AU: Kid Ibani Baze and Chirrut's birthday

[last_kallig]

Ibani has a secret. Well, two secrets, to be honest. She's been working on birthday presents for her dads!

She's never gotten anyone anything before, or made them something, so the work has been difficult. Scrounging for bits of leather, dropped credits, valuable things to trade for materials, those were the relatively easy parts. No, the hard parts were settling on designs and actually MAKING the presents.

The setting and thong for the Adegan crystal she gave Chirrut is finished, but the last bits of braiding on the leather bracelet for Baze are proving tricky. She scowls at it, uses the Force to make the material hold still so she can tie the end properly. Almost done....

Comments

[idontneedluck]

Chirrut is singing.

Badly.

While he can chant with the best of them, solo singing really isn't for him. He does it anyway, with gusto, if only because he knows Ibani is around somewhere close, and potentially embarrassing your little girl with bad singing is the prerogative of dads everywhere. He'll find her soon enough - it's almost time for the bells to ring for breakfast, after all.

[iprotectyou]

Chirrut is singing.

And Baze is giggling.

Baze actually does have a decent singing voice, but he's not about to interrupt such a passionate concert. He shoulders open the door to their rooms. "Ibani!" he calls cheerfully. "Your dads who love you very much are here!"

[last_kallig]

Ibani jumps at Baze's greeting, one end of the leather bracelet still in her mouth. Well, there went the surprise element of her presents, might as well make the best of it!

"Hi Dad! And Happy Birthday, I was concentrating on your presents so hard that I didn't notice you!"

[idontneedluck]

Chirrut will still be surprised. Even if he wasn't, he's very good at pulling on a surprised face. It helps get him out of trouble.

Sometimes.

"Thank you, little one. Do I get a birthday hug?" So far as he knows that isn't really a thing, but so long as no one tells Ibani, he'll probably get away with it. Win.

[iprotectyou]

"I want one, too!" Baze says, crouching down and opening his arms to her. He grins, horribly, pointedly avoiding looking at Chirrut. "Me first!"

[last_kallig]

Ibani puts the presents in her pocket, sticks her tongue out at Baze, and runs over to wrap one arm around each dad!

[idontneedluck]

Chirrut laughs, muffled by her hair, and hugs her back fiercely.

"Thank you, Ibani, it is a very good birthday hug."

[iprotectyou]

Baze squeezes her tightly, beaming. "It is," he agrees, and draws back to look at her. "Now, what were these presents you mentioned?"

[last_kallig]

Ibani beams at both of them, her joy ringing in the Force.

"I made you presents!" She pulls out the setting and thong with her left hand and the bracelet with her right and places them in her dad's hands.

"I made you a setting and a thong for the Adegan crystal I gave you when you first met me, Chirrut," she explains. "And I made you a braided bracelet," she says to Baze. "The last knot was being cranky about being tied."

[idontneedluck]

Chirrut investigates the thong with quick fingers, his smile broadening as he does so.

"This is very well made, Ibani - thank you." He praises as he digs the stone out of the pocket on his belt and fits it into the thong instead.

[iprotectyou]

Baze whistles, holding the bracelet up to get a better look at it. "This is beautiful," he says, and fastens it on his wrist. "That's very sweet of you, Ibani, thank you. Now, are you hungry? I bet the kitchen staff has made my favorite cookies in honor of our birthday."

[last_kallig]

"I'm so glad you like your presents!" Ibani says. "I was worried you wouldn't like them." Clearly, it is time for another hug for both dads, right?

"Oooh, you have a type of cookies you like best? I bet they're really good." So, yes to the are you hungry most likely.

[idontneedluck]

"You'll have to steal me a few." Chirrut tells her, conspiratorially, "They don't like to deny a Guardian all of the cookies, but I think they'll give some to you."

[iprotectyou]

"Don't teach her that," Baze says, scoffing. "Chirrut, you know better."

He beams at Ibani. "Of course we like the presents, sweetheart. They're very thoughtful, and they come from you besides! And yes, my favoirte cookies are shortbread with berry jam."

He takes her hand and starts towards the kitchen. "What gave you the idea to work with leather?"

[last_kallig]

Ibani grins at Chirrut, then giggles at Baze's reprimand.

"I wanted them to last, and fabric rips too easily," Ibani answers. "And working with metal takes a lot of tools that I don't have." She put a lot of thinking into what she was going to make!

[idontneedluck]

The little stone fits into it's holder, and Chirrut carefully knots it around his neck, letting the stone rest against his chest.

"Well? Does it make me even more dashingly handsome than ever?"

[iprotectyou]

Baze snorts. "My friend, the crystal outshines you entirely. I'm pleased we finally have something nice to look at," he says, shoving Chirrut with his free hand.

Chirrut is very handsome. Baze has always thought so.

He enters the kitchen and picks Ibani up, setting her down on one of the stools. Then he slips her one of the cookies he finds cooling on an oven rack. "Here they are! Dessert before dinner. Ssh, don't tell Chirrut."

[last_kallig]

"Yes," Ibani replies in answer to Chirrut's question. "You are extra dashing, Master Eiko may swoon."

Ibani accepts the cookie from Baze with a mischievous grin and a whispered thanks, then shoves the cookie in her mouth. What, it's the best way to hide it!

[idontneedluck]

Chirrut, in retaliation, neatly steals his from Baze's hand and crams it in his mouth with a completely unrepentant grin.

There's a pointed sigh from one of the bakers.

[iprotectyou]

Baze grumbles and crosses to the oven rack to pick up another cookie. That wasn't yours, Chirrut! Baze nibbles on his own delicately, trying to make the special treat last rather than stuffing it into his mouth like the other two. He slips Ibani another cookie, and then starts scrounging up dinner. "How are your classes going, sweetheart?"

[last_kallig]

Ibani smiles apologetically at the sighing Baker.

"They're going pretty well," Ibani replies. "I'm getting better at Jedhan, and Force-damned word problems."

"History is strange. The teacher keeps asking questions and then getting all huffy when I answer them." Possibly the teacher in question has failed to communicate the idea of rhetorical questions.

[idontneedluck]

Chirrut raps the back of her knuckles lightly at the swearing. Considering his own extensive vocabulary, it is a bit ridiculous, but still.

"Perhaps if we only spoke Jedhan to you for a while, that would help?" He asks... in Jedhan.

[iprotectyou]

Baze winces at the knuckle-rap. The swearing is no good, but he wouldn't have punished her for it. Still, it was light, so he's not going to protest. As if Chirrut would have done anything else.

He, too, speaks Jedhan. "How high can you count in Jedhan?"

[last_kallig]

Ibani gives Chirrut a look he can't see at the knuckle rap. "You say it all the time," she mutters under her breath.

"It might help," Ibani answers in Jedhan. "The others speak it, but they talk so fast!"

"I can count to a hundred!" she says proudly.

[idontneedluck]

"One hundred? That is quite the feat. Here, you can practice on the cookies so we know how we should divide them later." He sets her to the task, while wandering further into the kitchens in search of tea.

His staff remains at the table, at Baze's side.

[iprotectyou]

There are different cookies than just Baze's favorite, and there are more than a hundred of them in total. Ideally everyone in the temple would be able to eat a few. The bakers have been busy this year.

"You might want to count by tens," Baze tells her, and sets about making rice balls for a pre-dinner snack.

[last_kallig]

Ibani preens a bit at Chirrut's praise and starts dividing up the cookies by tens.

She looses her place a few times, but at least that gives her extra practice! She improvises when she gets over a hundred and starts saying "hundred plus one, hundred plus two..."

[idontneedluck]

Chirrut returns with tea and steamed buns, pleased as punch. He settles the tray on the table, then scoops up Ibani to give her a twirl.

"There's my clever, clever girl."

[iprotectyou]

Baze comes back to the pair of them with rice balls. "How high did you count to, Ibani?" he says, impatiently waiting for his turn to hold her.

[last_kallig]

Ibani giggles as Chirrut twirls her around. "Not that clever dad, I was just counting."

Then she notices where Chirrut's staff is. "You left your staff behind at the table?" She's confused.

"I counted to a hundred and thirty five!" she says proudly.

[idontneedluck]

"I left my staff at the table." Chirrut agrees, cheerfully swaying just out of Baze's reach with a teasing grin.

[iprotectyou]

That's not fair, Chirrut, Baze wants a turn! He resists the urge to tackle his friend and pound the snot out of him. He's holding Ibani after all.

"He's navigating using the crystal you gave him," Baze explains, following the two of them around.

[last_kallig]

The sheer joy in the Force at finding out that Chirrut is navigating using HER presents is nearly overwhelming and Ibani grins as wide as her mouth will allow.

"Now you can be extra sneaky," she says to Chirrut. "Because everyone will think you still need your staff."

Pause.

"You should prank your students."

[idontneedluck]

Chirrut laughs.

"Baze, what have you been teaching this poor innocent child? You should apologize to her at once." He declares, depositing Ibani into Baze's arms neatly.

[iprotectyou]

Oh, is it Baze's turn for cuddles now? Thank you ever so much, Chirrut. Baze snuggles with Ibani, holding her against his chest and nuzzling her cheek with his nose.

"I didn't teach her anything," Baze says, rolling his eyes. "That was all you. The only things I teach her are good and wholesome things that all children should know. Isn't that right, Ibani?"

[last_kallig]

"I came up with that all on my own," Ibani says, sniffing in mock wounded pride.

"The only things you teach me on purpose," Ibani replies in response to Baze's question, teasing.

[idontneedluck]

"See? It's a tragedy." Chirrut declares, but he goes to pour out the tea into three cups instead of continuing to tease. It's not Sapir, the time of year is wrong, but the smell is still enticing.

[iprotectyou]

Baze laughs and sets Ibani down, quietly encouraging her to go get some food and tea. She's gained a significant amount of weight since she was a slave in Ilum's crystal caves, but he still worries for her health.

"Oh, no, have I really been that bad of an example?" Baze says, mock-mournful in between bouts of laughter. "And here I thought I was the good role model!"

[last_kallig]

Ibani doesn't need much encouragement to go get food and tea. It seems like the more she grows, the hungrier she gets!

"You're both the good role model and the bad role model," Ibani replies serenely. "So is Chirrut."

[idontneedluck]

"Is that how it is, little diplomat?" Chirrut laughs, settling himself at the table and taking one of the rice balls Baze brought.

[iprotectyou]

"Ah, yes, diplomacy," Baze says, biting into a steamed bun. "Definitely one of the things we taught you on purpose. Or, tried, rather. I don't know how to teach that."

[last_kallig]

"Diplomacy is useful, sometimes." Ibani takes a bite of one of the rice balls.

"So is being stubborn and sneaky. I am multifaceted," she says, giggling.

[idontneedluck]

"'Multifasceted'? Is this what they're teaching you in classes, how to use big words against your dads?" Chirrut demands, poking her in the side where he knows she's ticklish.

[iprotectyou]

"Soon we won't be able to keep up with you," Baze says, leaving Chirrut to his tickling. "You'll leave us behind in the desert dust. Did you want to be a diplomat when you grow up, Ibani?"

[last_kallig]

Ibani wriggles as Chirrut tickles her. "Daaaaad!"

"Nope, I'm going to be a Guardian!" she proclaims proudly.

[idontneedluck]

"And then I could retire somewhere warm and sunny - you won't need me doing the job anymore." Chirrut grins, as if he would ever live anywhere but Jedha.

[iprotectyou]

"And leave me behind? Not on your life," Baze says, folding his arms. "They'd have to pry you out of my cold, dead fingers before I'd let you go anywhere but to the market of NiJedha. Can you believe this guy, Ibani? I can't."

[last_kallig]

"He must be delirious with hunger," Ibani replies, tone dry.

"Possibly emergency cookies are required?"

[idontneedluck]

Chirrut immediately holds out his palms like a beggar and offers his biggest, gummiest smile.

"May the Force of others be with you!"