Luke swallows the rest of the tasteless rations, pushing his empty bowl towards Captain Piett.

Day 4 of his imprisonment in the med bay is looking like every other day so far.

"Are you sure you can't tell me what system we're in?" Luke asks. "Not even a hint? Maybe the name of a planet we're near?"

Captain Piett sighs and grabs the bowl, standing up to leave.

"As I told you the last five times you asked, Commander, I'm not permitted to give you any potentially sensitive information."

Eh, it was worth a shot.

"Fine, fine, I understand. I'll see you at…"

Luke's words die on his lips.

His chest feels as though it's filling up with ice water, constricting his lungs painfully. His eyes dart towards the door. He's not sure how he knows where to look, but the reaction is automatic.

In the time it takes for Captain Piett to ask "Commander?", Darth Vader sweeps into the room.

The icy presence Luke felt before grows stronger, threatening to suffocate him. He wonders how he never noticed it before, this feeling that follows Vader wherever he goes. The coldness he always feels in Vader's presence is easy enough to write off as fear, but not when it's this strong. Does it have something to do with the Force?

Once again, Luke wishes that he still had Ben to teach him these things.

"Captain, you are dismissed."

Piett nods in deference to Vader, muttering an "of course, my Lord" before retreating from the room.

Luke wishes he could follow.

His gaze drifts down to the floor in an effort to avoid Vader's eyes— er, mask. He's afraid that if he looks directly at him, that icy feeling will choke the life out of him.

Is that how he chokes people to death without actually touching them? Luke's never thought about the mechanics of it. He just knows it's a power that Vader possesses— that is, if the stories he hears are true…

"Are you afraid of me, Skywalker?"

Luke's pride forces him to look up at Vader. It takes a huge amount of his self-control not to tremble as he schools his face into a neutral expression.

"I'm not," he insists.

He wishes it were true.

Vader takes a step towards him. And then another. And then another, until he's standing right across from Luke.

"You're lying," Vader states calmly. "You are afraid of me, but you have no reason to be. I have no intention of hurting you."

The icy feeling that took a hold of Luke fades, allowing him to breathe a little easier. He doesn't know what it means. It could be Vader purposefully loosening his grip in order to win his trust.

"You expect me to believe that?" he scoffs.

Vader's hand grips the back of the empty chair in front of him, but he doesn't sit down. Luke wonders if he even can sit down in that suit.

"I'm many things, child, but a liar is not one of them."

'Child'.

Luke loathes being called a child, especially by Vader. He hasn't been a child since that day on the Death Star, and it's partially his fault.

"And why should I believe you?" he asks.

"Reach out through the Force and check my intentions for yourself."

Luke eyes Vader warily, hesitant to follow his instructions. It seems innocent enough, but with Vader, no use of the Force is innocent. He only has vague ideas of what the "Dark Side" really is, so how would he be able to recognize it if Vader tricked him into using it?

But he can sense that Vader won't let him refuse, so he has no choice but to comply.

Focusing as hard as he can, Luke tries to reach out to touch Vader's presence in the Force. The action feels foreign to him, and he questions if he's even doing it correctly. He gently prods at Vader's mind, and the other man lets him in willingly. He searches for the sincerity in Vader's words.

And he finds it.

He retracts from Vader's mind eagerly. Even if he didn't go far, he knows there's a lot in there he doesn't want to see.

"I assume you found what you were looking for?"

Luke did, but it only annoys him further. He understands even less about his situation than he did to begin with. He's a rebel. He blew up the Death Star. There's a bounty on his head that could buy enough food for an entire planet. But not only does Vader not want him dead, he doesn't even plan on harming him in any way.

"If you don't want to hurt me, then what do you want from me?" he asks. "To make me your apprentice? Your spy in the Alliance? Your slave?"

Something resembling a growl emanates from Vader's mask, and Luke knows that he's said something wrong. The hand holding onto the chair tightens until he can hear a crack form in the wood.

"I do not want you as my slave," he snaps, venom in his tone. "Tatooine may condone such barbaric practices, but I don't tolerate it."

Luke scoots back slightly in his chair, expecting a slap to the face. Vader is usually unaffected by his or anyone else's actions, despite Luke's continued efforts to antagonize him. Now, Luke can feel the rage rolling off him through the Force.

It's terrifying.

Vader lets go of the chair, the anger surrounding him dissipating. He flexes his fists a few times, as if he's trying to calm himself down. Luke relaxes just slightly.

Vader said he wouldn't hurt me, he reminds himself. And I'm just stupid enough to believe it.

"I did not tell you my reason for keeping you here because I did not believe you were ready to hear it," he begins. "But now I fear we may not have much time left together. I need to tell you the truth now."

Luke raises an eyebrow, waiting for Vader's explanation. Whatever it is, he's sure it has something to do with his Force abilities. Whether Vader wants to use him as his own or hand him over to the Emperor as some sort of twisted gift, he's sure he wouldn't be getting this treatment if he was any other non Force sensitive rebel.

Vader places a hand on the table, leaning closer to him.

"I did not kill your father."

Luke rolls his eyes.

"I don't know what you think you have to gain from lying to me, but it won't—,"

"I did not kill your father," Vader repeats. "I am your father."


Vader had no plans of revealing his identity to the boy this soon. If he had any choice in the matter, he would have been well into training the boy before he told him the truth. But circumstances have forced his hand.

He has yet to find whoever it is onboard who stole the tape of Luke's interrogation, and it's only a matter of time until the Emperor finds out its contents. Vader has no doubt that whoever took it is one of the many agents his Master assigns to his ship to keep an eye on him.

When his Master finds out about his son, the boy will be ripped from him a second time. Possibly even killed.

He has to protect Luke, even if that means sending him away, but that will be impossible if the boy refuses to comply with his father's so called "murderer".

Luke needs to know how dire his situation is.

And he deserves to know the truth.

But the stubborn child is steadfastly denying it.

"You're lying," he whispers. "That's not true. That's impossible."

The boy continues to hang onto an idealized version of the father he never met; Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi. In his mind, his father lived and died a hero. Vader is not that man.

His hand twitches. He idly wonders if it's malfunctioning.

"Search your feelings, you know it to be true."

However untrained the boy may be, he picks up on things quickly. Vader only had to tell him once to reach out to him through the Force and the boy did so with remarkable ease.

Luke closes his eyes tightly, shaking his head. Vader can practically see the battle going on inside his head. He doesn't want to accept the truth, but the Force is shoving him towards it. It's the same way Vader felt when he learned he had a son.

At last, the boy seems to accept it. He slumps down in his chair, holding his head in his hands. His shoulders tremble with what Vader can only assume are sobs. Devastation bleeds through him in the Force.

Vader didn't expect the boy to be ecstatic at the news of their relation, but he didn't expect… this. He acts as though being his son is the worst fate imaginable. Does the boy not know that Vader would give him anything he desired? Does he not know that Vader would capture all the stars in the galaxy and gift them to him if he just asked?

Does he not know that Vader would give him the Emperor's throne?

"Your full name and confession to destroying the Death Star was taped, and the tape has been stolen," Vader says, getting right to business. "I'm doing everything in my power to find the person who took it and get it back, but it may be in the Emperor's hands already. When he finds out you're my son, he will either kill you or shape you into a perfect apprentice."

'And make you kill me', he almost adds.

Luke doesn't respond. His hands have since fallen from his face, but now he just stares down at the table with a blank expression.

Vader feels frustration bubbling up in his chest. Doesn't the boy realize that his own life is at stake?

"You don't understand the gravity of your situation, young one," he growls. "If the Emperor gets his hands on you—,"

"This changes nothing," Luke interrupts softly.

Vader's hand twitches again.

"What?"

His son looks up from the table, tears still lingering on his cheeks.

"Even if you're my father, it doesn't change anything," he continues. "We're not family. Uncle Own and Aunt Beru are my family. Ben is my family. Leia and Han and Wedge and the rest of the rebels are my family. You're just my interrogator."

Vader gathers his rage close to him, refusing to let it spill out. If he allows it to overtake him, he fears he could hurt his son. It would be too easy to reach out and let the Force close around his slender neck, so much like Padmé's…

The thought sends a wave of revulsion through him.

"You share no blood with Kenobi, and you certainly don't share any with the rebels," he replies as calmly as he possibly can. "You're my son, whether you accept that fact or not. You belong to me. Our destinies are inexorably intertwined."

"You have no say in my destiny!" Luke shouts, fresh tears leaking from his eyes. "I could never be a monster like you!"

His voice trembles, as if he's trying to convince himself as well as Vader.

Such sadness and rage the boy is carrying in his heart; it's a perfect gateway into the Dark Side. It's Kenobi's teachings that are holding his son back from reaching his full potential, just as they once held him back.

The old man escaped with a more merciful death than he deserved.

"You do not yet know the power of the Dark Side, Luke," he insists. "Together, when you've received more training, we could destroy the Emperor. I could put you on the throne and we could end this war."

"I don't want the throne!" Luke retorts. "I'm a member of the Alliance. If you gave me the throne, I would use my power to dissolve the Empire and reinstate the Republic. Don't you understand? I'll never be on your side."

Not for the first time, Vader sees flashes of Padmé in their son. He has her drive, her innate belief in the goodness of others. Like her, he doesn't realize that people are too wicked for democracy to work.

Seeing these facets of his late wife in their son stirs something in his chest. It's a feeling he doesn't have a word for, at least not anymore. He refuses to allow himself to dwell on it.

"The Republic fell because it had outgrown its use. If you had lived through that time, you would think differently about trying to reinstate it."

Luke runs a hand through his shaggy hair, letting out a grunt of frustration.

"I don't wanna argue with you about politics," he says. "I just…"

His nose scrunches up in frustration, like he's searching for the right words.

Padmé's nose.

"Do you know how much you've taken from me?"

Vader scoffs.

"If you're referring to Kenobi—,"

"Ben is only one of many," Luke hisses. "Your stormtroopers killed my aunt and uncle to get Death Star plans that they didn't even have. Burned down our homestead, too. Ben was the only person I had left after that happened, and you killed him right before my eyes."

Vader can't bring himself to regret either of those events. They were a means to an end. They brought his son pain, but they set in motion the events that would eventually bring them together.

"You took my memories," Luke continues. "They were all I had left of aunt and uncle, and now every time I look back on them, I'll only think of you invading my mind."

The reminder of the boy's interrogation makes Vader feel a tinge of regret. It's an unusual feeling for him.

"But worst of all, you took away the man I thought my father was."

Vader nearly laughs at the idea that he's competing with a fake version of himself for Luke's affections.

Shouldn't the boy be grateful that unlike this dream father, his actual father is still living?

"I don't care about your negative feelings towards me," he dismisses. "The only thing I care about, and the only thing you should care about, is keeping you away from the Emperor."

Luke scoffs.

"As if you wouldn't hand me over the second he asked."

The tightly wound coil that is Vader's anger snaps at the accusation. He reaches across the table, gripping Luke by the chin. The boy's eyes widen in shock. He's momentarily stunned into compliance, but when he regains his wits, he tries to wiggle out of Vader's grip. The durasteel hand is unyielding, forcing the boy to look directly at him.

"You are mine. He cannot have you."

Luke shakes off the grip at last, glaring at him.

"Then what's your plan?" he snaps. "If the Emperor already knows about me like you say he might, then how are you gonna keep him away from me?"

There's an unspoken surrender in his words. He may still resist the idea of Vader being his father, but he'll begrudgingly work with him if it means staying out of the Emperor's grasp.

Vader reaches out to his son once more. This time, he uses a single finger to lift his chin up. Luke doesn't look too happy with the touch, but he doesn't fight it. It's a small victory.

He may have his eyes and hair, but he has her nose, her face shape, and her soul.

"I have a few ideas."