Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was a universe where Obi-Wan Kenobi was a general twice. Where he took multiple lives and saved even more. In this one, he only killed two times. Once to survive. Once to protect.

In both of the universes, however, he was exceptional at holding himself together, when the only thing he wanted to do was to fall apart.

And so he answered questions.

Of the guards.

Of the medical personnel in the health centre to which Jango was taken.

Of Boba, before the boy tired himself out by crying and fell asleep on Obi-Wan’s chest, worried about his buir. It was the first time Boba called Jango that, and it should have been a happy occasion but instead…

(It all happened so fast. The fight. The vibroblade jagged into the attacker’s neck, when they were fumbling in their pocket, presumably looking for the hypo to incapacitate him - and thank the Force they wanted him alive. Grabbing Boba and running, leaving Jango bleeding out and hurt behind because there was nothing he could do to help and like hell, he was going to let them hurt their son. So he ran. Run until they got to the guards building and the local police force have arrived and…)

It was all Obi-Wan’s fault. He wanted to stay a day longer to fulfil the promise to Boba, even if Yvor warned him. But naively, so naively, he thought that one day wouldn’t change anything and Bail Organa offered to take them and it’s not like he could refuse the Royal Couple and he didn’t really want to. They were nice to him and he liked them. They were far removed from Stewjonian nobility. And he asked Jango to come with them. He insisted on staying. If he didn’t…

Well, Ben and Boba probably would have been dead but Jango would have been fine. Nothing would have ever happened to him.

And Obi-Wan left him. He run. It was a split-second decision. He needed to get his son out of danger. He wouldn’t be able to get both of them out. There was another attacker and the droid and…

Jango was in a bacta tank. Jaster was coming as he was only a system over and already on his way because apparently, the bounty on Obi-Wan’s head was… enormous. He hated being a problem and it seemed like it was all he was. All the time. People were right to keep away from him. Look what happened when they didn’t.

He was not entirely sure how long they were sitting in the waiting area of the hospital. The droids and human personnel passed by. The sky first turned grey, and then pink and blueish with the sunrise.

Dead eyes of the nameless assassin were staring listlessly at him. He didn’t really think. He just did. Again.

He was not entirely sure how much time had passed, but suddenly someone was delicately shaking his arm.

“Obi’ka,” a warm, raspy voice said.

Kenobi slowly lifted his head, looking at the man in a familiar orange-black armour.

“Jaster?” the older man looked tired and worried and Obi-Wan wasn’t entirely sure whether so much time had passed or the man just flew like crazy to get here that fast.

He felt his stomach tighten unpleasantly with a new surge of guilt. Jaster just got his son back, after over a decade thinking that the man was dead and Kenobi almost took that son from the man.

He curled up in himself, too tired to maintain the facade.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered quietly, his eyes focusing on Boba’s dark hair. He was not quite ready to look at Jaster.

“What?” the man sounded surprised like he couldn’t quite comprehend what Obi-Wan was apologising for.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, even quieter. His throat was constricting painfully and it was hard to form a coherent thought.

“What are you sorry for?”

How could Jaster even ask? Kenobi shifted uncomfortably, opening his mouth to say something, say ANYTHING, but before he managed to, Boba stirred and blinked sleepily, his bright presence stirring back into consciousness.

“Ba’buir?” he asked sleepily, turning his head just enough to be able to have a look at the man, his slightly cold nose pocking at Kenobi’s skin which was poking out from one of the shirts Jango had lent to him.

“Yes, your Ba’buir is here, sunshine,” the redhead had managed to say, pushing the wave of anxiety into the Force and making sure his shields were back up.

“Buir is hurt,” Boba mumbled, somewhere into Obi-Wan’s neck. He was very sleepy and probably was going to be a nightmare throughout the day, considering he didn’t get his nine hours of sleep in, but Kenobi decided to deal with it on a need-to-basis.

“I know, ad’ika,” Jaster said softly.

“He’s going to be okay though? Tell him, Dad. Buir is going to be okay, right?

“I…”

Ben didn’t know. The doctors said that Jango had been very lucky and he was probably going to get out of it. The worst was behind him. But…

Jango probably didn’t even hear Boba call him “Buir”. He was very close to never hearing it. And it was…

“Hey, ad,” Jaster’s hand landed on his shoulder and before Kenobi realised what was going both he and Boba were wrapped in a bear hug, Jaster sitting on the chair next to Ben. “None of that.”

“I asked him to come with us,” Obi-Wan finally managed to form a coherent thought.

“And he chose to do so,” Mereel said, his eyes soft but grim. “He will be fine. He’s strong. When will he be coming out of the bacta tank?” Obi-Wan was really glad Jaster was here. Jaster was nowy. Stable. He realised that he started to trust the man. It was strange and unfamiliar but pleasant. It was nice to have someone comming you, just to ask about your day or to talk to you about the newest book they read. It was nice knowing someone would show up just because you needed them.

And he finally, finally was slowly accepting that maybe the man cared about Ben and Boba both. Although he shouldn’t.

“I left him. I took Boba and I ran. He was hurt and I…”

“You removed yourself from a situation where you were a target and protected your child. He won’t blame you. He would blame you more if you stayed and put all three of you in danger.”

Somehow, Kenobi couldn’t believe that. He would probably never forgive himself.

“They say that he should come out sometime in the morning,” he muttered, somewhere into Jaster’s arm. If he were a better man, he would move away. But he wasn’t. No, instead, selfishly he relaxed, just slightly. He let go, just because someone was here and you didn’t have to do it all alone anymore.

“Then we will wait and hope for the best. You should go and sleep. You look rough,” Obi-Wan was aware he must have, but he also…

“I can’t,” he shook his head.

“Let’s wait up together then,” Jaster said softly, settling into the seat.

“Are you all right?” Jango Fett asked the first thing when he woke up and doctors and the med droid cleared him to speak.

In one moment, Kenobi was hovering over the man’s bed, worried and guilty, and the next was ANGRY.

Are you all right?

It’s not like Obi-Wan spent the whole fucking night in the bacta tank. It was not Obi-Wan who got hurt, who got shot, who… Almost kriffing died!

“You are asking ME if I’m alright?!” he finally managed to shriek over temporary speechlessness in the face of such an idiocy. “I haven’t spent the last twelve hours in the bacta tank! What were you even thinking? Why would you fight them all alone? I…”

“Ben…” Fett’s hand landed on Ben’s, which managed to pause Kenobi for like… a second.

“You almost died! You almost died because of me! I was so worried and Boba was in danger and you were unconscious and I LEFT YOU! I TOOK HIM AND I RUN AND YOU ARE ASKING ME…” he burst out in tears then. He was holding them in for such a long time and now it was like the dam was broken and he started to sob, and Jango just made it worse.

Because instead of getting angry or being revolted by Kenobi’s cowardice, the idiot smiled and his hold on Obi-Wan’s hand tightened and…

“You were worried about me?”

That was what the brainless twat was focusing on? Fett looked entirely too pleased with himself at that as well, a small, content smile tugging at his lips.

The redhead took a deep, deep breath.

“Why do you sound surprised?” he sniffled. “Of course I was worried about you, I…” He loved Jango. Plain and simple. He was just scared to admit it out loud, even if he admitted it to himself, usually. Because this time…. Jango was so close to dying. What if he did and Obi-Wan would have never got to say it? “I love you,” he whispered.

As far as love confessions go, it wasn't a great one. You could barely even hear it, and it pushed past his lips delicately with a soft, defeated air, but it didn’t seem to matter, because Jango froze for a second and then…

“Ner karta”, the man whispered and Kenobi wasn’t quite sure what it meant, but Jango’s hand found its way to rest on Obi-Wan’s cheek and he was making a move to get up like the idiot he was. Kenobi leaned in instead and he kissed the older man, soft, barely a brush of his lips against Fett’s, but something in him was thrilled at the proximity. “Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum,”, Jango whispered and Obi-Wan knew Mando’a well enough to understand. I love you.

Obi-Wan flushed (despite his own confession) and something warm and pleasant spread through his chest, mixing unpleasantly with a feeling of guilt. Unfortunately, that meant that his anger somewhat evaporated and it was really hard to bring it back. How could Jango say that? After Obi-Wan just told him that he left him to bleed out on the landing pad?

“But I…”

“You made a decision. You got me help. You got Bob’ika to safety. You are not a warrior, Ben’ika and no one expects you to be one. I don’t expect you to be one. You have enough mandokarla to be one if you wish to, but you DON’T HAVE to. I taught you to fight so you could protect yourself. We will need a refresher considering the changes to the situation, but I don’t want you to put yourself in danger.”

What was he to say? That he was supposed to be one? In another life? That he was supposed to be better? To protect instead to be protected? He never wanted to be a burden.

“Let me get Jaster and Boba,” he whispered, straightening himself up and tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear. His voice sounded stranded, even to his own ears, but he couldn’t talk about it anymore. Even if they didn’t blame him, he couldn’t just forgive himself.

“What is my buir doing here?”

“I commed him. He was worried about you,” Obi-Wan said quietly. He didn’t want to get in between Jango and his father (although he had a feeling that somehow he already was standing in between him - he was pretty sure Jaster didn’t comm them before coming because he was worried what Jango would do hearing about the bounty). “Apparently someone is intent enough on getting rid of me that they set a planet-high bounty on my head,” Kenobi himself may be worried as well. But Jango turned down one of the highest paying jobs Obi-Wan heard about just to bring them to this blasted planet and spent weeks taking care of Boba when Kenobi was trying to play a Prince.

He trusted… He wanted to trust that no backstabbing would be involved.

“You still mean trouble wherever you go, don’t you?” Jango sighed heavily.

“Do you mind?” Kenobi cocked an eyebrow at him from where he was by the door, teasing just slightly, just to distract himself.

“Not really. It makes life interesting, at least,” the bounty hunter smiled at him, his whole, normally morose face lighting up. Obi-Wan shouldn’t be feeling all strangely warm inside, he should feel guilty.

Soon enough, Jaster and Boba entered the room.

“Buir?” Boba ran up to the bed and only Obi-Wan’s hand on his shoulder stopped him from jumping on the bed (even though he got a lecture on what was acceptable behaviour in front of the door before they went in).

“Oh. So it was not… You really called me that, Bob’ika?” Jango asked, something strangely unsure for the man in voice.

“Is that alright?” big, brown eyes blinked up at the man. Obi-Wan moved his hand down to the boy’s back, rubbing it soothingly. It meant a lot. For both of them. It was the acceptance of Jango’s role as a parent in Boba’s life.

It meant a lot for Obi-Wan too. He was happy knowing they were getting along. That they were getting closer. He was happy that Boba recognised Jango as his other parent. It warmed something in him, settled something. Jango started to feel more than a co-parent some time ago and more like a… A part of the family.

Things changed, that was sure. Obi-Wan was enjoying having someone there. Having someone he depended on. He wasn’t used to it but during their stay on Alderaan, Jango was the one mostly taking care of Boba. The man was trying. The man was there.

If he was absolutely honest… He didn’t want to go back to doing everything alone. He wanted Jango to stay. With them. He wasn’t sure how that could work but….

“Of course it is,” Jango’s voice sounded strangely stranded, heavy with emotion, his hand landing on the boy’s hair and ruffling it.

“Jango…” Jaster nodded quickly, taking a space by the window.

“Buir,” Jango nodded back.

For a long, long moment they were just staring at each other, without a word.

“We will give you a moment, then,” Kenobi cleared his throat a bit awkwardly, ushering Boba outside.

“Why are Buir and Ba’buir so strange, Dad?” Boba asked when they were back in the corridor.

“I… You will have to ask them, sunshine. I think their relationship is complicated, but they do love each other very much,” he said. He didn’t really understand. Jaster was a kind, patient man but with Jango he was mostly… Sad. There was still love there, but it was shadowed with… something. Kenobi wasn’t really sure what, but it wasn’t really… good.

“It seems to be like that often with adults,” Boba said, sagely. “ I wish that adults could just talk to people they loved and not be all strange,” he mumbled bitterly, probably thinking about Obi-Wan and Jango as well.

“Me too, my dear,” Obi-Wan said quietly. “Me too.”

“This is a bad idea,” Jango said, crossing his arms on his chest. They were all gathered in front of the holomap on Slave I, Jaster’s ship temporarily stored in one of the hangars on Alderaan. Royal hangars. Apparently, the Queen and future Prince Consort were still nice, even if Obi-Wan was removing himself from the picture. They had nothing to gain which confused him, but it was nice.

The older man said he would stay with them for a while. For safety reasons.

If Obi-Wan was completely honest with himself, on one hand, he was really pleased with that development. On the other hand, sharing close clothes with both Jango and Jaster at the same time was quite… awkward, especially considering his and Jango’s relationship. He had never been in a situation like that before and it was made even worse by the fact that he met Jaster not knowing who he was, without the whole “meet-the-parents” context.

“I think it’s… risky,” Jaster said evenly.

“But they won’t think we would go there,” Obi-Wan muttered. “They would think we would go anywhere but there.”

To be honest, he was not sure himself. But it felt wrong to just leave. He already went so far. He wasn’t exactly surprised with how things on Alderaan turned out. To be honest, he expected something like that. Falling short. Realising he didn’t fit in there either. That he was never really wanted and he would never be.

He had no hopes for Stewjon. They were not even going to the settled part of the planet - they were going to avoid it as much as possible because that would have definitely been dangerous and reckless.

But his parent gave their life to save him. Their family deserved to know. It might have been twenty-five years too late but in their place, Ben would have wanted to know what happened. There was nothing worse than uncertainty.

He felt like it was his duty to take that information to them.

And then he and Boba would… Then he didn’t know what they would do. He didn’t want to come back to the AgriCorps, that’s for sure, but that was another selfish thing on the long list of selfish things he had done in the past few months and maybe…. Maybe it would have been better if he did.

One thing at the time.

“You can’t know that,” Jango argued.

Obi-Wan would go alone, but they wouldn’t let him. He wanted to leave Boba with the Fetts and borrow a ship but they refused. both of them. Both Jango and Jaster were very protective of him and Boba and maybe it should bother him, but it… didn’t. It was… nice. To feel like someone cared for you. Worried about you to the point that even if they disagreed with him, they would accompany him, to keep him safe. He never had that before.

“It is a great chance for scholarship,” Jaster added placatingly. “Nobody from outside had been to Stewjon for years, since the Revolution. And nobody, ever tried to talk to Ben’s Buir’s family, it…”

“It could be dangerous.” Jango still didn’t seem pleased.

“We will leave then,” Obi-Wan said quietly. It was dangerous, in theory. But they wouldn’t be anywhere near civilisation. If Jango and Jaster could sneak through the blockade of Naboo, they would be able to sneak onto Stewjon unnoticed. And then… Then they would fly North, far beyond any settlements.

“Land in the northern part of the planet. Just here,” Obi-Wan pointed at the scan they’ve done. All the maps of Stewjon were wiped from the official databases so they had to do with the general scan of the planet. And yet… Yet Obi-Wan knew.

“How do you know?” Jango asked.

To be honest, Kenobi didn’t have an answer. It was a feeling, but he didn’t usually get such feelings anymore, not in a long, long time.

As soon as they entered the atmosphere, he felt the Force clearer, stronger than he had in years, if ever. It was… intoxicating. It was flowing, clear and strong and yet, it was weeping. Something was wrong here. Something fundamental was off. Maybe considering how many people have died here in recent years, it was not really surprising, but it still hurt.

“I just know,” he muttered quietly. “We can hide the ship in the caves there and we should be… close,” he pointed at the mountain range. The mountains, with their soft peaks and long slopes, looked nothing like Alderaanian rocky ridges. They were covered with yellowish grass and dark forests and patches of stones and looked almost soft in comparison.

The sky was covered by grey, thick clouds. The mists were rising over the planet’s surface, covering the batches of purple heathers and grass that werepeeking from underneath.

“Is it some Force osik?” Jango looked sceptical.

“I guess,” Obi-Wan shrugged. Maybe a proper Jedi would have been able to tell, to describe it more appropriately, but Obi-Wan didn’t know enough about theory to be able to explain. Unless you wanted to ask him about plants or terraformation. Then, he had the information but he didn’t have the skills.

“The planet is so sad, Dad,” Boba said quietly, from his favoured seat in his ba’buir’s lap.

“I know, sunshine,” Obi-Wan sighed. If he felt it, Boba, who picked up everything so much more intensely, definitely did. They had to work on straightening his shields again.

“It hurts,” the boy mumbled. “It hurts so badly. Bad things happened here.”

“How can a planet hurt?” Mereel asked quietly.

“It just does,” Boba clung to Jaster more tightly. The older man sighed quietly looking at Obi-Wan over the boy’s shoulder.

Obi-Wan didn’t know what to say, so he turned back to the window, looking at the planet. There was something unpleasant sitting in his stomach. It wasn’t a necessarily bad feeling but more of an expectant one and it...

“It’s going to be alright, cyar’ika,” Jango murmured quietly. “One way or another.” Obi-Wan couldn’t help but look at the man, smiling slightly.

There was something warm spreading through his chest. He was not used to any of it. It was scary and new and strange and it was never like that before, on Hondo’s ship, but it was good. It was going to be good. As long as they were together.

Once they hid the ship in the cave, they found themselves in the river valley. The water was sliding briskly in between moss-covered stones, frothing and swirling. Trees with golden leaves were growing by the river bed as well as a number of bushes with small, pink fruits, tall, yellow grass and smaller, shorter trees with white barks. The air was crisp and clear, even with the mist coming down the valley.

There were birds singing in the trees. And small, red animals with fluffy tails would be visible between the tree branches from time to time.

Obi-Wan was walking in the front. Jango was behind him and Boba was travelling on his buir’s shoulders. He had a collection of leaves and nuts of different kinds in his hands courtesy of his ba’buir who was closing their small procession and Ben. He seemed to feel better and better the longer they walked. Apparently, the planet felt “less sad” here.

Obi-Wan had to admit, it was very pretty here. It was a different kind of prettiness than that of Naboo, more wild and untamed but it felt… It felt like freedom.

Obi-Wan followed the same instinct he did when he found the landing place for the ship. It was vague but he knew where he had to go. Where to step to avoid holes in the ground, where to cross one of the smaller streams that were flowing towards the river, where to find the prettiest leaves for Boba… He didn’t understand where the knowledge came from, but he shrugged the uncertainty off. The Force worked in mysterious ways after all.

They walked for maybe two hours when they reached a complicated rocky formation. The river spilt into a lake here, much deeper and colder than the lakes on Alderaan were, with rocks circling the lake from one side, shooting towards the sky in mushroom and spire shapes.

“It’s here,” Obi-Wan said, looking up at the rocky wall in front of him. It was smooth and tall, taller than he was, making up the side of one of the spire shapes.

He was not entirely sure what was supposed to be here, but he knew they reached their target.

“There is nothing here,” Jaster said quietly.

“There has to be,” Obi-Wan said. Right? He just knew it.

The Force wouldn’t lead him there for nothing.

It’s not like he ever learnt how to listen to the will of the Force, though. It’s not like he was ever trained or used it for much beyond shielding since he became Quartermaster. It’s not like it had any reason to guide him.

“And if there isn’t… It’s a lovely picnic spot, isn’t it?” he whispered. He would feel awful leading them on the wild goose chase, just for them to fight nothing, having them waste their time and fuel. They wouldn’t blame him, he hoped, but it would still be deeply unpleasant,

It was selfish coming here. It was dangerous, even so far away from the human settlements where allegedly no one dared to come. He was already so selfish in taking Boba away from school, from their home to drag him to Alderaan, where he spent weeks seeing Boba only in the evenings. Then Jango got hurt because of him. And now? Now he dragged them all to a dangerous planet in chase of something stupid. Unimportant.

He felt terrible.

He should know better. He should have been happy with what he had. It was greedy and selfish to want more. Not when he already had so much. Not when he had Boba and… And Jango. He had Jango too, didn’t he? It wasn’t too forward to think that, wasn’t it? Didn’t he say that? They were going slow, but Jango was still here and he was always… supportive and…

“I’m sorry,” he muttered quietly.

Jaster was the only one standing close enough to hear him, as Jango and Boba were busy throwing stones into the lake.

“Ben’ika... If it will give you any degree of peace, it’s worth it. You have nothing to be sorry about,” the older man said softly, his hand coming to rest on Obi-Wan’s shoulder.

“I already dragged Boba through so much. And Jango got hurt because of me and Boba almost got hurt as well and now…” all because Obi-Wan was looking for a place he belonged to when there was none to be found./p>

“You can’t protect him forever, ad,” Jaster said, looking wistfully at Jango. “You are doing your best. And that’s enough. That’s all you can do.”

Obi-Wan knew that Jaster cared about them and yet every display of affection, every kind word or gesture, still surprised him, even after all that time. And yet, the man would come for them, over and over, when they needed him most. No matter what he was doing.

It was strange. He wasn’t used to people caring. And both Jango and Jaster did. But even if they did… Could Obi-Wan trust them enough to make a life decision based on that? A small voice in his head kept saying that that affection could be taken away any moment and if he went with them and things went badly, he and Boba would have been left stranded…

“You’ve just given your ad an adventure,” Jaster continued. “Look how brightly he smiles. Even if it’s all that comes off it, at least you both saw the land of your ancestors. That counts for something.”

The truth was, that Obi-Wan was tired of being alone. He was scared but tired. And you didn’t get anywhere without taking a risk, most of the time. So maybe, just this once…

“I… If we come with you, to your compound…” he took a deep breath. “I will never be able to be a Mandalorian. I won’t…”

Jaster’s grasp on his shoulder tightened but not enough to be painful.

“You don’t have to be. Kal’s wife and his children aren’t,” he said. Someone else might have reacted with surprise to Obi-Wan’s sudden change of heart, but if Jaster did, he didn’t let it show. “You can be whoever you want to be, Ob’ika. I’m not going to force you to change who you are and your beliefs. You, staying with us, it’s not… Not conditional. There is nothing you need to do, besides agreeing. Don’t get me wrong, if you do agree, I would be extremely happy. Not only would I get an amazing conversation partner on a daily basis, but also increased access to my bu’ad and most likely my ad, as I’m pretty sure Jango will follow wherever you go for as long as you allow him.”

But even if Jaster didn’t mind, the people in his compound might. And that… Obi-Wan was tired of being an outsider. He didn’t want to have to do it all over again. It hurt to be judged constantly. He pretended that it didn’t, that he didn’t care, but he felt that it was one of many reasons why he seemed to be as dysfunctional as he was.

“What about others?”

“It’s the fact that you are family that matters. Nothing else,” the older man said soothingly. “I know that those things are not easy for you. I know that you suffered a lot, ad. And that asking you to trust me is asking for a lot. I understand that. I don’t want to pressure you into anything or make you feel like you don’t have a choice… If I got you a fully equipped ship so that you could leave any time without being stranded without a home, would it make it easier for you? We don’t have much money, but we do have ships that we can repurpose and…”

And Obi-Wan couldn’t stop himself. He hugged the older man, practically slamming into him. It was strange. The other time he hugged Jaster it was instinctual. This time, it was as well, but it was mostly full of relief. Jaster understood. Jaster understood and he wasn’t angry about it or thought it unwarranted.

“There you go, ad. There you go.”

They stayed like that for a while until Boba got bored of the game and demanded lunch. And so, they sat down on the old, overthrown bark. Obi-Wan dealt out sandwiches and drinks.

Overall, Jaster was right. It was nice to be here. To just… Enjoy the time they spent together, even if nothing much was going to come out of it.

Distracted, his senses numbed by the feelings of contentment and happiness coming in waves from Boba, he didn’t notice that they were observed.

It happened when they were getting ready to leave and return to Slave I.

Obi-Wan put his hand on the rock when he was getting up, to help him keep his balance. And then, there was a strange, tingling, feeling in his fingers and it kept spreading, warmth flooding him instantly.

He could feel the rock, or rather the stone door. If he just focused enough, if he…

He didn’t notice he swayed on his feet.

“Ben’ika!” Jango was at his side in an instant, grabbing him by the shoulders, to steady him, Ben’s back supported by the man’s chest.

“I’m…” he wanted to say, but only a quiet whimper escaped him.

And then, the rock slid up, with a loud, unpleasant sound. Obi-Wan was still staring at it, still too out of it to really process what was going on, Jango’s arms still wrapped around him.

Behind the rock wall was a gaping tunnel with wild ivy and wines growing at the entrance. It was leading into a tunnel, its gaping, dark mouth cold looking like they were ready to swallow him whole.

And there, right where the doors were a second ago, there was… a person. They were dressed in a simple, brown tunic and a pair of trousers. Their long, brown hair was braided elaborately. Distinctive, blue tattoos in exactly the same pattern as the one that Obi-Wan had seen on the picture of his Màthair were running up their sleeveless shoulders; gentle, blue swirls were climbing up their naked arms and neck, marking their pale skin.

They didn’t speak. No, Obi-Wan felt someone launch themselves at his mental shields, clamouring at them almost desperately. There was wonder and surprise there and a general feeling of “What are you doing here” and “Who are you”. There was a frown on their face like they couldn’t really understand it and then, suddenly, Boba ran forward, wiggling his way away from Jasper’s grasp and waving at the stranger friendlyly. The stranger, surprisingly, waved back.

“Dad!” Boba was right next to Obi-Wan, tugging at his shirt. “Drust asks who are we and what we are doing here and why are you… crip… crippling yourself and are so… blocked. I think they are talking about your shields,” the boy said happily. He didn’t seem alarmed, but rather excited and friendly which normally would be a good sight but….

Obi-Wan was still concerned.

“Are they talking to you in your mind?” he asked, a bit sharply. It was considered impolite at best and invasive at worst, especially when a child was involved, who was not able to control their shields as well as they should.

“Yes! They say it’s not a place for outsiders and we shouldn’t have been able to come in at all, it’s…” Boba continued, unbothered. The boy was definitely too trusting with strangers. It happened with Jaster. It was happening now.

The Stewjonian should have known better than just slide into a child’s mind

Without thinking Obi-Wan extended his shields, so they protected Boba too. The stranger recoiled as if someone hit them but Obi-Wan didn’t care.

He had to protect his son.

He also had to figure out what was going on here and whether the stranger was an actual danger.

And so, he slightly lowered his own shields, just enough to be able to receive the feelings from the others.

“I would be much obliged if you didn’t speak to my son in such a manner. He is still working on his shields and can’t quite block out an intrusion,” he said out loud while pushing mentally as well. Jedi couldn’t communicate mentally, not really, but they were capable of sharing and sending feelings.

What he got in return was not exactly words. It was like someone uploaded the message into his mind, like he got the meaning without ever getting the particular words that amounted to it.

Block? Why would you do it to yourself, young one? Cutting yourself off from the Màthair Gealach’s blessing like that… How do you even… And your companions…

Obi-Wan recoiled not really sure what was going on.

“Ben?” Jango asked with concern. Jaster walked up to them, he didn’t seem to treat the newcomer with a threat but his movement seemed to make them startle, badly like they didn’t expect him to be able to move.

Them. The Stewjonian nodded at Jaster and Jango. I can’t feel them at all. What are they?

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, regaining his composure. He couldn’t antagonise them. They might be able to lead him where he needed to get to. They had the exact same tattoos as Cináed did in the photos which, for some reason, felt important. Maybe they were from the same clan, or at least knew where to go or.. .

“Take off the helmet, Jango,” he said quietly. They probably never met anyone wearing beskar so they wouldn’t be used to the strange, muffled feel of the metal in the Force.

“Why?” the older man was clearly on edge, his hand resting on the blaster.

“They are worried because they can’t feel you,” Kenobi explained quietly.

“You are talking to them?” Jaster asked, standing behind Obi-Wan’s other shoulder so that he was flanked by two Mandalorians. Jaster sounded curious. If you asked Obi-Wan, the man missed his calling as a mercenary. He should have been a scholar of some kind .

“I… It’s strange,” Ben murmured. “It’s not really talking, it's more of… I just know what they think. What they mean. I don’t know how to explain it. The Jedi don’t communicate like that. they can sense feelings but not… A meaning. This… is different. I have no idea how it's possible.” It was very difficult to put into words.

Carefully, slowly, both Mandalorians took off their helmets.

The stranger looked at them, in surprise.

The younger Voidman is your… Bonded? You are a strange one, little one. They were the one to talk. What are you doing here?

“Jango is my…” Obi-Wan pushed, somewhat clumsily, hoping that they would understand him, while, at the same time, saying the words out loud. It was easier that way. What was the right word though? What did Fett call it? Jango said that they could be whatever Ben wanted them to be. They were going to raise Boba together from now on. But Obi-Wan didn’t want Jango to be just Boba’s father. He wanted the man to be… “…partner,” he settled on. He could feel Jango still in surprise and then a warm spark of pleasure from the man. “This is his father.” He gestured towards Jaster “They are… family.” They were, weren’t they? Or rather, the closest thing to the family he would ever get and they both treated him as such.

“I’m looking for the family of someone called Cináed,” he added.

Cináed?

They took a step closer, looking Obi-Wan up and down, realisation slowly dawning on their face.

The friendliness and curiosity were gone, overtaken by a bitter dawn of suspicion.

You… I know where I’ve seen you before. You are one of THEM. You have the Strange Man’s face. The man who took them.

“I’m not here to bring harm.” He hoped that his actions wouldn’t bring it. They had a tendency to, even if he intended it differently.

“I just want to tell them what happened. I… I knew nothing of what happened to my family for a long, long time. I just wanted to…. If they don’t want to meet with us, that's fine. We will leave then. I don’t mean to cause any trouble.”

He wouldn’t push where he wasn’t wanted. He tried that already. There was no point. He was only, well, himself. Take it or leave it, as they said. He didn’t have expectations here. He lost that flicker of hope on Alderaan, when he realised that to Stewjonians there he would never be anything but a tool, anything but another empty figurehead to put on their pedestal. For Stewjonians on Stewjon, down South, he was nothing but a threat. They were so set on capturing him alive because they wanted a public execution. They might have hated a regime ruling them but they hated the old monarchy more. Not that he could blame them. At least the new leadership was not ready to sell its own people into slavery.

By this point, it was very clear that Obi-Wan’s parents, even if they shared the same planet, came from two very different words and Obi-Wan didn’t belong and wasn’t welcome in any of them.

The stranger, Drust looked at him for a long, long while until they seemingly reached some kind of decision.

Wait here. They turned and disappeared into the tunnel.

For a moment Obi-Wan just stared at the space they vacated. It was almost like he made them up. Like they were a firmament of his imagination.

“Are you okay?” Jaster asked softly.

“I‘m fine. They want us to wait,” he muttered. He felt grateful that Jango’s hands were still wrapped around his waist because he could sag tiredly against the man’s armoured chest. It was not the most dignified position, but it was comforting and, after they stayed on Alderaan, Kenobi couldn’t care less for “dignity” or “being proper”. They made him feel small and uneducated. He never felt as uneducated as he did on Alderaan. It was not a pleasant feeling.

His head hurt. He was not used to actually lowering his mental shields that much. To feeling so much. It was not just Drust, it was everything around them as well. He felt the trees and the animals and something else, something powerful and ancient that was just underneath it all. It was all too much.

But if he felt like that, then…

“Are you okay, sunshine?” he asked. The boy seemed to be not affected, but he wanted to make sure.

“Yes, Dad!” Boba nodded, enthusiastically. “Everything is so open, it’s amazing! I can feel everything!” that was mildly concerning.

“Isn’t it too much? Doesn’t it hurt your head?” he pressed.

“No.” The boy shook his head, confused.

“That’s… That’s good.” It was also surprising, considering Obi-Wan’s reaction. Or maybe not. Boba was open. Boba had his basic training but he didn’t spend years learning the Jedi way of interacting with the Force. The AgriCorps were much more about attuning yourself to Nature and to the Living Force. It was probably helping here. Maybe it was easier to process it all like that but Obi-Wan wouldn’t… couldn’t… His connection to the Living Force was always weak.

“Are you okay, Dad?” Boba asked, concerned and then wrapped his hands around Ben’s waist, so that Kenobi was sandwiched between them, Jango on his back and their son on the front.

Jaster was looking at them, a smile on his face.

“Just tired,” he said, staring down into Boba’s big, brown eyes. His chin was painfully digging into Obi-Wan’s stomach, but he didn’t particularly mind.

He closed his eyes for a second, hoping it would do something for the progressively worsening headache he was starting to develop.

It didn’t.

The moment didn’t last long. Soon enough, Jango’s hand was fighting on his shoulder.

“Ben’ika… They’re back,” the man whispered.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes, blinking slowly.

This time there were two of them. Drust and a smaller, older figure. They were still beautiful (like all Stewjonians seemed to be, or at least all Obi-Wan met so far) with long, grey hair which still had strands of copper in it, freckled, tanned skin and deep, green eyes. Obi-Wan instantly knew. They must have been Cináed’s parent if the holo-picture were to be believed.

Suddenly, he felt very uncomfortable.

They were looking at him with those deep, bottomless eyes, and suddenly he felt very small and scrutinised and once again coming against some invisible measure he would probably never reach, but then… Then he could feel their presence blossoming in his mind and it was sad, so sad and surprised but also… Warm.

They made a step closer to them. Boba and Jango shuffled somewhere behind Obi-Wan, or maybe he moved forward, stepping away from their grasp, because his head was starting to feel funny. It was not just pain. It also felt like it was submerged underwater or…

You are Cináed’s child. The newcomer took another step closer and then they were standing right in front of Obi-Wan and their hand was on his face. Their touch was strangely tender and delicate. Kenobi didn’t know what to do. He wanted to run and he wanted to stay and they looked like they couldn’t believe he was here but they didn’t seem angry or disappointed but…

My name is Galan. They were my child. We knew they were gone as soon as the bonds shattered. We felt when you were born as well, but you were so far… We can still feel things beyond the Wall but much worse than here…. And then you were gone. We hoped you didn’t die as well but the bonds were not solidified, the rituals not completed; so we couldn’t tell for sure…

They were all Force-Sensitive, Obi-Wan realised. They didn’t talk out loud because they didn’t have to. Somehow, they all were able to communicate through the Force. It left a question of what happened to Force Nulls, but it was also… Amazing. Kenobi always knew that there were other Force-User cultures than the Jedi but he never met one.

He felt a mental tug from Boba and looked down towards the boy, Cináed’s parent following his line of sight.

Is that your little one? they were smiling. Or rather projecting a smile.

“Yes.” he nodded. “And that’s Jango, my partner…” It was easier to say this time. “… And Jaster, his father.”

Boba apparently decided it was a good moment to slip from under Obi-Wan’s mental shield and explode in the bright wind whirl of excitement and curiosity.

Are you my other great-grandparent? We met the king one and they were nasty. They gave us no hugs, not like my Ba’buir Jaster does and they thought I talk too much and we couldn’t go sledging and Dad was all sad and I hate…

“Calm down, sunshine,” he muttered, grabbing the boy’s hand. Boba was clearly ready to accost them and that was most likely going to be too much, even if they were still smiling at him. “I’ve found out about my parents recently. I’ve never… I grew up far away from here. I didn’t know anything about myself for a long time. I just wanted to let you know what happened to them.” He nudged his son. “We are not here to do anything else, Boba,” he said.

“But we were looking for more of our family, weren’t we, Dad? So you are not alone anymore!” the boy exclaimed, confused. He would think that, wouldn’t he? That’s how Obi-Wan explained why they were going to Alderaan, but now...

“I’m not alone. I have you and Jango and Jaster. And that’s enough,” he wanted it to be enough. He would make it work. As soon as that unpleasant, choking gap in his heart went away.

“This is Galan. They are Cináed’s parent,” he introduced them to the Mandalorians. “They communicate through the Force so me and Boba will have to translate.” He tried to smile, but it was… not easy.

You feel terribly sad, child. Galan pushed into his mind.

“I’m just… managing Boba’s expectations.” He didn’t want Boba to be disappointed again. He didn’t want Boba to feel as rejected as Obi-Wan did. Ever.

Boba had parents who loved him and wanted him to be happy. He had his ba’buir and friends. Obi-Wan hoped that he was raising Boba with the knowledge that he was wanted and he would always be wanted, unconditionally.

Would you like to come with us? Galan asked softly, something really sad appearing in their eyes. They were probably able to pick up some of Obi-Wan’s messy emotions and of concern that seemed to be rolling off Jango in steady waves.

“They are asking if we want to come with them.” Obi-Wan asked the Mandalorians, who were clearly tense. On edge. Because they were worried about him, he realised. They were concerned because they didn’t want him to get hurt again.

“Do you?” Jaster asked softly.

“I… I think so,” he nodded. It couldn’t hurt, could it? At least not more than he was already hurt. He hated the fact that that kindle of hope that he tried so much to ignore, sparked a bit again. Galen didn’t seem to have expectations of him. At least not yet. They didn’t seem to hate him either which was… good, Kenobi reckoned.

Their presence in the Force was… soothing. Like someone’s who had lied any qualms they might have had to rest, a long time ago. They felt a bit like a Jedi would but more… vibrant. More tied to their place in the world.

Drust had slipped away during their conversation, so the Kenobi-Fett excursion was led by Obi-Wan’s grandparent. Boba was, unsurprisingly, the first one to jump into the tunnel, whereas the adults entered more carefully. The tunnel went up in, what turned out to be, quite steep spirals.

It wasn’t just one tunnel, either. It was the whole network of tunnels with multiple intersections, twists and turns. It was dark with occasional gaps in the rocks letting the light in, dancing on the walls with droplets of water gleaming in the rays of sun and rare plants growing off the ceiling here and there.

“Are you all Force Sensitive?” Obi-Wan asked because it bothered him somewhat. He knew how Stewjonians in the South were, how they despised anyone Force-Sensitive. He wondered if the situation here was reversed here.

I’m not sure what that means.

“Blessed,” he explained. They considered it as a blessing from their God, didn’t they?

“No. Some of us are closer to the Màthair than others. Some were given their Blessing, some weren’t.”

“How do you all communicate then? What if someone isn’t…” were they thrown out or sent away?

The sole thought made his heart tighten unpleasantly.

Galen, who was walking at the front, turned around to him, looking affronted.

“Of course we don’t throw them out, child! What do you think the bonds are for? Don’t you communicate with your Bonded?”

“Not like that,” Obi-Wan shook his head. It would have been impossible to communicate with Jango through the Force, wouldn’t it? Jango wasn’t trained and was as little Force Sensitive as they come.

“But why? It seems like the bond between you is healing… Getting stronger.

“I don’t… I haven’t… How can you tell?” Obi-Wan blinked surprised. He couldn’t even feel it. And he didn’t want to go looking because, to be completely honest, he was scared of what he would find. What if the bond was there? Would it be worse like that if Jango left? Would he be angry that Obi-Wan made it?

You would have been able to tell as well if you didn’t block yourself like that.

“I didn’t even know we were bonded. Those bonds of yours, how do they… They are not at all like the bonds between the Jedi,” no, they felt different. The one he had with Boba was… something else.

You want to learn about us. Galan seemed surprised.

“Why is it surprising?”

Your sire wasn’t very interested in anything that wasn’t…

“I have not grown with my sire’s people,” Kenobi cut them off. “I grew up off-world. In the stars.”

Did you?

“Yes. I’m… I was… A farmer. For the Jedi Order. They are a… a group who use the Mother’s Blessing to protect and help people in the stars.” he didn’t want to be bitter about how his life panned out. He never wanted to be a prince and he felt lucky that he didn’t grow up as one. It was objectively better that he grew up like he did but all those secrets, all those years when he was lied to and not allowed to do what he wanted without being given a proper reason hurt. He understood that they were worried and didn’t want him to be hurt but… If they just told him that he never could be a Knight, why he couldn’t leave and build his life elsewhere, the repeated rejection would have hurt less. It would have been easier to understand and accept it.

Or maybe not. He was still pissed they didn’t let him go to the Academy when he was a teenager. Not being a Jedi Knight was one thing. Not everyone was. Obi-Wan probably cared too much about people he loved to be one, either way. Not being in control of your own life, though, was something else.

“They hurt you,” Galan pushed at him gently.

I always… I always wanted more than was destined for me. I guess I hurt myself by my own expectations. I don’t really know what to do with myself now that I… left. I don’t want to go back, but I also don’t know what I am supposed to do. I don’t want to burden Jango and Jaster, but because of who my sire was I am one. I will probably always be one. If I didn’t go looking in search of my past I feel like… Things would have been easier if I could have just accepted what I was given. For him. For Boba. For everyone involved.

He didn’t know where that burst of honesty came from. It was the first thing he didn’t say out loud because he didn’t want Fett and Mereel to hear. He was still scared deep down. That at some point, it will all just get too much. He told Jaster before. You can’t miss what you never had. And he would miss them if things went wrong. If they realised that he was simply not worth the effort. It was easier to accept affection now. To believe that they cared and that they would stay. But the question changed from “if” to “how long”.

Is it so bad to want things? Galen pushed at him, looking strangely sad.

It hurts less when you don’t. Obi-Wan sighed.

Thankfully, the conversation drew to a natural end before Cinaed’s parent could press him further, as they reached the exit of the tunnel.

Before them a magical landscape spread out. It was a valley, hidden from view and more colourful and alive than anything they witnessed on the planet so far. There was a giant tree growing in the middle. It must have been thousands of years old because its bark was as thick as a house. It grew many, many feet high in the sky, its branches spreading out and covering the sun. The leaves were of a strange, almost blue shade between blue and green and there was pale violet, thick fruit. It took Obi-Wan a moment to realise that there were houses, up in the branches, little hamlets that looked like they were growing with the tree like they were a natural part of it, grown out of its very own insides.

It was beautiful. Perhaps the most beautiful thing Kenobi had ever seen.

And the surroundings were beautiful as well. It was warmer here than it was on the other side of the tunnel and there were numerous plants and flowers still blooming all around in the magical faerie of colours and shapes.

Obi-Wan, Boba and Jaster stared in awe. Jango just looked vaguely unimpressed. He usually looked vaguely unimpressed, if you thought about it unless he was looking at Boba and Obi-Wan. Then, his eyes always softened and he felt nice and warm in the Force and sometimes when it was just the two of them he also…

Well, Obi-Wan could tell that Jango wanted him. He just… He was scared to trust to give himself to someone like that. He was getting there. He wanted to, he did. Jango was beautiful and Obi-Wan felt that spark of that long-forgotten attraction burn anew. It just… It felt like a promise. Not to Jango, but to himself. A last step. And he wanted to, he wanted to just give himself over and actually trust someone like that again, for good, but that dreaded “how long” was holding him back.

Some small, bitter part of him wondered if it would ever stop. If anything ever would be enough to smother that fear.

Our Màthair is beautiful, isn’t it? Galen was smiling at them.

Obi-Wan nodded.

“Are they talking to you again?” Jaster asked softly, his curiosity clearly peaked.

“They are.”

“I find it extremely interesting. Do you think there is a way for us to communicate?”

“They say that I should be able to communicate with Jango through a… a bond but I am not entirely sure how that would be possible. But maybe… Maybe it could extend to you too. I don’t really understand how it works but they all seem to communicate through them whether they are Force Sensitive or not.”

“Fascinating,” Jaster muttered, looking at Galen with a glint in his eye.

Obi-Wan could swear his grandparent blushed.

Oh Force. That was… Well. Considering that Jaster had readily announced that he would be happy to adopt Obi-Wan if he so wanted, maybe it wasn’t that strange. And well. People deserved their happiness.

‘Then why don’t you let yourself have it?’ something whispered in his mind but he ignored it. There were people. And then there was Obi-Wan.

Galen led them towards the Tree, where, hanging off the garlands, there was a platform that took them right up.

The closer they got, the more overwhelmed he felt. There were so many people here. And they were all so open and he felt them all trying to latch into him. It was not menacing, no they were simply curious but… There was the Tree also, the whispers of “home” and “child” and “stars” and “together” of thousands of thousands of voices singing together, all pouring into him, at once.

He swayed.

They stepped off the platform.

People passing by stopped. There were questions coming from all over, ramming against his shields that were becoming weaker and weaker, clearly over-exerted.

Obi-Wan could feel everything. Everything.

And then he made another step, touching the tree for balance and another wave of whispers slammed into him.

One moment he was standing, the next, he went down. Or rather he would have gone down if a pair of strong arms didn’t catch him. They felt like concern and love and something soft, so soft and worried and protective and… and familiar. Obi-Wan latched onto it. In the sea of unfamiliar voices, it was like a balm on his soul.

“Jango,” he breathed, his hand going to rest on the man’s cheek. For some reason, Jango felt pleased.

“I’m here, Ben’ika, I’m here,” he whispered, pressing his forehead against Obi-Wan’s.

He tried to pull up his shields, desperately, but they were crumbling and it was getting worse and worse….

“Dad?” bright little light that glued itself to his side. Boba. Boba….

“It’s too much. So much,” he sobbed into Jango's shoulder. “Is Boba all right?”

“Dad. I’m fine,” the boy mumbled. “Dad’s shields are usually air-tight so this is probably too much for him,” he stated sagely. Force, wasn’t his son smart? So smart. Probably too smart for his age sometimes. Most of the time.

“And it’s not for you, Bob’ika?” Jango asked softly.

“Master Plo says that “the mind of a child is more adaptable”. I like how loud it is. I can feel everyone and everything and they are so nice! And the Tree talks so much! Well, there are some grumpy and suspicious ones as well but they are mostly curious. They don’t meet many people like us,” he prattled happily.

And then…

“Galan says that we can take Dad to their home so he can rest!”

“Jango,” Obi-Wan wanted to say something. He was not sure what and all the things he was getting were making him confused and disorientated and small, so small…

“Shhhh, cyar’ika”, Jango muttered, radiating quiet reassurances. They were safe. Jango was here. Jango was going to take care of both of them.

Obi-Wan let himself drift away, into the blissful calmness of oblivion.

He woke up slowly. He instantly, subconsciously knew that he was not home or not even on Jango’s ship that was starting to suspiciously feel like one (because what else do you call the place where you keep your tea collection and all of Boba’s toys?). The material under his back was… strange. It was not delicate and felt a bit coarse, but the blanket was very warm and thick.

Someone was holding his hand and he could feel himself clinging to it stubbornly, like a child would. He didn’t want to let go. He wanted them to stay so much.

(But he never once in his life got something he wanted, did he?)

“What’s going on?” he mumbled, refusing to open his eyes, his fingers tightening on the hand even more. Knowing his luck, Boba was going to catapult himself at him any moment, so he had to take any chances given to sleep in (or he would suffer trying).

“Boba and Galan said that it got a bit too much for you. I think Galan is trying to blanket you the way you blanketed Boba to reduce the input strength until you get used to it or can do so yourself again, but they say that they have never done it before so they are not sure whether it’s actually working,” the voice, which Kenobi instantly recognised as Jango’s said.

When Obi-Wan thought of it, the noise was not too bad.

“It is working,” he muttered.

He could feel Jango’s free hand move to caress his face and he leaned in, sighing happily. It felt nice.

Finally, he blinked looking at the man and their surroundings. They were in a small house. The walls and furniture were made of live branches, beautifully woven together. The bed seemed to literally grow out of the wall. The windows were big and let in a lot of light. The floor was covered by a hand-woven, bright carpet. It was a very simple interior, but to Obi-Wan, it was one of the most beautiful houses he ever saw.

“Where is Boba?”

“He’s outside with Jaster and Galan. They were given a trip around.”

Good. At least Boba didn’t sit here worriedly.

“Still not scared away by all the problems I bring? he meant to sound like he was teasing, but.. But.

“How long”.

“Of course not. I told you that I’m going to stay as long as you let me stay, cyare,” Fett said patiently. “I made my decision. I chose you and Boba and I will always choose you two. You are both… Most important to me.” He sounded genuine. The Force also didn’t indicate he was lying. He clearly meant it. “I told you I love you, Ner Karta. Those are not empty words.”

For a long, long while, Obi-Wan just stared at him.

“Can I try something?” he finally asked, very quietly.

Jango nodded. He didn’t seem annoyed by the repeated reassurances and platitudes that Kenobi seemed to need. Neither he nor Jaster ever were.

And so Obi-Wan closed his eyes, took a deep breath and sank into the Force like he hadn’t really done since he was a child. He never particularly enjoyed meditating and he rarely had time or mental energy to do so nowadays, but it came to him surprisingly easy. Almost like something was guiding him.

On the surface level there was nothing apart from long format bonds with his Crechemates. But when he dived deeper, deeper than ever before, under the surface…

Then he felt them. His bond with Boba, impossibly bright and strong. This was not a surprise. He always knew it was there, he just never went looking for it.

Two other bonds, one with Jango and one with Jaster, were a surprise. The one with Jaster was there, but it was weaker, barely there. The one with Jango… It felt like it was there once and then it disappeared for a time and now it was bright again. Not as bright or strong as the one with Boba, but it was there. He had no idea how he didn’t realise earlier. How he didn’t notice. He should have at least felt something and Jango should have felt something, unless… Unless he shielded too much to do so. And he only shielded so much, not to affect Boba with his moods and problems that he could have possibly blocked himself from getting anything from Jango as well.

“Oh,” he gasped quietly, returning to the surface. He felt slightly dazed. And embarrassed. He didn’t make those bonds on purpose. They didn’t seem to just appear from nowhere as well. It clearly took time for them to strengthen, judging by the fact that each of them was in a different stage of development. And yet…

“What is this?” Fett asked softly.

“It’s the bond. Galan was right. We do have one,” he muttered. “But that doesn’t make sense. I should have felt things from you and you from me and…”

“I felt… things.” Jango interrupted him. “I knew where to find both of you when we first came to Naboo. I can usually tell how you feel. Sometimes I can understand what you think without even thinking it through myself.”

Oh Force. Jango was definitely not going to be happy about this, was he? To forge a bond without someone’s agreement was a violation. Especially someone who hated and feared the Force. How could Obi-Wan do this to a person he cared about and not even realise it?

“I wasn’t aware I made it. I… It’s similar to the one I have with Boba but this one… Seems to have developed over time. I didn’t plan to… I don’t know how… I’m sorry,” he felt his throat tighten unpleasantly. He couldn’t even look at Jango. He felt terrible. As if it wasn’t enough that he left him for dead.

But before he managed to spiral completely, Fett’s arms were around him, bringing Obi-Wan flush against the man. He was still in his armour but it didn’t really matter, even if the chest piece was digging into Obi-Wan’s chest unpleasantly.

“If it’s you I don’t mind,” the man whispered. “I… suspected something was amiss. But it helped me protect you. So it doesn’t… I’m glad. I’m not angry, Ben’ika,” Fett whispered.

And Obi-Wan realised he felt relieved. His natural reaction was to question Fett’s words, but he stopped himself. He was too tired for that. Way too tired. So he just… decided to accept it.

“It’s beautiful,” he muttered quietly. “It’s so beautiful,” it was. If he closed his eyes and focused on the bond, he could feel the distant memory of it blossoming from a shrivelled and dead thing into the strong, trimming, light thing it was now and he… Felt so much joy thinking about it. Thinking that they got to share it with Boba too.

And then Jango leaned in, his lips impossibly close to Obi-Wan’s.

“May I?” the older man asked, clearly holding himself back. For Obi-Wan’s sake. Because he wanted the redhead to be comfortable.

They kissed before. On Alderaan. But then Obi-wan initiated it and Jango just went with it and now…

“Yes. You don’t have to ask,” he muttered.

Jango was kissing him before he even managed to finish the sentence.

He was firm and self-assured and somehow he managed to overwhelm Obi-Wan completely in a good sense of the world. Before he realised what was really happening, Jango’s tongue was already licking insistently at his lips and he parted them, allowing the older man access, tongue sliding against Obi-Wan’s own teeth clicking together when they didn’t align quite right and Force it felt so good. Obi-Wan practically melted into the man, feeling the shiver travel down his spine, a hot surge of arousal tightening his stomach.

He moaned, quietly, right into Jango’s mouth and that made the man tighten his hold on Obi-Wan’s waist, his pleasure almost palpable. The fucker felt smug and only pressed closer, kissed deeper, like making Kenobi lightheaded was some kind of achievement.

Am I interrupting something? suddenly resonated in his mind and he startled badly.

Galan was standing at the door to the room, a smirk on their face. For whatever reason, they seemed amused. Obi-Wan was really far from amused. He was embarrassed and he groaned quietly, hiding his face in Jango’s shoulder.

“No, no, we just…”

I’m just teasing. I came to check how you are feeling and whether you two would like to join us for dinner.

“Yes. Of course. We would be delighted to, right Jango? We will join them for dinner?”

“Right,” Fett grumbled. “Of course.”

Still flushed, Obi-Wan scrambled to his feet, ostentatiously ignoring how hot his face felt. They really didn’t have the best timing, did they?

When he went outside, Boba and Jaster were already waiting for them, both very pleased. Jaster seemed to be fascinated by what he saw and Boba clearly took after his ba’buir when it came to curiosity.

We usually eat communal meals in the evening, in the Great Hall. Galan explained. We fend for ourselves in the mornings.

Apparently, the “Great Hall”, was located in the middle of the tree and most members of the tribe were making their way towards it. Apart from the children who were wearing bright-coloured dresses, they all seemed to wear very similar, natural-coloured clothes. Some were in skirts. Some in trousers. All had their skin marked with tattoos which were bestowed upon them when they reached adulthood and, as Galan explained, symbolised their connection to the Màthair.

They were also all staring at the newcomers. Most of them were simply curious, although you could also feel the veil of suspicion permeating the air.

Some people are suspicious of strangers here… Especially after what happened last time. But you are family, and the Voidmen are your family and care about you very much. You are welcome to stay as long as you want. Galan put their hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. I always wanted to meet you. It matters more to me that you are your Màthair’s child and my only grandchild than whoever sired you. I promised myself that if you ever find your way here, you will be welcome, no matter your reaction to your heritage unless you try to bring harm to us. But I feel like I’m lucky. They smiled, both melancholic but warm at the same time.

Finally, they entered the Great Hall. Here, like in Galan’s house, the furnishings were a part of the tree, this time in the form of long tables with rows and rows of chairs standing along them, most of them already occupied.

We will talk about Cináed in the evening.

Galan led them to one of the tables. It might take a while to get used to things. And I know it might be scary and unfamiliar and I can see that you’ve been hurt before but… You are welcome here. You will always be welcome here. Your family as well.

The dinner turned out to be a colourful affair. It seemed like the whole ordeal was directed by an older Stewjonian, who had a crown of leaves and flowers on their hand and a long, wooden stuff in their hand (Galan introduced them as Elder Morvig - they said that the Elder Council was usually making executive decisions regarding the village and that it consisted of the oldest members of the village who were closest to the Màthair).

They were introduced to multiple people. Cousins. Uncles. Galan’s and Cináed’s friends. There were names and there were stories and there were questions. About Obi-Wan. About Boba. About Jango and Jaster. Where did they come from, what did they do, how was it in the stars, how did Jango and Obi-Wan meet, how did they reunite, what was their favourite food, what were their favourite games, how did they come on Stewjon…

And many, many more.

Obi-Wan was overwhelmed. Their faces and Force Signatures were a blur. He wanted to pay attention, he wanted to focus, but in the end, Boba was doing most of the talking. Kenobi wanted to hide. He wanted to run. He did not do well with attention being on him and on Alderaan, he wanted to disappear. Here, he also wanted to disappear. For different reasons.

Nobody wanted anything from him but stories. There were no expectations and no measures to live up to. Boba seemed to all but buy Cinaed’s Clan over in the span of one dinner. Elders were pinching his cheeks and he was arranging to attend games with other children the next day. Uncles and Aunts were cooing over him. Cinaed’s best friend from childhood, Bridei, invited them for a walk tomorrow.

To be frank, Kenobi was quite surprised how someone so asocial had managed to raise that. Not that he was complaining. It seemed that after all the stress and fear Boba was back to his normal, happy, extrovert self and that was… a relief.

When everyone ate, they settled in a big circle around the fire. Boba, tired after the whole evening of socialising, shuffled into Obi-Wan’s lap and decided it was high time for a nap. Jaster was doing his best to project his thoughts the way Obi-Wan instructed him to. Jango was just staring at him with embarrassed pity, but something between the two Mandalorians seemed to… settle.

The Tree was humming happily in the background.

The hole in Obi-Wan’s chest ached less than ever before.

I’ve thought it best if they join us for this conversation if you don’t mind.

It was not a big group, but they all gathered in the kitchen of Galan’s hut. Friends. Cousins and uncles. Those closest to Cináed.

Obi-Wan nodded carefully, studying their faces and feelings floating in the Force. Expectation. Wariness. Sadness. Seriousness.

It was a whole new way of interacting with people and finding his footing in it was a slippery slope. He was so used to oral and non-verbal communication but this… This was something else.

Would you like to show us? What did you learn? Galan prompted.

Kenobi nodded slowly, focusing. It was going to be difficult because the report was written and they were not familiar with reading or Aurubesh but he tried his best. He focused on his feelings. On the visualisation of what happened in his Finder’s report. And they… They… Understood.

Thank you, Obi-Wan.

They felt sad. Accepting. The chapter was closed before. Now they knew the details.

We also wanted to share something with you. Galan took out a stone slab from one of the drawers in the cupboards. It was beautifully carved, with swirls and animals that matched the tattoos on their skin.

It’s easier for us that way. We share a lot. We bear our pain together. But we also share our happy moments together. Bridei added.

“What is this?”

A memory stone. We use the stones to preserve the memories of our loved ones. To record memories from our lives. We are never truly gone. We live on through our Màthair when our time in this dimension is done. But the memories remain for generations to come. Bits and pieces of what we used to be, forever recorded in the Memory Stones.

Uurad is blessed with the ability to read them. Galan nodded towards the youngest of the gathered. They could be maybe fifteen but they nodded seriously, clearly treating their role seriously. They will share the memories with the rest of us.

Before Obi-Wan realised what was happening, the teenager grabbed a stone and he saw a flurry of images.

He saw Galan, much younger, with copper hair and a smooth face and a short-haired, freckled, clearly pregnant stranger. He could feel their joy and expectation.

A tiny, red-haired baby, screaming its lungs out in his arms. Happiness, and the terrible, heart-wrenching feeling of loss.

Glimpses of childhood antics. Sometimes from his own perspective. Sometimes from his friends, or who must have been Galan. Games. Walks in the forest. Lessons. They loved music and forest and flowers and cooking and gossiping with their friends.

Pain and happiness, highs and lows of growing up.

Joy of running into the forest, of climbing the branches of the Tree and mountain peaks. Of exploration and the unknown.

He saw them getting their tattoos, Galan’s fingers helping to paint them on their skin.

Finding a dark-haired, unconscious man in the middle of the forest and bringing them home. Knowing, just knowing that they were to Bond.

The arguments. With the elders. With Galan. With their friends.

And then, finally, a goodbye. Leaving everything they knew behind because they were in love and it seemed worth to taking the risk and it was their chance to see the unknown…

And then it was done.

The kid was clearly like Quinlan and had a talent for psychometry.

Are you alright? Galan asked, their hand landing on Obi-Wan’s shoulder and squeezing lightly.

“What about…”

Cináed’s Màthair died giving birth to them.

Which explained why they were missing from the memories.

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. “

They are one with the Màthair now. This is the way of life.

It seemed that their beliefs regarding death were similar to those of the Jedi.

I understand. Kenobi nodded.

To his surprise, this was not the end. No, instead Galan produced more slabs of stones, those time unadorned.

This is for you. There is one for Boba and your Bonded and their Buir as well.

For a second Obi-Wan, just looked at them, not really understanding. It felt like something only they did. To be included in that… That felt special. He also felt like he shouldn’t accept it. Like it was…

Like he didn’t deserve it. Because of who he was. Because his sire took Cináed from their family and…

I can’t say that I… approved of Cinaed’s Bonded. Galan pushed at him delicately. But what happened, happened. And you are not your sire. You are you. Plain and simple.

Kenobi had nothing to say to that.

If it makes you feel any better, I like your Bonded much more. He doesn’t seem like he would keep you from your family.

“I… No. Jango wouldn’t… The Mandalorians…. The Voidmen… to them… Family is an important thing. And to Jango… He wants me to be happy. That. He didn’t think it through, but that was… That was the truth, wasn’t it? Jango wanted him to be happy.

He’s not a good man. But he’s good for you. And that can be enough if you so wish. Galan nodded. Come on. The stone is yours to do with as you wish, I will show you how you can show memories with it later.

He rested his back against the Tree, observing the children play some kind of ball game. Obi-Wan didn’t really comprehend the rules, but it looked like Boba was having fun.

There were other parents watching (it seemed to be a universal thing, no matter the culture or planet), gathered in little groups and enjoying a sunny afternoon. On the other end of the meadow, Jango and Jaster were sparring, drawing quite an audience, especially of the younger villagers. Apparently, they didn’t fight like that. They had no reason to. They hunted when Nature decided it was a season to hunt and lived off vegetables and grains in the summer months. They prepared for the winter and guarded the forests.

Obi-Wan could feel that the parents of other children were looking at him. Think-talking about him. He managed to be more flexible with his shielding those days, so he blocked out most of them, only allowing what he actually wanted to hear in. It made it… Easier. Somewhat.

It was always going to be like this, wasn’t it? No matter where he went. He was always somewhere on the edge, but never in. No matter how nice and welcoming Galan was, Obi-Wan was simply never going to be one of them. It was no one’s fault. It was just how things were. How they were always going to be, no matter where he stayed.

He grew proficient in organisating his time when he was watching Boba on the playground in AgriCorps when the boy was younger. His hands practically itched for his datapad.

You are afraid. You are trying to avoid another rejection.

It was not his thought. It was also not a thought of anyone else, he was sure of that.

But so what if he was?

He grew proficient at managing his own expectations throughout the years.

Oh, child…

Before he had managed to worry about the voice and its origins, he got distracted, because there was suddenly a shadow hanging over him. He was just about to snap and Jango (because Jango was having a moment with Jaster and you could see them happy and relaxed with each other for the first time in ages and he should focus on that), before he realised that the shadowy shape in front of him definitely didn’t match a distinctive armour shape.

Slowly, he lifted his head, looking at the “intruder”. It was one of the Stewjonians who were watching the game. They were maybe a couple of years older than Obi-Wan, with red, long hair and blue eyes. He didn’t remember their name if he was completely honest.

Would you like to join us?

Obi-Wan gawked at them, suddenly paralysed with anxiety. What did one do in such a situation? It never happened to him. All his adulthood, people kept away from him. They didn’t just… approach him.

He didn’t want to be rude and refuse, but agreeing felt like accepting some kind of charity.

Are you okay?

“Yes. I’m fine. I… Don’t feel forced to include me or something. I am perfectly comfortable here, you don’t have to…”

They felt surprised and slightly taken aback.

“You are… You haven’t had any friends since you were a child?”

Obi-Wan hated that he must have slipped up enough for them to feel it.

Well, Jaster was his friend, right? Jango sort of was as well. And there was Hondo, briefly, right? Sort of mentor-friend employer?

Deflect.

“Boba is making friends. That’s what matters.” He shrugged.

They shook their head and then, before he realised what was going on, they were grabbing his hand and urging him to stand up.

Come on. I’m going to introduce you.

“But…”

No buts. It’s going to be fun. I’m Alpín.

And so Obi-Wan made a friend for the first time since Quinlan Vos decided to friendadopt him when they were both younglings.

He woke up in the middle of the night, with an urgent feeling that he had to move. Jango, wrapped around him like an overprotective bear, was still deeply asleep, same for Boba who was in the other room of the hut they were given.

It became easier to deal with the noise in his head after a few days. It was a slow process but at some point, it stopped being as overwhelming. Obi-Wan started to find beauty in the noise of the Force, in how lively and natural it seemed here.

Even whispers of the Tree became easier to reconcile with what he was taught as a child and in AgriCorps. The people here were deeply steeped in all kinds of the Force. Unifying. Living. Cosmic. They didn’t distinguish between them. It came to them as easy as breathing even if they didn’t train at all. They simply were and they were tied together to their home, to the planet, to the Tree…

It was something out of this world.

And yet, when he woke up with the feeling of urgency to go, he couldn’t help a pang of fear.

He listened though, letting his feet guide him where he needed to get. He slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Jango up and made his way, first outside, and then up the branches, far above the living quarters. He climbed carefully, searching for places to rest his hands and feet which seemed to be popping wherever he wanted to reach as he made his way up until he reached another one of the giant tree chambers.

Its entrance looked very similar to that of the Great Hall, but here the entrance in the Tree was covered with garlands of pastel pink flowers, the moonshine basking everything in soft, silver light.

Carefully, step by step, he made his way inside.

It should have been dark in there, but there were hundreds, if not thousands of little lights on the walls which gleamed with soft, white light, reminiscent of the stars of the night sky, lighting up the path and wood chamber in front of him. The further he got, the more light seemed to be there, until he finally reached a giant room. It reminded him much of a Jedi temple with the enormous, seemingly impossible (because that high up the Tree should be too thin and spread out for a room of this size) space, the beautiful wooden columns propping the ceiling together. It was much more decorative with the flowers and wooden swirls decorating the walls in an organic, yet impossibly detailed display of nature’s beauty. Fallen, golden and red leaves made for the carpet under his feet. In the middle of the room, there was a deep, wooden basin with thick, dark blue liquid in it and there was a deep pool next to it, a waterfall of clear water falling in a straight line from the ceiling straight into it.

It felt like a dream and yet seemed so impossibly real…

Welcome Leanabh Nan Reultan. A Child of the Stars. A voice, ancient and deeply resonating in his bones, hollered in his head. He couldn’t help but shiver. It was the voice he recognised, that he felt before in vague bursts of affection and happiness, but this time it was a hundred times stronger. It was omnipresent. All-powerful. It was… He never felt something like that. It was a being and not. It Force-Sensitive and it was the Force itself. It was… I was wondering when you would come to talk to me but I wanted to give you some time to adjust. To accept me..

It was a long, long while since one of my Children chose to walk the Path of a Star Wanderer. Even longer since one to do so, returned, however briefly, home.

Kenobi blinked. He had no idea what was going on.

The… The being, the Màthair, seemed for some reason to be amused by his confusion.

Our people… Your ancestors travelled the stars once until they decided to settle here. They used to wander back to them quite often back in the day and the ones that did so were called Star Wanderers. Things changed though. Some of my Children rejected the old ways. Rejected me. Decided to build their civilisation down South, forgetting the ways of the old and prosecuting the ones who had my Blessing. Now when they leave, they are usually forced to do so. And the Cruitnich no longer leave the safety of my branches. The voice, the Tree, sounded wistful.

“What are you?” Obi-Wan found himself asking.

“What are any of us? I am many things to many people. We are all a part of the world. I was here long before your people came and I shall remain here until my time comes. They call me Màthair. I give them shelter. They sing my song. Together, we whisper the melody of the universe, but we are but one of many peoples who do. My roots go deep, to the sole being of this world. Some would say I am its guardian. Others, that I am its beginning and its end. It all depends on what one chooses to believe.”

“That doesn't make any sense,” Obi-Wan muttered. The Tree, the Màthair was clearly some kind of an ancient Force being. It was not Dark, nor it was Light. Like people here, it simply was. He couldn’t explain it. There were no human words to explain it.

And what does, my child?

“Are all ancient Force-Sensitive beings that cryptic?” Obi-Wan couldn’t help but think of Master Yoda.

I shall not be compared to the little, scheming, green creature you seem to be alluding to. I am millenniums older. Now the Tree sounded amused and slightly offended. Somehow Obi-Wan wasn’t surprised they didn’t know what he thought about it. Maybe it should have made him feel weird, but it didn’t. Not really. His brain seemed to accept it as a normal, natural thing.

I won’t ask for you to stay. The Màthair continued. You have your place here, among my children if you wish to take it, but I can tell that staying wouldn’t bring you what you long for. Children of the Stars will always long for them, even if they settle in one place. Your son is the same.

Was that it? Was it why Obi-Wan liked travelling so much? Why did he always longed to see more, to explore, to see more, to learn more? Could it actually just be something in him? Some natural part of him and not the greed born out of complacency?

Long enough you “made do”. Long enough you did what “you had to do”. You can have both. What you want and Your People. You don’t have to tie yourself down. A journey awaits you. You just need to be brave enough to take the first step. To trust who your heart wants to trust.

“What if…” Obi-Wan wanted to trust Jango. He really did. It was just…

“What if they betray this trust?” the Tree finished for him softly. “Do you think they will?”

Did he? He learned not to trust no one, he learned to always expect the worst, but… BUT. If he was completely honest with himself…

“I… No,” he admitted quietly. He was still scared though. The thought of trusting that Jango would stay. Not “ifs”. “How long”s. That they could stay with him and they wouldn’t get abandoned seemed too good.

“It’s okay to be scared, Child of the Stars. It’s natural. My Children usually bond for life. It’s a slow process, most often between the closest of friends, all the harder if you choose someone of the species that does not understand or experience the Bonding as we do. But no change can be made without taking that first step. And if things go wrong, you will still have a place here. Always. That I can promise you.

For some reason it felt true. Like he could come back here if he needed to.

It settled something in him. He was making friends here. Galan seemed happy to have them there.

I have two gifts for you before you go. The Tree continued. But first you need to sink in my waters. The souls of my children return to me when it’s time. Someone has been waiting to talk to you for a very long time.

The water in the pool gleamed with a soft, blue light.

He took a hesitant step towards it. The whole situation was strange. So strange. It felt almost unreal but he… Moved. He didn’t feel forced to do so, but encouraged instead and maybe that was a reason he didn’t resist. It felt, like in the end, the choice was his, one way or another. Apart from Jaster and Jango nobody really gave him a choice. Definitely none of the governing forces in his life. It felt… exhilarating. And so, carefully, he reached the edge and before he realised what was happening, he slipped in.

It was a strange sensation at first. The water was cool and seemed surprisingly deep, suddenly surrounding him from all sides. Strangely, he could breathe though, there was no water pouring into his mouth or nose when he tried to, which was a bizarre feeling, sharply contrasting with his expectations. It felt like he was suspended in it, in a way.

He blinked. And then, in the water, swirled a semi-transparent, vaguely human shape form. It seemed to be made out of light but the longer he looked the easier it was to make out the features. The long hair. The bright face.

And something, some small part of him just knew who they were, even before they spoke.

Beathan? The voice was full of emotion. Soft and somewhat… Sad.

It was his parent. His Carrier.

Their form seemed to be flickering in the water, but when they raised their hand and it brushed against Obi-Wan’s cheek it felt soft. Delicate. Warm, like a living being's hand would.

He shivered.

I knew you would find your way here one day, my child. They smiled.

They seemed happy and Obi-Wan felt a twinge of something cold and unpleasant in his chest. He knew that Prince Ciar definitely would have been disappointed in whom he grew out to be. He didn’t want any of that legacy. He thought it was way too late. What if Cináed also was disappointed? What if they wanted a different way with Obi-Wan and seeing how little he achieved, how little his life meant… Wouldn’t they be disappointed?

“Aren’t you disappointed?” he asked very quietly, curling up in himself.

Why would I be? the ghost seemed confused.

You gave your life to save mine. And I… I grew up so bitter. So many bad things happen to people because of me. Because of my family. And I was… selfish. I endangered my son. I just… I just kept going, although it was pointless and I knew it was pointless and…”

A feather-like touch appeared on his face again.

I’m not disappointed, my son. Would you be disappointed if Boba tried to discover where he came from? If he tried to find a place that he could call home? He wouldn’t. He would probably encourage him but it was different. It was… I’m happy you have people who love you and who you love. I’m proud of you for trying to rise above your fears. I hope that wherever your path will take you, in the end, you will find a home. You will find a place where you will let yourself belong.

Not where you would belong, but “where you let yourself belong”. There was something to that, wasn’t there? Because he already found his place. He was just scared to trust its durability. If not for Jango and Jaster, he would probably consider staying here, with his birth family. It would have been a very different life than the one they lived so far. Very much non-traditional but Boba could learn from modules and it would have been… Interesting.

But he did meet Jango and Jaster. And they already felt like a family and…

It’s not the end. It’s only the beginning. The Tree chided gently. And you finally let yourself be free. Use it. Don’t let the past hold you back.

Obi-Wan only nodded, his throat too tight to speak and buzzing in his head too loud to think. It was strange, getting advice from his dead parent and a sentient Tree which seemed to look deep into his soul was… surprising, but not unwelcome. He rarely had anyone trying to get through to him and it was… Helping.

Maybe because he was tired enough to be willing to listen. Maybe because of all the encouragement he already got before. From Jaster. From Jango. From Boba.

And before he realised what was happening, he was enveloped in a hug. It was strange hugging someone who was but a spirit and felt it. He melted into it, hiding his face in his Màthair’s neck. There were fingers carding through his hair and he felt small and… And he could feel how much it meant for them.

It’s okay. It’s okay. The voice was soft. Comforting.

Some small part of Obi-Wan wondered how it would be to grow up with someone like that. Even in the palace. How would his life have turned out if Cináed managed to run away and take them back to their family? It was too late to think like that, too late to wonder but… His life would have probably turned out very differently, one way or another.

Finally, they disentangled, coming back to the surface suddenly.

There in the middle of the room, the basin also sparked in the light.

Come closer, Child of the Stars. The Tree said. You don’t have to take on the tattoos if you don’t wish to. It’s your choice. If you do wish to take them, it is a tradition during the right of passage for the parent to help their child paint their tattoos before they step onto the path of adulthood. It’s my last gift to both of you.

Obi-Wan considered it. It was a symbol. A symbol of the culture he barely started to understand. A symbol of culture that could have been his but never was to be his because of the decisions made by those who came before him.

He always craved that connection. That sense of belonging to something bigger, of being accepted.

And he could have it.

In a way. Probably not the same way that people here did, but…

“I want to,” he said quietly.

So be it.

The mixture was thick. It didn’t hurt, not even the sting of a normal tattoo. It seemed to weave itself into the skin, almost naturally, but instead of swirls like his Galan’s or Cináed’s, his were forming swirling constellations and stars from his hands up his arms and circling, spiral pattern. He could recognise some of them. Some, he even visited. Others he never even saw, a ghost of his Màthair’s fingers dancing on his skin.

When he blinked, he was back in his and Jango’s room.

There were still tears on his cheeks and his skin was stained with blue, gentle swirls, but his mind was quiet and the blue phantom of his parent was gone.

The sun was slowly rising on the horizon, filling the small house with pale, pinkish light. Jango was still asleep, his dark curls spilling on the pillow. He looked peaceful. Relaxed.

For a moment, he just stood in the middle of the room, breathing.

“Jango.” Obi-Wan put his hand on the man’s cheek. It prickled his fingers, the dark, morning shadow covering Fett’s cheek. It made him look surprisingly less put together than he usually did, almost defenceless. It felt… special to see him like that. Obi-Wan seriously doubted that many people ever did. “Jango, wake up,” he whispered.

Finally, finally Fett blinked. He didn’t seem to be really awake. His eyes were bleary and he blinked heavily, a strong arm wrapping around Obi-Wan’s waist and dragging him onto the bed until Kenobi’s head was tucked under the man's chin.

“Are you alright, me’shla?” he muttered, kissing Obi-Wan’s hair.

Kenobi felt himself relaxing slightly.

“I… I just wanted to… I needed to…” he wanted comfort that Jango seemed to always freely offer. He just wasn’t really sure how to ask for it.

It appeared that Obi-Wan’s hesitation and inability to speak clearly, seemed to wake Fett up, because soon Jango moved away slightly, looking at him with much more conscious eyes.

“Did something happen? You seem upset,” he blinked. Then looked at Obi-Wan closer. “What is… What happened? What is this?” the man’s fingers traced up Obi-Wan’s arms, naked due to the sleeveless shirt he liked to sleep in. They stopped on the stars and then trailed up the connections and swirls on his arms.

“I’m not… upset. I… I just talked to my Màthair and to the Màthair the Tree. I…” That sounded strange, didn’t it? But he didn’t know how to explain, especially in the way Jango would understand. “It’s… Force osik. Jango. Can you…” Fett hugged him more tightly.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath.

“I… Can you kiss me? Please?” he knew it sounded naive and childish but he didn’t have it in himself to be brave at the moment. Asking was hard enough. Especially asking for what he really wanted. He felt like that would take whatever sad remnants of the forwardness he had ever had.

“You know you don’t ever have to ask, cyar’ika,” Fett muttered and then his lips were on Obi-Wan’s, still a bit slower and less coordinated than usual.

Kenobi trembled, a shiver of pleasure running down his spine. He let his hand rest on the man’s chest, running his fingers on the firm, taunt muscle. Jango was very well built and he liked to sleep without a shirt and damn, he shouldn’t be making Kenobi breathless with quite a soft, sleepy kiss, but he was. The younger man pushed himself up a bit, his leg slipping in between Jango’s to help balance himself and he found himself kissing the man deeper.

“Someone… is… ugh… eager today.” Fett seemed a little breathless, his fingers tangling into Obi-Wan’s hair and tugging firmly, forcing them to separate for a second. The redhead moaned quietly as pleasure sparked from his scalp. Force, how he wanted. He forgot how it felt to want someone like that. “Not that I am complaining, of course. Never. It’s just, you are usually more… reserved.”

Obi-Wan flushed. Jango’s hand was cradling his face, his fingers running along his cheek and then down his neck which was distracting.

“I want you,” he mumbled under his nose.

“What was that?”

“I want you!” he repeated, this time louder and annoyed that Jango didn’t get the message. It was understandable why he didn’t, considering that up until now they didn’t do much besides kissing and Obi-Wan seemed perfectly content like that but he also didn’t want to say it out loud. Didn’t want to repeat it.

But he held himself back for a long time. The conversation with the ancient Tree seemed to… soothe something in him. Nothing changes until you are brave enough to take that final step forward.. And this, this was one of the obstacles to jump over.

“Are you sure, cyar’ika? You seemed distraught. I would hate to…”

“Please,” he breathed out, fingers tightening on Jango’s arms.

“If I start, I’m not sure whether I will be able to stop if you change your mind,” Jango muttered, desire sparkling in his eyes. Suddenly, he seemed much more awake, his hand tightening on Obi-Wan’s waist possessively. It was clear that he wanted to, but he was trying to give Obi-Wan a way out. Which was… sweet. He was clearly trying to make Obi-Wan feel comfortable. To give him a choice.

“I won’t want you to stop,” Kenobi breathed out. It felt like leaving something behind. Like leaving the rest of his fear behind. Like trusting himself to Jango. It was not just about sex. It was about so much more. It was first and foremost about trust. About being able to trust someone else with himself. Something that he hadn’t been able to do in seven years.

“Fine. But I’ve warned you, ner karta.”

Jango shifted and suddenly Obi-Wan found his world tilting and now he was lying on the mattress, Jango hovering over him, propped at one arm. The man seemed tense and still not exactly convinced and Obi-Wan could feel from here a vague wave of “not wanting to hurt him or press him into something that he doesn’t want and oh Manda, the tattoos look so beautiful”.

“How would you like me to…” his fingers started to trace up and down tattoos on Obi-Wan’s arms and Kenobi shivered at delicate but firm touches.

It had been so long since he wanted anyone like that. Since he could feel that characteristic tightening in his stomach, since the shiver of pleasure ran down his back, since he instinctively spread his legs and let someone split in between them.

He shivered feeling Jango press against him, hot and hard even through the layers of their clothes.

“I want to see you,” he murmured, lifting himself off the mattress, propping himself on his elbows to capture Jango’s lips in a kiss. It was deeper, messier than the first one, their tongues slipping together, Jango’s fingers sneaking under his shirt and grazing over his stomach, slowly tracing their way up. “I want you to hold me like you will never let me go. I want you to take me and… Aaaah!” a surprised moan ripped out of his throat as Fett’s fingers tugged at his nipple, a spark of arousal shooting through him. He hid his face in the pillow, trying to muffle the sound. He could feel himself getting wetter, his cock unpleasantly constricted by the material of the pants. It was…

“Manda, save me…” Jango breathed out and before Obi-Wan processed what was happening his shirt was off and Jango’s lips were on his chest kissing and biting lightly.

“I got the implant in, back on Alderaan. I know we don’t have a great track record with those…” Obi-Wan managed to get out. He hoped they would get to this moment at some point. That he will be able to trust enough to get to this moment. And he would rather that when he did life would spare him another lucky surprise.

Jango looked up at him, smiling.

“I will use a plasti just in case. Twice-protected right?”

“Knowing my luck…” Obi-Wan laughed quietly. He couldn’t remember ever joking with Jango when they were making out, but here they were. Joking about that seemed especially surprising, but it was also… relaxing.

“Stop it,” Fett shook his head and then his lips trailed higher, leaving kisses on Obi-Wan’s neck. They were soft. Delicate. Like butterfly touches. “It’s like you are trying to jinx it, mesh’la,” Jango murmured.

“Right. Right.” Obi-Wan nodded, somewhat distracted. His back arched in a desperate attempt to be closer, fingers tightening on Jango’s neck. “If we ever have another one, I would rather wait till we are more settled.” Until they figured everything else out.

“You want to have another one? With me?” Jango seemed surprised, even dazed by the thought. There seemed to be disbelief in his voice and Obi-Wan couldn’t quite comprehend why. He was trying to make it work. To make them work, as a family.

“I said “if”,” Obi-Wan muttered. “Why do you look so surprised? I know we didn’t plan Boba, but I… I want to have a life with you. I don’t want this to be… passing. Unattached. Unless I got it wrong and you want to…” suddenly, he realised that Jango waiting for him might have meant just this, just the physical part of their relationship. Not something more… Not…

“No,” Fett shook his head quickly. “I want everything with you me’shla. I told you. Whatever you are willing to give me.”

“Okay. Okay.” Good. Obi-Wan didn’t know what he would do if Jango said anything else. Run out of the room crying, probably. “Can you touch me now?”

“Didn’t you get polite? I remember you being much more of a little, demanding shit, before.”

To be honest, Obi-Wan didn’t quite remember how he was in bed before. Jango always seemed so assured. So experienced. Half of the time, Kenobi was trying to match Fett’s confidence, just so he didn’t appear inexperienced or naive or…

“Well,” he muttered. “I’m older now. I learned patience,” he wasn’t trying to hide behind the mask now. That was the main difference.

For a moment, Jango just looked at him, staring into his eyes. Their faces were close. So close. It felt… Intimate. For some reason just staring into those brown, loving eyes felt almost as intimate as a kiss.

Obi-Wan broke first.

“I’m not that patient. Hurry up.” He tugged at Fett’s arms.

Jango smirked.

“As you wish,” he purred and he went back to kissing Obi-Wan’s neck, fingers playing with the hem of the redhead’s trousers, finally pulling them off together with the underwear.

For a moment he just stared, reverence and hunger in his eyes and Kenobi knew he was blushing under the weight of that gaze. It was hard to fight a natural impulse to hide. To cover himself.

“Manda, you are so beautiful,” the Mandalorian whispered, hands running down the redhead’s scars.

“You are not so bad yourself,” Obi-Wan shifted nervously, trying to hide the fact that he was indeed nervous. Not entirely comfortable. He shouldn’t be. It was Jango. He trusted Jango. He wanted a life with Jango. And yet… Yet without a protective layer of the clothes, it felt… Too open. It was so long since he was bare in front of anyone. And even if his body looked good, objectively, he still felt subconscious.

“Are you alright, cyar’ika?” Fett asked. a wave of concern washing over Obi-Wan. He was always perceptive. when he wanted to. Even more so now when he got better at reading things from the bond.

“I’m fine. It’s just…” Obi-Wan lifted his hand, resting it on Jango’s cheek. “It’s not easy… for me. To be so… open in front of someone. Even if I want you. Even if I…”

“If you want to stop, we can stop,” Jango said softly, clearly meaning it, despite his earlier words.

It was clearly not easy for him. He looked like a predator, ready to pounce and it was clearly costing him a lot to hold back. To go slowly. It would cost him more to stop himself. But he would, Obi-Wan realised. He would if Obi-Wan told him to stop. Maybe that’s what made Ben relax again. The knowledge that they didn’t have to. That Jango would just let go, no matter what he wanted and he wouldn’t be angry.

“No,” he shook his head. “Just… Just go slowly. It’s been… It’s been a while. It’s been hard to get to date… With… With Boba… Or maybe Boba was just an excuse because I was… I was scared.” Did it make sense? It probably didn’t, not for sane people. But Obi-Wan was… broken. Somewhere deep. Fundamentally, unpleasantly broken which made him shut off and trust seemed like such an impossible thing and… And he had to let that fear go.

“Mesh’la…”

“We can talk about it… Later. Now I want to… I want to feel you in me. I…”

“If you are sure.”

“I am. As I will ever be. I just need to… Ease into it.”

They said that the first time doing anything was the most difficult. It was far from their first time and yet it felt like it, felt more like it than that first time in the training room when Obi-Wan had no idea what he was doing and everything seemed so fast and rushed and heady and strange. Now it felt… Real.

“Fine. But if you feel uncomfortable at any time, I want you to tell me and I will stop. I told you I’m not sure if I can, but I… Will. I promise you, cyare. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Obi-Wan nodded.

Jango’s fingers ran tenderly, carefully along Obi-Wan’s manhood, still standing proudly against his stomach and then trailed lower, grazing along his balls. Finally, Jango’s finger brushed along his folds, nestled further down and thumbed at Obi-Wan’s clit teasingly. A quiet, stranded whimper escaped him.

Jango paused.

“All good?”

It was much appreciated that he was checking, but Obi-Wan already said that he was fine.

“Yes. Go on,” Obi-Wan breathed in anticipation, bracing himself.

He didn’t have to wait long.

A pad of Jango’s finger slowly pushed into him.

“Kriff. You are so tight me’shla. I have to prepare you properly,” Fett muttered breathily.

It felt… strange and almost foreign at first and he tensed even more almost instinctively.

“Ben’ika?”

“It’s fine… I’m just… Kiss me? And then be… Slow.”

Jango obliged. It felt good. To be listened to. To still feel in control. To know that if necessary he could stop it.

As soon as Jango’s lips descended upon his own, he relaxed, sighing quietly in pleasure and Jango’s finger pushed a bit deeper, swirling around a bit, twisting and rubbing on his arms. Soon enough a second finger slipped into him, twisting and scissoring. The feeling of discomfort was easing off, substituted with a burning sense of pleasure.

It felt good. Impossibly good. He felt himself going boneless. It was impossible to focus on anything but Jango’s fingers in him, Jango’s lips on him and he couldn’t stop himself from sucking lightly on the man’s tongue trying to get even more, the sound of Jango’s more and more laboured breathing in his earns, mixing with quiet, needy noises that seemed to escape him involuntarily.

Before he realised what was going on, a third thinger was added and then Jango’s fingers hit a spot that made pleasure burn like fire in Obi-Wan’s belly, tightening it almost impossibly.

He was close, he realised. It was a really long time since he last got off, and Jango fingering him was enough to bring him on the edge so quickly it was almost embarrassing.

The fingers hit that spot again and he was coming, a white haze of pleasure flooding him.

He felt boneless. Heavy. His thoughts were heavy and syrupy and he was gasping for air like he was a fish fresh out of water. Jango was smiling, proudly, like making Obi-Wan come was some kind of achievement.

“You good?” he asked, kissing a corner of Obi-Wan’s lips and Obi-Wan could only nod, helplessly. “I… I felt your orgasm. Or rather an echo of it. It’s… It’s amazing. You made me almost come in my pants, me’shla,” Fett looked surprisingly pleased by that. Looking at him, he was probably considering the benefits of bonded sex but Obi-Wan couldn’t be bothered to think of it now or add anything constructive to the discussion.

“Just hurry up,” he mumbled.

“And there goes your patience. It was not enough for you?”

“No.”

That one, simple word seemed to end Jango’s need to tease pretty abruptly. Finally, Jango retracted his fingers and got rid of his own trousers. Obi-Wan, even if his brain was definitely not cooperating at the moment, couldn’t help thinking that his partner was beautiful. All golden skin, and chiselled muscle, his chest dusted with curly, dark hair and white, fading scars. It was a beautiful contrast and a testament to a life Jango lived and to be completely honest, Kenobi had never seen anyone more attractive.

Fett moved towards his bag that was lying on the floor, ignoring Obi-Wan’s unhappy grumble at the loss of contact and he straightened with a plasti in hand. Quickly he shed a wrapper and clumsily put it over himself. Obi-Wan took pity on him and stretched out his hand, wrapping it around the shaft (Jango moaned quietly at the contact) and pushing the condom down until it was sitting securely.

Jango pushed in slowly. For a second, even dulled with pleasure, it felt like something was splitting him, but slowly, he got used to the stretch. And then Jango moved his hips and…

“Oh Force… Jango. Jango… Please…”

Jango pulled out slightly and then carefully he pushed back in. Obi-Wan wrapped his legs around Jango’s back, trying to get him closer. It felt… Good. It felt amazing. He was getting heady with pleasure again and Jango…

“You feel so good cyar’ika. You are taking me so beautifully. Just look at you,” Jango was whispering in his ears and Obi-Wan trembled, moaning pathetically.

And then Fett sped up slightly and it was even harder to remain quiet and… Jango, the asshole, somehow, managed to slow down. It clearly cost him a lot and he was straining, glistening with sweat, but he was still moving, just enough to keep Obi-Wan’s body lightened up, but not enough to push either of them over the edge, clearly trying to draw the moment out as much as possible.

It might have been minutes. It might have been more, but finally, FINALLY Jango sped out again and Obi-Wan toppled over the edge again and Jango soon followed and it must have taken a lot of effort not to fall on Obi-Wan, but to tumble on his side instead.

For a moment, they just lay side by side on the mattress, their shoulders pressing together, their fingers tangled, just breathing and looking at the ceiling.

“I love you, Jango,” Obi-Wan whispered when he could trust himself to speak again. “I… I wanted to ask you something.”

“You can ask me anything. You know that.”

Do you want to live in Jaster’s compound?” it was always about what Obi-Wan wanted. But Obi-Wan wanted to stay with Jango and as Jango wanted to make him happy, Obi-Wan wanted to make the Mandalorian happy as well.

“I love my buir, Ben’ika. And if you wish to settle down there and stay there for good, I shall stay there too,” Jango said quietly. “But I’ve been on the road for a long time. It is not in my nature to stay somewhere for long. I grew up on the road in between jobs and that’s… That’s always been my life but I don’t want you to make a decision on my behalf. I want you to do what you think is best for you and Boba whether you want to stay here or to go with Jaster or…”

What did Obi-Wan want? He had options this time. Maybe for the first time. It was nice to… have a choice. And to know that it was going to be accepted, one way or another.

And in that moment, he knew.

“I want to… I want to travel the stars with you. We can make a more permanent base at your father’s compound and come here when it’s possible, but I want to… I want to travel with you. Show Boba the Galaxy, see it for myself…” that way Jango could keep doing his hunts and Obi-Wan… Obi-Wan could travel. Maybe open a little, portable datapad shop. They would still have a place to come back to. But home… Home would be their family. “If you want to, at least.”

“That sounds…” Jango took a deep breath. “That sounds amazing, Ben’ika.” He seemed to mean it. He sounded happy.

And Obi-Wan realised that he was happy too.

They stayed like that for a while. Until they decided it was time to get up and clean up because Boba was going to wake up soon and then they sat and watched the sunrise from the doorstep of the house and…

And all was well.

“Are you sure you want to leave? Galen asked. You are welcome to stay. For good if you so wish. They were sitting in front of the house, looking out on the Moon Tree and Boba playing excitedly with local children. The boy felt at home here. He clearly enjoyed it.

I don’t think Jango will ever be comfortable with mental communication. He’s getting better, I know and Jaster is really good, but it is putting a strain on him. I can tell even if he would never admit it. That was one reason why he thought they should leave. The other reason was that he simply had to find his own path. The one that somehow worked for all of them.

“And Boba misses school, although he wouldn’t admit it either.” Boba grew up learning in a completely different environment and dreaming about someone who he couldn’t be had they stayed on Stewjon.

“It’s your decision, although I will be sad to see you go. Galan seemed to lose a bit of their brightness.

“We will come to visit. Every year cycle. Or if you ever need us. If you are in danger. We will come. You just need to send us a message.” Obi-Wan meant it. They would come as often as they could. They would maintain their ties with Galan and the Cruitneach community for as long as it was safe for all of them. They would have to be careful to get to the planet unnoticed but it was doable as they already proved. It might have been dangerous as Obi-Wan seriously doubted that the current Stewjonian regime or the nobles would just give up on catching him but they would try.

“I promise to practise writing so I can stay in touch,” Galan smiled. Jaster started to touch him Aurebesh and he was doing quite well (if Obi-Wan was quite honest he was pretty sure they both taken a shine to each other, judging how his grandparent blushed any time Jaster was alive, but he would let them go at it at their own peace).

“I… Thank you. I can’t express how grateful I am. For everything,” he said quietly both out loud and mentally. Galan welcomed him into their family. Accepted him. It meant… A LOT. Especially to someone like Obi-Wan who never dreamed of having that from his biological family.

You don’t have to thank me, child.

There was sadness in their goodbye, yes. But there was also hope.

“We are going to Tatooine to free your mother, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said gently. Boba was seated in his lap. They just entered hyperspace and Obi-Wan could finally breathe out. He was half-expecting they would get ambushed as soon as they left Stewjon, but thankfully they managed to avoid that.

Thankfully, Bruck and Anakin were finally back in the Temple (well, Bruck was, from what Obi-Wan heard, Qui-Gon Jinn for once listened and the boy did spend the last few months in a Creche and Chun, was getting ready for his Knight trials), which meant they could contact the boy.

It was against the rules, but Obi-Wan couldn’t force himself to care.

“Really?” Anakin’s eyes sparkled like he couldn’t quite believe it. Like he didn’t expect anyone to actually do it.

“Yes. Really.” Obi-Wan smiled.

“Jaster is coming with us!” Boba added, happily. “And Jango! They are going to shoot the Watto sleemo if necessary.”

That was not a plan. That was definitely not the plan. Obi-Wan and Boba were not even supposed to leave the ship because Tatooine was a slaver’s pit and Kenobi was not going to risk that. Jaster was supposed to go and they were going to wait for him and it was supposed to be done peacefully. They were going to stop by one of the casino stations on the way, to procure funds (aka Obi-Wan was going to cheat his way through a high-end game of sabacc).

“Sleemo is a bad word, sunshine. We don’t use it,” he sighed quietly (sad a man planning to pull off a scheme).

“But it’s what he is, isn’t it Ani?!” Boba didn’t seem too bothered. Obi-Wan felt too old for this. He was dreading Boba’s teenage years, really. They still had some time, so the boy was mostly adorable right now, but wait five years and…

“That’s right!” Anakin nodded.

Obi-Wan was definitely too old for this.

“You are not helping, Anakin,” he muttered under his breath.

“I’m educating my best friend!” the boy protested and then, suddenly, he grew quiet. He seemed unsure of something. Worried. “I…”

“Yes, Anakin?” Kenobi prompted gently.

“Will you come to pick me up too? I don’t… I don’t like the Temple. Bruck is a sleem… not exactly nice but he said that you would come for me if I wanted to leave. That you left the AgriCorps but you wouldn’t… Leave me?” the boy sounded so unsure. And worried. And… What could Obi-Wan say?

How could he say no?

Even if he was going to have to fight the Council and Master Jinn, if Anakin didn’t want to be a Jedi, that was his decision to make. He was free now and he deserved to share that freedom with his mother. He should be given a choice. And if they didn’t want to let him go, well, one way or another Kenobi and Jango would find a way whether it called for legal action or infiltration of the Jedi Temple (although hopefully, if Shmi Skywalker was with them, it wouldn’t come to that).

“Of course, I wouldn’t,” he knew very well how it felt to be left behind. He would never want Anakin to feel like he was. “If you don’t want to stay with the Jedi, we will come pick you up as soon as we can, okay? As soon as your Mum is free,” he smiled softly.

“Really?” Anakin asked again.

“Yes. I promise. We will see you soon.”

The call disconnected and Obi-Wan tightened his hold on Boba.

“It seems like we are going to have an exciting couple of weeks, sunshine.”

“Don’t we always, Dad?”

“I guess we do…”

At least in the past few months.

“Am I to get another grandchild?” Jaster asked, a smirk on his face. He must have been listening to the conversation because he was leaning over the door frame, smiling at them.

“Anakin already has parents.” Obi-Wan shrugged.

“Doesn’t mean he can’t have more.”

Obi-Wan was not entirely sure how that would work, but he knew that he cared and he wanted both Anakin and his Mum to have a chance at happiness. At freedom. And if Anakin didn’t want to be a Jedi and Obi-Wan could give him a way out, he would do that. The rest… The rest was in the future, whatever it would be.

“We shall see.”

Obi-Wan smiled.

For the first time in a long, long while, Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi was looking forward to what was to come.

(Jaster would, in fact, get another grandchild, and then one more, about three years after they freed Shmi Skywalker. Her name would be Cináed Kenobi-Fett and she would be a little, copper–headed thing with big, blue-grey eyes and a ton of freckles, clearly taking after her Màthair. Boba would be jealous for about five minutes and Anakin for about fifteen before they both decided that they were going to love her as much as older brothers could love a younger sister and ended up spoiling her terribly. Jango and Jaster were equally bad when it came to the latter and it seemed that only Obi-Wan tried to maintain a semblance of discipline, but it also thankfully meant that when she was an infant screaming her little lungs out Jango was usually the one getting up to soothe her, quoting him “because he missed all of that with Boba so it was his turn to suffer” - which was good because Obi-Wan suffered giving birth to her during which he informed Jango that he would kill him a total of fifteen times. She would grow up on board her parents ship, surrounded by datapads, books and sometimes a bounty or two, spending quite a lot of “winter” months in her Ba’buir’s compound and her “summers” on Stewjon. When the time came, Boba and her would heal the “sad” planet. But that is a story for another time.)