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chasingkerouac) wrote2022-01-11 06:56 pm
fic: seasons change when I just give it time (2/8)
Fandom: The Mandalorian
Chapter: 2/8
Characters: Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth, Grogu, Rey
Summary: Single father Din Djarin is trying to finish his long neglected degree and must take a class this semester or lose his active student status. The only class available is a literature class he has no interest in, but when his silver fox of a professor walks in he might just change his mind.
English professor Cobb Vanth is a serial first-dater on every app available, and is immediately intrigued by the profile of a man who seems to be going for warm, not sexy. Unfortunately that man is currently sitting in the front row of his class.
Chapter 2
The literature class, for the most part, wasn’t terrible.
Sure, it wasn’t Din’s first choice… or second, or third. It didn’t count for anything other than keeping his status current. But the books were interesting, and his classmates were good kids. Kids, absolutely, but they were interesting and were mostly engaged with the subject material. A lot of wanna be writers, and teachers, and a few scattered ‘in need of an elective’ like him. He lucked out sitting next to Rey, who he was certain had never met a stranger in her life, and lucked out even more that she’d decided he was part of her study group - not that he’d been given a say in it.
She texted him to meet at the coffee shop by the admin building, and a time. No questions about if he wanted to join or did he have the time available. Simply here’s where and when to show up.
He considered making an excuse - a problem with childcare, or a work conflict - but it fell in a small corner of free time and he decided to accept.
Focusing on how much he enjoyed his classmates, and the chance to study something that in the end didn’t matter if he retained, helped keep his focus off the real distraction in the class.
Dr. Vanth.
Maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t been on a date since Grogu was born. Maybe it was how Vanth moved across the classroom and through the materials with an ease and confidence that Din envied.
Or maybe it was the fact that the man was tall, well-dressed, in great shape, and handsome as fuck.
Mostly he blamed Cara and Peli for even putting the idea in his head. He’d been perfectly fine on his own for years, and he’d been getting by ever since Grogu came into his life. Sure, it would be nice to have someone else there. Someone who wanted to be a parent, and a partner. Wanted to build a life together. Yes, all of those things would be great, but he didn’t need them. He and Grogu were their own little family, and as long as he had his son he didn’t need anyone else.
Din made his way to the back counter to find his coffee order because after a long day at the garage yesterday and Grogu crying half the night, caffeine was a necessity. Grogu had finally fallen asleep for good around 2am, and Din crashed in the chair next to the crib. It was uncomfortable, and the ache in his back was a sharp reminder of how old he was. He remembered being able to fall asleep in any position when he was deployed and jump up immediately when he woke - now he was thwarted for at least 24 hours by a toddler and sitting at a weird angle for longer than ten minutes.
At least he’d made time to change into something appropriate for leaving the house.
“Mr. Djarin?”
Din turned around and came face to face with his professor, who had a book in one hand and was grabbing a coffee from the shelf with his other. “Dr. Vanth,” he replied.
“Please, we’re out of class. It’s Cobb.”
“Cobb,” Din replied. Of course Dr. Vanth - Cobb - looked just as good outside of class. Snug jeans, dark sweater, and his hair just slightly falling over his forehead. Din absently patted the hem of his hoodie, hoping he’d grabbed one this morning free from baby stains or motor oil. “Yes, sorry… it’s Din.” Smooth, Din. Smooth. “If I’m calling you Cobb, my name is Din.”
Cobb grinned, glanced over at the line of names on cups, and pulled Din’s order to hand it to him. “Black coffee, no milk, no sugar,” he mused.
Din nodded as he gratefully took the cup. “I like the taste of coffee. But this morning it’s mostly a caffeine delivery device.”
“No sleep, or big meeting?”
“A bit of both,” Din admitted. “I’m meeting a few folks from class to go over some of the questions from yesterday. The professor there is demanding,” he added, unable to fight back a smile.
“Yeah, I heard he can be a dick,” Cobb grinned. “But that’s good. I’m glad that you’re in my class.”
Din lifted an eyebrow at that. “You are?”
“You know… adults,” Cobb clarified. “I’m always glad to see adults coming back in my class. I think it adds a… unique point of view that the discussion is missing when everyone is eighteen to twenty-two. Life experience is a hell of a thing. Empathy for hard choices that characters face.”
“God, everything was so black and white when I was eighteen,” Din mused.
“Right?” Cobb chuckled, taking a sip of his coffee and leaning slightly against the table behind him. “The world is clear cut, right and wrong are self-evident, the solution to a lot of problems is just to be the bigger asshole. Or maybe that was just me,” he added with a grin.
Din smiled and nodded knowingly at that one. “No, I did that too. And then you grow up and if you sit in one position too long you can’t turn your head all the way to the right for three days.” He reached a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “It was a rough night,” he added, trying to hide his own smile by taking a long sip of his coffee.
“You don’t seem any worse for wear,” Cobb said. “Besides, I can beat that - I had one too many rough nights in a row, and went fully grey by thirty-five,” he laughed.
The words slipped out before Din could stop them. “You still look good.” His eyes went wide and he breathed out awkwardly. “Sorry, I don’t know why I said that.”
Cobb just grinned wider. “Well… I wasn’t fishing for a compliment, but I certainly appreciate hearing one.” He leaned in a little closer. “So, tell me, Din-”
“Hey Din!”
Din jerked around at Rey’s voice behind him. “Hey, yeah, I got here a bit early.”
“I see that. Hey, Professor,” she said brightly.
“Rey,” Cobb replied warmly. “Glad to see you taking this guy under your wing.”
“You know me, adopting all sorts of strays. Hey, so Finn and Toro grabbed a table by the window and I’m gonna grab something to drink. Do you need anything?”
Din lifted his cup and shook his head. “No, thank you. I’ll be right over.”
“Cool. See ya, Professor.”
“See ya, Rey,” Cobb said, as she slipped into line and Din looked around for the rest of his classmates. “So, I’ll let you get to your study group.”
Din nodded. “I shouldn’t keep them waiting.”
Cobb looked for a moment like he was going to reach out and touch Din’s arm, but stopped. “I know it’s hard going back to school at our age, so you should absolutely take advantage of my office hours. Just stop in whenever, or… let me know if they don’t work for your schedule. We can set up something else. For anything.”
Din pushed down the small part of himself that swore up and down that his professor was flirting with him as he watched Cobb retreat to a small table in the corner. He was simply being friendly. Look at how friendly and familiar he was with Rey. This wasn’t flirting. He was just tired from being up all night, and Cara and Peli got into his head, and now he was reading into things with his literature professor of all people. He needed to relax. Or get a full night’s sleep.
“But she never actually says what she wants, so we can’t just assume that the narrator is truthful!” Rey insisted.
“Then what’s the point of the narrator if he isn’t telling us what’s actually going on?” Toro replied.
“Maybe we shouldn’t be depending on a male narrator to filter through her wants and desires,” Rey tossed back.
Din tried to keep up with the conversation, nodding at the right points, and turning pages when someone was looking for a particular passage, but his thoughts kept drifting over to the professor in the corner. Vanth had long ago finished his coffee but stayed at his little corner table by the window reading his book. Every so often his lips would turn up in a smile, or his eyebrows would lift, or he’d tilt his head and flip back a few pages to check something. It felt intrusive, but Din couldn’t keep himself from glancing over and watching.
Was their chat earlier flirting? By the end, it sure felt like it. Dr. Vanth - Cobb - leaning in and laughing as Din shoved his foot in his mouth. ‘Oh, I think you look good’. C’mon, Din. Sure, he said he appreciated the compliment, but that… didn’t have to be flirting. Besides, he was Din’s professor, and weren’t there rules against that? Legally, or at least ethically? On the other hand, it’s not like he’s nineteen and ripe to be taken advantage of. He’s… got a couple decades on nineteen and he can fend for himself.
Or was this loneliness mixed with the fact he hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in almost two years, and it was causing him to see flirting when there wasn’t really anything there? And there’s not really anyth-
“Din?”
Din turned at Finn’s prompt. “What? Sorry, I didn’t hear the question.”
“There wasn’t any question,” Finn said. “You just… you were staring into space.”
“I apologize,” Din tried. “I had a long night. I guess I’m more tired than I thought.”
“Uh huh, tired ,” Rey mused.
Din lifted an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She pointed to Cobb’s table. “You haven’t been staring out into space. You’ve been staring at that corner. I think someone has a crush,” she added with a grin.
“No, I don’t.”
“I don’t blame him,” Toro said. “Vanth’s a fucking silver fox. I’d fuck him.”
“Hey!” Din and Rey said at the same time.
Toro shrugged. “Look, it’s a well known fact that he dates at least one student a semester. He can't help it - look at him. And why is a guy that looks like that single if he’s not fucking left and right?”
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Rey said.
Toro shook his head. “Nope, I know it’s true. My roommate’s frat brother had him for 100 last year, and he absolutely hooked up with him. And this semester, it’s gonna be me. Easiest way to ace the class - fuck the professor.”
“I’m pretty sure professors aren’t allowed to date students,” Din tried.
“And even if they were,” Finn added, “you think he’s going for you?”
Toro grinned. “I’m a fucking catch.”
“He’s not interested in you,” Rey insisted.
“How do you know?”
“I just know, okay?” Rey added quickly. “He’s not available, especially for you, end of story. Can we stop talking about the professor’s sex life, it’s none of our business.”
“Someone sounds jealous,” Toro pointed out. “What, are you fucking him?”
“Rey’s right,” Din jumped in. “All of this is none of our business. And anyway, I have to get to work.” He closed his book and stood up from the table. “I’ll see you guys in class. Thank you for inviting me, Rey, this was helpful.”
“Any time,” she replied.
Din nodded, said goodbye to Finn and Toro, and weaved his way through the tables towards the front door. He turned, slipping by one of the tables, and caught Cobb’s eye as he passed.
Cobb smiled and waved, and without thinking Din did the same.
For a moment he considered going back over and saying something, but he saw Rey’s eyes go wide as she broke into a grin, and then she winked at him. She fucking winked at him.
He didn’t have a crush on his professor. And he certainly wasn’t going to give her any more fuel for that fire. So with Cobb’s nose back in his book, Din turned and headed out to work.
Some mornings were hard. Some were a shit show.
He was up far too late the night before, Grogu unable to settle down for sleep and sobbing every time Din tried to lay him down. The sobs turned to wails and grasping at his neck with his sharp little baby nails, and Din’s heart couldn’t take the look of betrayal in his son’s eyes each time he tried to dislodge him. He could pull him off, put him in the crib, and let him cry it out. He probably should. Self-soothing was good, right? Or was that bad? Would a good father let him cry to teach him he would be okay on his own, or would that make the kid feel abandoned? Was he setting his kid up for a lifetime of attachment issues just because he was tired and wanted sleep?
Din finally gave up and settled in a chair, murmuring every story he could think of until his voice went hoarse and Grogu finally quieted down and tucked his head against Din’s neck to fall asleep. The small, breathy puffs of air against his skin and the slack weight of his son on his chest finally gave Din the assurances to fall asleep himself. Or at least to try to.
He got a few hours of uncomfortable sleep before the sun rose and Grogu started babbling to get his attention.
The babbling quickly turned to crying because he was hungry, because the diaper rash that cleared up last week was back again in full force this morning, because Papa put him down, because Papa picked him back up, because Din needed one arm free to brush his teeth (shaving was out of the question). The crying turned to small, hiccuping sobs as Din wrestled his son into his shoes, grabbing their bags and heading out the door in an attempt to get Grogu settled at daycare and then get to his class on time.
He knew he looked as rough as he felt, but he didn’t care. Grogu perked up as soon as he was deposited in the middle of a group of his daycare friends, so whatever had bothered him all night and all morning evaporated for someone other than Din. He tried not to take it personally.
Most of his classmates were already in the room, which signaled Din was much later than usual, and he dropped into the seat next to Rey with a groan.
“Shit, Din, closing down the bar last night?” she asked. “You look dead.”
“My son didn’t sleep, which means I didn’t sleep.” He hoisted his backpack up into his lap and unzipped it to search for the book and his notepad.
Why wasn’t it… wait…
He pulled out a stuffed frog and swore softly.
In the confusion this morning, he left his class backpack at Grogu’s daycare and brought the diaper backpack to class.
Of fucking course he did.
“Wait, why do you have a frog?”
Din turned to look at Rey, who’d already nabbed the toy from his hands. “I grabbed the wrong bag this morning. That’s my kid’s favorite nap toy, which means I’m headed back to his daycare after class finishes. Hopefully he hasn’t… he already had a bad night, he doesn’t need a bad day too.”
“I’m sure he hasn’t missed it at all,” Rey insisted. “Besides, this means that he gets to see his dad in the middle of the day and that’s always an awesome surprise. Hey, aren’t most diaper bags just full of everything? What else do you have in there? Does the frog have a name?”
Finn leaned across Rey’s desk and pointed at the bag. “You wouldn’t happen to have any snacks in there, would you?”
“Mr. Jumpy Legs,” Din murmured as he rummaged through one of the pockets and pulled out a small bag. “I have Cheerios,” he said, offering Finn the baggie.
“Anything more substantial?” Toro asked from behind them as Finn happily started snacking. “Like, a protein bar or a sandwich or something?”
Din turned and fixed him with a look. “He’s not even two, he barely has teeth.”
“So… yes?”
“No,” Din said.
“Useless,” Toro murmured, leaning back as the door to the classroom swung open.
“Good morning y’all, and welcome to Pop Quiz Wednesday,” Cobb announced to the collective groans of the class. “None of that, just something simple, want to make sure that you’ve been paying attention to - what’s that?” he asked, pointing at Rey.
Din realized she was still holding the stuffed toy. “Sorry, I grabbed the wrong bag this morning. It’s mine.”
“His name is Mr. Jumpy Legs,” Rey supplied, much to Din’s chagrin, and, apparently, Cobb’s amusement. “And he’s going to be our good luck charm this morning.” She set the frog on the corner of Din’s desk and grinned. “Good luck charm.”
“So when y’all pass the quiz with flying colors, all the glory is going to go to the frog with complete disregard for the brilliant instruction that I’ve provided over the past couple weeks?” Cobb asked. “I am eager to experience the power of the frog. I’m gonna pass the papers from the end, use your book, use your notes, just a couple paragraphs and we’ll take, oh, twenty minutes.”
Din looked down at the blank sheet on his desk, and then over at the frog staring up at him. At this point he was too tired to appreciate the absurdity of it all. Maybe he’d look back on this and laugh. He hoped he did.
“Hey,” Cobb said softly, approaching Din’s desk with his copy of the book and a pen. “Figured you might want to borrow these for class today.”
“Thank you,” Din said. “I apologize for this.”
“Happens to the best of us,” Cobb murmured. “Just get it back to me after class.” He glanced at the snack bags on Rey and Finn’s desks. “Are those from you, too?”
Din almost laughed. “Do you want Cheerios?” he asked.
Cobb grinned. “I think it’s a fair trade.”
Din pulled the last snack bag of Cheerios from an outside pocket and handed them to Cobb. “I’ll remember to bring more snacks next time,” he added. “Didn’t realize they’d be popular.”
“Who doesn’t love Cheerios?” Cobb added, popping a couple bits of the cereal into his mouth and winking as he stepped back. “Twenty minutes, y’all, just a couple of paragraphs,” he said to the class.
Cobb was out of the classroom by the time Din got everything back in his bag. The frog was declared the unofficial good luck mascot for the class and promises were made to bring it to the next exam.
But good luck charms and amused students couldn’t make up for the fact that it was a dumb mistake, and one Din was embarrassed about. He was supposed to be old enough to know better. Old enough to have his life in more order than this. He was exhausted, sure, but that wasn’t an excuse.
And even if he didn’t need the class, Din didn’t want Cobb - Dr. Vanth - thinking he was… what would he assume about him? He’s a single father to a toddler, honestly anything he assumed was probably correct.
Why did Vanth’s opinion matter so much?
He needed to return the book and make his apologies. It took a few minutes and the deciphering of a truly ridiculous numbering system, but Din found Cobb’s office in an adjoining hallway. The office appeared empty at first, but the top of Cobb’s head emerged from behind his desk. “Dr. Vanth?” Din called out, tapping softly on the door jamb to get his attention.
Cobb poked his head over the desk and beamed. “Din! Come on in. Sorry, I dropped my phone and the knees aren’t what they used to be. Gotta get all the way down, and then hope I can get all the way back up,” he chuckled. “Ah, there you are, you slippery son of a bitch.” He grabbed the edge of the desk and hoisted himself back up and into his chair as Din settled in across the desk. “So I’m assuming you had an eventful morning.”
“Yes, I came to apologize for that,” Din said. He set the borrowed book on Cobb’s desk, and the pen on top. “Thank you for the book. It won’t happen again.”
Cobb just laughed. “Now that’s a hollow promise if I ever heard one. You think you’re the first student to forget the book? Hell, at least you showed up. Don’t worry about it. No harm, no foul. But I have to ask - where did Mr. Jumpy Bottom come into play this morning?”
“Mr. Jumpy Legs,” Din clarified, which only got a bigger smile out of Cobb. “He’s my son’s. It was a shit morning, apologies for my language, and I grabbed the diaper bag instead of my class bag and everyone thought that was hilarious. And so he ended up on my desk. Honestly I was too tired to fight with a bunch of teenagers about it.”
“And the snacks.”
That got a laugh out of Din. “And the snacks,” he agreed. “If there’s one thing a bunch of teenagers love first thing in the morning, it’s the guy who brings snacks.”
Cobb shrugged. “I mean, I’m pretty sure I also stole some Cheerios, so I’m partly to blame.”
“And I’ll make sure my kid knows it’s my teacher’s fault there are no snacks in the bag when I drop this off at his daycare.”
“Tell him that your teacher also promised to make it up to his dad by offering an equitable exchange in the future.”
“And he would reply by trying to stick his shoe in his mouth,” Din said fondly. “We’re working on that.”
“A noble struggle,” Cobb replied. “So… just the one? What’s his name?”
“Grogu,” Din replied. “Yeah, just the one. Although he makes enough of a mess for four,” he chuckled. He fished his phone out of his bag and opened up his photos. “Here, this is him,” he added, offering the phone to Cobb. “He’s almost two. Getting into everything.”
Cobb leaned back in his chair and slowly scrolled through the photos. “Well isn’t he adorable,” he said softly. “Got the soft curls just like his daddy. Oh, and there’s the frog. Bunch of frogs.”
“Yeah, it’s his favorite,” Din said, trying to fight a smile at Cobb’s comment on their resemblance. “Kid loves frogs. Can’t get enough of them. He’s a handful and a half but… he’s mine.”
“Got a lot of respect for folks getting their degree with kids at home,” Cobb said, handing the phone back. “I know how hard it is. It’s rough on the whole household.”
“The whole household is me and the kid,” Din explained. Was Cobb fishing to see if he was married? “So… yes, it’s a lot but I’m trying to get it done so I can show him that I accomplished something. Even if he won’t understand it until he’s older.” Din shrugged and leaned back into the chair. “I’ve been working on this thing for over a decade, ever since I got out of the Army,” he continued. “A class here, a class there. Couple of years went by, and then Grogu came along and a couple more years went by and, well, I found out I had to sign up for something this semester or lose my active status.”
Cobb nodded. “Fucking bureaucracy. So is my class the ‘something’ you had to take?”
“Sort of,” Din replied. “It was the only class that fit into my schedule because I was too late signing up for anything that would count. So this is a ‘get to take so I can stay a student’ class.”
Cobb leaned back and laughed. Din couldn’t fight the smile any longer - it was a wonderful laugh. “I am honored to be your class of last resort. Not a lick of interest in dissecting literary themes?”
Din shrugged. “I love to read. Don’t get enough time these days, but that?” he said, pointing to a stack of paperbacks by the wall. “That looks like heaven. Days get shorter, couch gets softer, and the kid’s quiet? Heaven,” he murmured. “I mostly read crime fiction currently, so not the meaningful and important works I assume you’re interested in.”
“Well I enjoy just about anything you can put into my hands, including a pulpy whodunit,” Cobb insisted. “Ain’t nothing wrong with entertaining. And not everything in here is for class,” he added. “A lot of these are overflow from home since I need to build myself another bookcase but I haven’t had the time to get the wood I need. So if you see anything you like, you’re welcome to borrow it. or I can play book matchmaker and make my best guess on something you’d enjoy. Got a more lenient lending policy than the library,” he added with a grin. “Return it at some point, and if I get antsy for it, I know where to find you a few days a week.”
“And now I’m curious about what you’d pick for me. I might have to take you up on that, Dr. Vanth.”
“What did I tell you before? We’re not in class - you can honest to god call me Cobb.”
“Cobb,” Din murmured. This was too easy, too comfortable. The nerves from when they ran into each other in the coffee shop were gone and in their place were stacks of lovingly dog-eared books and stories about his kid. If they’d met in any other way, he’d say Cobb was flirting with him. But Din was just a frazzled single dad in a class he didn’t really want to take. Nothing that a handsome academic who obviously had his shit together could be actually interested in. But light flirting… well, Cara had been insistent that he needed practice if he wanted to get himself back out there. Cobb could be safe practice, since nothing would come of it. “You’ll probably have to remind me again. I spent years automatically replying with ‘sir, yes sir’ so titles are my default.”
“You just need to come by outside of class more often,” Cobb suggested. “I’ll remind you as many times as you need.”
“That sounds-”
Din was interrupted by a sharp rap on the door jamb and Rey popping her head around with a grin. “Hey,” she said brightly. “Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt anything. Am I interrupting anything?”
“Not at all,” Cobb replied. “He was just returning my book and telling me how you ate all the snacks out of his kid’s bag. Like a vulture.”
Din shook his head. “Not a vulture,” he added to Rey, before standing up from the chair and grabbing his bag. “I should get going. I need to run this bag to daycare and get to work. Thank you, Dr. Vanth.”
“Any time, Din,” Cobb said. “Any time. And remember what I said about the books, you’re welcome to any of them.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind. Rey,” Din added with a nod.
“Hey, could you pull the door closed behind you?” Cobb asked. “We need a little privacy.”
Din glanced between the two of them and nodded. “Sure. I’ll see you later.” He pulled Cobb’s office door closed behind him and took a deep, centering breath before heading back down the hall and back to daycare.
“I wasn’t interrupting anything, huh?” Rey asked, perching herself on the corner of Cobb’s desk. “Cause it sure looks like I was.” She reached over and grabbed one of the photos next to his laptop. “Oh my god, I thought you agreed not to put any pictures of us on your desk. And I look ridiculous here.”
Cobb plucked the photo from her hand and placed it back gently from where it came. “You look cute, and it’s one of my favorites of us. None of your classmates see this angle of my desk, so your secret is safe.” He crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair. “And you can wipe that look off your face, cause I know that look.”
“And what look is that?”
“The look where you’re about to excitedly make an assumption that’s gonna get me into trouble.”
“I don’t do that!”
“Yeah you do,” Cobb insisted. He smiled warmly at Rey and reached over to give her knee a pat. “But I love you anyway. So what do you want?”
“I wanted to see if we were still on for dinner tonight.”
Cobb quirked an eyebrow at that. “Yes, are you trying to cancel on me? I already have chili in the pot. I have been slaving over a slow cooker all day. My hands,” he added, lifting his hands towards her, “my hands will be raw crafting sustenance. And biscuits.”
Rey rolled her eyes and groaned. “Oh my god, you’re so dramatic, Uncle Cobb.”
“Of course I’m dramatic when it seems like someone is about to ditch our standing Wednesday night dinner,” Cobb pointed out, grinning. “Besides, your mother is coming too and she wanted to get a family picture, and there’s no family picture without you, sunflower. So why are you asking if you can get out of it?”
“Because Mom texted me and said she was sad she wouldn’t see me at dinner,” she said. “So I wanted to check if that was because you had to cancel and dinner was actually not happening, or if she was just ditching me again.”
“I’m not cancelling,” Cobb sighed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He loved his sister, he did, but she had never been the most dependable person, even if she’d gotten better over the past few years. And making Rey assume that he was the one cancelling on her was pretty shitty, but not unheard of. Still, he’d come to the realization long ago that nothing he could do would ever change her. Focusing on Rey was always his best option. “Even if I was, you know I’d never filter the message through her. I love Wednesday dinner.”
“Me too,” Rey admitted. “And, since there’s one less person…” she trailed off, smiling her best innocent grin.
“Yes, the boys can come,” Cobb replied. “They’re always welcome. Y’all three come in a pack, I’ve accepted this.”
“That’s not true.”
“It’s true.”
“It’s not entirely true.”
“You got Finn to take the class with you. Two out of the three of you are in my class.”
“It’s not my fault you’re a great cook, Uncle Cobb. Anything you make is way better than anything the dining hall has. Or that we can make ourselves,” she added. “Remember the Great Pasta Tragedy of a few years ago?”
“The spaghetti was covered in water - I still don’t understand how you caught it on fire…” he trailed off.
“Your food is just so good, we love eating at the house. I love eating at the house.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere.”
She beamed. “Flattery will get me two guests for dinner,” she pointed out. “And of course… you could bring a guest.”
This felt like dangerous footing. “And whom would you like me to invite?”
Rey shrugged and hopped off his desk to nose through one of the stacks of books. “Din’s cute, isn’t he?”
And there it was. “Din’s one of my students,” Cobb pointed out. That really was the sticking point, no matter what else he thought about it. Din was one of his students. They could toe up to the line, and lord knew he was toeing right up to that line each time he talked to Din, but crossing it…
“Yeah, but he’s not, like… a student student,” she pressed. “He’s old, and has a kid, and a real job. Did you know he used to be in the Army, and he’s currently a mechanic?”
Yes, but only from repeatedly pulling up the Din D. dating profile that Cobb refused to decline and unmatch. And since it hadn’t disappeared from his list of matches, Din hadn’t declined the match either. Which… was something he tried not to think too much about.
“And he’s surprisingly well read for a mechanic,” Rey continued. “He’s always really thoughtful in study group. And funny, but in, like, that dry and soft guy kinda way.”
“What have I told you about assuming things about folks based on their job,” Cobb tossed back. “I raised you better than that.”
Rey shrugged. “He’s coming back for his degree - isn’t that impressive?”
“I think it’s great when anyone wants to gain knowledge, at any time,” he replied, his tone measured. “I also know that it’s incredibly hard to balance work, and classes, and a kid, and so he’s obviously very busy. And the last thing he needs is his literature professor making creepy advances on him. Even if it wasn’t entirely unethical. Which it is. Which means nothing’s happening - no matter how much you want to play matchmaker, sunflower.”
“He thinks you’re cute.”
Oh really? “My personal life is the last thing you need to be concerning yourself with,” Cobb tried.
“Oh, I’m not concerned about you ,” she tossed back. “What is it that Mom likes to call you? You’re ornery,” she added with a grin. “Nope. Din’s my friend, and as my friend, I’m invested in his personal life.”
“Does he know that?”
“I’m just throwing it out there.” She circled back to his desk. “You deserve to be happy, Uncle Cobb.”
“I’m very happy,” Cobb insisted as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her in a big hug. “I’ve got everything I need, and extra guests for dinner.” He pressed a kiss on the top of her head. “Promise me you’ll let this drop?”
“Fine. I promise.” She glanced back over at the photo on his desk. “Mom ditched me that night too,” she added softly.
Cobb remembered all too well. “She wanted to be there.” It was a well rehearsed statement with many years of practice behind it.
“But she wasn’t. I’ll see you at dinner.”
“See you at dinner.”