The Trace Which Remains

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Chapter 1: ... shades of doubt...

The former Princess of Alderaan and the man who sat in Luke's arms stared at each other, one with a glare of contempt, the other with a gaze that seemed to say, "I wish it weren't so."

Han Solo stared, his sabacc face in play, at the guy that Leia's brother had apparently taken a liking for.

He seemed to be slightly older than Han- some vague age between thirty-three and forty. Something in his eyes was ageless, however- reminiscent of the knowing sadness of crippled war veterans, or regretful criminals.

Solo took a closer look at the man as Leia stood, stiff as a rock except for her shaking blaster hand, silent and absolutely enraged. He didn't see any reason to blast the fellow that Luke was holding. He seemed harmless- and Han knew that Luke was a good judge of character.

He had, after all, decided Han was a decent person. And who could argue with that?

The guy- whose clothing was similar to the rags that old man Kenobi had worn, but better kept and slightly darker in tone- sighed, and pulled away from the kid. Rising to his feet, the man towered over them all, at a good 1.9 meters tall.

Raising his hands slowly, the man murmured, "If you must shoot me, please wait until my brains won't splatter on my son."

Son? Luke had stood as well, and reached for the older man, but Leia snapped, "Stay back." Her brother obeyed, nervously backing into a tree as Leia approached the older man.

Han knew that this was just the beginning of a very long, very confusing time.

It was him. The man from her nightmare, which she had woken up screaming from the morning Luke got back from his meeting with Yoda.

She had seen this man- somewhat younger, but his face creased with the harsh lines of rage- attacking Luke, and then aiming the Force at-

Their mother.

Vader had killed their mother.

Leia's finger twitched on the trigger, itching to squeeze and blast the life out of this soulless demon who had terrorized her life forever, this beast who had wreaked havoc on the galaxy for over twenty years. She could end it now, and the Alliance would celebrate her as the one to truly kill Darth Vader.

Her face flushed for a moment, reveling in the idea of avenging Alderaan, before she realized something.

The man was unarmed, his hands raised and sticking out from inconspicuous robes, his gaze downward. She saw his face clearly now, lined slightly around the eyes, his expression one of muted regret. Unruly hair fell to his collar, framing his smooth face in a contrasting, fitting mess of waves. He was tall, but not abnormally so, and although his figure was hidden under the robes, he seemed to be lean but strong.

She glanced at Luke, who stood a couple of meters away, obviously fighting his urge to grab her gun to protect this man. Leia sensed her brother's trepidation, and saw his blue eyes glance around, at anything but her.

The man before her was not hostile. But he was still her enemy- wasn't he?

As if in an answer to her unspoken query, the man stated, "I don't want to be any trouble." His eyes opened, and she saw-

Blue.

In her nightmare, his eyes had been amber tinged with blood, dark, frightening, and hateful. Here, as he stood helpless before her blaster, they were blue. Like Luke's.

Giving a disgusted sigh of resignation, she holstered her blaster, before asking, "Then what DO you want?"

Anakin Skywalker lowered his hands, kneading his temples as he sensed the Princess' anger carefully ebb. He felt Luke's arms wrap around his waist, and leaned into the touch. He looked directly into the Princess' eyes- gods, did she look like Padme`!- and replied, "Peace. Real peace, not just the outward appearance that the Empire tried to achieve. Freedom. Real freedom, to do as I feel is right, instead of the commands of others. And a chance. Just one chance, to change, to prove I've changed."

She narrowed her eyes, and demanded, "How can anyone trust you, after all you've done?"

"I'm not asking for you to give me your trust, Princess. All I ask is that I am given a chance to earn it."

She shook her head skeptically. "I don't know if I'm ready to do that."

"I will give you all the time you need. I give you my word- whatever it may be worth to you- to do everything in my power to control any lingering anger which is within me."

"You're still Vader to me."

He flinched to hear his old Sith name uttered so spitefully, but he kept his peace. "It is your right to believe what you wish."

Han was stumped. Vader? Sure, the guy was big, but Vader had been a gargantuan. This guy was too young to be Vader, anyway, although his voice held a depth to it that betrayed many long years of war and pain.

But... the way he spoke...

Leia was observing the man, and Han noted with amusement that Luke had practically attached himself to the fellow's side, and one long arm rested around the kid's shoulders. Were they an item? If so... and the guy was Vader... then there was SOME piece of the puzzle missing.

Her Highness scowled to see her brother's arms hooked around the taller man so closely. She muttered through clenched teeth, "How can you hug him like that, Luke?"

"Because he's changed. He's not Vader anymore, Leia. He's Anakin- my- OUR father."

Their father? Han was more stumped than ever. Leia shook her head heatedly, before snarling, "You can't expect me to just ACCEPT him just because he sired me biologically. My father was Bail Organa, Prince Consort of Alderaan- not some undead mass-murderer whose only redeeming factor is his choice of sex-partners."

Luke stood up straight at this, and stepped forward. "We chose each other, Leia- and it wasn't easy. YOU try finding out that your soulmate is your worst enemy who is also related to you!"

With this, Han finally spoke, with a very blunt, "What the fuck?"

Luke and the guy- Anakin, was it?- both looked his way, and Han saw that their eyes were an identical shade of blue. It was eerie how similar they looked, but also very different. The taller one was definitely older than Luke, although he couldn't have been old enough to have adult children. Anakin raised his eyebrows- in a way that echoed Leia's expressions- and asked, "Confused, Captain Solo?"

"General Solo, thank you very much. And yes, I can say with certainty that I am definitely confused."

Luke sighed, and shook his head. Pointing his gloved finger in Han's face, he scolded, "NEVER give me alcohol again."

Alcohol? "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I got drunk, wound up in the past, fell in love with Father before he became Vader, wound up screwing things- and a person- up, and returning to my own messed-up life, to finally be able to save my father from the Dark side."

At the phrase "in the past," Han's expression grew serious. "Luke, this isn't any time to kid around."

The blue eyes that met his were just as sober. "No, it's not."

Anakin frowned, and Han seemed to see a bit more of Luke-ness within those features. "General Solo, I can assure you that my son's description of those events is entirely correct, although greatly abbreviated."

"So... you... are... lovers?" Han's stomach began to roil.

"We are Father and Son, yet we are intimate. We share a connection through the Force which makes us long for each other in every way- to give each other our heart."

Oh, boy. More of that Force crap. Han's hangover was getting rapidly worse.

Leia's eyes were slits of raging darkness, and Han watched her slowly shake her head. "I don't know what the FUCK you did to Luke, Vader, but I want it to stop."

Luke spoke first. "He actually denied being in love with me. It's a long story. We should sit down and talk it out."

"Why would I want to talk it out with my worst enemy? If you want to get screwed up the ass by this- this DEMON, then go ahead- just get the hell out of my sight."

"Would you listen to me?" Luke's voice was unusually raised, and Han could see just how tired the kid was. "Do you think I'm the type to just go around sleeping with any and every Imperial I meet? I lost my virginity to him twenty-two years ago- or, in my mental clock, a week ago or so. I'm not the type to rush into relationships- you know that, Leia. Do you know WHY I gave my virginity to him?"

She shook her head, and began, "I'm not sure I want-"

"I gave my virginity to him because I WANTED to. Because he was warm, and gentle, and caring. He hasn't always been Vader, Leia. He was and is a kind, loving person. Our mother saw it-"

"He killed our mother!"

"He was trying to kill me. He didn't want me to fall in love with him- he thought it was wrong-"

"It IS wrong!"

Han placed a hand on Leia's shoulder, but she shrugged it off, Angrily, she shouted, "You are in an incestuous relationship with a man twice your age who just HAPPENS to be our worst enemy!"

"He WAS my enemy. He saved me." Han looked up, interested, as Leia closed her mouth. Luke continued. "It's a long story, but he killed the Emperor to save my life and my freedom. He GAVE his life for me."

"I know he died last night. Why the hell didn't he STAY dead?"

Han put the pieces together at last. "Maybe because that Force wants us to give him a chance." He gave a mild chuckle, and held out his hand. "This is weirding me out more than anything else ever has- and I used to work for Hutts- but if Luke says you're okay, then I'll take the kid's word."

With a surprised, hopeful smile, Anakin shook his outstretched hand. The man had a heck of a grip, but it didn't hurt at all. "Thank you, General Solo. I can only hope that more men are as open-minded as you."

Leia gaped at him, and he shrugged. "I figure if we let ourselves stay pissed at him, we're going to waste a helluva lot of time that could be used to make sure that he's not giving us reasons to stay pissed."

It made a strange kind of sense. Leia had thought these same things out before they had arrived at the clearing, but upon seeing the same face that had killed her mother, she had lost her temper.

She had known that taking Han would be a good idea. Reluctantly, she nodded, and stared up at Vader- Anakin- with guarded eyes.

If nothing else... she would accept Anakin for Luke's sake.

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