled brightly in return
before eeping as the medic placed a heart and lung observator tool to
his chest. “Cold!”  

“I told you it was.” Helix
singsonged as he moved the tool slowly, staring at the display for
the readout.

“No you didn’t! You just put it to
my chest.” Ben wiggled his feet, wringing his hands before slowly
relaxing as his own body heat finally warmed up the metal of the
tool.

The amused grin Anakin had gained from
watching Ben’s behavior however started to fade as Anakin’s mind
once more reminded him that this was Obi-Wan
in the future. Obi-Wan old and gray, lonesome and hurting with his
back covered in at least twenty lash marks from a whip with varying
thickness. ‘…I can’t let that happen, I can’t change anything
for Ben but I can change things for Obi-Wan. This will not
become Obi-Wan’s fate.’ Anakin swore mentally.

To his
surprise he noticed the master beside him jerking and glancing about
in confusion and for some odd reason it felt like a change in the
Force had breezed in.

But
that must be Anakin’s imagination…

Right?

TwoPadawans- Palpatine tries to force the council to send Ani to him.

“More?” Anakin
questioned gently and set aside the cup when Obi-Wan shook his head,
picking up the napkin instead to wipe the others mouth carefully.

Obi-Wan was a mess,
his burned side covered in bandages as apparently there was an acid
chemical added to the bomb in the lantern that ate away at the skin
which mean that he could not go into a bacta tank lest it would
infect the entire tank and cause more skin to melt off.

As it was the
healers had to apply new bandages every five hours along with a bacta
and chemical mix that was slowly but properly healing him and
neutralizing the acid.

It still wasn’t
nice to see Obi-Wan unable to do anything for himself, his left arm
fully bandaged up with stiff bandages to prevent moving and his right
having suffered several fractures from being thrown around. This
attempt on him had almost taken Obi-Wan’s life, Anakin knew it and
once more Anakin was staying in the Halls with his boyfriend.

A boyfriend who
looked more than a bit ashamed as Anakin set the napkin away.

“Hey…” Anakin
picked up the right hand, being gentle with it to prevent aggravating
the healed limb that Obi-Wan was prohibited from moving for the day.
“Don’t look like that, its okay.” He smiled gently at him.

The stewjoni let
out a frustrated breath through his nose. “I keep making you take
care of me.” Obi-Wan slurred out faintly, the mix of bandages on his face and
painkillers he was on making speaking a bit harder.

“I like taking
care of you,” Anakin rubbed his thumb over the back of the others
hand. “That’s why I cook for you so often and find special treats
when I’m away to give to you when I come back, remember?” He
grinned at the other, trying to lighten up the mood.

It gained him what
he wanted as Obi-Wan let out a small snort and pouted at him. “No,
you just like feeding me fatty food cause you like it when I’m a
bit plushy.” He countered.

Unrepentant, Anakin
grinned at the other. “Means you’re healthy in my eyes. Being a
bit plush means you have been able to eat and had access to good
food.” He said warmly. On Tatooine, the sight of someone with a bit
of weight to their frame had always made Anakin jealous as he knew
that meant that they had an easy time with food.

Because even as a
child he had known that sometimes Shmi went to bed still hungry
because she did her best to feed Anakin.

To know that at
least he could at least make sure Obi-Wan was properly feed?

It pleased him.

Even if right now
he was just upset and sad that once more the other was hurt. At least
his mother was safe on Serenno, doing some kind of administration
work apparently though she couldn’t go into detail because of the
contract she had signed.

But it was a good
job at least.

Meant one less
worry and right now it was good not to worry about his mother as
Obi-Wan needed his worry.

There was a little
squeeze at his hand and Obi-Wan let out a deep breath through his
nose, eyes closing before focusing back on Anakin. “Has our masters
told you anything?” He questioned quietly.

Mace had told
Anakin that they didn’t want to upset Obi-Wan even more, that he
needed peace to heal but…

Anakin nodded.
“They have, apparently when the lantern blew up, the gear inside it
didn’t all get destroyed.” He confessed to the other what his
master had told him. Mace had also told Anakin that the Chancellor
had tried to request the council to send Anakin to him to see him
once more but had been rejected it once more since apparently Anakin
was on a ‘mission’ right now.

Caring for Obi-Wan.

Green eyes sparked
at that and Obi-Wan looked hopeful.

Anakin hated
dashing his hope. “They’re still tracing what they found,” He
whispered while rubbing the others knuckles and smiled sadly when
Obi-Wan let out a frustrated whine. “I know, I know… how about I
take your mind off things?” He offered.

“How?” Obi-Wan
sighed, leaning more into his pillows.

He snorted a bit in
happiness however when Anakin pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose.
“Anakin, I can-”

Cutting in with a
laugh of his own, Anakin shook his head. “Don’t be crude, not
that kind of distraction.” He grinned before slipping off the bed
to fetch the pad he had put on the visitor chair in the room,
returning to the bed but this time moving to the headboard to sit
beside Obi-Wan on his good side. “Lean against me.” Anakin
encouraged.

Shifting slowly and
painfully, Obi-Wan finally managed to settle his head on Anakin’s
shoulder and his side against the other padawan’s as the blond
turned on the pad.

“…You’re
going to read for me?” Obi-Wan whispered in shy awe when he saw the
title of a novel he had been interested in for weeks but never had
the time to read.

“I’m going to
read for you.” Anakin confirmed, tucking the blanket up around
Obi-Wan’s bandaged form before settling his head against the others
and clearing his throat to start the first chapter.

Beside him, Obi-Wan
burrowed into Anakin’s side, his right hand resting on the blond’s
thigh as he listened in delight.

TwoPadawans- Palpatine tries to force the council to send Ani to him.

“More?” Anakin
questioned gently and set aside the cup when Obi-Wan shook his head,
picking up the napkin instead to wipe the others mouth carefully.

Obi-Wan was a mess,
his burned side covered in bandages as apparently there was an acid
chemical added to the bomb in the lantern that ate away at the skin
which mean that he could not go into a bacta tank lest it would
infect the entire tank and cause more skin to melt off.

As it was the
healers had to apply new bandages every five hours along with a bacta
and chemical mix that was slowly but properly healing him and
neutralizing the acid.

It still wasn’t
nice to see Obi-Wan unable to do anything for himself, his left arm
fully bandaged up with stiff bandages to prevent moving and his right
having suffered several fractures from being thrown around. This
attempt on him had almost taken Obi-Wan’s life, Anakin knew it and
once more Anakin was staying in the Halls with his boyfriend.

A boyfriend who
looked more than a bit ashamed as Anakin set the napkin away.

“Hey…” Anakin
picked up the right hand, being gentle with it to prevent aggravating
the healed limb that Obi-Wan was prohibited from moving for the day.
“Don’t look like that, its okay.” He smiled gently at him.

The stewjoni let
out a frustrated breath through his nose. “I keep making you take
care of me.” Obi-Wan slurred out faintly, the mix of bandages on his face and
painkillers he was on making speaking a bit harder.

“I like taking
care of you,” Anakin rubbed his thumb over the back of the others
hand. “That’s why I cook for you so often and find special treats
when I’m away to give to you when I come back, remember?” He
grinned at the other, trying to lighten up the mood.

It gained him what
he wanted as Obi-Wan let out a small snort and pouted at him. “No,
you just like feeding me fatty food cause you like it when I’m a
bit plushy.” He countered.

Unrepentant, Anakin
grinned at the other. “Means you’re healthy in my eyes. Being a
bit plush means you have been able to eat and had access to good
food.” He said warmly. On Tatooine, the sight of someone with a bit
of weight to their frame had always made Anakin jealous as he knew
that meant that they had an easy time with food.

Because even as a
child he had known that sometimes Shmi went to bed still hungry
because she did her best to feed Anakin.

To know that at
least he could at least make sure Obi-Wan was properly feed?

It pleased him.

Even if right now
he was just upset and sad that once more the other was hurt. At least
his mother was safe on Serenno, doing some kind of administration
work apparently though she couldn’t go into detail because of the
contract she had signed.

But it was a good
job at least.

Meant one less
worry and right now it was good not to worry about his mother as
Obi-Wan needed his worry.

There was a little
squeeze at his hand and Obi-Wan let out a deep breath through his
nose, eyes closing before focusing back on Anakin. “Has our masters
told you anything?” He questioned quietly.

Mace had told
Anakin that they didn’t want to upset Obi-Wan even more, that he
needed peace to heal but…

Anakin nodded.
“They have, apparently when the lantern blew up, the gear inside it
didn’t all get destroyed.” He confessed to the other what his
master had told him. Mace had also told Anakin that the Chancellor
had tried to request the council to send Anakin to him to see him
once more but had been rejected it once more since apparently Anakin
was on a ‘mission’ right now.

Caring for Obi-Wan.

Green eyes sparked
at that and Obi-Wan looked hopeful.

Anakin hated
dashing his hope. “They’re still tracing what they found,” He
whispered while rubbing the others knuckles and smiled sadly when
Obi-Wan let out a frustrated whine. “I know, I know… how about I
take your mind off things?” He offered.

“How?” Obi-Wan
sighed, leaning more into his pillows.

He snorted a bit in
happiness however when Anakin pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose.
“Anakin, I can-”

Cutting in with a
laugh of his own, Anakin shook his head. “Don’t be crude, not
that kind of distraction.” He grinned before slipping off the bed
to fetch the pad he had put on the visitor chair in the room,
returning to the bed but this time moving to the headboard to sit
beside Obi-Wan on his good side. “Lean against me.” Anakin
encouraged.

Shifting slowly and
painfully, Obi-Wan finally managed to settle his head on Anakin’s
shoulder and his side against the other padawan’s as the blond
turned on the pad.

“…You’re
going to read for me?” Obi-Wan whispered in shy awe when he saw the
title of a novel he had been interested in for weeks but never had
the time to read.

“I’m going to
read for you.” Anakin confirmed, tucking the blanket up around
Obi-Wan’s bandaged form before settling his head against the others
and clearing his throat to start the first chapter.

Beside him, Obi-Wan
burrowed into Anakin’s side, his right hand resting on the blond’s
thigh as he listened in delight.