I forgot about archiving these ficlets for a few weeks, but I'm back at it! This one is a two parter for Flufftober, originally written in October 2020.

The door opened.

"We should kill him."

"You want to kill a kid? A literal—"

"Well, no, but he's a little monster anyway—"

"He thanked you! For giving him water!"

"He's gonna grow up to be—"

The door closed again, and the voices cut off.

The little boy in the cell—for it was a cell, for all that the Rebel leaders had furnished it with a more comfortable cot, one of the toys that had been taken with the child, and a few books—glanced up blearily, sitting up on the cot and rubbing his eyes. The figure who came in didn't try to sit too close, respected his space, and sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Who're you?" the boy asked distrustfully.

The figure smiled. "I'm Ahsoka Tano," she said.

The boy paused. Then he offered, "I'm… I'm Luke Skywalker."

Ahsoka nodded. "You look a lot like your father," she said. "He used to be a good friend of mine."

Luke wrinkled his nose. "I don't look anything like Papa. He has those big red eyes, and his head is black and hard—"

"He does," Ahsoka agreed. "But he used to look a lot like you."

Luke was silent for a moment. "Did you… like my father?" he asked carefully, testing the waters, and Ahsoka thought he might be smarter than she would expect from a kid.

He'd definitely heard some of those Rebel soldiers spitting insults at the man he loved, hissing and hating him, right in front of him. He knew he'd been kidnapped by enemies of his father's—and he didn't know what was happening.

Fear pulsed in the Force like an open wound.

"I loved your father," Ahsoka said. "And I loved your mother, too—when she died I was very sad."

Luke swallowed. "So was Papa."

Ahsoka nodded, then reached into her robes—Luke flinched, staring at the lightsabers at her waist. She moved even more slowly, and drew out a holo.

She switched it on.

Luke stared.

"That's…" He hesitated. "That's Mama." He knew Padmé's face well, it seemed, and it also seemed that he had quickly internalised what Ahsoka told him about looking like his father, because it was barely a moment before his eyes lit up again and he asked, "Papa?"

Ahsoka smiled. "Yes."

"And…" He climbed off his cot to scamper over to her, raising a hand to almost touch the holo where Ahsoka's face was projected between his parents. Padmé was wearing fine, fine Senate garb while Ahsoka and Anakin were in their Jedi outfits, smiling. Both parents were hugging Ahsoka. "That's you."

Ahsoka nodded. "It is me," she said, and let the Force soothe Luke's worries, whisper that she spoke true, the way it naturally would. "In a happier time, I like to think I would've been your Auntie Soka."

Luke said nothing. He was just staring at the holo.

"Do you trust me, Luke?" Ahsoka asked. Her voice was as quiet as a whisper.

"What?" He raised his gaze to hers.

"Do you trust me?" In his mind, with the gentlest whisper of the Force, she told him, I'm here to get you out.

They stole you from your father.

I know their reasons. But I don't think you should be separated from a father who loves you.

Do you want to go back to your father?

Luke said, shakily, "Yes."

He put his pudgy hand in hers.

"Yes I do."