"Aren't you coming?" Vader heard the boy murmur to Piett from the doorway.
"I...believe he wishes to speak with you alone, sir."
As much as the good Admiral was correct, a small part of Vader wished he would have a companion with him for this. At this moment, anger clouded his thoughts so heavily he didn't have the slightest idea of how to pose the question, although he supposed regardless of his state of mind, he wouldn't know where to begin.
Yes, there were parenting manuals, guide books, and even damn classes on how to properly raise a child, but there was no such teaching method that explained how to ask your child if something unspeakable has happened to them. Vader's fingers curled around the rail tighter.
"Father?" came a cautious voice. "Are you alright?" Vader angled his head away, gaze fixed on the floor. He almost shuddered.
Luke came up behind him, setting a gentle hand on his shoulder, but Vader jerked away violently. He could feel the boy retract quickly, taking a few steps back. Vader sighed, bowing his head deeper and racing to find the right words. What words could possibly be right in this situation? Were there right words? He could feel the boy's Force presence grow increasingly concerned.
"Luke," Vader managed, practically bending the metal enclosed in his durasteel fists. His back teeth pained him as he clenched his jaw tight. "I...have recently spoken with Piett."
"Yeah, so did I. He wouldn't tell me what's going on," Luke said, his voice harboring almost a frantic quality.
"I...instructed him to do so. I must speak with you on this matter alone."
"Well what is it? Are you sure you're alright?" Vader would have waved away such concern, but his durasteel fists were still clamped to the railing. He kept his head down.
"This does not concern me, young one. I...have been told something I hope not to be true." He could feel the entirety of the boy's body tense in an instant.
"What did you hear?" Luke's words were grave, almost as if he knew with what he was about to be served. Vader slowly began to turn to the boy, to the child he should have protected, but he couldn't. With another jolt of anger, he squeezed the railing one final time and he forced himself to turn steadily to his side.
"Son, look at me and assure me you experienced no kind of sexual assault on the Hoth base." Vader's words hung heavy for a moment, his respirator the only sound disrupting the utter silence. The boy's shields were air-tight, and his expression was stone as he made solid eye contact with Vader.
"I…I-" Luke held his features together for a second after his voice broke. Tears quickly welled up in his blue eyes, and his lip quivered violently. His expression crumpled, and he hid his face in his hands. An ear-shattering gasp escaped his lips and his shoulders began to shake with sobs.
And that was all the answer Vader needed.
No one, not even Vader, could have combated the soul-crushing guilt now weighing heavy on his heart. The endless string of questions containing such tortures as "Why didn't I find him sooner?" and "Could I have prevented this had I found him earlier?" were going to have to wait until a later time, for the boy was falling apart at the seams right before Vader's eyes.
Woefully unaccustomed to reassurance of any kind, and certainly not something of this gravity, Vader stood frozen awkwardly for a moment. He set a very cautious hand on the boy's shoulder, hesitant to even touch him. The boy's sobs grew louder and louder, wails of pain from deep within. He kept his face hidden in his hands, shame emitting from his now fully-exposed Force presence as his shields lay in shambles.
"I'm...I'm sorry I didn't tell...tell you," he hiccuped between gasps. "I...I-"
"Luke," Vader cut in, surprised at his own gentleness. "You do not need to justify yourself. I was not seeking an apology." He carefully patted the boy's quivering shoulder, his face still buried in his hands as he continued to wail.
In a swift motion, Luke sprung himself forward and clung to Vader, leaving the former Sith stunned. Although delayed, Vader carefully rested his arms around the boy, enclosing him in a relaxed embrace. He could feel the vibration of the boy's sobs against his own chest armour, and he brought up a careful hand to smooth his hair back to soothe him.
"Luke," Vader cooed, slowly stroking his blond locks back. "It is...it is alright." The boy was utterly inconsolable, and Vader was at a complete loss of what to do next. His tears wouldn't stop flowing and his sobs wouldn't quiet. Vader carefully tried to return the pressure in the embrace to calm him, and Luke clung to him tighter.
"Would you...like to sit down?" Vader offered lamely, but Luke shook his head against the chestplate. Vader's gloved hand continued to stroke the boy's hair back.
The two sat in silence for a moment as Vader's gloved hand began to rub his back lightly, only Luke's softening sobs interrupting the quiet. Vader felt the boy's chest expand and deflate shakily against the hand on his back. Vader felt the only comfort he could provide was stroking the Luke's hair back.
"Child," he tried to soothe. "Breathe." The boy gasped a terrible breath, his lip quivering by the sound of it. Luke finally nodded, breaking free of Vader's embrace.
Upon first glance of the child, Vader immediately felt his treacherous heart ache. The boy's typically vibrant blue eyes were stained red, his cheeks were rosy from tears and embarrassment, and the tired lines of his face made him look double his age.
Force, how Vader hated seeing him like this.
"I'm sorry," Luke said as he cast his gaze down, his congested voice finally steadying. Vader immediately shook his head.
"Child," he whispered, stepping forward to grasp the boy's petite hands in his own larger ones, enveloping him. "You have nothing for which to be sorry." Vader paused. "I should be the one apologizing," he finally admitted. Luke sniffled hard as he swiped away a stray tear on his cheek.
"It was gonna come out eventually," he said, loosely justifying Vader's actions. Vader reached out to cup the boy's face in his hand, brushing away a stray tear with his thumb.
"I did not intend to upset you like this, child," Vader admitted. Luke shook his head.
"No," he insisted. "I needed the push." Vader ran his thumb over Luke's heated cheek again, trying to be soothing.
However, once again, Luke began crying.
"What is it, child?" Vader asked, supposing it was a stupid question after he had just revealed the boy's biggest secret. Luke sniffled hard, casting his gaze to the ground.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," Luke admitted in a small voice. Vader set two fingers under the boy's chin, tilted up his face, and met his weary blue eyes.
"You are going to heal, Luke."