Anakin's Fortress - Book II (temporary cover)

Twelve - Elucidate

If we knew what the Jedi were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?
Year 10

——————

Anakin

I'm landing the ship at the farm when Kitten laughs next to me. "Look at Luke," she says, pointing toward the house, where my son is running out to us, waving and grinning from ear to ear.

"He's got some energy, doesn't he?"

She smiles at me while I work the shut the ship down. "Much more than you, old man. How will Obi-Wan keep up with him?"

"He won't," I laugh. "If he thought I was an exhausting learner, he's gonna get a rude awakening soon."

Kitten chuckles and follows me into the cargo hold just as Luke runs onto the ship.

"Come on, kid, help us carry all this junk she made me load up by myself." Kitten shoots me a dirty look. Who knew all it would take to get her out of her shell was a confrontation with my old master and a ten-year-old boy?

"Wow!" Luke exclaims. "Look at all this!"

"I told you it's a lot," I say with a satisfied grin at her, who looks a bit embarrassed. Of course, I have no true objections. I may have tossed a few things in the crates myself. She wanted to pay and was so insistent that I finally told her I'd take credits from her account to reimburse me.

Safe to say she's going to be angry when she looks at her account. I can't wait.

"Well I'm going to need to stay at least a week to get everything set up, and Obi-Wan will probably be here every day training Luke." I smirk.

"You make excellent points, baby. Here," I hand her a case of fresh fruit to carry in. She lets out a little grunt and struts off the ship, her long black ponytail swishing behind her. I want to grab it, to wrap it around my fist—but Luke brings me back to reality. 

"Father?"

"Yeah, Luke?" I ask and drop things into his arms, only slightly thrown off by him calling me Father. When he shifts to walk down the ramp I grin behind me and lift everything else with the Force, letting it clamber out the door behind me.

"Do you love her?"

"Yeah, I do. Why?" It is an easy confession, and I wonder if it's because of all the years I hid my love for Padmé.

He shifts to look at me behind him and his eyes grow wide at all the stuff floating behind me.

"Woah!" He laughs and shakes his head. "I don't know. I like her a lot though."

"She likes you too." Honestly, I'm still surprised by how much. Though I've seen her play caretaker to her team many times, I never pegged her as someone who would even like kids.

"Are you going to marry her? Would she be my mom?"

I sigh to myself. "I do plan to marry her, but she'll take care of you either way, Luke. That isn't really my call to make; that's between you two."

Honestly, I have no idea how to handle any of this, but that doesn't feel like something I can decide. I mean, I can say no, but I find I don't mind if he does. Kitten might, though. She does not appear to have any desire to be a mother, but she also clicked with him immediately. That doesn't equate to parenting, however.

"Oh," he says with a shrug. "I guess so. Do you think my real mom would be sad if I called her mother?"

I want to tell him it doesn't matter, that she is gone. I don't, though.