𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 - DIN DJARIN

Honor (Interlude)

Hello, lovely readers! I wanted to make you aware that this entry will mark a change in prose. There's a shift from second person POV to third person. I want to experiment and see if it works here; if it doesn't, and second person is preferred, I'll go ahead and change it. For now, we'll see how everyone likes this format! I hope you enjoy this installment, and I cannot thank you enough for supporting this story and I. See you all for season 3 in March!

honor (interlude) •••

Din never fails to wake at Zora's cries, no matter how much his caring wife tries to muffle them. This instance—the second time this morning, with Tatooine's two suns still far from rising—is no different, though it's not Zora's crying that makes Din's alertness grow. It's the strain in Astra's voice as she attempts to calm their daughter.

"Shh, Zora," she pleads. "It's all right. Your family needs rest."

It's unlike Zora to not listen to her mother, but she's still only a few months old. Din's had to remind himself of that many times. She may have an ability that surpasses the understanding of both Astra and himself, but just like her brother, she's just a child.

And his wife is a tired mother in need of relief.

Din rises from the bed and makes his way over to where Astra and Zora stand at one of the luxurious bedroom's windows. The look Astra gives him floods him with the urge to make everything in the galaxy stop, if only to provide her with even just a moment of peace. She gives her head an aimless shake.

"I don't know why she's upset," says Astra, keeping her voice soft so as to not wake their other child. She furrows her brow and looks back down at their crying daughter. "I fed her, I changed her, I told her that story she always likes, and I even..."

"Cyar'ika." Din sets a reassuring hand on her back and earns her gaze back. Astra's eyes are burdened, with dark rings beginning to form underneath them. She's stronger than he'll ever be, but even she has her limits. Din presses a lingering kiss to her forehead and waits until he hears her soft exhale to pull away. "May I?" He gestures to Zora.

With a nod and a small smile, Astra hands their daughter over to him. Din returns her smile and takes Zora in his arms as carefully as he did the day she was born.

"All right, Zozo," Din coos. "Relax, baby girl. We're all right." He presses his forehead against hers, pleased when her cries start to soften. There's a look in her small brown eyes that tells Din everything he needs to know.

Din holds a heavy breath in his chest and feels the ever-present knot within it tighten. He should've known better than to think he could hide from both Astra and his daughter. His wife knows him too well, and Zora is always in tune with both of them.

"Don't worry, okay?" whispers Din. "I'll tell her."

"Tell me what?"

Din can feel his wife's gaze on him before he even looks over at her. There's a new pinch in her brow, one that makes Din's chest tighten with frustration and worry he can only direct towards himself. He forces himself to try to relax when Zora's cries start to escalate again. There's no doubt she's sensed his restlessness from the moment Din's conflicted thoughts started to surface.

"I have to go, you know," Din finally speaks up while he rests Zora upon the warmth of his bare shoulder. He clarifies before Astra can make her bewildered response. "To Mandalore."

Astra's disbelieving eyes give him a once-over. "You mean, we have to go."

Din tightens his jaw and looks away from her. "Astra..."

"Isn't the planet destroyed?" Astra speaks on all the same thoughts Din's had in recent days and he prepares himself to hear the same excuses he keeps trying to make for himself. "How are you supposed to go underneath a destroyed planet?" She holds his chin and urges him to look at her again. "And for what? Redemption you don't need?"