Ben's Announcement:

D347/15 BBY, New Alderaan, Outer Rim

Leia Organa-Solo dismissed her escort of guards at the front door of her glass and white painted durasteel home with a tired smile and told the two Mandalorian warriors to enjoy their weekend off. The men nodded their helmeted heads at her and walked up the street towards the centre of the city, an extra bounce in their step that wasn't there before, undoubtedly aiming for their favourite pub.

She opened the door to her home and was greeted by the heart-warming sight of her black haired son bounding towards her like a giant gangly puppy.

"Mom!" Ben said, beaming as he ran into the foyer. He'd sensed her presence arriving while hanging out with his dad in the family room three floors up, playing the new game Han had brought home as a present.

Leia dropped her bag and opened her arms and he hurtled into them as she braced herself for the impact. "Hi, baby." She wrapped his bony frame in a tight hug and laughed as she realized she couldn't rest her cheek on top of his soft and wildly wavy hair anymore. She pulled back and met the eyes that looked just like hers and were now at the same level as her own. "I go to Hosnian Prime for two weeks and come back to find you've grown even more. I think your father was right when he guessed you were going to end up taller than him."

Ben grinned and hugged his mom again for a moment, ecstatic to have her home finally. "Aren't genetics wonderful? My grandpas are the best!"

Leia laughed softly and stroked a gentle hand over his hair, trying to tame it into something resembling order. "I don't know... You're grandfather on Han's side must have had some crazy wild hair if this mess is anything to go by."

Ben giggled and shook off her hand, tossing his mane around. "I like it. It covers up my ears."

Leia tsked as she bent down and grabbed her bag again and started walking towards the living section of the small palace. "There's nothing wrong with your ears. I think they're adorable."

Ben rolled his eyes at his mother's back as he skipped and bounced after her tiny frame. "You're obligated to think that; you're my mother. They're shabla huge and you know it."

"Hey! Language!" Leia shot her son a chiding look. "The palace guards are obviously a bad influence if they're teaching you swear words. I don't know what I was thinking when I let Sabine talk me into hiring Mandos for the New Alderaanian Security Force."

Ben give his mother an appropriately remorseful look and made a note to self to save the cool swear words to conversations with his friends in the future. "Sorry, Mom. And you were thinking that you wanted the best protection possible for our new planet. I remember you saying that six years ago when we first moved here."

Leia raised a brow as she started climbing stairs. "That's right. I did say that. But you were only four when I had that discussion with the Council and I could have sworn you were asleep at the time. Your memory is amazing."

Ben beamed at the praise. "I remember everything you say, Mom."

"It's true. He does." Han said from the second floor landing, leaning casually against the wall, like seeing his wife for the first time in a month was no big deal. "Our kid quotes you on a regular basis."

Leia stopped halfway up the stairs and looked from her husband to her son and back again. "Really? I didn't know."

Ben shrugged ruefully, face flushing slightly. "I think you're very smart, Mom."

Leia just had to hug her son again for that. She held him close with one arm and kissed his forehead. "I have the best son ever." She held out her bag to Ben. "Can you take this to my room? I want to say hello to your father."

Ben grabbed the bag and groaned as loudly as possible, knowing from experience what she meant. "Just try not to get too carried away and embarrass my nanny again, okay?"

Leia blushed as Han laughed.

Ben bounded up the rest of the stairs, paused at his dad long enough to exchange manly winks and receive a hair ruffle, and then kept right on going up to the third floor to tell the cook that his mom was home and to start supper. (Ben was hungry, as usual.)

Leia walked up the grand staircase in a more dignified fashion, a secret smile playing on her lips as she approached her husband with an extra sway to her steps. "When did you get home, flyboy?"

"About an hour ago," Han said, still leaning on the wall and eagerly soaking in the beautiful sight of her. Her hair was braided in a complicated fashion that he couldn't wait to undo and her curvy little frame was covered in something gold, flowy, and made her look like the royalty she was. He looked forward to taking that off, too. He opened his arms for her as she took the last two steps towards him and enfolded her in a nearly desperate embrace. "Kriff, I missed you, sweetheart," he whispered into her hair, breathing in her flowery scent like it was necessary for his survival.

Leia wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him with soft doe eyes. "I missed you two, hotshot."

A groan escaped him as he leaned down and captured her mouth with his own and they proceeded to kiss each other breathless for the next ten minutes or so.

When they pulled back a fraction to stare into each other's eyes lovingly, Leia found herself pressed between the wall and Han's hard frame, his hands holding her up by her rear end, and her feet were nowhere near the floor. She smiled at Han and stroked her fingers through his hair while rubbing her stomach against the hard length between them. "Perhaps we should move to our room?"

Han grinned and changed his hold on her so he had an arm under her shoulders and another under her knees. "Gladly, Your Highness. You always have the best ideas," he said as he carried her up the next two flights of stairs.

"Wow. Fifteen years later, he finally admits it," Leia teased as she pressed kisses to his stubble covered jaw.

He guffawed and nuzzled his nose against hers with twinkling hazel eyes.

Han walked through the door to their suite that encompassed the entire fourth floor of the palace and had a balcony big enough to park a fleet of X-Wings on. He chuckled as Leia actually used the Force to trigger the door to close with a wave of her hand. "Now I know you missed me," he managed to get out before their mouths were plastered together once more.

Leia tore her mouth from Han's for a moment and she shifted around in his arms so she could wrap her legs around his waist. "Just make love to me already. We can do the slow version later after Ben goes to bed."

Han smirked as he tumbled them down onto the huge bed covered in pillows and soft blankets. With Leia now on top of him and her delicate fingers attacking the buttons of his uniform jacket, Han ran his hands up the length of her legs to gather the voluminous fabric of her dress up to her waist. "As I was saying; you have the best ideas."

Leia smirked right back. "I know."

Ben blocked the sense of his parents from his mind, old enough now to understand what they were up to and REALLY not wanting to think about it.

Instead, he concentrated on the new game, picking up where he'd left off earlier and happily shooting old school TIEs as fast as they showed up on the holoscreen from the interior of his virtual reality TIE Defender. He used to think the X-Wing was the coolest fighter until Uncle Luke and Aunt Sabine had a race in their respective favourite ships. Sabine won, and she didn't have the Force to help her reflexes. That instantly made her ship the best in Ben's mind.

"You know, I never got to fly a Defender," a wry voice said from beside Ben. "That is always going to annoy me."

Ben pressed the pause button on his controller and jumped out of his chair to run over and hug the glowing newcomer. "Grandpa!"

Anakin ruffled Ben's hair fondly and hugged him back. "Hey, my little man. How's life these days?"

Ben rolled his eyes in the direction of the ceiling. "Mom and Dad are finally back and they're saying 'hello' again."

Anakin grimaced. "Yeah, I'd rather not think about that one. Anything else new happen since I saw you last?"

Ben flopped back into his gaming chair and swivelled it back and forth. "I passed my exams at school, got dissed yet again for being freaky looking by the nerfherders who have nothing better to do than put people down, accidentally floated all the desks when I got mad, and... there's a new voice in my head who encouraged my anger. Am I going insane?"

Anakin sighed, slumping a little, before he took a couple of steps and settled into a kneeling position in front of Ben's chair. He put a hand on the boy's knee. "No, you're not going insane. There's something I need to tell you, but I was hoping we had more time before this happened."

Ben took in the resigned expression on his grandfather's young man face and leaned forward eagerly, sensing he was going to hear a very interesting secret. "Before what happened?"

"Years ago, Ezra was shown a vision of a possible future. In that future, you were lured to the Dark side by a man named Snoke and a bunch of other horrible things happen, like the entire Hosnian system was obliterated by a weaponized planet called Starkiller and your Uncle Luke turns away from the Force and hermits himself on an island for years."

"Whoa," Ben breathed. "I bet Auntie Jade didn't like that very much."

Anakin chuckled. "Jade wasn't in the vision, so we're assuming she left him for being an idiot or she was killed or something. Anyways... Back to this guy called Snoke. The reason your father is always gone is because he's looking for him."

"Really?"

Anakin nodded solemnly.

"I wish I'd known that. I feel bad now for resenting Dad for being gone all the time." Ben's lower lip trembled as sorrow filled him for all the disparaging thoughts he'd had about his dad when his father had only been trying to help him.

Anakin sent him a wave of sympathy, knowing what it felt like to be wrong about someone. "Give the sadness to the Force just like your mom taught you," he murmured. "It really does help. And you can make it up to your dad by being extra helpful or something."

"Okay. I'll do that. Thanks, Grandpa." Ben smiled bravely as he imagined releasing the sorrow into the Force around him and immediately felt better.

Anakin gave his grandson an approving smile. "You're much better at that than I was at your age. I swear Obi-Wan thought I was hopeless for a while."

Ben giggled as Obi-Wan himself appeared behind Anakin for a second and nodded like a possessed bobblehead before disappearing again.

Anakin spun around and glared at the spot his Master had been in only a moment before. "I swear he follows me everywhere," Anakin huffed.

"It's not my fault you happen to have very entertaining relationships with those still in the living realm," Obi-Wan's disembodied voice whispered on the air.

Anakin growled in a mock fashion while he rolled his eyes down at a still giggling Ben. "Don't ever become the scourge of the galaxy, Little Ben. You'll regret it later when the entire dead Jedi community watches everything you do afterwards like you're better than holomovies."

Ben sobered as he remembered that there was a possible future where he did just that. "I don't wanna be an evil Darksider, but this Snoke guy keeps talking to me and making me feel cold. And sometimes, the things he says make sense."

Anakin resumed his kneeling position in front of Ben and looked at him with knowing eyes. "I understand, believe me, do I ever understand. Just keep thinking of everything that is good in your life and you'll be able to fight him off. I have faith in you."

"So do I," Obi-Wan's voice said in the air again.

Ben smiled bravely.

"Just hang in there, kid. Your dad's determined to find Snoke before anything bad happens. And he's not the only one. In fact, a lot of people are looking for him because Snoke starts something called the First Order and starts a war with the New Republic and he wins. And you're at his side when he does it."

"Double whoa," Ben said, eyes super wide. "I know I lose control of the Force sometimes, but I swear I'll never go fully Dark. Mom would have a nerf if I did! Not to mention disappointing a ton of other people like Auntie Soka."

Anakin grinned. "Nope, you most definitely wouldn't want to do that. At least you're allowed to be familiar with the Dark side now, unlike when I was a youngling. Ahsoka's new Order is a million times better than the one I was raised in." Anakin gave a 'what can you do?' shrug, "Anyways, if Snoke has found you and is talking in your head, we're going to have to step up your training. I know your mother wants you to live with her, but I think you need to go to Lothal and train in the Jedi school properly. It's the only way you're going to be able to block Snoke from your mind."

Ben slumped in his chair, sadness filling him again. "It's going to hurt Mom and Dad very much if I leave."

Anakin squeezed his knee. "I know. But they can still come visit you on Lothal when they have time. I doubt it will be much different from how much you get to see them now. They might love you to bits, but as parental units, you gotta admit they leave something to be desired."

Ben snorted. "Now there's an understatement." He sighed and propped his chin on his fist, staring blankly as he thought things though. "I've always wanted to train more as a Jedi, and I KNOW my cousins have way more fun than I do." He focused on his grandfather again as a thought occurred to him. "Why don't you teach me so I don't have to leave? I've always wondered why you've never taught me anything. What I do know comes from my mom or Uncle Luke or my cousins."

Anakin heaved a mournful sigh. "You remember how I told you you could never tell your mom that I visit you?"

Ben nodded, wide eyed.

"Well, you see, what happened was that she caught me coming to see you when you were a baby and she had a fit. She still hasn't forgiven me for torturing your father or murdering too many people to count when I was Darth Vader and she forbade me from seeing you. I'm afraid if I teach you anything, she'll figure out that it was me who taught you and she'll hate me even more. Sooooo, I haven't."

"Mom does have a rather spectacular temper," Ben said with a smile. "I get mine from her, but she'll never admit it."

"And she got it from me," Anakin said with a rueful twist of his mouth. "I don't know how many times Padme and Obi-Wan scolded me for losing it."

"Four hundred and sixty-two," Obi-Wan said, momentarily appearing behind Anakin again and winking at Ben.

"Now you're just exaggerating, Master," Anakin said, not even bothering to turn around. "I hope," he mouthed to Ben.

Ben giggled at Anakin's woebegone expression before he got serious again, resuming his thinking pose. "I guess that means I have to tell my parents that I need to leave without giving anything away?"

"That's what it means. Your mom can't know it was my idea. You could probably tell them about Snoke, though. They both know about him and the impact he might have on your future. Although, I have faith we've already prevented almost all of the bad future from happening."

"That's good. But I don't think I'll tell them about Snoke being in my head; I wouldn't want to worry them since they have enough to deal with."

Anakin ruffled Ben's hair one more time as he rose to his feet. "You're a good kid, Little Ben. We're all very proud of you, don't ever doubt that."

Ben wrapped his arms around Anakin's waist one more time, sensing an end to their time together. "Thanks, Grandpa Ani."

"Anytime, kid." He hugged the boy back and then disappeared, zooming towards Lothal to tell Ahsoka and Ezra about the new development.

Ben fell back in his chair and closed his eyes as his mind came up with some reasonable arguments to give to his parents.

Half an hour later, Ben's little family was sitting down to dinner in the informal dining room. The serving droid brought in their starter salads of fresh greens and berries in a light vinaigrette.

Ben picked up his fork but couldn't make himself take a bite since his stomach was doing cartwheels from how nervous he was. Instead, he pushed the leaves and berries around his plate, making patterns and designs that Auntie Sabine would surely approve of.

His parents didn't notice, too wrapped up in their conversation.

"I recieved Ben's yearend report card from his school yesterday," Leia said.

"Mmmmmmm?" Han replied, mouth full of salad.

Leia stabbed a leaf with more vigour than was absolutely necessary. "His grades were excellent, as usual; top of the class again."

"Great job, Ben," Han said, shooting his son an approving smile without actually focusing on him.

"But his teachers are concerned about him," Leia continued. "They say he continues to have problems making friends within the school, which is odd, since I know he has many friends amongst his 'cousins'."

Ben wanted to protest that it wasn't his fault. He'd tried to make friends but he just didn't fit in with 'normal' kids.

"They also say the other children appear to be afraid of him, probably due to the fact that Ben continues to 'show off' his Force talent."

"I don't!" Ben protested.

Leia smiled at him swiftly. "We know, honey. I've tried to tell the school that you're simply experiencing surges of uncontrolled talent, but the teachers and administrators appear to be just as close-minded as your fellow students."

Han sighed, slumping. "I'm really starting to think we should be home schooling Ben. But neither of us are home often enough to make that work."

"We could hire a tutor," Leia said thoughtfully. "Would you like that, baby?"

As his parents finally focused on him, Ben decided it was now or never. He sucked in big breath and then blurted out, "I want to go live on Lothal with Uncle Luke."

Ben gulped as the Queen of New Alderaan and Admiral Solo of the New Republic military blinked at him like he'd just sprouted a second head and started dancing on the table. Ben ducked his head down and studied his salad as the seconds ticked by and neither said a word while he FELT them stare at him. Ben squirmed in his chair, wishing he didn't have to do this.

Han smacked his hand down on the table beside his plate, making Ben and the cutlery jump and water tremble in the fine glassware. "Absolutely not!" he exclaimed, face flushing red. "Your home is with us; your parents!"

Ben flinched as his dad's anger hit him in a wave through the Force. 'But they're hardly ever home to BE your parents,' the chilling male voice that he now knew belonged to Snoke whispered insidiously in his mind. It was all Ben could do to hide the flinch.

Leia calmly put her fork down on her plate without taking the bite of lettuce that was on it and touched Han's arm in a calming fashion. "Before you say something you'll regret, perhaps we should ask our son WHY he wants to move away."

Han sucked in a breath and released it slowly, covering Leia's hand with his own. "You're right, sweetheart, as always."

Leia smiled sweetly. "Of course I am." She patted Han's cheek gently before turning her warm brown eyes on her son and raising a finely shaped eyebrow curiously. "Would you care to explain yourself, Ben-Wan Organa Solo?"

Ben twisted his hands together in his lap, clenching away the fine tremors of anxiety. 'Be strong. You don't need them,' the voice whispered yet again, leaving Ben feeling colder than ever. But it was enough to bolster his confidence and give him the nudge necessary to start speaking, even if he didn't want to agree with anything the bad man had to say. He put up the strongest block he could come up with, but he doubted it was enough.

Ben sat up as straight as possible and squared his shoulders as he met his parents' eyes. And like the politician's son that he was, he stated his case clearly and concisely. "My reasons for wanting to move to Lothal are very logical. First, it would save you from having to pay nannies OR tutors to look after me when you're not home." He refrained from adding 'which is almost always,' not wanting to say anything that would sound as bitter as he occasionally felt. "Second, I have cousins and friends who are more advanced in their training in the Force than I am and they are almost all younger than me. I want to train at the Jedi school like they do. And third, I am lonely here. All of my friends are on Lothal, or at least visit Lothal on a regular basis."

'Well done,' the voice congratulated. Ben ignored it as best as possible. He didn't feel like he deserved congratulations for the hurt he could now feel coming from his parents. And he most definitely didn't want to be congratulated by SNOKE. He didn't really want to leave them, but he also wanted to be a Jedi, and he'd never learn how if he stayed home. He'd also never get Snoke's voice out of his head if he stayed home and that just might drive him insane for real. His mother had taught him enough to control his talent most of the time, and he'd learned some tricks from his relatives whenever he got to visit them, but Ben knew he'd never learn more than that the way things were going.

"But you're only ten years old!" Han said, clearly trying to keep his temper. "That's much too young to move away from home!"

"People send their children to boarding schools all the time," Ben said in his defence. "How is this any different? Plus, the Jedi used to take toddlers away from their parents to train them, so I'm already way beyond that. Annnnnd I'd be staying with Uncle Luke; it's not like you are sending me to a stranger. Please, Dad, at least consider it."

Han adopted his stubborn look, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his casual white shirt. "I don't like it. You're our son and you should be raised by US."

There was so much Ben could say in response to that; mainly things along the lines of how he'd actually been raised by nannies and droids more than by them, but he kept that in, knowing it would just make the situation worse. He didn't blame them. His mother was incredibly busy ruling New Alderaan and being a member of the New Republic High Council. And now that he knew his father had a legitimate reason for staying with the military when it seemed like they were living in a prosperous time of peace, Ben really couldn't say anything against him either.

Leia squeezed Han's arm until he looked at her. "Han, I hate to say this, but I think Ben has presented a compelling case. Think about it; all of his troubles at school would no longer exist if he went to a school where he fit in with the other children. And he really does need someone more experienced than I to help him learn to control his powers. You know I only ever learnt enough to do a few tricks. I'm in no way qualified to help him any further. And he's just going to get even stronger in the Force as he grows older. He needs help, Han. Are we being selfish keeping him with us?"

Ben looked from his dad to his mom and back again, waiting to see what he'd say with baited breath.

Han looked from his wife's imploring chocolate eyes to his son's identical ones. His mouth twitched in the barest hint of a smile as he noticed the matching expressions. Despite how much Ben already resembled Han's father, he was Leia's son through and through. How he loved them. He was also completely powerless against those eyes, no matter which one it was that turned that look on him. And when they both did... Well, he was officially putty in their hands.

Han heaved an exaggerated sigh. "I suppoooooose it wouldn't be the end of the galaxy if Ben went to that Jedi school." He pinned Ben with a dad look. "But... We're coming to visit you whenever we can and you come home for holidays."

Ben grinned, finally relaxing. "Sure, Dad. That sounds perfect."

Han nodded once. "Good," he said gruffly. He glared at Ben's plate, just noticing that there was no food missing from it. "Now eat your salad, your mother says it's good for you."

Leia laughed softly and kissed Han's cheek again as Ben nodded quickly and picked up his fork again.

"Yes, Dad." Ben ate eagerly now, content with how things had worked out. The discussion had gone better than he'd expected and the longer the idea percolated, the more he looked forward to going to the Jedi school.

The only downside was the sense of satisfaction he was getting from the presence in his mind that was not himself. Why would Snoke be happy that he was going to train to be a Jedi?