Charting the Stars - Dinluke AU

Chapter Twelve: Epilogue

Notes:
Thank y'all for sticking with me through all of this, I'll have a longer message about this in the end notes.

Find me over on Tumblr @mari-novak I just made a new account to interact more with readers if that's something people are interested in. I've seen other authors do it, so I figured why not?

This chapter largely focuses on tying up any loose ends and concluding the more personal parts of the story. I hope it acts as a satisfying ending for y'all.

Warnings:
Vague mentions of war, the aftermath thereof, and child abuse (no details), implied sexual content (very implied, it's all fade to black or pillow talk).

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Din woke up alone, covered only by the sheets on the bed, and stared at the ceiling of the little house they had fixed up in the woods of Tund. It wasn't permanent, but it was a place to come back to between all of the continuing battles as the Empire tried desperately to hold on to its fading power and the rebuilding efforts on the planets that had been devastated by Operation: Cinder.

He wondered briefly if Luke had already left again. These days, he was always on the move, jumping from planet to planet so that he could help broken societies find their way again. Din was more involved in the battles than he was and had spent more time with Luke's sister on the front lines than the man himself in the past few months since what was now being called the Assassination. To outsiders, it looked as though the twins had shown up for no reason to claim the lives of Vader and the Emperor.

Din sighed at the feeling of waking up on his own again in this too-comfortable bed and rolled over to stick his face in Luke's pillow and inhaled. It smelled of rain, grass, and leaves from Luke's strange ability to adopt the scent of wherever he landed. After a moment, he heard the sound of the small droid Luke used for training sometimes as it fired sting bolts outside, so he sat up and pushed aside the curtains. Sure enough, there he was, blocking each bolt with his saber and sending them precisely into metal targets that had been set up along the trees. They pinged with each accurate rebound, Luke not missing a single one.

He stepped away from the window and realized that there was a covered bowl on the nightstand with a little note; Went into base earlier and got some more eggs. Cooked them into oblivion just the way you like -Luke

Din ate the food quickly, noting how it was still barely warm meaning it had to have been cooked relatively recently. Domesticity was really beginning to make him lose his touch if he hadn't woken up to the sound of Luke attempting to cook breakfast. Then again, their reunion last night had worn him out significantly.

When he was done, he pulled a shirt over his head and grabbed some underclothes and pants to go stand on the little porch and watch Luke practice. It was strange to see how much he had changed since they had first met. On Arvala-7 he had been this too skinny man who talked way too fast and jumped at sudden noises or raised hands. Now, nearly a year later, he had healthy layers of muscle and fat from the improved diet he had been enjoying along with the almost obsessive training he had been working on.

Din couldn't really judge him though, he was just as bad with the way he continued running toward danger each time the then Rebellion, now blossoming New Republic was called upon.

"Good morning," he called once the droid powered down.

Luke turned to him and offered a small smile. "Good morning. Leia sent Grogu back to school this morning and Tracinya told me to let you know she's borrowing the Crest for a few days since you made her sleep in it last night," he said as he disengaged his saber and began making his way up the few steps to Din.