Missing and Presumed Dead

Sleep

There were no dreams. Simply thoughts.

Thoughts of Tatooine. He'd promised his uncle to stay on for another season, then...another season never came. All of his ties to home were gone; his aunt and uncle. Ben. Biggs. They were all dead, and he'd never had a real chance to mourn them.

Thoughts of flying. Flying in his skyhopper, dreaming of adventure in the stars. Usually those dreams involved finding his long lost father, then together they'd explore the galaxy. Then he got his first X-wing, and it was as natural as breathing. Twisting and turning, weightless...the feel of adrenaline coursing through his veins as he dove, down, down...

Thoughts of his friends.

Wedge. What must he think of him now that he thought he was dead? Maybe he'd forever think those things, if Luke died tonight.

Chewie. He'd only recently learned enough Shyriiwook to understand without asking for help. It had certainly opened up their friendship, to say the least.

Lando. Well...he didn't really know Lando, but he admired him, for his willingness to do whatever it took to save Han.

Han. He'd taken him under his wing, taught him plenty of practical survival skills, including how to swim. Never once had he judged him, and he wished he'd thanked him for that...

Leia.

She wasn't a friend. She was more than that. She was his sister. All this time...he still could hardly believe it.

And...and...

Anakin Skywalker.

Vader.

The father he'd always wanted, and the man he'd hated and feared. They were one and the same. There was still so much he had to work through to figure out what he'd even do with that relationship. But...

He wanted one.

A relationship.

As insane as that was, it was true.

And though everything was dark, he knew he was near. He could feel him. Like the void of space Luke loved so much, Vader was all at once cold and terrifying... and yet soothing and breathtaking, with pinpricks of brilliant light that were as the stars.

How had he never noticed? In all of their Force interactions, he'd never seen anything beyond the inky blackness that was the Dark Side.

And yet...there was light. And those lights shone brightly, just for him, calling him back.

I will do anything you ask.

The voice of his father pleaded with him. Distant, but there. It didn't sound quite like Vader--at least, not as Luke now knew him.

Stay.

I will do anything you ask.

Stay with me.

Don't leave me too.

He couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't find his way out of darkness. But he clung to those brilliant, illuminated stars within Vader's presence...

And wondered if his father could feel him, too.

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Leia felt as though someone had hollowed her out. Every breath felt heavy. Han had made her wash Luke's blood off her hands once they'd jumped to hyperspace, but she still felt its stains on her skin.