For El Droide

Everyone stared at him.

It wasn't unusual to have eyes on him at all times. Ever since he'd left Tatooine at age nine, someone had always been watching him. The Jedi, the public, the Senate, Darth Sidious; and now his crew. But he'd had this crew long enough that they shouldn't have been so open with their stares as he stormed through the corridors of the Devastator.

With each step, paranoia grew. Just yesterday, people had been pretending not to see him as he passed. Today they gawked at him as though he'd painted his cloak neon pink. So, what was different about today?

Unable to stand it any longer, he stretched out in the Force, probing the emotions of the men around him. Usually he ignored them, considering them well beneath his consideration, but if they wanted to stare, then he was more than willing to turn his own attention on them. Let them face the consequences.

As expected, there was the usual fear, but it was overshadowed by a mix of horror and-amusement?

He stopped in his tracks, his breathing echoing in the hall. Those around him began attempting to scurry off casually, pretending that they hadn't been staring. But it was too late. Vader reached out, grabbing an officer he didn't know or care to know by the neck, dragging him back to stand in front of him. "Why is everyone staring at me, corporal?" he demanded, loosening his hold just enough for the man to answer him.

The man's eyes widened to a point Vader didn't even think possible, and he gaped, his mouth moving but no sounds coming out as he looked straight into Vader's mask. Vader shook him roughly. "Speak. NOW."

"Y-y-your….hel-helmet, My Lord…" He squeaked.

Vader frowned. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"What. About. My helmet. Corporal?" He hissed, moving in closer to the man's face.

The officer had gone deathly pale. "It's...different…."

That didn't help. How could his helmet be different? He'd been in the bacta tank...he hadn't bothered to check his suit when he'd pulled it back on. The helmet was always the last thing to put on, secured using a claw that lowered it snugly back into place. He hadn't made modifications to the helmet, nor had it been damaged in battle, and Luke and Leia…

The thought stopped cold.

Luke. Leia.

More specifically, Leia.

Without another word, he crushed the man's windpipe and dropped him, striding as quickly as he could towards the nearest port window.

No, no, no, no…

With each step, the dread grew until he was standing in front of the window, looking in horror at his reflection.

Even with the red tint of his lens, he could see that the paint on his helmet was of all different colors. There were flowers and images of what he supposed were supposed to be Tooka, rain drops, and...was that...a rainbow?

His stomach clenched, horror sweeping over him. How many people had he passed wearing this? He hadn't even paid attention, so it wasn't like he could accurately hunt them all down and kill them before rumors were spread-worse, he was still out on deck…

He pivoted, moving as quickly as he could without outright running back towards his quarters and the safety of his pod.

The corridors were mercifully empty. Likely, whoever had seen him stop and kill the corporal figured their lives would be forfeit if he caught them looking at him in this humiliating state. It gave him time to com Miss Laena.

"How may I help you, Lord Vader?" Her voice answered on the second ring.

"Bring my children to my quarters. I would speak with them." His mind replayed all of the art Leia had brought to him over the last few weeks. I made this for you, daddy. The inside of his meditation pod was plastered with her art. Not because he enjoyed art, but because he'd read that supporting children in their activities helped them grow intellectually. While his children would definitely not grow up to be artists (for more reasons than one), he had no opposition to anything that would give them a better chance to grow up as healthy and intelligent as possible.

Now he was seriously reconsidering the art issue.

"It will be done, My Lord." He hung up just as he reached his quarters, the pod opening for him automatically. He winced and groaned at all of the taped drawings that shifted as it did so.

He sat in his chair, turning around so that the twin's nanny wouldn't see his humiliating state as she dropped them off, and waited. Sure enough, not five minutes passed when he listened to the doors open, Miss Laena whispering to the twins to go meet with him, before she left. The moment she did, he turned back around to face his children.

Luke and Leia were in the middle of putting on the special breathing masks he'd made for them so that they could breathe easier in the pod while he spoke to them face-to-face. They paused when they saw him wearing the helmet. His eyes narrowed as Leia let out a giggle.

As if he didn't need more proof.

He forced his voice to remain calm. He didn't want to have to chase them down through the Star Destroyer wearing this infernal helmet. They would definitely bolt if they thought they were in trouble. "Luke. Leia. Come in."

Only Luke seemed wary at the invitation, though he followed his sister into the pod. The doors snapped shut, and Vader reached up and removed his helmet, turning it over in his hands. His children, by this point, were used to seeing his scarred face. They had never reacted in fear. He was their father, and they knew he would give them the entire galaxy if it made them happy. That's all they cared about.

"Would you care to explain how my helmet got this way?" Again, his voice, so different than when he was in the suit, was calm. Too calm. Luke shifted uneasily from foot to foot, glancing at Leia, who either didn't notice or didn't care that a storm was brewing.

"Art, daddy." Leia told him proudly.

He clenched his jaw, pushing back the irritation. Openly fighting with Leia was like arguing with a less reasonable version of himself. It did nothing but make things worse. "How did you even get it off the claw?" He shook his head. The answer was obvious: the Force. "No, nevermind, how did you get it back….?"

Then his eyes landed on Luke. The child who had a fascination with machines of any sort. Who, whenever he was brought aboard the Devastator, took too much interest in "daddy's machines."

Oh yes. Leia wasn't completely implicated in this.

"Don't you like it, daddy?" Leia frowned. Too innocent. She was five. She knew better, and yet…

"That's not the point." Now his voice was beginning to rise, a fresh wave of shame and humiliation washing over him at the consequences of so many officers seeing him with a painted rainbow on his helmet. "I need this to command my men. They need to respect me. They can't do that when I'm walking around with your latest creation on my face."

Leia crossed her arms, pouting. "Then make them."

He released a breath. It was the perfect answer any Sith father would want to hear. He couldn't tell if she knew that or if she legitimately thought he could just make people respect him with childish paintings on his helmet. "That's not how that works."

"Why not?"

"It just doesn't."

"Well it should."

"Be that as it may, it doesn't." His frustration was mounting. He turned his attention on Luke, who flinched. "Did you also paint something on here?"

Luke kicked his foot absently on the floor. A clear sign he was guilty. "No." When Vader stared at him in disbelief, in a quiet voice he amended his answer. "I drew the kitty."

Of course he did.

Vader held the helmet out to his children. "You are going to go find Miss Leana and clean this helmet."

Leia's lip began to tremble. "You don't like it?"

"Do not cry. I have hung plenty of your pictures on the wall. I don't need to wear it too…"

But tears were starting to fall. It was almost as bad as the time she'd brought him a picture that looked like a blob of squiggles and Vader had guessed wrong what it was. She'd taken that offensively too.

"Leia, I told you, I can't wear this…"

The tears fell harder.

"Leia."

She was outright sobbing. "You h-hate my pictures!"

How was this even happening? She was literally in his pod, a pod that was supposed to help him rejuvenate in the dark side of the Force, surrounded by her drawings. How did she even come to this completely illogical conclusion?

But, children were not logical. Especially five year olds.

He huffed. "Fine. I will keep it. But I still cannot wear it."

"No, you hate it!" Leia bawled.

"I don't." He did, and he could see Luke's skeptical expression, but the boy didn't rat him out. His son was always more sensitive to other's emotions. "I will place it in a place of prominence at home on Coruscant."

"What's prom...prom…"

"I will put it in my quarters at home in Coruscant." He amended. He carefully placed the helmet on the armrest of his chair then scooped them up in his arms, holding them close. He sent soothing feelings specifically towards his daughter, and thankfulness towards his son for not ratting his true feelings out. "I just can't wear it here. Maybe…" he hated himself for saying it, but he did it anyway, "Maybe I'll wear it at home."

Oh, he seriously hoped she forgot about that. But it did the trick. She brightened up. "Really?"

"Yes. I'll consider it. No promises. Now can you please stop crying?" Force, he hated it when they cried. Even if he suspected she was doing it because she knew that about him and wanted to get out of trouble. One day it wouldn't work.

But today was not that day.

As she reached up to dry her eyes, Vader turned to Luke. "Can you get me my spare helmet?" Given how often he came back from battle with a broken helmet, he had plenty to spare.

In his arms, Luke squirmed. "Um. Maybe, maybe you could...not wear a helmet?"

"That's not possible."

"Well. Maybe this once…."

His lips thinned. "Luke. Leia. Just how many of my helmets did you decorate?"

The twins were silent, looking anywhere but at him. He had his answer, and he made a note to reinforce some rules with Miss Leana about watching his children when he couldn't. But, in the meantime, there was no way he was leaving his chambers. Not with a helmet like that.

"Can we stay with you daddy?" Luke asked.

He sighed. "I apparently have to work from my chamber, so yes." Both of them brightened, but given the extent of what they'd done, he couldn't quite let them off easy. "Oh, Luke? Leia?"

"Yes, daddy?" Leia asked, batting her long lashes at him.

It was almost enough to make him reconsider. Almost.

"You're grounded."