Last time: Viran completed his Jedi Knight Exam.

Now: it's time to celebrate!

Chapter 4- The Celebration

Sasha and Oppie sat at the campsite telling stories to each other when suddenly they heard someone approach. Turning her head to see who it was, Sasha beamed when she saw it was Viran. She then looked over at Oppie with a cocky grin.

"Alright, pay up," Sasha said as she held out her hand and cut him off mid-story.

Without a grumble Oppie brought the 10 credit slip out of his pocket and slapped it into her hand.

"Thank you," Sasha said as she pocketed the money.

"Did you guys actually bet on me?" Viran asked, hurt by what he just saw.

"If it makes you feel better, I won the bet," Sasha joked with him.

"Yeah sure, whatever," Viran said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, just thought you'd guys like to know I passed."

"Viran! That's fantastic!" Sasha cheered as she leapt to her feet and pulled him in for a hug.

Oppie waited for Sasha to release him from their embrace before hugging him as well. "Nicely done Vir." He said with a smile. "And I bet you'd get done faster."

Sasha gaped at him before smacking his arm. "Don't tell him that!"

"Oh I see how it is," Viran gasped with a smirk. "At least Oppie believes in me."

Sasha stared at them both with wide eyes and her jaw to the floor. She then pouted at them both.

"If it makes you feel any better, she bet you'd get done faster than her. Which you did." Oppie said with a laugh.

Viran looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She nodded as she slowly dropped her pout, a chuckle escaping her lips. "Yeah it's true."

"Well thanks guys," Viran laughed. "But if it's all the same to you, I am ready to go home."

"Yeah, that sounds nice." Oppie said. "Did Master Redika visit you, too?" He asked Viran curiously.

"Uh, no actually," Viran admitted as he scratched at the back of his head. "I saw Older me from the future."

"Wait, really?" Sasha asked, shocked.

"Yeah, he said congrats and then gave me some advice about the future," Viran told them.

"That's…" Oppie trailed off. "It's nice to know he continued on." He said solemnly.

"Yeah it is," Viran nodded in agreement. "He definitely seemed… happier."

"That's great to hear," Sasha said with a small smile. "I'm glad you were able to see him one last time. But what did he say about the future?"

"It was something about cherishing it," Viran summarized. "I can't quite remember, but I'm just happy I passed." That wasn't entirely true. He did remember it all, but at this moment it wasn't something he needed to think too much on.

Together the three of them cleaned up the camp, boarded the Forerunner and returned for home.

Kyr made chili. Which were some of the most terrifying words the three Jedi had ever faced. Kyr was not a cook by any means. And he had made chili to celebrate their successful trials. Which was very kind of him. But also quite terrifying.

Oppie sniffed a ladle full. By no means was Oppie a chef, but he did enjoy knowing how to make food that was at least… edible. He was concerned that there would be ingredients in this that were more suited for Tac to consume than for humans. It smelled all right, actually. Very spicy, which he knew Viran and he would like, but it wouldn't suit Sasha at all since she had no interest in spicy things.

"So what did you put in this?" Oppie looked over at his twin brother.

"Uhhh…" Kyr thought for a moment. "Let's see, some potassium, sulfur, you know, slug thrower powder. I put a little bit of degreaser in since Tac suggested it. Also used some Arkothrax cat meat I found in the freezer that looked like it was from that kill that Kitsu made when you sought us out when you first came here seven years ago since I thought it was a nice callback. Uhh…" He paused, bringing his hand to his chin considering, "what else..."

The terrible thing was that Oppie honestly couldn't tell if the copper plated Mando was kidding him or not. Sasha entered the kitchen at that moment and made a face as she apparently overheard him.

"Are you trying to feed us or kill us?" Sasha asked as she walked over to the pot.

Kyr looked at her, very hurt. "I just wanted to do something nice for you guys since you passed."

Sasha immediately felt bad after saying it. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I'm grateful you did this for us. I was just curious if you were serious about those ingredients you listed off was all," she explained apologetically.

"It's fine, Sash'ika." He said, trying to stifle a laugh. "No, I made it with food. I didn't put degreaser in it, unless you count the little bit of chili oil I put in there. I used a recipe that Zeran gave me. I do hope it came out okay though, otherwise she'll be mad at me for messing it up." He mused.

Sasha smiled at that. "Then I can't wait to try it," she said before exiting the kitchen. "And we are all set up in the dining room when you two are finished in here."

"You didn't actually use seven and a half year old meat in this, did you?" Oppie asked quietly.

Kyr just gave him a wink and started pulling bowls out of the cabinet.

In that moment, Sasha, Viran, Kitsu, and Illara entered the kitchen to take their servings. Grabbing a bowl and ladle full of chili, everyone served up before returning to the dining room to eat. Everyone sat down at the table and started diving into their food. As they ate, they engaged in some small talk for a while before Kitsu stood from her chair, her glass at hand. She cleared her throat before speaking, silencing the table.

"A toast to the first new Jedi Knights in the family!"

Everyone applauded as Viran and Sasha smiled.

"Thanks guys," Sasha said. "It's thanks to Oppie and the rest of you that we are here today. You guys helped us get ready for this day. So thank you." She looked directly at Oppie. "And thank you for being there for us and training us as our mentor all of those years. We really couldn't have done it without you, Op." Sasha raised her glass to Oppie.

"You're welcome." Oppie said with a smile. "I'm glad we were able to actually get you guys knighted."

"Now you're not the only Jedi knight in this house," Viran pointed out with a smirk.

"I know, think of all the time off I'll have now that I can share the load." He replied with a laugh.

Sasha and Viran laughed at that.

"Glad we can help," Sasha chuckled before taking a drink from her glass.

Once dinner was finished and dessert was devoured, everyone parted for the evening. Viran had lingered behind to help clean up while Sasha had retired to their bedroom to get ready for the night. As soon as all of the dishes were cleaned up and the remaining chili put away, Viran headed for the bedroom to call it a night. When he got back, he placed a gentle knock on the door before opening it and entering in case Sasha was changing into her sleepwear. But when he entered, she was nowhere in sight. Instead, he heard the sound of the shower coming from the attached bathroom.

Closing the door shut, Viran made his way over to their shared dresser and got himself ready for bed. Once he finished changing clothes, he found himself staring at the holoframe on the dresser that was scrolling through images from their wedding day a little over a year ago. A smile appeared on Viran's face as he stared at the images for the thousandth time in the past year. And as he remembered those two months so fondly.

After they returned from the void, they had spent a couple of weeks recovering from their injuries. It took them a while but they were back on their feet in no time. They then spent the next couple weeks after those still trying to grasp that they were gone for six years. Once they were more settled into the thought of it, Kyr and the others threw a welcome home party for the trio of Jedi. During that celebration, Viran had properly proposed to Sasha in front of everyone. She, of course, said yes. And that sent them into the next month or so of planning that took place to prepare for their big day.

When their wedding day came, it was like a dream from a fairy tale. Everyone they loved and cared about was present that day. Tac had recorded the whole event. And Zeran was kind enough to ordain the wedding. They were all nicely dressed in shiny, clean armor or in finely pressed tunics and robes. Even Viran had a well put together Jedi tunic and robe that made him look especially handsome. But when Sasha appeared from inside the house, as they hosted the wedding outside, he had forgotten that they were not alone. She was wearing a beautiful, long white gown with her hair falling around her shoulders in curls and her make up exquisitely done. She looked like an angel of Iago. She was so beautiful Viran constantly found himself staring at her the rest of the night. And thankfully, the rest of the ceremony and reception went perfectly after that.

Viran grinned like an idiot as he watched the frame continue to flip through the pictures every thirty seconds or so and remembered the happiest day of his life.

"Are you staring at that again?" Sasha asked from behind him.

Viran turned to see her standing in the open doorway to the bathroom in her sleepwear and her wet hair hanging down. He moved over to her and wrapped her into his arms.

"Can you blame me?" He asked with a smile on his face. "You looked amazing that day. Not saying you don't everyday."

Sasha chuckled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, you looked great that day too," she added.

He blushed at that. "So… the night is still young. Do you want to do anything else or are you ready to call it night?"

Sasha looked like she was thinking about it with an interested smile. "Maybe. What did you have in mind?"

Viran pulled her into a kiss and lost all track of time.

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