"We talked," Kanan confirmed. "There were a few things festering under the surface, there."

He paused a moment.

"He understands why 'check out Coruscant' is a thing now, for what it's worth."

Among other things.

"I... haven't mentioned that yet, no," Kanan replied, biting the inside of his cheek. "Figured I'd save that one for... sometime a little less raw."

Tuesday had been... a lot.

"Even if I thought he could handle it, right then, I couldn't."

"Pretty much," Kanan agreed, bowing his head a little. And then he sighed. "It's not the first time, you know. That the island's hinted toward that one."

A beat.

"The beard is new."

"You're entirely too good to me, Jack," Kanan laughed. "Bullying me into... I don't know, looking twelve again? At least let me keep the chin, would you?"

You'd seen him without.

It was not a great life choice.

Kanan shrugged a little.

"How do you know it's something someone did?"

He... hadn't seen the damage himself. It was hard to miss the straightaway burn left by a searing weapon.

Kanan opened his mouth for a moment, and then shut it again.

Frowned.

Ah. A lightsaber burn, then.

"Interesting."

He wasn't sure what the hell else to say.

"Lightsabers can have adjustable power outputs," Kanan confirmed, "but if they were going for the face, odds are better I just got lucky. Moved at the right time. Deflected just so."

This was a weirdly easy conversation to have, just so long as he stepped outside of it and considered logistics.