Light Up The Dark
Disclaimer: I don't own.
Chapter 7: Vacations/Field Trips
While Vader had realized that his young ward was not exactly predictable, he had, at least, begun to expect her to act a certain way. She had been raised a princess, after all. Therefore, when she came barreling down the stairs, shrieking happily and beaming for no apparent reason, he was understandably surprised. "Leia! What are you screaming about?"
She grinned even more widely (he hadn't thought that was possible) and attached herself to him. "I'm on break next week from school!"
"I thought you liked school?"
"I do, but a break is nice! Besides, that means more time I get to spend with you! Oh, what can we do? Will you be here next week? What can we do? Can-"
He covered her mouth with his hand, gently pushing her to release him. "Breathe, Leia. I was just coming to tell you; I'm leaving tomorrow, and I will be gone most of next week. I'm supposed to oversee negotiations on Corellia."
Her face crumpled. "Oh."
He bit his lip. "But, you know, these negotiations shouldn't take as long as I'm being sent for…and they're not exactly anything classified." He squeezed her shoulder. "Would you like to come along?"
She lit up. "YES YES YES YES YES!" She flung her arms around him, and he accepted the fact that convincing her to let go permanently was as likely as snow on Mustafar.
"Go pack, then."
She nodded and raced up the stairs toward her room, but she quickly reappeared. "Oh, and this will help with the paper due at the end of the week after next week! It's supposed to be about diplomacy and that kind of thing! I can call it research!" Before Vader could respond, she was gone again.
He chuckled. "I don't think she's ever still." He paused. "Then again, I never was at nine."
*L*U*D*
Leia quickly began throwing things into a suitcase. "I can't wait! Oh, this will be so much fun!" She debated packing her holo of her parents but decided against it, seeing as how she wouldn't actually need it. She did, however, pack her datapad so that, in case she was allowed to sit in on the talks, she could take notes. She flew back to the top of the stairs. "Mister Vader!" she called.
He came to stand where she could see him. "Yes, princess?"
"How long will we be gone? I need to know how many outfits to pack."
He cocked his head. "Pack for a week; we might be back before then, but just to be safe."
"All right! Thanks!" She darted back into her room and continued packing. I wonder what Daddy's got planned for us to do? She shrugged. I'll find out when he wants me to.
*L*U*D*
When the two arrived on Corellia, they were immediately escorted, on Vader's request, to the negotiation table. To Leia's delight, she was allowed to remain and take notes (once she explained in her precocious princess voice that it was for a school project). She sat beside Vader, rather swallowed up in his ever-present cloak, not that she minded. Underneath the table, where no one could see, she reached around to find his hand. Once she had grabbed it, she gently squeezed it, knowing that he was anticipating being very frustrated for several hours.
To her surprise, he squeezed back before releasing her hand. "Shall we begin?" he asked. Leia turned her datapad on and began to chronicle the meeting.
*L*U*D*
Once Vader and Leia were in their hotel suite, he let out a longsuffering sigh. She giggled. "You were bored."
He looked at her, raising his eyebrow. "How could you tell?" he asked sarcastically.
She shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. The fact that your foot started tapping incessantly after about three minutes, perhaps? Or the way your hands were balled up into tight fists after eight? Or maybe it was-"
"All right, I understand," he replied. "You win; it was obvious, wasn't it?"
"Of course. To me. But I don't think it was to anyone else, if that makes you feel any better?"
"A bit." He sighed. "I've always preferred aggressive negotiations to diplomatic solutions." A wistful look covered his face, and he appeared lost in memories.
"That sounds like the beginning of a story," she prompted.
He bit his lip. "Perhaps one day, but not today. Now," he said, crossing over to his room, "why don't we go grab some supper and then do some sightseeing?"
She bounced up and down. "That sounds like fun!" She darted into her room. "Give me five minutes!" she called over her shoulder.
Behind her, she could hear his skeptical voice, "When have I heard that before?"
I wonder if Mama said that a lot? Leia didn't allow herself to ponder the question; she had a fun evening to look forward to, and the more quickly she got ready, the more quickly she and her daddy would be able to go out.
*L*U*D*
To Vader's relief, the negotiations didn't take as long as he had been afraid they would take. He and Leia would have two days extra before they had to return to Coruscant. "What do you wish to do today, princess?" he asked on their first completely free day.
She grinned. "Wellll, I heard about this big amusement park in the city."
"Indeed; I've passed it multiple times on past visits."
"D'ya think we could go?" she asked hopefully.
"I don't see any problem with that," he agreed, while inwardly admitting that those big brown eyes could have talked him into doing just about anything.
She clapped her hands. "Wonderful! This will be great!"
*L*U*D*
The next day, Vader and Leia spent their time seeing the main historical sites on Corellia. Vader enjoyed himself that week more than he would care to admit.
Leia was most excited about the 'A' on her diplomacy paper. Well, that and the amusement park.
A/N: Don't worry, folks; this is the last of the "filler" chapters. We actually get plot movement in the next chapter! *gasp* I promise!
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