I'm back! I've really missed writing for this AU, and I hope you enjoy this. Please note that this is part of a larger series, but that you don't have to have read it to understand. Basically all you need to know was that Luke discovered his father at age 11 and has been living with him since. Enjoy!
Darth Vader had seen many atrocities in his life. He'd even caused many atrocities in his life. None of them came close to comparing to the horrific sight before them. It was worse than Geonosis or any Clone Wars battle. It was worse than the fall of the Jedi Temple and the slaughtering of younglings. It was worse than the burning fires of Mustafar, or even the death of Padmé. It was, undoubtedly, the most appalling thing Darth Vader had ever seen, and Luke was staring at it as if it was life itself. Actually Luke was doing more than stare at the mess of green and red; he was stroking it like a newborn baby.
"Son, what are you doing?" Vader asked, his voice modulator unable to hide his horror. Luke didn't seem to notice it, however, neither through his tone nor through the Force. The small boy was smiling wide, his white teeth beaming out to the point that they were nearly blinding. Luke was easily amused, but Vader was pretty sure he'd never seen his son this happy before. Luke's Force presence was radiating out, and Vader found himself having to provide a shield for it. The Emperor could probably feel Luke's joy, and that surely would not please him.
If Luke noticed his father's shielding, he didn't comment on it. Instead he bounced on the balls of his foot, his smile growing wider. (As if that was even possible). "I'm decorating for Forcemas, duh! I know you've been really busy so I got Captain Cassel to take me to the mall so I could get what I needed to decorate."
Vader stood blinking behind his mask. Forcemas? It was Forcemas? He thought for a second and realized that it wasn't Forcemas, but that it was in two days. He hadn't even considered the holiday; he hadn't celebrated it in years. Actually he was pretty sure he'd never celebrated it. Slaves weren't permitted celebrations or days off, the Jedi considered holidays equally as sinful, and Sith… well their views on something as foolish as Forcemas was pretty obvious.
"I see… where is Ms. Difdin?" It seemed like this was one of the many cases where it would be in his best interest to pass his son's whims off to his nanny. Speaking of the woman, how come she hadn't stopped Luke from decorating with such atrocities?
"You gave her the week off so she could spend it with her family," Luke reminded his father as if Vader was the one acting odd. (Vader was never odd. Luke was the one who did ridiculous things like hang wreaths around their apartment. Even Padmé had never done that. Then again he'd always been at war for Forcemas back then, so perhaps she had.)
No, Vader wasn't odd, but apparently he was forgetful. When he thought about it he had given the woman the time off, but it hadn't crossed his mind why she wanted those specific days off. Obviously he would have to pay more attention to things like that in the future. Even though it had been almost a year since Luke arrived in his life, it still seemed like the changes were flowing in buckets. "I see. Well then I suppose you'll be wanting to go over to the Captain's house for proper celebrations. Very well, you may."
Luke stiffened, and Vader realized that was not what the boy had wanted even before he spoke. "But… but I thought we'd be spending Forcemas together as a family. Every year I've asked the Sandman to bring me a Father and last year he did and I thought now we'd do things together."
He was about to ask who Sandman was, when he remembered the old Tatooine legend. He'd of course always known the Sandman wasn't real. (He didn't give presents to the slave children, and his mother had had to explain why.) It made sense that Luke would think it did, though the boy was getting too old for such fantasies.
(So why Vader didn't then-and-there disillusion his son is one of the galaxy's greatest questions.)
Perhaps it had something to do with the look on Luke's face. He looked, well slightly pathetic, but moreso he looked open and desperate. He just wanted his father to spend Forcemas with him, and really it wasn't too strange a request. "Very well," Vader replied with a sigh. Surely he'd regret this, but when Luke gave him that look, that look that was so much like hers, he couldn't help himself. "I will ensure I am available for tomorrow night and the day after. I can only do this, however, if I can work undistracted for the next day and a half. Do you think you can manage that much time at Captain Cassel's house?"
Luke beamed bright and actually hugged his Father. (Something Vader would never get used to. Luke was the only one in the galaxy who even considered offering physical contact to Lord Darth Vader. Luke was the only one who considered doing a lot of things.)
Vader let Luke hold on for a minute, and, for about two seconds, he actually wrapped his arms around Luke as well. After the minute was up he pushed Luke away, but the boy didn't stop smiling, which warmed Vader's little Sith heart more than he cared to admit. "Go on. Do you need a ride over to the Captain's?"
Luke snickered at the idea of his father just flying him over to Rickon's house, but finally shook his head. It wouldn't do to terrify the good Captain. "It's not far. I'll walk."
Vader paused for a moment wondering if he should really let his eleven-year-old son walk alone through Coruscant. Of course he knew that Luke often walked places, but Vader had never considered that Luke was still very young and Coruscant was still a very dangerous place.
Of course Luke did have the Force on his side. Even if he was too young to be trusted with his own lightsaber Luke's training was progressing well. If he got into trouble he could use the Force to throw things or pull weapons from an attackers hands. Plus Vader himself would surely know if Luke was in danger.
Besides, he'd never considered the issue before, so obviously it wasn't that big of an issue at all. "Very well. Give the Captain my regards and thank him for always offering you a place at his home."
"I can't believe your father forgot about Forcemas," Rickon said as Luke lay back on his friend's bed. "Like, it's Forcemas. For one you'd think your father would love having a day devoted to the Force. But also it's Forcemas and he finally has you to spend it with. My father has been planning things for weeks."
Luke shrugged his fingers running along Rickon's soft sheets. Rickon had the best blankets; he needed to ask Nila to get him some. "I know. He was actually mad that I'd put decorations up! How can anyone hate Forcemas?"
"Well he doesn't hate Forcemas," Rickon replied with a grin. "At least not more than he loves you. I think it's cute. You're Darth Vader's soft spot. I'm best friends with Darth Vader's soft spot."
Luke hit Rickon with a pillow.
There was a part of Luke that thought the apartment would be even more decorated than when he left, but he wasn't surprised when he got home the next day and saw that it looked no different. Actually there was one difference. The boxes of decorations Luke had left lying out had disappeared. The one wreath he'd had a chance to hang sat on the wall looked a bit lonely, and there was nothing Luke could do about it.
"Father?" he called out, but there was no response. Tentatively Luke stretched out with the Force. He was still getting used to his abilities, but he was pretty good at using the Force to find his father. Luke couldn't sense him, however, and was beginning to wonder when he saw the blinking ComLink in the kitchen.
Dread settling deep in his stomach, Luke moved over and pressed the blinking button. A holorecording of his father popped up, and spoke in a reserved tone. "Luke. I am hoping to make it back to the apartment before you return, but have recorded this in case I am detained. The Emperor has called me in for an urgent meeting, but I will return as soon as I've answered his summon. Do not com me in case I am in with the Emperor. If there is true trouble the Force will notify me, otherwise I will speak with you when I return."
Luke sighed and plopped down on the couch. R2 came rolling over to him, C-3PO waddling behind. "Master Luke what is wrong?"
"Father has abandoned me on Forcemas Eve," Luke grumbled. The apartment felt cold and dark. Of course part of the problem was that he had neither the thermostat nor the lights on, but it felt wrong to have the lights on. He should have Forcemas lights on, but his father had hid those. "He hid all the decorations and then he left himself."
C-3PO placed his arm on Luke's shoulder, but considering the arm was cold and metallic Luke didn't find it very reassuring. At least the droids were there though. Luke could always count on his droids. Unlike Father, they don't break their promises.
The minutes of waiting turned into hours, and when the grumbling in Luke's stomach turned painful he gave up on waiting for his father. Perhaps he didn't know how to cook per-say, but he know how to use the food replicator, and Nila always kept lots of leftovers. Swinging the fridge open Luke studied his options for his grand, Forcemas meal.
Luke stared at the food for a good minute. Nila would have killed him for leaving the doors open, but she wasn't there. She was with her family, just as Luke was supposed to be.
"Even Uncle Owen took Forcemas eve off from work!" Luke hissed slamming the fridge door shut.
C-3PO practically jumped, "By the Maker! Whatever has you so upset?"
"My father doesn't care. If he doesn't even want to spend Forcemas with me then he doesn't care at all. So I'm going to leave. I'm going to go back to where they at least care."
"Master Luke, what do you mean?" C-3PO cried waddling over. Luke looked at the loyal droid sadly, and then reached out to turn him off. R2 let out a series of indignant beeps and whistles, but Luke gave the astromech a hard look.
"Sorry R2, but I can't have him trying to stop me. Promise you won't tell Father where I've gone… if he ever shows up that is."
R2 continued to call after Luke, but the boy just grabbed the credit chip his father so foolishly supplied him, and walked out the door.
"I'm sorry kid, but the last ship heading for the Outer Rim left two hours ago," the travel agent Luke had found told him. The man had been all-too-willing to accept Luke's credit's without question, so Luke knew it was no farce. If there was any ship heading the way of Tatooine the agent surely would have told him. "But if you want to wait until after the holiday you'll find plenty that can take you directly to Tatooine."
"What about a ship to the Mid Rim? Maybe I can find something to the Outer Rim from there."
The Agent looked over his desk and gave Luke a sad smile. "Look, kid, it's a holiday. There ain't ships going anywhere near Tatooine on a holiday. Go home to your family."
"But that's what I'm trying to do," Luke whined. It was so unfair. He wasn't wanted her on Tatooine, and he couldn't even get back to where he was. "My family is on Tatooine!"
The agent shrugged, "Sorry kid. There is nothing I can do."
Luke knew it was true, but it didn't make him feel any better. He was stuck on Coruscant and away from his family. Away from his real family, the ones who actually wanted him around, not the one who claimed to because it was convenient.
"Hey kid," Luke, used to being addressed as such, turned to see a strange alien standing behind him. Luke didn't know the man's species, but he had long green tentacles sprouting from his chin like a beard, and his eyes were an odd shade of purple. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. You really trying to get back to your parents on Tatooine?"
Well, not parents per say, but Luke nodded yes anyways, "You don't have a ship, do you?"
"I do, and I happen to be heading to Dantooine myself. I'll give you a ride to Tatooine for free."
Luke's eyes widened at the word. If he didn't have to spend the credits to get to Tatooine he could give them to his Aunt and Uncle once he arrive as a present! "Really?"
"Of course," the alien told Luke smiling. "Who am I to keep a kid from his father on Forcemas?"
Luke could not believe his luck, and he followed the alien quickly. There was a prickling of danger in the Force, but Luke pushed it down. He would be fine. There was far more danger on Coruscant than he'd ever faced on Tatooine. Once he was home everything would be better.
The ship the alien led Luke to was neither big nor nice. It was some sort of a freighter, but it looked old. It looked as if its great-grandchildren had fought in the Clone Wars old. The gray paint was peeling in places, and it stunk of death sticks and Correllian Whiskey. Still it was a ship that could get him to Tatooine, and so Luke climbed in the back
The alien didn't say much to Luke as they took off, not even his name, so Luke sat in the co-pilots seat fidgeting. The fear in his stomach began to grow. Something about this whole situation was just wrong, and Luke knew it. "Are you sure those are the proper hyperspace coordinates?"
The alien didn't reply, instead pushing them forward into hyperspace. The feeling of dread within Luke reach a pinnacle; something was really, really wrong. "Hey! Where are you taking me?"
The alien finally turned to Luke, and this time he offered the boy a sickening smile. As he did his tentacles seemed to rise up on his chin, as if they were laughing at Luke. "You're a demanding one, aren't you? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You are a Vader after all."
Luke's blood ran cold at the mention of his father. In his (albeit limited) experience no one ever treated him normally if they knew who he was. Generally they either worshipped the ground he walked on, were terrified of something happening to him, or wanted to murder him. Luke could place the warnings the Force had given him and knew that this was, without a doubt, one of the last situations.
Suddenly he was very, very scared. "Bring me home," he whispered. Luke had tried to sound intimidating and fierce, but his voice cracked a little bit under pubescent strain. "Please. It's Forcemas and I just want to be with my family."
"Ha," the alien laughed and his tentacles continued to sway as if snickering. "You want to be with your family so much then why are you running away to Tatooine? Looks like I'm doing you and me both a favor. You get to run away and I get to convince the Rebellion that your worth more than anyone else. Now shut up. I need you alive, not unharmed."
The threat rung true through the Force, and Luke shut his mouth. His mind, however, kept spinning. He had been running away, hadn't he? His father didn't want him, so he'd been running away. But he was running towards his family, wasn't he? His Aunt and Uncle were his family. It didn't really count as running away if you're going back to your real family, right?
Plus it didn't matter one way or another because he was no longer heading to Tatooine. He was heading towards the Rebellion? A prick of fear struck Luke's heart at the thought, but then he remembered that less than a year before he would have gladly joined the Rebellion. Kes was in the Rebellion after all, and he'd been as good a friend to Luke as Rickon was. Of course Rickon said Rebels were all evil…
Luke still didn't really know what to think about the Rebellion, but he knew that he didn't like the idea of being handed over to them one way or another. It sounded like he'd been picked up by a bounty hunter but that there was no actual bounty for Luke. What if his kidnapper couldn't convince them to buy Luke? What would happen to him then?
Luke knew what the bounty hunter would do to him if the Rebellion wouldn't pay, and he couldn't help but shiver a bit at the thought.
I should never have left home. Maybe Father doesn't want me but at least he doesn't want me dead.
"Cheer up little Lord Vader," Luke's alien kidnapper jibbed. "Like you said, it's Forcemas."
The one good thing was that the Rebel base the bounty hunter brought Luke too wasn't that far from Coruscant. It seemed to be the middle of the day on the jungle planet, but by Coruscant time it was early in the morning. Luke was exhausted, but his anxiety and instincts had kept him awake the whole trip. He didn't really have a plan for how to get out of this situation, but he wanted to be ready to run if ever a chance presented itself.
Of course there hadn't been any chances while they were in hyperspace and Luke was probably now too tired to run if given a chance. At least he'd felt like he was doing something to help the situation. He hated feeling useless especially where he'd been training as a Jedi for a year. If I'd only had a lightsaber I could do something.
They landed in a large hanger that seemed to spring up out of nowhere. There were no signs of other buildings, and Luke wondered if all the Rebels lived underground. An underground base would be cool, Rebels or not.
"Walk," the bounty hunter told Luke a blaster making his position very clear. Luke felt a gulp slink down his throat as he stood and allowed his captor to guide him. He had no idea how to keep himself from getting shot with the Force. His best hope seemed to be cooperation. Perhaps he'd be able to escape from the Rebels. If they agreed to take him at all.
"Tson," a human man called as Luke and the hunter exited the ship. "What is this? Your message said you had someone of more value than anyone we could imagine. I half thought you were bringing me Lord Vader himself, not some kid!"
The hunter pushed Luke's shoulder, and he stumbled towards the Rebel. The Rebel was probably in his early twenties, with shaggy black hair and dark, emotionless eyes. He looked strong though, and as he came closer Luke noticed some scars on the man's face. He'd seen battles for sure.
"I brought you something even better," the hunter, Tson apparently, replied with a grin. "This is Lord Vader's son. Imagine the kind of leverage his life will give you. He's easily worth a million credits. You could get three million credits from his father, or maybe even convince Vader to leave you alone indefinitely. What do you say, Oz?"
The Rebel, (Oz was it?), came closer and studied Luke. "We both know I couldn't give you a million credits even if I wanted to, and I don't. How am I to know this is Vader's kid? How do I even know Vader has a kid? This is ridiculous."
Luke's eyes brightened ever so slightly as he got an idea, "Please sir. You have to help me. He just grabbed me off Tatooine. I've never even seen Lord Vader. I just want to go to my family."
Oz's eyes narrowed. He was obviously considering it, and Luke wished he knew how to do mind tricks. It looked like the Rebel just needed a little more push…
Tson on the other hand had been pushed too hard. At Luke's words he pressed the blaster right on Luke's head, and the boy could help but go still with terror. "One more lie and I'll shoot you dead. Look Oz, I've known you for a long time. Have I ever tried to screw you over? Just trust me when I say it's Vader's kid and he's worth a lot to you."
Oz studied Luke further, and then eyed Tson and specifically his tentacles for a long time. Finally he nodded, "Fine. The best I can offer you is 20,000 credits, and know if he's not really Vader's kid the next bounty I'll be offering is your own."
"25,000 credits! I stole the kid right from Coruscant, that's got to count for something."
Oz narrowed his eyes, and he suddenly looked more frightening than Tson ever had. "I wasn't kidding when I said 20,000 was my best offer. Take it or leave it."
It was clearly not what Tson had been hoping for, but he didn't push any further. Or well he did, but what he pushed was Luke right into Oz's arms. "Keep a tight watch on him. I bet he has the same freaky Force abilities as his father."
Oz grabbed Luke's shoulder, but not very tightly. Apparently he didn't think a tiny kid like Luke could be any real threat. "Hey, have a little respect. It is Forcemas after all.
Oz had a blaster of his own, and so Luke obediently allowed himself to be led wondering the whole time how in the galaxy he was supposed to get out of this. He couldn't even assume his father was coming for him because his father seemed to have forgotten his existence.
"Kila," Oz called to a young woman who'd been standing in the hallways. "Watch the kid, will ya? I'm going back to the party."
Kila looked over her pale nose at Luke, her dark brows furled in confusion, "Who is he?"
"Lord Vader's son," Oz answered with a shrug causing Kila's blue eyes to widen. "Yeah. I'm not sure I believe it either, but it's a holiday so if Tson screwed me over I can make him pay for it tomorrow. Just watch him for now."
And then Oz just walked right off. Luke considered making a break for it; Kila didn't seem to have a blaster. Luke didn't have a way off the planet, however, so he didn't attempt it. Instead he just sort of looked at the young woman before him, and the woman looked at him. "You don't look like Vader's kid."
"I'm not," Luke repeated sticking to his story. (Besides, in a lot of ways he felt it to be true.) "My parents died before I was born. I'm being raised by this woman Nila Difdin. She works for Lord Vader so everyone always thinks I'm his son, but I'm not. He hates me."
Luke felt as if everything he said was true, but Kila raised an eyebrow. "I think you're a liar kid, but come on. I've been considering defection for a while and if the Rebellion is kidnapping kids now than it's definitely not what I signed up for."
Luke never even told Kila his name, but she brought him right back to Coruscant without a question asked. Luke asked plenty of questions, none of which she answered. As far as he could tell life among the Rebellion was just not what Kila had expected it to be, and bringing Luke home seemed as good a way to desert as any.
"Good luck kid," Kila told him getting back in her stolen transport. They'd come to a shipyard on the outside of the city, and Kila had said she wouldn't feel comfortable going further. There were many on Coruscant who wouldn't care whether or not she'd deserted if they knew how she'd started her day.
So Luke was left alone in a shipyard just as he'd been the day before. It was already night on Coruscant. Apparently Kila's stolen shuttle wasn't nearly as fast as Tson's ship. Luke had fallen asleep for most of the trip, so he was surprised to find the planet dark. Apparently Forcemas had come and gone without him.
Luke tried to place himself in the city, and eventually just began wandering hoping that he'd sooner or later find something that looked familiar. In the end it was sooner, but the thing that was familiar was a person, not a thing. Luke had only been wandering around for about five minutes when a stormtrooper came running up to him. "Luke Skywalker?"
"Ah, yes?"
"This is XM-177," the trooper commed in. "Report to Lord Vader that I've found Skywalker and am bringing him in immediately."
Luke dreaded seeing his father. He knew that his father had to care some; he'd been looking for Luke after all. Still Luke would have to face the question of where he'd been, and he'd be forced to admit that he'd run away. His father would surely be furious, and maybe send Luke packing for real. As much as Luke had wanted to run away, he hated the idea of his father actually forcing him to leave.
Still he had no choice but to face his father. He was actually brought straight home by XM-177, and then sent inside alone. A whole bunch of troopers stood outside, however, and Luke got the impression that their job was to keep him in more than protect him. Obviously his father realized Luke had run away and had no idea what had happened after.
It took a long time for Luke's father to show up, and the boy could not help but wonder if his father was brushing him off again. When he finally did show up Vader was sending out his anger through the Force. He wanted his son to know how upset he was, and Luke sure did. He hung his head in shame.
"Do you realize how terrified I was when I returned home and turned C-3PO on to hear him screaming about how you had run away? I have had the whole planet searching for you all day. You could have been kidnapped! You could have been killed."
As much as Luke realized he had been wrong to run away, he would not just stand there and be yelled at. He'd had a very long and terrifying time as well. "I was! I was kidnapped! I would have been home last night if I hadn't been!" Vader stilled, obviously surprised, and so Luke took that as his cue to carry on. "You're right, I did run away. I ran away because you'd promised to spend some time with me for once and then you never showed up! So I was hurt and I decided to go back to Tatooine because at least I always knew my Aunt and Uncle wanted me. But then there was no way off planet so I was going to head home until I was kidnapped by a bounty hunter. He had it in his head that the Rebellion would give him a million credits for me, and so he kidnapped me and brought me to the Rebellion. And they did pay for me because there was the possibility that I was your son and they thought having me would ruin you. And the only reason I'm back now is because one of the Rebels decided to desert and take me with her! So yeah I was stupid for running off, but I was upset because you ruined Forcemas, and it wasn't all my fault. You're the reason I get kidnapped."
With Luke's little rant done, Vader stewed in his thoughts. Finally he sighed and placed his arm on Luke's shaking shoulder. "I am glad to know you are safe, and I am sorry for what you have been through. You were wrong to think I did not care. I arrived home only a few minutes after you left, and have been searching the entire planet for you since. The work I was doing was unavoidable if I wanted to have time off to spend with you. Do not ever think that I am not around because I don't want to be. If it was within my power I would leave all this behind and just be your father, but that is not possible. So I do my best, but I need you to meet me half way, and that includes not running away whenever you're upset. If there is a problem and you feel you want to return to Tatooine I would allow it, but I want you to give me a chance to defend myself first. Do you understand?"
Luke nodded, and when he tasted salt he realized he'd begun crying. "I'm sorry. I should have thought."
"Yes, you should have, but so should I. I forget sometimes how young you really are. It was not wise of me to leave you alone for so long without any sort of explanation," his father answered his voice calm and relaxed. "Now you have had a very long day, and I think you need to go to sleep. I have told the Emperor that I need to be here personally until Ms. Difdin returns from her break. You are clearly too much of a Skywalker to keep yourself out of danger."
"Will you really be here this time?" Luke sniffled wiping a tear from his eye. He looked small and young, but there was a glimmer of hope in his eye that could warm the coldest heart.
"I promise," his father answered with a nod. The Emperor would have to electrocute him to get him to leave Luke alone again. "Now goodnight Luke, and Merry Forcemas."
Luke smiled a little bit. It wasn't quite midnight yet, "Merry Forcemas Father."
END
AN: Ah, how I love returning to this universe. I have another 'Forcemas' themed fic in my head from this universe, so look out for it. Thanks for reading!