A/N: Hey, friends! Thanks for stopping by! Same warnings apply, please tread with care.

Also just a friendly reminder that I'm not necessarily looking for constructive criticism on my work- thank you to those who took the time to try to help me improve my writing, but I know my brain, and I'll fixate on it and feel really insecure for a while.

Thank you!

With every unbearably heavy step, Luke ticked off another reason why this was the best way- the only way.

Father doesn't need this, Luke told himself. He has enough on his plate already. With Luke gone, this will give his father more time to focus and heal properly from the decades of his own trauma. Luke's staying would only stunt his father's recovery.

"Did you truly believe I didn't suspect this previously?" Luke's heart dropped to his stomach as he heard his father behind him. He froze, an eerie chill crawling down his spine as he remembered how ominous those words would sound if there were still in the midst of the war. Well, not that they didn't intimidate him now.

Luke's heart thudded in his chest as he grasped for not only how he was going to explain this, but how he was to carry out his plan now. He couldn't bear to be this close to his father for another moment harboring this secret, especially knowing just how cruelly it would destroy him if he knew the full story. Simply being in his presence now chipped bits away at Luke's soul, and he knew it was only a matter of time before nothing remained. If that went, his relationship with his father would follow not far behind.

"I…" Wait, how could he feel him?

"You may have strengthened your shields to indestructibility, Luke, but you are still my son."

Wow, he really was in his head, Force connection or not.

Luke bowed his head, feeling both embarrassment and anger summon a blush to his cheeks.

"Did you hear any of that?"

"I happened to be awake, yes, but I suspected this stunt since you strengthened your shields."

Luke sighed, keeping his head bowed to the ground. He gripped the handle of his bag tighter.

"Father, you have to let me do this."

"Luke-"

"No, please. You...you don't understand." Luke had to turn away- he couldn't look at him. He was sure he'd cave if he laid eyes upon him for even a moment longer.

Luke heard his father sigh as much as his respirator would allow, followed by careful footsteps forward.

"Son, I understand plenty." Luke's blood stopped cold in his veins.

No. No, he couldn't.

How?

Luke's mind buzzed with a star system full of questions, but he forced his now trembling form to turn around and face his father.

He looked right up at the mask, locking their identical, haunted blue eyes.

"You...you do?" A solemn nod, and Vader rested his hands on Luke's upper arms.

"You are feeling vulnerable and at fault for this attack."

Luke held his gaze as a silent wave of relief washed over him- he didn't know about Ziggora.

"Ye...yeah," he stumbled, bitter humor lacing his tone with a light tinge of disappointment. "I...uh, yeah."

Vader tentatively rubbed his hands up and down Luke's biceps, again trying to show an ability to soothe.

"Child," Vader said softly, bringing up a hand to brush his thumb over Luke's heated cheek. "You understand this attack was in no way your fault, nor do I think any less of you because of its occurrence?"

Now Luke's throat began to constrict. No, no. He couldn't lose it- not now.

He could only nod as he shifted his gaze to the vase on the railing, catching an unwanted glimpse of himself in its polished material as he ran warnings to himself through his head. His throat continued to tighten.

"You will persevere through this, young one. Sooner than you realize, you will be back to normal."

Luke froze as he replayed those words in his head, trying to convince himself he misheard them. He blinked, gaining the courage to look up at his father as his fear dropped in a flash.

"What?"

Vader ran his hand over Luke's shoulder, apparently blatantly unaware of the falsehood in his statement- not just for Luke, but for any survivor of trauma.

"I know it to be true, Luke, and once the process is complete, you will be back to yourself again."

Again, Luke could only blink, staggering back out of his father's hold. The process? Complete? Did he think this was some broken starship that needed rewiring?

Of course he didn't understand, and his systematic thought process would never allow him to do so. Although Luke wouldn't have accepted his help anyway, his worst fear hit him like a ton of rocks: he was in this alone- all alone, and he'd been a fool to believe otherwise.

"Son?"

An asteroid seemed to plummet from the top of his head to the pit of his stomach, leaving a resounding, echoing emptiness in his gut. Shock bled to anger as he repeated the words; alone, absolutely alone.

"Luke?"

He didn't realize how knotted his fists had become until his father reached out his own hands to gently coax them to relax; however, Luke jerked his hands away, feeling his heart hammer in his chest with fury and panic.

"Luke, speak to me."

He couldn't- his muscles tensed in ways he didn't even realize were possible. His jaw suddenly ached as he realized how tightly he had been clenching it. He turned away, claustrophobia closing in as he realized he was just about pinned between his father and the railing, too tight to breathe.

"Luke, calm down-"

"Just stop!" he snapped. His breath came in choppy heaves as he fought back the images flashing behind his eyes, the deep baritone of his father's voice drowned out under the whirlwind of intense emotion.

"Luke-"

"No!" The only option he saw in front of him was to run, to escape the small space, the strong hands...

In one swift, hurried motion, Luke ducked out from under his father's impending grasp and paced in the given direction as fast as his legs would carry him. His vision became blurry as he tried to blink away the rapidly-forming tears.

Everything was loud, incredibly loud: thud of his heart in his ears, his own ragged breathing, and the hiss of his father's disrupted respirator rhythm far behind him.

But all was silenced by a sudden, sharp crash of glass to the cement, and a shrieking gasp from Luke's lips. Even the animals in the forest hushed as the air fell totally silent, a striking contrast to the whirlwind assaulting him mere seconds before.

Luke peeked his eyes open tentatively to see what the hell just happened, but not without first raising his arms in defense.

The vase. He broke the vase on the balcony railing. He knocked it right over, sending it crashing down to the unforgiving stone right in front of him.

Luke kept his head fixed down to the scattered, chalky bits, unable to move a muscle.

"Luke?"

His lip quivered, and his vision blurred with tears before he could combat the overwhelming emotion.

Luke buried his face in his hands, collapsed to the ground, and began to cry.

What began as small sniffles grew into brutal, gut-wrenching sobs. The desperate gasps for air between his wails pierced the still silence with shattering strength. He was far past the point of control, reduced to a quivering heap on the hard ground.

A moment later, he felt a gloved hand on his shoulder.

"Luke," he heard his father say gently. He could only gasp in response, trying so desperately to force air into his lungs.

"I...I'm-" Luke choked, his words muffled by his own hand clasped over his mouth.

"Son-"

"I'm sorry," he burst out, tears now streaming down his face in twin streaks. Although surely stunted at first, Vader carefully rubbed his hand over Luke's shoulder.

"You have nothing for which to be sorry, Luke," he assured. "The vase is of no matter."

"But...but I broke it," Luke blubbered.

"It is repairable. Look, we still have all the pieces."

"How?" He still felt the tentative hand stroke his shoulder as he shook.

"Child, once it is repaired, it will still function as a vase, will it not?" Luke nodded, mopping his face with his sleeve as he sniffled. "Then what lessens its value?" He fell silent for a moment as he kept his head turned from his father.

"The cracks," he whispered. The hand on his shoulder stilled a moment, then carefully patted him.

"Come," Vader said. "Let us bring you inside." With a small sigh of defeat at the lack of a response to his statement, proving its truth all the more, Luke allowed his father to help him to his feet. For a moment, he could only feel his father's gaze upon his features, although he still kept his own eyes averted.

In a swift motion before they began to walk inside, Vader pulled Luke into his chest, assuming a protective grip on his small form.

And Luke had no choice but to acquiesce to the rising emotion that once again rose from his core.

He was only partially aware of the generic reassurances articulated through his father's deep baritone as he ran a hand over his hair, for all Luke's attention was focused on how in the hell was he going to do this.

A/N: Thanks for continuing to read! Fun fact: This scene was in about ten different pieces for the longest time before I finally sewed them together and completed it. As per usual, I have no control over my writing process XP