Chapter Text
“Move your foot a little to the left and lift your weapon a little higher, there see, now it’s so much harder to knock you over.”
To demonstrate your point, you ‘attempted’ to knock Luke out of his defensive position. He giggled as his body rocked back and forth, feet remaining firm on the floor. His wooden stick remained firm in his hands, one of the first lessons he had been taught being the importance of looking after your saber and remaining aware of where the blade was at all times.
Finally, when you grew impatient with Luke’s stubborn surefootedness, you picked him up and gently threw him over your shoulder, grunting under the sudden increase in weight. Luke laughed and pounded small fists against your back, only serving to echo against your armor.
Then a valiant battle cry came from behind you, and Leia was wrapping herself around your legs and attempting to take you down by your knees. You grunted, quickly finding your balance and setting a steadying hand on Luke’s back so he wouldn’t get thrown off by Leia’s attack.
“Good job kids,” Padmé quickly came in to rescue you, outfit and hair painfully ornate for the special occasion - although you struggled to recall a time Padmé had ever looked out of sorts, even with two hyperactive children - “You got ‘em! Now, let’s get you changed before we head out to the festival.”
The twins groaned, but Leia let go of your legs and you dropped Luke from your shoulder, not wanting to become the target of Padmé’s ire. The two rushed towards their mother, hands digging into her skirt as they spoke over each other to tell her about their training that morning. Padmé had little care for the wrinkles it could cause in the fabric and instead ushered the two away.
You pressed your hands against your lower spine, leaning into them to stretch out your back. You were still relatively young for an Otha, but the twins always managed to make you feel old. Luckily, the active lifestyle of being a jetti’manda kept you relatively in shape, which was a boon considering the antics your family still managed to get into.
“I’m growing grey hairs, I swear,” Anakin and Obi-Wan appeared in the doorway, both already dressed and prepared to go. They had been out that morning on the lake together, and you were relieved they had made it back in time to get ready.
“Now you know how we’ve felt,” Obi-Wan replied snarkily, then held out his hand for you. "Are you ready to go?”
You nodded, gladly taking Obi-Wan’s hand and leaving the small side room you’d turned into a morning training space. The entire family enjoyed sharing their knowledge with its youngest members, eager to prevent the twins from making the mistakes that all of you once had. Though, given their young age, the majority of lessons were relatively kid-friendly and tame.
On top of their family lessons, Luke was doing classes with the Temple - though his Order status was a bit murky - and Leia was having a grand time learning from some of the Queen’s Handmaidens. You suspected she was being groomed to run for the position of queen itself when she was old enough. Both were destined for great things, that you had known since before they were born, visions of their potential giving you warnings and hope.
“Where are the kids?”
“Ahsoka, Korkie, and Barriss are already at the festival, they’re excited to be old enough to drink,” Anakin grimaced, his time as a father causing him to think of the potential consequences of three inebriated young adults rather than joining them. Marriage had certainly mellowed him out as well, as Padmé had him on a tight leash, “Snips was the instigator.”
“I wonder who she got that habit from,” Obi-Wan sent Anakin a scathing look.
Holding his hands up as if to proclaim his innocence, Anakin passionately proclaimed, “She’s not my Padawan anymore! Two years of being a Knight is plenty of time to shake off my influence.”
“Hardly,” you shook your head.
“Well she’s your daughter,” Anakin shot back, “Shouldn’t she be learning just as much from her parents as she does her Master?”
“Touché,” Obi-Wan hummed, easily dismissing the issue.
He got us there, darling, Obi-Wan’s amusement flared in the Soul Bond.
I don’t think any of our lineage can be considered a good influence. Even Master Plo gets into trouble
Obi-Wan opened the door to the kitchen to reveal your missing child and current ward, “And here’s Din and Grogu.”
“Patu!” Grogu greeted, holding up the piece of five-blossom bread he was about to shove into his mouth. Din was at his side sitting on the counter, but he jumped down when he caught sight of you and Obi-Wan, picking Grogu up and cradling him in his arms. Grogu completed his original quest of eating the five-blossom bread, humming happily as he chewed.
“Time to go?”
“Yep! The twins are getting changed right now,” you held out your arm and hugged Din around the shoulders when he got close enough, pulling him along with you. He was at an awkward age compared to the rest of your kids - young enough he couldn’t do adult things like Ahsoka, Barriss, and Korkie, but young enough that the twins’ normal antics weren’t particularly appealing outside of affectionate obligation to play along. However, he seemed to find a great friend in Grogu. Their bond was one of the Force’s great mysteries, as it wasn’t Force or trauma-based and had developed quickly and naturally, but the two of them took great care of each other and were less troublesome than your other kids so you let them do as they wished.
Grogu was technically with your family to learn more intricate facets of the Force and about different cultures and languages from you, and general basics from Obi-Wan. Everyone involved knew this arrangement was more so Grogu and Din could be together. The Council and crechemasters didn’t have much issue with it. Grogu was so young that a break from studies would in no way harm his progress, and the Council’s new interpretation of the Code allowed for ‘controlled attachment’ - to keep oneself grounded, but not meant to take away from Jedi duties - so it didn’t discourage the friendship.
“Look at you!” Anakin suddenly cheered, announcing the presence of the twins.
They were in matching outfits - light blue and green just like Anakin and Padmé. The resemblance between child and parents was undeniable when they were dressed so similarly. Your entire family was an amalgamation of broken parts forming a whole unit, and you would never have it another way, but the Skywalker’s natural unity was magnetic. Of course, as they were a part of your unit, it was a compliment to all of you.
You, Obi-Wan, and your own children had forgone Naboo fashion in favor of variations of Mandalorian armor with the sigil of House Pavond and Clan Pavond on it. Your presence on Naboo for the Festival of Light was diplomatic whether you wanted it to be or not, so everyone had to present themselves as befitting of the aliit of the Mand’alor . It was hard to ignore the seemingly infamous Mand’alor and the gaggle of younglings that followed everywhere.
“Alright, let’s go and make sure the oldests aren’t creating a diplomatic incident,” you clapped your hands, leading the charge out of Anakin and Padmé’s home to the awaiting speeders. You, Obi-Wan, Din, and Grogu got into one and the Skywalker family got into the other. You were dropped off a safe distance away from the main celebrations, choosing to walk the rest of the way to avoid traffic.
The markets were bustling; with music, vendors, and food creating a nearly overwhelming combination of senses. You made sure to keep a close eye on Din and Grogu so they couldn’t wander away and get lost.
Before you could think of what you wanted to do first, your comm beeped. Pulling it from your belt, you quickly scanned over the message from Cody and turned to Obi-Wan to relay the report he had given.
“The agricorps are reporting some success in the first section they worked on, vegetation growth is stable but slow going. They have high hopes for the rest of the sections now that they have visible results.”
When things had finally settled with the Republic, you had reached out to the Order with a seemingly impossible request: send in the agricorp to bring Mandalore back to life. They specialized in planet-side life, specifically any kind of flora, and if anyone were to be able to bring some sort of life back to Mandalore it was them. It was a massive undertaking, and there was no guarantee your seemingly insane idea would work, but as soon as the agricorp got settled and began their work, you were positive it had been the correct choice. Some of the damage from the endless wars of old was irreversible, which you had expected, but a lot of it could be rectified if given time and enough effort. This report was amazing news and you’d be sure to say as much when you returned to Mandalore after the festival. You had hopes that one day Mandalorians could live in the lush forested lands that had once dominated the planet, rather than bio-domes.
Putting your comm away, as this was a time for family and celebration, you checked again to make sure Din and Grogu were still in sight. Sure enough, the two were with Anakin, Padmé, and the twins, aweing at a street performance just up ahead. There had been very few attempts to kidnap or kill any of your family members, but there had been enough . It was expected for planetary leaders - your parents said they’d had similar situations, as had Zena and Karime, but it didn’t mean you’d accept such dangers. You’d made an example of every single criminal who dared threaten your family’s safety, and you believed that your children would not be bothered again.
Still, hyper-vigilance would always be a part of you. As a Jedi, a royal, a general, and now a Mandalorian, it had always been paramount that you knew exactly what was happening all around you.
You stepped up behind the rest of your group and watched the rest of the show with them, moving on to find some snacks once the performers cleared out. There were events scattered throughout the day in different areas of the capital to provide entertainment outside of the larger fireworks shows later that night. With some luck, your wandering would allow all of you to run into a couple of them.
“ Gyjo ! Gysk !” And there was a tall Togruta, running full force toward you with little awareness of her inherent strength.
“Ahsoka!” You called out a warning, bringing her sprint to an abrupt stop that nearly had her toppling over. Over her shoulder you could see Korkie and Barriss coming at a much more sedate pace, “It’s barely midday, how much have you had to drink?”
“You don’t have to answer that,” Korkie said quickly, and you sent him a betrayed look.
“All our children are banning together against us,” Obi-Wan muttered, tsking in mock disappointment.
“Fives and Tup are officially our favorites,” you announced, thinking of your adopted Vode who were off with a large group breaking up a slavery operation in the Outer Rim.
There was a tug on your tunic, and you looked down at Din, who had wide eyes, “Why am I not the favorite?”
“Oh, Din’ika, you’ll always be my favorite,” you knelt down and pulled him into a hug.
He just winked at Ahsoka, Obi-Wan snitched in the Familial Bond, picking that instead of the Soul Bond just to instigate things a bit further. Maybe Ahsoka really did learn to be an instigator from the two of you…
I thought you were one of the good ones, Barriss said with narrowed eyes, having popped into the Familial Bond nearly a year ago.
If he was your Master you’d know that wasn’t true , Anakin rolled his eyes.
“No silent speaking at family functions please,” Padmé, ever the observant one, cut into your mental conversation.
A round of ‘sorrys’ was given before your family could move on. You moved back to ask Barriss what they had been doing, knowing that as conniving as she could be, she would still tell you the truth. Such trust and communication had been hard-earned.
“Nabooian wine tasting,” she whispered, “Lots of rounds, lots of wine.”
Right. Well, it certainly wasn’t the worst they could have done. In your younger days, you’d had some particularly rowdy nights out with your fellow Knights and Padawans. The wine tasting was the least of your worries, even if it would cause some particularly terrible headaches for them in the morning.
The rest of the day was spent rather joyously, despite being outnumbered by your children. The events were entertaining enough that no one truly dared to attempt to go off and find trouble, too wrapped up in the joyousness of Naboo. You tried not to think of the Festival of Light that Obi-Wan had saved Chancellor Palpatine’s - Darth Sidious’ - life at. For he was long dead, and you were still alive and meant to continue celebrating day after day.
Padme had used some connections to get a reservation at one of Naboo’s best and most exclusive restaurants, at a table which would give a perfect view of the fireworks show due to begin after the sun set. It was fancier than you were now used to, Mandalorian meals rowdy and community affairs, and Otha dinners always casual when you were with your family despite being royal, but you couldn’t begrudge Padme for her taste when it had always been impeccable.
All of you laughed and ate together, passing dishes around the table like it was a banquet rather than a multi-course formal meal. The staff were gracious when dealing with your group, accommodating your children and insisting that they were happy to see a true celebration of the Festival of Light.
As the night and day met in the sky, your clan watched the sun set over crystalline waters, marveling at the beauty of the galaxy that you had saved . It was humbling, awe-inspiring, and just so beautiful.
You found yourself reaching out for Obi-Wan’s hand as the first firework whistled into the sky, exploding into a flower of flickering lights. His thumb ran over one of the lightning scars marring your skin, the light touch sending warmth through your body.
“We are equals, we fought together, we built a strong life together,” Obi-Wan quoted to you the vows you had taken years ago, promising your love, lives, and souls to each other for the rest of your lives. You grinned, leaning over to press against him, to feel his warmth and the crackle of his Force Signature.
“ Zu vust’lume jaux ik hew ,” you whispered, only for him to hear over the pops of the fireworks and clapping and cheering from your family.
Leaning up, you pulled Obi-Wan into a kiss, imprinting this moment into your mind to forever be kept close to your heart.
“Ew!”
Pulling apart, you and Obi-Wan rolled your eyes at the unified groans of disgust from the rest of your family, scolding them identically, “Watch the fireworks and let us be happy!”