Day 10: "Once upon a time."
Summary: Little Luke and Leia love spending time with their dada.
Darth Vader smiled at the sound of his children laughing and squealing in joy. They both sat in a small hover wagon that he pushed around a small obstacle course throughout the apartment. They loved going around sharp corners where Vader would tip the wagon and it felt like they were going to fall out. He would push them under a table saying it was a tunnel and catch them as they came out the other side. The Force bubbled around them in happiness and light, and Vader basked in it.
He finally came to a stop and the twins clambered out. They rushed over to him and hugged his legs. Two pairs of large eyes looked up at him with nothing but love. He didn't understand why they loved him. He didn't deserve these two perfect little angels. He who had done unbearable and unspeakable things each time he was away from them and would continue to do such things, and yet no matter what, they always ran up to him and hugged him.
"I love you, Dada!" Leia said.
"I love you too, Dada!" Luke repeated.
Vader leaned down and ruffled both of their heads. Luke jumped up and grabbed his father's gloved hand.
"Your turn, Dada!"
"Dada's turn!" Leia said, grabbing Vader's other hand.
They pulled him over to the wagon.
"Sit!" Luke said letting go of the hand so he could push his father in the wagon. Vader didn't budge.
Leia joined her brother in pushing their father.
"Young ones," Vader said as softly as his vocoder allowed. "I am too big and heavy to ride in the wagon."
The children paused only for a moment.
"But it's Dada's turn!"
"Dada's turn in wagon!"
"Luke. Leia. I cannot-"
"Sit!" Leia demanded as she leaned against her father with all her might.
Vader would have sighed if his respirator allowed for such a thing. He slowly lowered himself down onto the wagon. It slowly sank to the ground as the weight limit had been maxed out three times over with Vader sitting it in. But Luke and Leia were undeterred. They ran around to the back, put their hands on their father's back, and started to push.
The wagon did not move.
The twins pushed harder.
"As I said, I am too big. This wagon is not meant for big adults such as myself."
"No!" Luke grunted. "Dada turn!"
Oh, his sweet little babies. They knew nothing of the cruelties in this world. They enjoyed riding in the wagon and wanted to share that with their father. They lived in a world where they shared with each other and gave each other turns and that included their father. They simply did not understand beyond that.
Vader stood up and both twins started to whine.
"No, Dada! Sit!"
"Dada's turn! Sit! Sit!"
Vader bent down and scooped up both of his children. He needed to divert their attention away from the wagon. Luckily, they didn't protest and wrapped their legs and arms around him. His heart ached as he wished he could give them both dozens of kisses. He carried them into their nursery and sat down in the large brown leather chair that had been custom built to accommodate him. The twins cuddled close to him.
"I think it's storytime," Vader said.
The twins' frowns instantly disappeared as they smiled.
"Story!" Luke said.
"Story! Story!" Leia said.
Behind his mask, Vader smiled. How could he deny them such a thing?
He began, "Once upon a time . . ."