A/N An excerpt from my "Koah Project" universe. Luke is small and precious and dad!Vader adores his child like no ones business.

Being Good

"Did you behave for the Admiral?"

Luke looked positively affronted by the mere suggestion of him being anything other than perfectly well-behaved. "I's being super good! WASN'T I GOOD, PETE?" he bellowed over his shoulder. There were muffled sniggers from around the Pit. "Pete even said he might lemme me push a button. Can I? Can I push a button, please?" Luke pleaded, looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes without bothering to wait for an answer. Vader highly doubted the Admiral was going to yell from across the floor.

"Perhaps." He allowed warmly, amused more than he was willing to admit. Luke sensed it anyways and beamed with pleasure, now more than certain he was going to get his way. "What else have you been doing?"

"Playing!" Luke picked up one of his ships and thrust it upwards for him to see. "En-sigh Doss gave them to me! She likes ships too an' cowects little ones like these an' an' she says I can keep them! Can I? They make vrooooooom sounds an' go really fast. Does the 'Lady make vroom vrooom sounds? I think she's awful quiet, maybe… maybe she just hummmmmms."

The heart Vader was pretending he didn't have was positively melting.

"You are very astute, Luke. I do not believe that the engines for the Executor make that particular sound." He agreed, pleased for once that his mask hid his face from view. It would damage his reputation and cause him a world of hurt with Palpatine if anyone saw him smiling.

Luke blinked. "What's astute?" he asked curiously.

"It means you are very clever."

"Oh." Luke beamed, puffing up with pride at the compliment. "I's gonna get a ship of my very own one day and be a pilot too and fly really fast so that I can see everything in the whole gawaxy!" he confided in a loud whisper. "But… Uncle Owen says that it's too big to see all of itbut I's gonna try anyways!"

Half-formed, hazy pictures and ideas of what Luke hoped to see fluttered along their bond and Vader reciprocated, sending clearer images of worlds he'd been to in his youth for him to enjoy, much to Luke's delight. "You will indeed be a brilliant pilot, little one. Now, give me a moment to speak with the Admiral and once I am finished, you can have lunch."

"Can we go see the ships again too?"

"If you are good."

In Luke's eyes, that was as good as a yes. Vader made a mental note to add thirty minutes to his schedule to allow for a trip to the hangar bay.

A/N Readers can indeed expect to see more of this story in the future. :)

For those following What Lurks in the Dark - I do apologize for the slight delay in posting. The last few weeks have been a little chaotic as I've helped my mom sell the family house, have moved states, and am now in the process of getting a new apartment to live in. I will also be starting a new job on August 2nd. In addition, I've really been struggling with not having my dad around anymore and have been a little emotionally exhausted the past few days.

That being said - I am almost finished with chapter 4 and hope to have it out either this weekend or next week at the latest. Thank you for your patience! :)