A/N: Another little something came to mind whilst (re)watching the original trilogy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
How?
How could I have not known? Anakin demanded of himself as he watched his son and daughter celebrate their victory with their fluffy new allies.
Luke had been easy: his dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, combined with Padme's grace and his own (admittedly, old) sense of justice were a dead giveaway. Not to mention the more obvious signs such as his last name and how strongly the force was with him.
Leia, however, had been under his nose almost from the moment she was born and he had never even guessed.
Did he truly not see? Or had he simply refused to see?
Now that he knew he couldn't believe he hadn't realised that she was Padme's daughter.
She had her mother's eyes, her regal bearing, her colouring. She even had similar mannerisms and inflections in her tone. When she had backed into him when her home planet was destroyed she had even almost felt the same.
If that weren't enough then her stubbornness and the fact that she had his mother's smile should have tipped him off.
The discovery that his children were alive showed him just how much he had been consumed by the Dark Side. How shut off from his former self he had been.
Anakin would not have been so blind. Whilst Vader had refused to even acknowledge that Padme had once existed, let alone entertain the hope that their children might have survived.
His decision had cost him so much. More than he could have possibly imagined at the time.
Luke and Leia should not have grown up apart. They should have been raised together under Padme's watchful eye.
Luke should have learnt about the force from him and Leia...
Leia should have been spoilt by him.
Been his little girl.
He'd lost so much.
Not the least of which was the chance to be a father to his children.
The father that they deserved.