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Obi-Wan placed a hand on his son’s head.
"Remember what I told you, Luke."
The blond boy nodded obediently, trembling with impatience and excitement.
"Don’t cause any trouble. Don’t draw attention to myself. Don’t wander off."
"Good."
He let him join his classmates and went over to the other parents accompanying the class.
"If someone had told me that one day I’d be visiting the Great Jetii Temple with my daughter," Wren said softly, looking reluctantly impressed. "Your son is going to make a lot of people happy today. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Obi-Wan let his most exasperated expression show beneath his helmet, which he only ever took off for Luke. Yes, his boy had won an interschool competition for his little Mandalorian school. And, of all the things he could have won in that school competition, the first prize had to be that.
An educational trip to Coruscant, including a tour of all its iconic landmarks, including, of course, the Jedi Temple.
His adopted son was indeed the son of his biological father, this prodigal and chaotic child of the Force.
It had only been a two days, and they had already spent the first night without incident, but Obi-Wan knew he could not let his guard down for a second with Luke if he wanted to preserve the peaceful life he had managed to build for them on Mandalore after Owen Lars had refused to take in his brother-in-law’s son.
"Speaking of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and priceless architectural heritage, Wren," he said, trying to divert attention away from himself and his son, "I’d advise you to tell your daughter not to pain here. You never know, these Eyayahse might not be very patient."
The woman turned towards her daughter, who was in the middle of a crowd of children, as if she had a hidden radar, and rushed over to the child who was equipped with a paint bomb and stencils and gesturing towards a statue with stars in her eyes.
"Sabine!"
"That kid’s really going to give her a hard time growing up."
"You’re one to talk, Skirata," the mother snapped as she returned with the confiscated equipment, "your son’s no better."
Darman, a former Clone Commando adopted by his former trainer on Kamino, clearly glared at the other parent from beneath his impassive helmet but said nothing. His son, Tur-Mukan Skirata, was a real little devil. Like Luke, he was a happy, mischievous child, raised as a true Mandalorian, which made him intense and energetic.
"Don’t run all over the place!", the man shouted, instantly putting a stop to a race that was getting out of hand.
Obi-Wan had been worried about him when he discovered that Luke had become friends with a clone’s son and learnt that the children were going from house to house, as they all did every day, and therefore to the former Trooper's house as well. His anxieties had eased when they had talked a little about their respective pasts. This man had suffered greatly.
Of course, Darman was himself wary and reserved, but when they began talking about their children, they spoke of love, of their true loves, and since then they had understood and deeply respected one another.
Just as Obi-Wan had lost the love of his life, Darman had lost his partner, a Jedi Padawan who had given birth to their child in the utmost secrecy at the end of the war. The main difference between them was that Obi-Wan’s father figure had not kept this from him and had not stolen his baby to raise it in his place, thereby robbing him of the right to choose for himself, all in the name of his "duty". Darman had done what he himself would probably have done and had given up everything upon learning this, even though Etain had already died during the Jedi purge. He had stolen his child back and disappeared with him to start afresh.
"He might turn out like his mother, who knows," the clone had murmured affectionately, watching the boys as they played with small plastic spaceships toys in his living room. "One thing’s for sure, no one’s taking him from me."
They were not exactly friends, but… yeah, there was something comforting about having someone share his worries. And their children adored each other and spent half their time together. Probably because they were sons of Jedi.
And Force-sensitive, but shhh.
A young Twi'lek woman in armour called them over to the Temple entrance and beckoned them to come closer. Obi-Wan walked past a dozen patrolling clones without being stopped. The appreciation of Mandalorian culture allowed for respect for a variety of beliefs.
Some Mandalorians never took their helmets off in public, he was not even the only one doing so in this group, so he was not too worried.
The three parents followed at a distance as the tour began, and Obi-Wan slowed down a little more as he passed through the first entrance.
He was already worried about what he might find inside, but he felt so many emotions at being here that this apprehension eventually faded away.
He was back home.