Gotta Love Family:

Sabine stared proudly out at the assembled Mandalorians in the hangar, many different clans and tribes and Houses all working together for the first time in centuries, thanks mostly to Bo's sheer stubborn-headedness.

After a moment or two, she turned to look at Din to see his reaction and found the poor man looking quite frozen as his visor stared straight ahead. Under her hand, his shoulder was as tense as the wire on a bowcaster and she was pretty sure he'd forgotten to breathe. Oops. I think I broke him. Too much culture shock all at once, I guess. I hope he's not having another panic attack.

"Hey," she said softly, so as not to startle him. "You okay? We can leave if it's too much."

Despite her efforts, Din still jumped slightly under her hand as if he'd forgotten she was there. He turned to look up at her, shaking his head in quick denial. "No. No," he said in that wonderful husky, low voice. "I'm fine. Just surprised. And thinking."

"Ah." This, she understood. Bringing him here to see proof that helmets could be taken off without losing your culture and creed had been the fastest thing she could think of to reassure him that she wasn't a dar'manda moron who took her helmet off just for him. But it also had to be understandably hard to deal with; the knowledge that he'd been wearing his own helmet almost nonstop for – possibly? probably? – decades based on an ancient belief system. "So what would you like to do now? We can go out there and I can introduce you to our Mand'alor. Or we can just go wander around and I'll show you some of our plans for the future. Or we can go back to Spectre House. Up to you."

Din took a long, deep breath, his broad shoulder moving significantly under her hand as he consciously released the tension in his body, as any well trained warrior should be able to do if they ever hoped to win a fight. He then rose to his feet, hand automatically lifting to touch her waist but hesitating as she stepped back to accommodate him. They both dropped their hands back to their sides as a suddenly awkward shuffle ensued. Sabine stared up at the well built man as he stared back down at her, the air practically humming between them with possibilities. She was definitely blushing under her helmet now and quite grateful for its excellent masking abilities.

He cleared his throat with a half cough after a long thirty seconds of mutual longing and then said, "I think I'd like to do all of those. In that order. I want to meet the Mand'alor. I want to help with the future of our people. And, most of all, I want to see my son, really see him. And I want him to be the first person I show my face to since I was a child too."

Sabine melted. Just melted. Because that was the sweetest thing ever. And the way his voice had nearly choked up with the sound of suppressed tears when he talked about Wompie made her want to hug him for hours straight just to make him feel better.

By the Manda.

This man.

He was going to break her before she ever saw him fight or gazed upon his face.

How?

Please, Manda, let him be as good at fighting as he is at talking, and not just be a dud in a shiny suit.

And after that, as long as he's not butt ugly under that bucket or a hundred years old, I swear I'm going to jump on him faster than a podracer on hyperfuel.

"Then that's what we'll do," Sabine said firmly, crushing down her wayward hormones and trying not to lean closer to him. She so badly wanted to touch him again but didn't have a good excuse to do so. "And then I'll take you back to Wompie."

"Thank you."

His beautiful voice was like warm butter with gratitude and she wanted to wrap herself up in it forever. Not even the slightly tinny sound of it coming through the bucket speakers could mask just how incredible it was. It was almost like Jetii magic.

No one had ever affected her like this before and it was inconceivably disconcerting.

Maybe what they say about soulmates is actually true.

Sabine was still staring up at his helmet, and he back down at hers. She wished she knew what he was thinking. Or at least feeling. (Ezra always knew what people were feeling and she was kind of jealous of that ability right now.) And unbeknownst to her, they'd somehow closed the distance between them again so that their chest plates were nearly touching with each heavy breath. The loud silence was dragging out again as neither were willing to move when Sabine suddenly blurted out, much to her own surprise, "Do you believe in the stories about everyone having one true cyar'ika?"

Din leaned back a fraction, head tilting slightly in equal startlement as he studied her for the seriousness of her random statement. He took a moment to answer, during which her heart pounded like an echoing drum in her ears. "You mean how a Mando is supposed to know that they've met their soulmate almost instantly?"

She nodded, feeling silly for bringing up such a loaded subject after knowing the man for all of an hour, at the very most.

He made a humming sound that resonated in her core as he thought some more. Then there was the slightest incline of his helmet and shoulders towards her. "I do now."

Sabine swallowed hard, feeling like a furnace had been lit in her bodysuit all of a sudden. She needed air. Now. "That's… good. Very good," she managed to croak out. "We should… go." And then the overwhelmed woman all but turned tail and ran out of the cockpit, pulling off her helmet as she went and sucking in huge lungfuls of precious oxygen.

She knew Din was following her by the sound of his boots on the durasteel floor, which was good, because there was no way she could look back at him at the moment. (It seems it was a day for Mandos to have panic attacks.)

Fortunately, by the time they'd walked down the ramp of her kom'rk and into the hangar, Sabine had managed to pull herself back together enough to smile almost normally at Din as she nodded in the vague direction they needed to go. "The Command Center is that way, and underground. We'll probably find Bo there."

"All right," he murmured, seeming unperturbed by her hasty exit. Which was also good.

Sabine practically babbled as she led the way, waving or nodding at curious friends and acquaintances as they passed them by. "My clan and Bo's clan were the first to move here after The Purge. We built this hidden facility in the mountains with the permission of the Lothal Governor, who's a friend of my Ghost family. Most of it is underground in the pre-existing cave system and is constantly expanding as more and more Mandos are found or hear the word and show up to join. As of yesterday, we now have just over four thousand people living here."

"Impressive," Din said sincerely as they reached an enclosed area in the center of the massive hangar. "I didn't know there were that many Mandalorians still alive."

"Neither did we," Sabine said with an amused half shrug, as a door slid open for them. Inside the enclosure was a bank of elevators and the original set of carved out stairs that led down to the main cavern of their stronghold. "It's been a pleasant surprise to everyone, especially to those who find long lost family or clan members."

"Does that happen often?" Din asked as they rode an open-air lift down a few hundred metres to what ended up being the back end of the Community Cavern, full of tables on one side and training areas on the other. (The number of times a spar had meandered into the tabled area and caused welcome chaos were beyond counting at this point.)

Sabine shrugged, leaning back against the guardrail as they descended into the well-lit cavern, arms crossed over her chest and feet crossed at the ankles, as casual looking as she could make herself. "Often enough to no longer be a surprise, but not as frequently as many would wish."

"Hmmmm." He focused his attention at the busy space below them, helmet turning as he scanned the area.

"Are you missing people?" she asked, very familiar with the hopeful set to his frame as he looked over the assembled people below, having seen it in so many new arrivals. "Because we have a list of everyone here."

Din looked back at her as the lift settled on the floor and a section of the guardrail automatically lifted to let them out. "Yes. My mentor. Taught me everything I know and is the closest thing I had to a buir in our tribe. I had to flee Nevarro when I stole Wompie from the Imps. My covert covered my retreat, and I know most didn't survive. She was still there and alive the last time I saw her but had been planning to move soon thereafter if the Imps didn't find her first. I am hoping to see her again one day."

"We'll check the list for you before we go," Sabine promised, earning her a grateful nod.

She led the way along the edge of the wall towards the second largest cave in the system where meetings took place, her shiny silver companion drawing many more curious looks from those seated at the tables as they passed.

Spotting some of her family eating lunch at a nearby table and eyeballing her in the most obvious come-hither fashion possible, Sabine made a quick detour. "Excuse me. I see…" she murmured in explanation to Din, who shrugged slightly and followed. She wondered what Din would think of the man who had sired and raised her, considering her father was very much not a traditional Mandalorian but more of the Pacifist movement that his cousin, Duchess Satine Kryze, had been the founder of. (She still had no idea how her completely opposite parents got along so well.)

Her father smiled at her warmly as she leaned over him to hug his shoulders. "Daughter."

"Daddy."

"Sabby."

She pushed her younger brother's armour covered shoulder fondly. "Tristy." She laughed at the face he pulled at the equally awful nickname. "Fair's fair, keep telling you."

Tristan snorted. And then as a matched pair, the male Wrens turned their identical amber gazes on Din. "And who's this?" Tristan asked with zero tact.

Sabine backed up a step and waved a flourishing hand. "This is Din Djarin. He's the father of a new Jetii youngling for the Ghost Order. He rescued him from the Imps and adopted him. And Din's here to help us." She couldn't help the somewhat dopey smile she turned on the silver warrior as she introduced him.

Her father, every bit as intelligent as she was, didn't miss it. He raised an eyebrow at her, but otherwise made no comment, actually having manners in front of strangers. Instead, he smiled at Din and said, "Welcome, Din. I'm Alrich Wren, Consort of our clan, and this my youngest offspring, Tristan. Our cause could always use the help of another fine looking warrior."

Din nodded, somehow managing to look both humble and tough at the same time. "Nice to meet you both. I look forward to working with Sabine."

Well.

Wasn't that bold.

Her father's eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline. And then his eyes were twinkling at her in that way that she just knew meant she was going to get teased to death later. And grilled.

Great.

Tristan was now more than semi-glaring at Din in warning, but Din was ignoring him. That could cause interesting things to happen later, knowing her protective brother (who'd somehow managed to grow a full head taller than her father and finally filled out to his full potential – aka, huge like their grandsire - at twenty-nine years old) who liked to beat up anyone who showed interest in her to see if they were worthy. (None were.)

"I see," her father said, smiling knowingly at all of them. "In that case, I hope you have the stamina to keep up with her. She's a bit of a whirlwind, much like her mother."

Sabine made a sound of protest as Din chuckled and looked down at her, his visor staring at her pointedly. And very captivatingly. (Again, how?) "I shall endeavour to do so for the sake of my pride if nothing else."

"Humph." Very much done with the loaded innuendoes, Sabine changed the subject with all due haste as she tore her gaze away from Din's to look back at her father. "I'm guessing Mother is with Bo?"

Alrich allowed the subject change with gracious ease. "Yes. Planning, as usual."

"Good. I'm going to introduce Din to them."

Up went his eyebrow again and back came the sparkling eyes. (As if they ever left.) "Oh, in that case, I do believe I want to see this. Lunch can wait."

"Me too," Tristan said, practically leaping from his seat and grabbing his helmet off the bench beside him.

"You don't have to…" she tried to protest as her father also rose in a much more graceful way, brushing out his blue and gold tunic.

"Oh, I'm quite sure I'm not going to miss this. You finally bring a man home to meet us, and it's even one Ursa might actually approve of."

"I just met him!" Sabine protested, practically trotting after her father as he arbitrarily led the way to the command centre with brisk steps.

"Tell that to the man who can't keep his eyes off you," Tristan muttered from beside her, glaring back at Din, who was striding after them like a big, metallic bodyguard on high alert. "And you're not exactly being subtle about your own returned interest."

"Shut up," she muttered back, shoving him over a little, just because. "Like you're one to talk, the way you fawn all over the Freemaker girl. She's just a mechanic." (She said that just to rile her brother up, knowing the recently acquired Lieutenant Kordi Freemaker was way more than that, being an essential part in keeping their Resistance running smoothly in terms of supplies and logistics.)

Tristan shoved her back with his shoulder after he caught his balance. "Take that back!" he demanded, now looking fierce. "Kordi is every bit as smart and creative as you are! She's amazing!"

Sabine grinned at her brother. "Got ya. You're a goner on a non Mando! I'm telling Mother! She's gonna have a fit!"

His eyes widened in alarm. "Don't you dare!"

"Oh, I dare." Sabine laughed, then dashed away from Tristan before he could grab her in a choke hold or something. She spun around and fell into step beside Din, who was somehow radiating amusement with a bucket covering his head. "Apologies for my family. We're a bit much. And you haven't even met my mother yet. She's something else entirely."

He turned his attention back to her after Tristan gave up on glaring at them over his shoulder. "I don't mind. You are all entertaining to watch at least. I never had a sibling to tease."

Sabine wanted to hug him. Again. "That's a shame. Everyone should have at least one sibling just for that purpose alone."

Din laughed, the sound making her heart flutter ridiculously in her chest. "I guess that means I'll have to find - or make - Wompie a sibling or two then."

Sabine nearly tripped over her own feet as the implication of Din getting frisky to produce said sibling struck her. And how the thought of herself being the recipient of said baby-making friskiness didn't immediately make her cringe the way it would have if anyone else had said it. Holy shab! Am I actually ready to settle down and be a parent?!

The thought was flabbergasting.

Din had immediately caught her arm when she managed to forget how to walk. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

She liked his gentle but strong hand on her arm. A lot. Sabine was starting to overheat again at just that simple contact and it wasn't fair. "I'm fine. Just... something." She shrugged a little, not able to describe what was wrong without sounding like a total idiot.

"Ah. Got it," he said, seeming to actually understand. His thumb subtly caressed her elbow before he let her go and another wave of heat swept though her. She was seriously tempted to put her helmet back on to hide, but then remembered how that was worse. He nodded at a natural opening in the cave wall that tunneled to the next cavern over. "I believe your buir and vod went this way."

Sabine blushed harder, having completely lost track of where they were walking. "Um. Yes. That's right." She led the way through the narrow tunnel that only fit one fully armoured person at a time unless you shuffled sideways to pass. When she glanced back to see how he was faring in the darker and relatively tight confines, she saw that Din's broad shoulders nearly brushed both walls at the same time. By comparison, hers didn't even come close. Sabine got hotter.

As they travelled down the hundred or so metre long tunnel, the noise coming from the next cavern started to make itself known, catching her attention. Sabine increased her pace until she popped out the other side and gawked at the fight that was currently taking place. Din slid into place beside her just to the side of the arched doorway, as they both stayed close to the wall along with everyone else who were avidly watching their Mand'alor in an all-out brawl with a well-built woman in full gold and red armour and a fur half-cape around her shoulders. They were practically screaming at each other as they threw punches and kicks that weren't holding back in the slightest, until they were even rolling around on the ground trying to pin each other to the floor.

"Dank farrik," Din muttered under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear.

"You don't deserve the title, you dar'manda little bitch!" the unknown woman was saying, armoured fist flying at Bo's unhelmeted head.

Bo just managed to dodge in time so that the fist only glanced off her cheekbone, but it still drew blood in a shallow scratch. She raised a knee and threw the bigger woman off her, then immediately pinned her opponent to the floor. That lasted all of two seconds. "Yes, I do, you supremist bantha cow!" Bo growled out through gritted teeth as they grappled for dominancy. "The Kryze clan has ruled Mandalore for the last century!"

"You lost the Darksabre!"

"The shabla Imp shot me in the back first! I almost died!"

"You take off your helmet!"

"That's a rule from a thousand years ago! Times have changed! Get with them!"

"I shouldn't have come back! You're just as stubborn and hard-headed as you've always been!"

"And you're not?!" Bo had finally managed to get behind the other woman and had caught her around the neck with an unforgiving arm held tight by her other. Bo's legs were wrapped around her waist too, finally pinning the other in place. "It was your antiquated ideals that split up our family and Mandalorians in general in the first place! Satine wouldn't have become such an extreme pacifist if you hadn't driven her to it with your notions of war and of revitalizing a Creed that doesn't work in today's galaxy! You're the reason Mandalore fought yet another civil war that lasted years! It's your fault our parents and brother were killed in that war!"

The challenger, who could only be the infamous woman now known only as The Armourer (and Sabine's distant relative-of-sorts through her father's side), finally stopped struggling and sagged in Bo's hold. "You're right, Bo. And that's why I went away," she admitted, sounding defeated. "I was wrong to try and change all of our people back to the Old Ways and I knew it. But I couldn't give up what I believed so strongly in. And I never will."

Bo sighed and relaxed her hold, leaning down to rest her forehead on the top of her older (adopted) sister's horned helmet. "Stubborn Zabrak di'kut."

The other woman, who Sabine knew was actually named Emilana Kryze, sighed and reached up a hand to pat Bo's bright red hair awkwardly. "Stubborn Human dreamer."

"I missed you," they both said at the same time, and then both laughed self-consciously as they parted ways to stand.

The two women stared at each other for a moment, bucket to bare face, and then the Zabrak snorted softly. "I suppose, since you beat me again, you can still keep the title."

"Thanks," Bo said dryly, rolling her eyes.

"But I'm going after that Darksabre and then we'll see which Kryze gets to determine the fate and Creed of the Mandalorians for the next century," Emilana added smugly.

Bo glared. "You'll have to beat me to it, then. Because I'm getting it back first."

"Hhhmmmph." The Armourer didn't sound convinced, crossing muscular arms over her chest.

In the silence that ensued, a very pissed off, deadly quiet voice said, "You lied to me."

The Armourer's head whipped around in clear shock to look back over her shoulder as the other twenty or so people in the room also turned to gawk at the man Sabine had brought here. "Din!"

Well, shab, Sabine thought, as she realized that the controversial Armourer she'd heard stories about must be Din's missing mentor / almost buir. And now everything made so much more sense.

Poor Din.