Summary: Luke half-heartedly tries to avoid trouble after his paths cross with a twenty-year-old smuggler named Han Solo. Anakin deals with his three children, while trying to keep the current threat of the Sith Lord who has taken over Tatooine.
A/N: Hello! This is the sequel to my other story, "Lost and Found." If you haven't already read it, I would recommend that you did, however, it probably won't be necessary.
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars.
FOUR AND A HALF YEARS LATER
Chapter One: Black Eyes and Broken Glass
"Watch it, Leia," Luke whined at his sister. He grimaced in pain as Leia attacked the area surrounding his left eye with her make-up brush. It was as if she never had a black-eye before!
"Do you want me to do this, or not?" Leia asked in a huff.
"Just hurry," Luke bit his lip, shut both his eyes tightly, and held his breath, preparing for the next sweep of cover-up. It swiped across his eye once again; this time a little more gently than before.
"Okay, I'm done," Leia said, sitting up and withdrawing the brush.
Luke nodded, and opened his eyes again. He took a nervous glance in the speeder's mirror. At first he could see the state of his left eye, but as he looked closer, he could see blotches of darker skin. It was as if he went the summer on Tatooine, and only got a tan in the form of tiny circles by his eye.
"This is never going to work!" Luke complained once more, as he slammed his fist against the speeder's window. Much to his and Leia's shock, Luke's hand went straight through the window, making shattered glass fly everywhere. Luke let out a cry of pain.
Leia made a face that suggested she was holding back a flood of laughter. "Well, not anymore. Now you have two injuries to hide."
Luke barely heard his sister's comment. He was too focused on the extreme pain shooting in his right fist.
"Even if they didn't notice the eye," Leia continued, much to her brother's annoyance, "I think they're both smart enough to notice that you're hand has turned a different color."
The young blond made a groaning sound in frustration. "Just distract them so I can get back to my room, okay? Maybe I can stall the evitable."
"No way, I am not getting involved in another one of your schemes. I always end up in trouble along with you, and I do not plan on spending my break stuck in the apartment with you."
"Hey, I threw that punch for you! You owe me this."
"No, Luke, you threw that punch for you. I had everything under control when you decided to run back and get yourself a black-eye."
"Please," Luke sighed, realizing that Leia was right, like always. He put on the most innocent face he could create. That never worked on his parents, but it did sometimes with Leia. "Just distract them. Show them your report card, or something."
"Well, you're in luck," Leia said. She refused to even look in Luke's direction. "You won't need my help. Mom is working late at the Senate, which means all you have to worry about is dad."
"And Aydan."
"He's four," said Leia, "he doesn't count."
"Four and a half," Luke corrected as he remembered all the times in the past week Aydan had told him the very same thing. "And he's smart for being so little."
"Whatever," Leia rolled her eyes, and opened the passenger's side door. "It's now, or never, right?"
"Right," Luke said, and he followed her all the way up to the apartment door.
Once they finally entered the Skywalker apartment, the two were confused by the eerie silence that consumed their home. Not only was it silent, but Luke couldn't see any of Aydan's toys everywhere lying about. That only happened when mom was at home. Something was up.
"Maybe it's my lucky day," Luke whispered to Leia, afraid of speaking too loudly and breaking the stillness.
Luke walked quietly down the hallway towards his room. He frowned when he heard the sound of Aydan jumping on Luke's bed. Luke peaked around the corner, and saw his younger brother bouncing happily. If Aydan was in his room, he knew his father couldn't be too far away. All he wanted to do was turn around and walk back out of the door.
"Luke!" The little boy shouted excitedly. He jumped off the bed, and darted across the room. In seconds, he had his little arms wrapped around Luke's body in a hug.
"Hey, Aydan, what's up?" Luke asked. His voice grew more anxious as he saw his father was in his room.
"Daddy is taking stuff from your room!" Aydan exclaimed.
Luke's eyes shifted towards Anakin, who was sure enough putting Luke's holo games in a big, brown cardboard box. Did his father already know about the fight? Luke knew he was a Jedi Master, but seeing the future?
"Dad, what are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Anakin asked back, gathering one of the controllers.
"Finally going off the deep end?" Luke guessed.
Anakin gave his son a hard stare. He was not amused. "You're failing your Political Science class, and on top of that your teacher commed me. She says you are a constant disruption."
Luke sighed. He should have seen that one coming. Mrs. Angolo never liked him much, and she did everything possible to ensure his life was miserable. It was surprising she was so mean, since she was so young. Usually it was the old teachers Luke had problems with.
"I'm just not good at Politics," Luke shrugged.
"No excuse, your mother is a Senator!" Anakin said in disbelief.
"What's wrong with your face?" Aydan piped up with curiosity that was common for four-year-olds. Leave it to Aydan to accidently get him into even more trouble. Luke knew Aydan counted!
"Very funny, Aydan," Luke thought fast. Maybe he could play it off as some sort of cute joke. "What's wrong with your face?"
Aydan simply stared at Luke in confusion, and Anakin knew what was up. He strode quickly and confidently across the room with only a few steps. Before Luke could blink, Anakin had grabbed his head, forcing him to keep still, and with his thumb, Anakin rubbed off the first layer of Leia's poor make-up job. Luke pulled back in pain.
"Are you wearing make-up?" Anakin asked, amused. Then it stunk in. "Wait, were you in a fight?"
"Daddy I thought make-up was for girls?" Aydan asked.
"It is," Anakin smirked, "Aydan, why don't you go play with your sister?"
"Okay!" Aydan shouted with more enthusiasm than last one. He ran from Luke's room in less than two seconds, leaving the father and son alone in the room with much to talk about.
Luke sat on the bathroom counter, once again shutting his eyes tightly, but this time the cover-up was coming off. Despite Anakin's best efforts to be gentle with the wash rag, it still stung. Luke couldn't ever remember having a black eye hurt that bad before. He really got hit hard.
"So let me get this straight," Anakin said, "Leia managed to walk away from this space pirate unharmed, and you ran back to hit him."
"He wouldn't keep his mouth shut," Luke defended his cause. "Someone had to do something to shut that guy up."
"No, Luke," Anakin said. "You didn't have to do anything. When are you going to learn self-control?"
Luke shrugged, but didn't say anything in return. His father never approved of fighting. And then there was still the issue of his Political Science class. Luke grew convinced it would be better for him not to speak at all. He was caught, and that was it.
"How's the hand?" Anakin asked him once he was done with the wash cloth.
"It hurts," Luke said truthfully.
"Try to make a fist," Anakin instructed. Luke tried, but couldn't ball a fist without crying out in pain. "Alright, we're going to have to go to the Medcenter."
"What, no! I hate Medcenters!"
"You should have thought about that before you started a fight with a space pirate," Anakin replied.
"He wasn't a pirate," Luke said, "He was a smuggler."
"Either way, I don't want you or Leia going back down that way."
"Fine by me," Luke said.
"And you're grounded for the next two weeks."
"What? That's all of my midterm break!"
"I know," Anakin said. "Come on. We need to be back before your mother gets home."
Luke jumped down with a groan. If they went to the hangar, Anakin would discover the broken speeder window. Why was the entire galaxy against him today?
A/N: So there you have it. The first chapter of the sequel… What did you think…?
VAD
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere
James 3:17