Aldor's Eye - Part II

by maddiehope1066

At peace and free at last, Din can now grow in the Force. But as he advances through his awakening, Din is faced with revelations from the deep past while old acquaintances come calling. Determined to thrive and sure of their purpose, Din, Aldor, and Grogu continue to work toward shared visions of their future together, if only the Galaxy would leave them alone.

1. Chapter XII - The New Wisdom

There were mornings when all Din could think about was getting to the Maze to practice, and there were others when he only wanted to stay in bed with Aldor. As autumn wore on and the Solstice came near, the latter had become his most common desire when he woke with her soft in his arms. So it was when he opened his eyes to hers, and saw that beautiful pale crimson bow already in place on her beautiful face. She buried her nose in the bend of his neck, nipping softly under his jaw as he sighed indulgently, wanting nothing more than to stay like this throughout the winter.

"What do you think, my Lady," he murmured, brushing his nose across her forehead as his fingers tangled in her hair. "It's cold outside, and you're so warm." He dipped his tongue deep into her flavor as he smoothed his hand over her hip, then eased his fingers up her inner thigh. He slipped one digit between the damp folds, and into the soft heat that beckoned. "And so wet."

She purred and closed her eyes, and rolled her face into the hollow of his throat. "I think… you should…. should make love to me," she whispered brokenly as he gently prodded the rough bundle of nerves nestled deep in her sweet pussy. "We'll figure it out… from there."

Din left her empty only long enough to shift his weight, then levered his hips to bury himself in the only place he wanted to be lately. He closed his eyes to savor it, holding her close and just feeling that precious hug. The completion. But he needed more, and rolled her to her back, sinking into her depths until he was sheathed to the hilt in silk. "So good," he whispered, basking in her soft gasps of pleasure and the feel of her fingers raking through his hair. He closed his eyes, letting all of it pour over him as he moved slowly inside her. Drenched in her and already tripping near the boundaries of control. "Always feels so good, my Lady," he murmured into her ear. "Tied up in your ribbons…"

Her body squeezed around him, and his voice caught in his throat as she rolled her hips into his, taking him deeper as that beautiful sound sighed through her lips. "Ahh…" Already close. Her eyes squeezed closed, and her mouth opened wide on a silent cry he felt in every cell of his body. Her womb quaked with gathering fire, surrounding him in resonant waves that trembled through her beautiful pussy as the tempest spun itself into a frenzy inside her. That's it my Lady. Cum for me… cum hard… take me with you… don't ever leave me behind… "Ngh!"

His desperate grunt mingled with her quiet "Ahhh…" as her womb opened wide, expelling all her gathered fire and unleashing the tempest at once, quaking with the force of her fall. "Din!" He took every inch of her in a torrent of fire and plasma while his heart pumped her Spirit through his veins like a ritual drum. A breath of lightning shot through his very soul when his seed ripped out of him. Her nails bit into his scalp and she followed him through the black hole and out the other side, where they landed in a heap of heaving flesh, tangled in golden bands and silken ribbons, barely conscious of anything but how good it felt.

Din never knew how long they spent in these moments of afterglow. When he couldn't leave her empty or take his lips from her skin. When he knew the deepest peace he could possibly know. He never wanted to leave it, but it seemed especially difficult this morning as a quiet rumble resounded gently over the Eye. "Stay in bed with me today," he whispered seductively into the bend of her neck. "I don't want to leave you empty, my Lady."

Aldor rolled her face into his chest and pressed a deep kiss over his heart. Still pounding. Still entirely subject to her. "We may need the energy for the days to come," she whispered against his nipple before she took a moment to sweep her tongue over it, drawing sparks from his flesh that shot through his spine, manifesting in a deep shiver as he drew his lover closer. "I sense we will, my Love, if the last week has been any indication of how the Solstice will go for us."

Din smiled into her hair, and shifted toward the foot of the bed to take her breast into his mouth, gently nibbling the hard, hungry nipple. It had its intended effect, and Aldor sighed indulgently and rubbed her mound against his thigh. For a moment he thought she'd buckle. He was more than ready to bury his face in her for a while, but she grumbled against her own desire. "You're much too good at tempting me, my Mandalorian."

"Is there such a thing… to be too good at it?"

"When there's a little green 56-year-old Foundling to feed, I believe there may be, my Love. And we should make use of this clear day, I'm afraid."

Din chuckled at the pout in her voice and shifted again to bring their eyes level. She gave in to one more deep kiss, then he sighed and planted his forehead against hers. "What should we do then, my Lady?"

"We probably have time for a couple quick runs through the Maze," she answered. "And Grogu needs to expend some energy." She rolled to her side and levered herself up to one elbow. Din could hardly keep his attention on her words as he smoothed his hand over her gorgeous slopes and rises, so prominent and sexy in this position close beside him. But he fought the rumble in his belly, and managed to hear her as she ruminated on Grogu. "Have you noticed lately he's been at meditation longer?" she asked.

"I have," Din answered, rolling to his back as he tucked his arm behind his head, his mind finally brought forth from the haze of lust. "I think it may be how the Solstice affects him. Force knows we already feel it, so I'm sure he does too. His mind has been… quiet… but… busy." A short chuckle huffed from his lips. "Maybe doesn't make sense, but he's more focused lately and his thoughts are broader. I think the seismic influence enhances the Cosmic Force in him. Makes him more reflective. I believe it's good for him."

"You're a quick study, my Love," Aldor said with a proud smile. "I knew some Jedi Knights at the Temple who struggled to understand the difference between the Cosmic and the Living Force, yet my astute Mandalorian has grasped it in just a few months."

"Maybe you're just that good a teacher, my Lady," he replied with a small smile. "Maybe I should call you Master Aldor."

An adorable expression of disgust at the pronouncement of this title twisted her features like he knew it would. She scrunched up her sweet face like a little girl tasting something bitter and begged him, "Please don't, my Love. How odious! Perfect proof that I would never have become a proper Jedi in the old way."

"To me, that makes you more of a Master, my Lady."

"How so?"

"You have a better understanding of what you teach because you taught yourself," he answered.

"You would think so, wouldn't you, my Mandalorian?"

Din chuckled. "I guess I would. Anyway, my Lady, you will always be my Master in all things. And I am entirely subject to you."

"If you insist," Aldor teased. "I'll try not to take advantage of it."

As badly as Din wanted her again and however keenly he felt the same desire in his lover, the morning had advanced and Grogu was stirring in his room. It wouldn't be long before he came out in search of breakfast. Din pulled on his clothes and offered to throw some rashers on the hob on his way out to gather the dark blue stone fruits that grew in the small trees around the pond. It had become his favorite breakfast as the trees fruited, and he made it a point to carefully watch her prepare the rashers so he might be of some help to her. But somehow, she always managed to take care of it before he could even start. He was determined this morning, though, and gave Aldor a significant look as he shrugged into his rayskin coat, asking her to let him try. She only grinned and kissed him, then draped the scarf she'd recently made around his neck, begging him not to forget it as the days grew colder. It was the only answer she would give him as he shook his head and opened the hatch to step out into a frigid morning.

She was right of course. Maybe not about his ability over the hob, but certainly about the Maze. And the scarf. Even though he would have gladly forgone training to stay in bed with her today, he had to agree they should take every opportunity to advance their skills before the weather turned. Autumn mornings on the Eye were bitterly cold, but within an hour or two, the suns would be well up, and between these astral comrades and the increasingly warm ground, it would be comfortable enough to make the short journey to the Maze.

Din and Grogu had been training tirelessly for weeks now, and both of them thrived under their Master's guidance. Grogu was a rapt pupil by nature, and Aldor cleverly used Din's experience with weaponry and combat to inform his growth in the Force. Through her wisdom and his own determination, Din advanced through the first three light saber forms quickly. Aldor declared he had all but mastered them already. He was sure she was biased in that opinion, but Din was quite proud of how easily he took to it. The Old Republic saber responded to him loyally, and as he learned how to control his abilities and use them, light saber combat started to feel like second nature. It was amazing how different his experience had been with the Dark Saber.

While he gathered fruit from the trees, training was foremost in his mind as he continued to ruminate over the saber hanging from his belt, the one that hung there before it, and the difference between them. The difference in him as a wielder. The Dark Saber never would have come to Din, and the Old Republic saber certainly wouldn't have summoned Mando. He knew he'd chosen wisely and he was glad to be Din Djarin, but the brooding bounty hunter he had been was the architect of Din Djarin, and Mando would always be a large part of him. Even through Force training and upheaval, his heart remained irrevocably Mandalorian. Despite the small voice in his head that told him to leave it all behind, Din knew it would never be possible, and probably not advisable. If he left Mando out of his training, it would be to his own detriment, and Din began to wonder how he might bring the two sides of himself together.

A Mandalorian heart and a Jedi mind, my Love. Living and Cosmic in one. It's a powerful thing. Something elemental.

Elemental. The word rang in his head as if he'd never heard it before, and he thought about how often he called on the suns or the Eye or the rocks to help him through his exercises. How Aldor spoke of her own ability in terms of water and fire. How Grogu could call on anything to partake of its power. The words she whispered to him months ago popped through his memory. He was rock, she was water, and they shared the same fire. Grogu united them with wind, and was quickly becoming all four. You're right, my Lady. That's how we are, isn't it. The three of us. Does that set us apart from other Force wielders? The elements. How we use them.

I believe it may, my Love.

Din looked back at the YT to see Aldor at the top of the dugout, watching him. A perfect silhouette of warmth and light through the dim mist of a frosty morning. He tilted a nod to her and let her know he'd be along soon. He needed a moment to consider this new wisdom.

Aldor nodded back. I'll put the rashers on, my Love. Take your time.

Din took the Old Republic saber from his belt and looked at it in his hand. Smooth black stone carved into a natural curve that fit his grip comfortably. The beskar inlay flourished through tight channels finished so seamlessly, he couldn't feel the junction of metal and stone. Power radiated from the crystal within. A warm, gentle thrum that vibrated with strength. Stone and fire. Metal and plasma. Perhaps this was the thing that bound him to the saber and its maker. The nature of the Force in him. Elemental.

Din extended the blade and listened to it hum in the quiet morning. The rumble from the heart of the Eye flowed up his legs and arms, and through the tips of his fingers to combine with his own golden warmth. They coiled around the blade as one, back and forth in a spiral up the orange-yellow beam and back into him. Every now and then, an ice crystal floated into the plasma field to produce a whispered hiss, and the elemental Force answered this destruction with the creation of cooler impulses. Like a caress of Aldor's fingers across his cheek, they trickled down the spiral to collide with fire, remade into an elegant steam as his heart swelled with purpose.

This was the key to his training. The key to everything. This amalgamation of elements that had come to define his entire life. The man he'd become and the man he had been, melting together to create the man he would be for the sake of his family.

He looked back at the YT. Aldor had retreated inside, but he felt her there. Felt Grogu with her. He never could have found his path without them. They were his path. He vowed never to forget that as he focused again on the emitted blade, and remembered it only consented to serve him when he told it his purpose was to protect his family. The blade trembled in response to Din's reflections, and he could almost hear a distant, ancient voice telling him, "This is the Way."

"Nothing will take it from us," Din murmured in response. "Thank you, my friend, for showing me the Way."

The blade seemed satisfied, so Din retracted it and hung it back on his belt before he turned to walk home, headed in for breakfast while he looked forward to running the Maze with new wisdom and renewed purpose.

After they ate and took a few moments to finish their tea, Aldor excused herself to the fresher with a light in her eyes that suggested she was looking forward to it too. While she was occupied, Din gave Grogu an affectionate pat and asked him how he felt about his light saber training so far. "Strong," Grogu answered. "Easier now."

"Yeah," Din agreed. "Me too, Kid."

"Solstice some. Mostly us."

Din chuckled and took a nose bump of his own while Grogu giggled. "Yeah, we're badasses, aren't we?"

"A-wee-pa."

"When I say 'we' now, I mean all of us."

"Good."

Din smiled at his son and gave his head a little scratch. "Do you like training? I know you want a light saber, but… you know… your mother's right. Still, I want to make sure you're enjoying it. That it's not… too easy."

Grogu grinned and gave Din's shoulder a little pat. "Not yet."

"I'm sure your mother will know when it is. Imagine I will too. But you know, Son… I always like to check in."

Grogu stretched in his chair to give Din another nose rub in response. Din smiled and nodded, and Grogu finished a second helping of rashers and fruit.

Grogu wanted to meditate for a bit while they waited for the suns to get warmer, and excused himself to his room, leaving Din alone. As he had done lately when he found himself between tasks, he stepped to the turret to try again. He was trying not to get frustrated by his continued inability to open the hatch, but it was difficult to overcome. He was beyond irritated that the trick of it still eluded him. He could sometimes hear a metallic scrape or two when he was sure he could sense the mechanism, but still he struggled to master this most basic skill he'd mastered without thinking when he was a child.

Unlocking this hatch had become a mission. He didn't tell Aldor, but she knew. In her typical fashion, she chose to let him find out for himself. It was more necessary in this case than most, because she was right that this block was tied to his childhood. It didn't help that old, buried memories continued to flood his mind as he advanced through his awakening. They were simultaneously painful and precious, reminding him of those few instances when he couldn't contain his ability, and his parents would chide him while sorrow filled their eyes. He would have done anything not to see that look on their faces, but sometimes he couldn't help it. Something would upset or surprise him, then his parents had to explain away some strange occurrence in the Bizarre and he'd see the expressions again.

He hoped new wisdom would assuage the deep sense of guilt that accompanied these memories, but all he could see was his parents' faces panicked and pained. He just couldn't shake that feeling of dread. It had to be some sort of test the Force had engineered for him. A final exam before he could graduate to something greater. Because every time he made another attempt at opening the hatch, he heard the call from underneath. He was sure it was linked somehow to the call he continued to hear from the Pupil, and as soon as he could open this hatch, it would be the right time to follow the voices.

Din's thoughts were routed from the task at hand when two warm arms wrapped around him from behind.

You're trying too hard, my Love.

She was still damp and hot from her shower as she gave him an affectionate squeeze. Din murmured in pleasure as the steam from her flesh filled his nostrils with her herbal scent. She felt so good around him. Warm and soft and so sweet. Delicious as he took her hand from his chest and tenderly kissed her palm. A precious distraction from things that could drive him mad. He turned around and kissed her indulgently, teasing himself for the night to come. "Mmm.." he murmured, burying his face in her hair to overwhelm himself with more of her cool fragrance. "Tonight, my Lady," he whispered in her ear. "Tonight, I'm yours. And you are mine."

She dragged her tongue under his jaw as he huffed and whimpered at once, trembling under the seductive caress. "Promise you won't leave me empty."

"Nothing will take me from you."

"This is the Way," she concluded with a beautiful smile. Sweet and seductive at once.

Everything in him wanted to throw her on the bed, but Grogu's mind had awakened from meditation. So Din resigned himself to one more quick kiss before they headed back to the kitchen, and rounded the turret together to see Grogu perched on the table, ready to go in his coat and gloves.

The cold still hung heavy in the air when they set out for the Maze, but once they got there and started going through their forms, all were sufficiently warm to practice some combinations. After at least two hours of this, Din began to feel this morning's wisdom creeping into his muscle as he took a swift Mandalorian sweep at the leg of a pseudo-sentient sparring droid and finished it off with an elegant swoop of his blade through its neck. Having vented some of his frustration with droids, he turned and disengaged his blade to watch Grogu's progress with a wooden dummy, but his boy's wide brown eyes were locked on him and staring in awe. "What?" Din asked.

"That was beautiful, my Love," Aldor said with a tone of heat in her voice. When he looked from brown eyes to blue ones, a quiver of silken ribbons rushed over his skin, but they quickly withdrew as she cleared her throat. "That move… a perfect combination for you. Remember that. How it came together. In your mind and in your heart. Your muscle and nerves."

"This morning," Din explained. "I was going on what I felt this morning… thinking about this saber. How things tie together." He paused as Aldor stepped closer, keeping his eyes on hers as he went on. "How I'm tied to you, my Lady… our son to both of us. Me to this saber. Mando… what people called me before… how he… how I… can tie all of it to the Force. All I knew before and all I've learned. Made sense all of a sudden while I was looking at this saber… feeling it in my hand. How to… bring Din and Mando together… different elements… like this lightsaber. Didn't think… wasn't sure… I wanted to be Mando anymore. I don't really. Not the way I was. Just a hunter with no family and no purpose. An empty heart. Now that I have a son and a woman who loves me, I don't want to give them up. But if not for Mando, I wouldn't have either of them. I guess I forget that." He sighed and shook his head. "Not sure why it was so difficult to understand until this morning. Looking back on things, it seems like I've always… kind of been both."

"Because you always have been, my Love. A Mandalorian heart and a Jedi mind. The Force may have awakened in you, but you are still Mandalorian. The entity wronged you, but the ideal remains central to who you are. Even if your village was never attacked and you were never a Mandalorian Foundling. Even if you had gone to train at the Jedi Temple as a child. No matter what your life may have been, you have a beskar heart, my Love. The things that made you so comfortable in your armor are characteristics you come by naturally. But the things that make you powerful in the Force also come naturally. After what happened to you on Mandalore, I think you forced those two aspects of your nature apart to make it easier to process. Now you've processed it, and your mind is finally free to put yourself back together." She smiled, taking a moment to lovingly caress his cheek with feather-soft fingertips. "A good thing. Because your beskar heart is what I love most about you, my Mandalorian."

"Like your zillo hide and silk, my Lady." He brushed his fingers into her hair and traced her lip with his thumb as a joyous swell of pure, resounding affection stole his voice. For a moment, all he could do was look at her in awe and gratitude. Just because she was brilliant and beautiful and thought so much of him. "Your hydro engine," he whispered. "The thing I love most about you. How you're… dark and light… brutal but… so sweet…" He kissed her deeply, but briefly, because he remembered Grogu was there and looked down at him apologetically. "Sorry, Kid. You're gonna see that sometimes."

Grogu merely shrugged and said, "Okay."

"You see how concerned he was, my Love," Aldor teased.

Din's lips pitched into a wide smile as he looked down to hide his face, bashful for some reason and completely in love with this woman who always reminded him to laugh at himself. He said nothing, but she felt it, and he pressed another kiss to her mouth before he looked up at the Maze and heaved a deep sigh. "What do you think, my Lady?"

"Yes, my Love. I'd like to see what new wisdom has done for your speed through the Maze."

"You've reprogrammed it since the last time?" he asked.

"I have," she said with a beautiful, fierce curl at her lip. "I think it will be challenge enough for one as powerful as you."

Din stretched and gave his saber an encouraging twirl while Aldor brought her wrist up to her eyes to set a timer on her communicator. He crouched into position, determined to lick this bastard in under a minute, no matter what sinister traps she'd conjured for him. He gave a quick nod, and quietly uttered, "Start."

Din jumped between the giant cubes of weathered rock and quickly discovered Aldor had vastly reprogrammed the remotes and reset the obstacles. There were projectiles and a constant barrage of weak blaster fire. The remotes expelled sub-remotes that chased him through the narrow pathways and into dead ends, but he was able to escape them all. He found himself switching back and forth between Mandalorian brawn and Jedi subtlety, and about halfway through, he hit a stride where he managed to unite them without thinking. The Force created a leverage between him and all things that he felt instinctively, and he used it to execute Mandalorian tactics and moves, striking out at remotes and dodging traps, running up and across walls to leap huge distances and heights he'd never managed before. He was moving with more agility and precision, far surpassing even his younger self. He took comfort in knowing he could certainly move himself with the Force if nothing else, and he was through the Maze before he even realized it, landing beside Aldor on the other side with barely a thud from his feet as she stopped the timer on her wrist.

"Fifty-six seconds," she announced. "Impressive, my Love. Under a minute that time." Her face pitched up into a facetious smile. "I didn't once have to tell you to go less Mando and more Jedi… or vice versa."

Din chuckled at the family joke that began his first week of training, when her most rudimentary traps had him smarting under his bruises when Mando instinct told him to barrel through when he should have skirted past. As the weeks passed, her repeated suggestion to "go less Mando and more Jedi" served its purpose as a reminder to listen to the Force rather than make demands of it. Now it was an affectionate jab, and a hint to remember his new wisdom. So he bent down to thank her with an equally affectionate kiss.

He looked down at the Old Republic saber in his hand when their kiss produced the typical spark. He'd noticed lately that the saber always ran a shot of static through him if he kissed her while it was in his hand. As if it approved of his affection. He still felt half crazy for thinking of a weapon as sentient, but he couldn't deny his feelings. Something kept this saber attached to him. It had begun to feel like an old friend who offered advice in the only way it knew how. And when it felt Din's love for his family, it seemed… satisfied. And Din had become equally attached to the saber. He felt naked if he didn't carry it, and lately he'd started to leave his blaster by their bunk more often than not, and favored the light saber as his primary weapon. It was all so natural, he hadn't really noticed or thought about it until now.

Din disengaged the blade and regarded the hilt a moment longer before he looked back at Aldor and asked, "Is it common for a light saber to… bond… with someone other than its maker?"

"Not to the extent this one is bound to you, my Love," she answered. "At least not that I've seen. But you are rather an anomalous Force wielder. And this blade… it's strange… it seems to know you. Like it's been in your hand before."

"Maybe it has," Din mused. "When it shows me its maker, he looks… familiar. I know he must have died eons ago, but… some part of him still lives in the Force. And in this saber I think. I always see bloody beskar and… a child… when I think of him." Din closed his eyes and saw the swarthy human Jedi in his mind, one hand clasped to this saber, and the other tenderly guiding a young human boy. "Every time," he murmured. "I see this man and I feel like I know him. I think he was a good man… but he made some sort of mistake… something catastrophic… something that changed more than him." Din opened his eyes again and sighed deeply, looking from the black stone hilt up to Aldor's face, deep in reflection. "Tell me, my Lady, do you know anything else about this light saber… or its maker? Do you know who he was?"

"I'm afraid I don't, my Love. I only know he served in the first war between the Mandalorians and the Jedi. It always caught my attention when I passed by the display, so I asked Madame Jocasta about it once, but I don't remember the name she told me and she didn't tell me anything more. Except that Master Yoda had it placed in the display after he became Grandmaster. Maybe he knew something of its maker. I may have some information on him somewhere, but without a name, I wouldn't know where to begin." Aldor sighed regretfully. "I wish I could remember his name. The only other thing I know is this light saber desperately wanted me to save it. Specifically me. It pulled so hard on my heart, I had to get it down or die trying. When I first had a moment to study it a little, I half expected it to favor me. It's always respected me, and I'm sure it would have served me well if I'd ever decided to wield it, but I could tell it was waiting for something." She turned her eyes back to him, catching his gaze with a sober expression. "Waiting for you, my Mandalorian. I know now that's why it called to me. It knew the man I was destined to love would be its new wielder. I believe it felt your presence in the Force from the moment you were born, and it will remain loyal to you until you draw your last breath."

"I don't know why," Din murmured. "I don't know why it favors me so. Why I favor it. All I know is… it reacts to my feelings. Almost seems to encourage me."

"You did swear you would use it to protect your family, my Love," Aldor reminded him. "Perhaps it's happy to be of service to such a noble goal."

Din nodded. "Maybe. But it still feels some shame… for its past. The mistakes its master made. Maybe it feels my purpose is the same as this Jedi's, and maybe it thinks I'm capable of something he wasn't." Din trailed off, thinking about the first morning he hung it on his belt. "And… that morning," he continued quietly. "That morning after we made love and… we knew… saw our destiny… when I picked it up thinking nothing would take it from us… seeing so many pasts and futures… all with you and Grogu beside me… this saber felt redeemed… and… I felt like something started… something significant."

"I felt it too, my Love." In her voice was a softness of remembrance. A small smile settled on her lips as she lifted herself with her toes to press a gentle kiss to his lips. "After a morning like that, I'm inclined to believe it's a good thing you started."

Din nodded, taking her face in his hand as his mind turned from heavier thoughts to bask in all the things he loved about her. "Me too," he agreed through a small smile. "Let's just hope I'm as strong as you and this saber think I am, my Lady."

Grogu turned from the dummy he'd been at war with and looked up at his father. "Strong," he said reassuringly as he patted Din's knee.

Din smiled down at his boy. "I'm glad you think so, Son."

"Well, my Love," Aldor said brightly. "You've mastered Soresu remarkably quickly, so I have no doubt of your strength either. But it won't be as easy going forward. Before I start showing you the Ataru forms, I think you should run the gauntlet by the sea. Both with and without your armor. It will be a good way for you to tie everything together before we add more."

Din nodded. "You're probably right, my Lady. New wisdom takes time to sink in."

Storms had begun to threaten again, and the three of them headed back to the YT after Aldor ran the Maze in just under twenty seconds. She dismissed his congratulations on her time, reminding him she programmed the remotes herself and it was hardly fair. Din only shook his head and kissed her hand, insisting without words that she was the biggest badass of the three of them.

He held on to her hand as they made their way through the sparse trees, and after taking note of the weather and the chill that lately penetrated the air, he looked over at her and asked, "Do you think we should get another ray before the Solstice?"

Grogu flew over their heads from the branches of one of the taller conifers and landed with barely a thud in their path. "Should," he declared. "Favorite."

"Ray would be your favorite, you little whomp-rat," Din grunted playfully. "The hardest game to take down."

Grogu laughed, seeming to enjoy the fact that he had a taste for difficult game. Then he looked up at Din curiously, as if something had just occurred to him. "Favorite?" he asked.

Not questioning this sudden curiosity, Din answered immediately, "I like the summer greens."

Grogu asked the same question of his mother, and she answered, "Frost melon."

"Now that your meilooruns are coming in, my Lady, maybe you'll decide you like them better," Din suggested.

"Maybe," she said. "But I won't try them until after the Solstice. I don't want to insult the Eye with a feast of foreign fruit." She laughed at her own alliteration and bent her eyes to the ground while she tried to hide her smile.

Din's heart pulsed with the swell of molten gold in his chest, begging to see her smile like that again. "You're wise, my Lady," he said, and lifted her hand again to kiss her knuckles. "I wouldn't tempt the Eye's wrath any more than I would yours." He briefly nibbled at the sensitive web of flesh between her palm and thumb as he watched her eyes droop. A whispered sigh through her lips told him all he ever needed to know. Satisfied for now, he let their hands drop between them and spoke again of practical matters as he laced his fingers through hers. "I do think, my Lady, that we should start storing up for the winter while we can. Autumn is almost over."

"I agree, my Love," she answered. She paused as her eyes lit up with that gorgeous spark of challenge Din was desperately in love with, and she bounded in front of him, smiling in the brilliant child-like way she always did when these ideas struck her. "I tell you what, my Mandalorian," she said, walking backward in front him, speaking quickly in her tone that sounded like pure sunshine. "If you run the Gauntlet by the sea in less than three minutes, I'll get the ray. If you finish in more than three minutes, it'll be your task."

"What if I run it in exactly three minutes?"

Aldor's smile was broad and beautiful, and her laughter was the sweetest music Din ever heard. He could die right now and think it was all worth it to make his lover laugh and smile like this, even though his question had been entirely sincere. His own smile mirrored hers, and Aldor suddenly stopped in front him as her eyes went wide in playful amazement. "My Mandalorian can smile wide enough to show his teeth?! I never imagined I would be so honored, my Love."

Din chuckled at his own expense. "Only you and Grogu have ever made it happen," he admitted.

"Then it's an honor indeed, my Love," Aldor said in a tenderer tone. Her smile diminished into that perfect crimson bow. "It is rather monumental to see Din Djarin smile so wide. I think it may be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"You think that about a lot of things, my Lady."

"Not many," Aldor countered fondly. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, my Love, but I'm always looking at you or Grogu when I think it."

Din tugged her closer and took her face in his hands to kiss her deeply, unconcerned if Grogu saw it because he just had to kiss her right now. Anyway, why not let the boy witness his father's love for his mother? What could it do but remind him of hope? So Din indulged himself as the vibrations through the ground gently pitched up, and rumbled through him. He gathered it and gave it to her, hoping she could feel everything he did as he slowly pulled his lips away and let his forehead rest against hers. "That's true, my Lady," he whispered. "And I'm always looking at my family when I smile."

Aldor brushed her fingers into his hair and down his cheeks. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, wrapped up for a moment in steam and ribbons, savoring her gentle touch and dreaming of the night to come. He opened his eyes again to blue fire set in her beautiful face, and he kissed her again. So sultry and sweet, he rumbled with the ground beneath their feet, imagining how he would take her if he could give in here and now. Next few days, my Lady… Solstice… feel it already… rushing around me…

Tight bands of silken plasma ribbons wrapped around every inch of his body and limbs, pounding in time with her heart against his chest. He released a quiet sigh and closed his eyes again, blissfully trapped in a cloud of her as her mind whispered back. Could barely watch you through the Maze… so strong, my Love… so beautiful… saw you in every move. So much grace… couldn't stop thinking… that morning… this morning… last night… can feel you like it's all at once… every time we've been together…

"I'm not sure we would survive it if we felt everything at once, my Lady," he whispered, struggling to gain control of himself as he imagined the possibilities. All he wanted was to get home. Fall into bed with her and make love under the furs until dawn broke through the skylight. Grogu was well enough ahead that he could have easily taken her right here on the ground, and he seriously considered it as her ribbons caressed and licked him mercilessly. But storms were already blowing in from the sea, and he knew he'd have to wait. He cast her a sultry look, and gathered all his seething elements to take hold of her in lava and smoke dredged up from his blood and collected into long tendrils he eased deep between her legs and into her womb. A shared ache pulsed through both their bodies, and Aldor betrayed her arousal with only a whispered sigh and a fiery look before she backed away, leaving Din surrounded in a static of ribbons. He pulled her back against him and kissed her one more time, barely able to stop himself from taking her to the ground right this instant. He resisted nevertheless, and they both started walking again while a wicked little smile settled across her crimson lips.

It was still early when they got back to the shelter of the YT. While storms kicked up and raged outside, Aldor put the finishing touches on Grogu's meditation couch while Din took up a faltering circuit board from Aldor's spindle to make the needed adjustments. He'd angled his chair out into the hold to watch his family between welds, and took a break from his work when Aldor cut the final thread with her shears and presented the couch to their boy.

Grogu squealed with delight at seeing it finished at last, and Din could only chuckle and smile, thinking of how each of the three of them contributed to its completion. It took her longer than usual because she kept running into minor snags in its construction. When she started to think about stuffing it, she realized she was out of vulture feathers, and declared they would need to bring another one down to supply the deficiency. But they had to wait for a break in the weather before they could manage a hunt. Din was still shaken by his last experience with one of these wicked birds, but he went out with her and Grogu nevertheless, and between the three of them, they managed to bag four vultures so she wouldn't have to worry about it for a while. And Din enjoyed the aspect of payback when he discovered how easy it was to take them down with a light saber. With stuffing sorted, there was another hitch when she realized her last pelt wasn't quite large enough, so they waited for another break in the weather to take the T-16 over the sea to Aldor's favorite sector for tundrantha hunting.

Din looked down at the board in his hand, smiling deeply to himself when the word, "tundrantha" floated through his mind. When he first used the word to refer to what Aldor had always called tundra banthas, she was relieved and elated to have a new descriptor because she hated how it sounded to say "tundra bantha." It was one of those moments when she made his entire body smile. His skin warmed and his heart thrummed even now as he remembered it. The light in her eyes and her laugh, commenting on how musical the word was and why hadn't she thought of it sooner. He bowed his head deeper to hide a chuckle, but Aldor already knew. She glanced back at him from her position standing before Grogu, where she was watching the boy bounce and stretch over the soft, round couch. "Where are you, my Love?"

A quiet laugh broke through his lips at the question she always asked when he was deep in his head. I'm everywhere, my Lady… everywhere you are… "Thinking about… tundranthas."

Aldor smiled brightly, and Din was sure he was smiling wide enough to show his teeth again while she laughed in a symphony of alto chimes. "I'm forever indebted to you for that word, my Love," she exclaimed as she crossed the room to him. She dropped down into his lap in a more chaste position than was typical, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

He turned his face into her neck to inhale the bouquet of her skin, and pressed a deep kiss to her throat as the Eye rumbled in satisfaction. Feel that, my Lady? Was it me or the Eye or you? Can't tell lately. But I like it… free… easy… feeling in the way I usually know. Like a holiday… don't have to know anything.

The Solstice is like a recharge every year… a holiday indeed, my Love… has to be a holiday for us considering how powerful its effects have been.

Gets harder to leave you every morning… always lately I just want to stay in bed with you… I only worry I'll get… irritating…

An incredulous expression crossed her face, and she looked quizzically into his eyes. "Irritating? My Mandalorian is many things, but irritating couldn't possibly be one of them. How could you think you might be irritating to me?"

"I want to talk more," he said. "Don't know why. Usually I prefer to use the Force… swap thoughts… everything's always too much for words… or not enough… they take so much energy… maybe that's what it is… what the Solstice is doing to me in other ways… more energy for words…"

Aldor pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I love a loquacious Din Djarin. Don't worry, my Mandalorian. Your voice could never irritate me. It's one of my favorite things in the Galaxy."

"And I'm afraid I might… cling to you… too much…" Din said more quietly. "Not just… in bed. Don't want to leave you at all right now. Not even for an hour. I know you wouldn't like that all the time… I wouldn't either… but I wondered if… maybe you feel…"

"Yes, my Love," Aldor murmured into the bend of his neck, drawing her arms tighter around his shoulders as she kissed him there. I feel that way too… don't want you anywhere but with me. Her kiss under his ear sent a bolt through his spine, and he released a soft moan as her feelings followed after it, stirring his fire just enough to make him ache. You promised me, my Love… don't forget…

I won't leave you empty.

She nibbled under his jaw and pressed a deep kiss there, then slid off his lap and back up to her feet to ask Grogu if he was satisfied enough to accept the couch into his room. When he answered in the affirmative, Din offered to take it for him, but Grogu wanted Aldor's help because her hands made it, and he wanted to remember that in as many ways as he could. Din nodded in approval and gave his son a smile before they stepped through the cockpit door with the chair.

Her flirtations in his lap had him drenched in her fragrance and ravenous. But it was still early, and Grogu would be up for several more hours. They hadn't even eaten yet, so Din would have to find a way to divert himself. Luckily, he'd successfully repaired the ailing board and in the interest of distraction, went to reinstall it on her spindle in the engine room. It was a start, and he managed to focus intently enough on his work to notice a weak circuit in the control mount. By the time he had it squared away and the board back in place, his mind was clearer and his body less insistent.

When he came back to the kitchen, Grogu was alone at the table, perched in his usual chair. He let Din know that Aldor was in the workshop, gathering tools and materials for a new sewing project. The boy had a collection of parts in front of him on the table, and looked to be piecing together the main body of a small droid. "What're you working on, Son?" Din asked as he braced his hands on the back of Grogu's chair, leaning over the boy's head to look down at his array of parts.

Grogu looked up at him with a proud expression on his little face. "Idea," he said. He'd noticed it took his parents a long time to dry the dishes after dinner every night, and wanted to make a simple droid to alleviate that tedious task. If he couldn't be much help in other ways yet, he wanted to be of help in this one, and hoped it would meet with his mother's approval.

"I can't imagine how it wouldn't," Din said fondly, dropping his hand to give Grogu's head an affectionate scratch. "You're getting good with electronics. We're proud of you." Grogu beamed up at his father, and closed his eyes for a moment to enjoy the gentle scratches through his hair. It had grown out a little and taken on a dark shade, shot through with strands of copper. It was still sparse, but seemed to get thicker every cycle. "Even your hair's growing, Son," Din commented as he gently smoothed his fingers over the feather soft tuft. "So I guess that means you're pretty content lately."

Grogu nodded. "Safe. Busy." He looked up at Din again and grinned wide. "Fun here. Happy."

Din smiled deeply and nodded. "Good," he said. "Me too."

"Always be home?"

"Yes," he answered. "At least for me and your mother. When you grow up, you might miss the Galaxy, and I think we'll both understand if you want to explore a little. So long as you never forget where we are."

Grogu shook his head demonstratively. "Always come back. But stay long time first. Many years I stay."

"Have you seen it in your mediation?" Din asked, stepping over to his own chair to sit down. He'd wanted to ask Grogu how the Solstice was affecting him, and now was as good a time as any. "You've seen yourself leave… by yourself?"

"Many decades. But seen."

Din nodded, knowing Grogu wouldn't tell him more. He was glad he didn't. The only thing that mattered really was that their boy would be strong and healthy enough to leave on his own some day, however many decades it might be. "And how have you… felt… with the Solstice coming up?"

"Many thoughts," Grogu answered. "Thunder from Eye. Been many places. Seen lot. Good. Some bad too. Lots to meditate."

"But… is it something you're… enjoying?"

Grogu nodded. "Learn things. Like to learn things. Makes stronger." He paused and looked curiously over at Din. "You?"

"Yes, I feel it too. I've been thinking of the past and the future a lot… things I don't always like to think about. And… me and your mother feel… closer to each other. I've even talked to her… about some of those things I don't think about. I sense it might make difficult things easier even after the Solstice. Aldor calls it a recharge."

Grogu nodded. "Good for us. All."

"Yes," Din agreed. "I think it is good for us." He smiled down at his son and gave his head a pat. "All right then. Let me know if you need a hand with that."

Grogu nodded again and gave his father a little grin, then Din went to the storage cube by the door to retrieve his carving blade and to pick out a stone from his growing collection. A gorgeous, shimmering grey one caught his eye, and he settled at the table with it and went to work, not really thinking about what he was carving.

He'd barely started to knock off the rough edges when Aldor returned from the workshop carrying several pieces of her toughest black fabric cut to size for her next project. She set the fabric and her sewing kit on the table and bent down to give Din a kiss before she announced she meant to start supper. When she thanked him for offering his help and declined it, Din went back to his stone, but struggled to keep his eyes off her while her flavor teased his togue. He thought of her other flavors, and began to drowse in fantasies of the night to come. How he would hold her. How he would handle her. How much did he want to torture her with pleasure before he buried himself?

Din awakened quickly, recollecting himself with a glance at their son, who was deep in concentration as he pieced together a small housing. Brought back from his imagination, Din called on the springs to douse the ache that throbbed between his thighs. It kind of worked, but steam lingered as Aldor turned a tiny smile to him. You promised me…

I won't leave you empty, my Lady.

She turned back to the hob, but the chord between them had been struck, and it settled in like a background of white noise, soothing and distracting at once. Din watched her float across the floor between the counter and the hob, chopping tubers and tearing greens over a pot already emitting a delicious fragrance. Incredibly graceful. He was constantly amazed that this woman loved him. But here he sat, watching his Lady dance over the hob while her love embraced him in silken ribbons filled with stars. There was no denying this feeling. No doubt any of this was real as everything he'd ever been or would be fell ever more deeply in love with her. Just because she kissed him. And because he loved to watch her dance over the hob.

Throughout his reflections and urges, his hands didn't stop moving over the stone until he finally forced his eyes away from her, and the hum eventually dissipated. He'd half forgotten he was carving anything, but now he felt the stone in his hand, and he finally took a moment to look down at it. He had no idea of how the shape came about, but he had mindlessly carved a flourish of filigrees across an elegant ribbon of opalescent stone. Along the lines, he had carved small bursts that looked like stars floating over tendrils of pale shimmering steam.

"A-wee-paa," Grogu commented quietly, out of her hearing, just as Din was contemplating the stone's elegant slopes and rises.

"It is like her, isn't it?" he murmured softly.

Grogu nodded. "Force."

"Yes… her ribbons…"

Grogu looked up from the signet to watch his father closely, because he sensed an emotion he'd never felt from the Mandalorian before. Grogu knew his father loved his mother, but he was sure he could sense only a small part of all they felt for each other. He wondered what the rest of it was like.

"It's hard to explain," Din answered quietly. "It's something between your mother and I alone. Some of our feelings are only for each other… no one else… even you can't know all of it… but… you sense it… feel the most important part. That nothing will take you from us… and nothing will take us from you… the way the Force binds your mother and I together… it makes us stronger… all of us."

Grogu understood this, and sensed it this afternoon when he saw them kissing. He didn't entirely know why, but seeing them happy together made him feel more secure. It was nice to know his parents were united. He wondered if these things that were for his parents alone were what made his father smile wide enough to show his teeth, and why his mother thought so many things were the most beautiful she'd ever seen.

Din chuckled. "Don't you know?" he asked. "Isn't this all part of your grand design?"

Grogu laughed almost maniacally, delighted to have been found out. Din cast a questioning look at Aldor where she stood by the hob over a large pot of stew. She shrugged her shoulders and laughed lightly. "This must be for you alone, my Love," she said. "I sense nothing from our son but mischief."

Grogu admitted he had foreseen a relationship between his Mandalorian father and his Jedi mother. He had seen them come together to become more than Mandalorian or Jedi. He just wanted to know if his father felt free. If he was glad to live a simple life on a quiet planet instead of hopping around the Galaxy. If he was happy to be with A-wee-pa.

I feel freer than I ever have. Happier than I've ever been. "And I think I owe you a lot for that." Din dropped his forehead to Grogu's, and honored him with a smile wide enough to show his teeth. "Thanks, Son."

Grogu stretched his little arm out to press his hand into Din's chest. "Your sake," he said quietly, his big eyes filled with affection as a tiny little smile turned up the corners of his mouth.

Din huffed when a laugh mingled with the mist that formed in his eyes. Grogu's smokey whisps embraced him so sweetly, he felt sure his son had somehow worked a spell that made his heart larger. In response, Din took his boy into his lap to wrap his arms around the light that led him out of the Maze; while Aldor looked on, thinking it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

---

Before and after dinner, Grogu remained happily perched on Din's lap while they spoke in impulses about something Aldor couldn't guess at. They'd both shut her out, but continued to check in with her throughout their conspiring looks and nods. Every so often, one of them would excuse himself from the other to look up at her and smile, or let her in just long enough to tell her they hadn't forgotten her. Aldor was sure there was a good reason for all this and assured them she didn't mind. She was so entertained just watching their little exchanges, it didn't trouble her in the least. Whatever they were up to, it was likely something for her benefit anyway. So she simply continued to enjoy the quiet buzz of activity at the table while she started piecing together a pair of winter slacks for her Mandalorian.

The three of them had been at work for an hour or so after dinner when Grogu suddenly materialized in her lap, and watched her complete a complicated stitch at the apex of the inseam. When she'd successfully sewn a series of sturdy stitches and backstitches, she smiled down at him and kissed his little forehead, promising she'd never felt left out.

Grogu was glad because he and his father just had some business to attend to. He planted a little smooch on her cheek before he sat down and settled in on her lap, watching her continue her stitches down the other inseam. He wondered what she was making, and she informed him they were for his father. Over the weeks, she had taken on a new policy of just making him the things he needed without telling him because she knew protests would ensue, and he knew every protest would be ignored and she'd make it anyway. Grogu laughed at this, then looked purposefully up at her, tilting his little face all the way up to meet her eyes when he wondered if she still made things for herself.

"When I need something, I will," she answered, glancing Din's eye as they enjoyed a moment of shared amusement at their son's mood. Though it lacked a descriptor, it seemed to be when Grogu was at his most… Grogu. His cheerful mischief was always laced with pure affection and deep wisdom, and it was one of Aldor's favorite things about him. Din agreed, then looked down again into his lap, intent on his carving.

Grogu wondered why his mother hadn't needed anything in such a long time. He couldn't remember the last time she made something for herself.

"I made many things for myself over many years, my dear One. I have others to sew for now."

Grogu was grateful she liked to make things for him. He loved his new clothes, and told her for the thousandth time how much easier it was for him to move in his tunic and breeches. He thanked her for the many sets she'd made for him, and told her one of his absolute favorite possessions was his coat. His father felt the same about his coat. The Mandalorian told him once that his rayskin coat was priceless to him because Aldor's hands had stitched it. Grogu admitted he never thought of it like that before, but since then had thought about it quite a lot, and decided his father was right. When he watched her stitching, he could see everything that went into each one, and he decided that anything his mother made for him was priceless, and he promised he wouldn't forget again.

"Sweet Grogu," Aldor cooed and kissed his little head. "I'm just happy I'm able to do what I can for my family. I spent many years without one, so now that you and your father are with me, I like to care for both of you."

Grogu looked squarely up at her and wondered if she was happy to be part of Clan Djarin. Aldor's heart warmed and expanded to hear herself included so, and she gave a portion of her feelings to her son. It's the highest honor I could ever receive, my dear One.

Grogu felt this every time she looked at him. Every time she looked at his father. He glanced across the table at Din, who was engrossed in his work, then back up at her. Grogu had sensed the strength of his parents' bond, and told her his father said it made them all stronger. He could see that, and wondered if that was why she loved him.

"It's one of many reasons, my dear One," she answered quietly. But it's more than that, sweet Grogu. Your father makes me happy. He has a way of making me happy… of making me feel free… that's unique to him… because there are things only we can feel between each other. "There's… an understanding… a complementary Force."

His father said something very like that to him before dinner, when he wondered if the things he sensed between his parents were what made the Mandalorian smile wide enough to show his teeth. It must mean his parents planned to always be together. He looked questioningly up at her again, and asked if that were so.

"I believe it is, my dear One," Aldor answered. "We've been waiting all our lives for our family to come together. Now that we are, I don't think any of us wants to go back to being alone in the Galaxy."

Grogu certainly didn't, and he knew his father didn't either. He was just glad his plans for them had come to fruition. He began to see it after they left Mandalore behind. When the Mandalorian was particularly low in those dark days, Grogu often wished he could have brought his father's mind together with A-wee-pa's. He knew they could make many things better for each other in ways he couldn't. He brought his father here for exactly that purpose. He knew she would be a good teacher to both of them, but he also knew his father and mother would be happier if they could be together. His father found his Way, and his mother finally conquered the darkness. They could not have done these things if not for each other, and Grogu was pleased he helped to bring it about.

Aldor stopped stitching and looked down at the boy throughout these reflections, and finally shook her head, smiling in sheer pride. "Our boy is very wise." She put her sewing down on the table and scooped Grogu up into her arms for a tight embrace. He purred and buried his face in her shoulder while he snuggled closer. A sweet, slow crawl of little butterfly whisps of Grogu hugged her in a dewy warmth and she smiled into his tiny little tuft of dark hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Thank you for showing us the Way, my dear One," she said quietly. He purred again in response, letting her feel how glad he was that she was his mother. To be with her now was well worth the struggle it took to get here. He was sure his father would agree.

"He would," Din murmured from across the table, his eyes locked on her as his most resounding miniature smile barely stirred his lips. "Grogu," he continued. "Show your mother what she is to us."

Grogu hopped up onto the table and reached across it with the Force to take a small object hung on a braided cord from Din's palm, and brought it over Aldor's head to hang it in place around her neck. Her heart filled with butterfly whisps and gilded dark matter bands as she took the beautiful stone in her hand, and lovingly drew her fingertips over the carved opalescent surface. The linework was beautiful, flowing across an irregular oblong shape in elegant filigrees and tiny bursts of stars. The carving followed the shape and character of the stone in a way that united skill and nature in a lovely arabesque of shimmering inclusions smoothed to a high shine. "My Love," she whispered, trying to control the catch in her voice. "I can't begin to…"

"It's you, my Lady. Your signet." Aldor looked up at him, barely able to contain her feelings as they rose like steam in her chest. Grogu had returned to his seat to watch, and now she could look at both of them together and wonder how she'd gotten so lucky. "You're worthy of your own signet, Aldor," Din continued quietly. "Mine alone isn't enough for you. You are of our clan, and you are of yourself. From now until the end of time, my Lady, you will always be what you are. And we will always be beside you."

"Oh, my Love… I'm not…"

"You're worthy of anything either of us can imagine, my Lady. Don't argue with me about that."

Aldor chuckled, swiping at her eyes to clear the mist from them before she looked back down at the stone in her hand, shaking her head at the beauty of the work, thinking how familiar the shape looked. Like the way she felt the Force. Din had captured it utterly in this beautiful grey jewel. "You honor me beyond words, my Love." She looked up into his eyes again, shattered and raw, showing her everything that crowded his heart as his precious smile remained locked in place under his mustache. "To know your hands carved this… with me in mind… I…" She could only smile and give him a nod as words failed and her thoughts did what they could with all she felt. Don't forget…

I promised you, my Lady, I won't ever leave you empty.

He stood from his chair and bent down to kiss her in a long, languid caress of his tongue meant to linger while he hit the fresher. Aldor nodded, and grazed her fingertips slowly down his jaw as he withdrew. Golden heat crawled up her legs in soft caresses and curled up, purring deep in her womb while a flash in Din's shattered eyes enhanced it, and one corner of his mouth pitched up into a wry smile. I promised you…

I'll be waiting for you.

Din stepped toward the back of the hull, and had just rounded the turret when Grogu chased after him to wish him a good night. Din knelt before him and leaned down to have the ritual nose bump bestowed upon him, then smiled and gave the boy's head a scratch before he stood up straight to continue to the fresher. Grogu turned back and hopped up onto the table in front of her. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and asked if she liked her necklace.

"I love it, my dear One. Your leather work has gotten very good. Thank you so much for your part."

Grogu pointed at the glimmering signet, then at her. "Force," he said. "Strong."

"I hope so, my dear One. Because I won't let anything take it from us."

Grogu gave her a short Mandalorian nod. "Is Way." He grinned and planted a little kiss on her cheek to wish her a good night, then he was off to his room, and Aldor was left alone at the table.

Taking the solitude to reflect, she basked in the afterglow of having received such a gift. Something that was hers alone. She instantly thought about the last time she was given something so priceless. It was her twenty-fifth birthday, when Jumper felt the need to give her something special. Every year, he made it a point to make her something pretty or provide her with some little luxury or other. But twenty-five was an important birthday to him, and he surprised her with a treasure he'd held on to for more than a decade. "It ain't much, but I saved it… found it at the Bizarre on Tatooine… just knew… I knew I'd want to give it to you today. Don't really know why… like you're my own girl, I guess… always have been… only thing that's kept me going, little One… so… here…" And he presented her with the blue Karlini silk robe she'd worn practically every day since.

She bowed her head as she absently smoothed the silk between the fingers of one hand and clasped the signet in the other. For a moment, she was consumed with memories. It was always particularly difficult to keep them at bay during the Solstice. But something softened the sorrow this time. Not a single tear fell as she began to feel less pain and more warmth. A fond remembrance of her beloved father rather than a painful reminder of what she'd lost.

She looked up from Din's trousers toward the fresher, and smiled to herself while she clasped her signet in both hands, knowing good and well what had soothed the pain. Despair and darkness didn't stand a chance now. All it took to chase the shadows away was one small smile from either of them.

Aldor looked back down at the unfinished slacks in her lap and lovingly ran her hand across the fabric, thinking how grateful she was to be able to do these small things to thank them. Grateful to think of the man who would wear them. She could never repay her family for all they'd done for her, but she was glad to have others to sew for at least. She'd had nothing but herself to think about for much too long. But the loneliness and memory that clouded her feelings were clearing, and she could see through the mist for the first time in years.

She rolled the extraordinary gift lovingly between her fingers where it hung on Grogu's braided leather cord, feeling the echoes of tender hands etched into the stone. The hands of a man who loved her. Truly loved her. This thought alone lightened every memory the Eye's rumbling shook loose. She might even manage to let it all go someday. Maybe just telling him… letting him see it… maybe that alone would set her free. Maybe.

Aldor shook her head against the doubts that always tried to creep into her feelings, and focused again on Din's trousers, just realizing she'd forgotten to gather a piece of leather for a utility strap. So she left her work at the table and padded into the workroom to indulge this welcome distraction. It worked beautifully, because she soon became frustrated with her lack of leather straps and decided to look in her scrap collection by the loom in the engine room.

When two warm, strong arms clamped around her from behind, she forgot entirely what she was looking for, and simply bathed herself in a flood of his spicy fragrance, still warm and damp from his shower. "Mmmm…" she murmured, leaning back until she was encased in the only thing that mattered right now.

"Feels good, doesn't it, my Lady?" he murmured against her neck. "Warm out of the fresher like you were this morning… made my day… thought you should know how good it feels." He pressed a firm kiss to her shoulder as he smoothed his palms up her sides and over her ribs to cup her breasts through her clothes. She sighed as he gently massaged the tender swells in his hot hands, drawing fire from the very core of the Eye to lick against her nipples. A deep, roiling thunder rose from the pounding heart at her back, and his velvet whispers against her skin amplified the rumble as he teased her budding nipples through the fabric. "So beautiful in my arms, Aldor. All your slopes and rises. Look, my Lady… look how beautiful you are." He coaxed her over to stand with him in front of the mirror, keeping one breast for himself as his other hand smoothed slowly down her side. He gently squeezed the soft flesh in his palm as he dragged his tongue across her shoulder and up her neck. He insisted again, "Look how beautiful you are, my Lady."

At last she opened her eyes, and stared in awe at the picture before her. A small pale woman encased in the arms of a gorgeous, sun-kissed man. Their skins together looked something like poetry, blending eloquent lines into a meaning beyond them. She couldn't believe she never noticed it before. "Beautiful… this man… wrapped around me…"

"You see it now, my Lady," he whispered into her ear, watching the reflection of her face as he hooked his fingers over her top and slowly pulled it down to set her breast free. He immediately cupped it in his hand again, and gently skirted the pad of his thumb over her straining nipple. "The contrast between us… our skins… you see how beautiful that is… remember it… first night we spent together… right here… in front of this mirror…"

"I remember," she breathed, transfixed while she watched his thick fingers caressing and kneading her breast. Warm and always so tender. So seductive as a soft murmur resonated against her neck and waves of molten gold undulated languidly through her. He roughly peeled her leggings over her hips, and pushed them down until they fell to the floor around her feet. Her breath caught in her lungs as he gently settled his free hand over her mound, gathering the sensitive flesh in his palm as she swelled against it, her hungry lips already reaching for him as she felt herself opening wide to accept anything he might give her. "Din…" she whimpered, not sure what she was asking for, but begging for it anyway. "Please, my Love…"

"I want you to watch yourself cum, my Lady…" he whispered in a voice like worn velvet, soft and seductive and arousing, pulling her ass against his rock solid erection while he slicked his fingers over her clit. Aldor moaned and whimpered, pulled deeper into her lover's unyielding embrace as he plunged his fingers hard into the flood, and lit her up like a supernova in deep space. She lost track of herself as everything spilled out of her in a cascade of immediate release, and all that mattered was this feeling. This man. His body. His voice. His fingers glistening with her as he slowly withdrew them from a mass of drenched curls.

"Aaahhh…" she sighed, restless and ravenous as the syllable escaped her lips in a pitiful whisper, arcing her back to offer herself to him as he circled her clit. She begged for the rest of him as he shuddered and growled and closed his eyes, and she practically burst into tears at the beautiful feel of one gentle finger nudging back into her, taking complete control of every part of her that ached.

"Din," she breathed. "Now, my Love... bury yourself in me... let me... consume you... promised... promised me..."

"Nothing will take me from you," he whispered, his breath warm and sweet in her ear.

He held her fast in his arm, and sank down to the floor behind her as he settled her on her knees. One golden arm crossed her chest, her breast cupped gently in the palm of his hand. The other still palmed her sex as he gently brought her into his lap and sat back on his heels. Aldor almost came from this motion alone, tender as it had been. Arousing. Watching in the mirror while her lover man-handled her like she wanted, and thrust two fingers into her as he held her tight to his chest with her breast gripped in his hand as she trembled and whimpered, watching this unfold like a voyeur. He was soaked in her, strings of her trailing between his two fingers when he slowly eased them out, letting her watch and feel it in slow motion as they slipped up to her clit, and gently rubbed her own slick into the bud blooming between the hungry lips as they puckered and pulsed, begging for completion.

"Fuck, Aldor," he breathed, his breath growing ragged as he stared at the image in front of them, growing restless as they both remembered only her body was bare. "Fucking beautiful… want to fuck you so hard right now… right now… but want you to see this… watch yourself cum… then I'll take you to our bed… and nothing will take me from you."

He plunged his two wet fingers back into the painful need between her legs, nearly sending her over the edge immediately, but she didn't quite make it, and heaved as he crushed her against his chest, and pumped his fingers hard into her until she was near tears, then finally hit the spot she was willing him to hit with a savage shove. "Ahhh!"

"Aldor…" he growled. "You're about to cum… feel it… open your eyes, my Lady… need you to see… have to see how beautiful you are… watch yourself fall apart… fly over the Galaxy."

His words were heavy with lust, but dripping with tenderness, and the vibrations these words produced from every direction shot through her body as she watched his fingers disappear to the last knuckle into her pulsing pussy as a wave of fire and plasma and everything crashed over her until she was aware of nothing but his hand possessing and penetrating her. Then she was gone across the Galaxy with this vision fixed in her mind, spreading out her feelings so every atom in every system could know how good her lover made her feel.

Din fought for control as her remnants flew apart, and everything she was lodged itself like shrapnel in his skin. He groaned desperately, a higher pitch that indicated a powerful need. "You see," he rasped. "Fucking beautiful…"

"Not as beautiful…" she couldn't finish through an involuntary "Ahh…" as he continued to nudge more softly into her, keeping her coasting on a wave of euphoria. "Not as beautiful… as you… buried… to be… full of you… take me, my Love… to our bed… don't…"

Before she could finish her thought, he'd brought both of them to their feet and spun her around to heft her up as she clamped her legs around his hips. He had her on the bunk before she could blink, tearing at her clothes as she tore at his until at last he heaved himself deep into her slick, swollen body, sighing in relief as he settled himself between her legs, and swore again that he wouldn't leave her empty.