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Chapter Text

Luke had always known that his grandmother had been killed by Tusken Raiders. He couldn't remember being told it, it was just one of those things that he'd always known. The desert was hot. His name was Luke. Hutts were dangerous. His aunt and uncle loved him. His grandmother and father had been slaves, and she had been killed by Tuskens.

Luke hadn't known the specifics. He really hadn't thought that there had been more to that. Then, shortly after he had turned fifteen, he had learned the truth.

He'd snuck away from the farm to spend the day with Biggs and some other kids. Nothing happened. They'd just been messing around, and Luke was home before dark, so he thought that he would just be given a light scolding and a disappointed look. He definitely didn't understand why Uncle Owen started shouting at him the second he got home, calling him reckless and irresponsible, and did he have any idea how worried they'd been?

How was Luke supposed to know that the local Tuskens had been acting up lately, getting more and more vicious. When Owen and Beru had realized that he was off the property, they had feared the worst.

Luke, indignant and frustrated about being treated like a little kid when he was almost an adult by Tatooine standards, thought they were being unfair. He'd fought against his uncle's punishment, and that just got him in more trouble. They had argued for almost an hour before Luke had stomped off to his room. He was hungry after a long and exciting day, but eating dinner with his family was the last thing he felt like doing.

He knew it was childish, but he didn't want to see Uncle Owen and get scolded again. He stayed in his room until Aunt Beru let herself in. She carried a plate of food with her, and Luke felt better knowing that even if she had been upset that he had left, she understood, and she wasn't mad at him.

She could be a lot softer than Owen, but when Beru was disappointed, she wasn't afraid to let it show. There had been many times when Luke would stomp around and throw a tantrum, locking himself in his room, and she would just wait until he wore himself out. If she thought he was being unreasonable, she wouldn't go out of her way to make him feel better. She would wait for him to calm down and go to them.

Aunt Beru had sat on Luke's bed, and she told him what, exactly, she and Owen had been afraid of.

The Tuskens hadn't just taken Grandma Shmi and killed her. They had hurt her. Beaten her. Starved her. She'd been held by them for weeks before she finally died, and Luke understood. Tuskens didn't keep people as prisoners unless there was something they wanted. Grandpa Cliegg had told him that the Tuskens hadn't demanded water or anything else for her return, and there wasn't much that a poor woman could offer to them.

Except for her body.

Luke had immediately started crying when he realized what had probably happened to his grandmother. Beru didn't scold him for wasting precious water with his tears. She just pulled him close, stroked his hair, and let him cry about the injustice in the world.

Luke felt foolish for not realizing the truth sooner. He knew how Tatooine worked. People took what they wanted, or else they wouldn't get anything. That was how moisture farmers felt about water, even though it was seen as sacrilegious to the Tuskens. That was how the thieves on the streets felt about food, even though the people they usually stole from often needed food and money just as much as they did.

And that was how the Imps, slavers, and Tuskens felt about people. If they wanted something, they took it, no matter how much it might hurt someone else. If the Tuskens didn't have enough women in their tribe, they would have needed to look for sexual pleasure somewhere else, and where better than from the moisture farmers who stole from their land, and couldn't fight back?

Luke felt sad, in a numb sort of way. He apologized to his aunt for worrying her. He said goodnight to Uncle Owen and promised to be more careful. He ate his dinner, and he went to bed, upset, but fine.

And then the nightmares started.

Luke dreamed a lot, but his nightmares were always so much more vivid. They felt real, and like they meant something more than just an image conjured in his mind. He'd dreamed about the Great Drought weeks before the water had started to run dry. Once, he had a nightmare about Uncle Owen getting attacked, and the next day he'd been jumped when trading in Anchorhead.

He didn't just see the future. One of Luke's nightmares showed Biggs sick and weak, curled up in his bed. Luke had practically felt the sickness coming from his friend. His throat burned and tickled, like it was full of the desert sand, and his head felt so heavy that he couldn't even sit up. The symptoms went away when Luke woke up, but the memory lingered, and it was enough that Beru insisted that he stay home that day.

When Luke next saw Biggs, his friend told him all about how he'd been bedridden for a week with sand fever. That he'd had the same symptoms that Luke had felt in his dream.

He hated these vivid dreams, even if not all of them were particularly scary. They were real, and confusing, and that was why he feared them. He kept these dreams to himself, because the one time he had mentioned one to his uncle, about how he had dreamed about how he had dreamed about seeing a slave girl be beaten to death right in front of him, it hadn't gone very well.

Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen had assured him that it was just a dream, but when they'd gone to Mos Eisley that day to run some really important errands, they ran into that very scene happening in front of them. Uncle Owen took them away, and Aunt Beru shielded him from the sight, but Luke had already seen it. Thanks to his dream, he knew exactly how the slave girl looked when she laid on the ground, eyes unseeing.

Luke hadn't gotten in trouble, but he'd heard Beru and Owen whispering to each other that night. They sounded scared. They mentioned magic, and curses, and it scared him. He didn't want to curse people.

It took a few years of having these dreams before Luke realized that he wasn't making things happen. He wasn't responsible for the drought, or the girl's death, or anything like that. He still didn't know why he saw it, but he felt a bit better knowing he didn't have blood on his hands.

Still, he kept them to himself, because he didn't want to scare his aunt and uncle. And he didn't want them to blame him for something going wrong. He liked to think they wouldn't hate him for something he couldn't help, but Uncle Owen hated Ben Kenobi and his supposed magic. If he thought that Luke had magic, would he hate him too?

Luke didn't want to take the chance, so no matter how bad his nightmares got, he held his tongue and tried to pretend they didn't happen.

His nightmare about Grandma Shmi was…intense. He saw it as though he was looking through her eyes. He saw Tuskens, closer than he'd ever seen them before. They were yelling in that language he couldn't understand, and the sound filled him with a dread more intense than he'd ever felt before.

The images jumped from one frightening scene to the next. He saw countless Tuskens crowding him, with no hope of escape. Then he felt the bone-chilling cold of the desert night. He heard the screaming and begging from a woman he didn't know, and yet at the same time he knew her in his heart. Her cries made his soul feel like it was breaking, like he would never recover.

He woke up with tears in his eyes, and the broken feeling in his soul was still there. Luke stayed in bed for a long time, just staring at the wall, unable to bring himself to do anything else. He didn't get up until Uncle Owen dragged him out of bed.

He knew his aunt and uncle could tell that something was wrong, and Beru probably knew what was bothering him, but he didn't tell them anything, and they didn't bring it up. The day went on as normal, though Luke was terrified of even stepping outside, and the feeling he woke up with didn't go away.

He told himself it was just a one-off thing, because he never had repeat dreams. But when he slept that night, the first thing he heard was the call of the Tuskens and the crying of the woman.

This dream was a little different. He didn't really see anything, but he could hear and feel so much. He felt ropes binding his hands so tightly that he lost all feeling in them. He felt the cuts and bruises across his skin when he was beaten, and he heard the woman's screams with every hit.

When he felt a strong hand on his stomach, slowly pulling his shirt up, he woke up with a scream. He slammed a hand over his mouth and quieted himself to just a sob, and he couldn't stop himself from crying.

He had hoped that he hadn't been too loud, but Uncle Owen came into the room in a flurry. When he saw that Luke wasn't hurt, he calmed down. He reached a comforting hand out to Luke, but all the boy saw was someone bigger and stronger than him reaching for him, and he panicked.

Luke whimpered and nudged himself as far away from his uncle as he could get. Uncle Owen stopped where he stood, looking pained. He left the room and a minute later he returned with Aunt Beru. There was a sympathetic look in his eyes, like she knew what he was going through. Luke didn't have the heart to tell her she had no idea.

He wasn't just having normal nightmares about a bad thing, and letting his imagination get the best of him. He was seeing what had happened. He was feeling it. And it felt so real to him because it had actually been real for his grandmother, and that broke Luke's heart. Nobody deserved this pain, and that fact that it had happened to someone in his family made him feel like nothing was ever going to be okay again.

He didn't get any more sleep that night. His aunt and uncle took it easy on him that day, which they only did when he was sick. The suns set all too soon, and it was just getting later. Luke procrastinated going to bed as long as he could, but he was exhausted, and his body eventually gave in. He fell asleep, and the nightmares returned, worse than before.

It picked up right where the nightmare had ended the previous night. Luke felt hands all over him. They were strong, and painful, and uncaring. Luke still couldn't see anything, but he felt it all. He felt when he was bound to a post to keep himself still. He felt it when those hands moved from his stomach, going up to his chest, and down towards his legs. And then between his legs.

It was painful, humiliating, and invading. It felt like it went on forever, with one pair of hands blending right into another.

Luke woke up with a jolt, and he immediately threw up. He still felt the echoes of the hands across his skin.

That was his grandmother. His ancestor. For her to be violated so horrifically, it made Luke feel completely shattered.

That was the worst of the dreams, but they didn't exactly get better. Night after night, for two weeks, Luke had nightmares along these lines. Sometimes he saw something new, but it all blurred together, and Luke just wanted it to stop.

After several exhausting and traumatizing weeks, Luke needed a break. He needed to get away from the homestead. He was still terrified of the Tuskens, but he couldn't stay in that place where he was endlessly plagued by nightmares.

With the promise that he would be home before dark, and that yes, he was just fine, Luke borrowed the speeder and he just rode out into the desert. He didn't know where he was going, and he knew he couldn't run away from his dreams, but he needed a change.

Luke rode the speeder, and his thoughts turned, as they often did, to his father. Nobody talked about his father, but one thing Luke knew about him was that he was good with machines and loved speed and flying. Just like Luke. He always felt a connection with him when he rode on his speeder. A feeling that everything was fine, like a part of him that was missing had been filled.

He didn't get that peaceful feeling this time. Now, as Luke rode through the desert, all he could see was the frightened face of a young man who was just a few years older than him. A young man who had appeared in Luke's dream's last night, coming out of nowhere. He was there to save him from the pain, but he was too late. The pain was too deep.

Luke woke up when Shmi had died. He had felt the relief she felt as she finally gave in to her injuries. Her pure joy at being able to see her son again, and that he'd come back just for her.

Luke didn't understand it. How could she feel so happy when she was so hurt? Why would she be glad that he was there to save her when he was too late?

Luke felt a hurt in his deepest soul. He wanted somebody to save him, to make the pain go away. He wanted his family to pull him from this darkness he was drowning in. But nobody was coming. His Grandmother had been killed. His father was dead. His mother was gone. He had his aunt and uncle, and he loved them with everything he had, and he knew they loved him more than anybody else, but they didn't know. Even if he told them, he knew they wouldn't understand.

He didn't know how he knew, but the thing inside of him that was reaching out to his family, it wasn't reaching for his aunt and uncle. They couldn't help him in the way he needed, and that thought made Luke feel like a terrible nephew.

Owen and Beru had sacrificed so much for his sake. They took care of him when they really didn't need to. He may not have everything he wanted from life, but he had enough. How dare he be so ungrateful and still want for more?

Luke's head was spinning, and he felt a little light headed. He didn't know if it was because of his nightmares, his lack of sleep, or if the heat was getting to him. He pulled the speeder to a stop and got off with shaking legs. He knew he should get out of the sun, but he was having a hard time thinking right now. The best he could do was stop near some cliffs. There would be at least some shade there.

Luke staggered to the cliffside and sat on the warm sand. Only then did he notice how harshly he was breathing, and the tickle in his throat. He could recognize the beginning signs of sand fever. He was going to get in so much trouble.

Not only would Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru know that he had gotten careless while out on his bike, to not notice the warning signs, but they would also know that he wasn't taking care of himself at home either.

Sand fever was just what they called it if someone felt ill after being in the desert for too long. The sand in the throat. The burns on the skin. The severe dehydration. And when someone got sand fever, if they didn't treat it right and recover fully, it came back with a vengeance. Luke had been feeling exhausted all week, and he thought it was just because of his nightmares. Had he been getting sand fever this whole time? It shouldn't have been able to sneak up on him like this. He hadn't been out of the house for that long.

…Although, looking up at the position of the suns, it was much later in the day than Luke thought. And he had been so in his own head that he hadn't even thought to bring a canteen of water.

Luke closed his eyes, grimacing at the way they itched. What was wrong with him? He was completely falling apart and making mistakes that little kids wouldn't make, and why? Because he couldn't figure out how to get over some dumb dreams?

Luke drew his legs close to his chest and buried his face in his legs. It made his face feel both cooler, and warmer, and the contrasting feelings were confusing and just made his head hurt more.

He wanted to go home, but the longing in his chest that felt like it was pulling him somewhere wasn't pulling him towards the moisture farm. But that was the only home he had ever known. It was where his family was. Why should he be feeling homesick for a family that he had never known?

Luke had hoped that by taking a break he'd be able to calm and cool down, but he just felt worse. His thoughts were still wandering everywhere and nowhere at once, and even though being out of the sun felt a little better, the desert was still too hot.

He just needed to go home. Uncle Owen would be furious at him for riding the speeder when he wasn't feeling well, but he wouldn't be happy if Luke was stupid enough to stay in the desert when he had sand fever. At least if he was home he'd be able to rest. And maybe if he was sick he would finally stop having those horrible nightmares.

Luke took several deep breaths before he forced himself to his feet. His legs shook and he suddenly felt very dizzy. Maybe sitting in the heat hadn't been such a good idea.

The brightness of the suns was giving him a headache, but Luke did his best to ignore it as he stumbled back to his speeder. He was almost to it when he heard a familiar sound that sent shivers down his spine.

Tuskens.

Luke felt like he was going to be sick, and it had nothing to do with the sand fever. Tuskens weren't supposed to be in this area of the desert. That was the very reason why he had come this way. But Tuskens were unpredictable. He shouldn't have relied on their usual patterns. Especially not when he was in this state.

In the back of his mind Luke considered the possibility that there weren't actually Tuskens around. That his exhaustion, nightmares, and sand fever were making him hallucinate the last thing he wanted to hear. But if there was even a small chance that a Tusken was there, he had to get away.

But his vision was a little blurry, and focusing was getting harder and harder. He'd thought that he could ride the speeder very slowly and calmly, but he couldn't flee and dodge from Tuskens in his state.

Desperate, Luke looked back towards the cliffs. There were alcoves and caves everywhere. Maybe he should find shelter in a cave until he was rested. He could head home in the evening, when the suns had started setting and the day started cooling down. And if there were any Tuskens in the area, hopefully they would have moved on by then.

He was going through the motions just a little bit. Though he could see the cliffs, they felt an impossible distance away. Still, it felt like in the blink of an eye he found himself in the mouth of a cave. He breathed a sigh of relief, immediately feeling the cool air within the cave. It felt so much better.

His legs gave out beneath him and he stumbled to the ground. He curled up on the stone. It was far from comfortable, but the cool rock was far more of a relief than a discomfort.

Luke laid there, feeling desperate and alone. He wished Aunt Beru was here, running her fingers through his hair and trying to provide comfort. Or Uncle Owen, who would give him a simple mechanical job to do to keep his mind occupied without straining himself.

He wished he was with his parents. His mom would probably kiss his forehead to see how warm he was, and refuse to leave his side until he felt better. His dad would sternly make sure he drank water, and he would probably tell him countless stories about the galaxies he'd seen since he had left Tatooine.

Luke knew he was safe, but he still wished he could be saved. That someone was on their way to gather him up in their arms and chase away the nightmares. That someone could make the dreams make sense, and show him how to get rid of them forever

But he was alone. Nobody was coming after him.

Curling up tight to give just the illusion of having somebody there, Luke buried his face in his arms. He was far from comfortable, but he was too tired to care. Within minutes he felt the sinking sensation of dozing, and he gave in to it.

Luke felt a pressure around him that was impossible to describe. It felt similar to a hug, or being bundled in his coziest blanket. And yet, it wasn't a physical feeling. It felt like his soul was being embraced, and it was the most comforting thing he'd ever felt. He relaxed into the feeling and let it take him.

There were no nightmares or cursed images waiting for him. Luke's sleep was short, but dreamless. He could have slept for hours, with both his sore body and his strained mind demanding the rest, but he jolted awake when he felt a harsh nudge against his shoulder. He gasped and his eyes shot open, and he was immediately hit with a spell of dizziness. It was too bright, and even though there was very little noise, it was far too loud. It felt like thousands of voices were talking all at once, and he couldn't understand anything that was said.

Luke groaned and reached for his head.

"Don't move." A stern voice said. Luke froze. He lifted his head, and even though his vision was a little blurry he could see a woman standing before him. She was holding a blaster, though she wasn't aiming it right at him.

"Who…" Luke blinked to try to clear his vision. He hadn't met many people before, and he was sure that he would recognize her if he'd met her in the past. Somehow though, she felt very familiar to him. "Who are you?"

The woman frowned and lowered her blaster, though she kept her finger on the trigger. "My name is Senator Padmé Amidala. What I want to know is who you are, and how and why you're sleeping in my closet."

Chapter Text

Anakin had a strong connection to the Force, but he didn't really understand it. He knew what his capabilities with the Force were, and he could harness its power with ease, but when it came to understanding its will, he was in the dark. Sometimes he felt like only the Masters on the Councill understood the force's will. Other times, he just thought that they had no idea what they were doing, and they were just way better at faking it than he was.

One thing that Anakin knew for sure about the Force was that it couldn't really be resisted. If the Force wanted something, it made it happen, and it would be in everyone's best interest if they just went along with it.

So when he felt a strong disturbance in the Force as they made their way back to their ships after a simple mission, he knew that something big had just happened. From the way that Obi-Wan stopped in his tracks and looked around cautiously, it was clear he had felt the same thing.

"I sense someone." Obi-Wan said. After he'd said that, Anakin realized that he felt the same thing. There was a bright presence in the Force, so strong and raw that it was overwhelming. Anakin wasn't used to a Force sensitive feeling like this. One of the first things that younglings were taught was how to mask their presence in the Force, as well as how to block out the overwhelming presence of life that surrounded them while still being connected to it.

This source of light and power was not masking at all. Anakin could tell just where they were, and he could sense that they were coming closer. He reached for his lightsaber, though he didn't pull it out right away. The raw power was alarming, but it was so full of light that he had a hard time believing that the source was a threat.

Anakin wanted to head towards the bright Force signature, getting a jump on them before they could strike first. Obi-Wan, of course, had a different plan.

"Let me handle this." Obi-Wan said. He looked towards the rocky ledges around them. Anakin looked up just in time to see a shadowy form duck out of sight. "We're not here to hurt you." Obi-Wan called out. "We're friends. We just want to talk." They got no reaction.

"We're not with the Separatists." Anakin kept his voice calm and reassuring. "We're the good guys." He assumed this person was a native of this planet. They'd just gotten rid of a Separatist outpost here. It would make sense for the locals to be cautious about the war. Though it didn't explain why this individual was so unnaturally strong with the force.

Things were still for a long time before a young woman who looked about Ahsoka's age poked her head out from behind a rock. There was fear in her eyes, though also a fierceness. "I don't trust stormtroopers, or any other puppet of the Empire."

"Stormtroopers?" Ahsoka looked at them in confusion.

"Empire?" Anakin frowned. He could sense her genuine feelings, but that didn't mean he understood them.

Obi-Wan looked as confused as they were, but he maintained his calm nature. "I'm afraid you may be mistaking us for someone else. My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I'm a Jedi Knight of the Republic."

The young woman was tense for a long moment, and Anakin could sense some strong confusion from her. She finally stepped out from behind the rock. She was holding a thick stick, and she wielded it like she was ready to hit any of them with it.

"Kenobi?" She stared at Obi-Wan, studying him. Anakin saw her mouth the words 'Jedi' and 'Republic'. She was full of confusion. After a very long and tense moment, she seemed to light up in recognition and realization. She was ringing with truth, and Anakin felt like he was missing something.

The girl stepped away from the rock and started to climb down towards them. Taking a closer look at her, Anakin was surprised about how small she was. She was a little short for her age, and it was a wonder that someone so small could hold so much raw power in them. Her choice of outfit was also weird. Her dress sandals and shimmery outfit looked like something that would belong in a throne room, or a negotiation dinner. Not a rocky cliffside.

Anakin didn't easily trust strangers, and there were few things as strange as someone who wasn't prepared for the terrain they were in. But he wasn't really cautious around this girl. He'd never seen her before, but she felt so familiar to him. He felt like he knew her, and it was more than just because she had the same air around her as Padmé did.

The girl stared at all of them. She seemed as in awe of them as they were of her. "Are you really Jedi?"

Anakin pulled out his lightsaber. He held it in one of his palms. He held his other hand out and used the Force to levitate it. He gently pushed it towards the girl, who caught it and held it with all the respect it deserved. Anakin knew this was a reckless move, and Obi-Wan would give him an earful later, but something felt right about this specific gesture of trust.

"I'm Anakin Skywalker." He said. He approached the girl, holding out his hand. She shook his hand with far more confidence than someone her age and size could usually achieve. She handed him back his lightsaber.

"Leia." She said. She looked like she was about to say more, but she held her tongue. Anakin had no problem with this. It was a lot of trust to ask from somebody who had just met them. There was nothing wrong with giving this a little time.

Ahsoka wasn't as accepting of her reluctance. "Just Leia?" Anakin's apprentice crossed her arms, giving the other girl an unimpressed look. Leia stiffened her jaw and lifted her head. Even though she was shorter than Ahsoka, she somehow exuded an air of confidence and authority.

"As far as you need to know, yes." Leia said. Ahsoka scowled. Before the conflict between them could get any worse, Obi-Wan stepped between the two girls.

"Do you know anything of the Force, Leia?" Obi-Wan asked. Leia didn't admit her ignorance, but Anakin could feel her lack of recognition. But just because she didn't know the term didn't mean she wasn't familiar with the Force.

"It's the power that the Jedi have." Anakin said, breaking it down in a way that the teenager would be able to understand. They could get into technicalities later. He levitated a handful of small rocks, making them circle around each other. "Can you do anything like this? Or maybe you could when you were younger, but you convinced yourself that you just imagined the whole thing?"

Leia's brow furrowed slightly and she bit her inner lip. She stared at the floating rocks, a conflicted look in her eyes. Anakin knew that she knew what he was talking about. He remembered what it was like to be a Force-sensitive kid with no training. He remembered feeling like he had to hide any little sign of his abilities, because while he hadn't known where his powers came from, or what they meant, he still knew that it had to be a secret.

Leia didn't carry herself like a slave child, but it was clear that she had still felt like she needed to hide her abilities. What Anakin wanted to know was why.

"Perhaps you've managed to do something far more subtle." Obi-Wan said. "Maybe you have a feeling when something good or bad is about to happen." There was a spark in Leia's eyes. She knew just what he was talking about. "Or maybe you seem to know what people are thinking or feeling before they say anything. Or you can get people to do whatever you want."

Leia's shoulders rose slightly and she took a very small step back. It was the first time that Anakin looked at her and saw an overwhelmed child, rather than a miniature adult. "But I don't…I don't have the Force. I'm not a Jedi. My parents would have-" Her eyes widened suddenly, and she seemed to pale. "They wouldn't have told me anything." She finished this last part quietly, like she was just noticing something that had been right in front of her for years.

"You are not a Jedi." Obi-Wan said. "There's specific training and philosophies that are a part of being a Jedi. However, you do, in fact, have a very strong connection with the Force. We can feel it around you."

"It's blinding." Anakin said in awe. Leia still looked confused. "Here, let me show you." Anakin slowly lowered some of his own shields. "Just think of me. Imagine you're reaching out to me, but with your mind instead of your body."

Leia frowned and closed her eyes in concentration. Anakin soon felt a cautious probing around his mind, and he let it in. Leia gasped and her reach immediately retreated. He raised his shields again.

"That felt…" Leia trailed off. She was breathless. "I don't know how to describe it."

"That's my Force signature." Anakin said. "It's the way it flows through me."

"There was so much of it." Leia said.

"My connection to the Force is strong." Anakin nodded. "So is yours."

Leia blinked, taken aback. "I feel like that?"

"You feel brighter." Obi-Wan said. "And you're not holding anything back."

"The Jedi spend years learning control." Ahsoka said. "You lack the experience, and broadcast the Force like a beacon." There was just a hint of smugness in her tone, and Anakin planned on having words with her later about it. He thought it was fine for Ahsoka to be proud of how far she had come in her training, and all the effort she put into it. However, she shouldn't see it as a reason to look down on someone who had the same potential, but had clearly never been given the opportunity to hone it.

Anakin knew that Ahsoka wasn't trying to be cruel. She just didn't know any better. She'd never met someone who was so strong in the Force, but so untrained in it. The thought probably hadn't even crossed Ahsoka's mind that Leia probably had the discipline to be a master in the ways of the Force if she just had some guidance.

Leia crossed her arms, her unease about Anakin's Force signature slipping away as indignation took over. "If I have the Force, then I should be trained to use it."

Ahsoka scoffed. "You're too old. We're trained from the time we're very, very young. You're too strong willed to learn." Anakin clenched his jaw at those familiar words that he'd heard all the time growing up. He'd heard something along those lines even before he'd been found by the Jedi, back on Tatooine. He understood the intent behind the words. As Obi-Wan said, being a Jedi was more than just using the Force. It was about giving in to it, and it was really hard to take somebody who didn't even understand the concept of the Force, and convince them to let it have such a strong influence over every choice they made.

But Anakin had received the training, even though he was deemed too old. He had a hard time adjusting to the culture, but once he'd figured that out, he felt like he did okay. And Anakin couldn't sense a desire to become a Jedi from Leia. She wanted to tap into her potential, just enough to be able to control something that was such a vital part of her. She wanted to understand something that she had learned how to repress.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "Actually, I believe that Leia is right." Ahsoka's scowl deepened, and Leia beamed, shining brightly through the Force. "You have potential the likes of which I've rarely seen, but that can put you in danger. We could sense you, and I imagine the Sith could too, and they wouldn't hesitate to twist that potential."

"You need to learn how to shield." Anakin said. He thought she could benefit from learning much more about the Force, but the Council wouldn't be able to deny the fact that shielding was necessary.

"If you are interested, I would be honored to teach you." Obi-Wan said. Anakin smiled to himself. He knew that his Master had been longing for another padawan. He cared intensely about people, and Anakin knew how much Obi-Wan enjoyed bonding with individuals, taking care of them and getting to know them. Since the start of the war, he hadn't been able to connect with people the way that he wanted to. Anakin thought that having a padawan, or at least a student, would be really good for him.

"Of course. I can't imagine a greater teacher." Leia said with a smile that looked so familiar to Anakin, and he couldn't figure out why. He was a little curious about the way that Leia spoke about Obi-Wan like she knew him, but he assumed that she had just heard about him. He was one of the more well-known Jedi, afterall.

"We'll have to tell the Council about you." Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I think we should talk to your parents and make sure it's alright if you come to Coruscant with us."

Leia's smile faded. Anakin felt a rush of pain and confusion from her. They were going to have to teach her how to shield soon, because getting all of these emotions from her was going to get old very quickly.

"My parents aren't here." Leia said. "To be perfectly honest, I don't even know where here is." The Force rang with truth. "One second I was at home, and the next I was here." It sounded unbelievable, but Anakin could sense her honesty, and it certainly explained the disturbance they had felt in the Force. It didn't explain exactly what had happened though, let alone why.

"What do you know?" Ahsoka asked, not unkindly.

Leia frowned, thinking. "I've been feeling weird these past few weeks, almost like I was homesick, even though I was home." She wrapped her arms around herself, her body language betraying a vulnerability that her voice didn't reflect. "It almost felt like someone was calling out to me. Someone who needs me, but I can't get to them."

Anakin knew the feeling well, and from the concerned looks on Ahsoka's and Obi-Wan's faces, they did too. That had to have been the Force. It was either calling out to her itself, or it was the conduit in which somebody else reached for her.

"Do you know who needs you?" Anakin asked. Leia pursed her lips and shook her head. She looked upset that she didn't know. Anakin imagined she felt like she was letting whoever they were down. "Hey, that's okay. Maybe that's something we can help you figure out. Meditation can help you interpret the Force's confusing messages. I've never been very good at it, but Obi-Wan's the master. If anybody can help you find this friend of yours, it's him."

"I will do everything in my power to help you find the answers you need." Obi-Wan said. "And then perhaps we can figure out how to get you home." Anakin didn't think it would be as simple as just taking her to her home planet. The Force was complicated. If it brought her here, it would need to have a role in taking her back.

"Thank you." She said, her gratitude almost lighting up her Force signature that Anakin half marveled at the fact that she wasn't glowing. This girl was so bright.

Leia followed them back to their ships. She stayed close to Obi-Wan's side. While she seemed relaxed enough, Anakin couldn't help but notice that she shied away from the clones. She didn't seem to want to even look at them.

Obi-Wan gave her a reassuring look. "You have nothing to fear from our friends. They're just as human as you and I." They had met a number of people who were cautious around clones, just because they had never met sentients like them. There had been many times when people's unease had been lifted just by seeing how human the clones really were.

Anakin looked at Rex, who was used to this song and dance. His captain took off his helmet. "I assure you, miss, me and my brothers don't bite." He tucked his helmet under his arm and offered a hand out. "The name's Rex."

Leia blinked and stared at Rex for a long moment. She was looking at him similarly to how she'd been looking at Obi-Wan, like she was seeing somebody that she vaguely remembered, and she was trying to figure out where from. Anakin wondered if she had met them before. Rex and a few other men from the 501st had joined Obi-Wan on missions before. It wasn't impossible.

After a tense moment, Leia smiled. Any sign of her nervousness was gone. "Rex, of course." She took his hand without a hint of hesitation. "It's a pleasure." And she seemed to mean it.

When they got to the ships, Cody was standing ,waiting for them. He saluted as they approached. "Sir, the Jedi Council is gathering for an emergency session. They want you to call in as soon as you're available."

Obi-Wan frowned and increased his speed. "Did they mention the nature of the emergency?"

"Something about a disturbance in the Force." Cody said, barely understanding what he was saying. Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged glances. They had felt a disturbance. They had assumed that Leia suddenly showing up had been the source of it, but Anakin didn't think it would have been felt by the Council. This felt like something bigger than that.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath. He gave Leia a small smile, though Anakin could see the tension and nervousness in his eyes. "Come, young one. If I'm correct, my friends would be very interested in meeting you." Anakin knew he had wanted to wait until they got to Coruscant, and to use their travel time to teach Leia some basics about the Force. That way if the Council didn't give their permission, they would have already accomplished something.

If something was happening with the Force though, and Leia had something to do with it, it would be better if the Council knew about her now rather than later.

Anakin had listened in on plenty of Council meetings, not at all caring if he wasn't invited. Sometimes it was by request of the Chancellor, or because he had some insight from a recent mission of his. This time when he followed Obi-Wan and Leia, with Ahsoka right at his heels, it was to provide support.

Anakin knew how it felt to stand before the Council, with everybody's eyes on him, judging him. He could still remember every word that was said about him as they debated whether it was worth it to take him in or not. He'd felt a bit like he was at a slave auction, talked about like he was just another asset rather than a living being.

He would let Obi-Wan take the lead. He was much better at handling the Council than Anakin was. But if the Council thought that he was just going to stand to the side and let them decide a girl's fate as though she didn't get a say, they had another thing coming.

Chapter Text

Padmé was used to weird things happening in her life. She was a senator. She had served as a queen. She was married to a Jedi. She wouldn't have been able to do any of that if she couldn't adjust to weird situations. Somehow though, this felt weirder than anything.

She had been in her apartment all day. There had been no sign of a break-in, and her alarms were still on and active. And yet when she went into her closet to set aside what she would be wearing for a diplomatic meeting tomorrow, the first thing she saw was a boy, who somehow seemed more confused about what he was doing there than she was.

Padmé was cautious about this boy, but she wasn't afraid. She'd kept her blaster aimed at him, but when the boy's eyes started darting around anxiously and he pushed himself against the wall of her closet, she couldn't help but worry about him. Taking a closer look at the intruder, she could see that he was sweating and his face looked flushed. He looked exhausted, weak, and unfocused.

Padmé slowly put her blaster away. She knelt on the floor to be at a closer level to the boy. "What's your name?"

He stared past her for a long moment before his gaze eventually focused on her. He blinked in confusion a few times, as though he didn't understand what she had said. Eventually he answered. "Luke."

"Are you hurt, Luke?" Padmé asked. "Are you in trouble?" She lived in a neighborhood on Coruscant, but she knew that the lower levels could be dangerous, and sometimes desperate youth would somehow make their way to the upper levels to hide out. It wasn't unheard of for people to return home to find squatters in their apartment. Padmé still didn't understand how Luke could have gotten here, but she didn't think it had been with malicious intent. He probably just needed a safe place to hide.

Luke was quiet for a long time. He looked around, though Padmé didn't know what he could be looking for in her closet. He brought his hands to his ears, and with every passing second he looked more and more overwhelmed.

"It's so loud." Luke whimpered, even though the only source of noise in this apartment was coming from them. They couldn't even hear the traffic outside. "It feels so loud. And dark. And bright." He looked at her with wide eyes. "Why is the darkness so bright?"

She didn't understand what he was saying at all, and it was frightening. Padmé slowly leaned closer to him and put a hand against his forehead. It was clammy and warm to the touch.

"You're burning up." Padmé said. She gently grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. He didn't resist her. "Let's get you somewhere more comfortable." She still needed to get answers from him, but he was clearly in no state to talk right now.

Luke shuffled his feet as he followed her. He stopped in his tracks when they passed the window, where they could see the morning traffic rushing past. Luke stared numbly at the sight, looking incredibly lost.

"This isn't the Jundland Wastes." Luke muttered to himself. He forced his gaze from the window and looked at Padmé. "Where are we?"

"My apartment." Padmé reminded him gently. Luke shook his head.

"No, I mean where are we?" Luke asked. "What planet?"

He must be more ill than she thought. "Coruscant." Padmé said. Luke stared blankly at her before he turned back towards the view out the window.

"Coruscant." Luke said quietly. "There's…there's so much." His eyes started to glaze over and his face grew pale. "So many people. It's so loud. It's too…too…" Luke's legs started to shake. Padmé, seeing what was about to happen, was able to catch Luke before he collapsed to the ground.

Padmé had been concerned about Luke, but at that moment she felt drawn to help him. It almost physically hurt to see him in pain, and she wanted to help him. Padmé adjusted her grip on Luke and pulled her to her bed. She laid him down and tried to make him as comfortable as possible.

He had mentioned how bright it was, and the view outside clearly upset him, so once he was situated on the bed she closed the blinds and dimmed the lights. She went to get some water for him, and then returned to Luke's side. He was conscious, but hazy and unfocused.

"Can you sit up for me?" Padmé asked. Luke whined, but he shifted himself into a sitting position. She sat at the edge of the bed and handed him the cup. "Sip this slowly." Luke handled the cup of water more carefully than she had thought. It was almost with respect, which was odd to see.

Luke drank slowly. By the time the cup was empty, his breathing had evened out and some color had returned to his cheeks. "Are you feeling any better?" Padmé took the cup back. Luke just frowned in confusion.

"I don't know." He said quietly. "The sand fever will go away, but the bright shadows…" The fear was still in his eyes. He looked like a cornered animal, or someone with claustrophobia. "They've never been this loud. Why are they so loud?"

Padmé sighed. "I don't know." She wished she did. She didn't like being in the dark, and she didn't like feeling helpless. Maybe he was just really sensitive to noise, and needed absolute silence and some rest. "I can give you some space." She moved to get off the bed, but Luke reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"Please, don't go." Luke said desperately. "Don't leave me with them."

"Luke, nothing and nobody's here." Padmé said gently, though she didn't get off the bed.

"But I feel them." Luke said. "There's so many. They're everywhere."

"What is?" Padmé asked. Luke paused.

"I don't know." He admitted. "But I feel them. I've felt it a little before, but it's so much stronger now." He whimpered and laid back down. He pulled her blanket up over his head. "Just want it to stop."

"I'm sorry." Padmé sat next to him. "Is there anything I can do?"

Luke was quiet for a moment. "Can you just talk? Having something else to focus on helps." If I'm not thinking about the brightness, it doesn't seem as bad."

Padmé had lived a stressful life. She knew a thing or two about distraction, both providing it, and being on the receiving end. "I can do that." She made herself comfortable on the bed. It was a little odd and uncomfortable to be in her bed with a boy she didn't know, but she truly didn't think he was a threat, and something in her mind told her that he was safe. That he was just a boy who needed help.

Padmé had gotten into politics in the first place because she wanted to help people. Most of her work involved focusing on whole populations, and she rarely got the chance to work with the citizens. She wouldn't change her chosen career for anything, but she did like the chance to feel like she was impacting somebody's life directly.

Padmé wasn't nervous around this boy, but she knew she couldn't just let herself be immediately open with him. She didn't think she could talk to him about herself more than she already had, at least not until she knew more about him. Luke was in no state to be interrogated.

She was still cautious, but she wanted to provide the comfort that he was so desperate for. She found herself telling the Nabooian fairy tales that her mother used to tell her when she was a small child. She couldn't remember some important details, and Luke was visibly confused when she mentioned a lake, like he couldn't even imagine what that might look like.

Still, the simple story did its job. Luke slowly grew more relaxed and less anxious. He asked questions about the story, and he smiled at the more remarkable bits. Midway through Padmé's third story Luke began to doze, and soon he was asleep. She hoped that a good night's rest was all he needed to push past this sickness and unease.

When he was asleep Padmé got up. She was glad he was resting, but there were a lot of questions that needed to be answered. She found a datapad and began to go through different databases and resources. She looked for any sign of Luke. Immigration papers. A missing child report. An arrest warrant. Nothing stood out.

Padmé tried the census next, which was vast and severely underreported, but it was something. There were many light haired human youths, but she was able to narrow it down. She suspected that Luke was from Tatooine. He hadn't said as much directly, but she could figure things out.

He'd mentioned the Jundland Wastes, which she hadn't noticed at the time, but recognized now. It was a part of the Tatooine desserts. He'd also mentioned something called sand fever. When she'd gone to Tatooine with Anakin she remembered the Lars' mentioning such a sickness.

Perhaps it was a longshot, but Padmé didn't have any other leads. She felt good about her theory on Luke's planet of origin, so she was disappointed and a little confused to find that there wasn't a single match.

Coruscant got a lot of immigrants, but not from Tatooine. People lived in such poverty on that planet that according to Anakin, people were lucky if they could get off planet at all, let alone to a core world. If there was anybody that remotely resembled Luke that had come from Tatooine, or even had ancestors that had, her searches would have shown it.

Padmé frowned and looked at the empty results. Perhaps Luke wasn't from Tatooine after all. Any desert world could call overheating sand fever, and Luke had been mumbling when he had mentioned the Jundland Wastes. It could barely count as evidence, but Padmé felt so sure that she was right about this. She didn't know why.

Maybe it was just because he reminded her so much of Ani. Not her husband, though there was a decent amount of resemblance between them. However, the one that Luke really reminded him of was that little slave boy that she had met all those years ago. The resemblance was uncanny. If Padmé didn't know that the boy had grown to be Anakin, she would think that he would grow to be just like this boy.

The light hair. The toughened skin. The unbelievable brightness in his eyes. Even though Luke was sick, Padmé could see the innocence in his gaze that Anakin had lost after all these years. Maybe she was just projecting, but when she looked at Luke she saw the young man that Anakin had never had the chance to be.

Padmé started wondering if she could call Anakin. He might not have answers, but maybe he would notice something about Luke that she was missing. She was pulling out her communicator when she felt a chill go down her spine. It made her feel hopeless and sick to her stomach. A moment later she heard a horrified and heartbreaking scream.

She dropped the datapad and returned to Luke's side. He was crying, curled in on himself. He clutched at his hair, pulling on it. He looked like he had just lived through unimaginable torture.

"Luke, Luke, it's okay." She reached out to offer him comfort, but he flinched harshly away from her touch, screaming like he was in pain. She pulled back. "You're okay. It's just a nightmare."

He was looking around rapidly, not really focusing completely on anything. He was shaking. "No, no, it's real. It was all real. It won't stop. I can't get it to stop." He looked more exhausted now than he had when he'd first gone to sleep.

"Have you had this nightmare before?" Padmé asked. Maybe he was reliving a trauma that he'd gone through. She had her fair experience with that kind of thing.

"Every night." Luke said in a tortured voice. He took a deep breath and wiped the tears from his eyes. He was already looking a little bit calmer, but she didn't think it was because he felt better. He probably just had experience pushing past the torment in his mind.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Padmé asked. Luke was quiet for a long moment.

"I-I don't know how." Luke said. He may just need more time to figure things out, and the help of somebody who actually knew what they were doing.

"I'm sorry." Padmé said. She offered her hand for comfort again, and this time Luke took it without a moment of hesitation. She brushed her hand across his forehead. "You don't feel so warm. I think the sickness has passed."

"It wasn't serious." Luke said. "I was just careless. I-I've been having a hard time sleeping."

"Because of your nightmares?" Padmé asked. He nodded. "Well, I don't know how to fix that, but I can get you some food and help you figure out where to go from here. And I have some questions for you, if you'd be willing to answer them."

Luke gave her a sheepish smile. "I have questions too."

"Then maybe we can help each other figure this out." Padmé said. She brought Luke into the kitchen. She gave him more water immediately, and found some fresh fruit. It wouldn't be the most filling of breakfasts, but if he was recovering from a sickness than something simple might be just what he needed.

They ate for a few minutes as they both tried to gather their thoughts about where to start their questions. Suddenly Luke jolted so sharply that he dropped his glass of juice. The cup shattered on the ground, but the shattered glass was the last thing Padmé was worried about. Luke's eyes were wide and blank, and it looked like he had stopped breathing.

"Luke?" She touched his arm. He didn't react at all. "Luke, what's wrong?"

"Dark." Luke said breathlessly. "Cold. So cold." He looked sharply towards the front door. "Something's coming."

Padmé wanted to ask him more, but she was interrupted by a knock on the door. She gave Luke a concerned look and went to answer the door. She intended to tell whoever it was that she was busy, and now really wasn't a good time. Any excuse escaped from her throat when she saw Chancellor Palpatine standing in front of her.

"Chancellor." She could barely keep the shock out of her voice. He didn't often come out into the city. He stayed in his offices and the senate building. If he had work he needed to do in the city, he would usually send a representative or a messenger. For him to come in person, it had to be important. "What brings you here?"

"I was thinking of you, and thought I would stop in for a visit." Chancellor Palpatine said. It didn't sound quite right to Padmé, but who was she to argue with him? He let himself in, and Padmé didn't know what she could do but step out of his way.

"Well, who is this?" Palpatine stepped into the kitchen.

"My guest." Padmé stepped around him and joined Luke. He was pale and he was looking at Palpatine with fear. Padmé couldn't imagine what he was afraid of, but that didn't make his feelings less real.

"Is something wrong?" Palpatine asked in concern. "He looks rather ill."

"He's getting over a sickness." Padmé said. It was the truth, but it was far from everything

"It looks rather serious." Palpatine said. "I know some very gifted doctors. Perhaps your friend could benefit from seeing them." He reached out to Luke, and the boy's eyes widened in panic.

"No!" Luke screamed and threw his hands up. Padmé felt something strong push her away from him. She staggered back. Palpatine was practically thrown into the air. He was knocked into the wall. Padmé thought she should be concerned about him, but she was far more concerned about what she had just seen.

She was familiar with this feeling. That was a Force push. Luke had used the Force, and he looked even more confused about it than she was.

"What…what happened?" Luke was looking really faint. Padmé didn't know if it was because he had overexerted himself, or if this was just because of his confusion. She supposed it didn't really matter because she now knew where she could go for answers.

"Chancellor, I'm sorry about what just happened." Padmé spared Palpatine a glance, just to make sure he was recovering from the push. When she saw he was okay she turned her attention back to Luke. She missed the dark, almost hungry look in Palpatine's eyes.

Padmé went to Luke's side, supporting him. "I appreciate the offer, Chancellor, but I'm afraid we're going to have to decline." Even the most talented of doctors probably couldn't help Luke in the way that he needed.

He'd used the Force, and he'd done so without meaning to. This darkness that he felt like was surrounding him, that could be the presence of the Force as well. And it would explain the nightmares that were plaguing him. Force visions.

Padmé didn't know a lot about the Force. Most of it was things she had just picked up from Anakin. However, she knew just where to find people who would know better.

"I think we should get you to the Jedi temple." Padmé said. She didn't know if he was a padawan, or an outsider who had the Force. Either way, she thought that the Jedi wouldn't just know what to do, but they would know how to deal with it.

"The Jedi are busy." Palpatine said. "Do you truly think bringing them a street urchin would be the best use of their time?"

Padmé stiffened her jaw and tightened her grip around Luke, encouraging him to lean on her. "Yes, I do." She nodded at the Chancellor. She didn't always agree with him, but a big part of her job was that she needed to respect him. "If you'll excuse us."

Palpatine briefly looked like he wanted to argue more, but then he nodded and his posture relaxed. "Of course, my dear. Please, at least allow me to offer you a ride to the temple."

Luke shuddered and shook his head, but Padmé didn't dismiss the idea. The temple wasn't too far away, but they certainly couldn't walk there, even if Luke was in any condition to. Padmé could call an attendant to drive them, but that would take time. Palpatine had a speeder and driver waiting for him. It was the quickest option, and the wisest if she wanted to avoid offending the Chancellor more than she already had.

"Your offer is most gracious, Chancellor." Padmé said. She supported Luke as they followed Palpatine outside and to his personal speeder. Luke wasn't happy about this, and he resisted, but he was too weak and nervous to fight. Soon she got him settled, and then they were on their way to the temple, and hopefully some answers.

Chapter Text

Leia didn't know what had happened. One second she had been in the courtyard of the castle on Alderaan, getting some fresh air. The next she was on some unknown rocky planet. And even though the Jedi were supposed to be extinct, she found herself face to face with three apparent Jedi.

Leia had been confused for a long minute. She had wondered if this was an Imperial trap of sorts. If they were trying to get her to reveal herself as a Jedi and Rebel sympathizer. And then Obi-Wan Kenobi had introduced himself, and the pieces all came together. The picture they painted was confusing and impossible, but it was also the only thing that made sense.

She had somehow ended up in the past. How else could there stormtroopers dressed like the phase 2 clones from the Republic era? And Obi-Wan Kenobi. He looked so young, and his eyes didn't hold the pain that Leia remembered so distinctly, but she knew that it was him. She could feel it in a way that she couldn't really explain.

Except now she could, couldn't she? She knew him because he felt familiar through the Force. Something that, until today, she hadn't thought she had. She still didn't know how convinced she was that she had the mystical abilities of the Jedi, but it made a lot of things make sense. It explained how she had always seemed to have a sense for incoming danger, and how she was so good at reading people. And why her parents had gotten so concerned when she was a little kid and talked to imaginary friends. They must have thought she was talking to people through the Force.

And who was to say that she hadn't been? What if people had reached out and talked to her through the powers of the Force? She already knew that something similar could happen. Anakin had demonstrated to her that Force-sensitives could sense each other, and for two weeks now she'd been feeling somebody reaching out to her. Communication through the mind didn't seem like that much of a stretch.

Leia really didn't know how the Force worked. She had a casual curiosity about it, as anybody who had grown up hearing stories about the Clone Wars would. Most children dreamed about pushing objects with their mind, or giving themselves superpowers. Leia herself had been interested in the mind tricks that she sometimes heard her father mention. She wondered how good a politician she could be if she could influence people's decisions with just a thought.

Now that she knew she apparently had the Force, she wondered how good she would be if she didn't have those powers. Would she be even half as persuasive and willful as she thought she was?

It hurt her head a bit to think about, and she would probably spiral into an identity crisis if she let herself. She had long-since taught herself to not give in to self-doubt. She had been taught and raised well. She had studied hard, and she dedicated hours of her day to learn to be the best princess, politician, and senator that she could. So what if she had subconsciously used the Force? It was still a part of her.

A part of her wanted to deny that the Force was within her, but she couldn't. Not when she'd felt it so strong. And especially not when for the past few weeks she'd been feeling a cry for help reaching desperately for her. Now she knew how the call had been made, and hopefully this Force would also lead her to the one who obviously needed her.

Before Leia could get what she wanted, she needed to go along with the Jedi. They knew more about the Force than she did. They would be able to help her find the one she was looking for. But Leia knew enough about politics to know that if she wanted help, the best way to get it was by cooperating and doing what she was told. If that meant going to Coruscant so the Jedi Council could look at her 'Force signature' in person, so be it.

If they didn't want to help her, she would just have to make them. If the Force had dragged her across space and time, then the least it could do was make it a little easier to find the person that was screaming for help.

On the way to Coruscant Obi-wan taught her a little bit about the Force. It was just the very basics. He mostly just talked to her about how she could recognize the Force when she felt it. She knew there was far more that Jedi could do, but they had limited time. The Jedi Council hadn't said a lot when Obi-wan had introduced her to them. They had mostly just looked concerned and said that they would like to talk to her in person when they got to the temple.

Obi-Wan hadn't mentioned to them that he meant to train her a little. Leia suspected that it was something he didn't think they would approve of. He was going behind their back, but he didn't want to betray them completely. So Leia's training would remain limited for now, and she was fine with that. She'd gone through her whole life not even being aware that she had the Force. She could live without the special powers.

Besides, now that Leia knew about her connection to the Force, she didn't think it would be too hard for her to practice and figure things out on her own. The basics really was all she needed for that.

They were just nearing Coruscant space when Leia felt a chill in the air. She felt a heaviness in her chest, and tears came to her eyes. Tears that she knew were not truly her own.

Leia knew this feeling well. She'd been experiencing it on and off for weeks, since she had turned fifteen. She was usually decent enough at masking emotions such as fear and sadness, but because this darkness didn't come from her she couldn't hide it. Her parents kept on trying to get her to talk to them about what was wrong, but how could she when even she didn't know what was wrong?

Obi-wan stopped in the middle of his explanation of their next exercise. Leia thought he was going to ask if she was alright, but he did no such thing. His eyes were distant, and he looked a little lost.

"There's been a shift in the Force." Obi-wan muttered to himself. He looked at Leia, finally taking in the tears running down her cheeks. "You felt it."

"This is what I've been feeling this whole time." Leia brushed her tears away. "You can understand why I want to find the source."

"I'd quite like to find it as well." Obi-wan stroked his beard.

"Master Obi-wan!" Ahsoka ran into the room. She looked alarmed. "Something's wrong."

"Yes, we know." Obi-wan said gently. Leia felt a wave of calmness come over her. He never came around very much. She had only seen him a handful of times when she was younger. He saved her when she was younger, and then she saw him again when he came to visit Alderaan for her thirteenth birthday. She distinctly remembered that he seemed to radiate calmness. She only now realized that it was the power of the Force.

"We felt the disturbance in the Force." Obi-wan said.

"So did I, but that's not what I'm worried about." Ahsoka said. "Anakin is…I don't know. Something's wrong."

Obi-wan now looked concerned. He hurried out of the room as much as he could without running. Leia didn't know Anakin well, but Obi-wan seemed to care about him, and he seemed nice enough. Leia was most worried about the one she felt reaching out to her through the Force, but there was nothing she could do about that now.

They went to the cockpit where they saw Anakin sitting in the pilot's seat. He was hunched over, with one of his hands resting over his eyes. He looked drained, and if Leia reached out to him the way that he had told her to, she could just feel the despair coming off from him. As soon as she touched his presence she was mentally shoved away.

"Anakin, what's wrong?" Obi-wan asked.

"I don't know." Anakin said. He sounded frustrated. "I just felt…I don't know. It's as though I just had a Force vision, except I didn't see or sense anything. I just feel that dread, like something terrible is going to happen."

"Or has already happened." Leia said. She didn't know how she knew that kind of thing. She didn't know what a Force vision was, let alone how it worked. It seemed right though. She wondered if there was something wrong with what she had said, because Obi-wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka were looking at her in confusion. "Am I wrong?"

"No, you're correct." Obi-wan said. "But I thought you knew nothing about the Force."

"I don't." Leia said. Ahsoka looked unconvinced. Anakin was just distracted by this unexpected assault of emotion. Leia wondered if he was actually feeling it stronger than she did, or if she had simply become desensitized to it. Obi-wan was just looking at her like she was fascinating to him. It wasn't as dehumanizing as the council's gaze had been, but Leia wondered if that was just because she was already familiar with Obi-wan.

He looked like he wanted to speak with her more about the Force and how she felt it, but with Anakin a little out of it, and them almost at their destination, Obi-wan took over the piloting. It wasn't too long before they left hyperspace. Leia looked out the window and saw the planet of Coruscant.

She wanted to take in the view and get excited about how this planet could be different than it was in her time. After all, while she knew Coruscant as the center of the Empire, it was now the heart of the Republic. It was a place of democracy, and it was supposed to represent everything that Leia had been wanting to achieve since she was old enough to understand just what democracy was.

It was hard to get excited though because as soon as they left hyperspace the hopeless and desperate feeling that had been following her for weeks suddenly got stronger. Her first thought was that something had happened to the one that was calling out to her, that he needed help more than ever. And then she realized something.

He. The one calling out to him was a boy. She hadn't been able to tell that much before, but she felt the truth resonate in her soul.

The feeling was stronger, and much clearer. She was getting closer to him. She didn't know how she could tell, but she just did. The boy was down there on Coruscant. After weeks of fear and frustration, Leia could finally find him. She just hoped that she would be able to put a stop to the powerful negative feelings that they were both surely feeling.

In her anxiety, it seemed to take forever for their ship to be given clearance and for them to land on Coruscant. It took even more time for them to get to the Jedi temple. The only reason why Leia wasn't trying to demand that they head straight to him was that she didn't know exactly where he was, but she could feel that they were getting closer.

Finally they landed at the docking bay connected to the Jedi temple. Leia knew that she was supposed to let Obi-wan introduce her to the Council, but the boy reaching for her was so close that she felt something like a physical pull towards him. He was within the temple walls. He had to be.

She barely waited for the landing procedures to finish. She ran towards the doors of the ship, and as soon as they were solidly on the ground she opened the doors and ran out before anybody could realize what she was doing or try to stop her. She heard Obi-wan call out to her, and she just knew that Ahsoka was chasing after her, but she didn't stop. This boy needed Leia so badly that she'd been pulled through time. She wasn't going to wait until she was given permission to find him.

The Jedi temple didn't exist in her time, and she'd never set foot in the Imperial palace before. She shouldn't have known her way around, but she didn't hesitate for a moment as she ran. The pull was guiding her. It was as though she was lost in a cave, and there was a bright light shining through. She didn't know where the light led, and it wasn't bright enough to illuminate her entire path, but it was easy to follow.

Leia ran until she reached a spacious hall that gave off an air of overwhelming peace. It seemed to be a medical room of sorts, though it was unlike anything Leia was familiar with. Whether that was because she was in the past, or because she was among the Jedi, it was hard to say.

She slowed her pace when she entered the hall, because it was clear that there were a number of people who were ill or in pain, and as desperate as she was she didn't want to cause them any more distress. Besides, she was close enough now and there weren't enough people around to stop her.

She strode confidently through the hall, letting the light guide her. She came to a door that clearly led to a private area. The boy was in there, she just knew it. She pushed the door open, and she froze at the sight she saw.

Two Jedi and a somewhat familiar woman were standing near a bed. They watched tensely as a healer of sorts stood over a boy laying on the bed. He was tense and there were tears running down his cheeks. Leia felt the tears return to her own eyes. The healer was leaning close to the boy, their hands on his forehead. Leia could sense a calming force from them, but the boy wasn't relaxing. After a long moment the healer sighed and drew back.

"He's carrying a lot of pain." The healer said. "But he won't let me in to ease it."

"I'm trying." The boy choked out. His voice was full of that intense emotion that came with someone being emotionally drained, and being completely fed up about it. The Jedi exchanged glances.

"It's just so loud in here." The boy said. "I can't focus."

"The Force, you are feeling." One of the Jedi said. "Strong, your connection to the Force is."

"I don't even know what that means." The boy sat up and pushed himself out of the bed. The young woman pushed past the Jedi and came to his side.

"Luke, calm down." She gently pushed him back down, sitting on the bed next to him. "The Jedi Masters can help you, I promise."

Leia sucked in a small gasp. Luke. That was the boy's name, and he needed help. Maybe the Jedi were the most qualified to help him, but she felt in her very being that they wouldn't be able to. Not in the same way that she could. She stepped forward.

"Luke." She said, testing his name. His head shot up and she stared into his bright blue eyes. She felt a strong pull, and she didn't fight it. She continued towards him, ignoring the Jedi that were wondering what she was doing here. She went to Luke and wrapped her arms around him. In that moment she felt like a part of her that she hadn't even known was missing was sliding back into place.

Luke made a gasping sound and returned her embrace. She knew that he could feel it too. She could feel his light prodding at her, reminding her of a cautious but hopeful small child. She didn't know how her Force presence actually felt, but she could feel how bright Luke was, even when he was in so much pain, and she didn't think she could hold a candle to that.

Leia took her presence and did what she could to reach out to Luke, wrapping her essence around his, just as her arms were tight around him. She didn't know what sort of thing was haunting and hurting him, but she would do anything she could to protect him from any more pain.

She barely knew Luke. She didn't know why she cared for him so much already, but just because she didn't understand didn't mean that she was going to fight it. Luke needed her, and she wasn't going to let him go.

"Leia!" Obi-wan's voice reminded her that there was more than just the two of them in the room. She slowly pulled away from Luke to look to the door, though she kept her Force presence tight around him. "You cannot just run off like that."

Leia normally didn't like being told what to do, but just the fact that this was Obi-wan was enough to make her feel a little bit guilty. It wasn't enough to regret what she had done. She would go after Luke again, but she didn't like disappointing this man.

"I felt Luke." Leia said. "I had to find him."

Obi-wan looked at the two of them. Leia could feel him pressing against her Force presence. She wanted to let him in, but more than that she wanted to keep her presence wrapped around Luke's, and she didn't know how to do both at once. She tightened her hold around Luke. His presence flared brightly in response. It felt like a good flare, but Luke grimaced like he was in discomfort.

"It's so bright." Luke muttered. "There's so much."

Obi-wan gave him a sympathetic look. "Where are you from, Luke?"

The boy stared at Obi-wan. He looked terribly confused, and there was a look of familiarity in his eyes. Leia thought that Luke might also be from the future, but she wondered if he knew Obi-wan too. She hoped he didn't say anything about it until she could talk to him in private. They needed to figure out what to do moving forward.

Luke looked around the room, seeming uncomfortable with being the center of attention. Leia gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, and he returned the gesture. "I'm from Tatooine."

The woman that had tried to comfort Luke earlier made a small exclamation of triumph or something, but she quickly got her emotions under control. Obi-wan stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"I assume you didn't live in a town, or have much exposure to large groups of people." Obi-wan said. Luke furrowed his brow.

"I live on a moisture farm." Luke said slowly. "How did you know?"

"This overwhelming presence you're feeling is the Force." Obi-wan said. "You both have a remarkably strong connection to the Force. It connects all living things, and those that the Force is strong with can feel that connection."

"Most Jedi learn from a young age to shield themselves from the overbearing presence of the Force." The other Jedi, who had yet to say anything, said. He was dark skinned, and had a stern, but not unkind look in his eyes. "Even without training they adapt to the Force signatures around them, so as to not be overwhelmed. If you grew up in isolation, and without training, then you haven't learned to block out the unnecessary distractions."

Luke still looked confused, but Leia thought she understood. "You're just overwhelmed because you're not used to being in such a heavily populated area." When Leia was younger she'd had a hard time with crowds. She had felt hyper-aware of everyone's presence, and it had felt impossible to block out the sounds of their voices. She remembered describing large crowds of people as loud and bright, which was how Luke seemed to be feeling now.

It had taken a long time for Leia to feel like she could handle people. Now she barely noticed it. If she actually stopped to think about how many people were on Coruscant, and how many of those people were Jedi and favored by the Force, then she started to get a bit of a headache as it all felt like too much. It was no wonder Luke was having a hard time. He couldn't block it out the way she could, because he'd never had any reason to learn how.

"I can help you learn how to filter the Force's noise." Obi-wan said.

"He's a really good teacher." Leia assured Luke, because she didn't want him to have another reason to be overwhelmed. "He's already taught me a lot in a short period of time."

"Is that so?" The dark Jedi crossed his arms and gave Obi-wan an unimpressed look.

"Too old to be trained as Jedi, they are." The green Jedi master said.

"But they are not too old to learn about the Force." Obi-wan said. They'll be in danger if we leave them completely untrained. We felt this boy's influence on the Force from the depths of space. If we could sense them, so will the Sith."

The Jedi still didn't look convinced, but they didn't completely deny the request, and Leia had always seen that as a good sign. Finally the stern man sighed and crossed his arms.

"You can teach them the basics and how to control themselves." He said. "But the Council will need to discuss the matter further."

Obi-wan inclined his head. "Of course, Master Windu. Master Yoda."

"Master Kenobi." The Jedi nodded at him in return. Leia was impressed with their demeanor. She could tell when people were just putting on a facade, but the respect between the Jedi seemed sincere, despite their obvious disagreements. When the Jedi made their way out of the room, Leia nodded in respect at them as well. The healer left shortly after them, off to take care of their other patients.

The young woman gave Luke an odd look before turning towards Obi-wan. "Did you return with Anakin?"

A look of amusement flashed in Obi-wan's eyes. "He's on the ship, seeing to his men."

"I think he could provide some insight to this situation." She stood up and straightened her dress. "I'll speak to him and leave you to your students." She walked out, almost like she was in a hurry. Obi-wan shook his head fondly as he watched her go

"One would think a politician would know a bit more about the art of subtlety." Obi-wan said to himself. He looked at Luke and Leia. "I believe it's been a long day for all of us. Why don't I get us some tea, and then we can get to know each other a little more?" The suggestion was friendly, but Leia knew what he was really saying. He had questions, and they weren't going to get out of dodging them. That was fine, just as long as she and Luke had the chance to get their stories straight first.

"Tea sounds lovely." Leia said.

"Could I have blue milk?" Luke asked. Leia thought the request was a little childish. Not only was milk such a plain drink, but she'd been taught that it was rude to ask for one thing when something else had already been offered. Children could get away with it, but at their age they should accept and tolerate anything that someone was gracious enough to offer.

Obi-wan didn't seem offended. He gave Luke a small smile. "I'll see what I can do." He left their private room, and finally Luke and Leia were alone. She gave him her full attention, and he looked a little startled about it.

"I can't begin to tell you how glad I am to find you." Leia sat on the bed, making herself comfortable for what was sure to be a long conversation. "We've got a lot to discuss."

Chapter Text

Luke's life had taken a weird turn, and he didn't know whether his exhaustion was making everything seem weirder because he was too tired to process the plainest of things, or if his fatigue was making things seem more ordinary than they really were, because his mind was already messing with him.

He wasn't on Tatooine anymore. Padmé said this was Coruscant, which should be impossible, but it certainly felt loud enough to be the center of the galaxy. He felt like he was being suffocated in a crowd of pure, unfiltered life. Padmé had said her friends could help, but going to their temple had made things so much worse. The noise got stronger, and though it wasn't really bad, and it actually felt kinda nice, it was completely overwhelming.

The people who called themselves Jedi tried to help him, but to get their help he needed to let them in his head, and it was too much. His instincts fought against it too much, and he was too tired and hurt to even think about how to make his instincts stop trying to protect him.

Things got more confusing, but also better, when Leia showed up. Luke could feel her, just like he felt everyone else, but she didn't feel intrusive and overpowering like the others. In some ways she felt a lot like Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen. Luke hadn't really noticed that he could feel them, because they were such a constant part of his life that their presence just felt like a part of him. A part that, even with the overwhelming noise around him, he missed desperately now that he couldn't feel it anymore.

Leia didn't fill the hole left by their absence, but it eased the loneliness. When she took his hand and seemed completely at ease with him even though they'd never met before now, Luke wondered if he eased a pain of hers as well.

When the two of them were left alone he thought that he could cope. He wasn't comfortable, and he didn't quite feel safe, but he felt like he could get through today, and even through the night. He could just sit here with Leia, not really doing anything, but then she turned to him with a fierce look of determination in her eyes, and he knew his peace wouldn't last.

"There are so many things we need to talk about." Leia said. "But we need to set some things straight. First and foremost, and you from the future too?"

Luke blinked. "Am I…what?"

Leia pursed her lips, looking just a touch impatient. "Surely you've noticed that things aren't quite right. We're surrounded by Jedi, even though the Empire killed them years ago." She gave Luke a careful look. "You know about the Empire, don't you?"

"Of course." Luke scowled. He may be from Tatooine, but they weren't completely isolated from the galaxy.

Leia relaxed slightly. "So you are from the future. I thought so."

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked. She sounded crazy, but so full of confidence that he couldn't dismiss her completely.

"I don't know how, but somehow we've been pulled into the past." Leia said. "We're in the time of the Clone Wars." It sounded impossible, but Luke had always been pretty good at knowing when people were telling the truth. Not just what they thought was the truth, but the actual truth. He could feel it ringing within him.

"Time travel." Luke said breathlessly. It was the kind of thing that people told impossible stories about, and to his knowledge it wasn't actually a thing. "That's so wizard."

Leia smiled. "It is, isn't it. We've been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and there's so much I want to learn about the Senate of the Republic." She took a deep breath and curbed her excitement. "But we need to be careful about this. I don't think it would be wise to tell others about our situation."

"Why not?" He didn't necessarily disagree with what she said, he just hadn't thought about it. She sounded so sure about something that people didn't have any experience with.

"This isn't our time." Leia said, as though Luke hadn't already known that. "We could be interrogated, or treated as though we're insane."

Luke could kinda understand it. Even back on Tatooine it had been dangerous to have any kind of inexplicable knowledge or power. It gave you an advantage, but it also put a target on your back. It was why Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were so scared of anything abnormal he did. It just brought attention to him, and on Tatooine attention was never anything but bad.

But they'd already brought attention to themselves, without even trying. He didn't know anything about the Jedi Council, but they sounded like a big deal, and they seemed interested in Luke and Leia for some reason. Even the government was getting involved, if the presence of a senator and Chancellor were anything to go off of.

"The Jedi seem nice." Luke said. "I don't think they'd hurt us."

"They might if they were desperate enough." Leia frowned. "They're fighting in a war. If they find out we're from the future, they might want us to tell them what we know, to help them win."

Her tone of voice made it sound like that would be a bad thing, but Luke didn't really understand why. "If we can help them win, why don't we?" He didn't know a lot about the Republic, but he knew there were a lot of problems with the Empire. He didn't think the Republic could be as bad.

Leia's eyes widened. "Are you insane? We can't change the past!"

"Why not?" Luke frowned.

"You might erase yourself from existence." Leia said. "There are so many theories and hypotheticals about it. Every move we make can have completely unforeseen consequences."

Luke frowned. "I've heard that from some time travel stories. But I've also heard stories where the time travel was always supposed to happen. Where everything we do here is something that's already happened, because in the past we had already travelled back." He didn't feel like he worded it right, and Leia looked unconvinced and unimpressed.

"Stories? You're going to risk our lives because of things you learned in make-believe stories?" Leia raised an eyebrow at him. Luke felt his face burn.

"Don't act like you're better." He couldn't help but pout. "Your worries are based around theories that people can't really research, because as far as people in our time know, time travel isn't real. Those theories are just boring, fancy stories made up by people who want to sound smarter than they are."

Leia's face went red. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Neither do you." Luke pointed out. She huffed and got up off the bed. She paced a bit.

"I really don't want to fight with you." Leia said. She'd brought her emotions back under control, and that just made Luke feel more frustrated because he didn't know how to do that. "We can discuss this later, but for now I really think it would be better to keep some things between us. Such as our full names."

Luke frowned. "Why?"

"Well, I for one have parents who would be on Coruscant around this time." Leia said. "I don't think it would be a good idea to let them know they have a teenage daughter."

"Yeah, maybe not." Luke could understand that, but then he realized something. "Wait. Maybe my parents are alive." Luke didn't know exactly when Grandma Shmi had died, or what year he'd been brought back to. For all he knew, she was also alive. He might be able to stop the Tuskens from taking her in the first place. She wouldn't be tortured and killed, and maybe his nightmares would finally end.

Hope welled up in his chest, so strong that he couldn't contain it. Leia looked at him, a look of understanding and slight pity in her gaze.

"They probably are, yes." Leia said slowly. She sat next to him again, taking his hands. "Luke, I know you want to see them, but what if by talking to them you convince them to never get married? Or to never have a kid? You could literally destroy yourself."

Luke knew she might be wrong, but she also might be right, and maybe it was too risky. He sighed, squeezing her hand. "I just wish I knew more about them. I don't even know my mother's name."

"Well, what's your father's name?" Leia asked.

"Anakin Skywalker." Luke said. Leia looked stunned, and there was a flash of recognition in her eyes. Luke sat up. "You know him." He remembered when Padmé had left the room, she'd gone to talk to someone called Anakin. He hadn't really registered it at the time, because his head was so full, but now it felt so clear. "He's here."

Luke shot to his feet. He wanted to go see the father that he'd always dreamed of meeting. He would have run right out of the room, but Leia held firm to him and pulled him back.

"Luke, no!" Leia shouted. "You can't just run up to him, say 'you're my dad', and expect things to be okay."

"Let me go!" Luke squirmed to try to pull away from her, but Leia adjusted her grip so her arms were around him. She held tight.

"No!" Leia insisted. "Not unless you promise to not do anything reckless." Luke didn't stop struggling. He only stopped when he heard her sniffle. He realized her hold on him was less of a restraint and more of an embrace.

"Please, Luke." Leia whispered. She sounded so upset, and he could feel her fear. "It's so dangerous. You have no idea. I don't want anything to happen to you. I couldn't take it. Please. I've heard you calling out to me for weeks now. I'm supposed to help you. I'm supposed to keep you safe. If something terrible happened, and I failed to keep you safe…" She trailed off with a whimper, and Luke found himself folding.

If there was one thing that Luke couldn't handle, it was to hurt someone who cared about him. More times than he could count he would do something he didn't necessarily want to, or he would give up something he really wanted, just because someone he cared for wanted something more.

He didn't know why he cared about Leia. He didn't know what she meant when she said he'd been calling for her. But he could feel how scared she was. She wasn't just spouting theories about time travel because she wanted to sound smart. She genuinely thought he could get hurt, and he knew she would blame herself if he did.

He sighed and forced himself to relax. He nodded, and Leia let out a shuddered breath of relief. "I know I'm asking a lot." Leia said. "I can help you learn about your mother, and you can even meet your father, but you need to promise me that you'll be careful."

"I'll try." Luke said. He'd always dreamed about having his father in his life, but it would be good enough to just have the chance to get to know him. It was more than Luke thought he would ever get.

Luke and Leia were still holding each other when the Jedi who went to get them drinks returned. Luke turned towards him and started when he realized that he recognized him.

"Ben?!" He had thought the man had looked familiar earlier, but he hadn't considered time travel as a possibility. Now he knew that this was Old Ben Kenobi, albeit younger and much less lonely.

Leia shot him a look and too late he remembered that they were going to keep things quiet, at least for now. He gave her a sheepish grin.

"I'm afraid I don't know who Ben is." The man said slowly as he set down a tray of drinks. He handed Luke his blue milk, and then poured some tea for him and Leia. "My name is Obi-wan Kenobi."

"Right." Luke nodded. "Sorry, you just…remind me of someone else."

"That's quite alright." Obi-wan smiled. "I'll be honest, you remind me of someone else too." Luke felt a rush of excitement as he realized that he could very well be talking about his father. Luke had always wanted to be like him.

"Now, if you don't mind, I have some questions for you." Obi-wan grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it closer to the bed, taking a seat. Leia sat up straight, giving him her full attention. Luke slowly followed their example. They were acting so serious.

"We'll answer what we can." Leia said.

"Am I correct in believing that you suddenly disappeared from your home and showed up somewhere new?" Obi-wan asked Luke.

"It's what happened to me." Leia said helpfully, though Luke already knew that part.

"I guess so." Luke said. It had all happened so suddenly. "I just kinda appeared in Padmé's closet." He was surprised she hadn't shot him where he had stood. He probably would have done so if he'd found a stranger hiding in his closet. Unless that stranger was a hurt or scared little kid who clearly just needed help.

Was that really how she had seen him?

"She brought me here." Luke said. "After I…I don't know. I think I might have pushed them, but I didn't touch either of them. She said the Jedi would be able to help me."

"You used the Force." Obi-wan said. He stroked his beard. "It's fortunate nobody was harmed."

Luke felt guilt churn in his stomach even though he'd done nothing wrong. "I didn't try to hurt anyone."

"I know you didn't." Obi-wan said gently. "The Force can be an amazing gift, but it's a powerful one. Without training, it can quickly get out of hand. That's why I'm going to do what I can to train you."

He sipped his tea. "I think it may be prudent to help you with your emotional stability. When our emotions run high, the Force can flow more easily through us, but it's harder to control."

Luke bit his inner lip. He'd been really upset when that push had happened. He'd been stressed about the nightmare, but also something else. He wasn't really sure what. It was as though all of the blinding light around him went dark, and he was suddenly surrounded by an intense cold. He didn't know why he'd felt that. It had come and gone so suddenly, he wondered if he'd just imagined it.

Leia rubbed her thumb across Luke's knuckles. "Have you been really upset these past few weeks? More than usual?" Luke nodded. "I think that's what I've been feeling. You were hurting, and you reached out to me, even if you didn't realize that's what you were doing. I felt it even when we were back…home." In their own time.

Obi-wan leaned forward. "Has something happened?"

Luke looked at his lap. What was he supposed to say? He'd been having those bad dreams of his, and it had definitely left him reaching out for someone, but he couldn't say that. It was just a dream. He was just being overly sensitive about something that had happened in the past, and he couldn't change. Talking about it wouldn't bring Grandma Shmi back. It wouldn't erase the memory of what had been done to her.

And Luke didn't think he could just get over how he had felt their hands all over him.

His throat tightened and he shuddered as he felt like he was going to be sick. Leia gasped and Obi-wan sounded like he choked on his breath. Luke looked at them and they were both looking at him with something like pity in their eyes. He felt humiliated and indignant.

"What?" Luke pulled his hand away from Leia's grip and wrapped his arms around himself.

"You're projecting your emotions into the Force." Obi-wan said. Luke felt all the blood drain from his face. Had he just made them feel that? It was horrible, and not something anybody deserved to feel. If these two had felt a hint of it because of him…

"You're hurting." Leia said. And you're scared, even though we're safe. What's wrong?"

Luke felt both relieved and disappointed at her words. Whatever he'd thrown into this Force thing had been vague at best. An impression. They didn't know what he'd been through, which meant they hadn't been subjected to it themselves. But it also meant that there was still nobody who understood how he felt, and he didn't have the words to explain it.

Leia and Obi-wan waited for an answer, but he didn't give it to them. Obi-wan let out a deep slow breath. "Perhaps we should just learn some basic shielding. If you aren't so open to the Force you won't be so overwhelmed, and you may not feel as vulnerable."

It wouldn't fix the nightmares, but if it could get the noise to quiet down enough that he could think, that might help.

Luke nodded, and Leia looked eager. They both sat up, and Obi-wan leaned closer to them. "This is a simple process, and it will soon be second nature. I'll walk you through it. Leia, you first." The two of them faced each other, and Luke watched carefully. Obi-wan took Leia's free hand.

"Close your eyes." Obi-wan said gently. "Can you feel my presence?" She nodded. "Good. Hold onto that feeling. I'm going to put a shield around your presence, and let you feel how it's done. And then you can try it yourself."

Luke only had a vague idea of what was going on. He felt awkward just sitting there as Obi-wan and Leia focused. They were just sitting there for a few moments, with him occasionally offering guidance or corrections.

Luke started to feel a little funny. It was a gradual thing, so it took him a bit to notice. It was like the loneliness that Leia had chased away was creeping back in, and with every passing moment it got stronger. Luke knew that nothing was wrong, but he reached out to Leia's bright presence anyway, trying to draw comfort from him.

When he tried to reach her he was suddenly blocked. He knew she wasn't gone. He could still feel her presence, but he couldn't touch it. It felt like being on Tatooine all over again, where he knew he wasn't alone, but he couldn't reach the people who could help him.

Luke felt a spike of terror. He didn't want to be alone. He clutched at Leia's hand and mentally struck out at the thing blocking him from her. It crumbled, and her presence filled him again. His relief was short-lived though as he heard a cry of pain.

Luke jolted and looked at Leia, who had pulled her hands away from him and Obi-wan. She was clutching at her forehead, wincing in pain.

"Luke!" Obi-wan didn't shout, but his voice was sharp. "You can't just tear down people's walls like that. You could have hurt her."

Luke's chest tightened and he felt like he couldn't breath. He felt Leia reach for him, but he shied away from her light. He didn't want to hurt her again. "I'm sorry."

"I-it's okay." Leia said. She slowly straightened. "I was just surprised. I'm fine." She was lying. She looked better, and maybe the pain was quickly going away, but it had definitely been there.

Luke slid off the bed and slowly went towards the door. "I'm sorry." It was all he could think to say. Obi-wan's eyes softened and he reached towards him, but Luke just took another step away. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but that was all he could seem to do with the Force. He was dangerous, and it scared him.

Obi-wan's eyes widened. "Luke, you are not dangerous. You're just untrained." But Luke didn't know if he wanted to be trained. Obi-wan had been showing Leia how to shield, and that was why Luke hadn't been able to feel her. He wanted to block out the extra noise, but he didn't want to push her out as well. She made him feel like he was going to be okay. Even before meeting her, when he'd just been subconsciously reaching for anybody, that had still been a comfort, because she had been there, somehow sending vague reassurances back to him.

Luke had felt alone, but he'd had hope that he wouldn't always be. If he and Leia were blocked from each other, he wouldn't even have that. And that was why Luke was dangerous. He knew that clinging to her could hurt someone, and he wanted to do it anyway, and he felt like a terrible person because of it.

Luke swallowed thickly and looked at Leia. "Y-you should learn how to shield." He was already panicking at the thought of losing her presence, but he couldn't be selfish. He didn't want to violently yank her shields down and hurt her. And he didn't want to project his sadness onto her. He barely knew her, and he knew that she deserved better than that.

"So should you." Leia said.

"I'll learn later." Luke said. He didn't think he had a choice. He needed to control whatever these powers were, but he wasn't ready to yet. He needed just a little more time.

"It may be simpler if I work with you one-on-one." Obi-wan said, though he didn't sound sure. "Though if I do that then maybe I should start with you, Luke." He felt a rush of fear at the suggestion. Obi-wan raised an eyebrow at him, though it somehow wasn't an unkind look. "What are you afraid of?"

He was afraid of these powers. He was terrified of his dreams. He was horrified at the thought that he was only having these dreams because of the Force, and that if he let it in then the dreams would just get stronger.

He didn't know enough about the Force, and he was scared of the uncertainty. He wanted change from how his life was now, but it also terrified him.

Luke didn't answer Obi-wan's question, but the man hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe some meditation would help all of us." He held a hand out to Luke. The boy stared at it for a long moment, and then he looked at Leia. She stared at him with pleading eyes. Luke didn't want to disappoint her. He took Obi-wan's hand and let himself be pulled back to the bed. He still didn't know how he felt about all of this, but maybe it was time that he trusted someone. Because he clearly couldn't do this on his own.

Chapter Text

Obi-wan was fascinated by the two children who had seemed to come out of nowhere. Both of their Force signatures sang so brightly in the universe that it was almost literally blinding to even look at them. But as bright as they were, they carried a pain around them, though it was more obvious in Luke.

He was an odd one. He was terribly overwhelmed by all of the life forces surrounding him, but he resisted learning how to block them. The boy was so oblivious to the powers of the Force, and he was understandably wary about it. What concerned Obi-wan was that Luke seemed most frightened of his own connection to the Force.

Obi-wan didn't delve into his mind, but he didn't have to. The boy was projecting so strongly into the Force that it was as though he was screaming out his pain for everybody to hear. Every time Obi-wan tried to talk him through meditation, or encourage him to try a simple trick with the Force, he got a strong feeling of fear and caution, as though he was asking Luke to face a bully, or even a tormentor.

Obi-wan knew that it could be a burden sometimes to have a connection to the Force. To have so much power, but so little influence on how it should be used. He'd never considered the Force itself to be something bad. He'd only rarely wondered if he would be happier if he hadn't been born with this connection at all.

The feelings that were plaguing Luke were so much stronger, because his connection to the Force was so raw and unfiltered.

Obi-wan tried to help Luke. He thought he'd be able to get through to him, because he had experience with Anakin. His padawan may have been more naturally practiced with his shielding than Luke was, but he'd still been overwhelmed when he came to the Jedi temple on Coruscant. Anakin had especially struggled with giving in to the Force's will, which was what Luke seemed to have a hard time with now.

Obi-wan didn't think he'd been the perfect master for Anakin. He'd messed up in many ways, but he had done his best and he liked to think that he had done decently enough. If he could help Anakin, he could help Luke.

Obi-wan worked with both Luke and Leia on meditation for a bit before attempting shielding again. This time he helped Luke build up his shields, just to show him that it really wasn't as bad as he thought it was. Since Obi-wan had to connect their Force presences he was able to read Luke's thoughts more clearly than he'd been able to before.

Obi-wan tried not to look into his private thoughts, because everybody was entitled to their privacy. When he slowly started to build Luke's mental shields, and the boy just grew more and more anxious, Obi-wan really couldn't help but notice why. Luke was scared of losing the new, but strong, connection to Leia. He was hurting, and terrified of being alone.

It was simple enough to have one's shields up and still feel a connection to people, but to get there somebody needed to be able to shield completely first. Obi-wan thought he could get Luke and Leia to that point within a day, but not when the boy was resisting it so much.

Obi-wan slowed down building up Luke's walls, trying to slowly ease him into it, and sending calmness and comfort his way while he worked. Luke gradually began to calm, and everything seemed to be going well, but the instant he finished the mental walls Luke tore them down in a fit of panic. He did it so suddenly and harshly that he probably gave himself a pretty bad headache in the process.

"I think that's enough for now." Obi-wan said. Luke groaned and laid back on the bed. Obi-wan wanted to offer his assistance, but he wasn't the best at Force healing, and he didn't want to frighten Luke with his Force presence. The boy's headache would subside.

"Sorry." Luke muttered. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Nothing's wrong with you." Leia insisted. She glared at Obi-wan, as if daring him to contradict her. He had no intention of doing so.

"This is a lot to take in at once." Obi-wan said. It was at least part of the reason why they began their training at a young age. The younglings were so surrounded by the Force that it just felt normal to them. It was all they had ever known.

"You need to relax." Leia took Luke's hands. "Taking a break and clearing my mind has always helped me calm down. What relaxes you?"

Luke was quiet for a moment before he smiled. "Flying. I mean, I've never actually flown, but I know everything about ships, and I'm the best speeder rider in the Jundland Wastes."

Obi-wan usually had little patience for teenage boasting, but he couldn't help but be amused by Luke's words. He sounded so much like Anakin. He was pretty sure that his padawan had said not only this type of thing, but with that exact wording as well.

"I don't think flying is an option right now." Obi-wan said. The Jedi Council wouldn't want Luke or Leia to go far. It was too dangerous for the two of them. Even if they could leave, flying on Coruscant wasn't exactly enjoyable or relaxing for anybody. "I can show you some of our ships though.

Luke smiled and his happiness made his presence so bright that it almost felt like being in a dark room for a long time, only for the light to suddenly illuminate everything. It was nice, but also painfully blinding for a long moment until he could get used to it.

Obi-wan led Luke and Leia out of the Halls of Healing. Nobody gave them blatantly confused glances as they walked through the temple, because the Jedi usually had more tact than that. However, Obi-wan could feel confusion and curiosity from many they passed, and he was pretty sure his young guests could sense it as well.

Leia kept her head held high and she didn't at all acknowledge any of the odd looks. She reminded Obi-wan of many politicians he knew. He wondered what kind of education she'd gotten.

Luke was the opposite. Whenever he felt someone's stares he would scoot closer to Obi-wan and turn to blankly look at the one he could feel was thinking about him. Obi-wan didn't know if he subconsciously overwhelmed them with his Force presence, or if his stare left them feeling properly chastised, but they always looked away and moved on with their day as though they hadn't stopped in the first place.

It was one of the most awkward walks through the temple that he'd taken. He imagined that if he was with either Luke or Leia then he would barely notice the attention. It was the contrast between their reactions that left him feeling like he was caught in the middle of something, even though they weren't at odds with each other.

They eventually got to the hanger, and Luke excitedly ran to the ships to get a closer look. Leia hung back, content to just watch Luke.

"He's such a child." She muttered. She didn't sound like she was trying to be insulting. She sounded like somebody who was watching a young child play, and she was feeling nostalgic for a time when she had fun like that. What was especially amusing to Obi-wan was that he was fairly certain that she was barely any older than the boy.

"How old is he?" Obi-wan asked. It would be interesting to learn more about their guests. Leia blinked and crossed her arms as she watched Luke thoughtfully.

"I don't know." She admitted with a frown. "I don't don't really know anything about him, but I feel like I know him."

Obi-wan had forgotten that Leia had mentioned that the one she was looking for, Luke, was a stranger. That made this situation more odd. "You two have a Force bond, unlike anything I've seen before." Force bonds like this were mostly between masters and padawans, and even then it was not this strong and personal, and the bond was something that built up over time.

Luke and Leia's bond seemed to come to them naturally, like they were literally connected through the Force, and had been for potentially their whole lives.

Obi-wan stroked his beard as he considered the youths. Their presence in the Force was nearly identical. Luke shone a bit brighter, but they still felt incredibly similar, which was remarkable when all Force presences were completely unique, and these two were far too untrained to mask their presence.

When Obi-wan was younger he used to do a fair amount of reading. It was his escape from high expectations and judgmental gazes. He read all sorts of things, but anomalies in the Force had fascinated him. Especially after he became Anakin's master and felt incredibly out of his depth. He didn't know how to help his young padawan when extenuating circumstances were the only reason he wasn't a padawan himself.

Anakin was practically a walking Force anomaly, and Obi-wan had hoped that some research could help him to understand him better. He hadn't been able to find anything about birth through the pure will of the Force outside of vague legends. However, there were other fascinating reports, including natural Force bonds.

There were a couple of theories about such bonds. Force sensitive infants who go through a traumatic experience together have been known to latch their presence to each other unknowingly. Sometimes younglings would cling to the Jedi who took them from their home and brought them to the temple, though it was unsure if they formed a weak Force bond or if it was just a biological instinct to latch to a parental figure.

There had been some theories about something called a Force Dyad. Two souls that are one through the Force. That was all the information he could find about it. It was a difficult topic to even find mentioned, and it seemed like it wasn't just something that was lost, but something that was forbidden.

There was a much simpler explanation for Luke and Leia. Something that Obi-wan had actually seen for himself. Their connection and the way they seemed to understand and cling to each other actually reminded Obi-wan of Masters Tiplee and Tiplar. Twins.

He was just a few years older than them, and he remembered training with them a bit. When they'd been younglings they'd been specifically separated, because the Jedi didn't want them to rely only on each other and isolate themselves from their peers. As they got a little older their teachers realized that despite their best efforts, a bond had formed, and trying to tear it apart would just deter their training.

Tiplee and Tiplar were allowed to get to know each other, though they each had additional lessons about the importance of not letting attachments and personal feelings blind them to their duty and the will of the Force.

To this day Tiplee and Tiplar could control their emotions rather than letting themselves be controlled. Despite this, they still had a bond, and they probably would for the rest of their lives.

It seemed impossible for Luke and Leia to be twins, but it also made far too much sense. Their Force presences were too similar, and their bond was too strong through no effort of their own. They were about the same age. They may not have grown up together, but even that made sense. Their powers were too strong, and clearly attracted too much attention. Their parents, whoever they were, had to have somehow known that the two of them would be better off if they weren't together.

It was just too bad that their parents didn't recognize that the Jedi Temple was the safest place for both of them. They could have helped Luke and Leia hone their powers and protected them from anybody that might want to use that power and dim their lights.

And if they'd grown up at the temple they would be able to have known each other. Maybe they wouldn't have had a traditional sibling relationship, but it would still be something.

Obi-wan didn't mention his theory to Leia. He wanted to speak to the Jedi Council about it first. He wanted to hear their opinions. The Council would know how to proceed from here.

Luke looked at all parts of the ships. The wings. The thrusters. He was able to convince an engineer to show him the engine of the ship he was working on. After several minutes he waved Leia over, claiming that she needed to see the 'ancient ships'. Now he definitely sounded like Anakin. Obi-wan got the impression that if a ship wasn't the latest model, it was practically a relic. And yet Anakin kept his personal ships until they were all but unusual. Obi-wan didn't understand how Anakin could insult and admire a ship in the same breath. And yet here Luke was, doing just the same. Perhaps it was a Tatooine thing.

Leia had acted like she was more mature than Luke, but she started to relax as he showed her around the ships. At some points she looked almost as fascinated as he was. When Obi-wan finally approached the two of them to show them more of the temple, Leia was the one excitedly sharing information with Luke. Obi-wan heard her mention something about a ship such as the one they were standing in front of being used for an important diplomatic mission. He didn't get specifics, because as soon as she noticed him she clammed up and put on a professional air again.

"There are far more interesting sights in the temple than the hanger." Obi-wan said. Leia looked intrigued. Luke just looked disappointed and cautious. Perhaps he knew that Obi-wan intended on taking them to some of the meditation rooms or gardens to see if the calm air helped either of them with their shields.

"I'm fine here." Luke said. He looked at Leia, seeming to debate with himself for a long moment. "Maybe you two should work on your shielding alone, so I can't get in your way."

Leia crossed her arms and gave him a disapproving look. "You wouldn't get in the way."

Obi-wan didn't quite agree. He thought that Luke's idea was actually a fair one. He could work with Leia on her shields, and hopefully if Luke was amusing himself from the hanger he would be decently distracted from the way he was suddenly cut off from her.

"My old padawan, Anakin, has a fascination with ships himself." Obi-wan said. "I can send him this way, and you can talk about ships with each other. And he can keep an eye on you, in case something should happen." He had thought that Luke would be frustrated about the implication that he needed to be watched, but the boy said nothing. If anything, he looked excited.

"I'd like that." Luke said. His voice was surprisingly even, not at all reflecting the joy and eagerness that Obi-wan could feel through the Force.

He thought that Anakin would be able to get through to Luke in a way that he couldn't. They had similar passions, and they'd both grown up on Tatooine, oblivious to the ways of the Force. Obi-wan prided himself on how he could empathize with people, but Anakin's understanding could be so much more insightful.

Obi-wan nodded and turned to Leia, who looked uncertain about this plan. She went to Luke and took his hands in her own.

"You will let me know if you need me." Leia said. Her tone made it sound like it was something between a demand and a request.

Luke gave her a bitter smile. "I don't think I'll be able to help it." Leia wasn't impressed with his weak attempt at a joke. His smile softened and became more sincere. "I'll be fine."

"You'd better be." Leia said. She gave him a pointed look. "Be careful with Anakin. Remember what I said…and have fun."

Luke beamed, that excitement of his coming through again. "I will." He turned his attention back to the ships. Leia sighed and looked at Obi-wan.

"I guess we're doing this?" Leia sounded nervous.

"It will be better than before." Obi-wan promised. Leia already had a sense of shields, and with the lower risk of them being torn down she should thrive at this. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go somewhere quieter."

Obi-wan considered taking her to the peaceful gardens, but he thought she would be more interested in seeing the flora than meditating. She had never been to the Jedi Temple before, but she seemed to know a bit about it in a theoretical way. She was interested in seeing things for herself, but that could wait until she was at least able to shield.

Instead he brought her to his private room. On the way he tried to get a little more information.

"What did you two talk about while I was gone?" Obi-wan asked. Leia's casual expression became closed off. It wasn't an obvious change. Obi-wan only noticed it because he worked with politicians, who often did the same thing.

"We were setting up boundaries." Leia said. "We're both so new to this." Obi-wan could sense the truth from her, and he was impressed. They were both going through a lot of changes very suddenly. It made sense that they were leaning on each other for emotional support. It was very mature of her to discuss boundaries so they knew where each other stood and didn't end up hurting each other in the end.

"He seems like a nice young man." Obi-wan said. Leia smiled, her stern mask coming down quickly.

"He does, doesn't he?" Her smile grew sad. "I just wish I knew what was bothering him. I wish I could help."

"I'm sure we'll figure it out." Obi-wan said. A young man without shields couldn't hide something like this for too long.

They went into Obi-wan's room. He brought out his meditation mats and made themselves comfortable on the floor. He instructed Leia to take a minute to meditate and calm herself while Obi-wan contacted Anakin and asked him to find Luke. Soon they were able to start.

"Let's try this again." Obi-wan said. "Close your eyes. Let's see if you can build your shields, just like I did earlier."

Leia was a quick learner. She was able to start building her shields. Midway through she faltered, though Obi-wan was sure that it was from her concern about Luke, and not because of a lack of her control. He gently nudged her presence with his own, and that was enough to get her to continue. She made up her shields, and when the final piece fell into place nothing horrible pulled her out of it. Leia, and Luke, had done it.

"Well done." Obi-wan said. Leia smiled proudly and opened her eyes. Her shields didn't so much as falter.

"It feels so easy." Leia said. She smiled like a schoolgirl. "I used the Force. On purpose."

"Yes, you did." Obi-wan could feel how proud she was of herself, and he was proud of her too. It may be a simple task, something that children half her age had long-since mastered, but for someone who wasn't used to the Force, taking the first step was the hardest.

"What next?" Leia asked, eager for more. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Now you maintain this shield until it's second nature to you." Obi-wan said. Until both the youth could keep up their shields effortlessly, he didn't want to overwhelm them with anything else.

He stood up, offering a hand to help Leia to her feet. "While you keep the shield up, why don't I give you a tour?"

Leia's disappointment about not learning more fell away. She looked as eager as before. She just seemed to like learning, whether it be about Force skills, or ships, or Jedi culture.

Leia's shields truly were impressive. They didn't fall as they began her tour and she got excited about the sights. Even when Obi-wan poked ever so gently at her shields, she didn't falter. Obi-wan didn't know if it was because of the strength of her power, or if she just had that much control. He would have to see more of her Force skills, and he found himself looking forward to it.

At some point during their tour Obi-wan felt two strong spikes in the force that were strong enough to make him falter slightly, though he did his best to hide it. He recognized Anakin's frustration and distress. It had to be strong for him to be unintentionally projecting it towards Obi-wan.

The other spike was much stronger, and clearly came from Luke. It too had fury and despair in it. The emotions were so strong that Obi-wan, merely receiving a projection of them, felt like he couldn't even breathe. They were completely debilitating. Whatever was making Luke feel this was, it was as though it was tearing his very soul apart.

He wanted to offer comfort. He wanted to find Anakin and Luke and see just what had happened to upset the two of them, but he couldn't. He had Leia right at his side, and she hadn't noticed the intense emotions. Her shields were keeping her from feeling Luke's projections, and she wasn't familiar enough with the Force to otherwise sense them the way that most of the Jedi in the temple probably could.

She was doing well, but if she knew that her new friend was hurting and she had been unaware of it, it might set her back. She may become even more reluctant to hone her skills than Luke was. Leia would find it more important to be at Luke's side and provide comfort when he needed her than to keep herself safe from a Sith threat that she couldn't possibly understand.

Luke needed to calm down, but he had to do it without Leia. They could rely on each other, but not so much that they were completely dependent. She needed to practice her shielding, and he needed to get control of his own emotions. It couldn't be helped.

Obi-wan would check on Luke later but Leia needed guidance. He had already committed to training her, at least a little bit, and he couldn't back off now. Besides, Anakin was with Luke, and even though his old padawan still struggled with his own emotions, and Obi-wan could still sense his grief, he was already getting his feelings back under control. He would be able to help Luke. Obi-wan could sense that they weren't in danger. There wasn't an active threat. They were just upset. Anakin could handle that much.

"Are you alright?" Leia asked. He knew she couldn't sense his guilt and unease. She was simply curious about the way he faltered slightly in his steps. She was an observant one.

"I'm just fine." Obi-wan said evenly as he pushed down the guilt. He told himself he would help Luke later and make it up to him. "Do you want to see the libraries?" Leia's eyes lit up, and it was almost enough to help him ignore the painful glare of Luke's own light reaching out to him for help.

Everything would be fine. There was no reason why it wouldn't be.

Chapter Text

As a child living on Tatooine, Luke had always dreamed of what it would be like to have his father around. While he certainly wouldn't have minded having a mother just like all of the stories said he should, he didn't feel that need as much. He had Aunt Beru, after all, and she was so kind and gentle. She had mastered the balance between being encouraging, and being strict. She coddled him when he needed some care, and disciplined him when he stepped out of line. He really couldn't ask for more.

It wasn't the same with Uncle Owen. While Luke loved the man, and he knew that Owen loved him deeply, he was also very strict and occasionally harsh. Uncle Owen was the kind of person who kept both his feet on the ground at all times, and he had a hard time relating to his nephew who always had his head towards the stars.

Luke saw Owen as a caring guardian, but he wasn't a father figure the way that Beru was a mother figure. For an orphan boy, all he dreamed about was a caring and gentle father who loved him no matter what, and would always be there for him.

Luke had accepted that he would never get that, but he was still excited for the chance to get to know Anakin Skywalker. He wanted to know who the man had been. Was he as flighty as Luke was accused of being? Did he feel the same need to fly that Luke did? He had always believed so deep down, but feeling it and knowing it were two completely different things.

Anakin came to the hanger shortly after Obi-wan and Leia left. Luke could feel him coming, and he got more and more excited about it. He was finally going to meet his father. He was sure that he would recognize the man as soon as he saw him. That he would just feel the connection between them.

He definitely felt something, but it wasn't the same connection he felt with Leia, or even Obi-wan. It was more like the potential for something more. That was fine. Even just the potential of a bond was far more than Luke had ever hoped for. When Anakin stepped into the hanger, Luke actually didn't recognize him for who he was.

Anakin was tall. While his hair was blond, it was far darker than Luke's. Anakin didn't look like somebody who had been raised as a slave on Tatooine. He carried himself with too much pride and confidence, and his body had no signs of having been kissed by the suns.

At a second glance, Luke realized that Anakin actually did look familiar. Not because he instinctively recognized him as his father, but because he recognized Shmi Skywalker's son.

Luke had seen him in his nightmare, when he'd come to save his mother. Anakin had failed, getting back just in time to hold his dying mother in his arms. Luke knew from his nightmares how it felt to die. To be tortured so much that your body and spirit just couldn't hold on anymore. He could imagine that it wasn't much easier to see that kind of thing happen to a loved one.

Just the thought of seeing Aunt Beru after she'd gone through horrors like this made Luke feel sick to his stomach. He felt for Anakin, and he accidentally projected his pain and empathy into the Force through the connection he already shared with the man.

Anakin didn't pause in his steps, but a sympathetic look came to his eyes. A look that was full of too much understanding to be pity. He didn't ask what was wrong the way that Leia or Obi-wan would. Anakin just approached him and the ship he was looking at.

"Obi-wan said I'd find you in here." Anakin said with a kind smile. "Though he probably didn't need to. I could probably feel you from halfway across the galaxy."

Luke frowned. It took him a long moment to realize that Anakin was talking about the Force. He hoped that Obi-wan hadn't sent Anakin this way to talk to him about the Force. Luke knew that he couldn't avoid it forever, or even for the rest of the day, but he just wanted a little more time to avoid thinking about this mystical power that he really didn't understand.

Luke didn't know how to say that he didn't want to talk about the Force, but he didn't have to. He didn't know if his feelings were projected through the Force or if he was just wearing his heart on his sleeve like he was told he had a tendency to do. Either way, Anakin seemed to understand.

"What do you think of the ship?" Anakin asked.

"I love it." Luke beamed. "I've never seen an engine like this."

"Really?" Anakin looked at the ship. "It's a pretty standard model for war ships."

Luke grimaced. He needed to remind himself that he was in the past. Ships that he saw as rare relics were the most current model. Leia would be so annoyed if he gave them away because of his fascination with ships.

Fortunately, Anakin didn't seem too suspicious. "You're from the Outer Rim, aren't you?" He didn't say it in disgust, or pity, or like he thought that Luke was an idiot because of where he came from. He was just stating a fact.

"Tatooine." Luke said. Anakin flinched, and there was the disgust that he was used to from off-worlders.

"I bet you're not sorry to be away from that place." Anakin said with a near sneer. Luke frowned at him. He didn't much like Tatooine either, because he had always been stuck there, but it was still his home, and he didn't like people looking down on it.

"I didn't leave on purpose." Luke said. He may have left the homestead, but there had definitely been no intention to time travel or end up on Coruscant. "I was just kinda brought here."

"Yeah, I heard about that." Anakin said. "It's quite an experience for your first proper exposure to the Force." The slightly teasing smile on his face was replaced with a softer expression. "Are you really in a hurry to get back? I've never heard of someone from Tatooine who is jumping at the chance to return."

"My family's there." Luke said plainly. "I don't like being forced away from them."

There was a pain in Anakin's eyes. He put his hand on the ship. He looked like he wanted to fly away from this very conversation. "I get it." And Luke knew he did. Anakin had been pulled away from his mother. It had probably been for the best, but it was still a traumatizing experience for anybody.

Luke wanted to ask him about it. He wanted to know if his father had ever regretted leaving. He wanted to know if Anakin just pushed Tatooine out of his mind, leaving it forgotten in the past, and convinced himself that there was nothing left for him there. Had Anakin felt like he could even have returned if he wanted to?

But Luke didn't say anything, because he knew where that conversation would go. Anakin had returned to Tatooine, just for a bit, and it hadn't been a good experience. He'd been there to see his mother die. To hold her in his arms one more time. Luke didn't want to talk about that, and not just because he would surely reveal that he knew about Shmi, and that would raise a lot of questions that Leia wouldn't want him to answer.

He didn't know how to talk about it. He wouldn't be able to get the words out at all. It still felt so raw and painful. He would much rather talk about ships, and get to know who his father was as a person.

"Are you a pilot?" Luke asked. Anakin relaxed at the question, smiling.

"The best one in the Order." Anakin said proudly, and Luke didn't doubt his words for a second. "Obi-wan would probably disagree, but he doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm telling you, when I'm behind those controls, it's like I become one with the whole galaxy."

"Wow." Luke was in complete awe. "Is that… is that the Force?"

"Yeah." Anakin gave him an encouraging smile. "I've always had a pretty strong connection to it, but when I fly it's like something else entirely. I just let go and give in to my instincts. I give in to the Force, and it hasn't let me down yet."

Luke hadn't really wanted to talk about the Force, but it was different from Anakin. This was his father. The man that Luke had admired his whole life. If he thought the Force was a good thing, maybe it was at least worth considering.

"Doesn't it ever scare you?" Luke asked. "All this weird power that you can't control?"

"Sometimes." Anakin admitted. There was a distant look in his eyes. "But I can't just ignore it. The Force is…well, it's the living energy of the whole galaxy. It's not really something that can be ignored."

"But it hurts." Luke said. Some might call his tone a whine, but he was just so tired and scared, and he couldn't keep his emotion contained. "I-I can't keep doing this."

Anakin looked at him, a weird intensity in his gaze. "Are you talking about your nightmares?" Luke couldn't help but flinch at the reference.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said stiffly.

"Padmé told me you've had recurring bad dreams." Anakin said sympathetically. "I know this isn't going to be what you want to hear, but talking can help."

"I can't." Luke said. How was he supposed to tell Anakin that he'd been having nightmares about Shmi? It would just open old wounds and raise questions that he really couldn't answer.

"Why not?" Anakin asked. There was a fair amount of frustration in his voice.

"You wouldn't understand." Luke said. He was sure of that, because nobody understood. Even Anakin wouldn't get it. He'd lost his mother, and that was horrible, and traumatizing, but Luke had experienced it. He'd felt the Tuscan's hands over his body, causing pain, humiliation, and other feelings that he didn't even want to think about. He'd heard his grandmother's screams, and felt his own throat break from the strain.

When he woke up, it all became a memory, but the pain had been real. Just because his throat was fine, and he had no bruises or other physical signs of his hurt didn't mean that the feelings hadn't been there. But nobody would believe him. They would probably tell him it was just his imagination.

"Yes, I would." Anakin insisted. "Your dreams, they show the same things over and over again, right? And they're more vivid than other dreams are. More real. And they leave you with a bad feeling, like something's about to go wrong."

Luke felt both cold and warm at the same time, because Anakin knew. He understood just what the Force was doing to him, and the look in his eyes seemed to say that he knew from experience. Maybe Luke wasn't the only one who'd had such terrible dreams.

"I know the burden that comes with having a Force vision." Anakin said in a hushed tone. "It's like it's draining at your very soul." And he was right about that. Luke understood that feeling well.

"What can I do?" Luke asked. If Anakin had had these kinds of dreams before, maybe he knew how to stop it.

"The Force may be trying to talk to you. Maybe to warn you of something that will happen in the future." Anakin sounded pained. "Something you might be able to prevent." Luke knew he was right, because he'd had visions like that before, but what he'd been feeling these past few weeks was different.

"That's not it." Luke said. He couldn't prevent something that had happened in the past, which just wasn't fair, considering the time traveling situation. Why couldn't he have been sent back just a few more years, before Shmi was taken?

Anakin was getting frustrated. "Then what is it?" But Luke didn't say anything, because how could he? Anakin waited impatiently for an answer, but when he didn't get one he sighed, looking completely drained. He didn't even seem mad anymore, he was just sad and tired.

"I had Force visions a few years ago." Anakin said quietly. Luke looked at him, but Anakin was pointedly looking away from him. "I was plagued by nightmares for months, and it was unbearable. I was scared of going to sleep. Even when I was awake I felt haunted by what I saw."

Luke felt slightly ill. "You had your dreams for months?" He felt like he was going to fall apart after just a few weeks. He didn't know if he could take much more

"They weren't every night." Anakin said, and that just wasn't fair. "Maybe once every two or three weeks. Just long enough that I could convince myself that everything was fine, and that my dreams were just a manifestation of my anxieties, and not really a vision. And then I would have the dream again."

"What did you see?" Luke asked, though he didn't think he actually wanted to know. Anakin looked pained, and Luke could feel the sadness and rage flowing out from him. He didn't like this at all.

"My mother." Anakin said, and Luke felt like his blood suddenly turned to ice. "She was...suffering. And my mom never showed her pain easily, so for me to know she was hurt at all meant that it was bad."

Luke felt like he was going to be sick. His father had seen that. Maybe not all of it, but obviously enough. Luke wanted to feel a deep empathy with his father. He wanted to feel seen and understood. Instead all Luke felt was hurt, horrified, betrayed, and painfully furious.

"Months." Luke's voice shook so much that it was barely audible. "You had your visions for months. You knew your mother needed you, and you didn't do anything?" Where he had started quiet, he was nearly screaming at the end. A dark, ugly feeling was curling up in Luke's chest. "You could have saved her!"

Anakin looked like he'd been stabbed right through the heart. A moment later his shock was overcome with anger.

"I did what I could." Anakin said. "I tried to save her, but I was too late."

"You didn't try hard enough." Luke growled. Anakin's eyes flashed dangerously. A part of Luke that felt a lot like Leia told him that he needed to calm down. That he should take a deep breath, walk away, and center himself. He knew he should listen to that, but he couldn't. The churning in his gut was too strong, and the anger was overpowering.

"You had your dreams for months." Luke's voice broke, but he was still so mad. "You could have saved her. You could have stopped her from being taken in the first place." Shmi had been with the Tuskens for weeks. Anakin had been having his visions for far longer than that. He could have spared her from all the unnecessary pain.

Anakin looked furious and tortured. He took a step towards Luke, and he suddenly looked even taller. Maybe Luke was projecting the dark feelings swirling inside of him, but Anakin looked like he was absolutely surrounded by shadows.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Anakin said with forced calmness. Luke knew he should back down. He didn't want to start a fight with his father, or hurt him, but he couldn't stop. He felt too hurt and betrayed.

His father had never been there for him. Luke had done his best to understand that he couldn't be, but that couldn't keep him from wishing he could. Especially these past few weeks. Luke had felt like he was drowning in pain, and he couldn't get out himself. He needed someone to save him. He'd needed his father more than ever.

But Anakin hadn't come, and he hadn't come for Shmi either. Not until it was too late for her. She'd suffered unspeakable horrors, and Anakin had just ignored it. Now Luke was facing that suffering himself, and it killed him to know that he wouldn't have had to if his father had just done what he was trying to tell Luke to do now. If he'd just followed his visions from the start.

"You weren't there." Luke tried to glare at Anakin, but his eyes were stinging with tears. He was falling apart, and he couldn't keep himself going. "You were never there. You should have saved her." He should have saved Luke.

"I tried!" Anakin shouted. He looked as broken as Luke felt, which just made the boy angrier. For a horrible second, he didn't think his father deserved to feel upset about this, because it wouldn't have happened if he'd just done something.

Luke knew it was the Tuskens' fault. He knew that Anakin had made a mistake, and that didn't necessarily make someone a bad person. But he couldn't think through those facts. All Luke knew was that he was hurt, and scared, and oh so tired, and he wouldn't be going through any of this if the man in front of him had just done things a little differently.

"You didn't try hard enough." Luke said brokenly. He was still mad, but more than that he just felt drained and shattered.

Anakin looked furious. "Don't you think I know that?!" He took another step towards Luke, and it was more than the boy could handle. He didn't know if he was scared of his father hurting him, or if he was scared of causing more pain because he was lashing out. All he knew was that he couldn't stay there. He couldn't be here anymore.

Luke shoved past his father, and he just ran. He didn't know where he was going, and he didn't care. He wouldn't ever be able to get far enough away, because what he was trying to run from was the shadows that clung to his soul. He couldn't run from himself, no matter how much he wanted to.

Chapter Text

Everybody in the temple could feel the raw pain and power that Luke projected into the Force. A few members of the Jedi Council were in the middle of discussing what to do with these strange Force sensitive children. They were trying to figure out how they could have missed these young ones before now. They had just come out of nowhere.

They were also discussing just what should be done with them. They all agreed that it was too late to train the teenagers to be Jedi. They'd been forced to make an exception for Anakin, and while he was a skilled Jedi, he struggled to restrain and control his emotions, and it frequently caused issues. Everybody on the Jedi Council, even those who thought that it would be better to train the children, knew that they were too driven by emotions to understand their philosophies.

Obi-Wan had brought up a good point that it was too risky to not teach them. At the very least the children needed to know how to protect themselves from the Sith, or anybody else who wanted to take advantage of them.

When they felt Luke's despair and grief through the Force they knew that immediate action needed to be taken, or else the boy was going to end up hurting himself.

Mace Windu felt sympathy for the boy, and he volunteered to find and calm him before his beacon in the Force attracted real trouble to him.

Finding Luke wasn't difficult. Mace thought he'd be able to find him with his eyes closed. The boy's light shone so brightly, but Mace knew that the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows. He didn't think the boy was falling to the Dark Side of the Force, he was still far too bright for that. But he was hurting, and subconsciously clinging to the Force for comfort. But that wasn't quite what the Force was for. It didn't ease emotions, it amplified them.

Through meditation somebody could use the Force to focus on the good and let go of the negative, and the Force would help them through it. But if someone's negative emotions were overwhelming, and they were projected into the Force like this, it would amplify them and make it even more difficult to calm down.

Luke didn't have the training to calm himself. He needed help, and Mace knew that he was in a unique position to do just that.

He walked down the halls, sending curious padawans and young knights on their way when he saw them heading in Luke's direction. The boy needed his privacy right now, because when someone was projecting negatively into the Force, they were more in tune with it in general, and they could feel it when someone judged or patronized them for losing control, and that would just make their negative emotions grow. Mace could control himself, but there was no guarantee that anybody else who stumbled upon Luke would be able to do the same.

He found the boy curled in on himself in an alcove, just barely out of sight. If it wasn't for the fact that his light was still a beacon that they could all feel, Mace would have walked right past him. As it was he sat down on the ground, putting himself close to the boy, but not coaxing him to come out before he was ready.

"Tell me what is troubling you, young one." Mace said.

"Leave me alone." Luke growled. It felt like the boy was trying to push him away, but he didn't know how. Mace couldn't just leave him in this vulnerable state.

"You are hurt." Mace said. "I cannot make the pain stop. You're the only one who can do that, but I am here to guide you, but I need you to let me."

Luke was quiet for a long minute, and Mace wondered if the boy would let him in. Finally Luke sighed.

"I'm just so tired." Luke said. He sounded so young, and Mace could feel him projecting his sadness and grief. Mace knew those feelings far too well. He didn't know what was upsetting Luke, but he still understood.

"Senator Amidala said you've been having nightmares." Mace said in an attempt to get the boy to open up.

"Anakin said they were Force visions." Luke said. "But I didn't see the future." Mace felt grief, as well as fury from him. He wasn't happy with Anakin. Mace could understand the feeling. Skywalker was incredibly gifted, but he was still so naive and arrogant, and that was a dangerous combination. Mace liked Skywalker well enough, but his actions could be infuriating.

Mace didn't question how Luke knew for certain that he hadn't seen the future, because that wasn't the most important part of this.

"Force visions are more complicated than just images of how things will be." Mace said. "They can be, sometimes, but they can also be images of how they may be. Sometimes we can see things that have already happened, but from another perspective. There are even plenty of records of people having visions that are like any other dream, full of impossibilities, symbols, and metaphors."

"Why do they happen?" Luke asked.

"Often, it's because the Force is trying to tell us something." Mace said. "But the message isn't always clear. I've known people who spent their lives chasing a false interpretation of a vision. And sometimes when people try to avoid a poor outcome, their actions are what cause it to happen in the first place."

Luke made a sound like a sob. "What could the Force possibly be telling me through this torture?"

"It might be nothing." Mace said.

"My nightmares aren't nothing." Luke snapped.

"That wasn't what I meant." Mace said gently. "I know your nightmares are causing you grief." Everybody could feel it. "However, it's possible that it isn't a Foce vision. Sometimes our dreams are just dreams, but if something weighs on our mind, we may project it into the Force in our sleep, and it strengthens those concerns and makes them more real."

Luke was quiet for a long time as he seemed to think it through. "No." He said finally. "Something I saw, it wasn't something I knew before. I only learned about it after."

"What did you see?" Mace asked again. Luke hesitated, but he could still feel grief from the boy. It was a familiar pain. A deep one that was hard to let go. Mace had another idea. If he wanted the boy to open up to him, then he needed to do so first.

Mace stood up and stepped in front of the alcove, though he made sure to not block Luke in. He held a hand out to the boy. Luke looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes.

"Come with me." Mace said. "There's someone I want to show you." Luke looked frightened and overwhelmed, but he took his hand and Mace pulled him up on his feet. They started to make their way back down the halls. Mace put a simple shield around Luke's presence, just to keep him safe from curious and wandering eyes.

The Jedi had a strict code, and a consequence of that was that they sometimes had a tendency to judge those that didn't meet their standards. Mace knew he was guilty of just this. They all tried their best, but when somebody spends their whole lives training and honing their own control, and then they meet someone with the same power, but nowhere near the amount of control, it could be easy to think 'I can control myself. Why can't they?' It took a lot of self-awareness and discipline to recognize this flaw, let alone make improvements.

Mace led them through the halls that he knew would be emptier, even though there was a more direct route to their destination. Avoiding crowds was important during this sensitive time for Luke.

The boy started to calm down just a little bit. He wasn't letting go of his pain, it just wasn't as raw as before. Next time he had a nightmare or came upon a trigger, it would all come back in an instant. He needed true healing. In that way, their destination was appropriate.

They returned to the Halls of Healing, though this time they went to another section of rooms that were a little less private, but for more intensive care. There were a few bacta tanks, though only one of them was currently in use. Mace was relieved to see that young Caleb Dune wasn't in here. He didn't have a problem with the youngling visiting, but they needed privacy right now.

"Luke, this is Depa Billaba." Mace said. He looked at his old padawan, still in her coma after several months.

"Is she okay?" Luke asked, genuine concern in his voice. He was hurting so much, and yet he was worried about a total stranger.

"I hope she will be." Mace said. "She got very hurt in a battle months ago, and she's been healing since then. I just know that her soul is just as hurt as her body was, but until she wakes up we can't help her spirit heal. All I can do is wait, and hope that she gets better."

Luke looked at Depa for a bit before he turned his gaze to Mace, sympathy still in his eyes. "You care about her."

"In many ways she's like a child to me." Mace said. It was the best way he could explain the relationship between a master and padawan to someone who didn't know much about their culture. "Knowing that she got so hurt, and I can't save her from that pain, it's like a part of me has been ripped away."

Mace looked at Depa's face. "I don't even know if she'll wake up. I hope with everything I have, and I won't give up on her, but I've had to accept the possibility that she'll slip away." He didn't like to think about Depa dying, but being in denial of the chance would just make it hurt more should the worst happen.

Luke wasn't trained in the Force, but Mace could feel his presence trying to connect with his. The boy was instinctively reaching out to provide comfort. Mace reached out and closed the connection, forming a tentative bond that was made of pain and compassion.

"My grandmother died." Luke said quietly. "Years before I was even born. I'd always known about it, but a few weeks ago I learned just how bad it was, and then the nightmares started. I feel all of it. Her pain. Her fear. Her…her rape. I feel it all every time I try to sleep, and I just want it to stop."

Mace's heart broke for this boy. Nobody deserved to go through something like this. Especially not someone so young and full of kindness and light.

"And then I get stolen from my home, and everything is so bright, and loud, and I can't even rest when I'm awake." Luke sounded like someone who was at the edge of his rope. He carried a lot of pain with him, and if he didn't let it go then he would end up drowning in it.

There was supposed to be a balance in the Force, between the light and the dark. Peace, and emotion. Many Jedi were able to find a balance of sorts within themselves, but it was difficult to find as a whole. They all disagreed on where the middle ground was, and if they fought about it then it would push the opposing parties closer to one side or another. It was why, as a group, the Jedi focused on the light, and then supported each other when one of them crept closer to the dark.

Mace had been able to find his own balance. He didn't run from his feelings, or deny that he had them. He cared for people, and he even formed close bonds. But he didn't let those relationships define who he was. It was only because of that that he was able to function from day to day while Depa was in a coma, even though a part of him wanted to do nothing except stay in this room every minute of every day until she woke up.

"Have you allowed yourself to grieve?" Mace asked. Luke gave him a look of pure confusion.

"I've felt nothing but grief for weeks." Luke said.

"Grief like this is a process." Mace said. "Sorrow and anger are the most difficult steps to get past, but if you don't move on, then you'll be stuck."

"I don't know how." Luke said.

"It's different for everybody." Mace said. "But I can tell you some ways that have helped me on my journey." He stepped closer to Depa's bacta tank and rested his hand against the glass. "When it gets hard to keep living as usual, I remind myself of what Depa would want if she was here." He smiled slightly to himself at the thought. "She would probably appreciate that I care, but also call me a fool for wanting to disregard my responsibilities."

He went to one of the chairs in the room, sitting down and gesturing for Luke to do the same. "I get upset and angry at the thought of the one responsible for Depa's situation, but that anger does nothing for me. It makes me want to take revenge, but then where would I be? Still grieving, and still without Depa. The only difference would be that I would have the guilt of losing control weighing on my soul, and that's not an easy burden to carry."

Mace closed his eyes. "Thinking of Depa's pain and suffering hurts. A fact I'm sure you're all too aware of. What can sometimes help me is to think of Depa's strength. Her kindness, and dedication. Her humor. She always seemed to know when I was having a bad day, and she would poke and prod in all the places where it hurt the most, and then she would say something that would make me laugh and look at things in a new light."

He looked at Luke. "Tell me about your grandmother. You know of her death. What do you know of her life?"

"...My Uncle said that she always took care of him just as much as she would if he was her son." Luke said. "Aunt Beru said she was the bravest woman she knew. She said that my grandma had been a slave. Usually if a slave is freed they spend the rest of their life with their head down, too scared of being enslaved again to fight back for other people's sakes. I can't blame them for that. You need to do what you can to survive. But my grandma would do anything she could for slaves. She helped free people, or saved them from punishment if she ever got the chance."

"She sounds like an amazing woman." Mace said.

"Yeah." Luke smiled to himself. There was still a lot of pain in his eyes, but there was a hint of pride as well. The boy sighed. "I just wish that I could have met her. I wish she didn't die."

"You cannot change the past." Mace said. Luke snorted, like he'd told a joke. It reminded Mace of when Depa was younger. She used to find the things he said to be humorous as well even when he was being completely serious. He'd learnt to not try to figure out what was so amusing.

"All you can do is move forward, trying to be a little stronger today than you were yesterday." Mace said. "You love your family, and you may always miss your grandmother and wish that things were different. Feel that pain. Accept that it's there, but also accept that you can't change what happened."

"I need to move on." Luke stared down at his lap. "I-I need to let her go." It wasn't as simple as just saying that, and they both knew it. But saying it out loud, and truly accepting it, that was the first step that Luke needed to take on this journey of his.

"There's no shame in caring about people." Mace said. He didn't believe that was what the Jedi meant when they spoke of no attachments. "But you should strive to not let your love control your every decision." That was where attachments were dangerous. When someone was so attached to a loved one that when something happened to them, they just shut down and couldn't move on. They spent their whole lives holding on so tightly to the one they loved that they let the rest of their life fall to pieces around them, because they simply didn't see the point anymore.

Love could be a wonderful thing, but also dangerous, and sometimes it was hard to tell when a line had been crossed.

Luke took a deep breath and took in a shaky breath. "Ben…Obi-Wan tried to show me how to shield earlier, but I wouldn't let him. I was scared. I feel a connection to Leia, and when I had the shield I couldn't feel her anymore. I lost my grandmother. I didn't want to lose Leia too. I couldn't. So I tore down the shield, and it hurt. And I hurt Leia because I tore hers down when she tried it."

Luke looked frightened, but also determined. He was a brave boy. "I know I have to learn how to do this. Can you help me?"

"Of course." Mace said. Luke nodded and swallowed thickly. He grabbed one of Mace's hands and closed his eyes. Mace had always taken a hands-off approach to teaching. He felt that everybody did things differently, and often it was best to let someone figure out their own way, offering guidance when they got stuck. Mace felt as Luke slowly built up his shields. When the boy faltered he squeezed his hand and spoke reassurances, but let Luke do it on his own. He knew he could.

"You won't be alone." Mace said. "I know it will feel like it at first, but I'll still be right here. I'm not going anywhere." He spoke to Luke, but in a way also to Depa. He couldn't be there for her physically, but through the Force a part of him would always be with her.

Luke hesitated for several minutes before putting the last bit of his mental shield into place. It was flimsy, but it did its job. His light was hidden, except from those who knew how to find it. Luke opened his eyes, tears falling down his cheeks.

"Well done, young one." Mace said. He'd learned how to shield, but in doing so he'd also been able to do so much more than that.

Luke gave him a shaky smile that was pained, but still sincere. "Can we go find Leia? I think I want to be with her right now."

"Of course." Mace said. Just because Luke needed to find his own path through grief didn't mean that he needed to be alone through it all.

They left the Halls of Healing. Mace gave one more look towards Depa before he turned away and walked out the door. He would always come back here, but he couldn't stay in this place. Whether he just poked his head in just to make sure there weren't any changes, or if he spent all day here because he couldn't find the will to be anywhere else, it always ended the same. Eventually he would have to leave and continue living his own life, whether she was by his side or not.

This felt like an impossible journey, but he took it one step at a time.

Chapter Text

Padmé tried hard to be professional when it came to her relationship with Anakin. She loved him and gave him all the attention and affection she could, but she also prioritized her job. She loved being a senator and having the chance to at least try to make a difference in the galaxy. But it was a difficult job that required sacrifices. She could be in a relationship, but she knew that anybody she was with would be put under the public's scrutiny. If their relationship was the least bit controversial, for any reason at all, then both of their names would be dragged through the mud, whether it was deserved or not.

Making her marriage public knowledge was out of the would think that her decisions in the senate were influenced by the Jedi, or that she was able to sway the Jedi Council's decisions. And if anybody knew about the 'no attachments' rule that the Jedi had, then the public would absolutely tear the two of them apart.

As much as it hurt, Padmé and Anakin agreed to keep the nature of their relationship private. Still, she knew how emotional her husband could be, and sometimes he was too overwhelmed and he needed her comfort and reassurance. He would regularly come by her office, just to say hello because he missed her. It was a sweet gesture, but a risky one. She would give him a quick kiss, say that she missed him too, and then send him on his way before anybody could notice.

Sometimes though when he came by he was clearly devastated, and she wasn't heartless enough to just send him away. She would lock her doors, close the shutters, and take him into her arms.

Today when he came in he was more upset than she'd seen from him in awhile. He was upset, and angry, and she could tell that he was trying desperately to keep himself calm, but his emotions were too overpowering.

She took his hands, because Anakin thrived on physical contact, as much as he might try to deny it. "What happened?" She asked.

Anakin explained things, and Padmé was shocked. Her initial reaction was anger on her husband's behalf. How could anybody think it was okay to speak so heartlessly about something they knew nothing about? Anakin had tried to save his mother, and he still tore himself to pieces that he hadn't been able to reach her in time. It wasn't his fault, and how dare somebody even imply otherwise, let alone say it so blatantly.

But Padmé had always been more rational than Anakin. She had learned from a young age to not let her emotions control her. What Luke had said to Anakin was cruel, but Padmé found herself wondering why a kind-hearted boy would say such a thing. And she couldn't help but wonder how he knew about it in the first place.

"Anakin," Padmé looked at her husband, rubbing his hand with her thumb. "How did Luke know what happened to your mother?"

"I told him." Anakin said, his voice trembling. "I thought if I told him about my own Force visions I could help him with his."

"I know." Padmé squeezed his hand. She knew just how hard that had to have been for Anakin. He didn't like talking about his mother. It still hurt too much. "But you said that you told Luke that you saw your mother hurting. Did you tell him how she was hurting? Or who was hurting her?"

Anakin frowned slightly. "I don't think so." Padmé doubted it as well, because if Anakin did speak about his mother's death, he spoke vaguely about it.

"But you told me that Luke said that you could have stopped her from being taken." Padmé said. She saw pain flash in Anakin's eyes. "I'm not saying you could have stopped it. I'm just wondering how Luke knew she was taken. Or that she was taken after your visions started, and not before."

"I don't know." Anakin blinked, his brow furrowing. "Wait a minute, how did he know?"

"And why was he so upset about it?" Padmé asked. Anakin had told her that Luke had been just as upset as he was, and almost to the same extent. They'd both been furious, devastated, and defensive. They had both been grieving. Anakin, she understood. She knew what he'd been through. She knew that Luke had his own struggles, but she hadn't seen the same pain from him that she saw from Anakin. Why would Anakin have seen his pain in Luke?

"Maybe you were projecting on him?" Padmé suggested, though as soon as she said it she knew she was wrong. While it might explain the intense emotions that Anakin had sensed from Luke, it did nothing to explain why the boy knew details that he should be unaware of.

Anakin frowned. "Actually, you might be onto something." While Anakin could be very driven by his emotions he never had the tendency to freeze up when he was overwhelmed. He was a man of action. If there was a problem, he wanted to fix it, even though sometimes it was wiser to wait and see if it would sort itself out. Padmé actually admired how focused Anakin could get when he was emotional. It took everything she had to even function at all when she was upset.

Anakin still wasn't calm, but he had a problem, and he saw a potential solution in front of him, though Padmé knew that there had to be more to this than Anakin simply overreacting.

He stepped away from her and began to pace in her office. He clenched his fists so much that his knuckles went white.

"Luke's so strong in the Force, but he has no control." Anakin said. "We don't know what he's capable of. But there's an ability in the Force. We can project emotions onto others. The Jedi try to do it to calm, but it's not restricted to just that. I think any emotion can be projected. Especially unintentionally."

"You think you projected your feelings onto Luke?" Padmé asked. "Or he somehow made you do it?"

"It's possible." Anakin muttered. He crossed his arms protectively over his chest. "I feel a kind of bond to Luke. One I can't explain. In trying to understand me, he might have accidentally strengthened the connection, and I might have let him right in without even realizing it."

Anakin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "What Luke said, it's what I've been saying to myself for years. I think he read my thoughts without even trying. I don't know how else he would know those things."

"Or why he would act like that." Padmé said to herself. She may not know Luke well, but she felt no maliciousness from him. He was just a hurting child whose emotions were too much for him to handle

Anakin sighed and leaned against a wall. "Obi-Wan asked me to keep an eye on Luke, and I almost made him cry and made him think I was going to hurt him."

"It's not just you." Padmé said. "Luke has seemed troubled since the moment I saw him." It was why she had let her guard down. "He's so scared right now." She brushed off her dress, doing the closest thing she could to fidgeting. She had learned from a young age to keep her anxious tics to herself. "I wish I could help him."

Padmé took a deep breath and straightened her back. "I'm going to the temple. I need to see him." She needed to find out what his side of the story was. And she needed to know if the Jedi were helping him at all. If they weren't, then she might reconsider the Chancellor's offer to get the boy some help. He may not be physically sick, but he wasn't doing well, and she didn't think this was something someone could just wait out.

"I'll take you." Anakin said. "Obi-Wan told me to keep an eye on him."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Padmé asked. What if you and Luke feed into each other's emotions again?"

"That's not going to happen." Anakin said confidently. He was always so sure, and even though he wasn't above being wrong, Padmé trusted him. She always had.

"Okay." Padmé said. "Let's go." She would prefer to wait until Anakin had calmed down, but she didn't want to leave Luke to deal with his emotions alone. She had work to do at the senate today, but this wouldn't be the first time that she had to reschedule things because something came up unexpectedly.

Even though she hadn't been at the senate building for very long, Padmé left with Anakin and returned to the temple. Anakin led the way, seeming to know exactly where they were going. When Padmé asked about it Anakin just said that he could sense Luke.

"It's more muted than before." Anakin said. "I had to actually look for it, but whether it's because of this bond between us, or because he's so bright, I can still find him."

They came to a room to find Luke clinging tightly to Leia, who held him close but also looked confused and concerned. She didn't know what was wrong. To the side there was Obi-wan and Mace Windu, speaking to each other in hushed voices.

"Luke?" Padmé said quietly. "What happened?" He turned towards her, only to flinch and look away when he caught sight of Anakin. Padmé felt her husband flinch himself, and she wondered if they were both nervous about seeing each other so soon, or if one of them was projecting their feelings onto the other through the Force.

"Anakin, what did you do?" Obi-Wan left the corner where he was speaking to Mace Windu. "I asked you to watch Luke, not lose your temper and start a fight with a child."

"I didn't." Anakin said defensively. Luke shook his head and burrowed himself closer to Leia. She tried to comfort him, but she also snapped her head up and glared at Anakin with a ferocity that a teenager shouldn't be capable of.

"I could feel you." Obi-Wan said. "Both of you."

"He started it." Anakin gestured to Luke. Both Padmé and Obi-Wan gave him unimpressed looks. She knew that Luke's comments had not been acceptable, but she and Anakin both knew that he might not have known what he was doing. But even if he did, he was a child.

"Anakin, you know better." Obi-Wan said. He sounded disappointed, and that was doing nothing to calm the frustration that Anakin had just barely started to get over.

"I'm sorry." Luke said so quietly that Padmé barely heard him. She looked towards the boy to see him curling in on himself. She thought she could feel the sadness and regret flowing off of him.

"Luke?" She approached him. She could see Mace Windu looking towards the boy. Leia had a protective hold around him, but when Padmé came to his side and put a hand on his back, she didn't send her away. "What are you sorry for?"

"I'm sorry." Luke rubbed his eyes. He was trying so hard to be strong, but he was still hurting. "I'm sorry. It's not his fault." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. "It's not his fault!"

Padmé looked to where Obi-Wan and Anakin were still arguing. It was far from the worst argument she'd seen from them, but she didn't have the Force. She couldn't sense the anger in this room the way that Luke was. Anger that he felt guilty for, because Luke didn't blame Anakin for what had happened. Or, at the very least, he was trying his best not to blame him.

Luke could so easily sense the life force of everybody on Coruscant. The Jedi had said that shielding would lighten that, and Obi-Wan said he would work with the children on that. Padmé didn't know if Luke had figured out how to filter out the noise, but even if he could he couldn't possibly block out an entire room full of animosity when he had a connection of sorts with nearly everyone in here.

Padmé didn't truly know how uncomfortable the Force was, but she recognized someone who was overwhelmed when she saw it. Luke needed some peace and quiet.

"Everybody out." Padmé said with her best senator voice. It attracted the attention of the others. "You're upsetting Luke."

"We're just having a discussion." Obi-Wan said. Padmé knew that this was indeed a discussion, albeit a heated one, between Obi-Wan and Anakin, but just because she was used to their fighting didn't mean that Luke was.

"I'm fine." Luke said. None of them believed him.

"If you're going to continue this discussion, I ask that you do it elsewhere." Padmé said. "I wish to speak to Luke."

Anakin was still clearly mad. Not at Luke, exactly, but just in general. He sighed and forced his posture to relax. "Fine." He stormed out of the room. Padmé sent a silent thank you to her husband. He was frustrated, and she thought he had every right to be, but he was trying hard to not take it out on Luke. She didn't think Obi-Wan or the other Jedi understood just how hard Anakin had to try to restrain himself. He messed up, but Padmé believed he should be given more credit.

Leia looked at Padmé. "Will you take care of Luke?"

"Of course." Padmé said. Leia nodded, her eyes darkening.

"Good." Leia said. "Then I have some things to say to that man." She gave Luke a reassuring hug before she stepped away from him and left the room, going after Anakin. Padmé knew that they were about to get into a heated argument. Leia was not happy with Anakin, and she was going to make her thoughts known. Padmé thought she should intervene, but she thought that Luke needed to be her priority. Anakin could take care of himself.

Still, Padmé looked towards Obi-Wan. "Can you-?"

"I'll take care of it." Obi-Wan sighed. He left the room, ready to intervene when he needed to.

Luke groaned and ran his hand through his hair. "How can everything feel so muted and so loud at the same time?"

"Shielding is a simple skill to learn, but it's a lot harder to master." Mace Windu said. "It'll take time to perfect it."

"Sorry." Luke muttered. "I didn't want to get everyone so upset. I just wanted to see Leia. I wasn't ready to see my…Anakin. I didn't think I'd see him so soon. I couldn't even say sorry, and I think I just made things worse."

"But you did say sorry." Padmé took Luke's hands. "And I don't think Anakin's mad at you for what you said."

Luke looked at her with hope filled eyes, and once again she was reminded of the nine year old slave boy she had met on Tatooine all those years ago. "He's not?"

"He's upset and confused." Padmé said. "And sometimes with Anakin it comes out through anger. I think the two of you need to talk about what happened, but that can wait a little longer."

Luke looked at Mace Windu. "Maybe talking about it will help." The man nodded, and Padmé wondered if he knew what exactly had happened. Had the boy opened up to him? Padmé hoped so, because he needed all the help he could get.

"You can always talk to me, if you want." Padmé said. Luke grimaced, not looking like he believed her. Padmé gave him a sad but sympathetic look. "Maybe I can help."

Luke hesitated, but slowly she could see the tension easing out of him. "I woke up in your closet. The Force sent me to you, and maybe it did it for a reason." Luke was starting to let his protective walls come down. "My nightmares started two weeks ago, and they haven't stopped."

And Padmé listened to Luke's story, feeling her heart break more with every word. By the end of it she better understood why he had gotten so upset with Anakin. They'd had incredibly similar experiences, and Luke was too young, hurt, and tired to see where their situations were different.

While Padmé saw the similarities, she thought it was just a tragic coincidence. Luke had grown up in the deserts of Tatooine, and he had a relative taken by the Tuskens, just like Anakin. But from what Padmé understood, the Tuskens were a ruthless group that went after the locals. Shmi Skywalker wasn't their first victim, and she wouldn't be their last.

Padmé thought that the bond between Luke and Anakin was an instinctive kinship because their situations had been remarkably similar. She never even considered that the explanation was so much simpler, and far more complicated. Padmé just thought that it was unfair that the people of Tatooine lived through such terrible circumstances. Why should she believe that it was anything more or less than that?

Chapter Text

Leia's parents had tried to teach her to take a deep breath and behave diplomatically. She had learned how to use kindness as a weapon to get what she wanted and spite people who doubted her.

Her parents had taught her to always be civil, no matter how much she may hate the person she was talking to. They described how powerful a weapon hidden animosity and hate could be. If she despised somebody, she could use it to her advantage as long as they didn't know how she felt.

Leia normally took those lessons to heart, but today they went out the window. The day had been going so well, and Leia had felt proud of the progress she had made with the Force. She'd been feeling a vague pressure in her head since coming to the Jedi Temple. It had been a manageable ache, but it was still a relief when she figured out how to shield and that pressure went away.

When Luke came into the room, and it was clear that he'd been crying, Leia tore down her mental shields even faster than Luke had earlier. She forgot about her pride and the progress she had made. Luke's comfort came first.

He wouldn't say what had gone wrong, but when that man, Anakin Skywalker, came into the room it was all too clear. He'd done something. Whether he meant to or not, Anakin had hurt Luke, and Leia would not tolerate such a thing.

Obi-Wan tried to pull Leia back and calm her, but she wouldn't hear a word he said. She stormed after Anakin.

"You!" Leia growled. She grabbed Anakin's arm and pulled on it. She didn't care if she was acting like a petulant child. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." Anakin said. "Luke's powers are out of control."

"Don't you dare blame him." Leia hit Anakin's chest. It did absolutely no good at all.

"I'm not." Anakin said. "I was just telling Padmé that I thought Luke had latched onto my feelings, and then we just ended up feeding into each other without even realizing it."

"I did sense incredibly similar emotions from the two of you." Obi-Wan stroked his beard.

"What were you talking about?" Leia asked. Her anger didn't dim, but she could force herself to calm down and look at it a little more rationally. She could feel that Anakin was still mad, but he was speaking much less defensively than before. Maybe seeing Luke had just made him put up walls as quickly as it had made Leia tear them down.

If she didn't know that Anakin was Luke's father, she would not be willing to give him a chance to explain himself. She doubted that Anakin knew who he was to Luke, so he didn't know how much influence he had over him. That didn't mean that she forgave him for hurting Luke, but the boy was clearly sensitive. If Leia picked fights with everybody who upset him she wouldn't have time to do anything else.

Anakin took a slow breath. "I was talking to him about my mother, if that's alright with you."

Leia started. Anakin's mother. Luke's grandmother. Leia knew absolutely nothing about the woman, but if it made Anakin angry and Luke upset, then it couldn't be anything good. Leia had considered that Anakin had been right about them influencing each other emotionally through the Force or something. Now she wasn't so sure. They could have just both been upset about their family.

Leia sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It wasn't something she should be doing, but she was tired, a little frightened, and very confused. She didn't know what she was doing here. She focused on Luke because it gave her something to do so she didn't panic about being so far from her home. From her own time. But she couldn't fix Luke's problems. She didn't even know what they were.

Leia wrapped her arms around herself. She should be stronger than this, but she could feel Luke's sadness, and it made her feel hopeless herself. She usually had better masks than this, but maybe she'd subconsciously built those walls up with the Force, because when she pulled down her mental shields, the barriers she kept around her emotions came down as well.

She usually only let herself feel vulnerable around her parents. She could understand why she was naturally doing the same around Obi-Wan, because she knew him and knew she was safe around him, but why was she doing the same with Anakin when she was still so mad at him?

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she had a surge of feelings come over her at the contact. Strength. Comfort. Protectiveness. And remorse.

"I really didn't try to upset him." Anakin said. "Or you."

Leia couldn't help but lean into the touch. She didn't like this man. She didn't want to like him. But something within her was yearning for him, similar to how she'd been drawn to Luke. That part of her found peace in his comfort, even though she was still upset and she could tell that he was still tense.

"...I'll give you a break this time." Leia said. "But if you upset Luke again-" She left her warning hanging in the air. She wouldn't go easy on Anakin just because he was Luke's father and she too felt a connection to him.

"Trust me, I won't try to." Anakin said. "You're really protective of him, aren't you?"

"He's been looking for someone to save him." Leia said. "I feel like it's supposed to be me." She frowned. "I just wish I knew why." There were a lot of things she wished she understood the why to. Why was Luke upset? Why was she drawn to him? Why had they been pulled to the past?

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "I have a theory about your connection. If you two would consent to a blood test, we could see if I'm correct."

Leia felt a rush of panic. A blood test would show that Luke was related to Anakin. She didn't know what would happen if they revealed who they were and where they were from, but she didn't want the truth to come out like this.

"Why?" Leia asked cautiously.

"You and Luke have a strong connection in the Force." Obi-Wan said. "That kind of connection forms over time, but yours didn't. It's just there. That leads me to believe that it's been there the whole time. That it's a connection formed through blood."

Leia blinked. "You think me and Luke are related?" As she said the words she realized how right it felt. But it just left her with more questions than before. "Why didn't I know?"

"I believe you may have been separated for your own good." Obi-Wan said. Anakin nodded.

"You're both so bright." Anakin said. "Alone, you're both beacons in the Force. Together, with a real bond, you could probably be felt by any Force sensitive in the galaxy. And there are a lot of terrible people who wouldn't hesitate to use that power for themselves."

Leia knew the state of her time. The Jedi had been destroyed or forced into hiding. Obi-Wan had never said a word about her possibly having a sensitivity to the Force. He must have thought that it was too dangerous. She already had the eyes of the Empire on her, just because she was the princess of Alderaan. If she ever projected into the Force in the way that Luke had been doing lately, she would be captured.

Her naivety about the Force had protected her, but now that she knew about her connection she was a little afraid of what that might mean. "Does that mean we're in danger?"

"I don't believe so." Obi-Wan said. "Even just basic shielding should keep you safe."

"Unless someone knows they're looking for you." Anakin crossed his arms. Obi-Wan shot him a look. He clearly hadn't wanted Anakin to say something that would scare her. Leia wasn't too scared though. Obi-Wan was right. She could shield now. And Leia was sure that her parents had put protective measures into place in case her Force abilities started to be noticed.

The one that Leia was worried about was Luke. He was projecting his fear and pain into the galaxy. She could feel him from lightyears away. The possibility that someone else had sensed him and was looking for him was far too real.

"If we can shield ourselves, is it still too dangerous to be with each other?" Leia asked. She would feel much better about this if she knew that Luke was okay. Whether it was dangerous or not, she was still going to stay by Luke's side. It would just be nice to know what to expect.

"You'll be in danger either way." Anakin said before Obi-Wan could answer. "If he's really your family, and you think it's important to be with him, then you should be with him. Family is something you should hold onto while you can."

Leia could feel a sadness and pain coming through her connection with Anakin. A connection that had been there since she saw him, even though he'd been a stranger. She blinked as she realized that if she was related to Luke, and Luke was Anakin's son, then this man in front of her was her family as well.

Leia had never put too much importance on blood relations. The Organas were her family, and she'd never needed more. She had always known that she was adopted, and it never mattered to her. She'd never once wondered who her birth parents were.

And yet hearing Anakin, who may just be part of her blood family, speak about the importance of families, it made her feel seen. She felt loved. It was almost like something inside of her was blossoming. She didn't realize that feeling was a manifestation in the Force until Obi-Wan and Anakin looked at her in awe.

"What?" Leia asked almost shyly.

"You got brighter." Anakin said. "How are you doing that?"

"I'm not really doing anything." Leia said. Obi-Wan shook his head.

"You and your brother are very odd indeed." He said. Leia's eyes widened.

"Brother?" Even though she was confused, it also felt like something she had always known.

"That's what I suspect." Obi-Wan said. "Though a blood test can confirm it."

Leia looked at Anakin. For a moment she could see herself in his eyes. Was he her father too? Just like he was Luke's? If he was, did she want to know it?

"I don't think a test is necessary." Leia said. She didn't want to face that confirmation, and she definitely didn't want to deal with what would happen if everybody else learned who they were related to. "I believe you're right. I can feel it."

Obi-Wan nodded. "The Force can confirm truths of the universe to us should we learn them and seek to explore them. You should listen to what the Force is telling you."

He made it sound so easy, but Leia didn't know if she wanted to listen to it. It was because of the Force that she had some strange connection with Anakin. She was letting herself be vulnerable around him even though he was practically a stranger to her. All she knew about him was that he had hurt Luke, who was also a stranger to her. She cared so much about the boy, and she didn't know why. Even if he was her brother, he was still a stranger. She wouldn't mind getting to know him, but why did she feel like she already did? It didn't make sense.

It was all too much. What didn't help was that when she tried to wrap her head around this all she could think about was how much she wanted to return to Luke's side. She didn't understand these feelings, and her instincts were telling her to embrace them anyway. It was frightening and made her want to push them away completely, but that would mean pushing Luke away, and the thought of doing that hurt.

She needed to reclaim control. She needed a break from this Force nonsense before it made her doubt everything she knew about herself.

"I need some air." Leia said. She pointed at Anakin. "Stay away from Luke until you're both calm. I'm not closing myself off from Luke again, and if I feel him get upset, I won't be as forgiving as I was this time." She hadn't forgiven Anakin yet, but she wasn't angry at him, as much as she wanted to be. If he upset Luke then she would force herself to retain that anger, no matter how much she may not want to, because she refused to let the Force control her emotions.

Leia walked past the men, glaring at them before they could imply that she shouldn't be on her own. She wasn't going to leave the premises, and she doubted the Jedi temple was a danger for her.

She walked around the temple for a bit before she found herself at the room where she had left Luke. She groaned in frustration and just let herself in. She hadn't meant to come here. She had just wanted some space, but she had found herself right back where she had been trying to avoid just for a bit.

Well, since she was here she might as well see if Luke was doing any better.

Leia opened the door and let herself in. She saw Luke sitting with Padmé, just talking. He looked so much calmer, but when she mentally reached out to him she felt a sense of bittersweet fatigue. It was the feeling that came after having a good cry. He'd felt this way before, but the feeling had dimmed before. It was back again.

"Are you okay?" Leia asked.

"I don't know." Luke said. "I think I'm doing better, but I haven't been okay for a while." He shook his head. "What about you? You feel…I don't know."

"I don't know either." Leia said. She felt like she should be more confused and concerned at the knowledge that somebody could feel her thoughts without even trying. But she was just too tired to question it. "This Force stuff is a lot to take in. I feel like I'm second guessing everything I'm feeling. I'm constantly wondering what's me and what's the Force. I tried to clear my head for a bit, and I found myself right back here with you, who I'm only drawn to because of the Force."

Luke's face fell. "Do you want some space?"

"I don't know what I want." Leia said honestly. She really was drawn to Luke. Did it truly matter if she didn't understand why? Maybe giving up a little bit of control and understanding was okay. But she wasn't letting go of it completely. She would be here for Luke, but she couldn't embrace the Force so completely. She wasn't just a being to do the universe's will. She was her own person, with or without the Force.

Padmé cleared her throat. "I don't know what you two are going through, but I know how it feels to be surrounded by Jedi when you know nothing about them. It's like everybody around you is speaking a different language, and white you understand the words, you don't truly know the meaning. It can be exhausting, and sometimes what you need is a simple break."

"That sounds wonderful." Leia said honestly.

"I have a lunch meeting tomorrow with Alderaan's senator." Padmé said. "Why don't you accompany me? It might do you both some good to get out of the temple and away from the Force.

Leia's breath got caught in her throat when she realized the meaning behind Padmé's words. She knew that in the past her father had been the senator of Coruscant. Padmé was meeting with Bail Organa, and she was offering for them to join them.

Leia hadn't even considered that she could see the past versions of her parents. Maybe this was too risky, but Leia was craving some familiarity. Maybe if she could just see her father she could calm down and overcome the instincts that made her feel like blood relations were so important when she'd never needed them before.

"I would love to come." Leia said. She looked at Luke. "You'll come too, won't you?" While she wanted to remind herself of the family connections she'd known all her life, she still wanted to be close to Luke. Maybe she could have both.

Besides, she'd met his father. It was only fair that he met hers.

"If you want me to, sure." Luke said. "Maybe getting out and not thinking about things for a bit will help." Leia didn't know if that would be the case, but she wasn't about to take away Luke's hope on the matter. And for all she knew this really would be just what he needed. Only time would tell. Leia was just looking forward to some normalcy again.

Chapter Text

Luke and Leia spent the night in a spare room in the Jedi temple. Obi-wan had convinced the Council to allow them to stay in the same room. The Jedi didn't normally like to have people share rooms. Especially not boys and girls. Luke didn't know how Obi-wan had managed this, but Luke was glad he had. He didn't want to sleep alone, and he felt safe with Leia.

There were two beds in their room, and plenty of space for both of them. They sat together on Luke's bed for a while, just talking about their families and their homes. Luke told her about how he would race around the desert recklessly. He talked about the kinds of chores he had on the moisture farm, and the different ways he avoided the tasks.

He thought she would call him out for being irresponsible, but she just smiled and told him how she had skipped an important political lesson just the other week. Apparently she was a princess, and yet she was just like him. A teenager who cared about their home and family, but wanted to do more with their life.

The story had been funny, but Luke was far less amused when Leia mentioned that she had been feeling uncharacteristically anxious that day. It was apparently something she had been feeling for weeks, but the day she had skipped her lesson had been during one of the first few days, when she wasn't used to these emotions she couldn't explain.

Leia had been feeling anxious because of him. Luke couldn't get a grip on his own emotions, and it had distracted Leia and made her leave her responsibilities. She didn't blame him for one moment.

"I'm just glad that you're okay." Leia said. "I've felt that someone needed help, and I didn't know who, or why, or how to find them."

Leia was nothing but relieved, but Luke felt guilty. Not only was he responsible for her feelings, but he didn't feel okay. He felt a little better than he had earlier today, but he wasn't fine. He was still exhausted. He was still overwhelmed by the Force swirling around him.

Talking with Mace Windu had helped him to recognize that he needed to let himself feel things, but it was hard. It was even harder knowing that he kept making it other people's problems, even though that's what he was specifically trying to avoid. He didn't want to be mad at his father. He didn't want to project his feelings onto others.

When he put a lot of conscious effort in, he could be a little better, but it was hard, and it was nowhere near enough. He was still mad, and he was still pulling Leia in against her will. And the thought of making anybody do or feel anything against their will made him feel physically sick.

Luke didn't want to think about these things. He wanted to sit with Leia, and talk about their childhoods before he had to worry about Force nightmares. He just wanted to be okay, just for one night. He didn't really want to go to sleep, but Leia didn't want to stay up. She was excited for tomorrow and wanted her rest. She gave Luke a hug and went to her own bed.

Luke laid on his bed and just stared at the ceiling, needing rest but not wanting to sleep. He could feel the Force around him so strongly that it almost felt physical. It was wanting him to let it in, and he didn't know if he wanted to or not. It made everything feel so strong. It was too much for him.

But when Luke tried to push the Force away he just felt an intense loneliness. He was pushing away the connection between him and his father. Him and Leia. Even him and Obi-Wan. The people that his soul was longing to let protect him. If he didn't have the Force, he didn't have the kind of feeling that he was looking for.

It was strangely isolating, to have a connection that you didn't understand to people that you barely knew. Luke wanted to let them in, but he had to rely on the Force to do so, and the Force was the reason why he was hurting like this in the first place.

Luke didn't want to sleep, but eventually he got to the point where he just couldn't keep his eyes open. He dozed off, and he had a nightmare that was different from any of the others up to this point.

Luke felt a strong sense of shame and a fury that was so overpowering that he felt like it was going to eat him alive. He still felt hurt, but it wasn't physical this time. It was all emotional and mental. Sure, during his other nightmares he'd felt used and violated, and it was a horrifying experience that he never wanted to go through again, but this wasn't much better. The anger he was feeling was so foreign and intense that he still felt violated.

He was back in the Tusken camp, but he wasn't in that single tent that he'd been stuck in for so long. He was outside, with the cool breeze of the desert running through his hair. But the night chill did nothing to calm his hot anger. Only one thing could.

Feeling like he had no control over what he was doing, Luke stalked over to another tent. There was a buzzing sound, a bit like a machine turning on, and then there was a bright glow. Things were a blur after that. Luke saw the glow piercing through the darkness. He saw Tuskens standing before him, and then they were gone. And he heard screams. So many screams.

Luke was blinded by rage, and grief, and a power that he couldn't contain. Everything was happening so fast that it was difficult to understand the details of what he was seeing. But he knew what was happening.

The Tuskens were being slaughtered. Every single one of them. It felt like it went on for hours, but at the same time it was over far too soon. Finally he went into the last tent where he saw a dozen or so very small Tuskens. Children. All of them younger than Luke was. Two of them weren't even wearing their masks. Luke had never seen a Tusken without a mask. He didn't think they would look so…humane. But that didn't stop Luke. With a slash of the bright glow, the children were gone, just as dead as their parents.

The Tuskens were gone. They couldn't hurt anybody anymore, but it didn't make the hurt go away. His anger was overwhelming and he needed to let it out, but there was nobody around anymore to punish and get rid of his aggression.

Somebody screamed. It felt like him, but it didn't sound like him. It was someone else who sounded so familiar, and Luke didn't know whether he wanted to comfort them or cower away.

Luke woke up with his ears ringing with the sound of the scream. It took him a long minute to realize that the scream was different now. It was just him. The scream devolved into pained sobs. He drew his legs close to his chest and just cried.

He could still feel the hints of anger lingering from his nightmare, and he hated it. That dream should have been satisfying. He'd seen the Tuskens that had hurt his grandmother, for he knew that was who that clan had been, get what they had coming to them. But as much as he felt justified, he also felt horrified, because did they really deserve it?

Multiple Tuskens had hurt Shmi. The whole tribe had allowed it to happen, but not everybody had actually had a hand in it. Some of the Tuskens were innocent. If nobody else, the children were, but they'd been punished for the crimes of their parents as well, and that didn't feel right. It wasn't fair.

But it wasn't fair what had happened to Shmi either.

Luke didn't understand why people had to hurt each other.

"Luke?!" The door was thrown open and Leia ran in. Luke hadn't even realized she wasn't there. She came towards him and threw her arms around him. "You're awake."

"Are you alright?" Anakin came in behind her. "Leia said you were having a nightmare, and you weren't waking up."

Luke's chest tightened as he looked at Anakin. He realized just whose eyes he was seeing through during his nightmare. He wanted to ask if what he had seen had really happened. He knew that Anakin had been there when his mother died, but nobody had told him what happened afterwards. Had Anakin killed the Tuskens? Did he regret it, or did he think it was justice?

Luke wanted to ask about it, but he was scared of what he might hear. And he was scared to talk about it. Why couldn't he just forget about this whole thing?

Luke hugged Leia back and tried to push down the pain and anger he was feeling. He couldn't say that he was fine, even though that was what the others wanted to hear. He really didn't know how to feel okay anymore.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Leia asked.

"...I saw bad people." Luke said. "They did something horrible, and I can't ever forgive them, but then I saw them being killed. All of them. Even the children, who didn't even do anything. They were all gone, and it's sad, but I also felt relief, because now they can't hurt someone else. But then I feel guilty for feeling relieved, because they may be bad people, but they're still people, and hurting people who hurt you doesn't make anything better."

Luke felt like such a child, and yet so old at the same time. He knew that he wouldn't hesitate to hurt or even kill someone if it was to protect or defend his family and people he cared about. But the nightmare was different than that. The massacre hadn't been fueled by protectiveness, but by rage. He'd hurt the Tuskens because he wanted to make them suffer, not because it would bring Shmi back and keep her safe.

Luke leaned into Leia's grip, and he couldn't help but look at Anakin. The man looked haunted. There was a hint of anger in his eyes, but also a deep pain that Luke could understand. Anakin didn't ask if he was talking about the Tuskens, or how he knew what had happened. Luke didn't ask why his father had taken things so far. They both knew, but neither of them understood. And Luke didn't think that either of them wanted to understand.

"Sorry for bothering you." Luke said. "I know you're excited about tomorrow…or today." He had no idea what time it was.

Leia hit his arm lightly. "You're not bothering me. And if you're not up for going-"

"No, no, I want to." Luke said firmly. He needed to get away from the Jedi. Despite making the offer, Leia looked happy that their plans were still on.

It was still a few hours before dawn. It would probably be smart to get some more sleep, but Luke was scared of having another nightmare. He knew he would be exhausted tomorrow, but he didn't want to sleep. Instead he just sat in his bed while Leia curled up against him.

Anakin looked like he was about to say something, but he sighed, said good night, and left. It didn't take long for Leia to fall back asleep, and Luke was alone. He could feel Leia's presence wrapping around him, even in her sleep. It was a comfort, but he still felt stuck and scared. It wasn't enough, but he didn't know what would be.

He felt like a spoiled brat. Back home, Luke had his family with him, and he'd been desperate for something more. Now, what he had with Leia, and this stuff he was learning from the Jedi, it felt like what he'd wanted before, but he still felt empty. Why couldn't anything be enough?

Luke managed to not fall back asleep. The hours passed slowly, but eventually Leia woke up. She looked refreshed, but Luke could feel her concern.

"Did you get any sleep?" She asked.

"I didn't want to try." Luke admitted. Leia gave him an unimpressed look, but he wasn't swayed by the look. It wasn't as strong as Aunt Beru's.

"You can't go on like this." Leia said, as though Luke didn't know that after all these weeks. She tried to convince him to take a nap at least, but Luke had made up his mind. He didn't want any more nightmares today. He'd sleep tonight, because he didn't have much of a choice, but until then he just wanted to pretend that everything was fine, even though it wasn't.

When Padmé arrived to pick them up for her lunch meeting, Luke was ready to go, and Leia was finally given a distraction so she wouldn't get on his case anymore. Luke didn't know why she was so excited for this lunch meeting. Maybe she just really wanted to see what politics were like before the galaxy had taken over. If Luke was even remotely interested in that kind of thing, he'd probably be excited too.

They left with Padmé. Luke's head hurt, both from fatigue, and from the energy of everybody around them. He could feel everybody in the Jedi temple, but while their presence was strong in the Force, it was also calm and quiet. The whole rest of Coruscant was the opposite, weaker, but also incredibly loud.

Shielding helped. Luke had been nervous about doing it again, even though it had been okay yesterday. He didn't want to be alone, but when he thought about what Mace Windu had said, and when he remembered the dream he'd had, he realized what could happen if he let his fear of being alone control him. He didn't have to lose his connection to Leia, but he couldn't cling to it. He didn't want to go down that path. He didn't know where it led, but he didn't want anything to do with it.

So Luke shielded his thoughts as much as he could, holding tight to Leia's hand as he did so, because he felt like it was the only way he could maintain his sanity.

As they made their way to the restaurant where the meeting was taking place, Luke wanted to enjoy the sights and be impressed by all the speeders flying around, but he felt too tired to really care. Leia had enough energy for the two of them. She was nearly dragging Luke inside, following Padmé.

There was a man sitting at a table. He smiled softly when he saw Padmé, standing up to greet her. "I hear you had a busy day yesterday." He said.

"It was certainly exciting." Padmé said. She looked at them. "Luke, Leia, I would like you to meet my good friend Bail Organa."

"It's a pleasure." Leia nodded and made a motion that was just shy of being a bow. Luke thought it was a little extreme, and probably some of her princess training coming out, but Bail smiled and returned the gesture.

"Likewise, my child." Bail said. Leia made an odd sound, almost like she was going to start crying, but she didn't look sad. Luke was so busy looking at Leia that he didn't greet Bail himself. Nobody said anything about it, and by the time Luke remembered his manners they were all already seated at the table and making small talk, and Luke felt a little lost.

They ordered food that all sounded unfamiliar to him, and he ended up just getting the same thing as Leia, because he didn't want to ask what everything was like a child would. While they waited for their food Bail, Leia, and Padmé talked about politics as easily as people talked about the weather, and Luke had a hard time following their conversation.

He didn't know about trade routes, or negotiations, or political compromises. He thought he could understand doing something questionable for the greater good, but then Padmé mentioned a trade that the senate was trying to arrange with the Hutt Clan, and Luke had heard enough. He may not know about politics, but he knew about the Hutts.

"Why would you trade with them?" Luke asked. "They're slavers." He didn't know that about all of the Hutts, but Jabba definitely was, and Luke couldn't imagine that the others were any different.

Was that how his father had felt about the Tuskens though? Some had hurt Shmi, so all of them were guilty by association? Was Luke just as bad as him? He felt sick.

"I wish it was as simple as that." Bail said. "I really do. But the Hutts have access to resources and territories that the Republic could really use. This can bring us one step closer to making the galaxy a better place for everybody."

Luke frowned. "Not for the people that the Hutts hurt with the new resources you want to give them."

"Luke, the galaxy is bigger than individuals." Leia said.

"Well, maybe it shouldn't be." Luke crossed his arms. "You know that Tatooine is no different whether the whole galaxy is run by a Republic, or an Empire." Uncle Owen had told him so time and time again.

"The galaxy won't be overrun by an empire." Padmé said. "The senate would never let that happen." And at the moment Luke didn't care, because that wasn't the point he was making.

"Luke, it's not the entire galaxy's responsibility to bring peace to any singular planet." Leia said, though Luke didn't know what the point of a unified government was if they couldn't do exactly that. "The people need to be responsible for their own planets, or change will never be accepted."

"Who do you think can make any changes?" Luke threw his arms out. "The slaves whose masters are just being given more power over them because the senate wants to make deals for the 'betterment of the galaxy'?"

"Luke." Padmé put a hand on his arm. "I would love to talk about these things with you. You bring up points that need to be considered. But I don't believe this is the time or place." Luke glanced around. They hadn't exactly been making a scene, but they would if this went on.

Luke took a deep breath. His head was pounding, and he didn't even know what he was thinking, let alone how to articulate it. All he knew was that he really wasn't hungry for fancy Coruscant food.

"I need some air." He muttered, pushing himself away from the table. He didn't know where he was going, or even where he was, but he wasn't given the chance to figure it out. His arm was grabbed when he'd barely set foot outside the restaurant.

"Luke, don't go." Leia said. "Come eat."

"I'm not hungry." He muttered. He felt like he was going to be sick.

"I'm sorry." Leia said. "We don't have to talk about politics."

Luke shook his head. "But you want to. You shouldn't have to avoid talking about it just because I'm too stupid to understand how the galaxy works."

Leia squeezed his arm. "You're not stupid. You just don't know politics the way I do. I grew up around this stuff. Padmé and Bail do this for a living. You haven't been exposed to it." She shifted slightly. "I can teach you, if you want."

Luke's stomach sank. "Maybe later." He didn't want to learn about politics, because it all felt like ignoring or using the little people, but he didn't want to say as much to Leia. He didn't want to upset her. "I just need some space."

Leia looked conflicted. She didn't want to leave Luke alone, but she also wanted to go back inside. She'd been enjoying herself before Luke had ruined things. He sighed and gave her a sad smile that was as much as he could handle right now.

"Go back inside." Luke said quietly. "Have fun. I'll be fine." Leia looked like she was going to disagree, but she smiled brightly and kissed his cheek.

"I'll see you later." Leia said. "Please, be okay." Luke nodded. She gave him a stern look and went back inside. Luke rubbed his arm and felt his smile fall away. He felt empty and lonely, and he didn't think being by Leia's side would make anything better.

For as long as he could remember he'd been desperate to get away from Tatooine. Right now all he wanted to do was go home.

Chapter Text

Luke walked around Coruscant, not really having a destination in mind. He didn't want to be here. He wished he was home, but deep down he felt like he didn't know what that meant, and it made his heart pang with guilt and loneliness. Luke just walked, knowing that he would recognize where he was going when he got there.

He walked until he found himself back at the Jedi temple, and he felt frustrated and confused when he realized where he was. He didn't want to be here. He'd only found himself here because he'd subconsciously let the Force guide him. Of course it brought him to the strongest source of the Force on the planet.

He couldn't focus. Luke had felt a little better yesterday after talking to Mace Windu about his grief. Talking to Padmé about his nightmares had made him feel raw and vulnerable, but better. Maybe he really did just need to talk about it. And there was only one person that he could talk to about his most recent nightmare.

Without really knowing what he was doing, Luke reached out with the Force to find his father. The man felt familiar to him. He felt like Leia. Like Shmi. Like home.

Luke was too tired to be mad at Anakin the way he had been yesterday. He still didn't understand why Anakin hadn't tried to save his mother until it was too late, but he didn't think Anakin understood either. Luke knew how confusing these dreams were, and how painful it got. They were impossible to ignore, but that was exactly what Luke had been trying to do. Could he really be mad at Anakin for doing the same thing?

He needed to have another talk with Anakin. A real one. They were both still so hurt and angry, and Luke thought they were the only ones who could really understand each other. Maybe Anakin had some advice on how he could move on. He had to have some experience with it by now.

Luke walked down the temple halls, following Anakin's presence. He found the man in a training room, expertly swinging around a laser sword. Luke's heart clenched at the sight. Anakin wasn't facing him, and Luke didn't make a sound, but the man paused.

"What are you doing here, Luke?" Anakin asked. He didn't sound mad or upset, but his voice was still more than a little distant.

"I-I think we should talk." Luke said. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the familiar bright light. Anakin didn't turn towards him. "Um, what's that thing?"

The light dimmed and Anakin put the hilt away. He still wasn't looking at him. "It's called a lightsaber. It's the weapon of the Jedi."

Luke swallowed thickly. This was his chance. "Did you use it to murder the Tuskens?" His tone wasn't accusing or judgmental. It was full of sympathy and pain. He'd felt Anakin's emotions in his dream last night. It was hard not to empathize.

Anakin let out a slow breath. "Is that what you saw last night? In your dream?"

He knew. They could start to understand each other. They could heal together, if only Anakin would just look at him.

"Yeah." Luke's voice cracked slightly with emotion. "And I felt all of it. Your pain. Your fury. It felt like I was possessed by anger and darkness. How can you take it?"

Anakin turned further away from him, and Luke's chest felt heavy. Why? Why wasn't Anakin opening up? This could be good for both of them. It might be the only thing that could get them through this.

"I don't think you should talk to me." Anakin said sternly, but not unkindly. He was trying to let Luke down easy, and the boy felt something in him shatter. He needed help. He needed to talk to someone who would understand. He needed his father.

"Why?" Luke asked painfully. "We can help each other."

"You're just saying that because you don't know better." Anakin said. "I'm the reason why you're having these dreams and feelings in the first place. I've been…struggling lately, and you've been suffering for it. You've been latching onto me, feeding on my emotions, and it's not good for you."

But that wasn't what was happening. This wasn't some residue Force dream leaking out of Anakin. Luke knew that it was more than that. Why didn't Anakin understand that? Luke had been having these dreams for weeks, ever since he'd learned the truth. Anakin didn't know that though. As far as he knew, Luke was dreaming of a stranger and being exposed to feelings that weren't his own.

Anakin was trying to protect him from pain that he had nothing to do with, and a small part of Luke was ecstatic that his dad, who was hurting so badly right now, was still protecting him. He'd always dreamed of a dad that would take care of him. Now he finally had it, but Luke wasn't getting it in the way that he wanted to. He didn't want to be shielded from his dad's emotions. He knew these couldn't be brushed under the rug. He wanted to actually heal. He wanted that for both of them. But that wasn't what Anakin was offering.

"Please," Luke said. "We need this."

Anakin shook his head. "You don't even know what you're feeling. You don't know what you need."

"And you do?!" Luke asked. "You don't even know me." And that was the problem, wasn't it? Neither of them knew each other. Despite their relationship, and their connection in the Force, and their similar experiences, they were still strangers.

"I know you need sleep." Anakin said. He finally turned to look at Luke, regret and determination in his eyes. "I can work through my own problems. You shouldn't have to be trapped in a nightmare and wake up screaming because of me. I don't know why we have this connection, but I'm putting a stop to it before you get hurt." There was a finality in his tone that scared Luke.

"What are you-" Luke reached out towards Anakin, only to gasp when he felt something disappear. His connection to Anakin. It had been distant and hard to feel unless he looked for it, but constant and strong. It was something that had been there Luke's whole life, and he'd never been aware of it until it had been closed off from him.

It was the feeling that gave him hope that he would get off of Tatooine someday. The content longing he'd felt when he would stare up at the stars, knowing deep down that there was somebody out there who cared about him. Who loved him.

That feeling was gone as Anakin put a mental wall around himself, blocking off their connection. Luke could see him right in front of him, but he couldn't feel him at all. His father had cut him off, and Luke felt shattered.

He didn't realize he was crying until he felt the tears fall from his cheeks to his chin and down his neck.

Anakin gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. This is for the best." He walked away, leaving Luke standing there alone, crying silently. He was supposed to be doing better. Why was everything falling apart?

He couldn't stay here. The Jedi temple was stifling, and the only comforting presence he'd felt here right now was gone. He couldn't rely on Anakin. He didn't want to bother Mace Windu again, after everything the man had done for him yesterday. Luke should be stronger than this. He was getting help, and it should be enough. The fact that it wasn't had to mean that there was a problem with him.

Luke couldn't even go to Obi-Wan. Not after rejecting him so thoroughly earlier. The man had just been trying to help, and Luke had fought against it because he was scared. He had no right to ask for help after that.

He wanted to run to Leia or Padmé and have them reassure him that he was okay, even if he wasn't. He wanted to fall into their arms and let their hugs protect him from the feelings that he couldn't run from. He just wanted a break.

But they were enjoying lunch. He couldn't drag them down just because he didn't understand his own emotions. They deserved better than that.

He needed to get out of here. Away from the oppressive and overwhelming presence of the Jedi, and the bright noise of Coruscant. He needed to get away from the constant reminder that he wasn't okay, even though he should be. He needed to move on from the past that was weighing him down, which meant that he needed to do what Mace Windu had said and accept it first.

Luke had to address his pain, and go from there. He had wanted to do it with Anakin, but that wasn't an option. Luke was alone, and he had an idea of just where he wanted to go.

Leia felt bad that Luke had left so upset, but she pushed her guilt back. He was probably just tired and overly emotional. She would love to have a political discussion with him. She really would. She didn't often get the chance to actually talk to people who had such different life experiences than she did. He could provide insight that she'd never considered, and she could help him understand that she didn't make decisions and form opinions lightly. If she decided to do something questionable for the greater good, she truly believed that it would be a net positive.

The thing was, Leia agreed with Luke about making trade deals with the Hutts. She wasn't as passionately against it as she was, and she understood why Padmé and Bail felt it was necessary, but she didn't think it was a good idea either. The Hutts weren't known for being honest people. They could provide resources to the Republic, yes, but they could just as easily stab them in the back for a little extra money.

But Leia hadn't said anything, because this wasn't her time, and maybe there were complications that she didn't understand. She knew that her father wouldn't be making this decision lightly, so she listened politely and tried to understand, even as she tried to figure out if there was a way to voice her concerns without overstepping.

Luke had no such concerns. He had the luxury of not being raised to need to think about every little thing that came out of his mouth. Luke spoke his mind, and he did so with unrestrained passion. Leia could never do such a thing.

Padmé and Bail didn't scold Luke for speaking out of line, or getting too heated. They didn't judge him for letting his opinions be driven by his emotions. In fact, when Leia came back into the restaurant without Luke, they'd seemed disappointed about his absence. They had wanted to continue the discussion, or at least a discussion, and Leia had conflicting feelings about it.

On the one hand, she also wanted Luke to be there still. However, she knew that he didn't enjoy this kind of conversation the way she and the others did. This was how Leia truly got to know a person, and she enjoyed the challenge and debate of it all. Back home, most of the family dinners that she remembered most fondly were discussions about laws and regulations.

And a part of Leia, a part that she despised, was resentful of the fact that Padmé and Bail were unbothered by Luke's outburst. If Leia ever got too passionate in a friendly discussion, reacting out of anger and letting her emotions control her, she would be sent to her room until she'd calmed down enough to address the problem like an adult.

She was a princess. From a young age she knew that people looked to her to be an example. She couldn't be perfect, but she had to act like she was. Nobody could see how she was truly feeling. If she was emotional, she had to show it in a very specific way, and only at a specific time, and in front of specific people.

Luke had practically shouted at them, accusing the Republic that they tried so hard to maintain of endorsing slavery, and Padmé and Bail were sad to see him go. Leia didn't understand why she would have never been treated with that kind of respect if she was back home. Why did her dad accept passion from Luke in the past, but want maturity and a level-head from Leia in her present?

Leia felt guilty. She wanted her own father, of course, but seeing him, so similar and yet so different, had her longing for something that she had never even had before. He'd always been an amazing dad, who just happened to have necessary expectations of her. What right did she have to wish for a leniency from him, just because he'd offered it in the past?

He worked under a Republic right now. He was just one of many senators. He could afford to take a less stern approach. In Leia's time, he was a prince consort, and a leader of the young rebellion. He needed to tread carefully, and he'd taught Leia to do the same. Intense emotions revealed vulnerabilities to one's enemies, and made people doubt your ability to lead. Bail had to control his emotions while they were under the Empire's watchful eye, and Leia had to do the same. She knew this, and she understood why, but she didn't like it, and it didn't make it any easier.

The rest of lunch was tense. Bail tried to ask her about her home, and she could only offer vague answers. What was she supposed to say? That she was from the future, and his adopted daughter? That conversation wouldn't go well, and would just raise more questions that she didn't know the answer to.

And it hurt to talk to her father like this. He spoke to her as though she was a stranger that he was politely addressing during a dinner party. Somebody he treated with kindness, but didn't truly care for. There were none of those knowing looks that they exchanged when they were at a part that neither of them wanted to attend. There were no private jokes that were so subtle that the people around them didn't even realize they were left out of the loop.

Because while this man was Bail Organa, and she loved him, he wasn't her father. Not really. He would be, someday, but right now it was like he was just a shadow of who he was going to be. A silhouette that gave the right impression, but lacked all the significant details. It made Leia homesick.

But she couldn't talk about it, and she couldn't let her feelings be known. She didn't want to be responsible for spoiling their lunch, or making them feel like they'd done something wrong. So Leia smiled, took what she could get, and ate her lunch when it arrived.

When they were all done eating Bail said that he wanted to go over some work with Padmé. They offered to let her join them, but she politely declined. She didn't want to intrude. More than that, she didn't want to feel like her own father was a stranger. Her heart couldn't take it much more.

She accepted a ride back to the temple and wished them a good day. She waved them off as they flew away. As soon as they were out of sight she let her mask slip. She sighed in exhaustion and let her shoulders fall. She wasn't quite slouching, but she wasn't holding herself in the tall and proud way that she knew she should. She didn't have the energy for it right now.

Leia made her way into the temple, mentally reaching out to Luke. She wanted to make things up to him, and maybe she would feel better if she was just in his presence. It had been enough before. As she reached for him she felt a mental barrier. His shields were up.

Leia frowned and gently tugged on their connection. She didn't want to hurt him by forcing his walls down, but she wanted him to let her in. They could surely help each other. As Leia reached for him she felt his walls tighten. He wasn't opening up. He was locking her out. Something was wrong. She needed to find him.

Leia ran down the halls, making her way towards their temporary room. Maybe he was sleeping. She hadn't been able to reach him when he had his nightmare last night. If the same thing was happening again, and he was subconsciously shielding himself to try in vain to protect himself from his dreams, then she wanted to be there for him when he woke up.

Leia went into their room and frowned when she saw their beds were empty. Luke wasn't here. She reached for him again, more insistently this time. She barely kept herself from slamming against the shields and tearing them down. Once again, the shields were reinforced, and Leia had the feeling that it was done on purpose. Luke didn't want to let her in.

That was just too bad. He'd been alone for so long, and Leia wasn't going to let him suffer alone anymore. They were brother and sister, even if Luke didn't know it. They belonged together. Whether Luke wanted it or not, she was going to be there for him, and he was going to appreciate it.

She didn't know where he was, but she would find him. If she had to travel through time again to do so, she would. Luke wasn't going to be alone again, and neither was she.

Chapter Text

Luke was an impulsive person. He didn't try to be, but it was part of growing up on Tatooine. People who were patient died of thirst in the desert because everyone got the water before them. Instincts kept people alive, so Luke hadn't understood why his uncle scolded him for not thinking things through.

Uncle Owen told him that he thought with his heart instead of his head. Luke got very passionate about things. He didn't make arguments based on logic and facts. They were based on feelings. It was why his fights with Uncle Owen got so heated, because Luke didn't know how to react calmly when the discussion was about something he cared about.

After getting to know Anakin just a little bit, Luke realized that he had gotten it from him. A part of him felt proud to have something in common with the great Jedi Knight. The other part of him remembered the nightmares, and the screams of the Tuskens as the lightsaber cut them down, and he felt sick at the similarities.

For the first time in his life, Luke wondered if acting impulsively wasn't the best thing to do. If he should think about potential consequences before he was haunted by them. The problem was, he didn't know how to be more careful. He had thought that the Jedi would help him, as they all acted so serene and besides Anakin they seemed to have a decent handle on their emotions.

Or maybe Luke could learn a thing or two from Leia. She was just as passionate as he was, but she could make her passionate arguments sound reasonable, rather than the immature, almost whiny tone that Luke couldn't help but use when he was in an argument.

But being in the Jedi temple meant there was a risk of running into Anakin, and Luke's heart couldn't take it. His father's rejection made him feel numb, and if he saw Anakin and the man walked away from him, the numbness that was acting as a shield over his emotions would fall away and he'd either fall to despair, or give into his anger.

Luke wasn't normally afraid of his emotions, but he'd had enough of sadness these past several weeks, and Luke didn't want to give in to his anger. He'd seen where that path brought Anakin, and he was scared of going that far. Just how much like his father was he?

And while he wanted to stay with Leia, and he thought he could learn a lot from her, he was afraid of that too. She and those senators hadn't endorsed slavery, but they had talked about conspiring with slavers. Luke thought it was a very slippery slope, and he was afraid that if he learned from Leia then he would start to think that way as well. He didn't want to ever justify slavery for the 'greater good'.

He couldn't stay with the Jedi. He couldn't learn from Leia. Not because there was something wrong with them, but because he didn't trust himself and where he'd end up if he relied on them so completely.

Luke left the Jedi temple, knowing where he wanted to go, but not sure how to get there. He walked the streets, somehow ending up on the lower levels. Things were shadier down here, but Luke felt more comfortable. Everything felt more real and familiar down here. He didn't have to see the smiling people, but sense their darkness. Here, the things that Luke saw were the same as what he sensed. And it reminded him of how things were on Tatooine.

Everybody was deceitful, but that meant that in a way you could trust them, because you knew they were going to stab you in the back. It took away the doubts and questions.

Luke just kept walking. He didn't know if his instincts were telling him where to go, or if it was the Force, or if they were one in the same. He just somehow knew that if he kept walking then he'd eventually end up where he needed to be. Whether he knew it because it was the truth, or it was because it was what he needed to believe, he wasn't sure, and he didn't want to think about it.

Luke passed arms dealers, spice traders, mechanics, and protestors. They were all the exact same kind of people that he would meet on Tatooine. Why didn't people talk about this part of Coruscant? He wasn't even that far down, and he wasn't looking too hard for it. It was right in front of him. Anybody would see it if they didn't close their eyes.

Luke finally stopped when he came across a docking bay, and it looked like they were preparing a ship to head out into space, and he knew that this was the chance he'd been looking for.

Aunt Beru had always said that he had his head in the stars. She told him that was fine, as long as he didn't let his dreams keep him away from the life he already had. She warned him that if he always longed for more, then he would never be happy with what he had. She advised him that instead of running from a situation that he didn't like, he could instead try to improve it.

Luke hadn't liked the moisture farm, and he couldn't do anything to improve it because he didn't know what was wrong. He just knew he was unhappy. Going into space and finding somewhere new was the only solution he could see. Now, on a new planet with a new set of problems, Luke saw the same solution, and this time he didn't have his aunt there to pull him back and make him reconsider.

Luke didn't bother looking for the captain of the ship. If anybody was bound to follow the rules and protocols, it would be the captain. Luke needed to find someone in charge who could look the other way and do something questionable. Who he was looking for was the head engineer.

Luke found her easily enough. She was a nautolan with bluish purple skin and long tendrils that she kept tied back. She was doing some last minute checks on the engine. They probably had it recently repaired. Luke could use that to his advantage.

She looked busy and irritated, and not in the mood for polite conversation. That was fine. Luke wasn't in the mood for that either. He got right to business.

"I need a job." Luke said. She didn't even look up at him.

"Do you need money, or a free ride off the planet?" She asked tiredly. He clearly wasn't the first person to make such a request. Maybe this place really was like Tatooine. There were always young and desperate people begging pilots to let them stow away on their ships. But Luke wasn't going to beg. He was going to bargain.

"Neither." Luke said. "I need a ride, but I can work for it. I'm a good mechanic."

"I've heard that before." She said. She finally turned to give him a look over, eyeing him up and down. He saw her gaze go to his hands, which were rough and calloused. A sign that he worked with them in some capacity.

"We'll see." She stepped to the side, giving Luke a view of the engine. She gestured for him to step closer. "We just got her fixed up. Can you tell me why?"

She quizzed Luke for about ten minutes, asking difficult and trick questions, but Luke knew what he was talking about. He knew ships well. Even old ones from a time that wasn't his own. The engineer hid her feelings well, but Luke thought she was impressed.

"Alright, I think we've got a deal." She said. Luke smiled, relieved and a bit proud of himself. He knew that his mechanical knowledge wasn't just boasting. He was capable. She held up her hand before he could get too excited. "But I've got some rules. If you've got trouble looking for you, I'll sell you out without hesitation. And you're not part of the crew. We're not adopting snot-nosed kids. You're just working until we can drop you off. If you've got somewhere specific in mind, it had better be close or on our way, or else we're dropping you at our earliest convenience."

Luke considered for a minute. "I want to go to Tatooine."

There was a spark in her eyes, and Luke felt hope but he also put up his guards. He knew that look. It was the kind of thing that Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru had warned him about. It was a look he saw whenever people found out that he was a Skywalker. The child of a slave.

She thought she could sell or trade him into slavery. But she'd take him to Tatooine. Luke knew that planet like the back of his hand, and it never changed. It was the same now as it was in his time. He would get away from her, away from the ship, and to the desert. He would be able to keep himself safe.

This was a risky and probably stupid plan. Uncle Owen would ground him for life if he knew that he was purposefully putting himself in a dangerous situation. Aunt Beru would probably never let him leave his room again. But they weren't here. All Luke had was himself, and he needed to trust that it was good enough.

Luke had arrived when the final checks were being made for take-off. There wasn't really time for him to change his mind. The nautolan gave him a simple job to do while she met with the captain, and then he was left alone in the engine room as the ship started to depart.

Luke wasn't really feeling good, but the hum of the engines was comforting, and having a menial task to do to keep his body and mind busy grounded him and made him feel stable for the first time in weeks. As he worked he felt a mental nudging in his mind. Leia. She was trying to reach him.

It was tempting to let her in, but he knew that as okay as he felt right now, she would probably feel the lingering hurt that he was carrying with him after leaving lunch and his interaction with Anakin. She would come after him, and he didn't want her to. She deserved better than to be burdened by his feelings. He reinforced his shields, keeping her out as much as he wanted to let her in.

She backed off for a few minutes. They started flying and Luke's stomach churned with mixed excitement and nervousness. He'd never actually been in space before. This was a new experience for him. He wanted to cling to the excitement, but he just felt bad for running away. But what else was he supposed to do? He didn't belong on Coruscant any more than he belonged in this time.

Leia was furious. Luke was ignoring her. She didn't know him well, but she knew it wasn't like him. She was worried that she had insulted him and his intelligence. Was he mad about the slavery thing? Probably, and he had every right to be. Leia had been so caught up in talking to her dad that she'd ignored how Luke might be feeling.

He came from Tatooine, a planet practically known for its slavery practices. He probably knew people who had been slaves. Of course he would have taken the issue more personally. She should have taken that into consideration instead of lightly scolding him for not considering the bigger picture.

Leia knew she could have done better, but she wasn't arrogant enough to think that she was solely responsible. He hadn't been fine when he'd left the diner, but he hadn't been so bad that he would close himself off from her completely. When she had desperately prodded at his shields, he'd still pushed back, even though he was the one so afraid of being alone because of shielding.

He was relying on it now, even though he'd been scared to even try it yesterday. Something had happened. Something more than their disagreement.

Leia wasn't mad at Luke. She was mad at whatever had caused him to close himself off like this. She looked for him everywhere in the temple. Their room. The Halls of Healing. Obi-Wan's room. The docking bay. Luke wasn't anywhere, and nobody had seen him since he'd left that morning. Nobody, that is, except for Anakin.

Leia found Anakin doing some repair work on his droids. He felt distant, and probably didn't want to be bothered, but she had never let that stop her before. She asked about Luke, making him frown.

"I saw Luke earlier." Anakin said. There was a look of righteous regret in his eyes, like he had done something that he believed was for the greater good, but he wasn't too happy with the consequences. Leia wondered if that was what she had looked like to Luke when she'd tried to argue with him about the Hutts. Just how much did she resemble the man that may be her biological father?

"Is he okay?" Leia asked.

"He was upset." Anakin said, and that was not what Leia wanted to hear. "I probably made things worse, but it'll be better for him in the long run. He'll understand one day."

Leia shuddered. She didn't know why, but she felt a chill in the way that Anakin talked about the greater good. "What did you do?"

"I closed off my connection to him." Anakin said. "As though it never existed."

Leia was horrified. She didn't understand Force bonds,, but she understood enough. She knew she had a connection to Luke. Even when he was blocking her out she could still feel it. He'd been relying on that connection these past few weeks, finding a small amount of comfort through the act of just reaching out to her.

Leia suspected that Luke had reached out to his father as well. He'd been seeking comfort from his family. Leia was trying to provide it, and Anakin didn't even try. He just cut Luke off, depriving him of even the hope that Anakin could save him from his pain.

Leia had probably made Luke doubt that he could rely fully on her, and this act from Anakin had to have been the straw that broke his back.

Leia felt an unfamiliar rage and fear over her. Oh, she got mad and scared frequently, but not like this. She had control and restraint over her emotions, but now they got away from her. She felt a dark feeling build up in her chest, squeezing so tight that she felt like she couldn't breath. She looked at Anakin, who believed he had done what was best, and she saw red.

"How could you?" She growled. Anakin looked at her, his eyes hardening into a look of caution. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

Anakin frowned. "I know it probably hurt in the moment, but Luke's been vulnerable to my emotions. Last night he had a nightmare about something I've done. That is supposed to be my burden to bear, and now he's stuck with it too."

"So why did you push him away?" Leia threw her arms out, exasperated. She didn't register the sound of shattering glass. "Whether you like it or not, he has this burden now too. You should be carrying it together, and instead you think it's a good idea to continue carrying it alone, leaving Luke behind as he's forced to do the same. That's not fair!

"What do you want me to do?" Anakin asked.

"Talk to him!" Leia shouted, her voice coming out much louder than before. "You keep hurting him because you keep pushing him away." Leia thought that Luke deserved better than Anakin, but he still needed him. As much as Leia hated it, Luke needed his dad. And he needed her too.

Leia wanted to scream. She wanted to shout, and cry, and give in to her emotions. But that wasn't who she was. That wasn't how she'd been raised to be. Leia had been taught control. But a part of her wanted to be like Luke. To have passion, and sensitivity. She wanted both. Calmness and knowledge, as well as compassion and sympathy. She wanted to fight for those she cared about, but not so much so that she burned all her other bridges. There had to be something in the middle. A balance.

Leia took a deep breath. She didn't really feel calm, but she didn't feel like she was going to explode.

"You can ignore him if you want, but I need to find him." Leia said. "Can you help me?"

Anakin closed his eyes. He seemed to be concentrating. A moment later his brow furrowed. "I can't feel him."

Leia crossed her arms. "That's what happens when you block him out."

"No, I mean I can't feel his presence at all." Anakin said tensely. "Unless he became a master at shielding overnight, I should be able to sense him if he was anywhere nearby."

Leia felt fear grip her heart. "What does that mean?"

Anakin's mouth thinned and he looked concerned. "I think it means he's not on Coruscant anymore."

Leia felt like she should wonder where he was, and why he would disappear so quickly. She had a pretty good idea though.

Leia had been desperate to talk to Bail because she wanted her family. She felt lost, and she wanted to go home. Of course Luke wasn't different. He didn't know that Leia might be his sister. He'd tried to talk to Anakin, and he was rejected. If Luke was feeling alone and was desperate to go home, then he might do just that.

Leia gave Anakin a hard look. "You're taking me to Tatooine." It wasn't a request. If Anakin had been the one to scare Luke off, then he would be the one to help her get him back. Anakin didn't look impressed, but he didn't put up a fight.

"You're not giving me a choice, are you?" Anakin sounded both annoyed and amused.

"No, I am not." Leia said. With or without the Force, she knew a lot of tricks of manipulation, and she wasn't afraid to use them. Her father probably wouldn't be impressed, but he wasn't here right now, and Leia was doing what she felt was right, even if it wasn't the wisest thing to do. Because she knew that Luke would do the same thing for her.

Chapter Text

Anakin didn't know what it was about these kids. He'd only known them for a day, and he was willing to return to Tatooine for them. He didn't know why. It made no sense, but it felt right in the Force, and Obi-Wan was always getting on him to pay more attention to the will of the Force.

He wasn't supposed to be leaving Coruscant without orders. It wouldn't be considered insubordination. Jedi Knights could go where they pleased, but they were supposed to at least report to the Council where they were going and how long they would be gone for, just in case they needed to be reached in an emergency.

Ever since the war had started and the knights became generals, those rules had been enforced a bit more. The Jedi weren't required to fight in the war, but it was very strongly frowned upon if they didn't contribute to the effort in some way.

Anakin was one of the Jedi most willing to fight. He knew that the Jedi stood for peace, but growing up on a planet as harsh as Tatooine Anakin had learned that peace couldn't be achieved by sitting around and waiting for it to come. It had to be fought for and defended fiercely.

Anakin was one of the greatest generals fighting on the behalf of the Republic. He could be called out at any time, and yet he was leaving Coruscant because finding a potential runaway boy felt more important.

Anakin would easily be able to rationalize his actions to the council. Luke was strong in the Force, but also vulnerable to his emotions. He knew very little about the ways of the Force. Anakin wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even know about the Dark Side. And his ignorance could make him vulnerable.

The Sith could go after Luke and snag him up while he wasn't under the watch of the Jedi. They didn't know if the Sith knew about Luke, or if they would make snuffing out his bright light in the Force a priority, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Anakin had a strategically good reason for going after Luke, but he was also going for his own selfish reasons. He was worried about the boy, and he felt bad that he'd upset him. He'd been trying to be responsible. He hadn't wanted to burden Luke more than he clearly already had. But the damage had been done, and Anakin needed to take responsibility for it.

And he must have upset the boy more than he'd thought if he was desperate enough to go running back to Tatooine as Leia thought. Anakin didn't know anybody who went back there if they had any other choice.

Leia wanted to go to Tatooine immediately, but Anakin convinced her to stall just a little bit. He didn't like leaving Coruscant without telling his wife. Leia could glare and make passive aggressive comments all she wanted. Anakin was going to go to the senate building and talk to Padmé. She deserved to know why he was just disappearing on her.

What Anakin hadn't taken into account was how stubborn Padmé was. As soon as she heard that Luke was missing and upset she declared that she was going to go with them to find him. It didn't matter that she had obligations and responsibilities at work. She considered Luke to be her responsibility, and it was one that she couldn't pass on to someone else.

So Anakin somehow found himself in his ship, making his way to a place that he didn't want to be to find a child that he thought was better off without him, accompanied by another child who shouldn't be away from the temple, and his wife, who shouldn't just up and leave Coruscant.

Obi-Wan frequently asked Anakin how he ended up in these situations. Honestly, he didn't know most of the time either.

The flight was quiet and easy, but Anakin had to fight off the sinking in his stomach the whole time. He didn't think he would ever go back to Tatooine. He had thought that the only thing that was going to drag him back to his home planet was his mother and to save the slaves. Now that his mother was gone, he had no reason to go back. And yet here he was, all for the sake of a boy who he had only known for a day.

As though this whole thing wasn't bad enough, Anakin had to deal with his wife's judgement. He had done what he had thought was best for Luke, but Leia had gotten angry at him, and once Padmé was told that he had cut the boy off she had been unimpressed as well.

"You two have a lot in common." Padmé said. "More than just your home planet." She didn't sound mad, just disappointed, and that was what wormed under Anakin's skin. He got defensive when he was treated with anger, but disappointment made him actually take a small step back and look at his actions. And as they were in hyperspace, just the three of them, there was nowhere to go to escape the lecture that he probably needed to hear.

Padmé took his hand. "You both care so passionately about people. Your hearts are so big that you don't know what to do with it." Anakin fidgeted uncomfortably. He didn't like talking about his feelings, because he sometimes felt like he was hit with them so much more strongly than everybody else. It was either that or everybody else had mastered the art of controlling their emotions.

Anakin tried hard to do the same, but how could he when he was always hit with emotions that he frequently couldn't even identify?

Padmé put her hands on Anakin's face, nudging him to look towards her. "You should have heard him talking at lunch. He sounded so much like you. Oh, he sounded just seconds away from outright accusing the Republic of endorsing slavery."

Anakin blinked. That kid had guts. He'd had a few of those treasonous thoughts himself but he pushed them down and never voiced them. When he was nine years old he'd learned that the galaxy was bigger than he could ever dream of understanding, and ever since then he'd been reluctantly accepting that there were some things that he would never understand, and that it was a problem with him.

Hearing that Luke shared some of his thoughts, and was naive enough to voice them in front of senators of the Republic, it made a feeling rise in Anakin's chest that he didn't entirely understand. It reminded him of pride, but why should he be proud of an outspoken teenager?

Leia was watching them with fascination.. Anakin didn't appreciate her looking at them as though they were her favorite holo-drama. "You don't like slaves either?"

Anakin felt both annoyed and amused at the comment. "I don't know any decent person who likes slavery." He didn't like to talk about his personal feelings on the matter, but talking to Leia was just like talking to Luke. Anakin felt like he could talk to them. He didn't understand it, but it was hard to resist.

So he found himself explaining more than he would with most people. "My mom was a slave."

Leia looked slightly ill. What was odd was that there wasn't the familiar look of pity in her eyes. Leia looked saddened and horrified, but there was a strange understanding in her gaze, even though he knew by looking at her that she hadn't been exposed to slave culture herself.

She took a shaky breath. "Our…Luke's grandmother was too." And Anakin wondered if that was the reason behind their connection. Luke and Leia had a connection because they were apparently brother and sister. And if they were descended from slaves, then that would explain why Anakin felt a bond with them.

Slaves on Tatooine had a way of carrying themselves. They could recognize each other at a glance from the other side of a crowded market, even if they were total strangers. Even people who had never been enslaved a single day of their lives, but had the blood and the name of someone who had, carried that with them.

Anakin, Luke, and Leia were all incredibly strong in the Force. It might be enhancing that slave connection, giving them a bond.

Leia wrapped her arms around herself. "I-I didn't know." She swallowed thickly and lowered her head. Her shoulders shook. "How am I supposed to help him when I don't even know what he's carrying?"

Anakin shook his head. It was odd to see Leia look so uncertain. Especially when he thought that what she had said was ridiculous in and of himself. "You're helping him a lot more than you know." He could feel their bond, and he knew just how protective Leia was of her brother. He didn't think she would drag a Jedi to the other side of the galaxy if she didn't care. And just caring about somebody, and not being afraid to show it, could sometimes be the most important thing you could do to help them.

"Has Luke not told you about his nightmares?" Padmé asked. Leia shook her head.

"I know he's been having them for weeks. I've felt echoes of his fear and exhaustion, but I haven't known the specifics." Leia said. "I wish he could talk to me." She took a deep breath and Anakin watched as the tension seemed to slip out of her shoulders. "But this isn't about me. As long as Luke is taken care of, that's all that matters." She gave Anakin a hard look, silently telling him that she expected him to be the one to talk to Luke. He didn't particularly want to, but if that was what the boy needed, so be it. Like Leia said, this wasn't about him.

The rest of the flight was a little less tense, but still stressful. Leia eventually fell asleep, leaving Anakin alone with his wife. She held his hand, rubbing her thumb across his knuckles.

"I know it hurts to talk about your mother." Padmé said. "You have every right. But you and Luke, your pain is so similar. Maybe it's the empathy through the Force. Maybe you're just alike. But one way that Luke's different from you is that he needs to talk about it. You don't need to talk about your mother, but maybe you can convince Luke to open up to you."

Anakin didn't like to talk about other's emotions, because he didn't feel like he was qualified to do that. He couldn't control his own temper. He couldn't tell the difference between being jealous and being protective. Luke would probably be better off talking to literally anybody else.

But Anakin understood his problems in a way that the others couldn't. Whether he liked it or not, it had to be him.

As they got closer to Tatooine Anakin found himself meditating. It wasn't as deep and focused as Obi-Wan would probably want it to be, but it got the job done. Anakin reached out for Luke, looking for the blinding light. It was closed off, but he could sense it. Anakin had always felt like Tatooine was a big ball of darkness that just ate away any source of light. The twin suns were the only source of warmth and light.

He was able to feel some light coming from the blackhole that was Tatooine. It wasn't strong, but it was bright. Luke. Anakin had no idea how someone so bright could come from a place like this. Even after being tormented by nightmares for weeks, Luke still carried hope. He was the only person that Anakin knew who held onto that light.

Other than his mother.

Eventually they left hyperspace and Anakin saw his home planet in front of him. They didn't need to search the planet for Luke. Anakin could sense him from here, and it was a relief. He hadn't realized how much he had missed that light.

Leia leaned against the windows as they approached the planet and landed at one of the cheapest, but safest, docks. She looked excited to see the planet, though Anakin knew that she was just eager to find her brother. Nobody in their right mind actually wanted to be on Tatooine.

Leia looked like she wanted to run out of the ship before they even landed. Anakin could feel her desperation. He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back.

"You're not just going out there." Anakin said. "You have no idea how dangerous this planet is. I can find Luke, but not if I have to keep you out of danger."

Leia looked like she wanted to start another fight, and Anakin understood the feeling. He could never handle just sitting back and waiting for somebody else to fix things for him. He fought his own battles. But Leia was just a child. The Jedi may expect a lot of their padawans, and Leia was of the age where she might have been sent on missions by herself if she had been raised by the Jedi, but she hadn't been. She was young, untrained, and unfamiliar with this planet.

She and Padmé could wear whatever desert clothes they wanted, the people of Tatooine would recognize them as outsiders and easy targets. Anakin could protect them from wandering eyes, but that would take his attention away from Luke

Leia and Anakin stared at each other for a few long moments, neither of them willing to back down. Leia clenched her jaw and straightened her shoulders. "You have ten minutes. If you haven't returned with Luke by then, or if he hasn't opened himself up to me, then I'll be coming after him myself."

She was agreeing to stay, but Anakin was somehow left with the feeling that she had won. This girl was impressive, and maybe she would be able to manage herself on this planet, but Anakin wasn't going to take that chance.

"I'll be back soon." Anakin promised. He gave Padmé a pleading look. "Keep her here." He left the ship before he could hear Leia's indignant argument that she couldn't be kept anywhere.

Anakin followed Luke's light, projecting an aura of confidence and strength. It might draw the wrong kind of attention from some of the most dangerous people on Tatooine, but it would be enough to ward off the smaller threats.

Anakin went to another docking bay nearby. A particularly shady one, unless things have changed since he was here last. This bay was used by smugglers of all kinds, including those who thought it was okay to smuggle humans. He felt a familiar sense of righteous fury as he walked past the workers and smugglers, using just a touch of the Force to make himself less noticeable. He didn't become invisible. The Force just made him look to most people like someone who wasn't worth a second glance.

Anakin walked towards an old ship that was being unloaded. He spotted Luke right away, bent over the engine and fidgeting with something. He saw the boy pause, growing tense just as Anakin felt a sense of danger. He saw a nautolan gesture towards Luke, and two thugs who looked far too smug for the likes of Tatooine walk towards him. Anakin had a very clear idea of where this was going, and he wasn't going to stand for it.

Anakin took out his lightsaber and cut off the hands of the thugs. He wanted to kill these men here and now, but he controlled himself. That wasn't the way of the Jedi, and Anakin knew that anything he did would be nothing compared to the punishment of their bosses.

He ran to Luke, who was just staring at him with wide eyes. He looked startled. Whether it was because he'd seen Anakin cut off someone's hands so effortlessly, or because he was stunned at Anakin's mere presence, he didn't know, and it didn't really matter. What was important right now was getting Luke out of there.

Anakin took Luke's hand and pulled him out of the shipyard. By the time they got onto the streets he let go of the boy and slowed their pace so as to not draw attention to them. He was glad when Luke followed him, though the boy wasn't happy with him. Anakin was expecting to be yelled at, but when Luke opened his mouth the topic was not what he had expected at all.

"You didn't have to hurt them." Luke said. Anakin couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Those were slavers." Anakin growled. "They were going to drag you into that, and as soon as they found out your family history they were going to make you wish you'd never been born." Slavers were not kind to those they saw as escaped slaves. Even if those slaves had won their freedom fairly, or if the family hadn't been enslaved in generations, it was all the same to slavers.

"You think I don't know that?" Luke glared at him, though to Anakin he just looked like a child who thought he knew everything. Then again, Tatooine youth were some of the few people that actually seemed like they really did know everything. Tatooine wasn't big on education, but those who lived to be even just Luke's age picked up a thing or two about how to survive.

"I knew what the engineer was going to do." Luke said. "I could take care of myself."

Anakin was stunned and he felt his temper rise as his worry and frustration with this boy got stronger. "You hitched a ride with someone you knew was going to sell you out?"

"It was a guaranteed ride to Tatooine." Luke said. "That's better than a questionable ride from people who would sell me somewhere else."

The kid stood behind his actions and thought process, and Anakin didn't know whether to be baffled or angry.

"I don't understand you." Anakin muttered.

Luke's bright light dimmed ever so slightly. Even with their bond closed off Anakin could feel the kid's mood plummet. He wore his heart so far on his sleeve that Anakin was surprised that he'd survived this long on Tatooine. And he was even more confused about why Luke was still walking with him, even though he'd just managed to hurt him again without even trying.

Anakin sighed. He wasn't cut out for this. He slowly opened himself up to the boy, just a little. He wasn't opening the bond up completely again, but he didn't block him out either. He thought this would be what Luke would want, but the kid just grimaced and Anakin could feel him make a clumsy attempt to block him out again.

Anakin knew that he should apologize or address what was going on between them, but he didn't know how. He wasn't in the habit of apologizing, and he had the feeling that Luke would be looking for much more than he was able to give.

"Forget why you thought coming here was a good idea." Anakin said. "Why did you want to come here in the first place?"

"I-I don't know." Luke admitted quietly. "I just want my family." He sounded heartbroken and resigned, like it was something he didn't think he could ever have. Anakin understood the feeling well. Maybe Padmé was right about them having a lot in common.

Anakin knew he should say more, but he didn't know what. They didn't really have time to figure it out. Talking out in the open on the streets of Tatooine was not a good idea, and Anakin knew that Luke was as aware of that fact as he was.

Padmé and Leia thought he was the best person to get through to Luke, but he didn't know how. Leia was his brother. She had a connection to him still, and though Luke wasn't reaching out to her the bond was still there.

Luke would be better off with Leia. Anakin was just here to keep the two of them safe. He couldn't even deal with his own emotional issues. No matter how much he and Luke had in common, how was he supposed to help him when he couldn't even help himself?

Chapter Text

Luke had literally dreamed of his father since before he was even old enough to understand the difference between a dad and a guardian. He had spent countless hours sitting outside the homestead, looking up at the stars, hoping desperately for the amazing pilot from his imagination to just show up and save him.

Luke hadn't really needed saving from anything. His aunt and uncle took good care of him and he was probably one of the safest people on all of Tatooine. But that knowledge had done nothing to stop his imagination. Luke still found himself fantasizing about being captured by slavers, or having a run in with thieves or bullies, and having his father just show up out of nowhere, somehow having known that Luke had needed him through some magical dad powers.

It wasn't that Luke had wanted to be in danger, of course not, he just knew that if his dad was going to come back, it would be during some horrible situation. He would come to save Luke, and then he would hold him close and never let him out of the safety of his arms again.

It was odd how accurate his childhood dreams were. Here Luke was, with his dad having shown up without a word, just to save him from slavers. It was literally something from a dream. It was all Luke had wanted as a child. His dad was literally in arms' reach of him, and he had never felt so far away from him.

Luke really hated the Force right now. It was the reason why he felt so far from his dad. It was the reason why he'd felt so connected to him, even though he knew barely anything about him as a child. This bond between them had been Luke's hope as a child, and now it was like a gaping wound. And Luke still could only blame himself for it, because he could feel Anakin offering to open the connection again. Luke was the one keeping it closed on his end.

He didn't even know why he wasn't letting Anakin in. He wanted to. It was all he wanted. He was pretty sure that Anakin, as well as Leia, had been the ones he'd been reaching out for when he woke up screaming from his nightmares, unable to shake the phantom feelings of the Tusken's rough and forceful touch all over his body.

Luke needed them. He could admit that. It was a lot harder to accept the help when it was offered, and he didn't know why.

Anakin brought him back to an old model of ship that was the kind of make that he'd seen in the Jedi's hanger. Luke wanted to admire the ship. He wanted to ask Anakin how he had found out where Luke was so quickly, getting to Tatooine just behind him. Luke had thought that nobody would even realize he was off planet by now.

But Luke didn't see the point. Anakin, his father, had said that he didn't understand him. Luke had thought that if anybody could understand his confidence in outsmarting slavers, and his desperation to get away from the noise and bustle of Coruscant and just be with his family, it would be Anakin. But he didn't get it. His own father didn't understand, and Luke knew from the way that he'd shut him out that the man had no desire to know or understand him.

So Luke didn't try to explain himself. He didn't try to connect with the man he'd been dreaming of his whole life. He just let himself be brought into the ship where Leia was right there to pull him into a tight hug. He didn't return the embrace. Despite the burning heat of the desert, he had never felt so cold.

Leia only pulled away from Luke so she could hit him harshly in the arm. She then pulled him close again. "What were you thinking?"

"I don't know." Luke muttered.

"How can you not know?" Leia asked. Even without the Force Luke knew that the only reason she was keeping control of her temper was because she'd been trained to do so since she was a child. Luke didn't know if he'd ever be able to do that, even if he trained at it his whole life. He was his emotions, which was why it was so odd and almost painful that at the moment all of his emotions were muted, leaving him numb. He felt like just a shadow of himself, and it scared him just how little he cared about it.

"I'm sorry." Luke leaned against her. "I don't know." He really didn't. He'd come here to try to be with his family, but Luke knew the whole time it wouldn't work. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru may be here in a way, but not really. They weren't his aunt and uncle. They were just their past versions of themselves. Even if they acted exactly like they did in his time, they wouldn't know who he was. What was the point of retreating to his family if they didn't treat him like family?

If he tried to tell them who he was, they would probably think he was a desperate escaped slave seeking sanctuary, or someone who had been wandering the desert for so long that he had sand fever. They wouldn't send him away, but he'd be treated with a cautious amount of care, and he didn't think he could stand to be treated like a stranger by his family.

The one that Luke really wanted right now was his grandmother. He'd felt her torment and suffering, and that was basically all he knew of her. He'd heard stories about her, but he didn't know her. All he knew of her was her death and torture, and it made him feel sick that his grandmother, the person that Uncle Owen had said was the strongest woman he had ever known, was reduced to nothing more than a victim and the source of Luke's nightmares. It wasn't fair.

Leia tightened her grip at him. "Luke, even with you closing yourself off from me, I can feel your unhappiness. Can you tell me what's wrong?"

Luke was a bit amazed that she could feel his sadness. Even he couldn't feel that. How broken was he that he was locked away from his own emotions when they were apparently so clear to everyone else?

Obi-Wan had taught him how to block out the overwhelming noise that the Force opened him up to. Mace Windu had taught him that it was okay to feel and grieve, and that there were dangers to letting it control him. Padmé provided him comfort, even though he'd done nothing to earn that from her.

Leia had been snatched away from her home , and Luke was sure it was because of him, but she didn't have a word of complaint about it. All she seemed to care about was making him feel better. And then there was Anakin, who, in his own way, was helping Luke as best he could. Even when he had closed himself off from Luke in the name of protecting him, he'd still shown up on Tatooine, a place he clearly hated, just because he thought that Luke was in danger.

Everybody was going out of their way to help him, and how did Luke return the favor? He had rejected Obi-Wan's help with the Force. He had tried to listen to Mace, but instead of grieving and controlling his emotions, he ran away from everything and let his emotions dictate every move he made.

He'd insulted Padmé by running away from the lunch she'd graciously invited them to, though not before he practically accused her of being a slaver. He pushed Leia away. And every time Anakin made the effort to get to know him, Luke ruined it in one way or another. And he felt like he had any right to be upset that Anakin had locked him out?

He was a mess, and all he was doing was hurting and disrespecting those who were trying to help him. What was wrong with him?

"Luke." Leia pulled back, looking him in the eyes and putting her hands on his face. "You shouldn't suffer alone."

"Why not?" Luke asked quietly. "It's better than hurting everybody else."

"Luke, stop it!" Padmé snapped harshly. He was pulled from Leia's grasp and found himself face to face with Padmé, who looked furious and determined. He stood there stunned as she put her hands on his shoulders. "Feeling sorry for yourself is accomplishing nothing."

"I'm not feeling sorry for myself." Luke pulled away from her, backing up so he was out of reach of anybody else. Maybe he was feeling a little sorry for himself, but he couldn't help it. "I can't stop how I'm feeling. I've tried. The least I can do is keep it from being anybody else's problem."

"So that was your plan?" Leia crossed her arms, giving him an unimpressed look. "To run away to the edge of the galaxy so you can pretend you're not a burden?"

Tears pricked at the corners of Luke's eyes. He knew she didn't mean that, but hearing Leia call him a burden, as much as he knew it to be true, hurt. He knew he'd pulled her into this mess, and he was just making things harder for her whenever she tried to help. He didn't want to bring her down, and he was terrified that she might recognize that was exactly what he was doing.

Leia's expression softened. She went up to Luke and kissed his forehead. She then pressed her forehead against his and looked him in the eyes. "Let me tell you something my dad told me once. He said that I was a burden. That the responsibilities that came with marrying my mother were a burden. That taking care of our people was a burden. But they were burdens that he was more than happy to carry, because that's what you do when you care about someone. Their problems become your problems. You want to take care of them. And if you've fallen a bit and need to be supported or even carried, then I'll do it. Maybe it's a heavy burden, but it's one I want to carry, because I care about you. Do you understand?"

Luke tried. He really did. He knew that was how he felt about helping people he cared about. Luke was always happy to make sacrifices if it meant easing the load of somebody else, whether they were his family or a total stranger. But he was supposed to be the one taking care of people. He wasn't supposed to accept such overwhelming and undeserved help. Not when he couldn't even figure out how to help himself.

But didn't Aunt Beru say that people who were at their lowest, who couldn't even pick themselves up, were the ones that needed help most?

Luke didn't want to compare his situation to that of slaves, or people who starved on the streets. He had nightmares, but what was that compared to people whose planets were torn apart by war? What right did he have to complain?

But even if Luke could imagine millions of different ways that his life could be worse, he felt at the lowest he'd ever been. He didn't know how to get up again. Leia was offering him her hand, but Luke was scared to take it. What if he just pulled her down to his level? Or what if, no matter how hard she tried to pull him up, he was stuck where he was?

What if she was able to bring him out of this hole, but he was so used to this pain that he didn't know how to be normal anymore?

"Please, Luke." Leia's voice shook with emotion. She actually sounded his age. "Let me help you."

Luke blinked back tears. "Why do you care?" He wasn't trying to sound accusing, he just didn't understand. Leia wasn't offended by the question. She just gave him a small smile.

"Because you're my brother." Leia said. Luke felt a spark in his soul. Something deep inside of him seemed to wake up at the new knowledge. He knew it was the truth. Luke had shied away from the Force, but he embraced this knowledge it brought. It was like a voice calling him in the right direction to get away from the darkness he was stumbling in.

Luke didn't say anything, but Leia smiled brightly, her Force signature lighting up in response to his, and he cautiously opened himself up to it. Her aura surrounded him, and he let it.

"There you are." Leia said. "There's your light." He didn't really know what she was talking about. He still felt somewhat numb. He definitely didn't feel like he was giving off anything that remotely resembled light. But he could feel Leia's honestly. He didn't know how, but she felt his light.

"Tell us what we can do for you." Padmé said. "What do you need?"

Luke stopped to think about it. He'd followed his impulsive thoughts, and he just made things worse. He needed to actually stop and think. What did he want? What had he come here for?

Luke swallowed thickly. He gave Anakin a cautious look. "I want to visit Shmi Skywalker's grave." It was something he had refused to do since his nightmares had started. He'd always known that she had died, and he used to visit her grave often, but the nightmares had made it real to him. But they were still just dreams. Images in his mind. If he saw her grave now, it would make the reality of those nightmares all the more real.

But as much as it hurt, it was real, and Luke couldn't ignore or hide it. He was just hurting himself by trying. Mace Windu had told him that he needed to let himself grieve, and Luke couldn't do that until he accepted that she was gone, and he moved on.

He needed to say goodbye, and then he could figure out where to go from there.

Chapter Text

Leia had never been to Tatooine before. Her studies and lessons had taught her about countless planets, cultures, and languages, but there was only so much she could learn. She had focused her attention on the planets that had been part of the old Republic that her dad spoke so fondly of. She learned about the core planets, and the main systems in the primary trading routes, because she knew that her career, whether it be as a politician or in the rebellion, would bring her there someday.

Tatooine was one of the many planets that she knew only by name. She knew that it was a desert planet, and she could probably remember the names of the suns if she had a moment to think about it. She knew it was under the control of the Hutts, and like many outer-rim planets it was home to thieves, pirates, and other such lowlifes. She knew that Tatooine was one of many planets that practiced slavery, and that was all she'd learned. Leia had thought that was all the information she would ever need about such an insignificant planet.

Now Leia felt like an entitled fool. The ignorant princess that many people thought she was when they first met her. Tatooine may have been a distant planet in Leia's life, barely worth even remembering that it was part of the same galaxy, but this was Luke's home. It was his culture. If she really wanted Luke to be part of her life, and she did, she needed to know about his planet, or else she was going to insult him again and push him away.

When Luke announced that he wanted to go to visit their grandmother's grave, Anakin had seemed reluctant to go through with it. But he agreed without any persuasion needed. Soon they were flying away from the docking bay and headed towards the desert. Luke looked absolutely exhausted, but Leia could feel his excitement. He was about to go home. Leia could understand his feelings, and she was happy for him that he could feel home even after everything he had been going through, but she still felt the need to caution him.

"You need to be careful talking to your aunt and uncle." Leia knew that their grandmother's grave was located near the home where Luke had grown up. "Remember, they're not your family. Not really." Leia knew that first hand from her interaction with Bail. It was so easy to be disappointed that it couldn't be what they wanted it to be.

"I know." Luke said. "That's what I'm trying to tell myself."

Leia took his hand. "You'll get back to them." She didn't know how or when, but Leia would see them returned to their own time if she had to fight the Force itself to make it happen. "And until you're home, I'll be right here with you."

Luke gave her a small, playful smile. "Does that mean you'll leave me the second we get home?" His tone was teasing, but Leia could feel the genuine concern. She nudged his shoulder.

"You're stuck with me, Brother." Leia said. "Someone has to teach you some manners."

Luke smiled at her. He really was so bright. Leia could feel his energy almost as much as the Tatooine suns, except it didn't burn. This was a comforting warmth that she never wanted to be away from.

"Then I guess I'll teach you how to have fun." Luke said. "I bet for a princess like you, reading a fictional book is the closest thing you have to fun." And Leia laughed, because he wasn't exactly wrong. Oh, there were plenty of things she did that she enjoyed, but she didn't do things for fun.

It wasn't long before they landed near a domed building that Lars said was a moisture farm. It looked far too small for anybody to live in, but Luke just laughed when Leia pointed it out.

"That's just the entrance and the indicator that there's something here." Luke said. "Most of it is underground." Luke pointed to what Leia had thought was a line of piled dirt. "The main hall that connects the rooms is over there in that crater. Half the time I just jump into the hole instead of going through the front door." Luke chuckled to himself. "Uncle Owen hates it."

"That sounds like my dad." Leia smiled. She couldn't believe she could find amusement in something that annoyed her so much at home. "I like to explore the gardens, and sometimes I'm there for too long and I don't have enough time to get ready for a meeting, so instead of running down the halls and letting everyone know that I'm late, I climb the wall and slip through the balcony to get right into my room. My dad hates it."

"I bet he told you you were going to fall and break your neck." Luke snorted. It was clear that it was a lecture he had received more times than he could count. Leia had thought that all kids were lectured like this, but now she wondered if maybe not everybody could scale or jump multiple stories without a scratch or a hint of fear. Maybe this had something to do with the Force.

Leia would need to have stern words with her father about the Force and her abilities. And she also needed to give him a strong hug and apologize for probably scaring him half to death so frequently.

"I'd like to see your home." Leia said. She could count on one hand the number of homes she had been invited into that weren't elaborate mansions. She really needed to see more than the elite life she hadn't realized she was so blinded by.

Luke's smile faded slightly. She didn't need the Force to know what was wrong. She took his hand.

"When we get back to our own time." Leia said. She wasn't going to make Luke interact with the people that weren't quite his aunt and uncle, even if they were Beru and Owen.

Luke gave her a small smile. "As long as you get me a tour of your home."

"Done." Leia said. She couldn't wait to bring Luke to Alderaan.

Luke and Leia spent the short flight away from the cockpit, wanting a little bit of privacy. Anakin and Padmé spent the flight together, and if Leia was less worried about Luke and hadn't been taught to ignore gossip, she would try to look deeper into the significant glances shared between Anakin and Padmé. She would look into the drastic differences in height between Anakin and her and Luke, and the way that they were much closer in stature to Padmé.

Padmé, who was close friends to Bail, or had told Leia that he was close friends with her birth mother, and he knew she would be proud of her. Padmé, whose home Luke had ended up in.

Leia had suspicions, and she wanted to talk to Luke about them, but he hadn't mentioned a word about his mother. Only his father. He was already going through so much, and they were here for a very specific reason. She didn't want to distract and upset him. Sharing her theories about who their mother was could wait a little longer.

Luke and Leia exited the ship, but waited in the shade while Anakin and Padmé went to speak to the Lars'. Luke specifically didn't want to see them, and Anakin thought they might be more welcoming to letting strangers visit Shmi's grave if he 'explained' things first.

The story that Anakin had come up with was that Luke and Leia were orphans who had recently lost their parents, who had been helped out of slavery by Shmi, and Luke and Leia wanted to pay their respects. She thought the story was more than a little convoluted, but Luke assured her it wasn't an uncommon thing. He'd remembered the very thing happening two or three times when he was younger. He said it was a part of their culture, to grieve the death of the one who gave you life, whether that be a parent, a friend or stranger who kept you from taking that last step off the ledge, or the person who freed you from slavery.

Leia was curious about the culture and she wanted to learn more, but that could wait. Anakin and Padmé were walking back towards them. Leia couldn't help but notice that they were holding hands as they walked out of the homestead, and then immediately put some distance between them as they approached the ship. Leia may not know many kids her age, but she still knew teenagers with more subtlety than these two.

"Owen says you're welcome to take all the time you need." Anakin said to Luke. "Cliegg is there right now, but Beru said that he won't mind some company."

Luke blinked. "Cliegg?" He sounded shocked and in near awe. Leia gave him an odd look, but he didn't explain what was going on in his mind. She wondered if he ever did.

Anakin's mouth thinned. "Cliegg Lars. My mother's husband." It was clear from Anakin's tone of voice that he didn't really have any feelings about the man. The slightly teary and eager look in Luke's eyes told Leia that he didn't share their father's indifference. Even if they weren't related, Luke saw Cliegg as his grandfather. Based on how Luke looked both upset and happy, Leia wondered if Cliegg was dead in their time as well.

Had Luke ever had the chance to get to know his grandfather, or was this the opportunity he'd probably never dreamed he could have?

Luke started walking towards the back of the house where Leia could see a number of headstones. A man in a power chair sat before the graves. Even from this distance Leia could feel the sadness and weakness coming off from this man. It broke her heart. She heard Luke make a small sound of discontent, and she knew he felt it too. She squeezed his hand.

Anakin kept his distance from Cliegg, looking at his mother's grave from a distance. Leia would have stayed back as well to leave a grieving old man alone. This wasn't her land. This wasn't her family, even if it was her blood. It wasn't that she didn't care, but while this scene made her sad it was in a distant kind of way. She didn't want to intrude on the deep sorrow that Cliegg must be feeling.

Luke didn't have any such reservations. When Leia hung back Luke gently stepped away from her grip and approached one of the graves. He knelt on the ground, burying one hand into the sand and raising the other up towards the suns. Luke started murmuring words that were completely foreign to Leia. After a long minute she heard the old man join him, and if she listened carefully she could catch Anakin saying a few words in the unfamiliar tongue.

Leia felt lost. She wanted to understand. She wanted to be a part of this. Even if these people were strangers to her, Luke was still her family. If it was important to him, it was important to her, and she wanted to be there for him in a way that was more than physical.

She waited until the prayer of sorts was finished. When Luke stopped talking and bowed his head Leia approached. She knelt next to him, carefully mimicking his position.

"Show me?" Leia asked. Luke gave her a small smile.

"It's a ritual of the slaves." Luke said. He nodded at his hand in the ground. Leia stuck one of her hands in the sand. "In life, a slave is a prisoner, even in their own body. In death, the body remains trapped beneath the unforgiving sand, that that's where it will stay forever, but the spirit," Luke waved his hand towards the suns. Leia did the same. "It flies free. It becomes one with the breeze and brings relief to those working in the harsh heat. It flies up to the stars and finally sees how massive the galaxy is beyond Tatooine. Beyond their pain and slavery. The spirit joins the suns, and becomes a light and beacon for those who are left behind."

"What were those words you said?" Leia asked. Luke looked happy that she asked.

"It's an old story about the Desert Mother." Cliegg was the one who answered. Luke and Leia both looked at him attentively as he spoke. "It's a legend passed down by the people raised in the sun. The Desert Mother is said to be a slave from a distant planet. She escaped her captors and, through long trials, found herself on an isolated planet where nobody could find her again. She found peace and sanctuary in the sands, and when she died her spirit became one with the desert."

Cliegg stared out towards the horizon, a sad and distant look in his eyes. "As time passed and more people came to this planet, it was twisted from a sanctuary to protect those from danger to a lair of depravity for those who wanted to hurt others. The spirit of the Desert Mother was furious, and she cursed the land, making it nearly unlivable for all."

"The desert is unforgiving." Luke said. "But it's also merciful. When slaves and people who respected and honored the desert die, it's said that their spirits become one with her, just as she became one with the land that saved her. She protects those souls from suffering in death the way they did in life."

It felt like something was whispering at Leia's soul, telling of familiarity. It reminded her a little of the Force, in that it was something that she didn't completely know or understand, but spoke of a connection between all of them.

"Stories about the Desert Mother are dying." Cliegg said. "Every generation there are fewer people who know of her."

"My Uncle taught me." Luke said. "He said it was important to know the story of my ancestors. That I needed to remember where I came from to properly appreciate what I have." Luke closed his eyes. "It's been so hard to remember others when I feel like I've been suffering so much."

Cliegg looked at the tombstone. "My wife believed that the only thing that could ease her pain was to do something for others."

Leia looked at the grave marker in front of her. The grave of a woman that she knew nothing about, but who she wouldn't have existed without. "What was she like?"

Cliegg sighed. "Shmi was the toughest person I had ever met. She was a slave herself, but she never cared about her own suffering. All that mattered to her was easing the pain of others. She used to go out of her way to protect other slaves, and she even helped others escape even as she remained chained. She was treated like a possession, and she didn't complain about it."

"She deserved better." Anakin said. Leia had almost forgotten he was there. She turned to see the man looking at his mother's grave marker, looking lost and drained. Cliegg stared at Anakin for a long moment before he sighed and maneuvered his chair away from the graves.

"Come out of the sun, children." Cliegg said tiredly. "We have some water to spare." Leia wanted to argue that Luke had a right to take as much time as he needed to grieve, but Luke stood up without complaint. He was willing to give their father the privacy to grieve. Luke and Leia followed Cliegg inside the homestead. Before going inside Leia looked behind her and she saw Anakin slowly easing himself into the sand, kneeling the way that Luke and Leia had.

"Come along, young one." Cliegg said to Leia. "I doubt he's given himself the chance to grieve. He needs this." She let herself be turned away and she went inside. For Luke's sake she was relieved to not see his aunt and uncle. While it would be nice to meet them, she didn't think that was what Luke needed right now. Not when he actually looked a little content and somewhat at peace.

"Can you tell me more about her?" Luke asked when they got into the kitchen. He started getting some glasses of water, and Cliegg didn't seem to notice anything odd about a stranger knowing where to find things in his home. "I never got the chance to know her, but I always wanted to."

"Did Shmi save your family?" Cliegg asked.

Luke sat down, handing Leia a glass of water. She took a small sip, appreciating the water more than she ever had. She knew that the people of Tatooine didn't have access to it as easily as she did back home, where she could have water whenever she wanted. Luke had to work for his.

"My father was a slave as a child." Luke said slowly. "She saved him, probably angering her own master to do so."

"That sounds like Shmi." Cliegg said fondly. "She was always risking everything to save whoever she could. The only time I knew her to keep her head down and show restraint was when her son was a slave. She used to tell me that he'd been a gift from the Desert Mother herself, and a gift like that needed to be protected."

Cliegg shook his head. "She saved her son from living the life of a slave. Shmi always denied it. She said the Jedi saved him. But Anakin would have stayed if she asked him to." Leia could believe that much. "Shmi had let her only child go if it meant he would have the chance at a better life. His life was so much more important to her than her own. She had every right to grieve and fall apart after the sacrifice she made, but she didn't. When Anakin was safe and didn't rely on her to keep him safe, she wasted no time to begin saving slaves again."

"She sounds extraordinary." Leia said. She wasn't just a slave who had died. She was a mother. A wife. A savior.

"She was." Cliegg said. He looked at Luke, and there was something in his eyes that made Leia feel like he understood something that they hadn't told him.

"You have the same kindness in her eyes that she did." Cliegg said. "And the same pain."

Luke's eyes filled with tears and he choked on a sob. He covered his eyes with his hands, trying to brush away his tears before they fell. Leia put her arm around his shoulder and gave a small tug to encourage him to lean his head against her shoulder.

"It's okay to cry." Leia said. Luke shook his head.

"It's a waste of water." Luke said. Leia sighed and passed him her glass of water. If he needed water to let himself cry, she would give it to him.

"My mom told me that crying was how you get your feelings out before they become too much for you to handle." Leia said. "Sometimes you have to keep it in for a little and put on a show, but when you're in a safe place, you shouldn't be afraid to let the tears out."

Luke's face twisted painfully and he buried his face against her shoulder. He let go, and Leia was going to fight anybody who had a bad word to say about it. She thought that he would fall apart for several minutes, but a few minutes later Luke was already starting to calm down. He slowly pulled away.

"Better?" Leia asked. Luke nodded.

"Yeah," He said. He sounded surprised. "I think…I think I needed to come here. Mace was right. I needed to say goodbye so I could let go." Luke looked at Cliegg, smiling brightly at him. "Hearing about her life feels so much better than thinking about her death."

"Talking about her definitely feels better than sitting beneath the suns, wishing for what I can't have." Cliegg topped off Leia's water and nodded at Luke to drink. "She would be rolling in her grave if she saw me moping around."

Luke laughed slightly and nodded, seeming to think the same thing about himself. There was a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"She focused on the good, even when there was nothing but bad." Luke closed his eyes. Leia felt a wave of peace come off of him, and for the first time in weeks she felt like she could breathe freely. The pressure and anxiety that she'd been feeling through her bond with Luke was lifted, even if it wasn't completely gone.

"I think I understand." Luke said, though he didn't say what it was he understood. Maybe Leia would get details from him later, but for now she was just content that he seemed happy for once. She closed her eyes and leaned against Luke, mirroring the position they'd just been in.

Leia hadn't realized how heavy the burden Luke was carrying was, and how much it was weighing down on her. The sudden loss of it was almost dizzying. That, combined with the stifling heat of the desert made her feel suddenly drowsy.

Leia wasn't in the habit of falling asleep in odd places, but she felt a warmth around her, embracing her in a comforting hold. It reminded Leia of when her mother would pull her into her arms and rock her to sleep after a long day. A hold that promised safety, and spoke of pride in what she had done. Leia leaned into that touch and let herself drift off.

Leia fell asleep in the oppressive heat of the Tatooine desert. She woke up to a gentle, cool breeze, and the noticeable absence of Luke's presence. If she reached she could feel him, but he was far away. It felt so much like how it had before she'd understood what or who was reaching for her. It was how she had felt back home.

Leia's eyes snapped open. She jolted up and felt her breath catch in her breath when she recognized her bedroom back on Alderaan. She was home. But she was separated from Luke. How could the home she had known her whole life feel so wrong?

Chapter Text

Leia ran down the halls of her home, ignoring the slight breathlessness that she was feeling. She was slightly dizzy and her legs were shaking. She felt like she hadn't slept in several days. She pushed past those physical feelings because they didn't matter. Only one thing mattered at that moment. Luke.

She could still feel him. He was far away, but he was reaching for her, and she reached back to him. She couldn't quite get an impression of what he was feeling, and Leia didn't know if it was because they were too far from each other or if his emotions weren't intense enough to bleed over into her mind. But she knew he was there, and that was good enough for now, but not for long.

He shouldn't be alone. Even if he was okay right now, who knew how long that would last? She needed to be there with him when he fell apart again. She needed to be at her brother's side. At that moment it felt like the single most important thing in the galaxy.

As soon as Leia had realized that she was back on Alderaan and Luke wasn't there she knew what she needed to do. She'd climbed out of bed and didn't even bother with shoes, or a robe, or doing anything to present herself properly. Her image was important, but it felt like nothing at the moment.

She ignored the servants and the odd looks they gave her as she ran past. None of them had seen her behave like this since she was a child, and even back then she knew better. They probably thought there was something wrong with her, and in a way there was. They wouldn't understand if she tried to explain it though. How could they understand the intense need to be with a brother they didn't even know she had? No, the servants wouldn't understand, but Leia had to hope that her parents would.

The early morning sun was streaming through the windows, and Leia had to take just a moment to figure out which of her parents she should go to, because that would decide where she looked. It was early in the morning, and Leia knew that her mother was already up and about. As queen, she always started her days early, because there were always people wanting an audience with her.

Leia's father didn't necessarily sleep in late, but he had very late nights. He was probably still sleeping right now, or at least trying to rest his eyes for a few more minutes while her mother got breakfast.

Leia debated with herself for a brief moment before she made her way to her parent's bedroom. Her mother was the one she had always felt like she could talk to about serious emotional issues, but she wasn't sure about this one. Luke, as well as Leia, were the children of a woman that she knew for a fact was a friend of Bail's. Leia had no idea if Breha had ever known her birth mother. Did she know who Leia was born of? Did she know of the powers that Leia had, which would help explain why she was drawn to a boy that she should never have met.

Leia thought her best bet would be with her father. She was fairly certain that he knew who her parents had been. And even if he didn't understand the specifics of what a Jedi was, he had worked on Coruscant when they'd been alive. He'd seen them in action and worked with them personally. He had to have at least an idea of what the Force was, and maybe he wouldn't actually be surprised at the news that she had it.

Leia didn't know what she was going to say. She was desperate, frantic, and more than just a little confused. The less she would have to explain, the better.

Leia went to her parents' bedroom and let herself in. Something she hadn't done since she was four or five. Her father was still lying on the bed, fast asleep. Leia didn't pay it any mind. She jumped onto the bed, practically landing on her father. She knew she was far too old for this, but it was the fastest way to wake him up.

Besides, she'd missed him. She hadn't been gone for very long, but seeing the past version of her dad, so much like him and yet still a total stranger, it made her feel so much longing.

Bail grunted and immediately woke up. He groaned and rolled over towards her. His eyes widened as soon as he saw her and he sat up.

"Leia, my dear." He somehow didn't sound confused or upset about being woken so harshly. He sounded relieved. "You're okay." He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Leia returned the embrace, though she was still confused about the reaction.

"Dad," She stayed in the embrace for a long moment before she pulled away. He reluctantly let her go. "Why wouldn't I be okay."

Bail brushed some hair out of her face. "We found you unconscious in the courtyard the other day. There was no sign of injury. As far as our doctors could tell, nothing was wrong with you. But you wouldn't wake up." He pulled her in for another hug. "We were so worried."

Leia blinked. "I was…asleep?" The courtyard. That was where she had been last before she'd suddenly appeared in the past. Had she not literally time-travelled. Had the whole thing been just a dream? The thought scared Leia at first. Luke couldn't be a dream. She could feel him. She knew that he was out there. No mere dream could reveal things that she hadn't known before.

But then, maybe it could. Perhaps not a normal dream, but one gifted by the Force. A vision.

Leia's thoughts were spinning as she tried to wrap her head around how much of what she had seen had been real, and how much of it had been in her head. She reached out to Luke through their connection, just nudging at him. She felt a little nudge back, and just that small action made her feel better.

Regardless of what was real, Luke certainly was. And he was still out there, waiting for her.

"We didn't know what happened." Bail said.

"I think I might." Leia said. She could feel the Force inside of her, confirming her little theory. This was all because of it. "Father…Dad, it was the Force. It showed me a vision."

Bail looked confused at first, and when his expression changed she was worried that he was going to deny the very existence of the Force. He didn't know a lot about it. So much of what he knew was that everybody who had the Force was being hunted down and either killed or captured and tortured to the point that they wished they were killed. Bail wouldn't want that for her, so of course he would try to protect her from it. That was why he hadn't told her about her abilities before.

But Leia couldn't just duck her head in the sand and pretend that her powers weren't there, just because it was easier. Now that she was aware of the Force and her connection to it she couldn't ignore it. She didn't know how. She thought she would need a lot more training to reach that point.

After a long, tense moment, Bail sighed. "What did you see?" With just that simple question Leia almost felt like she was going to cry. She was so relieved. He was open to hearing what she had to say. She wasn't being shut down for her own protection.

There was so much that Leia needed to talk to her father about. She wanted to talk to him more about the Republic, now that she had seen just a little bit of it in action. She wanted to know how, exactly, the Republic fell and became the Empire, because her father was always a little vague about that part, and she thought it was about time that she knew the truth.

She wanted to know more about her birth mother and what she was like. What were the Jedi actually like? Because the only tale she heard now either decreed them traitors or put them up on a pedestal. How was she supposed to learn about her powers and the teachings that surrounded them if all she heard was exaggerated rumors?

But there would be time to talk about all of that. For the initial conversation she needed to keep it simple and straightforward.

"I saw Luke." Leia said. "My brother." And if Bail had any doubts before that this was more than a dream, her words pushed them away. Bail Organa wasn't an overly expressive man with his emotions. As a politician, he couldn't afford to be. But Leia had fifteen years of experience when it came to reading her father, and she could see the shock, guilt, and shame in his eyes. He knew she had a brother, and he knew that if their lives hadn't been at risk it never should have been a secret to them.

"Leia-" Bail began. Leia interrupted him. She normally wouldn't do such a thing. She knew so much better than that. But if her father spent time giving her unnecessary apologies then there would be even more time before they actually addressed what she wanted to talk about.

"I understand why you didn't tell me." Leia said. "I know how dangerous having the Force can be in the Empire. I know how dangerous it is to have the blood of a Jedi."

Bail gave her a pained look. He hugged her again. "I wish we could have told you." He didn't give any more excuses or explanations. He knew she understood.

"I know." Leia said. "It wasn't safe for me to know. But now I think it's not safe for me to not know." They would have to talk more about the Force and potentially developing those abilities more. But that wasn't at the top of Leia's priority list.

"Dad, Luke needs me." Leia said. "I've told you how I've been feeling these past few weeks."

Bail nodded. "Scared for no reason, and homesick, even though you were home. You said you felt like you were forgetting something, or were needed." He looked at her. "You think that was Luke?"

"I know it was." Leia said. "We have this…connection, I guess, in the Force. He's been reaching for me."

Bail looked concerned. "Is he in danger?"

"No." Leia said. She wasn't going to let her father keep her from Luke because he thought it was too dangerous. "No, he's alright, he's just struggling." She knew he was being plagued with nightmares, but she was worried that if she said as much then her dad wouldn't take it seriously. Everybody had bad dreams sometimes. Learning to live with them was just a part of life. Luke was fifteen. Her father might think that he was old enough to deal with his own bad dreams. Leia knew it was far more than that, but she didn't know how to explain it.

Leia took her dad's hands, giving them a squeeze. "He needs me. I can feel it." Luke wasn't crying for her now as he had before, but Leia knew it was just a matter of time. She would rather be at Luke's side when he needed her rather than half a galaxy away.

Bail looked conflicted. "...We should speak to your mother." Leia was both annoyed and relieved at her father's words. If she wanted to get to Tatooine she would need to talk to both of her parents about it. The fact that she wasn't being immediately dismissed was reassuring. But Leia knew that convincing her parents would be difficult and it would take time.

She reached out to Luke, surrounding his presence in the Force with her own, giving her the closest thing to a hug that she could at this distance. She sent him as many reassurances as she could. She hoped he could wait for her.

Luke woke up in physical discomfort, but he felt more rested than he'd been in weeks. He immediately knew the reason why. He hadn't had any nightmares.

There had been no invasive touches that made him feel like he never wanted to feel human contact again. There had been no horrifying screams from his grandmother as she was tortured and forced to go through things that nobody should ever experience. There hadn't been any of the chilling sounds of the Tuskens. Luke hadn't even seen the blinding light of a lightsaber and felt the uncontrollable fury of a son who'd had his mother cruelly taken from him.

Luke had seen and felt nothing. He'd just slept, and he woke up feeling completely at peace, even if he'd been sleeping on the hard ground and warm sand.

It didn't take Luke long to realize what had happened. He hadn't had any nightmares during the sleep that had brought him into the past. He just hadn't been able to have the chance to enjoy it because he had woken on Coruscant and immediately been overwhelmed by the presence of the Force. Between the thousands upon thousands of beings living on Coruscant and the strength of all the Jedi, the Force was far more powerful on Coruscant than Tatooine.

Luke had gotten used to it, but it had still been a lot. He felt like at all times he could hear and feel every living being on Coruscant. It all bled into white noise, but it was still there. Now that he no longer had all that distracting noise, he felt like he had never been somewhere so quiet.

He could still feel life. He could feel the Tuskens and Jawas traversing the desert. He knew if he was closer to Mos Espa or Mos Eisley he would feel much more, but it would still pale in comparison to the presence of the Force in Coruscant.

It was almost a little lonely. Luke hadn't been in the past for long, but having people around who he could truly connect to and understand was so nice, and it would be hard to get used to not having that.

Luke felt a light nudging. He smiled at the familiar feeling. Leia. He could still feel her. But she was far away. He already missed her, but at least he could still feel her. He didn't know what he would do if he'd lost his connection with her completely.

While Leia was far away Luke could feel another closer Force presence. A familiar one. One that he'd known his whole life, though he'd never had the chance to grow the bond, and maybe now he could.

Luke reached out to Obi-Wan. The reaction was immediate. Obi-Wan reached back and Luke could feel the concern and care through the connection. And he could feel it coming closer. Obi-Wan was coming for him.

Luke smiled to himself as he stood up. There was still a familiar hollowness in his chest. The pain and grief of what had happened to his grandmother and what he'd been forced to experience second-hand. He didn't think those feelings would ever completely go away. But he still felt that maybe he could be okay anyway.

He could still feel Leia, just one nudge in the Force away. He could just hear a whisper of her presence, but it was always there. Always supportive. She wasn't going anywhere. Luke didn't have to be alone. And maybe that was what mattered.

Luke remembered what had both confused him most about his nightmares. The very end, just second before it all became too much for Shmi and she died. Anakin had come too late. He hadn't been able to save her, and it broke Luke's heart and made him want to scream, and those feelings conflicted with what he knew she had felt.

Shmi had felt nothing but love and relief when she'd seen her son. Seeing him all grown up, strong and healthy, that was all she'd ever wanted. Just the knowledge that he was okay had been enough for Shmi, and she'd died content.

Luke hadn't understood before. He'd felt all of her pain and fear. He'd heard her plead for mercy and pray to the Desert Mother to spare and save her. She hadn't wanted to die. Shmi had wanted to be saved. But she held no resentment towards Anakin that he hadn't been able to do that for her, because that wasn't who she was.

She'd been tortured for weeks. Luke had felt her hopelessness himself. But he'd also felt that light in her soul when she saw her son. He was everything to her. Her own well-being didn't matter as long as he was okay.

Luke imagined that she had missed him every single day that he'd been gone. Shmi had given up her son, and she still kept living. She had probably believed that she would never see him again. For him to appear out of nowhere during her lowest moment, it had been nothing short of a miracle.

He'd been there. Even with the probably very busy life that he was leading as a Jedi, he had still returned to the planet he had hated, just for her. How could Shmi be mad or disappointed that Anakin could have done more? He'd never needed to do more in her eyes. He was her son. He was there when she needed him. What else could she have asked for?

Luke hadn't understood before, even though he'd felt it all. The feelings just made no sense to him. Now he thought he finally got it.

Terrible things happened, and it was so easy to be dragged. Luke had felt that for himself. The lingering pain and fear after getting hurt was almost as bad as the initial pain, and it could stay forever if you let it.

Luke was so tired of carrying it all. The weight on his soul was a heavy one. But understanding Shmi helped lighten it quite a bit. She didn't linger on her own pain. She let it go. She'd felt hope and happiness when she could have felt bitter and heartbroken instead.

Luke didn't know how to be as strong as her. But he knew that she had let others help her. She'd let two strangers save her son from slavery when she couldn't. She'd let Cliegg win her freedom for her. She'd accepted her son's return with nothing but love and happiness in her heart.

She'd trusted people to help her when she needed it, even if what they had to offer might not be enough. Her soul was eased because she cared for others, and she let them care for her.

Luke cared a lot about people, but it was a two-way street. He knew he had people who cared about him, but he kept them at arms' distance without even realizing that was what he was doing. He did it for a couple of reasons.

He was scared of being disappointed by them. He was scared of letting them down and chasing them away. He didn't want to burden them.

It was a very painful and lonely existence. Luke loved people. He wanted to be around them. But being surrounded by people and not letting them in was almost more painful than being completely alone.

Luke needed to give others, and himself, a chance. Leia was right there, reaching out, wanting to help him. Obi-Wan was on his way right now. His aunt and uncle were probably at home, waiting for him to open up to them. Luke was scared to, but he really wanted it. He wanted it more than he feared how it could go wrong.

If Grandma Shmi could be strong enough to hope even after the nightmares she'd endured, then Luke could do the same.

He took a deep breath and left the cave. The twin suns were high in the sky. Seeing them was like greeting an old friend.

Speaking of old friends…

Luke could see a speeder approaching. He could feel that it was Obi-Wan. He didn't think he'd ever seen the man ride a speeder. It was a little amusing to see the old hermit ride so fast. Especially now that Luke had met him as a peaceful Jedi master.

Soon Obi-Wan had pulled up right in front of the cave. Luke wondered if he'd been able to find him if he hadn't stepped out of the cave. What kind of thing could people do with these Force connections? Luke hoped to build it up.

He was still more than just a little scared of the Force, but maybe Obi-Wan could help him with that too.

The man got off the speeder. He looked older than Luke remembered, and he didn't know if that was because the last time he'd seen him he'd been in the past, or if the concern in his eyes had aged him.

"Luke." Obi-Wan was breathless. He strode up to the boy and pulled him into his arms. "Don't do that." His grip was so strong that Luke felt like his air was knocked out of him.

"Sorry." Luke said sincerely. "What did I do?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "You disappeared. You told your aunt and uncle that you would be back soon. Do you call this soon?"

"I didn't mean to." Luke said. "I fell asleep."

Obi-Wan pulled back and gave him a look of disbelief. "You fell asleep?"

Luke swallowed thickly. This was it. It was time to let him in.

"I had a dream." Luke said. "From the Force."

Obi-Wan pulled back and looked at him, his Force presence searching Luke's. He let him. Obi-Wan sighed, sounding drained. Luke could feel his exhaustion and fear, but he thought there was a small amount of relief there too.

"I suppose it was just a matter of time before you learned about it." Obi-Wan said. The feelings that Luke could sense from him actually felt very similar to what Luke had been feeling. Maybe Obi-Wan was also used to only relying on himself, and he was tired of doing so.

"I know about Leia too." Luke said. "I can feel her."

Obi-Wan gave him a painfully sad smile. "Of course you can." He shook his head. "What did you see in your vision?"

Luke saw so much. He thought about just talking about experiencing the past with Leia. Being exposed to the Force properly. But that wasn't where it started. It had all begun weeks ago, and it was time that Luke talked about it completely. No more hiding.

"It started two weeks ago." Luke said. And he told Obi-Wan about his dreams. All of them. And Obi-Wan listened, his presence wrapping around Luke like he could protect him from further harm. Luke knew he couldn't, but he appreciated the care nonetheless.

The suns were going down by the time Luke found himself all talked out. He felt exhausted and raw, but he could feel Obi-Wan's protectiveness and Leia's support. Those were the feelings he focused on.

"I don't know why the Force did any of this." Luke rubbed his eyes. He hadn't talked about seeing the past with Leia. He should, and he would, but he was too drained. He needed just a little break.

"Neither do I." Obi-Wan said. "But we'll figure it out. And whatever the Force wants from you, I'll help guide you through it." Luke could feel that he meant it, and he couldn't be more relieved. He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against Obi-Wan, both physically and through the Force.

The man held him for a long time, only letting go when Luke pulled away first. "We should get you home." Obi-Wan said. "You have no idea how worried your guardians are."

Luke nodded. He wanted his aunt and uncle back. He'd missed them. He needed the Force connection, but now that he had that from others then maybe he could finally let himself appreciate just what Beru and Owen could provide.

Luke's speeder wasn't where he had left it. That was to be expected. The Jawas had probably taken it. Luke would be spending the next several months working that loss off. He accepted that.

He got onto the speeder behind Obi-Wan, not saying a single word about wanting to drive. He wanted to let someone else take care of him just this once. Besides, Luke was a little distracted to focus on riding right now.

As they made their way back to the homestead Luke's gaze drifted to the sky, as it often did. The stars weren't quite out yet, but Luke could imagine the view so vividly after spending his whole life looking at the stars and wanting more.

He still felt that longing, but he could pin down what at least part of that was specifically. It was that desire to know his father. To be at his side. To grow their connection through the Force, though Luke hadn't known about that last part until recently.

Luke could still feel his father out there, far away, and it filled him with hope.

A part of him wondered why his father had been gone for so long. Why had he been told that his father was dead? Maybe after the Jedi purge it was just assumed that all Jedi were dead until proven otherwise. Most people probably thought that Obi-Wan was dead.

A little bit of him was angry that his father had never come back for him. Couldn't he feel the connection that Luke could?

It was tempting to hold onto that anger, but he was so tired of that. Luke wanted to be happy. He wanted to feel hope. So he reached out through that bond, opening up what had been closed off to him a short time ago, and what he'd been reluctant to open again.

Anakin had tried to open up to him in the past. Luke hadn't been ready to listen to him. Maybe now he was.

'Father'.' Luke called out to him, just as he had tried to do so often as a child. But now he knew what this connection was. Now he had an idea of what he was doing. It was probably sloppy and impractical, but it was more than Luke had been able to do before.

Anakin was closed off to him, but Luke could feel whispers of intense emotions bleeding through. It was raw. There was so much anger that it was dizzying. He couldn't imagine how intense the fury was when it wasn't locked behind a thick wall.

Luke could remember the fury he'd felt from Anakin in his dream. It had been unbearable. He thought that this anger was worse than that. Either Luke had caught Anakin at a really bad time, or the underlying anger that he'd constantly felt from his father was now on the surface instead of under it.

Luke pushed past the anger and he could feel pain bleeding through the connection. So much pain. It brought tears to his eyes, even though he really shouldn't be crying on Tatooine, despite what Leia had told him.

Luke couldn't bear through his pain by himself. It made it even worse. He wondered if his father had anybody to help him through his pain. Considering a fair amount of the pain Luke felt seemed very similar to loneliness, he doubted it.

That was okay. Luke had Leia and Obi-Wan to help him. He'd been reaching out to his father for the same, but he didn't truly need his help. Luke had what he needed. He was strong enough to give what he was asking for.

So Luke pushed at the connection. Tapping at the wall around his father's Force presence. Asking to be let in. Luke was pushed back so harshly that he was physically knocked back. He almost fell off the bike, but he felt an invisible force wrap around him and steady him.

"Careful, Luke." Obi-Wan said loudly to be heard over the wind. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry." Luke blinked. He looked at the sky. His father was out there, and he was hurting and angry. He wasn't letting Luke in. That was fine. He was going to keep trying. Though, maybe not while he was on a speeder.

Leia wasn't giving up on Luke. He wasn't giving up on himself. And he wasn't giving up on his father either.