Those Before Us ⤇ Finn

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Dad."

Luke and Padme looked at each other like they never had before. Luke's emotions were unreadable to the eye, and if not for his drastic decision to cut himself off from the force, Padme might have been able to tell how he was truly feeling. But, for now, he was blank.

The younger Skywalker, however, was much easier to read. The least force-sensitive being in the galaxy could have been able to tell that she was pissed off. Pissed off and in distress, but also happy. Pissed off that it had been 6 years since he deserted her, but happy to see her father for the first time in a while.

Their reunion stare was so intense that it bled into Rey's body, which was currently tense from the shocking realization of her friend's relation to the Jedi Master she had spent oh so long looking for.

Rey's thoughts were cut short when Luke threw his saber directly behind him, keeping his eye contact with his daughter. No hesitation, no flinch, just pure emptiness.

Padme didn't flinch either. She wasn't surprised by his behavior. Quite honestly, she didn't know what to think of it. He had left her years ago, and for what? A lonely life on a lonely island? Surely he hadn't become much friends with the locals, had he? She had done her fair share of research with Artoo on the way there, and the Lanai were a very spiritual species, loyal to the Jedi Temple and its beliefs. Fragile, if you asked Padme.

Luke began walking towards them, a scowl evident through his untamed beard. He passed through the two girls, brushing against Padme's shoulder gently. Just that one touch was enough for her to feel his true emotions. He was showing her how he felt. Anxiety, guilt, and frustration were among the surface emotions. Under those were hints of something else, she couldn't quite tell what.

Rey looked back as the Jedi Master left, but Padme's head sunk in disappointment. She didn't expect much, and that's exactly what she got. She wasn't ready when she began the trek uphill half an hour ago, and she wasn't ready when her father left her with no explanation. Again.

"Master Skywalker?" Rey called after him.

"It's no use, Rey," Padme called, still facing the ground. "He's not coming back."

Rey stopped on a credit to answer her. "We have to try," She responded earnestly, then continued after Luke.

And so, Padme was alone. Her father and friend had left her, again. It seemed to her that history could do nothing but repeat itself.

Luke's emotions faded one by one from her body, but the small remnants of the emotions she couldn't quite decipher had lingered just long enough for her to isolate them. Happiness. Pride. He was grateful for her attempt at bringing him back, but he was home now. The island was his home now, and he couldn't leave it.

She stood atop the cliff for what felt like hours but probably wasn't quite that long. They had arrived mid-morning on Ahch-To, and it was still daylight when she decided she should go.

It was then that she realized she was crying. She hadn't much before then. She grew up with her father practically breathing down her neck that emotions clouded judgment, so whenever she wanted to cry, she sparred with Ben. Took out the anger, the sadness, the disappointment the one way she knew best; battle. Then Ben left, along with Luke.
But when she thought that maybe, just maybe, her father was back, she was mistaken. He left, and Rey followed.

Padme knew it wasn't for the same reasons as Ben, but it still stung. She couldn't avoid abandonment, it was in her blood. Her grandfather, her father, now her.

She wiped the tears away with her sleeve. The color caught her eye. She had forgotten it was her red jacket. Her lucky jacket. The jacket that reminded her that no matter what, the force was with her. It would guide her.

An overwhelming feeling of homesickness took hold of her bones as she wished she were back at base with Leia and Poe, watching over Finn with Kim. She longed to be home, and it hurt even more that she had the beacon with her. It was entirely possible to leave. She could simply walk back down to the falcon and board her x-wing. Chewie would object, but wouldn't stop her. She knew Chewie wanted to stay, or else he wouldn't have come in the first place.

She practically collapsed on the nearest rock, sitting down with such sorrow that the birds around her were solemn and quiet.

She wanted dearly to leave, but she couldn't. The resistance needed him. Their cause needed him. Leia needed him. Padme needed him.

"No," She thought. She didn't need him, she had gone 6 years without him, and she wasn't about to lose that streak. She didn't need him, but the resistance did. The cause did. Ben was still in there, she knew it. If she could convince her fath- Luke, maybe he could convince Ben that Kylo Ren was a facade.

Yes, that's what she needed to do. She rehashed the plan out loud. "Find Luke, convince him Ben's still there," She paused. "Who am I kidding? He'll never believe me. And even if he does," She stood up. "How would I explain how I know? Hey, yeah so you know your best friend slash your brother in law? Yeah, right, before your niece killed him, Ben nearly came out from the depths of Kylo Ren. He was also there when I risked leaking the location of the rebel base just so I could chit chat with one of the most powerful commanding officers in the First Order. Can you believe that?" She scoffed at her own ignorance.

She heard a small crash from down the hill which snapped her out of her thoughts. She found that while she was ranting, her body had sub-consciously taken her down a portion of the hill. She couldn't see much, but what she did see was surprising.

There was a small village full of stone huts arranged on a small clearing.

She faintly heard a groaning sound from the hut. Chewie, Padme thought. Her feet carried her down the remaining steps until she was nearing the door. It was silent for a moment, and she thought that she might have been hearing things. Her theory was shut down when she heard the question she was dreading the most.

Her heart sunk through the core of the planet when Luke's voice rang through the clearing, asking one distinct and unmistakeable question:

"Wait, where's Han?"

a/n - i know, short chapter, but it seemed like a good stopping point. sorry.

anyways, here we go. on the rollercoaster of the last Jedi. 

who knows what'll happen, we might be dead tomorrow!

^^^^ not a hint or anything lol, just a reference. anyone know where from?

- olivia <333