Author's Note: This story takes place during my fic Meeting Like This, which is an AU with a Fett/Leia pairing where Leia becomes the Senate representative for the Mandalore system. That's all you really need to know to read this, but if you want an introduction to Luke/Dyrk, you might consider reading Days and Nights as well.

Comments and feedback are very much appreciated.

The Spaceport Rents was a low, dark hotel near the docking bays on the 3rd quadrant of Vulpter. Luke passed several patrons in the narrow hallway, but not one of them looked at his face. It was that kind of place.

He stopped outside of room 211. There was a scrap of flimsy on the door that read "let yourself in." That made Luke smile, because the door was locked.

It only took him a few seconds to work through the mechanism using the Force. On the other side of the door was an ordinary hotel room, a basic, stripped down version of the luxury suite where his sister was staying on Basilisk. The bed was in the center of the room, with the fresher off to one side. The shower was running. He sat down in a worn armchair facing the bed and waited.

Luke hadn't seen Dyrk Veet since they spent several days stranded on Tanaab and the Mandalorian mercenary made it abundantly clear that he wanted to sleep with him. To his credit, he took "no" for an answer, and they parted on friendly terms.

Luke was surprised, but not displeased when he was preparing to depart from Basilisk and a message with Dyrk's ID popped up on his commlink.

Watching the 'net and thought you might be in the area. Room 211 at the Spaceport Rents if you want to stop by.

Luke looked around the small room, taking in the dirty boots on the floor and the indent in the blankets where their owner sat on the bed to remove them.

The shower turned off, and Luke's hands moved restlessly over his knees. Why was he nervous? He closed his eyes for a second, drawing on the Force to calm and center him.

The small room faded away. He could feel the people in the hallway going about their business. Some were angry. Some were sad. Some were guilty.

It was that kind of a place.

It wasn't hard to find Dyrk, who was none of those things. His presence had a solidness to it, a contentment that didn't yield easily to stronger emotions. He was happy, pleased by the prospect of seeing Luke.

And a little nervous.

But not a trace of that nervousness showed when the young Mandalorian walked out of the 'fresher. "Jedi!"

Luke hadn't realized how much he associated Dyrk with his armor. Seeing him in a casual shirt and pants felt strangely...intimate. "How are you?" Dyrk asked, extending his hand with a warm grin. Little droplets of water still clung to his close cut hair and beard. Luke quickly stood and shook his hand.

"I'm okay. You?"

"Better, now that you're here." Dyrk sat down on the foot of the bed and gestured for Luke to reclaim his seat. "I've been watching the HoloNet since I got in. This business on Basilisk is crazy. Your sister's all right?"

"She's fine."

"Do they know who was behind the attack yet?"

"They have suspects." Luke paused and shook his head. "Leia doesn't seem that concerned by it. I'm not sure if that's good or bad."

"Huh. How about Fett? Did he seem concerned?"

Luke made a dismissive gesture. "I don't know how to tell."

"Fair enough."

"I don't even know why he was there. Leia told me it's over."

Dyrk's eyebrows rose briefly in surprise at this news. "Osik. I thought that was good for another year, at least."

"Really? Why?"

The Mandalorian paused, putting his thoughts together. "I don't know. When you go all out for something, you tend to hang on to it. Sometimes longer than you should."

"Maybe it was never that serious."

Dyrk shrugged and stood. "How long can you stay? I was just about to go out and get some food." He turned on the room's holoprojector and brought up a city map.

Luke looked down at his hands. "I'm in no hurry."

"Great. So how's the rest of the guard? New guy fitting in?"

"I guess." Luke couldn't actually remember which one was the new guard. Not the big one. Not the woman. "Seemed like business as usual. They argue a lot and refuse to call me anything other than 'Jedi.'"

Dyrk glanced up sheepishly through the projection. "I didn't know that bothered you. Sorry."

"It's okay. I don't mind when you do it."

His eyebrows raised slightly in response. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Luke put his hands back on his knees, bracing himself. "I have to ask. Did you resign because of me?"

Dyrk didn't answer immediately, but Luke could sense the heaviness of his silence. There was something there. Some kind of guilt...or regret?

"It wasn't really about you, it was about my...conduct." Dyrk grimaced. "You could say I was strongly encouraged to resign."

"By Fett?"

"Yeah."

"He's gone now. I could talk to Leia."

Dyrk waved a hand and gave him a quick grin. "I appreciate it, but I'm not hurting for work. In fact, I just raked in a stack on a security job, so dinner is on me." He turned his attention back to the map. "What do you like to like to eat, Jedi?"