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lamaenthel · 1 year ago

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Tivaevae | Chapter Two: Frayed Edges

Still struggling to emotionally recover from Master Obi-Wan's deception, Ahsoka discovers in the aftermath that twelve-year-old Boba Fett has been locked up among adults in the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center. After convincing Chancellor Palpatine to grant him a pardon, she manages to secure his release on the condition that she serve as his legal guardian. Now, with the help of Master Plo and the Wolfpack, she vows to help him track down what family he has left.

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Fandom: Star Wars Characters: Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, Plo Koon, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Kanan Jarrus, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives, CC-1119 | Appo, Dexter Jettster, FLO | WA-7 (Star Wars), Shaak Ti, ARC Commander Blitz (Star Wars), CT-6922 | Dogma, Original Clone Trooper Character(s) (Star Wars), CC-3636 | Wolffe, Clone Trooper Sinker (Star Wars), Clone Trooper Comet (Star Wars), CC-2224 | Cody, CT-5597 | Jesse, CT-4860 | Boost, Aurra Sing, Tobias Beckett, Null-11 | Ordo Skirata, Kal Skirata, Original Mandalorian Characters (Star Wars), Original Droid Characters (Star Wars), Original Jedi Character(s) (Star Wars) Total Word Count: 123,000 Chapter Word Count: 6,815 Chapter Summary: Plo, Ahsoka, and Boba go out to dinner while Obi-Wan commiserates with Cody back at the barracks.

Ahsoka met Boba's eyes in the rearview mirror of Plo's speeder and they were… unnerving. There was none of the warmth of his brothers' eyes in his hard, chipped gaze. He may not have been sent to the front lines, but he'd been fighting a war all on his own since the First Battle of Geonosis.

Boba stared back at her without flinching, his aura a hard, cast-iron gray. "The fuck are you looking at, tailhead?"

Good grief, the kid had a mouth on him. She exchanged looks with Plo. He seemed strangely amused for a man who had gasped so hard the first time she squeaked out kriff! that his antiox mask almost fell off.

"What's with the potty mouth?" she asked, exasperated. Swearing didn't bother her, she spent almost every minute of her daily life around soldiers, but Boba's mouth was just rancid. Despite Plo's golden aura of humor, it made her cringe to see someone cussing up such a storm in front of him. Plus, curses in Basic just… hit harder, for whatever reason.

"I've got fucking freedom of fucking speech, bitch." He took one last loud slurp of his chocolate milkshake and tossed the cup over the side. He'd ordered it after loudly verifying that chocolate was toxic to both Togrutas and Kel Dor.

Ahsoka covered her face and fought the urge to scream. She had no idea what she thought she was doing. Once again, she'd thrown herself headfirst into action without thinking about what succeeding would actually mean. Boba was practically feral, and he was all hers.

Already she felt like calling Padmé to beg her to save her from her own stupidity. She peeked in the rearview mirror once Boba finally turned away and watched him. Someone had shaved his head and it made him look even smaller. He had a shiner that covered the left half of his swollen face, a split lip, and had walked out of the prison like he had at least one broken rib. He was going to have to see Kix as soon as they got to the barracks. A detour through the drive-through of Ahsoka and Plo's favorite creamery had eased the staticky-white panic that had started vibrating around his aura the moment he'd stepped into the interview room, all spikey like a sea urchin and pulsing with violet and gray sadness-disappointment-fear, but it hadn't helped with the swearing.

Plo hummed to himself. "I'll drop you off at the barracks, Padawan. I believe young Boba will be much more comfortable there as opposed to the Jedi Temple."

Boba snorted. "Fucking right. Last thing I want it to be surrounded by any more of you bi–"

"Alright, we get it!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "You're a hard–" she glanced at Plo, " –butt, now shut up!"

"Ahsoka!" Plo immediately admonished her.

"I said butt!"

"You know I do not appreciate hearing you tell someone to 'shut up,' Padawan."

"Master, he's been swearing nonstop since we left!" Ahsoka whined. "He called Zinny a besh-word for asking if he wanted a napkin!"

"There are ways of requesting that one alters their speech without telling them to shut up," Plo said pointedly.

"Yes, Master," she grumbled, crossing her arms.

"That's right, bitch, alter your fucking speech," Boba sneered from the back seat.

Ahsoka pressed her palms against her eyes and wondered if Kix would tranquilize Boba if she asked very nicely.

"Boba, I will ask that you refrain from insulting Ahsoka any further. She worked very hard to get you released from prison, you know."

"Oh yeah?" Boba challenged Plo through the rearview mirror. "How so?"

"Well for one, she requested an emergency meeting with the Chancellor of the Republic himself and convinced him to grant you a full pardon." Plo got off of the main drag and approached the barracks from the south.

Boba's aura fluttered with gray-yellow surprise. "Well thank you very much for springing me, tailhead," he said snidely after he'd recovered. "How'd you convince the Chancellor to pardon me, eh? Use your mouth? You've got nice lips, I bet you convinced him quick."

Ahsoka bit the side of her cheek and looked at Plo.

"He's trying to get a reaction from you," Plo said mildly.

"I know," she grumbled. "It won't work."

"Ignore him."

Boba kicked the back of her seat with both feet repeatedly. "Hey tailhead, you ever had your besh licked from the back?"

She growled darkly. "Oh, you little–"

"That's enough, Boba," Plo said firmly, then turned the radio on to some slow-tempo electronic music. "Let us appreciate the music instead of the sound of our own voices for the rest of the ride."

"Ha–"

"Appreciate the music," Plo interrupted him sharply. "No more speaking."

She and Boba both crossed their arms and locked eyes in the rearview mirror, exchanging death glares. His face suddenly split in a grin and he started flicking his tongue at her like a lizard.

She rolled her eyes and looked away, then looked back a few seconds later to see that he was still doing it but had slowed down and added his fingers in a yirt below his tongue.

Her lip curled in disgust. He was twelve, that was just wrong.

Plo sighed beside her, his aura a lot more chartreuse in annoyance than it had been a moment ago. She felt a little mollified to see that Boba was getting to him too.

She looked up and saw Boba had gotten his other hand into the display, thrusting into the air with vulgar enthusiasm. She eyed the speeder brake. Boba had his seatbelt on, she could probably nudge the brake with the Force and give the little stinker an attitude adjustment without hurting him.

"Don't, Padawan," Plo warned her dryly, not taking his eyes off of the speeder traffic. The barracks were only one more block away.

Ahsoka brought up her message center and quickly messaged Rex to say that they were almost there, then sighed and leaned back. At least Rex would help her now. He'd given her the brief rundown on their history; how after the rest of his batch had died in a training accident, he'd received a few weeks of training from the Prime himself and even stayed in his quarters for a bit until he could be absorbed into another batch. After being reassigned to Cody's batch he had still looked out for Boba whenever he could. Some of the more experimental troopers didn't have the same respect for the Prime and his son, they'd picked on him mercilessly every time Jango left for a job.

"I got my shebs handed to me, but I still stepped up to them," Rex shrugged. "The Nulls were crazy, sure – you'd look up at midmeal and there would be one climbing the rafters. But the problem was they were mean as hell to anyone who wasn't part of their little family. They liked to torture Boba. Everyone else was afraid of them and I was too, but he was so small compared to us. I couldn't just stand there and watch."

It didn't surprise Ahsoka in the slightest that even as a cadet, Rex had been watching the back of a little sibling. He was a good man. It was why she loved him so much.

His left hand cupped the back of her head, directly under her rear lek, and his forehead gently pressed against hers. "Voy entye, vod'ika."

She shook her head and cleared her mind. It wasn't wise to think too hard about such things around Plo. Besides, it hadn't meant anything. He was just thanking her for helping him with his panic attack.

It… it was just that it had felt like it could have been something else. His aura had been copper, which to her usually signified familial love, but it had just been so intense at the time. It made her second guess her initial impression.

Plo parked across from the barracks in the administrative staff garage, then turned and looked at Boba.

"Anyone ever told you your face looks like a ruined vagina?" Boba asked casually.

"Once or twice," Plo rumbled, his aura going gold again.

"Master, don't encourage him," Ahsoka moaned into her hands, unable to look at either of them.

"Now, Boba," Plo began, "I do warn you that you are about to enter the living space of five-hundred and seventy-six men who are very fond of Padawan Tano and will not take kindly to crude comments made about her. Do with this information what you will."

Boba's face and aura both blanched with fear, and Ahsoka could tell from the way his eyes darted across the street that he was remembering the Nulls.

"Hey," she said gently. "I won't let anyone hurt you, okay? Just… clean up your language a little."

"Whatever," Boba muttered, looking away.

Plo's eyes and cheeks moved in his version of a smile, and his aura brimmed a soft blue with pride. "Very good," he said, then patted her on the shoulder. "I will return this evening once I've made our traveling arrangements. Try not to burn the barracks down."

Ahsoka huffed a soft laugh and nodded. "Alright, kiddo, let's go hang out with your brothers."

"They're not my brothers," Boba said sourly, flaring red with anger. "I'm not like them."

"Tell me about it." Ahsoka unbelted herself, got out, and held Boba's door open for him. She took the small satchel of his returned possessions from prison and wrapped her fingers tightly around his bicep before he could bolt.

"Koh-to-yah!" Plo called before leaving.

Ahsoka looked down at the miniature vod beside her. "This doesn't have to be a nightmare, you know," she said gently, leading him up the staircase to the skywalk. "I'm not trying to be your mom, Fox was just joking. We can get along."

"I don't get along with shabla jetii," he snapped, his aura going red again.

"Well, you're gonna have to learn," Ahsoka said tightly.

They approached the upper security gate. "Hey, Disk," Ahsoka greeted him once they were within earshot.

"Hey, Commander." He didn't have his helmet on and he was looking at Boba curiously. "What are you doing on Coruscant, cadet?"

"I'm gonna be a soldier one day, just like you!" Boba said brightly, widening his eyes and peeling his lips back in a creepy, manic grin. "I'm going to die for the Republic!"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "He needs a visitor's pass."

Disk watched Boba uneasily as he prepared one, who held the terrifying grimace on his face without moving, blinking or breathing.

"Can you stop being weird?" Ahsoka finally asked, then snapped her fingers in front of his eyes so he'd blink.

Boba startled, glared at her, then snapped his heels together and stood at perfect attention. "Sir, Yes Sir!" he bellowed. "I will be more patriotic immediately, Sir!"

"That's not what I said–"

"Galactic Republic!" Boba started to loudly sing.

Ahsoka winced, the notes vibrating her montrals like nails on porcelain.

"Star systems united!" he continued to sing, purposefully off-key.

"Boba, stop."

"Here's his pass, Commander," Disk said loudly over the boy's shrieking.

"Under our flaaaags!"

Ahsoka was trying to be the grown-up here, but she did have a limit. "Quiet!" she snapped, then dragged him through the gate and away from Disk.

"ALL STARS BURN AS ONNNNNNNE!" Boba belted at the top of his lungs as they cleared the last gate.

"Boba, shut up! That's enough!" she hissed at him.

"Fucking right it is." He jammed a razor-point elbow into her gut and bolted like a racing fathier, disappearing around the corner before Ahsoka could so much as reach out for him.

"Oh, you little shit–" Ahsoka took off after him, relying on her Empathy to keep a lock on his uniquely gray aura. He was way too fast for a kid with broken ribs.

"Disk, lock down the exits!" Ahsoka barked into her commlink as she tried to catch up. Holy karking sithspit, did the kid have wheels?

"He already gotten away from you?" Disk asked.

"Disk!" she shrieked.

"On it, Commander."

Ahsoka bounced around the corner and saw Boba cheekily wave and then flip his middle fingers up at her from behind a set of closing turbo-lift doors.

"Seriously?" Ahsoka said to herself in disbelief, then spun and charged for the emergency staircase. Boba's aura was tanking at top speed to the bottom level; she vaulted over the edge of the winding stairs and landed hard on her heels. She slid the stairwell door open with the Force and took off, slamming into a trooper at full speed a half-second later.

"Sorry!" she called, then did a double take. "Fives! Help me!" She yanked him to his feet with the Force and then took off with his hand in hers.

"Are we under attack?" Fives gasped, still breathless from her hitting him like a cannonball. His aura was blinking red-white alarm.

"We have to catch Boba before he escapes!"

"Boba?" Fives asked, bewildered. "Your tea is escaping?"

"Not boba tea, Boba Fett!" She slammed them both into the wall as they turned the corner to keep their momentum and kept sprinting. He'd gotten off the turbo-lift and she wasn't sure which floor he was on, but he was moving. Troopers dove out of their way like they were avoiding a runaway turbo-train.

"Boba Fett?" Fives' voice cracked. "What the hell is he doing here?"

Ahsoka spied Boba's aura intensifying; he was getting closer to her. "I took custody of him!"

"You what?" Fives laughed in sheer green disbelief. "What does that mean?"

"I'm his legal guardian!" She dragged Fives into another stairwell and went up a floor. He was much closer now.

"You've gotta be– what, is he gonna go on campaigns with us? Do we have babysitting shifts?"

"I don't know, Fives!" she wailed.

"Does Rex know?"

"It was his idea!"

"No it shabla was not!" Fives gasped.

Ahsoka slid to a halt, and Fives crashed into her from behind and bumped her a few feet forward. "Where did he go?" Ahsoka asked frantically. She turned and took Fives by the plastoid biceps. "He was so close, where did he go?" She shook him a little.

"I don't know?" Fives responded faintly.

"He's too far away, I can't see his aura." She started to pace back and forth, squeezing her front lekku with both hands. "We can't panic. He can't have gotten far, right? W-We just have to stay calm and not panic."

"Yeah, of–"

"Don't panic, Fives!" she hissed, speeding up her pacing.

"I–"

"Stop panicking!"

"Okay, okay!"

Ahsoka felt short of breath but she hadn't been running long enough to be winded. "We need more troopers to help us. Everyone needs to stop what they're doing and search before he gets out."

"Cadet, get back here!"

Ahsoka saw a flash of brown haloed by gray at the opposite end of the hall, closely followed by an annoyed Appo. She and Fives looked at one another, stunned, then bolted after them.

"Stop!" Ahsoka hollered, crashing and sliding around the corner like a three-legged ozaawi'igo on ice.

"Where is he even going?" Fives yelled from behind her.

How was she supposed to know? "Get back here!"

"Fuck you!" Boba ducked through a door on the right and Fives and Ahsoka crashed into Appo trying to follow him. The three ended up in a tangled pile of plastoid on the ground just in time to watch Boba's feet disappear inside the ceiling vent.

"Oh, come on," Ahsoka moaned.

Appo gave her an exasperated look. "Do you know why there's a cadet running around the barracks?" he asked her dryly.

"The Commander adopted him," Fives supplied.

Ahsoka untwisted Fives' leg from around her torso. "He's not a cadet, he's Boba Fett, and I'm his legal guardian."

Appo's aura flared in sour orange anger-annoyance. "Boba Fett? The vod'kyramud?"

Ahsoka got to her feet and helped the two troopers up to theirs. "Please don't call him that."

"It's what he is," Appo said coldly.

She sighed. "Come on, vod. He's just a little kid. He was used."

Appo met her eyes with a measured look. "He's older than me," he said dryly. "Follow me. The closest opening big enough for him to crawl out of is in the laundry."

He wasn't in the laundry, and then he wasn't in the mess, and after they'd jogged behind Appo to the weight room Fives had to hold Ahsoka's hands away from her lekku because they were starting to bruise with how much she was nervously squeezing them.

"Commander, I've seen you less on edge surrounded by destroyers," Fives said desperately. "Why are you so upset?"

"Besides the fact that if he gets out I allowed a convicted terrorist to escape onto Coruscant?" Ahsoka said, reaching for her lek again.

Fives slapped her hand down. "Yes, besides that."

"I also don't want anything to happen to him!"

"Nobody's gonna hurt him," Appo called back, more annoyed than ever. His aura had gone practically neon chartreuse with it. "Not much, anyway, but–"

"Looking for something?"

Ahsoka tripped over her own feet and would have fallen if Fives didn't have a hold of her hand. "Rex," she breathed in relief. He strode up to them with a bemused expression, holding a squirming, hissing Boba under one arm.

"Come on, you said you were gonna get me out of here!" Boba whined. His nose scrunched up in the universal expression of Fett annoyance, his aura gone chartreuse to match.

"I did get you out of there," Rex said, shaking him gently.

"Asshole," Boba said sullenly.

"Found this one stuck behind the fridge in the officer's lounge," Rex said, his aura dancing with golden humor.

"Trash compactor's just down the hall," Appo deadpanned.

"Very funny." Rex shook Boba again. "I'm going to put you down now. If you run, you're getting a stunner bolt to the shebs, 'lek?"

Boba growled like an angry kitten. " 'lek, Tiarek."

Ahsoka frowned. She was fairly fluent in Mando'a, but she didn't know what that word meant and she didn't want to ask in front of Boba. He'd definitely make fun of her.

"Oi." Rex swung him forward so he could stand up and kept a firm hand on his shoulder. "What'd I say about that?"

Boba rolled his eyes. "Okay, Rex," he said in a mocking tone.

Ahsoka tried not to let her confusion show on her face. Was Tiarek a nickname? She couldn't for the life of her understand the dynamic between the two. Rex had said he'd stayed at the Prime's side for a few weeks and had then been reassigned to Cody's batch, but Boba had willingly left his hiding spot at Rex's request. To her, that spoke to a level of trust that went above a temporary childhood playmate that he had stopped from getting beaten up a few times.

She'd have to figure it out later. "We need to go see Kix," she said firmly, crossing her arms. "At least get some bacta on that shiner."

Boba glared at her and then the ground. "I'm fine," he grunted.

"Nuh uh." Ahsoka gave Rex a soft smile and clamped her hand down on Boba's other shoulder. "Come on. And trust me, as someone who's gotten a stunner to the shebs more than once, you definitely don't want to try to run again."

" – then she had the nerve to say "Oh, I do hope the Council doesn't censure Master Kenobi too harshly for failing to report egregious abuse of a child.' Egregious, Cody. She said egregious."

"That's awful, Sir," Cody said, his eyes flicking back and forth across the datapad he was holding.

"Then I tried to speak to her outside of the chamber because I actually have a modicum of propriety and was not about to involve the entire Council in our personal dispute, and she just… kept at it! Kept acting like a child!"

Cody didn't look up from his reports. "Oh, no."

"She went to leave and yes, I grabbed her arm but I was not rough, then she hissed at me."

Cody's eye twitched. "Wow."

"Something's clearly wrong with her arm, but of course I didn't feel as though I could even ask. She's being so churlish. I expected better of her."

"Yep."

Obi-Wan stopped his pacing and glanced down at Cody, who'd dekitted and was sitting on the most treasured artifact of the 212th's barracks; a neon-orange divan that was less of a sofa and more of a wad of perfectly round pillows that had been sewn together in the shape of a couch. Senator Amidala had graciously donated it. She'd ordered the ugly sofa in a fit of whimsy, intending it for her office, but once it arrived she had immediately decided that she hated it and had asked Obi-Wan if he had any ideas on what to do with it.

The men loved it. It could fit at least ten of them at one time, and although it was in the third-floor officer's lounge it wasn't uncommon to find a pile of privates on it snoozing together after a shift.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, centered himself, and released his frustration to the Force. Poor Cody didn't deserve to have his ear wagged off like this. "I apologize, Commander," he said sincerely, taking a seat beside him. "I'm being terribly droll, aren't I?"

"Not at all, Sir," Cody said calmly. "Ah– when does General Skywalker return from Toydaria?"

"He'll be available for me to whine at late tomorrow morning," Obi-Wan replied with a small smile.

Cody's lips twitched. "Good to know."

Obi-Wan huffed a small laugh, pinched the bridge of his nose, and tried not to scratch his stubble. He was starting to develop some rather obvious red lines on the back of his head.

"But I think you're going to have to make it right with her, General. Saying 'sorry' isn't going to cut it in this case."

"Oh, not you too," Obi-Wan said in dismay. "Come, now, I need at least one person on my side."

"I'm always on your side, General," Cody said mildly, still reading.

He was, wasn't he? Obi-Wan had so much appreciation for his Marshall Commander and the gracious way he'd handled the operation. Instead of being bitter and holding a grudge like his Padawans, Cody had simply told him that he was glad to see him on his feet but he'd appreciate being invited to the funeral next time.

He was a good man.

"But remember, Commander Tano is a sixteen-year-old girl who watched one of her favorite people die in her arms," Cody continued. "You can't really blame her for being upset."

"I don't blame her for being upset," Obi-Wan immediately replied. "I would have been concerned had she not been upset. What I will not tolerate is spiteful retribution."

"What do you mean, Sir?"

Obi-Wan gave an exasperated sigh. "I know you're multitasking, Commander, but did you hear anything I said?"

"Every word," Cody replied. "I'm not sure what retribution you're referring to, is all. Besides the 'egregious' dig, obviously, that was a little… dalgaanyc."

"She adopted a child, Cody!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. "She took legal responsibility for Boba Fett because of it! She brought it to the Council, and now Master Plo is involved–"

"You think she did all of that to spite you?" Cody said, finally looking up from his datapad. He put the thing down, rubbed his eyes, and slid down further into the cushions of the ugly divan. "Sir, that's… no. That's not why she did it."

Obi-Wan scoffed. "Why else–"

"Because Rex asked her to," Cody said dryly. "And because it was the right thing to do."

Obi-Wan blinked. "Oh."

"Yep." Cody picked up the datapad again, shaking his head.

"But why would Rex care about Boba Fett?" Obi-Wan asked.

Cody's lips pursed. "It's… a long story."

Obi-Wan shrugged. "Well, as I said, Anakin doesn't return until tomorrow morning."

Cody looked up, thought for a moment, then having seemingly come to a decision, gave Obi-Wan a conspiratorial smirk. "That you did." He tossed the datapad aside and gave Obi-Wan a familiar clap on the knee. "Alright. Let's move this to my office. If you wouldn't mind getting a pot of caf, Sir, I'll meet you there with the tihaar. I wasn't joking. This is a long story."

"But this monstrosity is quite comfortable," Obi-Wan said, wiggling a little with a smile. "I'm loath to abandon it for an office chair."

"You can either get the lore in my office or not at all, Sir." Cody gave him one last grin before sliding open the door to the lounge. "Respectfully, of course."

"If you insist, Commander." Obi-Wan heaved himself up and headed down to the mess hall to retrieve a pot of caf for Cody, some hot water for himself to make tea, and a handful of chocolate biscuits from the vending droid for the two to share.

Gossip always did taste the best when chased with chocolate.

Scran acquired, he made his way to Cody's office to find the Commander already there, comfortably sprawled in his desk chair. He gestured to his neatly-made rack after relieving Obi-Wan of the pot of caf.

"Now," Cody began, pouring it into a mug that he'd already dosed with a shot of tihaar, "Obviously, Sir, I'm trusting that what I'm about to tell you will not leave this room."

"Alright," Obi-Wan said, bemused. He took a seat and handed the man a chocolate biscuit, which was received with a gracious grin.

Cody took a bite, chased it with his mug of caf, then swallowed hard. "I suppose the first thing I should tell you is what happened to Rex's original batch. He believes that they died in a training accident."

Obi-Wan's brows went up. "They didn't?"

Cody shook his head grimly. "Nope."

"Oh dear," Obi-Wan murmured to himself. "I'm afraid to even ask."

The good humor left Cody's eyes. "The Kaminoans used to be a lot more selective when it came to… shall we say, phenotypic variations."

"The hair?" Obi-Wan's brows went up even higher.

"The hair." Cody took another sip. "His whole batch was euthanized except for him. Not because of any special reason, he was just the last one in line. One of the Cuy'val Dar charged in and snatched him right off of a lab table with a needle in his neck. She stabbed one of the Kaminoans with it, from what I heard, though I don't know if that's actually true."

Obi-Wan, who'd been about to pour himself some hot water for tea, held his mug out for a nip of tihaar instead. If that was how the story started, then tea wasn't going to be enough.

The bacta gel that Rex's medic had massaged over Boba's ribs and face smelled like ass. He couldn't get it out of his nose, even now that he was in Koon's open-air speeder again.

"So, Boba, how did you enjoy the barracks?" Koon asked, glancing at him in the rearview mirror.

Tano was seated on his left with her wrist cuffed to his so he couldn't run off again. She snorted derisively. "He certainly got a good tour of the ventilation shafts," she said, looking at him out of the corner of her giant eye.

"So I heard." Koon signaled, then eased onto an exit ramp. "Well done in retrieving him."

"She didn't," Boba said mildly. "Rex did."

Tano's eyes flicked over to him.

"It is a good thing that Rex was there, then." Koon merged into a speederlane. They were in an industrial zone, now.

"I thought we were going to go eat," Boba said warily. "The fuck are we doing in CoCo town?"

Tano stilled and looked out over the side, then glared at Koon. "Good question," she said, and the chill in her voice could have frozen tibanna.

Koon glanced back, unbothered. "What's wrong? I thought that you were quite fond of Dex's diner."

Tano didn't back down. "Is he going to be there?" she asked, still frosty.

"Who?" Koon hummed and parked the PL-90 in the lot behind a janky old shitbox of a diner. It was the newest speeder there by at least twenty years.

Boba had to wonder how well being a Jedi paid.

"I believe you know who I'm referring to, Master," Tano said bitchily.

"Oh, Master Kenobi?" Koon asked, turning to her. "I don't believe he is here, but as your bond with him is much stronger than mine, I think that you would sense his presence easier than I."

"Kenobi?" Boba growled. Fuck, if he never heard that name again it would be too soon. Kenobi wasn't the one who swung the jetii'kad, but he was the cunt who kickstarted everything that ended with Dad rotting with his beskar'gam scattered to who the fuck knew where. Of course the stupid tailhead knew him. Boba knew how to break his thumb and get out of cuffs, it was just a matter of getting a head start on the bitch.

"Yeah, Kenobi," she said, waving her hand dismissively at him. "You didn't invite him, did you Master Plo?"

"No, I did not." Koon let himself out of the speeder and held her door open for her. "Now come. Let us have a nice, hearty meal. I'm sure young Boba would prefer that to the rations of the barracks."

"Prison food was better," Boba snipped.

"Stop complaining." Tano yanked him forward.

"Has the novelty of motherhood worn off so soon?" Koon asked, arranging his weird face in what Boba assumed was a smirk.

Tano snorted. "I've spent my entire apprenticeship around soldiers, and I've heard the forn-word more in the last three hours than I have in almost three years."

"I agree that imprisonment has certainly affected his manners." Koon opened the door to the diner for Boba and his Tog escort.

"Oh, fuck off," Boba grumbled as he passed him. "It's just words. If they scare you that fucking much then go meditate about waterfalls, or stealing babies, or whatever it is you cunts think about so you don't start blowing up shit with your brains when you get mad."

Tano and Plo exchanged bewildered looks. "When we what?" she asked faintly.

The diner wasn't slow, but it wasn't as packed as Boba expected for a grubhouse conveniently located in the center of a dozen different factories. Most of the diners had on brown jumpsuits with the logo of a rubber sealant company, tight enough around the leg to where Boba could see the outline of knives strapped to a few legs. There was a lone, stunner-armed, Mirialan security guard for a bank nursing a cup of caf at the counter. The rest were various flavors of unemployed, two armed with blasters and one with a baton, but Boba was around ninety-percent sure that the Weequay in the center booth snoring into a plate of scrambled nuna eggs had once been part of Hondo Ohnaka's crew.

"Hey there, how can I–" A waitress bot zoomed up to them and stopped dead, then turned towards the kitchen. "Honey! Obi-Wan's kid is here. She brought some friends."

Tano's stripes flushed black and Boba could have sworn that he heard a growl come out of her.

"Ahsoka!" An obese Besalisk in a grease-stained white apron waddled out from swinging kitchen doors. "Aw, no Obi-Wan today?"

"No," Tano said with a tight smile. "Dexter Jettser, may I introduce Jedi Master Plo Koon and, ah–" Tano glanced down at him and she paused. "Initiate Robert."

Boba stared at her with his mouth open a little. Robert?

"Well, tell that old hound I said hello. Good to meet you two. FLO will get you some menus and drinks. Sit anywhere you want, you know how it goes here." The Besalisk gave her a fond pat on the back and waddled back towards the kitchen. "I'll get your usual started. It takes a minute to get your sauce boiling."

Tano smiled a little and ducked her head. "Thanks, Dex. Come on, Robert." She tugged on his wrist like he was on a leash and pulled him over to a booth, Koon on their tails.

"Here you go, sweeties." FLO tossed some menus down and deposited three cups of plain fizz in front of them once they were seated. "Got dewberry, citron, and vanilla."

"I am happy with plain, thank you." Plo nodded his head at her.

"Dewberry, please." Tano smiled at the droid as she turned her fizz pink, then gave Boba a pointed glare eerily similar to Tiarek's. It said very clearly, behave.

"Citron," Boba said politely.

Tano kept an eye on him as FLO flavored his drink then zoomed off. "Thank you for not cursing at Flo," she said, then took a sip of her drink. She shivered and smiled. "I'm glad Kix isn't here. He never lets me get flavors. Too much sugar."

"I'm aware," Koon said wryly. "I believe in allowing one to make their own choices, and in letting them learn from the consequences of choosing poorly on purpose."

Tano glanced down at her drink, sighed, then switched glasses with Koon.

He worked the straw under his mask and took a pleased sip. "I do enjoy dewberry."

Tano shook her head then looked at Boba. "What did you mean with the 'stealing babies' comment?" she asked.

"That's what you do, isn't it?" Boba chugged half of his fizz and belched like a foghorn. "Go around to planets and steal babies and teach them magic so they can go out and steal more babies for you."

Tano's jaw hung open in shock. "Who… who told you that pile of bantha poodoo?"

Boba shrugged. "Dad. And Kal."

"Kal?"

"Kal Skirata." Boba spun his finger in his drink and licked it. "One of the Cuy'val Dar. Wouldn't suggest trying to dump me on him, though, only thing he gives a shit about are his fucking Nulls." Did he sound bitter?

Tano bit her lip. "Well, we don't steal babies. That's ridiculous. Most of the time their parents are the ones who contact the Jedi in the first place."

"Indeed. Such was the case with Ahsoka's mother." Koon steepled his talons. "I was the one who retrieved her, in fact."

"Emphasis on retrieved. He didn't steal me."

Boba almost felt bad for the Tog, but if her own mother didn't want her then it was probably better that the jetiise had raised her instead. Pity a Mando hadn't found her. She had spunk, even if she was annoying, and Tiarek obviously liked her well enough. He still didn't trust her, but she wasn't a total piece of shit. "Whatever." Boba peered down at the menu. "What's the most expensive thing they have?"

Koon laughed. "Luckily for us, Jedi eat free at Dex's diner."

Boba snorted. "Cheap-ass."

Koon sipped his drink again. "I would have gladly paid at another establishment, young man. I generally decline my stipend, though I will admit as of late to accepting it to use on the boys. I hate to see them only ever eat ration bars." Koon's face softened with a smile.

"You spend your stipend on snacks for the 104th?" Tano grinned. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"Spent some of it on that little number probably getting gutted behind the building right now, too," Boba muttered, reading through the burger selection.

"That belongs to the Temple, Initiate Robert."

Tano clapped a hand over her mouth to contain her laugh.

Boba glared at him then looked back down. "How'd the Temple get a PL-90?"

"If I recall correctly, I believe that one belonged to Ziro the Hutt's collection."

"Alright, what are we in the mood for?" FLO started speaking before she arrived, then she braked hard and spun in front of their table. She held a hand up in front of the Tog's face. "Dex is still searing your garbage plate."

Boba snorted. "Garbage plate?"

"Thick strips of bantha meat, ground roba, and grilled nuna nuggets, plus a whole pile of over-easy eggs." Tano sighed dreamily. "And Dex covers it in his awesome red sauce."

"It looks like ten different plates scraped into the trash," FLO quipped. "Whaddaya want, Robert?"

Boba felt his cheeks burn hot. Fucking Robert. At least the Tog had been smart enough to not yell his name in public, but seriously, Robert? "Banzaii burger with white sauce and extra peppers, rings extra well-done."

Beside him, Tano choked on her fizz for some reason.

"I will take a double portion of steamed bamboo worms, please, with the bam-bam sauce on the side." Koon handed FLO their menus and she zoomed off. He withdrew a small pouch from his robes, removed his mask, and tipped a handful of pebbles into his weird mouth.

Boba suddenly spied a claw game machine over the Kel Dor's shoulder tucked against the back wall. Tano followed his line of sight and started rustling around in her pockets. "Wanna play?" she asked, cocking her head with a little smile.

Well he did, but now if he said yes it would seem like it was because she'd suggested it.

"What if I take off the cuffs?" she suddenly offered, much to Boba's surprise. "Promise not to run?"

Boba shrugged. "You were easy to slip. I don't think Grandpa here will be such a fucking pushover." Also, he was hungry.

"Correct," Koon said, pleased as a po'ackster.

"Then fine." He let Tano uncuff him and she stood to let him out.

"Good luck." She handed him a credit chit. "I don't know how much the game is, but there's ten credits on it."

Boba spied a rancor plushie sitting pretty on top of a pile of porgs. He inserted Tano's credit chit and started to play.

"I was surprised at your reaction, little 'Soka," Koon said. Boba turned his ear towards them as he moved the joystick.

"Reaction to what?"

"My choice of dining establishment."

"Oh. Right. I'm sorry, Master Plo, that was rude of me."

Boba snorted and rolled his eyes. She really was a prim little princess, wasn't she?

"If Master Kenobi had been present, what would you have done?"

Boba dropped the claw on the rancor and picked it up on the first try.

"Skipped dinner," Tano said sullenly.

"Oh Ahsoka, why can you not find it in your heart to forgive him? You must let go of your resentment."

The rancor plushie fell from the claw after a random jerk. "Cheating piece of shit," Boba growled. He slapped the button for a new game, but kept his ears open. Tano wasn't on good terms with Kenobi, eh? Well, he could use that somehow, he'd figure something out.

"I have forgiven him."

"Lying does not become you, my dear."

"I'm not–"

The rancor fell again. Boba smacked the machine and started over.

"It's not just about what he did to me," Tano said quietly. "He destroyed Anakin and he doesn't even care. He just expects us to all go on like he didn't completely flip our world upside down. He said he was 'sorry for causing so much distress,' like distress even comes close to describing it." Tano stared out of the booth's window. "Please don't scold me for my attachment. I had let him go. I had taken comfort in the belief that he was in the Force around me and would always be with me. What I can't stand is the cold callousness of using our grief as his cover, then expecting things to just return as they were before."

"Ahsoka, I would like to meditate on this with you when we have a moment."

"I'd appreciate that, Master."

Boba restarted the game for the fifth time, very close to punching his way through the glass. He picked the rancor up, carefully manipulated it to the edge, it was almost there–

The fucking thing jerked and the rancor fell, but then it bounced unnaturally high off of the head of a raxshir plushie and went over the edge of the chute. Boba whipped his head around.

Tano winked at him and took a sip of his citron fizz.

Notes:

MANDO'A TRANSLATIONS Voy entye, vod'ika: Thank you, little sister dalgaanyc: bitchy Jetii'kad: lightsaber Beskar'gam: armor OTHER NOTES I'm using koh-to-yah as both hello and goodbye, yes 🤘 Yirt: Aurebesh equivalent of Y, but the letter itself is shaped like a V with a little hat lol Introducing Robert Fett Kel Dors are insectivores because I said so, and he has no teeth and a crop like a bird, so the pebbles are how he 'chews' his food.

Taglist: @starwarsficnetwork, @soliloquy-of-nemo Dividers: @saradika-graphics

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