Darth Natsu hefted his lightsaber in his right hand, red sparks reflecting in the dark of his eyes. Nearby, Jedi Master Madeline's own sabers glowed pink, a stark contrast to the snow around them. The forest was still, sounds of battle raging far away.
"You're a fool if you think you can beat me," Natsu said, voice deepened by the mask that covered his scarred face. "Hundreds of other Jedi have fallen before me, and you'll be next."
Madeline said nothing, just charged forward, lightsabers swinging as clashed with Natsu. The low thrum of the sabers filled the air between them as he spun away, then parried her next thrust.
Their battle was a tumult of sparks and flying snow under the cool light of the planet's three suns. Madeline was ruthless, driving Natsu back further and further until he was cornered against a rock wall, breathing heavily.
"Surrender," Madeline said, knocking Natsu's lightsaber from his hand and kicking it away into the snow.
"Never," he growled, and Madeline stepped forward, holding both her sabers at his throat.
"Then you will die," she said.
...
"That's not very Jedi-ish, Miss Maddy," Natsu said, grinning and grabbing the paper towel rolls from his daughter's hands, then scooping her up into his arms. She giggled as he rubbed his stubble against her cheek. "I think we need to take you back to Tython to work on your training."
"Papi!" Maddy squealed, trying to escape from his arms. "You're a bad Sith!" Sting appeared in the doorway of the bedroom holding a toddler on his hip, and raised his eyebrows at the scene.
"Daddy!" Maddy squirmed out of Natsu's arms and ran over to Sting, hugging his leg. "Hi Rohan!"
The little boy stared at Maddy with wide eyes, then gave her a wide smile, reaching out his arms. Sting set him down on the floor and he immediately crawled over to Natsu.
"Did you beat up Pita?" Sting asked, crouching down to hug Maddy.
"Pita said I can't killed him," Maddy replied, pouting and wrapping her arms around Sting's neck.
"Well, I appreciate that," Sting said, looking over at Natsu. "I do happen to love Pita quite a bit."
"Only a fool would fall in love with someone as deadly as Darth Natsu," Natsu replied, grinning. Sting rolled his eyes, then tipped his head toward the kitchen.
"Papa's done making lunch, can the Sith and Jedi reconcile their differences long enough for grilled cheese?"
"Cheese!" Maddy shouted, darting past Sting into the living room. Natsu pushed himself to his feet, then picked up Rohan, who babbled and grabbed at Natsu's hair.
"Gentle," Natsu said, disentangling the sticky fingers as he and Sting made their way to the kitchen. Maddy was already up at the table, eagerly devouring her sandwich while Gray cut up some avocados for Rohan.
"Hey, handsome," Natsu said, leaning over and kissing Gray's cheek. "Are Rogue and Tamar back from piano lessons?" As soon as he asked, the front door opened and Maddy immediately jumped down from her chair, tearing through the living room and shouting Tamar's here!
"Good to know she loves me, too," Rogue remarked, coming into the kitchen and tossing his phone into the pile on the counter. "Hey, my darling," he said to Rohan, reaching out and taking him from Natsu.
Natsu slipped around behind Gray and wrapped his arms around Gray's waist, kissing the side of his neck as he arranged the food for Rohan on a plate.
"You're cuddly today," Gray remarked, reaching down and squeezing Natsu's hand on his stomach.
"'m always cuddly," Natsu replied, voice muffled by Gray's sweater. "Plus, I missed you when you were gone last week. I need to make up cuddles."
"You do have two other husbands you could cuddle with," Gray said, laughing and turning in Natsu's arms. "And three kids." He kissed Natsu on the forehead, then handed the plate to Rogue, who headed to table to set Rohan in his highchair.
"True," Natsu said, grabbing the milk from the fridge. It was packed nearly to bursting with food, and he raised an eyebrow at Rogue. "Shit, babe, do we have enough groceries?"
"Language," Rogue said mildly, at the same time that Maddy reappeared and said, "why you said 'shit?'" Rogue raised his eyebrows at Natsu, who looked sheepish.
"Because Pita is a bad Sith who says bad words," Sting replied, pointing at Maddy's booster seat. "Now get your butt up there and eat your lunch, missy."
"Your butt," Maddy giggled, ducking under Sting's arms and hopping up into her chair next to Gray, who pulled back her curly black hair, pinning it with a yellow hair clip.
"Hey, you," Sting said as Tamar appeared in the doorway. She shrugged off her backpack and dropped it on the floor, but when Sting raised his eyebrow at her, she rolled her eyes and picked it up again.
"Can I drive to the mall after lunch?" she asked after she'd hung up her bag. "Jamar asked if I wanted to go to a movie."
"Which one is he again?" Rogue asked, leaning down to pick up a piece of food that Rohan had tossed on the floor. "The one with the mohawk?"
"No, he's the one that Papi said was 'definitely gay but probably doesn't know it yet,'" Tamar grumbled.
"Riiight, the one with the nose piercing." Natsu sat down next to Tamar and nudged her foot under the table.
"I can drive you to the mall," Sting offered. Tamar groaned, tipping her head back dramatically. Sting laughed, moving to ruffle her hair, but she ducked out of the way and scowled at him.
"You guys are embarrassing," she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What, we're not cool parents?" Natsu asked, grinning at her.
"Ughhhh." She glared at him. "I'm the only kid at school who has four dads. Two is weird enough." She hesitated, then added, "and people keep asking why I'm black and you guys aren't."
There was an awkward silence around the table as the four of them looked at each other.
"Sweetheart, lots of adopted kids have parents who don't look like them," Gray said gently. She looked up at him, expression shifting from irritated to miserable.
"Yeah, but I don't look like any of you," she said. "Even Maddy and Rohan." Suddenly there were tears in her eyes. Sting made a sad sound, reaching out and pulling her into a sideways hug. This time she didn't resist, letting him rest his head on hers and hug her tightly.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I don't think there's anything we can say to make it better." He sighed, kissing her head. "Sometimes people don't understand, and I know that hurts. I hate it when people give me and Pita weird looks when we're out, just because we look different." Tamar sniffed, rubbing her eyes. "It's not fair, and I wish I could tell you that it'll go away."
"It sucks," she said, voice wavering. "Rohan looks like Pita and Maddy looks like Papa and I don't look like anybody."
"Oh, sweetheart," Sting said gently, shifting until he had Tamar wrapped in both arms and was running his hand up and down her back. "I'm sorry."
Natsu reached over and took Tamar's hand, squeezing it gently. The kitchen was silent for a second, then Maddy appeared next to Tamar.
"You need a hug?" she asked, and Tamar half-laughed, half-sobbed, turning and reaching out to her sister. Maddy crawled up into Tamar's lap, wrapping her arms around Tamar's neck and saying, "like you so much."
Tamar hugged Maddy tightly and whispered, "I like you too, Mads."
"Okay, does everyone have everything they need?" Rogue stood in front of the couch, hands on his hips, looking down at his family. Everyone was curled up on the couch – Maddy was squished between Tamar and Sting, who was holding a sleepy Rohan on his lap. Natsu was cuddling Gray in the corner, with a spot between him and Tamar for Rogue.
"Yes, now get your ass over here," Natsu said, reaching out his arm to Rogue.
"What's 'ass?'" Maddy asked. Rogue sighed, shooting an irritated look at Natsu. "It's a Sith word?"
"Yup," Natsu said quickly, grabbing Rogue's sleeve and tugging him onto the couch. "Jedis can't say it or they'll get in trouble."
Maddy looked suspicious, but was quickly distracted by the bowl of popcorn that Tamar put in front of her.
"Everyone ready?" Gray asked, grabbing the remote and hitting 'play.'
As the opening crawl for 'The Last Jedi' appeared on the screen, Tamar cuddled up to Rogue in an uncharacteristic display of affection. A warm, contented feeling spread through Rogue's chest as he wrapped an arm around his daughter, kissing her head. Tamar hadn't cuddled with any of them like this in a long time.
"I love you, Papi," Tamar said quietly.
Rogue felt tears pricking at his eyes as he squeezed her tightly and whispered, "I love you too, and I always will."