"I dunno about you, kid, but I sure remember the last time Wire Wizard and I were in a dining room together," said Solo with some mix of resentment and humor in his tone as Luke and Vader walked into the dining hall with him. Vader growled at Han's continued mention of the war. It would be an absolute miracle if Vader could get through this dinner without strangling Solo.
"I remember," Vader said curtly. The smuggler chuckled.
"Good times," he said, sarcasm saturating his tone. "So what's for dinner, Your Lordship?" Vader sighed as much as his respirator would allow, again, at Solo.
"We are having braised Shaak roast," Vader said simply. "I assume your taste is similar to that of my son's." The man's mouth seemed to water already.
"I'll eat just about anything." Of course he would. Vader rolled his eyes, wishing the smuggler could see the gesture.
"That sounds good," Luke finally spoke up, his voice quiet as seeming not to want to disrupt the one-sided banter.
The three men took their seats at the dining table, Vader at the head with Luke next to him and Solo across from Luke. Vader was surprised the smuggler didn't sit next to the boy, but he realized with a growl that Solo probably wanted to sit close to Vader to be able to pester him all the more.
Droids came out in a line to serve the food only seconds after everyone took a seat. Luke, of course, thanked the droids, while Solo only grunted in gratitude. Vader waved away their offer of food, not in the mood to explain why he couldn't eat properly.
"So, Your Lordship," Han drew out. Oh boy, here we go again. "What's on your conversation agenda tonight? Your latest tale of choking Jawas for fun?"
"You have no place to speak," Vader hissed. "Last I heard, you were wanted for questioning regarding suspicious cargo transported to Ryloth."
"I should actually thank you for that job," Solo sneered. "Wouldn't need to move 'em if you didn't start the damn Galactic Civil War!"
"Nor if you didn't-!"
"Please stop," Luke interrupted, defeat weighing heavy on his tone. "Let's not fight." Vader couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. As much as he loathed Han Solo, he told himself earlier he would put aside such resentment for the sake of his son. He had better start at least attempting to keep these promises, otherwise he would lose all chances at a strong relationship with Luke.
The smuggler and Vader regarded each other for a moment in a silent mutual agreement, both of their respective love for Luke outweighing any contempt the two had for each other.
"Hey, I've got a story for you guys," Solo declared. Vader once again rolled his eyes. He proceeded to tell a tale of how he landed the Falcon in an asteroid cave that turned out to be a space slug.
"How have I never heard this story before?" Luke asked, the ghost of a smile on his lips.
"It was a little hard since I was in carbonite right after that, right Wire Wizard?" Han laughed, not-so silently jabbing at Vader. Oh, how Vader wished science had not perfected the process of live carbonite freezing.
However, the story did elicit a laugh from Luke. Maybe Solo would prove to be more useful than expected during this time.
Luke fell silent at the mention of the war, and Vader could feel Luke's guilt of playing a part in Han's incarceration into the block even without the Force. As the beginning whispers of an apology formed on his lips, Solo cut in.
"I don't wanna hear it, kid. Your ol' man an' me are good, right, Wheezy?" Although Vader could only grunt, he supposed he agreed.
"How 'bout you tell us a story, Luke?" The smuggler prompted. Luke pushed around the food on his plate.
"About what?"
"What about that ol' dust bowl? Anything from there?"
"Tatooine?"
"Is there another dust bowl around?" Luke smiled a touch.
"Try the entire outer rim," he countered. Solo chuckled.
"Fair enough. So tell us about it."
"Not much to tell."
"Do you wish to talk about your recovery?" Vader cut in, putting an end to the failing conversation. The air fell still, and Vader supposed he could have brought up a different topic, or at the very least approached it more delicately. "Or perhaps-"
"No," Luke interrupted. "I'll talk. What do you wanna know?" Vader couldn't help but think of an interrogated prisoner agreeing to confess to a crime, and couldn't help but think Luke probably felt just as trapped.
"You thought about meetin' with a shrink?" Han asked. "Lot of people don't wanna go, but they know what they're doin.'" He chuckled. "Hell, it'd probably do me some good, too." The corners of Luke's lips turned up into a smile, but he pushed around the food on his plate once again.
"Do you think we could find a female?" he said quietly.
"I will find you the finest female counselor available," Vader declared immediately. Luke's lips poised in an all-too common rush of denial, insisting Vader didn't need to "put himself out" for Luke, but Vader halted him with a stern hand in the air. He relaxed his pose as he saw the boy's eyes widen, most likely expecting Vader to utilize the Force in some way.
"Do not apologize, child. This is my duty." Finally, after a wary look to make sure Vader was sure of his statement, Luke nodded slowly, clearly withholding another apology.
"I think that's a good idea," Solo agreed. "Have someone almost kinda motherly for ya." Luke nodded in agreement.
"I will find you the perfect counselor," Vader promised. "I will begin looking after we eat."
"Coruscant's got some real good shrinks," the smuggler said. "Buddy of mine was real kriffed up from the war, saw a nice guy over there. Helped him a lot."
"Do not swear at my table, Solo," Vader said tightly, in absolutely no mood to try to control the infinitely infuriating insect that was Han Solo at the moment, or ever for that matter. He tightened his fists in his lap as to retrain himself from acting on the urges flashing through his head. The smuggler chuckled.
"Pardon my manners," he schmoozed, sarcasm saturating his tone. Vader rolled his eyes.
"How's Leia?" Luke rushed, hurriedly changing the subject. Solo gave Vader one last infuriating smirk, topped with a wink, and looked to Luke. Vader growled.
"Doin' real good, actually," he said, then looked to Vader. "We have a lot of fun."
"That is enough!" Vader roared, pounding his fists on the table. He speared a finger in Solo's still-smirking face. "If you even so much as think of touching my daughter-"
"Trust me, I'm not the one doin' the touchin'."
That was it.
Vader lunged forward, grasping Solo by the collar and yanking him close to his masked face. A mere flash of fear flickered across the smuggler's features, and Vader lapped it up.
"You-"
"Father!" Luke barked. Both Vader and Solo halted their tussle to turn their heads and see if Luke really just used that tone of voice. They both looked at each other, and Vader released Solo from his grasp. The smuggler jerked away and gave Vader one last scowl, then turned to his friend.
"Sorry ki-"
"I'll be right back," Luke interrupted as he scooted his chair backwards rather roughly. The boy clearly was not in the mood to referee such a scuffle, and it sent a pang of guilt through Vader. He was going to have to begin tolerating Solo someday soon.
However, the second the boy stood up, Vader noticed his balance teetering.
"I..." Luke trailed off, an obvious wave of dizziness washing over him. "Have to..."
"Have to what?" Vader snapped, his anger spiking in protectiveness. "Finish your sentence!"
The boy squeezed his eyes shut as his body began to sway. "Luke!" Vader lashed out, taking note of his son's waivering balance.
"I'm...I'm sorry," Luke whispered, the words barely making it past his lips just before he collapsed onto the hard ground.
Neither Vader nor Han left Luke's side the entire time he was unconscious. Vader called for a med droid, and after a thorough scan, it concluded the cause of Luke's fainting was lack of nutrition and a high-stress situation: Han and Vader's scuffle. Vader sighed to himself as he felt another pang of guilt reverberate through him. Hurting the boy seemed to be all Vader had done since he had been in his company.
Vader turned and looked out into the forest, searching for something he knew he could not find. Whatever was he going to do with the boy…?
"How you doin' there, Wire Wizard?" the smuggler asked, no real concern in his voice. Vader pointedly kept his gaze away from the man and didn't answer, wishing ever so much that he was alone with Luke. However, Solo had produced a laugh from Luke at dinner, a sound Vader had missed almost as much as he missed Luke's smile. Solo was proving useful, but the question remained: how much longer could Vader put up with him?
The smuggler sighed.
"Listen," Solo began. "We both know we ain't best friends, but we gotta stop tryna kill each other if we're ever gonna help the kid. This can't happen again."
Although he expected Solo's trademark flawed logic on the matter, Vader found this sentiment to be...reasonable. After all, Vader had been trying to remind himself of that idea, and that his love for Luke far outweighed Vader's loathing for Solo. He supposed he could consider this, however much he loathed the idea of submitting to taking orders from Solo.
"Well?" Han asked as he crossed his arms and leaned back, surveying Vader with a sweeping gaze topped with a smirk. "You scared or somethin'?"
"I am not!" Vader snapped, but then sighed as his gaze landed on his son's sleeping form, cutting his response short. Of course Vader was not frightened of Solo, but he was certainly afraid for his son's wellbeing. He had to at least attempt to compromise.
"I suppose your proposal is logical," Vader agreed. "But you must agree to stop pestering me." Solo's features twisted into offence, then he speared a finger at Vader.
"As long as you stop pickin' on me!" He jabbed his thumb back towards himself indignantly.
"I do not "pick" on you, as you say!" The smuggler's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline.
"Yeah," he said with a shake of his head and sarcastic features. "You do."
Vader almost pounced on Solo, almost, but not only tried to begin to bide by the agreement, but didn't want to wake the boy. He sighed, resigning himself to the fact this would be the new normal.
"Fine," Vader finally said. "I will agree to your plan, but I will not tolerate any deviation of the rules on your side. I will not hold up my side of the bargain if you do not hold up yours." After some hesitation, clearly bristling at being told what to do, Solo nodded once.
"Alright," he agreed. "Deal." He stuck out his hand, and the two men shook on it.
"Look, Wire Wiz-, I mean, Vader," Solo said. Vader found himself pleased at the smuggler's correction; he certainly wouldn't miss those loathsome nicknames. "I gotta tell you somethin', somethin' I found out about Luke."
"What?" Vader immediately snapped, already believing Solo was to blame for it. However, the smuggler put his hand up to halt any further harsh words.
"Easy," Solo said. "It ain't got nothin' to do with me." After a lapse of silence, Vader inclined his head slightly.
"Very well, continue." Solo sighed, seeming to struggle to tell Vader this information.
"The kid," he started. "He's been...hurtin' himself."
"Hurting himself how?" Vader demanded. Solo cast his gaze down to his feet.
"He's been...cuttin' himself, taking a razor to his stomach."
Vader felt his heart drop as he pictured the boy in the 'fresher with a rusted, bloody blade between his fingers slicing his precious flesh.
No, no. He couldn't be. Why?
"What makes me believe I should trust you, Solo?" Vader hissed. The smuggler sighed in frustration.
"Look, we have a deal. I'm not goin' and breakin' it just yet. I think Luke's a danger to himself, thought I should tell you." Vader sighed himself, supposing Solo wouldn't have a reason to lie...for now.
"Why is he doing this?" Vader asked, not even sure if Solo had the answer. The smuggler shook his head.
"Says it stops the flashbacks." Vader's heart dropped to his stomach again as he remembered the brunt of his own flashbacks of when his mother died and his slaughter of the Tusken Raiders. He sighed.
"We must help him, Solo," he said, defeated. The man clearly held back a scoff, but instead cleared his throat.
"For sure," he affirmed.
Suddenly, the pair heard a noisy inhale and slight rustling from behind them. Vader snapped his head back to see Luke beginning to stir, his youthful features scrunching together upon waking.
With careful footsteps, as not to startle the boy, Vader and Solo both immediately approached his bedside.
"Father?" Luke asked, eliciting a sense of achievement from Vader since the boy didn't call for the scoundrel first.
"I am here, Luke," he assured as he kneeled down beside his son. He hesitated as he looked over to the smuggler. "We are here." Solo nodded.
"How ya feeling, kid?" Luke rubbed his forehead.
"A little dizzy," he confessed, clearly costing him some effort to admit his need for help. "What happened?"
"You took a little spill out there," Solo explained. "Knocked your head pretty good." Luke's features scrunched together in confusion.
"I passed out?" The smuggler nodded. "Wh...why?"
"We believe you did not receive proper nutrition today," Vader said before adding, "As seems to be the case every day."
"And…" Solo hesitated. "Med droid said our fight didn't help much either." Luke grimaced as he visibly recalled their scuffle. He shook his head, avoiding eye contact with either of them.
"It's alright," he said quietly.
A moment after the weight settled around them, the boy met Vader's gaze. Solo clearly noticed the look exchanged between father and son.
"How 'bout I get you some water, kid?" Solo offered. "Give you a minute with your ol' man?" Luke nodded.
"Sure," he agreed. "Thanks." Solo offered him a smirk.
"I gotcha, kid," he assured, patting his arm. "Be right back."
The moment the smuggler left Vader with his son, he reached out to cup the boy's face in his large hand.
"How are you feeling?" he asked before adding a "truly" to encourage the boy to be honest. Luke sighed, clearly struggling to voice his need for help.
"Not great," he finally said. "I've got a little headache, but not bad."
"Little?" Vader questioned, not believing the boy for a second. Luke sighed.
"Alright, it's bad," he finally admitted.
"I could guide you into a healing trance," Vader offered. "You should feel no repercussions of the fall afterwards." Luke shook his head, but clearly regretted it as he squeezed his eyes shut.
"I'm okay," he brushed off. "But thank you." Vader inclined his head to the boy, but once again disliked how he continued to deny his need for help.
"Do you require anything?" The boy looked to him with troubled eyes, clearly unsure of how to ask for support.
"Could...could you stay?"
"Of course, my son," Vader responded immediately before adding a fierce "always."
A moment after, Vader noticed tears shimmering once again in Luke's blue eyes.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. Vader shook his head, growing tired of Luke's needless self-berating.
"Whatever for, child?" Luke sniffled.
"I don't know," he confessed. "You've just had to take care of me so much, and I feel like I'm pulling away from your healing."
"Child," Vader whispered, taking the boy's petite hands in his own. "You are my top priority. You never need to feel sorry for my taking care of you."
"But-"
"No," Vader stopped him. "This is not open for discussion." He reached up to stroke the boy's heated cheek. Nevertheless, the boy shook his head.
"I…" he began, then resigned to a sigh. "I'm sorry I haven't been eating right. I haven't really been hungry." Vader had noticed; the boy never seemed to be interested in his food during meals, and he was losing pounds by the day. Luke was rather thin as it was, and Vader always suspected some sort of vitamin deficiency, but now he was just becoming sickly.
"Do not trouble yourself with this right now, Luke. That is a normal response to trauma and stress. " Vader recited from his research. "We could bring this to a professional as well."
"Okay," he said quietly. Vader rubbed his hand over his shoulder.
"We will find you an exceptional therapist, Luke. I promise you." Luke offered Vader another grace of a small smile, nodding at him.
"Thanks." Vader smiled a touch beneath his mask.
"Child, Solo told me something I hope not to be true." The boy tensed in an instant, seeming to already know what Vader was about to ask him.
"What is it?" Vader sighed.
"He told me you are harming yourself." Luke's breath hitched, and he blinked hard as he looked in front of him.
"He told you?" he asked, astonished. Vader tilted his head at the boy.
"Why did you wish for me to remain ignorant?" Vader said, trying to keep his tone even. Force, he couldn't let his anger take over now or the boy would close up like a space slug. Luke sighed.
"I...I didn't want you to worry," he confessed. "I was handling it on my own, and I didn't need help."
"Child, harming yourself is no proper method of handling your troubles." Luke shook his head, his blue eyes misting again.
"I can't get the flashbacks to stop any other way," he protested. "It's just…" he sighed. "It's not worth it."
"Luke, look at me," Vader commanded gently. Luke finally dragged his teary gaze up to meet Vader's own blue eyes. "You are worth it. You are worth everything in the galaxy and more. You are priceless, you must not lose sight of that." Vader paused. "And you are worthy of healing."
Luke cast his gaze back down to his lap, fiddling with the hem of the blanket covering his small form. Force, how could such a small being carry such heavy burdens?
At that moment, Solo came back into the room with a glass of water and a protein-enriched ration bar. He nodded at Vader in a silent truce.
"Here, kid," he said as he pressed the cool glass and bar into the boy's hands. "These should help ya." Luke looked to his friend and smiled a touch, eliciting some good feelings from Vader at seeing his son smile again.
"Thanks, Han," he said. The smuggler offered him a smile, seeming to cause Luke's to grow.
"No problem," he winked. "You wanna talk?"
"About what?" Han smirked.
"You, kid," he said with good humor. "C'mon, team meeting." Luke's lips quirked up into the beginning whispers of a smile, but didn't quite reach his eyes before he bowed his head.
"I don't know," he brushed off.
"I assume you and Solo have discussed why I brought him here?" Luke nodded silently.
"Yeah, junior filled me in," the smuggler said solemnly. The more Vader watched him, the clearer it became that the smuggler himself was experiencing a spectrum of conflicting emotions. Though his facade was near perfect, conflicted inner turmoil peeked through the cracks.
"Do you wish to discuss seeing a therapist?" Vader asked. Solo and Luke both looked to Vader silently, and Vader supposed he could have again used a smoother opening with a less blunt point.
"Yeah," Solo said cautiously. "You wanna figure out what we're gonna do for that?" After a spell of silence, Luke agreed.
"Sure," he said quietly.
"I will begin seeking a proper counselor for you tonight," Vader promised.
"That okay, kid?" Luke nodded with his head ducked. Solo ducked his own head to meet the boy's gaze, reaching out two fingers to set under his chin and tilt his face up.
"Hey," Solo whispered as he tilted the boy's face up, a smile on his lips. "Lemme see those eyes." Although Vader bristled at the intimate gesture, he couldn't help but appreciate it partially, as it produced a smile from the boy. Solo gave him a seemingly-rare full smile.
"Listen, junior, you straightened both of us out pretty good. Let us take care of ya for a change, huh?" Luke regarded him with obvious hesitancy, then looked to Vader, seeming to ask for permission. Vader offered him an incline of his head. "C'mon, tell us what we can do for ya."
Vader swore he spotted tears glistening in the boy's blue eyes.
"Just please stop fighting," he begged delicately. Vader saw the smuggler's expression drop, and Vader couldn't deny that his own did as well.
"Yeah, kid," Solo agreed. "'Course. Here." Han walked over to Vader, stuck his hand out, and nodded at him, silently telling him to shake his hand. Although Vader loathed taking orders from the smuggler, he supposed he would right now for the sake of his son.
Albeit cautiously, Vader reached out his hand to meet Solo's, shaking it carefully in front of Luke.
"Yes," Vader said cautiously. "We have reached an agreement." Solo nodded.
"That's right," he affirmed. "We're all good. No more fights." Luke nodded silently.
"Thanks," he said.
"So," Solo said, clapping his hands together. "Your ol' man's gonna look for a shrink tonight, and we'll probably get you in sooner than later."
"I will make sure of it," Vader promised, the certainty of authority shadowing his words.
"Sound like a plan, Luke?" The smuggler asked. Luke nodded, looking back down to the blanket covering him.
"I'm sorry this is taking so long," he said quietly, obvious regret in his words. Vader and Solo looked to each other almost in a silent agreement to allow Vader to take the lead on this.
"Luke, you know you are not an obligation, do you not?" After stealing a glance up at Vader, he nodded slowly.
"Yeah, kid," Solo affirmed. "This is our choice to help you, not yours. We wanna help you, Luke. You just gotta let us." The boy kept his gaze to his blanket, clearly unsure of how to accept such help when he had gone so many years of being so selfless. Finally, a grace to both Solo and Vader alike, Luke nodded.
"Alright," he finally agreed. "But just don't let this pull away from either of your healing." Solo shook his head, offering the boy a small smile.
"Trust me, kid, it won't." Solo topped off his last word with a wink, approaching Luke closer and crouching beside him. He gently ran his hand up and down the boy's bicep, giving it a clap before he stood.
"You're doin' great, kid," he assured. "You're gonna be just fine." Luke smiled a little at this, eliciting some relief from Vader. Although loath to admit it, Solo was continuing to prove more and more useful.
The boy looked to Vader with those brilliant blue eyes, then cast his gaze down. Force, Vader felt he would never get used to Luke's timid nature contrasting his typically chipper attitude.
"Would you like some assistance to sleep, child?" Vader offered. Luke shook his head.
"No, thanks," he politely declined. "I'll be fine. I just need to be alone for a while." Vader nodded, understanding exactly what Luke meant- such heavy burdens certainly made Vader retreat into himself a great deal, and he could see his son do the same.
"I will begin a search for a therapist tonight and will report back in the morning." Luke agreed as he nodded quietly.
"Sounds good," he affirmed. He offered Vader a small smile, once again making Vader feel just the slightest bit better about the situation.
Vader approached Luke's beside, grabbing the hem of the blanket and tugging it up over the boy's small form. He gently patted his chest as he rose.
"I love you, Father," Luke said. Vader would most likely never grow used to the feeling that swelled in his chest at those words, for it had been so long since he heard them from another being.
"As I do you, young one," he said, still not managing to repeat the exact words to the boy just yet. "I will see you in the morning."
And with that, Vader approached the doorway, turned the lights down, said one last goodbye to his son, and left the boy to sleep...hopefully.
As he strode down the hall to his own quarters, Vader reflected on the day, especially his interactions with Solo. Sure, the man was absolutely infuriating at times, and Vader wanted nothing more than to strangle him, but his presence was obviously beneficial to the boy's wellbeing.
However, although Solo was helping the greater cause, Vader wasn't sure how long he could stand taking orders from Solo. He could just picture it now: "Vader, do this." "Vader, do that." "Vader, tend to my every need because I am clearly not capable of doing so."
Grrr, how Vader loathed this already, but he reminded himself why he was submitting to Solo: for Luke.
Vader knew logically this situation was going to turn out just fine, no one would die (hopefully), but Force this was going to take some serious acclimation.