The temporary housing felt cold and barren. Despite being encased in the slightly suffocating warmth of the desert, Luke found himself curling up as though the more he was able to close himself off, the more he could escape from the outside world. All things considered, he believed that he was handling this whole, "Luke, I am your father. I'm also one of the most dangerous sith lords to have ever reigned, and I've killed thousands", thing pretty well. Okay, so maybe the last part didn't really happen, but he figured that it kind of went without saying.

He felt like a kid again. Light brown robes were hardly a help, only making him successfully hate this awful warmth even more. He may have grown up in a similar climate, but he hadn't lived in it like this for a long while. Blond hair was beginning to grow long, brushing the base of his neck, and covering his eyes as he leaned his head forward to rest against his knees.

Luke remembered wanting a father growing up. Someone to learn from, someone to bond with, someone to call his own. This was not what he had imagined.

The overwhelming emotions were slowly draining him of energy, leaving him exhausted and slightly apathetic. Eyes fluttering closed, the world around him drifted into darkness and his body went limp as sleep took him over. Later he would wake up to find Leia watching over him, ankles elegantly crossed as she ran her fingers over something on the table.

This was the first time in nearly a month now that Luke had slept without any nightmares. The bleak images would chase the goodness away, startling him awake, and leaving him restless for the duration of the night. Despite a clear lack of sleep, he would push forward, giving his all to the task at hand. Leia and Han would most likely deny that the effort that he was giving was all around helpful, but they were his friends. What would they do if they couldn't tease him?

Luke stretched his legs out, flinching at the ache in his joints from keeping his knees bent for so long. His hands joined together, arms stretching up above the messy mop of golden blonde hair.

"How long was I-"

"Not long enough." Leia's eyes remained focused on whatever was on the table, hardly even moving as she responded to Luke's question even before he had time to form the words.

Head bobbing forward in a nodding motion, he slowly rose to his feet, walking over to slide in around the table just across from Leia.

"What're you looking at?"

The brunette just shook her head, the buns on either side wobbling as though they might unravel at any second. "Nothing of interest to you." A small sigh escaped her lips.

"Hey slacker. If you're staying awake then you should take a look at the droids, they're acting strange." Han was leaning against the door frame, a dirty cloth covering one hand as the other clutched a clunky piece of metal.

Luke's eyebrows furrowed. "Really? I just checked them over not a week ago, even had R2 do a full check of their systems. They seemed fine."

"Yeah well." Han pushed off of the frame, walking over to the table before forcibly pushing his way into the space next to Leia. The woman shot Han a glare, looking like she was seriously considering taking the metal out of his hands in order to bash him over the head with it. "I might not know that much about droids, but those two really are something else."

Luke's mouth curved up into a fond smile, something that mirrored on Leia's face as her attention turned from the invasive smuggler to the blonde. Perhaps his smile was infectious? "Yeah, they're great."

Han tilted his head to the side, breaking the moment with an unsettling crack. "That was not the word that I was going to use. Anyway, do you at least think you could get goldenrod out of my way while me and Chewie are working on repairs? That droid might be the most annoying pain in my ass that I have ever met. Maybe taking place just behind you." The brunettes mouth tilted up in a sideways smirk to show Luke that he was kidding, something that Luke returned for a moment before getting to his feet.

"Alright. I'll check them out. I guess I've got nothing better to do right now anyway…" His feet shuffled against the floor as he walked. Despite having been inside for the majority of the day, the bottom of each foot seemed to be covered in sand, and small clouds of the tiny crystals plumed up around his feet as he made his way outside.

His hand automatically flew up to protect his eyes as he stepped outside and into the blazing sun. Just off to the left sat the millennium falcon, one of the only pieces of metal in the long expanse of nothingness stretching in each direction.

"Hey!" He called out. His voice was lost in the empty space between them, and he moved his hands to cup around his mouth, eyes slipping closed as he called out again. "Hey! C-3PO! R2-D2! Come on guys, I need to check you out okay?"

His ears rang with the sound of binary. He wasn't exactly sure what the astromech droid had countered with, but it was somewhere along the lines of the fact that he was currently helping with repairs and had/saw no need for him to be checked. Luke sighed, and began to respond just as C-3PO had started to translate.

"Don't argue with me okay? Han wants some time to work on the ship alone with Chewie, and I'm bored." Okay, that sounded childish even to him, but he couldn't deny that the statement was true. The only thing that had been taking up his time was a flurry of emotions. Leia was constantly finding things to keep her attention, Han and Chewie were making improvements to and fixing up the Falcon, and Luke was harping on daddy issues. If he was being truthful he really could use a distraction, and the droids would be a good one, even if they really weren't in need of a tune up.

C-3PO hardly hesitated, the golden droid tottering back to the house, only pausing to motion for R2 to follow him, his electronic voice ringing out as he berated the droid for his delay. The astromech droid seemed a bit more hesitant, but Luke didn't doubt his cooperation. Of any droid that Luke had ever been in contact with he was sure that R2-D2 was his favourite. It wasn't that the others were particularly bad, in fact, he really liked C-3PO as well. It was more so that R2D2 was very intelligent, fiercely loyal, and self-operating. Luke couldn't help but appreciate the tinge of defiance that R2 had, it was something that kept him on his toes and had saved him from big trouble more than once.

He stayed in place until he was able to rest his hand on the droid's dome, removing it quickly as the hot metal seared his skin. Luke shook his hand out, throwing the droids a small smile before descending back into their temporary living quarters. The faint sound of working mechanics melded with the sound of footsteps as he lead them to what was working as his own makeshift room/mechanics room. There he had a small array of tools which Han had yet to discover.

C-3PO slowly lowered himself onto a high stool which sat just to the side of Luke's bed. The golden droid's lit eyes followed his movement, the silence of the room disturbed by the mechanical twist of his head. R2 softly bumped into his legs, causing Luke to stumble forward a bit and effectively catching his attention. He was more than positive that R2 knew there was no reason for either of them to be checked up on. They had already done this recently, and regardless of the fact that Han was becoming annoyed by their presence Luke could really use it.

Somehow, the two droids provided him with a familiar and family like dynamic. They'd been around for so long that even the mechanical whir that constantly emanated from their systems was a comfort. The two were one of, if not the only thing in Luke's life which remained a dependent and constant factor. Their connection was a strong one, something that may probably seem a bit taboo to others (though Luke really couldn't care less about what others thought). In fact, if he were completely ignorant and didn't know better, he would say that the two were really practically human.

"I know, I know." He waved his hand at the smaller droid, walking over to survey his tools, feigning interest. "It won't take long though since we've run over your systems recently. Bear with me?" The question came out more vunerable than he had meant it to, so much more meaning in those words than what they would have been intended for regularly. He doubted that either of the droids would pick it up, however, R2 complacently wheeled himself over to 3PO's side.

He made quicker work of checking over the droid's systems than he had meant to, dismissing them with a wave of his hand, his back turned as he placed the tools back in their resting place.

"Master Luke, if I may…Is there something troubling you sir?" 3PO's usually high and whiny voice was even more reserved than usual, a quiet concern running through his words.

"I'm fine."

"Yes sir. Come R2, let's leave Master Luke to himself. Perhaps we can be of use to masters Leia or Han."

But of course the small droid would hardly take an order to heart, most especially one which came from his counterpart. R2-D2 let out a string of low pitched beeps, and Luke turned slightly to shoot a look to C-3PO, who tilted forward a bit as though receiving Luke's silent message to translate what the droid had said before his metallically tinged voice filled the room once again.

"I believe that what R2 has said is somewhere along the lines of you experiencing quite a shock, master Luke, and needing our presence. Though, if I might say, I do believe that that is quite out of his jurisdiction to make such a suggestion."

He pulled in a deep breath. That stupid little droid knew him too well, it was actually a bit scary, maybe he should have had R2's memory chip wiped. But as he turned around to face the two droids that had been through hell and back with him, he knew that he couldn't possibly do such a thing. Luke gave his head a small shake, pushing the long bangs that fell over his eyes behind one of his ears.

"I'm fine. Really, I think I'd actually like to be alone. But, I don't think that you should check out Leia and Han, I'm sure that you couldn't really help with whatever they're doing. Why don't you two just take a break for a little while? I'll call on you if I need you."

If it was at all possible, Luke would have said that there was an air of uncertainty about the machines as they took their leave, the room falling back into silence after 3PO's obedient, "As you wish sir", and the faint chink of his metal feet against the ground.

Luke found himself slowly backing into a wall, the slightly warmed clay soaking through his thin white shirt. He let all of his weight fall back against the solid surface and smoothly slid down until his butt touched the ground and his knees were pulled up to his chest. He threw his head back, simply staring up at the domed ceiling. Nothing could have prepared him for something like this. At one point it had seemed that the most surprising, and possibly one of the most difficult, trails had passed with his aunt, uncle, and Ben. That everything difficult was packed into the powerful lightsaber clipped to his waist. Little did he know that life would hit him with this bantha fodder.

It wasn't fair.

His life was farkled, not that it particularly mattered anymore.

But...He had wonderful people that would always be standing by his side. Leia would always be there, their connection near unbreakable. Han would always be there, whether either of them wanted it or not. And his droids. His droids would always be there, no matter the circumstance.

Luke let his head fall to his knees, a faint smile gracing his lips as he thought of all the love around him. There was the connection between Leia and Han, a spark in their eyes as they looked at one another, little secrets shared by physical touch. Then there was R2D2 and C-3PO. As odd as it may seem, there was definitely something going on between the two of them. They bickered constantly, but were hardly ever separated, but that wasn't all.

Now, once Luke had walked in on Han and Leia. That was an image burned into his mind, something that made him physically wash his face until he felt like he had washed the image away. However, that was not the only couple he had walked in on. Once, he had been on the way to the very room that he was in now, stopping by the door at the sound of "voices" just on the other side. Luke had slid up next to the door and cautiously peeked in the small crack between the edge of the door, and its frame. There were the two droids, connected by a thin metal probe that was giving off visible electrical currents. Luke had slowly backed away after that, much more attuned to the affections of both of the pairs that he spent most of his time around.

He guessed that most people would feel left out, or maybe even a little jealous, but he really couldn't bring himself to feel that way. In fact, the love that radiated from each of the couples was not just directed to one another, but also to himself. It was as though he had been adopted into their little families. They would look over him, scold him, feed him, love him...No, he wasn't jealous, he wasn't excluded. With the addition of the two couples, Luke found that he had more of a family than he had ever had before. Yeah, he may have been treated like a child but he would rather be treated like a child then like nothing at all.

Perhaps his life wasn't that farkled up after all, but that didn't mean that with everything he went through he was okay.

Really...Luke tilted his head back up to the ceiling, words passing his lips in a soft whisper, "I'm not sure what to do…" But whatever he did, he wouldn't have to do it alone.

This is just a little fic that I wrote, so I hope that you like it!

~Castor