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Luke Skywalker stretched out on top of his hotel bed’s duvet and cursed his luck as the sounds of the shower running filled the room.
He was so truly and utterly fucked.
Luke already had a running list of people he would personally hex if given the opportunity – the International Olympic Committee for choosing Denver as the venue for this year’s Winter Olympics, the Team USA coordinator for making all the hotel reservations with no input from the athletes, and Wedge Antilles for deciding that two weeks before the goddamn Olympics was the time to badly sprain his ankle doing a triple Salchow in practice. Who does that?
“Hey, the bathroom’s free if you want it.”
Luke’s eyes shot open and quickly found his roommate standing next to his own bed on the other side of the room, a towel artfully draped around his hips and a soft smile gracing his lips. He ran another towel through his thick, dark curls and Luke’s insides turned to magma as he watched his roommate’s muscles flex with the movement. Tattoos ran up and down the man’s golden skin, with the skeletal outline of a dragon racing across his torso and wrapping around his chest in beautiful red ink being the most prominent amongst them. For a split second, Luke thought he felt hot pinpricks of tears stinging the corners of his eyes at the sight.
He had no idea how he would get through the next three weeks with the most gorgeous man he’d ever seen in his life living with him in such a tight space. If Hot Roommate smiled at him like that one more time, Luke might spontaneously combust.
“Thank you,” Luke said after what felt like an eternity. He wanted to sink into the mattress and never come out.
“I tried not to get water everywhere, but if I did, I’m sorry,” Hot Roommate said with a small shrug. “Hotel showers, y’know.”
Luke swallowed. Not only was Hot Roommate – acknowledging his real name in Luke’s mind would make Hot Roommate a real person and therefore an actual romance option – the most gorgeous man he’d ever seen, Hot Roommate was also polite and courteous. It almost made him angry.
“Well, I can tell you for a fact that it’s better than anything we had in Sochi,” Luke said as he sat up from the bed.
The memory of waking up with his feet dangling over the edge of the bed every single day sobered him up from his fantasies. Denver opted not to build an actual Olympic Village this year, choosing to rent out hotel rooms for athletes and staff. Because the ice events would take place within city limits, the coordinators for both Team USA Hockey and Ice Skating managed to finagle rooms for both teams at the ridiculously ostentatious Brown Palace – a place that still served afternoon tea with real Devonshire cream, which delighted his coach Ben Kenobi to no end. At least someone would have fun on this trip.
Hot Roommate sat down on his own bed and blinked at Luke owlishly. “You were in Sochi? God, how many years ago was that?”
“You don’t have to remind me,” Luke sniffed. He knew he was getting on in age for his sport, but Hot Roommate didn’t have to say it like that.
Hot Roommate chuckled. “No, I didn’t mean it like that – I’m a hundred percent sure I’m older than you.” He leaned over and reached for his phone. “I’m just impressed, that’s all. Most people dream of going to the Olympics even just once.”
“I’ve impressed you? Me, a frou-frou ice skater?” Luke raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you hockey types have Opinions about my sport?”
“If I attempted to lift my body in skates in any way that didn’t involve getting over the wall to the ice,” Hot Roommate said with a serious look in his eyes, “I’d break my neck. I have nothing but respect for your sport – but that’s just coming from a meathead that only talks about cellies and snipes.”
Luke couldn’t help but crack a smile at that. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’d probably be about as graceful in hockey skates as you would be in mine – I don’t know how you do much of anything in all that padding.”
“You get used to it,” Hot Roommate said as he finally moved off the bed and towards their bureau, opening a drawer and pulling out clothing. “If you like, I can show you sometime.”
Luke watched as Hot Roommate pulled out a pair of dark red boxer briefs and quickly averted his eyes; not only was he not a total creep, he also didn’t know if his heart would give out if he saw anything else. “Uh, yeah, sure.”
“How’s tomorrow night sound?” said Hot Roommate as he took his clothing over behind the partition on the other side of the room. Luke didn’t even know hotels still had partitions in the rooms, or if the hotel provided them as a courtesy for the athletes who didn’t get much of a say in room assignments. “The opening ceremony’s still a few days away, so the ice rinks are open for practice.”
“I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself in front of your teammates,” Luke said. “No one needs to see me try to hit a puck into a net.”
“Well, I think it would be fun,” Hot Roommate said as Luke watched him disappear behind the partition and stand back up with his shirt. “Besides, it would be after practice – no horrible jocks to watch you struggle in padding, I promise.”
Hot Roommate leaned over the top of the partition, and Luke admired the way his curls draped over his forehead and the flex of his crossed forearms. At that moment, if Hot Roommate asked him to commit a murder, Luke would happily find a knife.
“Alright, fine – but on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“I’m going to get you to try skating in actual ice skates – not those boots with blades,” Luke said, the tell-tale tones of a dare lacing his words.
“You drive a hard bargain, but it’s a date,” Hot Roommate said with a wink as he ducked back down behind the partition and continued to dress.
That’s when Luke realized Hot Roommate would truly be the death of him.
He picked up his phone and quickly texted Leia.
Luke threw his phone down on the bed, willing himself not to scream. He wrapped his arms around his eyes and hoped the rest of the world would melt away.
“Everything alright, Skywalker?”
Of course, it wouldn’t work out the way he wanted.
“I’m fine,” Luke said from underneath his arms. “Stupid kid sisters, that’s all.”
Hot Roommate snorted a laugh at that. “Yeah, I know about stupid kid sisters.”
“Oh?”
“That’s a story for another night, perhaps,” Hot Roommate said as he reached for his shoes and sat down on the bed to put them on. “I’m heading out to get some food with the team, but I’ll try to come back at a reasonable time. Do you need anything while I’m out? This is my town, so don’t feel like you’re putting me out or anything.”
“I’m fine, thank you,” Luke said as he rolled over to face Din. “You said this is your town – you live here?”
“Yeah,” Hot Roommate grunted as he pulled on his other shoe. “I play for the Colorado Avalanche, so, y’know, I live here.”
Luke shook his head in disbelief. “Why not just stay at your house? Why stay in a hotel?”
“As team captain, it’s my duty to stay in the same lodgings as everyone else. Builds team cohesion if we’re all in the same situation, especially since most of these guys are very far away from home,” Hot Roommate explained. “That, and my house is a little further out in the suburbs; driving in Olympics traffic in the middle of Denver would be tragic. Might as well take advantage of the free accommodations.”
“How very practical of you,” Luke said, a small smile growing on his face. “And setting the example well, too.”
“I try,” Hot Roommate said with a matching smile as he stood. “I’ve got to go, or else I’ll never hear the end of it from the guys – I’ll catch you later.”
“Have a good night,” Luke said, waving him off.
Once the door shut behind Hot Roommate and a few seconds passed, Luke grabbed the other pillow off the bed and slammed it over his face. He let out a frustrated scream that left his throat raw and his face burning. In any other circumstance, Luke would be picking out colors for their elegant December wedding – but after all the sacrifices he made to even get this far, Luke knew he had to leave the wilted petals of this blooming romance at the Olympic altar. He swore to himself he wouldn’t let idle distractions tempt him away from his goal, and yet, the thought of Hot Roommate’s gentle brown eyes left him aching. Knowing that dwelling on it would make it hurt more, Luke willed himself into sleep and hoped tomorrow would be a better day.
Luke woke up the next morning, fully rested and well before his alarm. He shot a glance over at the other bed in the room, finding it empty. He tried hard not to feel disappointed at not seeing Hot Roommate peacefully sleeping in the other bed. He hated that he even wanted that, and quickly shoved that thought aside. As reality shifted back into focus, his eyes landed on a bright red box with a small note attached sitting on his nightstand.
Luke,
I know you said you didn’t need anything, but I saw this box of coffee when I was out last night and figured it would be a lot better than the cheap stuff they have in the room. It’s local, so hopefully you like it.
Welcome to Denver!
- Din Djarin
Luke groaned into his pillow, hating that not only did Hot Roommate – Din – now officially have a name in his mind, but he was also kind, which made him endearing and adorable.
He was, in fact, totally fucked.
“OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN!” boomed a voice across the hotel restaurant. A loud ouch followed suit.
Din sighed deeply as he made his way to where his teammates crowded around a long table, several coffee mugs and sugar packets already piled up around them. Much like the rest of the hotel, the in-house restaurant seemed far too fancy for Din’s tastes, with its ornate wallpaper and too-bright electric chandeliers practically assaulting his eyes. He kept his thoughts to himself, however; he wasn’t footing the bill.
“Good morning, everyone,” Din mumbled as he found an empty seat between defenseman Axe Woves and goalie Boba Fett, with right wing Cobb Vanth immediately across from him. He hardly looked up as a waiter set a cup of coffee down in front of him.
“Sleep like shit, boss?” Cobb asked around his own cup of coffee.
“He’s just not a morning person,” Boba said.
“Djarin could sleep for fourteen hours and still not be functional before nine,” Paz Vizsla, defenseman, added. “Give him some time with that cup and he’ll be fine.”
“These guys know you pretty damn well,” Cobb said to Din. “I suppose that’s what happens when y’all play together in college for four years before heading off to the NHL.”
“Hey,” Boba interjected, “I think we know you pretty well after spending three months in Lake Placid – for instance, I’m ninety-nine percent sure the only shoes you own other than shower shoes are those goddamn shitkicker cowboy boots.”
Din only hummed as he downed his cup, content to let the conversation flow around him as he meditatively sank into the warmth of the coffee. When he finished the last drop, his eyes quickly found the carafe and reached to pour himself another cup. He laughed to himself at how well Paz knew him – he’d need maybe two more of these to be somewhat functional for the rest of the morning.
“So, how did it go with the love of your life last night?” Boba finally asked. The chatter around the table fell to a dead silence.
If Boba asked Din that question maybe six years ago, Din would’ve sputtered and choked on his coffee. Nothing about Boba Fett or his demeanor fazed him now, especially after rooming with the man back in college. No amount of Mad Dog 20/20 would ever erase from his brain the images of Boba waking up from a weekend-long bender covered in nothing but whipped cream.
“What do you want to hear, that we made wild, passionate love on every flat surface in the room?”
“I mean, that’s the best possible outcome,” Boba laughed. “But I’m assuming that’s not what happened.”
“Who’s the love of the captain’s life?” a young player, some new d-man picked up from the Red Wings halfway through training, asked.
Paz leaned back in his chair and laughed. “Oh, you missed it! Din Djarin, toughest son-of-a-bitch on the ice, locked eyes with a beautiful man at Lake Placid and fell in love at first sight. The man’s completely gone.”
“Caught him attending the men’s singles practices just to watch him,” Boba added. “He sees him and it’s like his brain shuts off. We walked into the breakroom and found Djarin sighing dreamily while watching one of his beloved’s old routines on the big screen.”
Din couldn’t deny it – he remembered the morning he walked into the rink at the US Olympic Training Complex and found Luke Skywalker practicing alone. He didn’t think people actually fell in love at first sight, but when he watched Luke land a quadruple toe loop perfectly in time with the music blaring over the speakers, the rest of the world dissipated into nothing. When Luke pirouetted and turned to face Din, Luke flashed him a cocky smile that sent Din’s heart crashing to the floor, never to recover. He didn’t move from that spot until the rest of teammates found him in the stands, utterly besotted and lost in his own world.
“And the worst part is? The guy didn’t know Din existed until last night when they just so happened to get assigned to the same room,” Cobb said, a wild grin splitting his face. “Weird how things work out that way.”
Din nearly dropped his cup. “You didn’t.”
“No, I did,” Fennec cut in from across the aisle. She sat with several players from the Team USA Women’s Hockey Team in a large booth, most of them glaring at the noise from the boys’ table. “Sorry, Din – you’re pathetic and you needed the help.”
“You’re all the worst people anyone could know,” Din groaned.
“Operation Dragon Strike is officially underway,” Cobb nodded sagely. “The wheels are in motion. We’re not leaving Denver until you get a husband and father for your kid.”
“’Operation Dragon Strike’?” asked Boba.
“It was either that or something a lot more vulgar and descriptive,” replied Cobb.
“Ugh.”
Boba cleared his throat. “Well, you still haven’t answered the question, Djarin – did you get anywhere with your man last night?”
“I think I got him to go skating with me.” The high-fives and cash exchanges that immediately went around the table didn’t escape his notice. “Are you fuckers betting on me dating Luke Skywalker?”
“Boss, I love you like my very own brother,” Paz said as he counted out his winnings, “but we couldn’t pass this up. I always bet in your favor, though.”
“Didn’t think you had it in you to actually ask him out on a date before the Opening Ceremony,” grumbled Bo-Katan Kryze, the women’s team captain, as she set a bill down in front of Paz.
“What the fuck,” Din said, his voice a harsh whisper.
Cobb stood up at his seat. “I think we should give credit where credit is due – a huge thanks to Boba Fett, Goalie Extraordinaire and Underwear Genius, who made the call to get rid of our captain’s ratty boxers. We also must thank Fennec Shand, our team manager, who replaced them with the finest boxer briefs Hugo Boss makes.”
Boba stood up and dramatically bowed while Fennec Shand stood up from the other end and raised her mug as a toast.
“Will you all please shut the fuck up,” Din groaned as he lowered his head on the table.
“That’s not a very nice way to talk to your teammates.”
Din immediately looked up to find Luke Skywalker and his beautiful, stunning, gorgeous blue eyes, and beautiful, stunning, gorgeous smile, standing next to their table. Din's heart skittered in his chest—from his horrifically powerful crush or from the caffeine, he wasn’t sure—and he gaped at Luke, unable to reboot his brain and come up with any kind of intelligent response.
Din wondered if he slipped the waitress enough money that she’d just kill him there on the spot.
“It’s not Djarin’s fault,” Cobb said. “We’re horrible people and we deserve it.”
“We’re the actual worst!” Paz said, toasting himself with a glass of orange juice.
“Good to know,” Luke said, still smiling and looking for all the world like an absolute angel. Din felt like crying. “Do you guys mind company, or is this a team-only breakfast?”
Axe shot up from his chair and gestured for Luke to take the seat. “Please, by all means.” Before Luke could properly thank him or even accept the offer, Axe took off.
“That was fast,” said Luke.
“He’s like that,” Cobb said with a dismissive wave. “Welcome to the table, Mister…?”
“Skywalker,” Luke supplied. “But you can just call me Luke.”
“And you can call me anything you like except late to dinner,” Cobb said with a very friendly grin. “OUCH.” He reached under the table to rub at his leg.
Boba glared at him from the other side of the table. “I’m sorry about our teammate’s behavior; he’s not fully house trained.”
“He plays for Vegas; they’re all animals,” Din sneered. Perhaps he found it hard to speak like a civilized human being so early in the morning, but Din could always manage threats and chirps.
Luke just laughed as he grabbed a menu from off the table. Din would pay money to hear that laugh again. “He’s a downright gentleman compared to the comments I get on Instagram,” said Luke. “I get some real perverts sometimes.”
Din cursed himself for not thinking to look for Luke on Instagram. Of course, Luke would have an Instagram. Din also wanted to find the creeps that made Luke uncomfortable and personally fight them.
He needed to calm down.
“Would it make you feel better if we sent Djarin here to fight them for you?” Cobb asked, almost as though he read Din’s mind. “Defend your honor?”
“Djarin can kick anyone’s ass – we’ve seen him do it!”
Luke shot Din a strange look that made Din’s stomach sink in horror. “Are you saying your captain here is a violent, out-of-control monster?” asked Luke.
“No!”
“He’s a good man!”
“Boss has a toddler and a kitten at home!”
“He’s a gentleman and a scholar!”
Din put his head in his hands.
“Oh, that’s good to know,” Luke said as he reached for the coffee carafe in front of Din. “Although it’s not a horrible thought, having a knight in shining armor rushing in to defend my honor.”
“I’ll start with Vanth, then,” Din grumbled.
Cobb scoffed as he leaned back in his chair. “Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve tangled, you heavy-handed goon. Broke my fuckin’ nose.”
Luke gaped at them. “Din, holy shit.”
“During a Bruins/Avalanche game,” added Boba, “I saved a puck from my goal, and it whanged one of his guys in the face. Din pulled me right out of the net and punched me in the face in return. He also managed to get my jersey off – only man to ever do that.”
“Oh, are we telling fight stories?” Paz asked from further down the table. “Because I’m the only player on the team Din hasn’t managed to knock unconscious – but he did knock one of my teeth loose, so there’s that.”
“And you don’t hate each other?” Luke asked.
“What?!” asked Paz incredulously. “That’s my brother.”
“I babysit his kid sometimes when he’s in town,” Boba added.
Cobb laughed. “I once asked him to marry me while we were sitting in the Sin Bin.”
Din coughed loudly at that.
Boba laid a comforting hand on Din’s shoulder. “Djarin’s a good man – the violence is all on the ice and it’s all in good fun. This is a man who adopted his kid from a less-than-ideal situation, no questions asked. He’s a great teammate and a badass dude to know.”
“I’m glad to hear it direct from the Din Djarin Hype Squad,” Luke laughed.
Din’s face burned up in a horrific shade of pink. He figured one day he would have to kill Boba Fett for his own good, but he didn’t know it would be today.
Boba’s chair suddenly slid back from the table, pulling a startled yelp out of him. Din watched as Fennec Shand continued to pull the chair and the man in it away from them.
“I’m sorry about him,” she said. “Please enjoy your breakfast. I’m also grabbing anyone else that insists on embarrassing the captain.”
All at once, every set of eyes at the table dropped to the table amidst soft “yes, ma’ams” and “we’re sorrys” around the table as everyone turned back to their breakfasts.
Luke leaned in close to Din. “You don’t have to hit me to get me to like you, you know,” he whispered “And thanks for the coffee.”
It took all of Din’s willpower not to float off into the ether and leave Earth forever.
“So, Luke’s got a boyfriend now,” a voice echoed across the mostly empty ice rink.
Luke shot up off the bench and nearly fell straight onto the floor, forgetting he still had his skates on his feet. “Who the hell said that?”
“I did, you dramatic idiot.”
“Oh, it’s just you.”
A hand towel flew from across the stands and thwacked Luke straight across his head. “Disrespect your dearest and loveliest sister again, and I will absolutely tell everyone what happened in ninth-grade chemistry class.”
Luke scoffed as he tossed the towel back to his sister. “I think you’re conveniently forgetting your own involvement in the Great Fireball of ’07, Leia.”
Leia gasped dramatically. “No one was able to prove a thing.”
Luke groaned as he spotted the pairs skaters out on the ice pivot from their routine and make their way towards them, no doubt looking for a front row seat to the latest Skywalker Twin Drama.
“Oh, so you finally asked him out? Or did he ask you out?” Cal Kestis asked. Luke genuinely liked Cal – they’d been in the same rinks since they were children, and since they never competed in the same divisions, they never had a sour moment between them. “We all saw the look on your face when you got your room assignment and we figured it was a matter of time.”
“It was a little embarrassing,” added Merrin Sokolova, skidding to a stop next to her partner and flashing Luke a sickeningly sweet smile. Luke noticed she kept to herself and Cal mostly, but they had a congenial relationship, anyway. “You were staring at that hockey player’s ass like a man starved.”
Well, they used to have a congenial relationship.
“I was not. And we’re not together, thank you.”
“That’s a real shame – you know he has a really cute kid, right?” said Cal. “If it means anything, I think you guys would be cute together.”
“I’m trying to focus on the Games,” Luke groaned, burying his burning face into his hands. “Yes, I find him attractive – I think we’ve all established that you’d be blind not to notice his looks – but that’s a distraction. He’s distracting.”
Leia came up behind Luke, shoving her phone in his hands without a word. Luke looked down and found Hot Roommate’s – Din’s – Instagram page open to a picture of him and what appeared to be his child in a carrier against a landscape of beautiful, red-orange rock formations that seemed to block out half the sky. Din wore sunglasses and the most dad-like cargo-shorts-and-hiking-boots combination, but even then, he looked devastatingly handsome. Din’s little boy grinned at the camera, bucket hat nearly obscuring his bright hazel eyes and dark curls. Luke felt his heart clench.
It wasn’t fair.
The caption read:
d.djarin2: Took the kid out to Garden of the Gods today, with perfect views of Pikes Peak! It’s beautiful out here; if you ever get a chance to go, do it. #coloradosprings #gardenofthegods
“’Colorado Springs’?” Luke asked. “Hockey doesn’t train in Colorado Springs.”
Leia groaned as she took the phone back, showing a curious Cal and Merrin the same photo. “You know he lives here in Colorado, you nerd. That’s the only thing you focused on?”
Cal coughed. “It was either that or he’d openly gush over just how cute they look in this photo. You sure you’re not interested in this guy?”
Luke shot him a despairing glare. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“Because I need you to go ahead and make a move on this man,” Leia cut in. “He’s a rich, single NHL player and he has an adorable child. Unless you plan on using that English degree once you retire from skating, you should think about your future.”
Luke’s bewildered expression caused Cal and Merrin to fall over laughing. “Why am I being married off like I’m securing the family’s fortune?” he demanded.
A loud throat-clearing made the group immediately straighten their postures and look to the tunnel entrance, where Coach Kenobi and his assistant coach, Ahsoka, stood. They looked altogether tired and exasperated – something Luke attributed to jet lag, as it didn’t seem possible they could already be tired of Skywalker Twin Shenanigans, one day in.
“May I remind all of you that this is the Winter Olympics and not a trashy Regency-era drama?” Coach said with an imperious tone. “We already have a limited amount of time in the rinks, and you’re wasting it obsessing over Luke’s love life.”
Leia simply handed Coach her phone, still open to Din’s selfie. “But Ben, look – this is Luke’s roommate. He’s dragging his feet in whisking this extremely eligible man off his feet and we’re yelling at him to get a move on.”
Ben took the phone and studied the screen with Ahsoka peering over his shoulder. “I suppose he is a fairly handsome young man.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I think he could do better than you, Luke,” Ahsoka said with a teasing grin.
“Fine!" said Luke, exasperated. “If it makes all of you feel better, I’m meeting up with him later – he said he wanted to show me what it was like to skate like a hockey player, and I agreed.” Luke held his face in his hands. “Can you all just leave me here alone to die already?”
Ahsoka snorted. “So much for ‘not wanting a distraction’.”
Leia snatched her phone out of Ben’s grasp and began furiously tapping at the screen. “Alright, this is a date emergency,” she said.“I’m not letting you blow this up.”
“Leia, he’s just skating with this man,” said Merrin. “I don’t think he needs a makeover for that.”
“Not what I’m going for,” Leia said. “Dad’s calling you in two seconds.”
“Oh shit.”
Right on cue, Luke’s phone buzzed angrily in his jacket pocket. Knowing it wouldn’t be worth the fight if he ignored it, Luke took out his phone and hit the ‘answer’ button. He could hear his father’s familiar baritone before he even put the phone up to his ear.
“Luke, you can’t mess this up,” Anakin Skywalker said, skipping past any sort of normal politeness. Luke could hear the sounds of the shop in the background. “We need someone in this family to marry up for once.”
Luke winced. “Dad, you don’t have the right to tell me I need to get married if you and Mom can’t even be bothered to come out to Denver – a city in a country that you live in, I might add – for the goddamn Winter Olympics. We’re both in it this year!”
“Aww, son,” Anakin said with a signature pout developed to devastating effect over the years. “You know that we’d be there if we could. Plane tickets are expensive, and I couldn’t get the time away from the garage; not to mention how your mom’s up to her neck in casework. But hey, you marry that rich man and we’ll come visit you at your nice mansion; it’ll save us some money on a hotel.”
“Why does this responsibility fall on my shoulders and not Leia’s?” Luke asked.
“I love Leia, but she’s not going to marry anyone of worth,” Anakin answered easily. “It’s the curse of the Naberrie women – she will choose some scuzzball and disappoint me, much like your mother disappointed your grandfather when she ran off with me. Your mom and I already came to terms with this when you were three years old.”
“Dad, what the hell?”
“Our destiny rests in your hands,” said Anakin. Luke rolled his eyes at his father’s dramatics. “We kept a bunch of your old baby stuff for the day you’d bring home a grandchild, and apparently this guy already comes pre-packaged with one – don’t let us down!”
Click.
Luke huffed as he stuck his phone back into his pocket. “How does it feel to be the disappointing twin for once, Leia?” he asked her.
“Liberating, actually.”
Ben waved his hands and shooed the pairs team back onto the ice. “Alright, I have officially had enough of Skywalker drama,” he said, fingers visibly tightening around his coffee cup. “Everyone needs to get back to work or we’re doing planks until your brains leak out of your ears.”
At 7:45 PM exactly, Luke found himself at center ice wearing a pair of the heaviest, clunkiest skates he’d ever worn, and feeling utterly ridiculous as he watched Din shoot across the ice with perfect ease. Luke adjusted the silly little helmet and tried to get used to not having toe picks. He could never understand how anyone skated without toe picks.
Luke hated that he let a handsome face and a rich, husky voice talk him into something this stupid.
He very, very much hated to admit that watching Din in his element made something in him melt. Something about the way that Din seemed to command the space felt like a privilege to behold, and it occurred to Luke that people paid to see Din Djarin do this. He wondered how many fans would kill to be in his skates right now.
“I decided to forego most of the padding today,” Din said as he glided up to Luke. “But the hockey experience isn’t complete without the helmet, unfortunately. So, are you ready to learn some hockey basics?”
Din skidded to a stop, sending bits of ice flying from his skates like so many other absolute goons Luke met in the ice rinks of Detroit. Luke used to hate it when the junior varsity hockey players did it, but when Din did it, he thought it maybe kinda sorta looked cool.
“You’re not wearing a helmet,” Luke sniffed. Why did he have to wear the stupid helmet and look like a fool when Din got to have his gorgeous face out on display?
“I’m the professional here,” Din shot back. “So, are you ready to start?”
Luke tried his best to stand up straighter. “Ready whenever you are, coach.”
Din laughed as he handed him a stick. “First things first, we call this a ‘weapon’ – if you imagine hockey as a war, you need to have mastery over your weapon. First skill you learn with your weapon? A simple slapshot.”
“Why’s mine shorter than yours?” Luke asked, idly fiddling with the tape on the end.
“I… well, I thought that since you’re a little shorter than me, you’d be better off with a shorter stick,” Din replied. “I cut it a little while ago and taped it up for you, but if it’s not the right size, I can grab you another one. Or cut that down more if it’s too long. Whatever you want, I can fix it.”
Luke looked up from fiddling with his stick. “Din, you didn’t have to go through all the trouble. I wouldn’t know the difference.” He hoped his face wasn’t doing anything stupid, because yet again Din pulled out the stops and Luke felt so off-kilter that he didn’t know what to do.
Din shook his head. “I would know. It was nothing, really.” He gestured towards the other side of the ice. “Now come on, I promised you some lessons.”
Luke and Din glided towards the line where Din already had several pucks lined up at a short distance from the net. Din pulled a puck out of the group and, using his own stick, lined it up with the net. He stood sideways from the net and got into position.
“All you have to do is hold the stick like so,” said Din, “and make sure the blade of the stick is facing the net.” He slowly swung the stick out. “You swing with your entire upper body, right? And then, you come down as hard and as fast as you can to get the puck in the net.” Din followed through, launching his full weight and speed behind the strike. The sound of the puck hitting the net’s center pole rang through the rink.
Luke’s lips twitched with a small smile – his talent lied not just with his athleticism, but his ability to copy just about any skill he watched and perform it with near perfect precision. Din didn’t know that. Against all his better judgment, something in the back of Luke’s mind told him to play up the rookie card and see where it took him.
“You got it, Coach,” Luke said as he took his own stick and pulled out a puck for himself. He lined up for the strike, pulled back the stick, and… completely missed the puck.
“You’ve got the spirit, but not the aim,” Din chuckled as he came up behind Luke and positioned him in a slight squat, squaring up his shoulders and correcting his grip. Luke hoped to whatever god was listening that Din couldn’t feel the involuntary shudder that ran through his body at the touch. “Alright, Luke – let that net have it.”
Luke did as he was told and reeled back for the shot. This time, he didn’t miss; he managed to hit the net in the same place Din did just moments ago. Din stared at him, eyes blinking rapidly as if he couldn’t believe what he just saw. Luke beamed in pure delight.
“Try that again,” Din said in a hushed tone.
Luke pulled another puck forward and pulled off the same shot, the sound ringing across the ice.
Din moved around to the remaining few pucks and pulled one out, skating across the rink.
“I want to try hitting one towards you,” he said, raising his voice across the ice. ”Catch it with the blade and hit it in the net, alright?” Luke nodded and crouched into position.
Din hit the puck towards Luke, and Luke slowly backed up to catch the puck in the blade of the stick. He nudged the puck around, lined it up, and hit it again – and landed the puck in the net.
“How did I do, Coach?” Luke said, grinning wildly. He couldn’t help but feel a thrum of excitement as Din looked at him like he was made of magic.
“Are you sure you need to compete in men’s singles skating?” Din asked as he pushed off and made his way back over to Luke. “We can always kick Cobb off the first string and have you start as a right wing.”
Luke had the presence of mind to try and look bashful. “I don’t think I could handle being slammed up against walls.”
He immediately winced.
Din cleared his throat and looked out at anywhere but Luke’s face. “That’s fair. I’ll tell you what – our last skill of the night will be you getting a puck from me. I’ll start at the other end of the rink, and I’ll have a puck that I’m trying to drive to that same net,” Din explained, pointing at the same net they’d used throughout the night. “You just need to take the puck out of my possession. Bonus points if you can score in your net. Deal?”
“What do I get if I win?” Luke asked.
Din hummed. “Well, I could treat you to dinner – whatever you like. And if I win, you’ll do the same. Deal?”
Luke felt a blush rise up his neck and face, burning furiously at the very idea of taking his insanely gorgeous roommate out to dinner after experiencing firsthand what such a man does for a living. Luke steeled himself with resolve – even if he knew he’d lose, he’d give Din a fight, anyway.
“Sounds good to me. Let’s go, Djarin,” Luke said as they made their way to the opposite end and squared themselves up.
“’Djarin’? What happened to ‘Coach’?” Din asked with a sly grin of his own.
Luke scoffed. “We’re opponents now.”
“Fair enough.”
Din immediately cut and tried to rush past Luke, but Luke matched his speed and continued to skate backwards. He briefly thought that at this speed, he could easily launch into a triple axel if he wanted. Din’s handle on the puck left hardly any opening for Luke to even hazard a probe at it without Din forcing the stick out of Luke’s hand.
Despite his best efforts, Luke found the whole thing fun.
He grinned wide as he did his best to keep up with Din’s speed and dexterity – Luke started to gain confidence in his skates and matched Din’s crossovers with his own, mirroring his movements as best as he could manage. Luke noticed when they passed center ice, and if he wanted to try for the puck, it would have to be now. Luke looked up at Din’s face, met his eyes, and made a wild stab downwards.
Luke wasn’t sure if it was sheer surprise at his stupid move or if he did something truly clever, but he found the puck in his possession and he immediately backed away from Din’s reach on pure instinct. Something inside his brain screamed at him, ‘MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!’ and he took off forward as hard as he could push off from his back foot. A sudden rush of adrenaline pushed through him at the very thought of being pursued. He clumsily kept the puck in front of him, not even trying to look back at Din. He heard the familiar slice of metal against ice as Din caught up to him.
“That was a cute move, but I want to see you try that again,” Din growled.
Luke almost stuttered to a stop at the sound of Din’s voice sounding so dangerous and attractive. He shook his head and kept his attention down at the puck.
Din made a lunge for the puck, but Luke managed to keep it just out of his reach. He blinked once and found Din right in front of him, right in his bubble.
“That’s mine.”
Without thinking, Luke fell back on decades of training; he kept a hold of the puck and executed a perfect spin around Din’s guard, pushing away before he had time to react. Finally seeing an opening, Luke settled into position and let his shot fly.
“Well, fuck me running.”
Luke started laughing madly as he let himself slowly sit down on the ice. “Jesus, you’re scary as shit,” he cackled. “I don’t remember the last time anyone chased me like that.”
“I don’t remember the last time anyone gave me the slip like that,” Din said as he skidded to a slow stop at Luke’s side. “Come on, let’s get you off the ice – that’s a horrible celly, by the way.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Hang around us some more, and we’ll teach you everything you need to know,” Din said as he held out a hand for Luke to take.
Luke took Din’s hand, allowing Din to pull him up and off the ice. He kept his grip on Din’s hand as he steadied himself, trying his best to keep from sliding around without the toe picks to stop him.
“Thanks,” Luke mumbled as he finally settled.
“So, where am I taking you?” Din said, not breaking the hold he had on Luke’s forearm. “Denver has a lot of nice places to eat – we’ve got just about anything your heart could possibly desire, so you name the place and we’re there.”
Luke took a second to think about it. “All I really want is a burger and a milkshake – someplace local. Bonus points if they ask me how I like my burger cooked, and even more points if it looks like I could get into a fight there.”
Din only blinked at him.
“Did I say something wrong? I’m sorry, I – “
“No, not at all,” Din said. “Just surprised, that’s all.”
Luke scoffed as he finally broke away from Din’s grasp. “Didn’t think an ice skater had such meager tastes?”
“Well,” Din started, suddenly fidgety and awkward, “I guess I thought you’d have a more refined palate, that’s all.”
“Ah,” Luke said, cocking his head to the side. “Blonde, white kid that does ice skating must come from money, right?”
“Well.”
“I know why you’d think that, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Luke began as he coasted towards the wall. “Dad’s chief mechanic at the same garage he’s been at since Leia and I were kids, and Mom’s a guardian ad litem lawyer – which pays nothing, but she could take us to practice when Dad had to pick up extra shifts. Mom’s family knew our coach, so he agreed to take us on as his personal projects.”
Din just stared at him. “Luke, I’m so sorry – I really didn’t mean to judge.”
“I’m not – I’m not mad!” Luke said as he struggled to lift himself over the wall. “I’m used to it. I get it, I do. I just didn’t want you to think of me as some useless rich kid, that’s all. I went to public school and rode the bus every day. I got my degree from a state school, and I’ll probably be paying off that student loan debt for the rest of my life.”
“Luke.”
“I mean, I don’t know what exactly you think of me – we’ve known each other for all of what, two days?” Luke continued. “And like, maybe it’s stupid, but I don’t want you to think less of me.” He finally got a leg up on the lip of the wall, which took a level of flexibility not available to most people. “We have to live together and everything.”
“Luke.”
“And you seem like you have your shit together. I do not have my shit together, but I’m trying.” Luke managed to get half of his torso up on top of the wall, rolling until he straddled the edge. “I’m probably also a bit of a people-pleaser and I don’t like the idea of someone hating me.”
“Luke.”
“What?”
Din pushed the door to the player’s box open. “I admire your dedication, but not even hockey players climb back over the wall from the ice.”
Luke just sat there on the wall, laughing to keep from crying. “Oh, I am an idiot.”
He winced in anticipation, waiting for Din to show his true jock colors and tease him within an inch of his life. Maybe if he was lucky, Din would let him off with just a mild jab at his intelligence. Luke watched as Din buried his face in a glove to muffle the sound of his laughter, but the unmistakable shake of Din’s shoulders made Luke’s entire face flare bright red.
“I’m sorry, I’m so stupid. Gimme a sec, I’ll – “
“Don’t,” Din said, raising his hand up and visibly struggling not to keep laughing. “I’ll help you down. Just don’t move.”
Din made his way through the door and around the wall to where Luke sat, holding out his hands to help Luke down. Luke gladly took the help and let Din keep him steady while he swung his other leg over and dropped from the wall back onto the ground.
“Thanks for rescuing my dumb ass,” Luke sighed. “I don’t even have an excuse.”
“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Din said as Luke straightened himself out. “I do think you’re stubborn as hell, though.”
“Was the wall any indication?” Luke asked, looking up into Din’s brown eyes and feeling his heart plummet straight into his stomach. He knew, at that moment, he was officially in too deep.
“Amongst other things, yes,” Din answered.
“What does that mean?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Din laughed.
“Holy shit,” Boba said as he watched Luke and Din play keep-away on the ice. “I think that Skywalker kid may be better than you, Cobb.”
“First of all, I doubt that,” Cobb scoffed. “And second, Din’s never shown any interest in other hockey players – why would you think that being alright at hockey would woo him even more?”
Boba snorted. “Din Djarin isn’t attracted to athletes or hockey players, he’s attracted to competency and confidence. He once asked out a graduate student after she gave a presentation on Mesoamerican art history or something.”
“Didn’t work out for him, did it?”
“No, but God love him, he tried his best.”
They watched as Luke broke away from Din and made his mad rush to the goal. Din quickly caught up, but to no avail – Luke managed to execute some fancy spin move to get out of the boss’ grip and pull off the shot. The sound of the puck hitting the net made them both gasp.
“Oh, Din’s so fucked,” Cobb gasped.
“He’s going to ask that man to marry him before the Games are over.”
A few days later, and only one day after the Opening Ceremony, Luke found himself in an Uber approaching a restaurant on the south side of town, the place Din picked out for their not-a-date, totally-just-a-friendly-gesture dinner. Luke looked up at the bright neon sign that read “Duffy’s Cherry Cricket” and smiled to himself – it was the exact kind of place he described to Din the other night and he couldn’t be more thrilled.
As he walked inside, the smell of charred dead animal flesh hit his nostrils and his mouth practically watered. He could live there if they’d let him.
“Is it just you tonight, hon?” the hostess asked as Luke took off his hat and jacket.
“No, ma’am; I’m here to meet up with a friend and his family. He may already be here…?” Luke looked around the restaurant.
“Oh, you’re with Din Djarin!” the hostess whispered, giving Luke a conspiratorial wink. “Right this way, sir.”
The abrupt change in her reaction took Luke aback, but all the Colorado Avalanche décor on the walls made the puzzle come together quickly. He couldn’t help but chuckle – Wedge would have absolutely gagged over the fact that Luke was hanging out with a celebrity. Of a fashion. Were NHL hockey players famous? The only hockey player he knew was Wayne Gretzky, and Luke was ninety-nine percent sure that if he saw him walking down the street, he’d think The Great One was just someone’s uncle.
When they finally arrived at the table, Luke’s heart went into double time at the sight of Din in a very delectable Henley shirt, waving and smiling. A little gasp left Luke’s chest when he spotted Din’s son in a little highchair at the edge of the table. He’d seen the kid before in pictures on Din’s Instagram, but they didn’t do justice to his utter cuteness.
Luke had such a weakness for cute things.
“Sorry if I’m a little late,” he said as he took off his coat and sat down next to Din in the booth. “Practice ran a bit long today.”
“No need to apologize,” Din said as he took a sip of his Coke. “We just got here ourselves. Luke, I want you to meet Cara and Omera Dune – these are the most important ladies in my life, as they’re the ones that watch Grogu here while I’m on the road. And the Olympics, I guess.”
Luke reached out a hand, giving them both wide grins. “It’s nice to meet you, ladies. I’m Luke Skywalker, Din’s roommate.”
Cara raised an eyebrow. “Oh, we know. We’ve heard all about you.” A sudden movement made her wince as her wife straightened up beside her.
“What Cara means to say is that Din told us that you were coming out to dinner,” Omera butted in. “By the way, when Din mentioned you two were roommates, we pulled up some of your past performances online. I think we managed to get through just about every single one available on YouTube; you’re fantastic.”
Luke felt himself blush under the praise, especially as Din stared at him with a small smile of his own. “Oh, thank you.”
“You’ve also got another fan here,” Omera said, pointing to Grogu in the chair. The child locked eyes with Luke and tilted his head, eyeing him with something like suspicion. Luke tilted his head in return, playfully mirroring his oddly mature reaction.
“We’ll pull up your old videos on the big TV in the living room, and he just stares at you forever,” Cara said. “If we turn it off, he throws a giant fit. I think I’ve seen your ‘Nocturne’ performance about seventy times now.”
“Hey, baby,” Omera cooed, “you see that man there? That’s Lu Ska.”
Luke shot her a strange look, but it quickly dawned on him that ‘Lu Ska’ must be what his name sounds like to a toddler as he turned back to the kid. Grogu’s eyes widened in shock before wiggling his arms at him, demanding to be picked up.
“Din, do you mind?”
“No, not at all,” Din said, not trying to hide his smile. “He should meet his hero.”
Luke reached over and easily plucked Grogu out of the chair, laughing as the child squirmed his way into Luke’s arms and settled into his chest.
“Lu!” Grogu squealed, utterly delighted. He reached out his hands to cup Luke’s cheeks. Once he got a hold of his face, Grogu happily headbutted him with all the force a toddler could muster.
“Grogu, no!” Din scolded as he coaxed Grogu out of Luke’s hold.
Omera and Cara were on the other side of the booth, struggling to hold their laughter in as Luke rubbed his forehead.
“I am so, so sorry,” Din said with a wince as he struggled to hold his squirming child. “I taught him how to touch helmets as a sort of kiss, but I don’t think he grasped the whole ‘helmet’ concept.” Grogu demonstrated with a much gentler forehead touch with Din.
“He must adore you,” Cara laughed, not even trying to hold her mirth back any longer. “I think that’s the hardest headbutt he’s given anyone.”
Luke only laughed it off – it didn’t really hurt; it was more of a shock than anything – and reached back for Grogu. “It’s alright, buddy! I just didn’t expect it, that’s all. You wanna come back and say hello?”
Din reluctantly let the child go, and Grogu quickly found his way back into Luke’s lap. Luke knew he had a stupid smile on his face when the child snuggled into his sweater, but he couldn’t help himself – who could?
Luke gently placed a hand on Grogu’s head and turned his attention back to Din. “So, how’d you meet this little guy? I think your teammate said you adopted him, but I guess there’s more to that story.” He paused for a moment. “Unless that’s too personal, of course!”
Oh, he was a total idiot.
“Technically, Grogu here is Din’s nephew,” Cara began. “He adopted him from his younger sister.”
Suddenly, the comment about kid sisters made sense. He looked down at Grogu’s cherubic face, looking for a family resemblance; the dark, curly mop of hair certainly looked like Din’s, but the child’s bright hazel green eyes looked nothing like Din’s own dark browns. He wondered if Grogu would grow up to look anything like Din.
“What a lucky kid to have such a great uncle.”
“It was an easy choice,” Din sniffed, looking something akin to bashful. “I’d never let him go without.”
Luke put a soothing hand on Grogu’s head. “Of course. Still, it’s admirable. I hope if I were ever put into that position, I’d do the same.”
Shooting him an easy smile, Luke leaned back into the booth and took in the situation. All told, everything seemed to be going well – Cara and Omera seemed to like him, Grogu practically molded himself into Luke’s life, and Din looked about as content as he’d ever seen him. Even with a minor social faux pas or two, Luke saw the rest of the night going well.
“So, since Grogu clearly adores you, we need to know when you two will get married,” Cara said as she took a swig of her beer. “If Din doesn’t bring you home for good, I think Grogu will absolutely lose his mind.”
Luke’s hand tightened imperceptibly into Grogu’s little sweater. So much for a peaceful dinner.
He shifted in his seat, shooting a glance over to Din. He looked completely aghast at the question. He tried to keep his face schooled in a perfect interview-ready expression – something years of media training pounded into his skull – but he still couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pain at watching Din look visibly ill at the very idea of them being romantically involved. Luke quickly comforted himself with the thought that he knew where they stood; there would be no illusions of anything happening during or after the Games.
This would be simple and easy, then. No distractions, no worries.
“Well, I don’t see any sort of marriage happening in my future,” Luke said as he curled his arms around Grogu. “But I’ll happily come see this guy anytime, marriage or not.”
“Are you sure?” Omera said, just shy of needling. “Din’s a bachelor, you know.”
“Unless you have someone waiting in the wings…?” Cara added.
“Will you two please stop embarrassing us?” Din ground out.
Luke shook his head. “No, there’s no one else. I’m fine with just focusing on the Games and looking forward to what lies ahead. Besides, I’m sure there are several suitors for a guy like Din – eligible bachelor that he is.” Luke shifted in his seat to get a better look at Grogu in his lap. “What do you think, little guy? Your daddy can do better than me, right?”
Grogu only snuggled further into his sweater.
“I think that’s your answer,” Cara said with a sly sort of smile.
Omera cleared her throat rather loudly, drawing everyone’s attention away from Cara. “So, Luke, do you feel ready to chase the gold this year? I think I read that you have a new routine that you haven’t premiered yet.”
“That’s true – this will be the first time the public’s seen it,” Luke answered, relieved for the subject change. “I’m going to keep the details secret, though – I really want to build the suspense.”
“I’m so excited! But you didn’t answer my question,” Omera said. “You killed it at Worlds, so you should be revved up for the Olympics, right?”
He couldn’t help but pull in a deep breath.
“Omera, please,” Din said, jumping in before Luke could answer. “You know it’s hard for athletes to talk about their upcoming events; that’s not a fair question.”
Without thinking much about it, Luke reached a hand over to Din’s shoulder. “Thank you, Din – it’s alright. I just don’t know how best to explain it, is all; I feel ready to go for it, especially after Worlds. This season’s my best yet. It’s just a shame that it’s my last run at the title.”
Din gave him a strange sort of look that made Luke shift in his seat. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I’m 28, going on 29 this year,” Luke explained. “Our late 20s and early 30s is the physical peak for most Olympic-level figure skaters, but the champions are usually much younger. If I don’t make it to this one, I don’t see myself trying for it again at almost 33 years old. Leia and I both agreed that we’re hanging it up after the Games are over.”
“You’ve both made the podium at least twice,” Omera said. Luke gave her a confounded look. “I’m sorry; with Grogu over here watching you nonstop, I fell into a Wikipedia hole. Point is, I think you’ve more than proven yourself, no matter how this all turns out.”
“Thanks,” Luke said, unsure of how to respond.
Din gave him a gentle nudge with his elbow. “Hey, don’t even worry about it right now – I promised you the best burger in Denver, and I intend to make good on that. Order whatever you like, but I recommend the chocolate peanut butter shake.”
“Oh yeah, it’ll blow your tits clean off,” Cara said around her beer.
“Cara, the kid.”
“Sorry.”
The rest of the dinner went well, and Luke pushed all thoughts of Din’s rejection and his impending retirement out of the way. Eventually, after wolfing down his burger, the promised chocolate peanut butter shake, and whatever onion rings Din couldn’t finish, the group realized that the child still sitting in Luke’s lap needed to get to bed. They settled the tickets, bundled back up to brace themselves against the Colorado air, and said their goodbyes (with Grogu bravely handling the separation with several promises of meeting again very soon).
“I’ll get the Uber to go back to the hotel,” Din said as they finally managed to leave the restaurant proper. “Since we’re heading the same way and all.”
Luke just nodded as Din tapped away at his phone. He checked his own phone – surprisingly, he found no messages or calls. He figured at least Leia would try and bother him about his night out.
“While we’re waiting,” Din began as he pulled his coat tighter around himself, “I wanted to apologize for their behavior back there. They’re a lot to handle at the best of times, and I wanted you to meet my family so bad that I didn’t think about how they would act.”
Luke turned to face Din, admiring the way the red and green neon lit up his hair just so. As he stood there, Luke found himself appreciating Din in a different light – he thought of Din as physically attractive beyond all reason, but in this moment, he found something so vulnerable and endearing in the soft crease in his brow as Din searched Luke’s face for an answer. It almost stunned him just how much his heart ached as he watched Din fidget and look away.
Luke hated to admit it, but perhaps this whole rejection business hurt a lot more than he thought.
“It’s alright, Din,” Luke said at last. “I understand all about family members that aren’t exactly delicate – I hope you never have to meet Anakin Skywalker for any reason.”
“…You wouldn’t want me to meet your dad?” Din said with a slight, lopsided grin.
“Din, I like you far too much to subject you to Anakin Skywalker,” Luke said with narrowed eyes. “This is the man that once threatened to fight a judge because they docked Leia points for her less-than-perfect costume. Most ice rinks in Detroit have his photo somewhere in their offices because he’s such a menace.”
Din snorted a harsh laugh. “Say, does your dad want an NHL career? We could always use a good enforcer.”
“Oh no, don’t tempt him,” Luke replied with a grimace. “We don’t need to encourage his shitty habits.”
Din seemed to relax. “Well, as long as they didn’t offend you or make you uncomfortable. That’s the last thing I want, especially going into your competition. I respect how important this is to you.”
Luke tilted his head, as though the motion would shake something loose in his mind. “I sincerely doubt you could do much to offend me, Din. You’re such a good person; I don’t think you’d have it in you to be deliberately cruel. Well, as long as I’m not on an opposing team.”
“I… um. Thank you,” Din said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I really don’t know what to say. I – just wait right here, alright?”
“Din, what about the…?”
It was no use; Din already ducked back inside the restaurant, leaving Luke freezing out in the frigid mountain night. He loathed to even try and check his watch for the current temperature. Moments later, Din came back out with two piping hot cups of coffee in hand. He quickly handed one to Luke as he started sipping on the other cup.
“I don’t know how you like your coffee, so I left it black,” Din said in between sips of his own cup. “If you don’t like it black, feel free to just hold it and use it to keep your hands warm.”
“Thank you.” Luke looked down at the coffee still steaming in his hands, dumbfounded. “Din, you’re so sweet. How are you not married with five more children already?”
Din just stared into his coffee. “Never found the right person. Just hope they’ll show up someday and don’t mind being around an old, single dad with creaky joints and a bad back.”
“Din, you’re crazy,” Luke giggled as he sipped the drink in his hand. He hated black coffee, but Din would never know that. “Anyone would be lucky to know you.”
Din took a small step closer to Luke. “You think so?”
Luke looked back up into those warm brown eyes yet again and felt himself melt under his stare, hoping that he didn’t look near as forlorn as he felt. “Yeah, I do.”
Before Din could say anything in return, the car finally pulled up and effectively ended the conversation. During the short, ten-minute drive back to the hotel, Luke thought whatever Din tried to say hung between them like frozen particles of breath in the February air. Once they reached the hotel and managed to get up to their room, Luke and Din both prepared for bed in much the same manner as they did every night before this one – silently, with a small shuffle here and there around the room and adjoining bathroom.
“Hey, Luke,” Din said, finally interrupting the silence of their new routine. “By the way, I just wanted you to know that I also think that… that anyone would be lucky to know you.”
Luke stopped climbing into bed as he turned around to look at Din. “You think so?”
Din let out the slightest of exhales. “I do, especially after tonight. Cara and Omera only slightly hinted at it, but Grogu hasn’t had the easiest life – I won’t go into his mother’s problems, but when he came to me, he had a hard time adjusting to life outside of her chaos. He usually takes forever to warm up to people, and it’s not often that he’ll even let people close enough to touch him. Not only did he adore you, but you also handled the situation like a champ. I really couldn’t be more grateful.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Luke said, hoping he didn’t have a hopelessly smitten, stupid expression on his face. “Falling in love with a kid that cute and affectionate is easy. I’m honored that he felt safe enough around me.”
“If it’s alright with you, would you like to see him again while you’re in town?” Din asked, a hand running up and down his other arm absentmindedly. “I know he’d love to see you.”
“Of course!” Luke beamed.
“And if we were in your town, and he happened to be with me, I’m sure he’d love to see you there, too,” Din said, almost as though it pained him to get the sentence out.
“Oh, for a Red Wings home game?” Luke asked. “Absolutely; you have my number, so feel free to contact me if you’re in town! Or whenever you like; it doesn’t have to be just because you’re in town.”
Din’s eyes quickly shot down to the floor. “That sounds… good. Fine. Right. Well, I’m turning in for the night – thanks for coming out to dinner. Yeah.”
“Good night, Din – and thank you for dinner. And the coffee, too,” Luke replied, finally crawling into bed.
Despite knowing he needed to fall asleep for the next morning’s practice, Luke tossed and turned in search for the perfect spot that would finally pull him under and let him get to sleep. He tapped at his phone and glared at it in disgust as he saw it was already almost midnight; he’d have maybe five hours of sleep and that made him even more anxious somehow. He’d never get to sleep at this rate.
As he stared out into the darkness of the room, Luke replayed those scant seconds of Din’s face when the Dunes broached the subject of a possible romantic entanglement and withheld a groan. He thought, hopefully, perhaps Din just didn’t like talking about his personal life – after all, Din was a public figure – but another, more sinister part of him wrestled with Din just not particularly liking him. Perhaps he preferred men like Cobb Vanth or Boba Fett, burly hockey players that had far more in common with Din than Luke could ever hope to achieve. Maybe he’d like highly competent women like his sister. More likely than not, he’d never know.
He turned around in the dark and looked over to where he knew Din slept, listening to the steady rise and fall of his breathing. Luke smiled, despite himself, that at least someone would get some sort of sleep tonight.
Paz made his way over to the box, toweling off his face. “I know we’ve been teasing the captain about this guy, but how do we know for sure that he’s totally in love with this dude?”
“Well, let’s see,” Cobb said, scratching at his incoming beard. He caught sight of Din nearing the box and waved him down. “Hey Din, I forgot – what championships did Luke Skywalker win this past season leading up to the Olympics?”
“He won gold at the Rostelecom Cup and silver at the NHK Trophy, then silver at the ISU Grand Prix. He won the previous year’s World Championships, as well.” Din said without hesitation. “Why do you ask?”
Cobb nodded. “Cool, cool. What’s Luke’s signature move out there on the ice?”
“He’s most known for his quadruple jumps,” Din said, sounding more like a Wikipedia article than a man. “He’s landed the quadruple toe loop in every single match, but for the last few years, he’s also mastered the quadruple lutz; it has the highest base score in official competition.”
“I see,” Cobb said. “And what award did Boba win last year?”
“Boba won an award?”
“He won the Vezina Award for Best Goalie. The best in the entire NHL,” Cobb said, incredulous. “You were there. You shook his hand.”
“Huh.”
“See? He’s totally gone! Absolutely love-drunk,” Cobb said, gesticulating wildly. “Also, dude, you should apologize to Boba; that’s messed up.”
“Cobb, Fett only has two emotions,” Din said with a pointed stare. “Those are ‘vague indifference’ and ‘seething rage’.”
Boba finally joined them at the wall, waddling his way into the box despite his heavy padding. “That’s not true, Djarin – I also occasionally feel tinges of affection, provided the other person’s the right kind of bastard.”
“So, how did your date go last night?” Cobb asked as Din flopped down on the bench next to him.
Boba shoved him aside and sat in between them. “Will you stop trying to embarrass him already? I already got my ass handed to me for the same thing.”
Cobb cackled. “I don’t see Fennec anywhere around to beat my ass. Besides, I’m trying to find out if I need to keep my schedule clear for a June wedding.”
“Captain’s getting married?” Migs Mayfeld, second string defenseman, asked. “How’d you find out before any of us?”
“Will all of you quit speculating on my love life already?” Din hissed. “Alright, yes, I like him – a lot. But he’s clearly not interested and I’m not trying to make this whole situation any harder.”
Cobb and Boba gave each other bewildered looks. “Why do you think he doesn’t like you, Djarin?” Boba asked.
Din took off his helmet, shaking out his hair and tossing it to the side. “I’m an old, violent bastard with a kid and nothing else to offer someone with the rest of their life ahead of them. Besides, he said the other day that he wants to focus on the Games and not worry about anything else.”
He recalled the strange look in Luke’s eyes at the dinner table when Cara and Omera brought up the mere possibility of them dating and felt a little ill. Din had wanted nothing more in that moment than to reach over and kiss that stupidly pitiful expression off Luke’s face, especially as he watched Luke wrap a protective, soothing arm around his son like the boy belonged there. Hearing Luke say that it wasn’t even on his radar shattered any illusions about some happily ever after on the spot. He didn’t know how he fell asleep last night.
“Fuck off, boss!” Cobb shouted. Migs picked up his own helmet and threw it at Din, hitting him square in the shoulder. “You’re only halfway through your thirties. I’m already completely grey, and Boba’s old enough to probably be a grandfather.”
“Just because you got a little grey in your beard doesn’t mean you’re nearing the retirement age,” Paz jumped in.
Axe put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Not helping.”
“Look, that man came up to you, openly flirted with you at the breakfast table in front of your whole team, then played hockey with you entirely at your request,” Cobb said, leveling a searing glare at Din. “Hell, he’s even met your son. He fucking likes you. Stop being a fucking wuss and go sweep that man off his feet.”
Din looked down at the ground, wondering how the hell his life ended up here as several of his other teammates jumped in with loud jeers of Be a man! and Go get you some! He felt no small level of disgust that someone like Cobb Vanth had the nerve to lecture him on his love life, but he realized that Cobb had a point – it wasn’t like Din to sit around and just let things happen.
Then again, he remembered what Luke said to him and he froze.
“Vanth, quit it,” Boba said, exasperated. “Skywalker’s also got a say in this. He says he wants to focus on the Games, which is admirable – it’s what all of us should be doing.”
“Thank you,” Din said. “I – “
“That being said, once the Games are over for him, you’re taking that man out on an actual date,” Boba said. “You’re not weaseling your way out of this, Djarin. I can’t go to my grave in peace knowing the man that put five stitches in my face is too much of a chicken-shit to go tell someone how he feels.”
“Now look what you’ve done,” Cobb said, throwing his hands up in the air. “This man’s going to die, and you’re dragging your feet!”
Boba whipped around and nearly touched noses with Cobb. “It’ll be a cold day in Hell the day I die before you, Cobb Vanth.”
“Ladies, you’re both beautiful,” Paz cooed as he dropped hands on both of their shoulders. “Let the boss figure this out – it’s not like you have to room with the objects of your affections. It can’t be easy.”
Din’s eyes widened as Paz gave him a serene smile. “…You’re trying to get something out of me, aren’t you?”
“Married men don’t need Harleys,” Paz shrugged. “I’ll happily give yours a good home once Skywalker moves in.”
A knock at their door sent Din scrambling out of his bed and setting his worn-out copy of some supernatural-themed comedy book on the nightstand. He didn’t expect anyone at this time of night and, considering the gentle snoring sounds coming from his roommate, he supposed Luke wasn’t, either.
Opening the door, he only found a small box waiting for him on the floor. Din picked it up and read the label – Courtesy of the IOC. He wondered what sort of random goodies the Committee dropped off for them. Taking his keys out of his pocket, Din sliced the tape sealing the box open.
He dropped the box as soon as it dawned on him what the box contained.
“Hmm?” Luke said, shooting up from his pillow and blearily looking around the room. “Everything alright?”
Din shook his head, red crawling up his face and neck. “Sorry, I was just. Startled? Don’t worry about it, please go back to sleep.”
Luke looked down at the box at Din’s feet, puzzled and sleep-addled. “That’s from the IOC? What is it?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Din said quickly, trying to nudge the box out of Luke’s line of sight.
However, Luke couldn’t be dissuaded. “Oh, now I need to know.” He got out of bed and pulled the box towards him. He looked inside and started cackling.
Din didn’t see what was so funny.
“Din, it’s just condoms and packets of lube; no need to panic,” Luke said as he tucked the box lid closed. He paused. “Oh, I forgot this is your first Olympics.”
A strange sense of panic ran through Din as he stared at Luke, eyes wide and bewildered. “Is there some sort of freaky sex initiation or something? Look, I’m not a prude or anything but – “
“Oh God, Din,” Luke laughed in his stupidly endearing, tinkly sort of way. “I promise, there’s no secret sex cult. In a more typical Games, where you have an actual Olympic Village and not a hotel, the IOC leaves out bowls and bowls of condoms for athletes to use. Every iteration of the Games has them nearly running out of condoms before the Games end. I’m sure everyone got a box of condoms because they can’t do the bowls in private hotels.”
Hearing the object of his debilitating crush talk about condoms and lube so casually left Din feeling wrecked – he didn’t know whether to feel aroused or horrified at Luke’s level of nonchalance. Maybe Din was a prude. He also couldn’t help but wonder who had the time or energy to go through that many condoms.
Well, world-class athletes probably could.
“We’ll just put these aside – if you know anyone that needs them, they’ll be in this corner here,” Luke said as he picked up the box and placed it out of sight. “I’m sorry, by the way; I didn’t know you’d be uncomfortable. I’m used to being around other Olympic veterans. Besides, they’ve never literally delivered this stuff to our doors before.”
Din shook his head. “You did nothing wrong – I clearly overreacted. I just had no idea.”
Luke shot him a dizzyingly beautiful smile as he walked back towards the bed, stripping off his shirt and tossing it to the side. “You’re fine! I shouldn’t have been so flippant.”
Din hardly listened as his eyes raked themselves up and down Luke’s toned, muscular form; he felt his mouth go dry as he stared at the hardened lines and intricate, beautiful scars that ran all over his body. He always thought Luke was lovely but looking at him now – hair mussed and a content smile still gracing his features – made Din ache. It’s like someone thought of the perfect man for Din’s taste, sculpted him out of clay, and prayed to Aphrodite to make him real.
“Oh shit, I’m sorry,” Luke said as he reached for the shirt again. “I forgot about the scars; they tend to scare people.”
Din reached out to touch him on the shoulder but thought better of it and pulled back. “Luke, you’re fine. I was just curious, that’s all.”
“Oh,” Luke said artlessly, clearly surprised. “They’re not exactly pretty to look at, though.”
Din scoffed as he struggled to keep himself from thinking about what those ridges would feel like under his fingertips.
Instead, Din lifted the leg of his sweatpants to reveal a jagged scar running up and down the side of his knee. “That’s from some asshole that kicked me with his fucking skate. I’ve got dozens more.”
Luke pointed to a thin, almost silver line running alongside his collarbone. “I broke this when I was 12 after landing very, very poorly during a jumping practice. This is from the surgery needed to reset it after it didn’t heal right.”
Despite how much he truly cared for Luke, Din could never resist a bit of competition. He lowered the side of his sweatpants and underwear on his right side to expose a decent-sized scar along the side of his hip. “Had to have screws put in to fix stress fractures. We do a lot of squatting in hockey, and when you’re squatting with the extra weight of pads, it takes a toll.”
“This here,” Luke said as he pointed to his right wrist, “is when I tried to break a fall. I was 16, gearing up for my first run at the ISU Grand Prix series, and I had yet another horrible landing. They put screws in my wrist to keep it steady. I guess that makes us metal twins or something.”
Din held up his hand in turn, showing off the various scars that crisscrossed his knuckles and the back of his hand. “I’ve gotten into so many fights that I don’t remember each of these individually, save for this one,” he said as he pointed to a particularly deep-looking scar across his index knuckle. “I punched someone so hard in the mouth that his canine tooth gouged the skin.”
“Well, I hope you were up to date on all your shots,” Luke laughed as he wrinkled his nose. Din thought Luke couldn’t possibly look any more adorable. A flush crept up his neck at the realization that he made Luke laugh like that. He wanted to do that for the rest of his life.
“Haven’t died from rabies yet, but if I start foaming at the mouth, you’re free to take me out,” Din laughed in return.
“Speaking of taking someone out, you still owe me a turn at getting you in my skates,” Luke said as he stretched out on his bed. Din’s hands surreptitiously grasped at his own sheets in response. “I held up my end of the bargain, you know.”
Din hummed. Luke did that and so much more. “I’m a man of my word. You name the time and place, and I’ll be there – ready to fall on my ass and embarrass myself in front of you.”
“I don’t think that’s possible,” Luke said as he yawned and turned into his covers. “You’re like, the coolest dude alive. Good night, Din.”
Din muttered out a quick good night of his own as he flopped back down on his bed, willing the flush of his cheeks to calm down and trying to keep himself from repeating Luke’s words over and over again in his head. He allowed himself to hope for just a moment that maybe Luke might see a glimmer of something in Din that he saw a thousandfold in Luke.
Din just needed these jitters and nerves to go away before tomorrow’s game.
Din found himself at the rink yet again, this time feeling like an absolute child as Luke muttered curses over Din’s shockingly horrible lacework. Luke’s long, elegant fingers made quick work of the laces while Din tried not to think too hard about Luke fussing over him.
“Din, I refuse to believe you play an ice-based sport and you don’t know how to tie skates properly,” Luke huffed as he threaded the laces through the holes. “Although, I probably should’ve known considering I saw you lace your hockey skates up with the excess laces wrapped around the top.”
“I like the extra ankle support,” Din shot back. “Also, I’m not just playing an ice-based sport, I’m winning at it.”
Luke huffed a short laugh as he tucked the excess laces into the top of Din’s skate. “That you are. Just a couple more games until the final round, right?”
“Yeah,” Din said, shuffling under Luke’s touch. “You have your short program the day after tomorrow, right?”
“That’s right,” Luke nodded. Once Luke finished tying his last skate, he let Din’s foot back down on the ground. “Now let’s get out there – you promised me you’d at least try.”
Luke opened the door to the rink and let Din take a step out onto the ice before following him. Din felt naked and vulnerable without a stick in his hand, but he pushed the feeling away. Coming out on the ice to skate with a man as ridiculously accomplished in his sport as Luke Skywalker was as big an honor as Din could imagine. That, and getting a chance to witness Luke thrive in his domain made Din’s heart thrum in his chest like a bird beating its wings against its cage.
“This is weird,” Din said as he pushed off to glide out further. “The blades are so thin. How do you not break your ankles in these things?”
“By trying really hard not to, and failing anyway,” Luke said, catching up to him. “You’ve seen my scars, so you know.”
Din huffed out a laugh as he held out his hand. “You should show those to the guys sometime – I’m sure they’d love to hear your scar stories.”
“You’re hilarious,” Luke said as he took Din’s hand and began to skate backwards, pulling Din along for the ride. “Once you get used to the lack of weight, I think you’ll find them to be a lot easier than your standard hockey skate. You might never go back.”
“Highly doubtful,” Din said as he concentrated on keeping steady. “So, are you going to show me how to land those high jumps, or are you going to pull me around all night?”
Luke didn’t bother responding; he just took Din’s hand and pulled him as hard as he could before turning and letting him continue gliding forward. “I’ll teach you something if you use your picks to come to a stop!” he shouted as Din continued moving forward.
Din didn’t know what Luke meant when he told him to use his “picks”, so he found himself gently stopping his momentum with the wall, instead.
“Real funny,” Din grumbled as he managed to push himself off the boards and back to where Luke stood. “I don’t remember being so mean to you when we played my sport.”
“Din, you chased me across the ice like I stole your wallet,” Luke replied. He took off towards center ice and waited for Din to join him. “But I’m willing to let all of that go and at least teach you how to spin on a skate. I’m a nice guy like that.”
Din straightened up at that. “You’ll teach me to do the thing you did to get away from me the other day?”
A grin spread wide on Luke’s face. “Absolutely. You can use it to break away from someone in front of you, or just to look elegant; it’s your choice.”
As soon as he felt steady, Din pushed off from the wall and finally started making his way to where Luke stood, feeling a little more confident in his movement.
“Alright, now when you get here, just point your toe down like this,” Luke demonstrated. “Don’t worry, I’m here to stop you from running into another wall.”
Din scoffed as he slowed down, willing himself not to slide out into a skid like he would in his usual skates. That would likely break his ankles. When he reached Luke’s side, he did as Luke instructed and rocked a foot down to dig the tip of his blade into the ice. Din lurched to a total stop, wobbling as he regained his bearings.
“Huh, it worked,” Din said.
Luke snorted as he offered his hands for Din to take, which Din gladly did – he hoped he didn’t look too desperate. “Told you they would,” said Luke. “Now, if you’re going to learn the basics of spinning and cutting, you should – “
The sounds of a blues guitar and a tambourine cut through the silence like a paper’s edge through skin, making both Luke and Din jump right out of their skin at the sound. They both spun around, looking for the source of the music, but to no avail.
“I think it’s just a malfunctioning PA system,” Luke said at last. “Maybe someone had their skate music left in the system and it just came on.”
Din, still holding onto Luke’s hands like they were his only tether in the moment, simply squeezed his fingers tighter. “You think someone’s skating to ‘Pale Blue Eyes’?”
“You know this song?” Luke asked, tilting his head as if to punctuate the question.
“Heard it all the time growing up,” Din answered, shifting his feet. “It’s The Velvet Underground. If this is a skate song, it’s an interesting choice.”
Luke scoffed. “It sounds more like a slow dance song, more than anything. Not even something I’d use for an exhibition.”
“Not even a partner skate?” Din said, suddenly feeling bold. Din took his left hand and held up Luke’s right arm in the air, wrapping his own right arm around Luke’s mid-back and settling into a waltz position. “Or is that not your style?”
Luke let out that horrifically adorable laugh again as he quickly shifted their positions. “Oh no, I’m not letting a man who just learned how to use his picks lead this dance. You’re following my lead.”
Din felt a frisson of something run up his spine. “Oh, by all means.”
Without a word, Luke pulled Din just that much closer into his arms as he slowly spun them in lazy circles, the beat of the song setting the pace for the gentle sway of their awkward, ambling dance. Din thought, for just a moment, that perhaps the song was a little too perfect for the occasion. However, he chose to let it go as he continued to stare into Luke’s eyes and allowed himself to fall into their depths. The song resonated around the empty arena, making everything feel both grounded in some sort of reality and yet existing outside of the rest of the world. He didn’t want whatever this was to end.
“You didn’t set this up, did you?” Luke finally said, his voice low enough to hear just under the music.
Din shook his head. “Me? No, I’m not that good an actor – what you see out here is what you get. I also have no idea how PA systems work.”
“No? No influence on the soundtrack?” Luke asked. His eyelashes fluttered as he stared back up at Din.
Lou Reed’s warbling voice repeating “linger on your pale blue eyes” certainly made Din look suspicious. He couldn’t help but swallow nervously.
“Luke, I swear to you that I didn’t do this,” Din said, his grip on Luke’s hand tightening anxiously. “I’m sorry if this is awkward.”
Luke sniffed out a small laugh. “I suppose there are worse ways to end up in a man’s arms.” He quickly tore his eyes away from Din’s gaze, their skates commanding his complete attention.
Despite himself, Din felt hope.
“Oh, I see,” Din said, every second Luke kept his arms around Din’s body, further steeling his resolve. He leaned down the short distance to Luke’s ear. “Then I suppose I should consider myself lucky to be the man holding you, then.”
He pulled back just enough to see Luke’s eyes finally meet his own, Luke’s face a mixture of confusion and worry. Din felt his stomach drop to the ice.
“…Din, how long?” Luke asked, his lower lip between his teeth.
“Since Lake Placid, if you can believe it,” Din replied, his mouth so achingly close to Luke’s that it nearly drove him crazy.
“Lake Placid? Really?” asked Luke. Din couldn’t help but smile at Luke’s incredulous expression, like he’d just pulled a rabbit out of a hat. Din would learn how to actually pull rabbits out of hats if it made Luke look at him like that again.
“I saw you practicing out on the ice one day and couldn’t believe someone so perfect just exists in the world, so effortlessly,” said Din as he reached his hand over and brushed an errant lock of hair behind Luke’s ear. “The rest of us regular people with bad backs and stiff joints just get to live here with you.”
“I’m far from perfect, Din,” Luke said, ducking his head just slightly. Din could see the hint of a flush dusting his cheeks. “I’m an over-excited, stubborn, single-minded idiot with only one more shot at my career goal – I’m not any sort of dream come true, I promise.”
“You’re passionate and brilliant,” Din corrected as he held Luke just a little tighter. “You push yourself to the breaking point and beyond it for the chance at greatness – something you’ve achieved the world over. Luke, you have nothing to prove to anyone.
“But that’s just the surface-level stuff,” Din continued, finally catching Luke’s eyes. “You’re good to everyone around you, you’re adventurous, you’re so fun to be around. I wouldn’t be here, humiliating myself in these thin-ass skates if I wasn’t completely gone for you.” Din thought he might be rambling, but he pressed on. “My family already adores you – you’re my son’s hero, and now I’m never getting him into hockey pads.”
He paused as Luke laughed, making Din crack up in turn. “Luke,” said Din, “we haven’t known each other for long, but I want you to be a part of my life – all of you, especially the stubborn, over-excited parts. I happen to think those are your best qualities.”
Luke buried his face into Din’s jacket collar and Din nestled his nose into Luke’s hair without much thought. He felt Luke nuzzle upwards and tenderly press into his neck, sending Din’s poor heart into overdrive.
“Din, I… I want this so badly,” Luke finally said, breath hot against Din’s skin. “I mean, you fell out of the sky, a man I could only dream of. You’re everything that you think of me and then some. A real knight in shining armor.” He paused, taking a deep breath. Din shuddered. “God, do you know how many nights I laid there in total agony, wondering if you’d ever see me the way I see you?”
“I’m sorry I made you think that I didn’t want you, even for a moment,” said Din as he pressed his lips against Luke’s hair. “I’d love the chance to make it up to you, if you’ll let me.”
Luke sighed, pulling himself out of Din’s warmth and looking up into Din’s eyes. “As much as I want that, I just can’t do that to you. You deserve better.”
Din felt his face tighten, brows furrowed in confusion. “Luke, what do you mean?”
“Oh Din, please don’t hate me,” Luke said.
“I could never hate you.”
“I know, and you’re too kind for it,” Luke sniffed, tears already gathering around the edges of his eyes. “I want this with all my heart – have since I met you in the lobby of the hotel and fell harder and harder for you every single day – but I can’t be everywhere at once. I can’t care about this competition and you at the same time; I’ve tried it before, and it’s never worked out. I’ll disappoint you every time.”
“You could never disappoint me.”
“Until I do,” Luke ground out, his tears glistening in the cold light as they spilled over his cheeks. “I will let you down, and you will not forgive me.”
“Luke, shouldn’t I have the chance to decide if you’re going to break my heart?” Din asked as he moved himself even closer. He wanted to kiss Luke so badly the hunger tore at his throat, but he hesitated still.
Luke shook his head. “You’re too good a man to give you the choice. I’m so sorry, Din.”
Before he could even process Luke’s words, Din found himself alone on center ice, wondering how he managed to ruin just about everything he’d built up in the span of five minutes. He wanted to be angry at something – himself, or Luke, or the universe – but he couldn’t decide on which one deserved it the most, so he settled on wallowing in his misery, instead. He dragged himself off the ice and had no idea what to do next.
“Oh shit, Pretty Boy’s leaving,” Fennec muttered from her position at the control table. “They looked like they were about to kiss, but Pretty Boy broke away and… yeah, he’s off the ice. Din looks like a total idiot, just standing there. We may have to go get him.”
Cobb cursed under his breath. “How did Din fuck up that badly? The music was perfect!”
“I told you we should’ve gone with ‘Fade Into You’, but no, you had to be too on the nose,” Boba spat back, pulling the volume slider back down. “This is your fault.”
“Have you considered that perhaps Pretty Boy just isn’t into Din as much as you think he is?” asked Fennec as she continued to watch Luke make a break for the locker rooms.
“No!” the pair of men said in unified disgust.
She snorted as she turned to face her defeated co-conspirators. “Well, you have some serious damage control ahead of you. Hope you have a couch in your suite!”
Luke found himself hesitating outside the door of his hotel room, wondering how he’d ever even look Din in the face again, much less open the door to their shared living space. He wondered if he could just crawl into bed with Leia and hope that Merrin didn’t throw a shoe at his head.
“Oh, I was wondering who was floating outside the door!”
“You’re not Din.”
The man in Luke’s room beamed back at him. “Nope! I’m much prettier,” the towering man said. “I’m Paz, one of Din’s teammates. We kinda met the other day at the breakfast table, but nothing too formal. It’s good to meet you now, though!” he said, sticking out his hand.
Luke knew he wasn’t drunk, and he absolutely knew this was his room, but he suddenly doubted himself. “…I’m sorry?” he asked, taking Paz’s hand obediently.
“Oh, they didn’t tell you,” Paz said. “I heard there was a little bit of a… misunderstanding? Kerfuffle? Disagreement? Between you and the boss. The rest of the team decided that he would room with Vanth, and I’d take Djarin’s bed.”
Sighing deeply as he walked into the room, Luke set his things on his nightstand and collapsed onto his bed. “I see. Do you know how Din’s doing?”
He should’ve expected this reaction – Din had every right to be hurt, angry even, and Luke had no right to ask Din to face him at that moment. Indecision tore at Luke’s mind; he knew, logically, that it made sense to cut Din off at the pass now lest their messy feelings distract them both. However, he also knew he meant every single word he said to Din on the ice. He wanted to break away now and sprint down the hall to wherever Cobb’s room was – an irrelevant detail, really – and crawl into Din’s arms right then and there.
But he didn’t deserve that honor.
“I think he’s doing alright,” Paz said as he took to his own bed. “Look, I’m no Oprah and I don’t have a real great grasp of what’s going on, but I think I wouldn’t have to sleep in the boss’ bed if you called him up and talked to him.”
“I… I don’t know if that’s best right now,” Luke said as he sat down on his own bed. “But thank you for your concern, though; I’m sorry for making you go out of your way.”
Paz shrugged as he headed off to the bathroom. “Somehow, I don’t think I’m the one you should be apologizing to, my man.”
“I’ll apologize to him once this is all over,” Luke said as he kicked off his shoes, not caring where they landed. “This is for the best.”
Luke heard a loud groan from the bathroom. “Look, Skywalker – I’m no counselor, but I have watched every single episode of Dr. Phil, and that’s probably as good as a therapy license,” Paz said, peeking his head around the door jamb. “Healthy communication is important for any couple, especially at the very beginning of the relationship. Doing the work now makes it so much easier to face future challenges and taking on challenges together only strengthens your bond.”
“That would be nice if we were a couple, Paz,” Luke said. “I shot that dream in the face.”
Paz looked horrendously offended. “You’re kidding. What did you do, Skywalker?”
Luke groaned. Why was he baring his heart to this strange man again? “I like Din – an inordinate, unreasonable amount. I just didn’t think it was fair to ask him to be with me while I’m here, focused on the competition and not able to turn that part of my brain off for him.” Luke rolled onto his stomach, half-burying his face into the pillow. “I’m also afraid that whatever version of me he thinks he fell in love with isn’t the real deal, and he’ll back off like everyone else.”
“Skywalker, I get it,” Paz said. “People are jerks, and it sucks that some assholes hurt you in the past, but Djarin is a good man. I’m not saying you’re obligated to date him, or even to give him a chance, but it’s not fair to compare him to other people. At least for that, you owe him an apology.”
Luke felt himself completely deflate. “You’re right. I’ll think of something to say.”
Paz smiled, leaning his shoulder against the wall. “Not for nothing, but I also think you’re sabotaging something you clearly want and you’re taking your insecurities out on Djarin. That’s not fair and you know it.”
“Thank you for the insight, Paz.” Luke snarked as he buried his face fully into the pillow. “Dr. Phil would be proud.”
“And another thing,” Paz continued, “that man would move the sky for you if you even thought about asking for it. I think if you gave him just the slightest of chances, he’d prove it to you.”
“I can offer nothing to him and it’s a waste of time,” Luke mumbled. “I’ll apologize to him, but that’ll probably be it.”
“My dude, I would get into how unhealthy it is to view relationships as transactional, but it’s late,” Paz laughed. “Get some sleep – you’ll feel better in the morning.”
“Luke, it’s not like you to be late for our little meetings – especially ones you requested,” Ben Kenobi said as he broke off a piece of scone and popped it in his mouth.
“You’re right, Coach,” Luke said, pulling out a chair opposite of Ben’s and sitting down. “It’s just been… a bad time.”
Ben hummed as he dropped a sugar cube into his tea. “How so? You’re already in first place after this morning’s short program. You were flawless.”
Luke looked around at the tearoom – an ostentatious holdover from the hotel’s glory days of Victorian luxury Rocky Mountain tourism – and smiled as his gaze settled back onto his coach, looking completely at ease in such a stuffy setting. He wondered if Ben ever missed England.
“I think I possibly ruined a friendship the other night, and I have no idea how to fix it,” Luke finally said as he took a finger sandwich off the tea tray. “You’re the only person I could think to ask – you, out of anyone else I know, have the most sense.”
“You couldn’t ask Padmé?” Ben asked with a raised eyebrow.
Luke huffed a little at that, giving him a lop-sided grin in the process. “Ben, my mother married Anakin Skywalker – she’s not exactly in a position to give anyone solid relationship advice.”
“True and granted,” Ben hummed. “Well, I can guess it has something to do with your roommate – the handsome young man Leia showed me the other day, right?”
Luke nodded. “You’re right. He told me he had feelings for me, and I just… I just ran away. I panicked, thinking about how I let down so many people in the past. I couldn’t do that to someone like him, Ben. I don’t know how to fix it now.”
A heavy silence fell over the table as Ben picked up a teaspoon and slowly stirred his drink. He tapped the spoon on the cup’s rim and set it aside before finally bringing it to his mouth. Luke waited as Ben savored the cup of tea, learning over the years that Ben always seemed to find the answers to the universe at the bottom of his cup along with all the other dregs.
“Well, a simple apology would be a good place to start,” Ben said slowly. “I don’t think you owe him an explanation if you don’t want to explain, but he didn’t deserve to have his feelings returned with panic if that’s not how you truly feel – and I think we can assume that you don’t find being with this young man repugnant, do you?”
Luke nodded. “I really like him, Ben. I just don’t know if I can be different, especially in the middle of the competition. I need to focus on the prize, not Din Djarin – but it’s like he won’t let me go, even though he’s not here.”
“Luke, you’ve always allowed yourself to live in the past – you watch your old performances repeatedly to try and catch mistakes, and you make yourself relive failed attempts at romance for the same reason,” Ben said between sips of tea. “You need to give yourself some grace, my dear. Romance isn’t a zero-sum game, and you can’t quantify it with points.”
“Can I try?”
Ben leveled a hard glare that was more of an answer than anything else he could’ve said.
“It was worth asking.”
“Luke, I’ve always admired your work ethic, but you’re intellectualizing something that doesn’t need it,” said Ben as he finally set his cup down. “Yes, I want you to win – but I want you to create art. There is something intuitive about what we do as dancers that you can’t think your way through. I need you to feel it, and I need you to use it. You want to apologize to that man, let him know how you feel? Put it out there tomorrow, say it through art. He’ll see it and he’ll know.”
Luke sat with his words as he poured his own cup of tea, admiring the curling patterns of the steam rise above the fine china. “Is that something you learned from the Royal Ballet?”
“Yes, actually,” Ben shot back. “Think about what I said, Luke – if this is going to be the last skate of your competitive career, let it mean something. Make it… make it the bridge to a better future.”
“Thank you, Coach,” Luke said after a beat. “I think I needed to hear that.”
Ben finally smiled. “Of course, my dear. Oh, and Luke?”
“Hm?”
Ben snatched Luke’s tea from his side of the table and settled it in front of him. “No caffeine after two for you; you’re waking up early and I need you to get as much sleep as humanly possible.”
Luke took his time walking to Cobb Vanth’s door, clutching a small bouquet of flowers and hoping Din was in the room with him. As he approached the room, Luke immediately noticed the door cracked open with the barest trace of two voices leaking out into the hall. Luke cursed himself for being too curious for his own good, peeking through the gap as he approached the door.
He felt his heart rend itself from his chest and splatter unceremoniously onto the hotel carpet.
“Djarin, it’s alright,” Cobb crooned. “Y’know, if it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be. Luke Skywalker is a man on a mission, and he’s too blind to see what’s right in front of him. That’s his fault, not yours.”
Luke watched as Din shifted on the bed, eyes closed as his head rested on Cobb’s lap. Nausea tore through Luke’s stomach as he watched Cobb’s fingers idly card themselves through Din’s hair, while Din just melted into his touch. Luke wanted to look away, leave the hall, do anything else, but he couldn’t take his eyes away.
“Cobb, old men like me don’t get chances like this all the time,” Din said in a low murmur, as though he was on the verge of sleep. “I know Luke’s a determined, focused man – that’s part of why I fell for him – but I really wanted some of that attention for me. It’s selfish, but I thought if anyone could care about me half as much as Luke cared about his sport, I’d be happy with that.”
Cobb scoffed. “Djarin – Din – people make time for things they find important. You should never feel like you’re second best to anything when you’re in love.”
“Yeah, you think so?”
“Well, I’m here, aren’t I?”
The bouquet hit the ground with a soft rustle. Unable to react appropriately to, well, anything, Luke immediately turned heel and took off down the hall as quickly as he could. He found a stairwell entrance and ducked inside, finding a small corner to sit and breathe as he took the time to process everything he heard and try his best not to sob.
Din scrambled to his feet at the strange rustling sound, shaking off the last vestiges of near-sleep as he stumbled to the door. He looked down and found a small bouquet with a card that read “To Din” on the envelope.
“Oh shit,” he swore under his breath. “What did he hear?”
Cobb met him at the door and looked around his shoulder. “Well, at least your beau’s not completely stupid.”
Confusion and hurt still thrummed through Din’s mind, but despite himself, he still loved that idiot and hated the very idea that Luke might feel even the slightest bit of pain because of something Din did. “Should I go and find him?”
“Give him a minute to cool off,” Cobb said. “He can’t have gone far, and you have his number.”
“And what about what you said?” Din asked. Something in his chest clenched at the mere thought of hurting yet another man in his life.
Cobb just shook his head. “Don’t worry about me, Djarin. I knew I didn’t stand a chance with you when you turned down my marriage proposal and I’m not looking to compete with His Royal Highness, Prince Skywalker for anything.”
“You were serious? I thought you were messing with me,” Din said.
“I never, ever joke about marriage,” huffed Cobb as he slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Besides, I’ll always have something that your prince won’t.”
“And what’s that?”
Cobb pointed at a thin line across the bridge of his nose. “A Djarin-exclusive beauty mark, of course.”
“We’re coming to you live here on NBC for the much-anticipated Team USA Men’s Hockey game! They destroyed Slovakia in the playoffs the other day, and they’re looking for a repeat performance in this game against the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. Should Team USA win this round, they’ll head to the semifinals where they’re at least guaranteed a spot in the final tourney for a medal.”
“Welcome back to NBC’s coverage of Team USA Hockey, where we’re coming back to our live coverage after the end of the first period. There’s been some animosity brewing amongst both teams here tonight, especially after a Czech player pushed an American player into the wall. Team Captain Din Djarin, known in the NHL for his fighting prowess as much as his skating ability, looked ready to pounce on the offending player but he seems eerily calm. Jim, what do you make of that?”
“Bob, I gotta tell you, I think Djarin’s itching for a fight, but the Olympics is not the NHL – fighting will absolutely get you banned. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again, but I think Djarin knows as much as anyone out there on the ice right now that if he does anything to get him kicked out of the game, it’s over for Team USA.”
“We’re now well into the second period of the USA vs. Czech Republic game, and it looks like Djarin and the Czech player from earlier’s finally going to get into it! He’s… well. Jim, it looks like Djarin picked that man up off the ice and put him back into the players’ box. I can’t believe that.”
“Bob, the players can’t believe it, either. They didn’t even try to stop him.”
“In all of my years of sportscasting, I have never seen a man pick up another grown man in full hockey padding and just… just put him somewhere else. Does that count as a fight?”
“We’re waiting for the results from the referees, but honestly, I wouldn’t count it. It’s not like he hit him.”
“…And it looks like the ruling stands that it did not count as a fight, but Djarin will be penalized for two minutes, anyway. What an outcome for the strangest show of aggression I’ve ever seen on the world stage.”
“Trouble at home, do you think?”
“If I had raw strength like that man does, yeah, I’d probably pick dudes up and move them out of my way if I had an angry wife at home.”
Din made his way to the family section of the stands, following the instructions set out from a mysterious text he received earlier that morning.
Din knew that was true, but how did they know it was true?
“Din, over here!”
He found Leia Skywalker waving him down, pointing at an empty seat beside her. He quickly made his way to the seats and took his place next to her.
“Leia Organa Skywalker, women’s figure skating silver medalist and Luke Skywalker’s exasperated sister,” she said as she stuck her hand out for Din to take. “And hopefully, your future sister-in-law.”
“Din Djarin, men’s hockey captain and Luke Skywalker’s roommate,” he replied. “And yeah, same. About the future in-law thing.”
She gave him a bright smile and a tinkly sort of laugh, just like Luke’s. Din thought they looked nothing alike for twins, but he saw the family resemblance in the way they both smiled and tilted their heads – almost like they always knew something you didn’t.
“Well, I’m glad one of you isn’t being obtuse about the whole affair,” she said. “Is he still being all cagey about being in love with you? I know he switched rooms with someone else a few days ago, but I wasn’t sure if you’d made up or not.”
Din felt the tell-tale signs of an extreme blush creep up his neck at the very idea of being vulnerable with someone he barely knows. However, getting advice from his crush’s twin sounded better than doing nothing. “I wouldn’t call it ‘cagey’ so much as ‘avoidant’. I’m sure he told you that I told him how I felt, and he ran out on me.”
“Yes, he told me,” Leia groaned. “Did he at least apologize?”
Din nodded. “He hasn’t so much as said a word to me. Vizsla says he spoke to Luke, and he wants to say something to me but he hasn’t yet. I think he tried to find me yesterday, but he left before we could talk. Is there something wrong with me?”
“Oh God, no,” she huffed. “You’re great – perfect for that idiot. He doesn’t deserve you.”
Din couldn’t help but frown at that. “Please don’t say that. I know he’s your brother, but I do care for him.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” she said, holding her hands up placatingly. “I’m just frustrated – he’s been so focused on becoming the best his entire life that it’s consumed him. He’s tried to make it work with a couple girlfriends, a couple boyfriends, but none of them liked being Luke’s second priority. I think you’re the only one that’s managed to break through that barrier. I think that’s why he’s going to win this.”
Din’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“One of the big judging categories in figure skating is artistic interpretation – how we move with the music, how our choreography resonates with the music and tells a story,” Leia explained. “It’s one of those intangible things that you can’t fake. Luke can do more quadruple jumps than any skater on the ice today, but he’s so clinical that it’s hard to see his heart. I think we’re going to see it today.”
“Because of me?”
“Din, people aren’t… patient with Luke,” Leia said, a furrow forming across her brow. “They see him out on the ice and treat him like some sort of alien deity descended from space, so no one tries to get to know him. When they manage to get past his whole ice prince persona, the real man underneath doesn’t fit the picture they made. It’s not his fault, but he still blames himself. You’re the victim of a bunch of people that didn’t deserve Luke’s time or energy but live in his head anyway.”
Din paused to take Leia’s words in, trying to parse out even a single thread of rational thought in his mind. “I had no idea.”
“And you wouldn’t,” she continued. “Luke hates that persona, but he also uses it as a shield. He could break his leg within the next twenty minutes and still go and deliver a gold medal routine because he’ll never let you know something’s wrong. You’re the exception.”
“…How?”
“He told me the other night about how you ran back into the restaurant to get him a cup of coffee because you noticed he was cold,” Leia said with a knowing smile. “He also said that you let him win that little hockey match the two of you had.”
Din snorted. “Oh, I didn’t let him win; he really did win that match.”
“That’s not the point!” Leia laughed. “The point is, you care for him without asking anything of him, without putting your demands on top of the ones he places on himself. That’s why this is all going to work out.”
“Leia, I don’t know what to say.”
“You know, he talks about you all the time,” she continued. “Talks about meeting your kid and how he fell head over heels for him when Luke first met him. He keeps talking about funny things you said, or weird movies you keep suggesting he watch. He ditched Coach’s scheduled teatime to hang out with you and your bros the other day.”
“Is that a big deal?” Din asked.
“Ben Kenobi is the most British man alive today – he takes teatime very seriously,” Leia replied with a grave tone. “The fact Luke would court his disapproval should tell you everything you need to know.”
“I didn’t realize – maybe I’m the one that’s dumb. Too many fights and not enough TED Talks,” Din said.
Leia laughed loudly at that. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m his twin; I’m the only one in the entire universe that knows him well enough to tell you because he’s too stubborn to admit it himself.”
“So, what should I do?” Din asked, a small hint of panic weaving through his voice. “Leia, I...I think I love him – I’ve been in love with him since I first saw him, and I just don’t know how to handle it.”
“He’s winning the gold today – call it intuition, call it whatever, but he’s winning,” she answered. “Once he’s off the podium, you take that man aside and tell him how you feel. Then kiss him until he’s breathless and stupid.”
“Skating last, representing the United States of America, Luke Skywalker!”
Din felt his jaw drop as he watched Luke take to the ice, dressed all in black from neck to skate with black sequins across his shoulders that scattered the light around him. His steel-blue eyes had a far-off, steadfast stare that made a breath hitch in Din’s throat at the sight – the goofy, awkward Luke he formally met just two weeks ago looked nothing like the Luke standing at center ice. This man was a warrior, a predator that stalked out onto the ice to kill anything in his way.
Din swore he’d never seen anything more beautiful in his life.
“You know, we fought over this music,” Leia whispered. “I’m still a little mad that he won the straw draw for it.”
The beginning notes of “This Woman’s Work” by Kate Bush suddenly resounded through the stadium as Luke began to move into his beginning step sequence, his movements fluid and graceful. Luke’s expression relaxed from his deadly glare into something that Din read as wistful and forlorn, an almost dream-like trance settling over his features as the gentle piano continued to play on.
“The song’s told from a man’s point of view – he nearly loses his wife to some sort of accident, and he’s looking back on their relationship, hoping for a chance to do everything right,” Leia continued, keeping her voice as low as possible. “I wasn’t sure what he wanted to say with this routine when he debuted this at train-up, but I think he understands love from a different point of view now. That’s why he’s going to win.”
I know you have a little life in you yet
I know you have a lot of strength left
Din watched in awe as Luke began to pick up speed for the first quadruple flip in his routine. He held his breath as Luke launched himself into the air, rotating so fast that Din couldn’t possibly count how many times he managed to spin before gracefully landing back on the ice as if he never left, rounding out the movement into an artistic flourish. The crowd went wild as Luke transitioned back into the more artistic portion of the routine. He sped up once again, taking off and launching himself back into the air for a quadruple Salchow, then immediately completing a double loop as he spun back onto the ice.
Din found himself standing with the rest of the crowd as the applause and cheers grew louder, nearly drowning out the music in the stands. Luke, however, seemed completely focused on the moment and continued to flow through multiple eagle spreads and complex dance steps in time with the rising frenzy of the music. Din didn’t know much about choreography or art, but he understood what Leia meant when she said skaters interpreted the music and told a story – whatever emotion Luke wanted his audience to feel with him, Din couldn’t help but obey.
Of all the things I should’ve given, but I didn’t
Oh, darling, make it go away
The music wound back down to a gentle piano melody as the singer’s voice rose above it, allowing Luke to slow the tempo of his routine and move into a spin sequence that made him look otherworldly – ethereal, even. Din thought for a moment that Luke really would just fly right off the ice, given the chance.
Give me these moments back
Give them back to me
When he spun out of the sequence, Din felt like time stopped as Luke met his eyes and winked at him. Leia slapped Din on the shoulder, but he hardly felt it as he continued to watch Luke speed up and launch into another jump sequence, pulling off a quadruple toe loop with a flawless landing. Luke kept up the speed, racing to the other side of the rink and gearing up for another large jump – the final jump of the program, and arguably the hardest. Din felt Leia’s hands clutch hard onto his upper arm for support as she gasped in anticipation.
I should be crying but I just can't let it show
I should be hoping but I can't stop thinking
Everything fell still as Luke finally launched himself into the air and completed the lutz as if someone made Luke just for that very purpose. Din struggled to stay on his feet as Leia shook him and screamed in excitement, hardly able to keep himself from joining her.
All the things you needed from me
All the things that you wanted for me
Once he landed, he gracefully moved back to center ice and fell into a dramatic pose just as the very last notes of the song rang out over the speakers. A moment passed, and then the sounds of the audience rising to their feet and cheering wildly all at once filled the arena. Din watched as Luke, completely out of breath and wrung out from giving the performance of a lifetime, gave a gracious bow to the audience as he made his way to the edge of the rink. He dodged multiple stuffed toys in mid-flight as they rained down on the ice, stopping only to pick up a small bouquet of assorted flowers and wave to the crowd.
Leia began to pull Din out of the stands, but not before stopping and turning to hand him something. “I brought this for Luke, but I think it would be better coming from you,” Leia said as she shoved a strange plush into Din’s hands. “I’m sure you’ve heard of Luke’s favorite movies, Blue Harvest, right?”
Din laughed as he remembered Luke going on a ten-minute rant about how they did the main character no justice in the sequels. “Yeah, unfortunately.”
“He loves these little weird alien cat things called tookas from one of the spin-offs – it’s a family tradition to give him a tooka whenever he competes for a big championship,” Leia explained. “As long as he doesn’t goof up this reunion, I’m sure you’re about to become family – so here, welcome to the tradition.”
“Thanks,” Din said as he tucked the weird cat into his arms. He followed Leia down from the stands and out towards the blocked off area reserved for coaches, staff, and athletes. “What’s your thing, by the way? What did Luke bring you?”
“He brought me an Ewok,” Leia laughed.
They finally reached the entrance to the barricade. The official stationed at the entrance recognized Leia and waved her through, but stepped in front of Din to stop him from moving any further.
“Sir, we only allow family and coaching staff in the kiss and cry,” the official said as he put up his hand to Din’s chest.
“That’s Skywalker’s fiancé,” Leia cut in, grabbing Din’s wrist. “He counts as family.”
They moved past the officials and Din felt like his world shifted upside down at the very mention of… of…
“Hey, lover boy,” Leia said as she snapped her fingers near his face. “Don’t have an aneurysm on me; Luke won’t forgive me if you die.”
Din nodded dumbly as he let himself get pulled even further into the preparation area, finally finding the small, staged area where they found Luke and Ben Kenobi.
“Is that for me?” Luke asked, pointing at the plush toy in Din’s hand.
Din nodded, unable to find any words in his mind worth saying. He held out the weird cat-chicken thing and tried not to crack a stupid smile as Luke cuddled it in his arms.
“Thank you, Din – for the tooka and for being here this morning,” Luke said at last.
Up close, Din noticed Luke wearing black eyeliner, tastefully done. Din didn’t have the brain capacity to process that.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Din finally said, trying to keep his voice from cracking. “You were – “
“Announcing the scores for Luke Skywalker of the United States of America,” the announcer’s voice began. Luke grabbed Din’s hand and pulled him over to the bench where Ben and Leia sat, urging him to sit down and look up at the scoreboard. “Luke Skywalker earned in the free program 215 points. Combined with his 83 points in the short program, Luke Skywalker is in first place.”
The sound of screams and thunderous applause nearly took Din’s hearing out as the entire party got up off the bench and onto their feet. Leia and Ben immediately pulled Luke into a massive hug, nearly swallowing the man in a tangle of arms. Eventually, they let go of him and allowed Luke to turn to Din.
“Din, was that real?!” Luke shouted above the noise.
“Yes!” Din shouted to be heard over the audience. “Luke, you were perfect.”
Luke simply wrapped his arms around Din’s neck and pulled him in for a long, lingering embrace. “Stick around for after the podium, alright? I have so, so much to tell you,” Luke said into Din’s ear. “Right now, I want you to know I’m sorry and I hope you know that I want to fix whatever we have, alright?”
Din immediately responded in kind with a crushing hug of his own. “It’s alright, Luke – but yeah, we’ll talk once you get that medal on, alright?”
“Look, it’s Luke’s turn for the free skate!” Boba yelled across the private area of the restaurant they’d reserved for the morning. “Lock it up over there!”
Grumbles scattered amongst the hockey team as Luke appeared on TV, moving into his pose at center ice and waiting for the music to start.
“Good Lord,” Cobb said, voice almost reverent. “He’s pretty as hell.”
“You just have a thing for blondes, Cobb!”
“Who said that?!”
“Will you shut the fuck up?”
“Luke Skywalker won gold at Worlds last year, and for U.S. men, that’s always meant they took home the Olympic gold, as well ,” an announcer’s voice said over the TV. “ We spoke to Coach Ben Kenobi earlier and he said that this is the best Skywalker’s ever been. We’ll see how he fares today. His sister Leia won the silver in her category just yesterday, missing gold by just two-tenths of a point. She’s here today, supporting her twin brother in his pursuit of the gold with the captain of Team USA’s men’s hockey team, Din Djarin.”
Cheers went up around the room as the camera cut to the family section where their captain looked shell-shocked and hopelessly lovestruck all at once. Leia received even more applause, with chants of “he’s got a SISTER” going around the room.
“Look at him!” Migs jeered. “He looks like he’s gonna keel over here in a minute.”
Cobb picked up a roll and threw it at him. “You’re just mad that no one in their right minds would look at you like that.”
“I’m gonna beat the shit out of the both of you if you don’t stop,” Boba growled.
A hush fell over the room as the music finally started, the room enraptured in the story Luke began to weave on the ice.
“Who sings this?” Cobb whispered.
“It’s Kate Bush,” Paz answered. “Will you get some fucking culture for once?”
Several minutes later, as Luke finished his routine, the room burst out into applause and high-fives.
“Another perfect performance from Luke Skywalker! ” the announcer shouted over the TV. “There’s literally no one better alive today on the ice, and even though we’re waiting on the judges’ final scores, there’s nothing that could stop him from getting gold. We’ll take you live to the kiss and cry now to get his scores.”
“Oh, there’s the boss with him!” Paz said as he pointed at the screen. “Look, they’re hugging and whispering and everything.”
The team let out a collective aww at the sight.
No one in the room even paid attention to the scores – they were a bunch of weird numbers, anyway – as they watched Luke’s reaction to keeping his first place standing and their captain’s arm tightening around Luke’s shoulder. A gasp ran through the room as they watched Luke and the captain talking, looking as though they might finally…
And then they broke away.
“Alright, pay up, fuckers!” Migs shouted across the room. “I told you he wasn’t gonna kiss that man on camera!”
“Vizsla, looks like you’re moving back in with Vanth!”
“Will y’all get some class for once?”
“No!”
He found himself bouncing his legs as he sat back down on the bench, watching the man he loved on the podium, gracefully leaping onto the tallest platform while still in his skates. Din couldn’t think of a time when he felt prouder of anyone or anything than he did watching Luke tear up as the official placed the gold medal around his neck. After several photos and handshakes, Luke finally left the podium with the help of an overly friendly Canadian bronze medalist and went back to Din at the edge of the rink.
If they faced Canada in the next round, Din vowed to check one of their dudes extra hard for that one.
Leia gave them both a look as she shooed Ben Kenobi out of the kiss and cry, which Din took as a sign that he officially had Luke’s full attention. Without hesitation, Din took Luke’s hand and led him towards one of the many tunnels leading back towards the back areas of the rink. He had no idea where he wanted to go, even though he practically lived in this very arena.
He felt a tug on his arm and stopped, turning back towards Luke. He looked as though he might cry, which sent spikes of worry and guilt through Din’s gut as he immediately pulled him in for another hug.
“Din, I’m so sorry,” Luke started, fidgeting with the sleeves of his costume and looking better than anyone had a right to, especially after a gold medal-winning performance. “I don’t want to stand here and make excuses for myself, so I won’t. If you never want anything to do with me again, I get it. I just won’t feel right if I went home without trying to make this right. I told myself repeatedly that you didn’t need my mess, and you were right – it was cruel of me to not even give you a chance.”
Din shook his head, looking down into Luke’s eyes and finding everything he ever wanted there. “Luke, you already apologized.”
“I know, but it’s eating me alive knowing that not only did I push you away, but I was so selfish – I only thought about me and this stupid competition,” Luke continued, eyes darting everywhere except back to Din. “You probably already know, but I heard what your teammate said to you yesterday. He was absolutely right; you deserve to have someone that’s completely devoted to you and Din, I want to be that man for you.”
“Luke.”
Luke continued, undeterred. “But you have Cobb, and I don’t want to get in the way of that,” he said, nearly out of breath. “He seems like a good man, a little sleazy, but good. I’ll wish the two of you well and send you stuff from your wedding registry.”
“Oh, Luke,” Din said, shaking his head. “Cobb Vanth is a good player and teammate, but he’s a friend. He’s a good-looking man, but I couldn’t date him after all the times he tortured us with his shit music taste in the locker room.”
Luke gaped up at him before breaking into a laugh. “Well, I guess that’s a relief,” he said, nervous giggles still bubbling up from his chest. “Registry shopping is so awkward.”
“Luke, I really don’t want to talk about Cobb Vanth any more than I have to – I think it’s against the Geneva Convention,” Din said. “I do want to go back to that part about you wanting to be the man completely devoted to me. That’s a much better topic.”
“Are you sure?” Luke said. “Because I’m still a freak that worries about all the wrong things; I won this medal, but now I need to think about what I’m doing for the rest of my life now that I’ve completed the singular thing I’ve been chasing since I was fourteen and –”
“You have the rest of your life now to figure it out,” Din answered, cutting him off. “Go back to school or be a coach like Mr. Kenobi. Go find a desert island somewhere and hole up there, if you want. I’d like to offer another alternative, though.”
“Well, as long as it involves eventually going to the locker room and getting out of this costume,” Luke said, taking Din’s hand. “Or you’re telling me that you don’t want to ever see me again and you’re buying my ticket to that desert island.”
“Well, that’s not an option,” Din shrugged. “Seems counterproductive.”
“And why’s that?”
“I can’t kiss you senseless if you leave,” Din answered as he slowly backed Luke up against the wall. “Can’t tell you I love you if you’re gone.”
Luke looked up at him, eyes shining. “Din…”
Din reached down and tipped up Luke’s chin, catching his stare and holding it. “Luke, I meant what I said the other night, and I mean it now. I want you in my life. I love you – I’m in love with you – and unless you tell me that you really don’t want this, I’m kissing you until you stop apologizing.”
Luke sighed deeply and gave him a smile so brilliant that it nearly knocked Din back onto his heels. “Din, I could never say no to you. It killed me to do it once, and I never want to do it again.”
Din didn’t let him say anything else, he just cradled Luke’s head and bent down to finally capture Luke’s soft lips with his own. He pressed him into the wall for support – finally kissing the man that haunted his dreams for months nearly took his knees out from under him. Nothing compared to the feeling of Luke carding his fingers through Din’s hair and pulling him closer, the sensation making Din impossibly dizzy. He could do this forever – wanted to do this forever.
Out of breath and eyes completely glazed over, Luke finally pulled back. Din felt a thrum of pride at seeing his – boyfriend? God , there had to be a better name than that – so completely wrecked after just one kiss. Din closed the distance yet again, placing gentle kisses at the corner of Luke’s mouth and trailing them across his jaw and at his ear.
“Din, I’m going to absolutely combust if you keep doing that,” Luke mumbled as his fingers tightened in his hair.
Din chuckled low. “I thought you couldn’t say no to me.”
Luke only moaned in response.
“Since I’ve got you here, what with you not telling me no,” Din continued, murmuring directly into Luke’s ear and making him giggle, “I think you should move to Denver. Hell, don’t even bother going back to Detroit; we’ll send for your things. It’ll be faster that way. I’ll take you to my house tonight and not let you get out of bed. Stay in that bed for as long as you like until you figure out the next move.”
“Darling, you have a game early tomorrow, and Padmé Amidala would kill you if you kidnapped her son without you at least coming over for dinner,” Luke said.
“It was worth a shot,” said Din as he pressed kisses into the side of Luke’s neck. “Happy Valentine’s Day, by the way.”
Luke bristled beneath him. “Din, you did not decide to make the day that we finally got together on Valentine’s Day,” he groaned. “You’re such a romantic.”
“Oh, you have no idea,” said Din as he grinned wildly, thinking about the champagne chilling on ice in their room and the rose petals scattered on Luke’s hotel bed.
“You know, we really should’ve gone home to Detroit already – no one stays until the closing ceremony,” Leia said as she settled into her seat, bundled up in the thickest winter gear she could find. “But I guess we had to stay for your boyfriend’s bronze medal game.”
“You didn’t have to stay,” Luke replied, equally bundled up. “In fact, why are you here? Everyone else went home already.”
“I have to support my future brother-in-law,” Leia shrugged. “And besides, I’m not returning home until I get at least five hockey players’ numbers. I need to make Han jealous as much as humanly possible.”
“Please, please stop trying to marry me off,” Luke groaned. “We literally just became an item like three days ago.”
“It’s an inevitability, Luke,” she scoffed. “By the way, are you already looking for places here in the city? I figured you’d get a house here in Denver proper; I’d love to help you pick.”
“He already has a house here,” Luke retorted. He omitted the fact that Din took him to his house the other day and he’d already decided on a new curtain color, while becoming intimately familiar with the other linens in Din’s house. “No such luck there.”
“Well, I’ll just settle for ogling your man on the ice,” said Leia as she pointed him out on the starting line. “I’ve seen him without the padding, and while he’s pretty big without it, he’s so broad in that uniform. That’s not fair, Luke.”
“Please stop lusting after my boyfriend!” Luke hissed.
Leia snorted as she checked her phone. “Hey, wasn’t this game supposed to start like ten minutes ago?”
Luke looked over at her phone. “Yeah, I guess so. What the hell’s going on?” He looked over at the Team USA starting line-up waiting on the ice, their players shifting around impatiently as they did their damndest to stay warm.
“Oh, it looks like an officiant’s coming out to talk to Din,” said Leia.
A few tense moments passed as Din spoke to the officiant, then turned back to join his team on the line. Things remained silent until a crackle from the arena’s loudspeaker system pulled everyone’s attention.
“Due to an unfortunate set of circumstances, Team Germany will not compete in today’s game. By default, the game and the bronze medal for Men’s Hockey goes to Team USA!” The announcer’s voice boomed throughout Coors Field. Luke assumed the same message went out in German over the speakers, but the audience going wild in the stands drowned it out.
“Holy shit,” Luke laughed as he hugged Leia. “They didn’t actually do anything, but they won!”
“Get your ass down there and give your sorta-champion boyfriend a kiss,” Leia said, shoving him towards a field exit. “I’m going; it’s too fucking cold to be outside right now.”
Luke gave her another quick hug as he raced down the stairs and onto the field, where the hockey players celebrated and cheered as if they’d all finished a hard-won game. He waited on the edge of the ice as Din managed to fight his way out of the pack and make it to where Luke stood.
“Din, I’m so happy for you!” Luke shouted over the noise. “But like, what happened?”
Din laughed as he pulled Luke in for a giant, all-consuming hug. “Apparently, most of the German team got into a giant bar fight downtown and got arrested. Disqualified enough of them to give us the win.”
Luke laughed loudly into his shoulder. “That’s hardly sporting, is it?”
“Who caaaaaares?” Cobb shouted at them as he skated past them. “Part of winning is showing up! Besides, we would’ve totally kicked their asses.”
Din and Luke didn’t bother responding to Cobb’s antics; they simply held each other as the chaotic celebrations whirled around them.
“You know this means I’m the better Olympian, right?” Luke asked.
“You always were, Luke.”
One Year Later
“Hey, Djarin!” Boba Fett yelled out across the ice. “We’re hosting dinner at our place tonight! Are Luke and the kid with you?”
“They had to stay home; Grogu has a thing at school!” Din shouted back as he made small circles during his warm-up. “They sent their regards, and Luke said if I didn’t win against you, then I wasn’t allowed to come home.”
“Oh yeah? Then who the hell is that in the stands frantically waving at you?” Boba said, pointing across the arena and into the stands.
Din immediately set his eyes on Luke, who was, in fact, waving frantically, with their child next to him. They both wore replicas of Din’s home jersey, which never failed to make his heart rise in his throat and choke him up. After he found out why they were there, he was going to pull Luke aside and kiss him stupid.
“I’ll be back later,” Din mumbled as he took off across the ice.
“Remember that I’m kicking your ass later!” Boba yelled after Din.
Once he reached the edge of the rink, he pointed Luke to a gap in the protective plexiglass surrounding the stands and met his – boyfriend? lover? partner? paramour? – there.
“Luke Skywalker – my sun, my moon, and all my stars – what in the hell are you doing in Boston and why do you have our kid?” Din asked, none too impressed with their twin puppy-dog expressions.
“Grogu missed you,” Luke said with a wide smile. “And we wanted to surprise you with something.”
“And what would that be?”
“Can’t tell you, Daddy!” Grogu giggled. “It’s a surprise.”
Din nodded sagely. “Ah yes, you’re very wise.”
“Besides,” Luke said, his face dropping from his normal beatific smile to a deadly glare, “it’s our anniversary. Unless you forgot.”
Din shook his head. “Luke, I would never. If you’d been at the house, you would’ve seen the flowers I sent.”
Luke’s smile fell back into place. “Well, I can promise you that our surprise is a lot better than flowers – right, Grogu?”
“Daddy has no idea!”
Din suddenly felt a chill race over his skin, unsure of what hell Luke would unleash on him for not being nearly as thoughtful on their first anniversary. Throughout the game, Din felt tense – if Luke planned something, when would it show up? Why did he come out to Boston, and why couldn’t it wait until he came home?
His mind ran through several possibilities as he finagled the puck out of a Bruin’s hold, racing towards Boba at the other end of the ice. He didn’t think Luke wanted to move, and surely there were better ways of letting Din know that Luke’s parents wanted to visit. Mayfeld popped up out of nowhere to take the puck, but Din simply spun out of the way – a move that Luke gave him an entire clinic on – and kept going.
Din finally lined up for the perfect shot and hoped Luke didn’t get a puppy without asking. He didn’t hate dogs, but he wanted a say in what kind of dog they got.
“FUCK!”
Oh, Boba was still in the net. The puck hit him square in the shoulder before bouncing off his arm and landing in the net. Din’s teammates gathered around Din to celebrate, but he took off his helmet and dropped his gloves instead.
“Boss, what’s the matter?” one of his d-men asked.
“Unless you want Boba Fett to hit you in the face, I suggest you move,” Din answered.
“DJARIN,” Boba yelled across the ice, “YOU ABSOLUTE MOTHERFUCKER. COME AND FUCKING GET IT.”
Din nodded. “Yeah, I have this coming.”
After two solid minutes of thrown punches and Din stealing Boba’s jersey yet again, the pair sat in their respective penalty boxes and cooled off. Din put a hand up on the bordering plexiglass, hoping he wouldn’t have to pound on it to get Boba’s attention.
“Hey, sorry about the puck,” Din started. “I really didn’t mean it. Are we still good for dinner tonight?”
Boba nodded. “Of course! Ass-kickings and food are always free at the Fett household. Besides, I know having Luke and the kid show up out of nowhere distracted you. Any idea what he wants?”
“None,” Din said with a shrug. “Neither he nor the kid would tell me. You don’t think they got a puppy without asking me, do you?”
Boba looked at him like Din had an arm growing out of his head as the penalty horn went off. “You need to stop getting punched in the head so much, Djarin.”
That was probably true, but Boba didn’t have to say it like that.
The game eventually ended with the Avalanche edging out a close victory and Din getting the first star position for his Gordie Howe hat trick. He never was one for post-game interviews, but after that night and the excitement of whatever the hell Luke still had planned – he waited throughout the entire game for Luke to do something – he found himself answering whatever questions the PR lady wanted to ask.
In the locker room, before Din could even get out of his padding, an assistant coach told him he had a surprise waiting for him out on the ice. He shucked everything off as fast as he could, running out of the room in just his undershirt and pants, not caring about his suspenders or the state of his skates.
Once he reached the rink proper, Din immediately noticed that someone turned off all the lights except the ones directly lighting the ice. He felt his jaw drop as he watched Luke glide across the ice and fall into a layback spin so beautiful it made Din’s heart clench. He remembered that day, about a year ago now, when Luke pulled off a similar move to win the gold and Din’s heart in the process. A million questions raced through Din’s mind, but Luke suddenly stopped and immediately faced Din, gesturing for Din to join him out on the ice.
All reasoning ability and higher brain functions short-circuited as Din took in the sight of Luke – in his all-black practice clothes, looking as handsome as the day he watched him performing quadruple jumps at Lake Placid – and immediately jumped the wall to join him.
“Darling, I’m glad you could fit me in your busy schedule, what with all the post-game interviews and fawning fans,” Luke said, reaching out his hands as Din made it to center ice.
Din gave him a low chuckle as he took Luke’s hands into his own, pressing kisses to his knuckles. “For you? Anything. Say the word, and it’s yours.”
“Anything, you say?” Luke asked as he quirked an eyebrow and pulled Din close, coaxing them into a slow, lazy spin. “What if I wanted you to get traded to Detroit to be near my family?”
Din winced. “Babe, you can’t ask me to go to the Red Wings. Your dad already doesn’t trust me because I play for the Avalanche; he’d probably call me a spy if I traded.” He sighed deeply. “But if you really, really wanted it, I would do it.”
“That’s fair,” Luke relented. “Alright, what if I asked you to give up coffee because I thought it was bad for your health?”
“I’d at least consider it, but that’s a hard sell,” Din said with a grin. “That just means I’d have to replace it with a nasty cocaine habit.”
Luke playfully swatted his shoulder as he gently pushed him back. “Din! That’s horrible.”
“What’s this all about, love?” asked Din as he pushed himself back into Luke’s space.
“You said you’d give me anything, and I wanted to know exactly just what that meant, is all,” Luke shrugged. “I really only want one thing, and I flew Grogu and myself all the way out to Boston to ask for it.”
“And what’s that?”
Luke reached into his pocket and pulled out a perfect silver band. “Your hand in marriage.”
He didn’t even have to think about it.
“Yes,” Din whispered as he immediately reached his hands out to cup Luke’s face in them and pull him in for an earth-shattering kiss. “God, yes. Let’s go to the courthouse and do it now, I don’t even care. Why didn’t we do this earlier? Am I stupid? Are we stupid?”
"I didn’t even ask yet,” Luke laughed between kisses. “I had a speech prepared and everything.”
“Save it,” Din huffed, pressing another deep kiss into Luke’s lips. “Tell me after we’ve completely wrecked the hotel bed. The kid’s staying with Boba and Fennec tonight.”
“As lovely as repeating history sounds, I think we’ll have to wait a little for that.”
“Why?”
“CONGRATULATIONS!”
Oh.
Din pulled away long enough to look around and see several of their friends and family emerging from the players’ box, clapping and cheering for the newly engaged couple, with Anakin bouncing their kid in his arms and waving. Din experienced such an overwhelming ache of pure love in his chest as he stood there and let it consume him.
“I love you, Din Djarin,” Luke said as he wrapped his arms around him from behind. “Thanks for taking a chance on me.”
“That’s my line,” Din laughed as he pulled Luke around to steal another kiss.