Chapter Text
When his mother informed him during breakfast that they had come to the agreement of an arranged marriage, Luke had gladly looked towards his sister, giving her his famously teasing smile.
“Ha, you’re getting married”
“She’s not the one getting married” His father calmly informed him, which caused one of the shuuras to explode.
“Luke!” His mother raised her voice, as she reminded him every so often, Padme never screams, she just raises her voice.
“Sorry mother, but what? what do you mean” His eyes traveled between his parents. Leia was keeping a hand over her mouth, probably stopping herself from laughing, and Luke was sending her death threats through the force, like all siblings would do in that situation.
“Your sister is going through university, she already has a foot in the senate working under your mother, her getting married wouldn’t have any positive outcome for either her or the republic.” His father explained further.
“And, I have a boyfriend” His sister clarified, their father was making an unpleasant expression, with his Jedi training he really should be better at keeping a straight face.
Their father, the famous Anakin Skywalker, has for as long as they can remember not been a jedi, but through many stories (mostly from Obi-wan) they have been informed of his Jedi days. Neither Leia nor him had followed his footsteps, they had both been trained at a young age to use the force, but neither of them had proceeded to become a Jedi. He himself had stepped down from council, after the clone wars and the defeat of Sheev Palpatine, his own faith in the force had been damaged, so now he spends his days bothering his kid’s life, which mostly Luke suffers from.
“Can we get back to the fact that I’m getting married?”
“We won't force you” His mother said, giving him a weak smile, it felt a bit like they were forcing him. “But, it would help the republic if you got married”
“Why?”
“The republic is trying to make an alliance with Mandalore, but we’re finding it hard, they are extremely conservative, and their trust in the senate is low, we have been going back and forth with requests of how we can build trust, but it always ended in them not trusting us” His mother continued explaining, as Leia straightened her back, her face becoming more serious, her Senate face Luke calls it, but not to her face, if he did that he would get punched. “But then, a few weeks ago, we started looking into other ways to insure trust between their people and the republic, and we came with the idea of an alliance through marriage, and they agreed, again, they are very conservative people, the idea of using marriage as an alliance is very common, so, we started looking into who we could use, and after a lot of thinking, I thought of you” Nice, his own mother thought of him when they needed to sacrifices one of their own. “Don’t give me that look, it’s not like that, we thought of you because of your name, our name, your coming from a background with strong connection with the senate, but you’re not working with the them directly, you’re not political enough that you would be considered dangerous, but you're still not a nobody, you would be a diplomat in a way, a connection between the republic and Mandalore”
“And you’re okay with this? Your only son being sold off?” Luke asked his father, he’s freaking the fuck out, and both of his parents are far to calm about it.
“If you really don't want to, you can say no Luke, and no, I’m not very fond of the idea, but it isn’t like you’re fifteen, you’re twenty-four, and you’re not being sold off. Do you think you will be locked away once you’re married?”
“You don’t know? They're conservative, what if that’s what they do with their husbands over there.”
“Told you he would freak out” His father said, taking a sip from his glass, he’s way to calm about this, way to calm.
“I don’t know, it sounds a bit drastic…” His sister tried, looking between them, thank the force his sister was at least on his side.
“Trust me Leia, this is the furthest from drastic, it’s been overlooked multiple times, a marriage is the only way to make sure a relationship can be built, and, to be honest, I don’t think I can trust anyone but Luke with this” She was giving him her pleading eyes, and Luke could feel desperation coming from her. He was a bit flattered that she trusted him enough with this, which she really shouldn’t, him being a diplomat was a bad idea, him getting married was a bad idea, him being a husband was a bad idea. Luke never does what he's told, and he’s not able to listen to someone speak for more than thirty minutes. “I wouldn’t agree to this if I thought it would be dangerous for you, the King is a good man. That we’re even having a conversation with Mandalore shows his willingness for an alliance, maybe even a place in the senate, they need us and we need them, we just need to create trust first.”
“Can I think about it?” Luke asked, too many questions were moving inside his head, before his mother could answer, he realized what she had said, “Wait, did you say the King?”
“Well, if we were going to marry you off boy, it wouldn’t be to a commoner, “ His father chuckled, this wasn’t a time to laugh, he must have felt Luke’s anger threaten to escape, because he stopped smiling. “Yes, the alliance wouldn’t be made correctly if it wasn’t with the king, and lucky for us and Mandalore, the king is single.”
“Has… the king… agreed to this, does he know that I’m the one being sold off”
“Not sold off Luke” His mother breathed out, her patience was running out, see, not husband material, the king would divorce him before the reception dinner even began. “And yes, he knows, he cares about his people, and has a great trust in his advisors, and they believe like us, that a marriage would be the best plan”
“Yeah, I get that, but does he know it’s me you're planning on using?”
“He has been informed of our candidates” His mother was clearly trying not to show her irritation, but sadly he was trained in the force and could feel her temper, which he had gladly inherited from her.
“How old is he?” His sister asked, yeah, how old is he?
“98” His father said, but Luke could hear the sarcasm in his voice, humour was his way of dealing with everything, and Luke had never found it irritating until now.
“Ani…” His mother said, giving his father a look, which only caused him to smile more. “Sorry love, I’m only joking, probably around thirty, the Manda’lore is very private and has only been the king for a few years, but he’s not an old man if that’s what you’re worried about” His father explained calmly, at least that was something, thirty is still older.. but at least he’s not ninety.
“Oh, that would make you royalty Luke” Leia said, teasingly, it seems like she has changed her opinion about this marriage, because that did not sound like a loving person who was on his side.
“Barely, more like a consort” His father said, and Luke came to the conclusion that they were all getting on his nerves. “I’m going to go now, is there a deadline for when I need to give you an answer?” He stood up, looking over at his mother. There was a sense of pity coming from her, she was feeling bad, which only made him feel bad, he should be nicer to her, they weren’t directly forcing him, more like asking, they needed this, the republic needed this. Luke has done nothing but being a spoiled kid, while his sister has been helping their mother, following in her footsteps at the Senate, he has gone to parties, traveled, done everything to avoid having responsibility. This marriage, even if Luke hates to admit it, would be his way of helping his family.
“Before the end of the week would be good, take your time, whatever conclusion you decide on, we will support you.” Great, she just has to be understanding and kind, and Luke will look like a brat either way.
—------------
“Okay, tell me everything you know about Mandalore” Luke entered his sisters room, four days after the worst breakfast in his life.
“So, you have made a decision?”
“Well it isn’t really a decision, someone needs to do it, the republic needs this alliance, and I’m apparently the only one up for the job”
“So it’s a yes then, you’re going to tell them yes?” Luke walked over to his sister's bed and laid down, they used to share a bedroom as kids, inseparable, but then they became teenagers, and sharing a room and a refresher wasn’t fun anymore.
“Yes” Leia made a little squeak, getting up from her desk to sit down next to him on the bed. “This is going to be so interesting, I mean, Mandalore, wow, I have always wanted to visit it”
“I thought you were on my side? Not wanting this marriage?”
“Yeah, that was until mother went over everything which was at steak, and now, I’m with her, sorry, didn’t want to admit to it until you had made a decision, but this is probably the most important thing you will ever do”
Luke let out a long breath, his eyes closed, trying hard to stay calm, force, give him strength. “Alright, I get it, very important, don’t fuck it up, now tell me about Mandalor”
Leia spoke about all the political influence it had had during the years, the civil wars, their culture, and it sounded like a weird fighting sect where they want to fight everything that moves, great. “That was mostly during the old days, they have advanced, but fighting and showing your strength is still part of the Mandalorian culture.”
“And what’s up with that whole, don’t take off your helmet thing?”
“Not every Mandalorian follows that rule, only the more conservative, like the king and many of his advisers, they’re only allowed to show their faces to the people closest to them.”
“So, if I married him, then I would get to see his face?” Luke said a bit too cocky, and Leia poked him on his side.
“It’s an honor to be allowed near a Mandalore without their helmet on, even the ones who aren't that conservative keep this tradition close to them, so if you marry him, don’t make fun of this.”
“I won't, I'm not that stupid” Luke was rubbing his side, she really was aggressive sometimes. “When you say conservative, how conservative are we speaking, like will I be allowed to speak, or are the king's spouse supposed to look pretty and stay silent? Because I can stand and look pretty, but I’m not sure about being quiet.”
“They value strength and great warriors, the spouse of the king is often a strong warrior themself, that's probably why they want you to be the one marrying him, you got Jedi training and your father is Anakin Skywalker”
“Well, I am the fighter out of the two of us” Luke got another hit on his side, which he knew would come, but it didn’t hurt less.
“I got a boyfriend and am too involved in the senate, that’s why I’m not a candidate, I would win in a fight against you anytime. Do you want to hear about Mandalore or not?” Luke raised his hands in surrender, he really needed information, and he wasn't going to ask his parents about it, they would probably sugarcode it for him. "Alright then, their people value family, they have strong relations with the people they see as family, that's why a marriage would be seen as a strong alliance to their people, they make a great deal about married people staying united, they are one, so let’s beg the force that the Mand’alor isn’t a weird and boring man, because you will probably spend a lot of time together” Luke made and uncomfortable face, he was hoping for a loveless political marriage where they wouldn’t see each other except twice a year.
“So, I would have to move to Mandalore”
“Yes, and for this alliance to work, you have to not only stick together, you have to seem like you love each other, or their people, and everyone who’s not that fond of the republic will use it against us”
“But it’s obviously an arranged marriage”
“A lot of people have arranged marriages, it doesn't mean they are forced, it’s just.. arranged, an agreement, so, again, let’s hope the man isn’t weird” Leia was uncomfortable, the thought of Luke being stuck to a total dick didn’t sit right with either of them.
“If he’s weird I’m getting a divorced”
“You will probably figure out if he’s weird before the wedding”
“Oh, I will get to know him before the big day? That’s nice”
“Of course you will idiot” Leia threw a pillow at him, “No one marries a person without speaking to them first”
“Sorry, I haven’t had a lot of arranged marriages, I don’t know how they work”
“By this rate, we should be more worried about him stopping this wedding..” Luke throws the pillow back at her.
“Hey, I’m a catch”
“alright then princess" They then proceed to wrestle, much like when they were kids, just a little less violent, or well he tried not to be so violent, while she hit him in the head with full force.
Luke had bruises over his entire body the next day.
—--------
“They will arrive in twenty minutes!” His mother screamed from downstairs, and Luke wanted to puke, Force? Why did he agree to this?
Telling his mother that he was agreeing to the marriage had almost made the whole thing worth it, while his father had taken him to the next room as his mother made calls to the senate, he asked him in three different ways if he was sure, if he really wanted to do this, that they weren’t forcing him. But Luke had made up his mind, he was going to do this, he wasn’t going to end up as a burden to his family, he needed to be of use, even if it was through marriage.
Leia had given him a lot of information about the Mandalorians, of their culture, history, and most importantly protocol. Like, don’t speak to the king until he has poked first, don’t turn your back to him, don’t walk in front of him, don’t touch him, don’t touch any of them unless they allow you. Don't ask for their name, don’t stare too much… a lot of don'ts, Luke was totally going to fuck this up.
“Ready princess?” His sister asked, leaning against the bedroom door.
“I think I would be king consort, not princess”
“yeah, but princess sounds funnier than king consort” Luke just rolled his eyes, he wasn’t going to admit it, but he would miss her stupid mean comments towards him. Leia spent a lot of time at Coruscant, but they still made sure to have family dinners at least once a week. As both his mother and father had informed him, his life will be different after the wedding, and that it will be hard keeping contact the first few weeks, at least until they had formed a stronger trust between their nations. In other words, Luke would be all on his own on a planet he didn’t know and with people he didn’t trust. Fun.
“How do I look?” Luke asked, giving his sister a forced smile, which she probably saw right through. He was wearing something between casual and formal. He wanted to wear his darker robes, but his mother thought it made him look sad, like this was a funeral. She wanted him to wear white, so they had met in the middle and he had put on white, because like his father often reminded them, do as your mother says or you will regret it.
“Great, like a guy excited to meet his husband”
“That was the look I was going for, thanks for noticing” Luke turned around to let her see the whole outfit. “Should I leave the lightsaber up here? I don’t know if it would be seen as offensive”
“No, leave it, it makes you look hotter, and their people respects warriors, it will make you look less of a pushover”
“I don’t look like a pushover..” Luke tried to defend himself, but he knew the truth. He looked like a pushover, his small frame with blond untamed hair, freckles from too much time in the sun, he looked like a kid who had never gotten his hands dirty, which was kind of true.
“Come on, we don’t want mother to scream for us again.” Leia grabbed his arm and walked with him, her arm in his.
As they made their way down to the first floor of the house, they were met by multiple people running around. They had invited multiple people from the senate, who were all involved in this marriage more than Luke was. “There he is, the man of the hour” Obi-wan.
Luke smiled, letting go of his sister as he made his way towards his uncle. “Obi-wan” He smiled, giving the man a big hug, “I didn’t know you would be here”
“I have a history with the Mandalors, thought it would be the best if I was present, make sure that everything went by smoothly”
“By smoothly he means no fighting” His father corrected.
“No, that’s not what I meant Anakin” His father just rolled his eyes and gave Luke a look which said ‘yeah it was’. Luke chose not to push this, there wasn’t enough time to ask Obi-wan what he meant by history.
With all the important people surrounding them, Luke felt a wave of anxiety washing over him, it reminded him of how important all of this was, that they were all counting on him for this to not fail. Right when he was thinking of a plan to get out of there and puke in a nearby bush, his sister grabbed his arm again, holding onto him, sending calm energy towards him. Luke didn’t have time to thank her before a ship moved in their direction.
They’re here.
Oh fuck his life.