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Chapter Text

Leia can never recall exactly when her nightmares began, only that it must have been when she was around three or four. Perhaps it was somehow connected to the first time she actually read her governess' mind. She only remembers it, because of how shocked the woman had been, and how her parents had been afraid for reasons she still can't understand. Sure, it's not normal, perhaps, to be able to intuitively understand the thoughts and feelings of others, but it's not a bad thing, either. It's helped her, made her more alert and aware. That can only be good, right?

The first time she had a nightmare was horrible. She can still vividly remember it, the bubbling, red-orange lava lighting up the background as the two men fought, wildly and viciously with bright blue swords. She can still hear the young man's screams as he nearly burned to death on the edge of the lava river.

Leia had woken up then, gasping and choking on sobs as she ran to her parents' bedroom and crawled into bed with them, trembling. She couldn't coherently even tell them what it was that she had seen, and her childish attempts at doing so had alarmed them so greatly that she feared she had, somehow, done something wrong by seeing it. Maybe they understood more than she realized and knew the significance of what it was that she'd seen. Even now, she doesn't know.

The nightmares never stopped, and there's always been a realness to them, a clarity of knowing that Leia can't shake off. They're always the same, or similar, never changing in content, and she knows that they are important somehow.

She has, over the years, been able to piece together somethings, and eventually, at Lola's suggestion, she scribbled down what she dreamed so that she could put all together. The piece of flimsiplast she keeps folded and hidden away from prying eyes. These dreams are hers, and she selfishly wants to keep them to herself. She's smart and intelligent, and she can figure it out on her own without going to her parents about it.

After the first couple times, she stopped trying to tell them, and she's never broached the subject since, something within her telling her that they are better kept to herself.

Someday, she will get answers. Someday, she will discover the truth.

***

Though Leia struggles against her captors valiantly, it's to no avail, and soon, she tires. She's tied to a chair, unable to break free, especially not on her own. With Lola having been thrown carelessly to the floor, she's alone. Completely alone.

She doesn't intend to doze off, but she still does, and images come to her in brief glimpses.

"You turned her against me!" the young man – Anakin, he is called – seethes, blue eyes flashing with fury and betrayal. Padme is lying on the landing platform, and somehow, Leia just knows that these are her parents and that this is how it call came apart.

"Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic, to democracy," Obi-Wan snaps at him, hard and unyielding and equally angry.

She wants to cry as they attack each other, fighting with brutal relentlessness that terrifies her. No matter how many times she sees this, it will never get easier. It has never gotten easier over the years, and she doubts it will ever change.

"Don't try it," Obi-Wan yells, but, of course, Anakin jumps just like every single time in the past, and Leia wishes she could block out his agonized screams as he burns. And Obi-Wan leaves him there, walking away.

The flashes are vaguer, but she can still see Anakin as he is now, or at least as what he became, a cyborg in life-support and a broken man. She can feel his pain, unbearable and overwhelming, as he asks after Padme and is told that she is dead because he kills her. That, most of all, is what unsettles Leia the most because this is her father. She knows it in the same way she knows that Bail and Breha are her parents.

This is her father, and he is said to have killed her mother. But did he really when she lived?

Leia jolts awake with a quiet gasp, gritting her teeth as tears prick her eyes. She isn't a baby anymore; she should be able to stop herself from crying over the past, no matter how devastating it is to her. Her parents are dead – at least that's what her adoptive parents have said to her – and she needs to accept that, no matter how much she wants to know more, wants to understand what it is that is triggering these constant, ceaseless nightmares.

She ignores her thoughts by getting to work on escaping, smashing the back off the chair and wriggling free from the ropes, waiting for someone to come and open the door so she can run.

It isn't long before the door slides open, and she springs into action, slamming the piece of wood into the abdomen of the man who enters and running. He grunts, but recovers fast enough to grab her arm, hauling her backwards with a hiss of "wait!"

"Let me go!" Leia screeches, squirming in his grip and kicking at him as he deposits her on the floor and backs towards the doorway, blocking her only escape route. "Who are you?" she demands, glaring. (She has looked at herself in the mirror, and she knows how much the glare on her face looks like her father's. He might have been insane and he might have done awful things, but he is still her father, and she cares about him, even if she shouldn't.)

"Your father sent me," he explains. "I'm here to help you."

She blinks at the man, and then blinks again when his appearance doesn't change. He's... familiar. Strangely familiar. His accent is familiar too. "Where's the army?" she gripes, because she had been so certain that her parents would send an army for her and make war because she had been taken.

"Come. I'm gonna get you out of here," the man tells her.

"Why should I trust you?" she asks warily. After being kidnapped, she has a very good reason to be wary of him, thank you very much. Besides, there's something about him that feels so familiar, though the reason behind it remains elusive, no matter how much she grasps for it,

"Would you rather stay here?" The question is rhetorical, and he continues without waiting for a response, "Now, let's go." He takes her hand and leads her from the cell. She has no reason to object anymore; she wants to go home very badly. She misses her parents, and this is not a very fun adventure at all. Well, maybe it still can be. Maybe.

"Come on," he whispers, pulling her down the hallway and out into the streets after getting cloaks to cover themselves. "We don't have much time. Keep your head down."

"This would've been easier with the army," Leia huffs, and he hushes her.

She wants to trust him, but something is stopping her, though she doubts that he'll hurt her. Maybe it's because his thoughts and feelings are closed to her, unlike most. It's strange. The man guides her to a side street where he strips off his cloak with a terse, "Come in here. We have to change."

Leia begins to take off her cloak too, when something at the man's waist gets her attention. A lightsaber, she thinks it's called. Like the ones the men in her nightmares have. "Is that a..." she begins, feeling both shocked and intrigued. "You're a Jedi?"

"Quiet," he says again, looking around uneasily, and Leia studies him more carefully.

"It's just... you seem kind of old and beat up," she states bluntly. All at once, realization dawns, and she stumbles back a step, staring at him in a new light. She has seen him before. Obi-Wan.

"From my point of view, the Jedi are evil," Anakin had raged, though Leia doesn't think that she believes that at all, even if he does for whatever reason.

"Well, then you are lost!"

She has seen what Obi-Wan is capable of, and she is... scared. She's scared, because she very much doubts that he would ever hurt her, but – but she doesn't understand. Any of this. For years, she's wondered and been curious about what happened. Her nightmares have never been clear enough, and she feels connected to Anakin – Vader? Whatever he calls himself – in a way that she can't even explain. She is drawn to him, and not only because he is the biological father that she's never gotten a chance to meet. She doesn't know his story. She doesn't know Obi-Wan's. And she is old enough to know that she can't judge them without hearing more.

"What is it?" he – Obi-Wan himself in the flesh – asks, crouching down.

"I know you," Leia replies, torn between talking to him and hightailing it out of there. If he's a Jedi and her father sent him here for her, then he must be good as well as capable of getting her back home. She wants to go home, but she can still hear Anakin's screams.

"Do you?" Obi-Wan queries, seeming both disbelieving and amused almost. "How?"

"You're Obi-Wan. I've seen you in my dreams." She feels no hesitation to tell him. On some level, she does trust him, even if she's wary.

He just stares at her, but somehow, she knows that he's surprised, and he doesn't fully believe her. "How about you tell me about it later?" he proposes. "There is a port across the city. We need to make the last transport."

"Sure, let's go," she agrees, amiably, turning away, but he reaches out, grabbing her arm.

"Wait," he orders, and the commanding note in his voice sends an involuntary shiver down her spine for reasons beyond her understanding. "You have no idea what I'm risking being here, Your Highness. From now on, you'll do exactly as you're told, understand?"

She nods solemnly, and he takes her hand again, guiding her through the streets.

It hasn't been very long before Leia senses something... strange, as if there's voices whispering to her, telling her to be careful because there's danger. It's a gut feeling that has always served her well, and she can't help but notice that Obi-Wan is tense too. "Come on," he says, pulling his hood over his head as they head across the street.

Leia stays wary and alert as he picks out clothes for her and eventually convinces him to let her get gloves too. She hates when her hands are dirty, and this looks like a very dirty city. And maybe there's something about them that reminds her of Anakin, of her biological father. He wore a glove on his right hand, his metal hand before it burned off – aaaand not going there right now. She can't allow herself to think about it.

"Now, if anyone asks, we're farmers from Tawl and you're my daughter," Obi-Wan tells her.

She thinks back to Anakin, to the way he acted towards Obi-Wan, the way that he called him 'master,' the word filled with both resentment and affection and so much more that she can't even name. "More like granddaughter," she sniffs.

"What?"

"Nothing," she chirps, beaming up at him innocently.

Obi-Wan leaves it at that, and they begin walking again. She asks about where they are, taking in all the sights as best she can, given the fast pace at which they're walking. Obi-Wan snaps at her, just a little, when she gets distracted, but okay, fair, there are people after her after all. She should know better than to lose focus. Still, she can't help but throw a snippy, "You sound like my parents," at him as they hurry along.

"I thought all the Jedi died," she comments, looking up at Obi-Wan, "But you're a Jedi, and you're still alive. How did you survive?"

"I escaped," he replies tersely, not even glancing her way.

"How well does my father know you?" She means Bail, of course, because he's the only father that she's ever known, even though she would like to think that she knows Anakin a little, too, from her nightmares, but he doesn't know her, so it probably doesn't count.

"We have known one another for a long time," is the reply. "Your father is an old friend."

Which one? She wants to ask but doesn't. She wants answers. Desperately. This is something that has been haunting her for years, and now that the truth is just within her reach, she needs to know. She needs to. "Why did my father send for you?"

Obi-Wan sighs, wearily. "He trusted me to find you."

"But... why? Does he know what you did?" Leia has no idea where she gets the courage to ask that question, but she stands her ground when Obi-Wan turns to look at her, even though her heart is hammering wildly.

"What?" he sounds confused. "What are you talking about?" He continues without even giving her a chance to reply, "We need to keep moving."

He rushes her into a side street suddenly, glancing back briefly before moving on. As Leia tries to figure out how to phrase the question, Obi-Wan pulls her into an alley. Without warning, a man comes around the corner, and he lashes out, smashing a fist into the man's head and knocking him out. She flinches violently, remembering the vicious blows he and Anakin traded on the planet of lava.

"He's a bounty hunter," Obi-Wan says in lieu of explanation, dragging the body around a crate out of sight. Leia goes a short distance and sits down on the ground, pulling her droid Lola from her pocket and cradling her damaged form, inspecting the damage. "We'll stay here for now," Obi-Wan tells her when he comes back. "No noise from that."

Something in his words instantly annoys her, though she can't say what or why. Maybe it's just that her cousin had been being rude to droids right before this whole mess started. "Her name's Lola. And she won't make any noise. She's hurt."

"Good." He looks around before crouching down near her. "What happened to her?"

"She was ripped to pieces by kidnappers," Leia explains, looking sadly at the damaged form of her best friend. "She'll be all right, though. She's strong."

"I let your parents know you're safe," he informs her, "You'll be back in the palace, back to normal, by nightfall."

"Normal," she mutters under her breath. "Great." It's not that she doesn't want to go back home, because she definitely does, but going home will mean losing whatever opportunities she has to learn more about her birth parents and about Obi-Wan. "Does – does my father know what you did to Anakin?" she blurts out before she can lose her courage. This isn't something she talks about to anyone except Lola, and she knows somehow, that she isn't supposed to know any of this, that these nightmares she's having are not things she ought to know.

Obi-Wan stills, expression eerily blank, but she can still feel his panic, his fear, his... longing? "Where did you hear that name, Princess?"

"You don't have to call me that. I'm just Leia," she corrects, "And I heard it in my dreams. I see things in my dreams sometimes. I – you tried to kill him, didn't you. Does my father know that? Does he know that you... left him there?"

Obi-Wan's face goes ashen, and Leia can keenly feel his regret and pain and grief. "Your father knows that I had to kill him," he answers. "He was dangerous. He had done horrible things." It's not the full truth, perhaps, but it's definitely a truth which he believes.

"You love him," she says, realizing it all at once. "Even now, you still love him. You regret hurting him."

"Leia..." He trails off for a moment, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. This isn't something you should even know. I don't understand how unless..." He doesn't finish the sentence, but he looks extremely troubled.

"Is something wrong?" she asks nervously. "Is it... bad that I'm having these dreams?"

"I don't know."

Whatever either of them may have said next is interrupted by a sudden beeping noise. Obi-Wan immediately rises, telling her to stay and going to the bounty hunter's unconscious body. Hesitantly, Leia rises and follows him, her eyes widening when she sees a holographic image of Obi-Wan. Of course. He's a Jedi, and all the Jedi are supposed to be dead.

"What is that?" she asks, voice quavering slightly with fear despite her best efforts. "Why is there a picture of you?" Even as she says it, the pieces click together in her mind. "That's why they took, isn't it. They took me to get to you."

"Leia, listen," Obi-Wan begins, looking at her as he stands, but she isn't listening to him, her mind racing faster than she can keep track of it, words pouring out before she can think better to stop them.

She remembers the cold scary voice saying, "Lord Vader, can you hear me?" She remembers the cyborg, the man that Anakin became asking after Padme, lashing out in a blind, wild fury when he was told of her death. And somehow, Leia just knows.

"He's doing it, isn't he," she continues, slowly taking a few steps back from him. "Anakin. Vader. He's looking for you." She isn't afraid of him though, even if she maybe should be knowing that something much bigger than both of them is coming for them. If – he's her father. He's her father, and maybe when she meets him, she can get answers before going home.

Obi-Wan's face is deathly pale as he looks at her carefully. "Your dreams." It's not a question. "No, he's not behind this. He's dead, Leia. I killed him." There's so much pain in his words, and she feels the instinctive urge to go to him, to hug him and try to help him. He has suffered so much. He and Anakin both. She doesn't know what their relationship was like, but she does know that what happened between them on the lava world devasted and destroyed them. And evidently – and unsurprisingly – Obi-Wan thinks Anakin is dead.

"He's not dead," she answers slowly, stepping towards him and reaching out to take his hand. "I saw, in my dreams. He's alive. He was saved."

"You're wrong," he insists desperately, voice raw with pain. "No one could have survived."

"But he did," Leia whispers. "He did, Obi-Wan."

He flinches minutely. "I go by Ben now."

"Oh, sorry. Ben, then," she hastily amends, squeezing his hand. "I didn't mean to make you sad."

Obi-Wan – Ben manages a smile, but it's strained, and it doesn't look very real. "We should keep moving. It's not safe for you."

Or you, she thinks, though she doesn't say it. She holds his hand as they venture from the alley and back into the streets. "If they're looking for us," she says a few minutes later, "Aren't they going to find us more easily if we're on the streets? There are so many people around." It's not as if she has any such experience with these things anyway, and Ben would know better than her, but she can't help but ask.

"We need to keep moving. Staying still would be worse."

"But – can't we find a safer way?" she wants to know, hurrying to keep up with his long strides.

"Speed is more important," Ben explains, "And I don't know the layout of the city well enough to navigate across the roofs, though it might work for a time."

They pick up their pace, and Leia does her best not to think about any of the questions that are spinning in her mind. She hardly even knows what it is that she wants to ask, but talking about Anakin made Ben sad, and she does not want to make him sad. Even if he shouldn't have left Anakin there to die. That was awful.

Sometime later, after a few scary encounters with their pursuers when Ben had to use a blaster to stop them, and after learning that the port has been shut down by... Inquisiting people, or whatever they're called, they hid in an alley where they encountered someone who not only recognized Ben, but also directed them towards a cargo port from which they can escape, they set out again towards their new destination.

By now, Leia is growing tired, and she's also feeling conflicted. Ben killed some people to keep her safe. She doesn't want anyone to die because of her. That's awful! It was – when she was kidnapped in the first place, it was different, because those were bad people. Bad people kill. But Ben isn't a bad person, and he's killed for her. Leia doesn't much like how that makes her feel.

"We must be careful. This is a cargo port. It's not meant for people," Ben cautions as they peer around the hangar from the doorway.

From somewhere, Leia can feel a strange... dark. She has a bad feeling, one far stronger than anything she's ever felt before, and it worries her. Is something bad going to happen? "Then they won't look for us here," she deduces in response to Ben's words.

"Well, not unless it's a setup," he agrees, and she scrunches up her face in confusion as they head further across the platform.

He's a Jedi. Shouldn't he have been able to do whatever Jedi do to know that the man – Haja, Ben called him – was being truthful? She certainly had realized his sincerity. Maybe Ben's just out of practice. Can Jedi be out of practice, though? Leia really has no idea. She knows almost nothing about Jedi.

"Is it that hard to believe you might have friends? Look, since I met you, I've been chased, shot at, and now there are Inquisiting people after us. If somebody is offering us help, I think we should take it. Now, come on." She darts forwards, towards the large starship on the other side of the platform, stopping only once she realizes that Ben isn't following. "What now?" she sighs, looking back at him.

Ben has a strange look on his face, and he seems wistful. "Nothing, you just remind me of someone. She was fearless, too. And stubborn." Whoever 'she' is, she was clearly someone that Ben cared about, Leia can tell that much. But –

"I'm not stubborn," she retorts as they keep walking.

"Yes, you are," he replies, amused.

"I'm not!" she insists, continuing before Ben can argue the point. Distractions always work, and this would be such a stupid thing to argue about. She's not stubborn, end of story. "Was your friend a Jedi, too?" Like Anakin, she thinks.

"No, she was a leader. She died a long time ago," Ben tells her, and for a moment, she gets a flash of... someone. Someone familiar.

"Padme?" she blurts out.

Ben huffs out a breath that's not really a laugh. "Of course, you saw her too."

Something dark and dangerous tugs at Leia, and she stiffens as Ben pushes her around a crate to hide. There's a snap-hiss noise, and a strange female voice calls out Ben's Jedi name. He stills before grabbing her shoulders and hurrying her along, hidden behind the piles of crates. "Leia. If I don't get back in time, go." He pushes the datacard into her hands, and she accepts it with reluctance. "I'll be right behind you, I promise. Go!"

She nods fervently before turning and bolting towards the starship which isn't too far away from them now, her sole focus on activating it so that they can escape. Ben is counting on her, and she won't fail him. It's easy to get onto the starship and plug the datachip into the port. She watches as the ship comes to life, lights flickering on as it powers up. And then, she hurries back towards the entrance, peering out and waiting anxiously for Ben to show it. Distantly, she can hear talking, but she can't make out the words over the whirring of the engines and the pounding of her own heart.

When Ben finally comes into view, racing towards her, Leia steps back into the ship, slamming the button for take-off. The doors slide closed right as he ducks inside, and the ship shutters under them, lurching as it lifts into the air. Ben seems uncharacteristically shaken, and he leans against the wall, staring into space blankly, seeming... distant in a way that scares her.

"What is it?" Leia queries worriedly. "Are you okay?"

For a long few seconds, he doesn't move, doesn't even blink, only whispering a faint "Anakin" under his breath. His expression is ashen and tormented, and Leia can see the unfathomable pain in his eyes. "You were right," he admits, looking towards her at last. "He is alive." He speaks again after a pause, "It will be a long flight. You should get some rest."

"What about you?" she can't help but ask.

"I... need to meditate on everything," Ben tells her, and she accepts that answer, because she can't even imagine how hard it must be for him to have learned that Anakin survived. She doesn't think that she actually wants to rest, but she is tired, and Ben needs time, so she agrees.

Chapter Text

Leia sleeps well without dreaming, and when she awakens, Ben is fixing Lola with some tools that he must have found somewhere. She's impatient to arrive, though, so she asks persistently when they'll reach their destination, and each time, Ben tells her that there's nothing that he can do, and that the Force cannot be used to speed their journey. Which is unfortunate, but Leia at least learned a little more about the mysterious 'Force' that the Jedi use.

"Can you see things in the past?" she asks, curious. "Do I have the Force?"

Ben sighs at that, and he seems conflicted. "I do not know why you are having the dreams you are," he admits. "It is not normal or regular." Leia notices, of course, that he didn't answer her second question, but she doesn't mention it. Maybe it's better if she doesn't know. Or maybe Ben doesn't know, either.

He gives her a repaired Lola after that, and it isn't long before they arrive at their destination: Mapuzo. It's a mining world apparently. The two of them set out for the coordinates they were given. It's a pleasant walk, the sun shining down brightly on their heads, although the ground is dry, and the area deserted. Ben tells her a little, explaining that the world was destroyed by the Empire which isn't something Leia has ever heard before. She has always been taught in her classes that the Empire is good and is helping people. She's had her doubts, but it's… strange to see how wrong the Empire really is.

Ben pauses at one point, staring off at… nothing, and he doesn't react when Leia calls him immediately, but they set off again.

It's a long walk.

It's a very long walk, and Leia is getting tired of walking, especially when no one shows up at the coordinates, forcing them to head towards the spaceport that must be nearby on foot. They manage to catch a ride from a local farmer which initially seemed like a good thing until a few stormtroopers got on. That was… awkward. And scary once they started asking questions. Thankfully, they get off without realizing that Ben is the Jedi they're looking for, leaving Ben and Leia alone again.

And Leia has questions. Lots of questions.

She wants to know more about her mother, her birth mother, Padme. For a long time, she has wondered what really happened. She knows that Padme came to Anakin on the lava planet, and she knows, could sense more so, that Padme lied to Anakin about Obi-Wan. She said that Obi-Wan wanted to help, but… well, if he did, Anakin certainly didn't seem to think so. And Obi-Wan was there. Padme seemed… surprised to see him. So how did he get there? Did he sneak along or did Padme really bring him to kill Anakin, like Anakin thought?

"You knew my mother," Leia states, looking at Ben. She doesn't know how to ask any of the things that she wants to know. She doesn't want to make him sad again, but… if Ben doesn't tell her, then who will? Anakin? Perhaps, if and when she ever meets him. Although, if she's right about Vader being the one who did this just to get to Ben, she imagines that they might meet and soon, at that.

"I did," Ben admits.

"What was she like?" She has seen Padme in her dreams, and she wants to know more. And she can see flickers of Padme's face now in Ben's thoughts, too. She's curious about the woman who birthed her, who died before she ever got the chance to know her.

"She was a leader," Ben answers, and Leia knows that he's choosing his words carefully. "She was a wonderful person. Very kindhearted. She was an exceptional woman."

" It seems, in your anger, you killed her."

"How did she die?"

Ben hesitates. "She died in childbirth."

It's… well, it's not what Leia thought, but she doesn't really know what she did think. Still, she has to be certain. "She wasn't killed?"

He frowns, surprised and maybe a little suspicious. "No. Why would you think that?"

She shrugs, looking away. "I don't know. I just – my parents told me that my birth parents died at the end of the Clone Wars. I… have always wondered what happened."

"I can understand that," Ben murmurs.

They don't say much more as they continue towards their destination. It gets very scary when stormtroopers stop them, asking questions, and Ben doesn't hesitate to pull out a blaster and shoot them. Leia flinches, both because of the sudden violence he's demonstrating and because more people are dying because of her. She never wanted this to happen.

"I didn't do it on purpose," she confesses to Ben, "I didn't mean to run away. I used to do it all the time. I just… It was just for fun. I miss home."

The Imperial officer who rescues them escorts them to the settlement, leading them into a small building. Inside it is a hidden opening where Leia first gets a glimpse at the resistance against the Empire. She knows that she's young and that she doesn't fully understand the depths of what is going on, but she is old enough to understand a lot. She listens avidly as the woman, Tala, explains to Ben how the network works.

"What does it say?" she wonders, curious, as Ben studies the words on the wall.

"Only when the eyes are closed can you truly see," he recites.

"See what?"

"The Way."

The moment is interrupted when stormtroopers knock at the door of the building, demanding to search. Luckily, they're hidden by the secret door, but Leia is still trembling with nerves, clutching Lola in her hands desperately. They prepare to escape into an underground tunnel network to the ship that is waiting to take them to safety when Ben gasps suddenly, turning around towards the door. And Leia realizes that she can sense something… strange as well. An anomaly of sorts.

Or… no. It's not that. It's not the strange cold. It's – it's –

" Lord Vader, can you hear me?"

" Yes, Master."

It's Vader.

"Ben," she calls worriedly, knowing what this means. She knows Ben. She doesn't know Vader, her birth father. And she's scared, because she knows that he is not a good person. Ben rushes forwards, not listening to her, peering out the small slats of transparisteel in the door. Leia follows, straining her eyes. Outside, she can hear the faint sound of screams, of… terror.

They watch until, at the far end of the street, a black figure strides into view, stalking forwards like a predator. Leia's breath catches in her lungs, because that – that is her father in the flesh. Her birth father who is alive. And who is hunting Ben – and her – because he doesn't know who she is. Ben's hand is on her shoulder, pulling her back from the window. "Let's get back in the room. Go. Go. Now."

Tala pulls her back to the other room while Ben waits and watches. Somehow, Leia isn't surprised when Ben comes back to tell them that they need to go ahead alone while he provides a distraction to lead Vader – her father – away. It's wrong. As dangerous as it is, Leia wants to go out there. She wants to meet him, wants to see if she can learn anything from him, anything at all. Meeting her birth parents has often been something she's thought about. She wants to meet Vader. He deserves to know that she's alive, that she survived.

Despite Leia's reservations, she leaves with Tala, and they run through the tunnels before Leia keenly senses that Ben will be in danger. He helped her, rescued her, and he might have hurt Anakin very badly, but Leia does not want him to come to harm, so she convinces Tala to go back, to find Ben and help him. Tala goes, reluctantly, and Leia only realizes that it might have been a mistake when she reaches the end of the tunnel only to run into someone who she assumes is one of those Inquisiting people Ben told her about.

Her attempts at fleeing fail, and the next thing she knows, she has been taken into custody.

***

Being a prisoner of the Empire is awful. And the Empire is awful, too. Not only did the scary Inquisiting lady insist on keeping Leia as a prisoner despite the fact that she's a Princess of Alderaan, but also, she told Leia, repeatedly, that Ben was dead, that he burned to death on Mapuzo so help will not be coming.

Leia does not want to believe her.

She does not want to believe her at all, but she has a vague grasp of what anger and hatred do to a person, and she knows that Anakin has so many reasons to be angry at Ben. Vader could have killed him. He could have burned him to death like the woman said. Leia doesn't want to believe that's true, because she wants to trust that Ben will come for her, that he'll take her come just as he promised.

But… she worries.

And she perseveres.

No matter how hard the Inquisiting lady pushes, Leia doesn't budge. She doesn't give her anything. She will be strong. Like her parents. Like her birth mother. Like Ben. Like Anakin may have been once upon a time. She wants to know more about him, too, but she didn't know how to ask, didn't know if she wanted to ask when thoughts of Anakin clearly made Ben so sad.

Leia refuses to talk, no matter what the Inquisiting lady says or threatens.

But her bravado disappears rapidly when stormtroopers drag her to a scary dark room with a strange machine in the middle. Leia has no idea what it is, but she knows that it's bad. Very bad. That's when she starts screaming, demanding to be released, begging someone to come to her rescue. No one comes, of course, but she still refuses to tell the Inquisiting lady anything.

She screams, crying for someone to help her, and in her terror, she lets slip a name that she's been careful not to say. "B-ben! Anakin!"

He doesn't come. Neither of them comes, but for a moment, Leia could swear that she felt him in the same way she feels him in her nightmares.

"What did you just say?" the Inquisiting lady demands harshly. "Where did you hear that name? So, your parents have been teaching you about the Jedi after all. Not that that's a surprise. You better start talking."

Leia musters up the courage to give her a death glare. "In my dreams," she says, just as she has been saying from the beginning. "He… has been in my dreams." There's a ringing around her, a strange feeling of danger, and her instincts scream at her to run. She would if she could.

Thankfully, whatever was about to happen next is interrupted by a stormtrooper, and the Inquisiting lady leaves. Then, Ben comes, and Leia tearfully hugs him, briefly, just to assure herself that he's alive. Their escape from the Imperial facility is scary, far scarier than anything Leia could have imagined, though it is rather… cool, she supposes, to see Ben using his weapon, even if the sight of it also gives her shivers as she remembers… the lava river and Anakin's screams of agony.

But he isn't here, no matter how disappointed she feels at that, so she probably doesn't need to worry too much.

For now.

***

By the time the ship escapes from the surface of Jabiim, Leia is shaking from a mixture of fear, grief, and exhaustion. So many things are happening in such a short period of time, and she isn't used to it. She desperately wants to be back at home with her parents; she wants this adventure to be over. (She wants to meet Anakin.)

Tala died fighting the Imperials, and that knowledge hurts. Leia's only consolation is that Ben is still here with her, and they should hopefully be able to make the return trip to Alderaan soon. Hopefully.

Everything is still so uncertain, and she lets Lola fly around the other children here to keep them distracted from their fear. Helping them distracts her, too, so she doesn't have to think about their uncertain future. She might be young, but she isn't stupid. She knows that things don't look good for them.

It only gets worse when Ben comes to her, explaining that he needs to leave to distract the Empire. Again. Last time, he was hurt. Vader hurt him. Ben didn't say it, but Leia just knows it, and she doesn't want that to happen again. She doesn't want either of them to hurt each other. She doesn't want them to keep hurting, but she doesn't know what to do about it, either.

What can she do anyway? She is only a child, much as she hates it.

"You can't just leave me here!" Leia yells at him. She won't let him go. She won't.

"I'm the one that Vader wants. If I go, he will follow," Ben replies, keeping his voice calm. He's already made up his mind, hasn't he. And he said she was stubborn.

"I'm not letting you!" she cries, anger and fear warring for dominance within her.

"Leia, please," he tries to protest, but she won't listen to him anymore. He can't just… leave. If he leaves, she may never see him again, and she – she has to… She has to do something. She doesn't know what, but somehow, she can sense that her window of opportunity is closing. Fast.

No matter what Ben thinks, her birth father needs to meet her. If he does, she feels as if it might change everything for the better. Most importantly, Ben cannot go to face Vader alone, or something bad will happen. Leia can stop that, so she will.

" You're a good person. Don't do this."

" I won't lose you the way I lost my mother."

" And together, you and I can rule the galaxy… make things the way we want them to be."

" Where is Padme? Is she safe? Is she alright?"

" I? I couldn't have. She was alive. I felt it!"

Anakin is… complicated. That much is clear. But it's also clear that he cares very much about his family. Leia will trust in that, and she will trust that Padme was right about him, that he was a good person. Maybe if she sees him, she can… what? What can she even do?

She doesn't know, but she'll never forgive herself if she does nothing.

She listens to Ben's words as he explains to the other passengers why he's doing what he's doing, and from the way he's talking… it's… it's as if he doesn't expect to survive. And that, more than anything, is something that Leia will not accept. "No," she snaps, stomping away from him. She refuses to listen to his explanations any further.

Haja comes to talk to her, and she listens to him, still feeling angry and a little hurt. Ben plans to leave her here, and she dislikes that as much as she dislikes that he's planning to go after Vader. But he will not be dissuaded. And nor will she. She just won't tell him what she's planning.

"You said you'd take me home," Leia says sulkily when Ben comes back to speak to her again.

"I wish that I could, Leia. Really, I do. Please tell your father I tried," he replies, crouching in front of her. His blue-gray eyes are sincere, albeit tired, and Leia feels a faint stirring of guilt at what she has planned. But no, she has to do it. "I have something for you," he continues after she nods. He lifts a blaster holster, handing it to her, and a wave of emotion washes over her when she recognizes it. It was Tala's. "She would have wanted you to have it," Ben promises.

Leia hopes so. She has really liked the woman, and it's sad that she's dead because of the Empire now. The Empire is doing so much wrong, and she wishes she was old enough to do something about it. You have to come back, she wants to demand, but doesn't, because she plans to make sure that he does. Still, she hugs Ben both as a comfort and as an apology before he leaves.

She waits a few minutes before slipping out from her hiding place. This starship is big, but not so big that she doesn't know her way around. Lola is with her – she thought of slipping the little droid to Ben, but she knew that she would probably need her help her – and she flies ahead, tiny and unobtrusive, finding Leia the best path towards her destination. It helps that she is small, too, which means that it's easy to duck by unnoticed.

Leia ducks into a small hiding spot inside the dropship that Ben just boarded, and she squeezes her eyes closed, focusing hard on being invisible. She has no idea if it will really work, but she can hope. At the very least, even if Ben does find her, it might be too late for him to turn back. She doesn't know if he's really that distracted or if her feeble attempts at hiding from a Jedi really work, but either way, he doesn't notice her as he flies away from the large ship. Their shuttle jolts as their Imperial pursuers begin to chase them instead just as Ben had predicted.

Her heart is pounding, and she's terrified, because all of this could go horribly wrong. But Leia won't let it deter her, focusing instead on the fact that she might soon meet her father for the first time. Despite herself, and despite that she has an idea of how awful of a person he now is, she's excited. She feels drawn to him in a way that she can't even explain, perhaps because of the nightmares giving her a glimpse into a major event that changed his life – and hers – forever.

Her fear fades slightly after the dropship lands, and Leia hardly dares to breathe as Ben walks past her and lowers the ramp, exiting onto the planet – or whatever it is – beyond. Leia waits for a few minutes before crawling out from where she's hiding and standing, Lola hovering at her side. "Okay," she whispers, feeling very naughty and way too brave given how the last time she did something like this she ended up being kidnapped. "Come on. Let's go."

The duo creep – or fly, in Lola's case – to the exit of the ship, peering into the dimness of the rocky barren wasteland beyond. Ben is walking away from the ship with determined strides, and from somewhere, Leia thinks she can sense a strange dark coldness that rings with familiarity. Vader is coming. She doesn't know how she know that, but she does, and her heart pounds faster with a mixture of fear and anticipation. She knows that, by all rights, she should be scared, and she is, but at the same time, this will be alright. It will be. She's certain of that.

Leia creeps across the ground, following Ben at a distance like a shadow, staying hidden behind the rocky outcroppings. If he senses her, he makes no indications of it, but Leia continues to focus hard on being invisible. She's done it in the past sometimes when she wants to sneak into the kitchen past the cooks to snag a treat before hiding away from everyone. Her ability to slip around undetected has long baffled her parents, and she's never told them that she thinks it might be because she concentrates on being invisible when she's on the move.

A shuttle flies towards the ground ahead, and Leia instinctively glances at Lola whispering, "That's an Imperial Lambda shuttle," to her as they stop to watch, knowing that Vader is inside. Ben is standing there now, back facing her, tensed, his unlit weapon in his right hand.

She could approach Ben, but she doesn't think that's a good idea, so she waits instead, watching with bated breath as the shuttle's ramp lowers and Vader himself appears in all of his dark glory. She gets a better look at him now, and she can't help but feel a twist of pain when she sees him in the life-support suit. Though she's seen it in her dreams, too, of course, it's different in person. No matter how intimidating he appears, Leia knows better. Yes, he's dangerous, but he's also a broken man who can't even live without machines. It's – it's horrifying and tragic, and Leia just wants to hug him; she can't imagine the constant pain he must endure every second.

For a single respirator cycle, Vader stands there, cape swirling slightly around him as he stares at Ben. "Who have you brought with you?" the cyborg asks finally, and the sound of his voice sends a shiver down Leia's spine no matter how familiar it is to her.

" I? I couldn't have."

"I am alone," Ben answers, and he sounds confused for a moment before he suddenly feels afraid, more afraid than Leia has ever felt him. She closes her eyes, concentrating harder on being unseen, even though she thinks that it's pointless. And not even a moment later, she feels an invisible force dragging her from behind the rocky outcropping behind which she'd hidden, no matter how much she tries to fight it.

Chapter Text

Leia feels Ben's dread before he turns to look at her. "What are you doing here?" He sounds… angry, and she instinctively takes a step back from him, remembering.

" Well, then you are lost!"

He had been so angry on that lava planet, and she knows he would never hurt her, not deliberately, not like that, but still, she can't stop her instinctive reactions. "I wasn't going to let you come alone," she replies, raising her chin defiantly.

She holds his eyes for but a moment before her gaze skirts to Vader again, curious. He's dark and cold but soothing; it doesn't make sense, not at all, but that's what it is. Unlike Ben, Vader's thoughts and feelings are much more closed to her, though she can still get hints of… something. Resentment? Anger. Pain. So much pain. And there's something else, something buried deep down, far enough that she can't grasp it.

"You should not have come," he says a little harshly, but he feels scared again. Panicked, even.

"What are you doing with this child?" Vader demands, taking one step closer.

"Protecting her obviously," Ben snarks, "So you don't kill her like you have killed every other child in your path."

"What makes her special? I have hunted you for years, and I have found nothing. Then, this child is taken, and you come for her. Why her?" There's loathing there, a bitter wild fury that makes Leia want to cower under the sheer intensity. But she thinks that she can hear the unspoken words to which he would never give voice. Why not me?

"She is the future. All children are. I don't owe you any answers," Ben snaps. He glances back at her for a moment. "Go back to the ship and wait for me to return."

"Planning to leave so soon are we, Master?"

Leia catches a glimpse of a deep unfathomable pain. Pain and yearning. Love twisted into possessiveness. And she knows that unless she does something, fast, this will get entirely out of hand. Besides, watching these two destroy one another verbally is too reminiscent of what happened on the lava planet. She cannot let it happen again.

"I will do what I must."

Vader flinches in the Force, and Leia does too, because she knows what those words mean for him. There's no doubt in her mind that Ben chose them deliberately, but she never thought that he could be so – so spiteful, so petty. It doesn't seem like behavior befitting of a Jedi, especially not when his grief over Anakin was so real, so genuine. He thought Anakin was dead. He thought he killed them. Wouldn't finding out he's alive make him happy, or at the very least want to do better? Ugh. Adults are so complicated.

"You're hurting him," Leia states flatly, taking a few steps closer, gaze drilling into Ben's back. The thought of announcing that Vader is her father is… strange all of a sudden, and she's hesitant for reasons that she can't even explain to herself. Perhaps it's because she can feel the tension in the air, and it's as if a bomb is about to go off. She does not want to be the one who unleashes it.

"Go back to the ship," Ben grits out, his grip on his weapon tightening. "Please."

"No." She shakes her head, unable to take her eyes off Vader, studying him, gauging him, wishing that she could read him better. He's… closed to her. "Ben, I can't. I – I need to know if – if… I –"

"Later." He sounds tense, anxious even, and Leia suspects that the only reason Vader isn't saying anything is because he's trying to figure out more about her and Ben's relationship. "We can talk about it later."

"Who are you, child?" Vader asks suddenly. His tone is a monotone as always, but Leia can tell that he's curious, and his anger is quieter, though his resentment is stronger.

"Don't –" Ben begins, but Leia interrupts him. She has to do this.

"My name is Leia," she tells him, "And I am your daughter."

There's a flare of horrified shock from Ben, and disbelief from Vader. "Do not play games with me," Vader snaps, his anger back, stronger than before, though it's now mixed with grief.

"I'm not," she insists. "The Emperor. He told you that – that she died and that your child died. I didn't die. He lied to you."

"Is it true?" Vader questions, helmet turning towards Ben.

There's a tentative pause, a moment where Leia can sense how thoroughly everything could shatter, but then, Ben replies. "Yes, it is," he admits grudgingly.

Vader's fists clench, the leather creaking, but he doesn't react outwardly other than that, though Leia can sense that his emotions are in a turmoil. "You took her from me," Vader says lowly, his rage palpable. "You hid her from me."

"Because you would have made such a wonderful father for her while you were gallivanting around the galaxy, slaughtering innocents," Ben deadpans.

Vader growls, taking a threatening step closer, and before he can say anything, Leia storms forwards. "Stop it! Both of you!" she yells. "I do not want to see you fight again. It's bad enough that I see it at least once a week ever since I was four!"

"What?" Vader sounds aghast, unsurprisingly.

"I… have dreams," Leia offers hesitantly. "I see you, both of you. Fighting. On a lava planet. It's in flashes, but…" She lowers her gaze to the ground, unable to look at them as Anakin's screams play in the back of her mind. "It's awful. The Emperor is there in some of them, too."

The men have been shocked into silence; she can feel it.

"Can we leave?" she asks hopefully. "I hate this place. It's dark and depressing. I want to go home."

"You will be coming with me," Vader states with a note of finality in his voice.

"No, I'm not," Leia argues at the same as Ben says, "It's not safe for her."

"I can protect her," Vader growls heatedly.

"From Sidious?" Ben's voice is skeptical. "You would fight your chosen master for her."

"He was going to kill him before," Leia pipes up. "He was. He told my mother he would. He was telling the truth, I could tell."

"Leia –" If not for the vocoder, Leia thinks Vader would have stumbled over her name, "– is right. I would do anything to protect her."

"That's it?" Ben queries incredulously. "You're going to forget about how long you've been hunting me down and trying to kill me just because you have Leia?"

"I intend to take you prisoner," Vader argues. "Do not think you will be going anywhere." There's a heartbeat of silence, and he continues, "I offered, once, to destroy the Emperor. I would make the same offer again. To you. We can destroy him. And we can rule the galaxy ourselves."

"What about me?" Leia wants to know, feeling how mind-blown Ben is and wanting to give him a chance to recollect himself.

"You are my daughter. I wish to raise you," Vader answers. He feels strangely vulnerable and awkward. "I do not know you, and you do not know me. I wish to… correct that."

"I have other parents, too," Leia points out. "They would miss me. And I would miss them, too, if I never saw them again," she adds, quieter.

"Anakin, truly, if you think I want to rule the Empire with you or anyone, you are more delusional than I remembered." Ben's tone is scathing, and Leia feels the sudden, impulsive urge to punch him. She would never do that, though, because he's an adult, but why can he not stop saying things to deliberately hurt Vader?!

Leia turns to glare at him, pulling herself to her full height, and lifting her chin. "I don't know where you came from, but my parents taught me that if you can't say something nice to someone, then it's not worth saying. Unless you have something that you want to contribute, Ben, be quiet. We are trying to resolve this situation, not make it worse."

She doesn't need to be able to see Vader's face to know that he's blinking at her with stupefaction. But then again, so is Ben, and she feels a little proud at that. She can understand why Ben is worried, but instead of provoking Vader and making what he sees as a bad situation even worse, he could at least try to help.

"I am certain that I can work out something amenable with… your other parents," Vader offers finally. "I should like for you to stay with me, at least sometimes."

Leia beams up at him, keeping a cautious metaphysical eye on Ben while keeping the rest of her focus on Vader. Her father. Her father, her birth father, who she is finally talking to. "I would like that," she tells him happily, walking towards him with Lola still flying alongside her. She stops a few paces from him, and they simply… stare at each other.

"You said you saw… the fight Obi-Wan and I had in your dreams?"

She nods. "I don't know why, and I asked him, but he didn't, either."

Vader twitches as if he wants to reach out to her but stops himself from actually carrying through. "I know not. Perhaps it is a result of our… bond. We share blood, and we have a bond. As you are untrained, you do not have the necessary shielding to protect yourself." She feels something strange and dark but undeniably him press up against her mind, and she nearly gasps at the sensation. It's so – so right.

"I've felt you before," she admits, clumsily trying to reach back to him. Apparently, she does have the Force like he and Ben do. But that explains a lot of things actually, including how she can always seem to sense the thoughts and feelings of others. "In my dreams. They felt so real. And I – when we were on Mapuzo, I felt you there." She feels a flicker of shame from Vader, though she doesn't understand it. "And when the Inquisiting lady was questioning me, I thought I sensed you there, too."

Vader twitches again. "I sensed it as well," he replies. "I did not realize it was you."

She shrugs. "You thought I was dead. You didn't know."

"Did she hurt you?"

Leia ponders that for a moment. "No. She was scary, and she was going to do something very bad. I don't know what, but I know that."

"The Inquisitor was going to torture her," Ben helpfully explains. "If I hadn't gotten there when I did… it would have been too late to stop it, then."

Vader is looking at him again, and Leia can feel the way his emotions fluctuate, probably because he's touching her mind still, and she can sense things so much more keenly like this. Distantly, she gets a vague flash of things. Fragments, really, but they're still impactful. Anakin and Obi-Wan. Younger. Teasing each other. Joking. Protecting each other. Just… being. And there's a wave of paingriefguiltlonging before it's all gone. She can feel it as Vader brings up his shields, hiding from her, but not before she fully grasps the depth and complexity of what their relationship once was.

"I didn't realize you were that close," she whispers, feeling on the verge of tears – not that she would ever cry; she's good at hiding her feelings like that – over the enormity of what they both lost. She's still annoyed at Ben, though, for making things so needlessly difficult, so she reaches out to touch Vader's hand, trying to at least offer him comfort. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever for, young one?" Is it just her imagination, or can she really hear his own natural voice overlapping his mechanical one, sounding unbearably heartbroken?

Leia has no idea how to put the answer into words, though, so she just steps up to him and wraps her arms around him as tightly as she can. The cool durasteel of his armor is unyielding under her grasp, but she squeezes anyway, resting her head on his chest, mindful of the many buttons and controls of his life-support. Vader's surprise wafts around her, and hesitantly, he puts a hand on her back. It only hurts worse to realize how incredibly incapable he is of showing affection.

Does he remember what it means to love? Does he even know how to do it anymore?

Behind her, Ben makes a strange noise, sounding half-choked. Incredulous. Maybe something else entirely. "Ben, get over here," she orders, twisting to peer over her shoulder at the Jedi who looks incredibly lonely all by himself.

"I do not believe that he wants me near him," he protests.

"He does," Leia promises before Vader can try to figure out what the correct response to that would be.

Ben approaches slowly, warily, like one might act towards a spooked, wild animal. He hesitates before clipping his weapon back to his belt, standing a few feet from them. He's not looking at Leia, per se, though; he's looking at Vader, and he's feeling too much for Leia to try and figure out what it is.

She sighs, exasperated, reaching out and grabbing Ben's hand, tugging him closer, while still keeping her grip on Vader. "Leia, I don't think this is a good idea," he objects. He doesn't specify what, in particular, he's referring to.

"Obi-Wan is incapable of displays of affection," Vader states, a little cruelly. "He is incapable of caring. I do not know what you hope to prove."

"What did I just say about saying things like that?" Leia chides, frowning, "And also, that is not true. Why are both like this? Ugh. I never want to be an adult." Not if it means being frustratingly dense and – and infuriating and ugh!

Neither of them responds, and she feels as if they're suitable chastened. Hopefully. She doesn't want to have to try and figure this all out on her own, especially not while trying to keep them from fighting. They're the adults. Shouldn't they, at least, be attempting to resolve this problem and determine where to go from here?

"What now?" Leia asks as the silence drags on. "What are we going to do now?"

Vader and Ben merely look at her and then back at each other again. "The Emperor cannot learn of you," the Jedi replies finally. "That is the utmost concern. If he learns of you… he will stop at nothing to get you and destroy you in the same way that he did… your father."

"On this, we can agree," Vader's tone is neutral, and he feels that way, too, his true feelings hidden away beyond what Leia can reach, no matter how much she tries.

"What are you planning, Anakin?" Ben inquires. "Or would you rather I call you Vader?"

He waves a hand dismissively – not the one still resting on Leia's back – as if brushing the second question aside. "I must destroy him. Only with his death will my child be safe."

"And you will truly turn on him just like that?"

Given what Leia has seen of their first fight, she cannot hold Ben's disbelief against him. "Everything I have done," Vader says, and his regret is a bitter, dark thing, "Has been for my family. Why should this be any different?"

"What happened?" Ben sounds lost. "I came back to Coruscant to see the Jedi gone, to see you – I – what happened?"

"It no longer matters." To Leia, it sounds just like another way of saying that he doesn't want to talk about it. Or perhaps, that it's too difficult for him to talk about.

"Can we leave yet?" So what if she's impatient? This planet is dark and dreary, and she wants to leave. It feels depressing here.

Vader brushes a gentle hand over her head, stroking her hair. "Soon, my daughter." He's looking at Ben, though, and Leia feels as if there's a silent conversation happening that she can't feel. Maybe it's just them, who they are. In person, the intensity of them is stronger. She doesn't know what it is, but it's still there, overshadowing everything.

Vader shifts, and he feels resolved. "Obi-Wan can take you… home." He says the word, even though it seems physically painful for him to say. "I will confront my master. He lied to me. He has – I will destroy him." It's a promise. "You will be safe once I have taken the throne."

"You?" Ben splutters.

"I did not hear you volunteer," Vader snaps at him. "I asked, and you rejected my offer." The you rejected me remains unspoken.

"The Empire is half the problem in this galaxy," Ben retorts.

"You can fight about it later," Leia announces loudly, on top of Vader's spluttered retorts. She doesn't entirely disagree with Ben, though she has always been taught how the Empire is a good thing. And maybe Vader is a bad person, but he cares about her, and he'll do anything to protect her. She trusts him, even if she shouldn't. If he was the Emperor… perhaps he could fix the problems in the Empire. Perhaps. Or better yet –

"Maybe you can ask Papa if he wants to be Emperor?" she suggests brightly. "Papa is a Senator, and if Ben doesn't want to be and if you don't want to be either, Father, then maybe Papa will."

"I will consider it," Vader grudgingly concedes.

"Are we done now?" Probably not, but she can hope, right?

"You cannot go after Sidious alone," Ben points out, suddenly.

So much for that.

"Whyever not?" Vader sounds irritated now, but at least it's better than being angry or depressed. He doesn't feel quite as cold and dark as before. "You do not trust my ability to deal with him," he accuses.

"Will your armor really withstand everything he throws at you?" Ben asks dubiously, and Leia realizes what he isn't asking. Will you survive? It scares her, and she reaches up to grasp Vader's hand in hers, terrified at the prospect of losing her father when she just got to know him. She doesn't want to lose him yet.

"And who's failure is that?" Vader throws back scathingly.

Ben winces but doesn't deny it. "Can you withstand him? I don't trust his influence on you."

"As well you should not," Vader rumbles, which is not an answer. At all. And it seems that Ben is just as confused by his words as Leia herself is. "He has a power that you cannot even fathom," he continues. "He is a force of chaos and darkness. His power far surpasses yours."

"Seeing as I defeated you last time we fought, that does not bode well for your fate," Ben tells him dryly.

"You wish me dead. I fail to see why my demise would concern you."

These two. What Leia really needs to do is crawl into her bed and scream into a pillow. "I think you both actually wish that you didn't have to keep fighting. So just stop."

Neither of them denies it.

"It is not that simple," Vader argues.

Leia scowls up at him. "It is precisely that simple," she states vehemently. "You both sound like two street dogs I saw once when I was in the countryside with my parents. They were fighting over a bone. And they wouldn't stop even though I tried to feed them. It was annoying. They howled right outside my bedroom window every night. Mama told me that it was um…" She tries to remember the phrase but can't. "… It was a… ritual or something? I can't remember the word she used."

There is a very awkward silence that follows her words, and Vader and Ben seem to be making a great effort to look anywhere but at each other. "… Did she, by any chance, say it was a mating ritual?" Ben inquires, sounding weirdly strangled.

"Yes, that was it," Leia agrees. She never did figure out what that meant. But anyway.

"I have a proposition," Ben suggests when Vader continues to remain silent except for his respirator, radiating feelings of discomfort and awkwardness. "All of us will take you back home. Then, we can deal with the Emperor once we work out an ideal course of action."

"That is acceptable," Vader confirms, suddenly being very agreeable.

Weird.

Leia has no idea what prompted their abrupt change in attitude, but it's good, because that means that they can leave all of this behind them and go home.

"Anakin, for what it's worth to you," Ben murmurs, voice laced with sadness. "I am sorry for what happened. I did not – I could not kill you, even if I should have perhaps, but I cannot do that. I – don't make me regret this."

"… I can say the same to you, Obi-Wan."

They stare at one another for a moment, before Ben nods, and Vader, in turn, inclines his helmet.

"Let us take you home, young one," Vader says, lightly stroking the back of her hand. She squeezes back, and reaches for Ben again, taking his hand, too. Despite his wariness, Ben comes with them when Vader turns towards his shuttle.

The walk is short, and none of them speak, though Lola has plenty to say to Leia, flying along in front of her and expressing her gladness that Leia finally met her birth father. They board the shuttle, and Leia pushes past Ben to get the co-pilot's seat next to Vader, watching with avid curiosity as he fires up the engines to take them away from the barren moon.

"Can I fly?" she asks hopefully, because that has been one of her biggest dreams: one day being able to fly among the stars.

"No," Ben replies at the same time as Vader says, "yes."

She can feel them looking at each other, and for a moment, it feels as though they're about to start arguing, but then, they don't. "Only once we enter space," Vader amends, and Ben seems grudgingly satisfied with that.

When they enter the blackness of space, Vader does, in fact, let Leia fly for a few minutes while he guides her before Ben pointedly clears his throat, breaking up the moment. Vader makes the jump to hyperspace after that, once he sends a message to the waiting Imperials, so they don't become suspicious. Leia doesn't care much about that though. She just cares about sitting in her father's lap once they're in hyperspace, rambling a mile a minute about Alderaan and about her home there. She's excited to go back home and to bring her birth father there, too.

"I do believe it is bedtime for a young princess," Ben interrupts finally after she's yawned for the third or fourth time.

"I want to stay here," she pouts.

"Obi-Wan is right," Vader – shockingly – agrees, and she yelps when he hoists her into the air, holding her in his arms. It's been years since she's been picked up by anyone, but she kind of likes it. She wraps her arms around his neck as he takes her to the main hold, lowering them both to the floor, since there isn't a cabin or anything here to actually sleep properly.

"Only if you stay," she finally concedes, and her father presses a leather gloved hand to her cheek with enough gentleness that she would think it to be flesh if she didn't know better.

"Of course."

She snuggles into his side, letting the rhythmic cycling of his respirator lull her to sleep. But she's not so far into sleep's embrace that she doesn't notice as Ben sits down opposite them, legs crossed. She's not so dead to the world that she doesn't notice when Ben silently reaches out to Vader, and Vader reaches back, clasping his hand. She's not so asleep that she doesn't hear the way Ben's voice breaks when he whispers, "I want us to fix this," and when Vader responds with a quiet, "I do as well."

They're going home, all of them. The only home Leia has ever known is on Alderaan, and she would dare say that the only home, perhaps, that Vader and Ben have left is… each other.

Going home is a wonderful thing.