[ Rey has come to her own conclusions about Vader that have a lot to do with her own experience with Kylo, but now isn't the time to get any more twisted up in the overall Skywalker mess. Luke has to work things out with both of them on his own, without her trying to defend either of them too hard. She knows it because she'd feel the same. ]
I shouldn't have doubted you.
[ She manages a tentative -- but genuine, this time -- half-smile. She supposes it is fitting that they both learned a world-altering truth about their family in this place where it's possible to at least sit down and try to untangle some of it together. ]
I wonder if Leia knew, back home -- or if you did. It's something your father sensed about me, but Kylo didn't know until he heard it straight from Palpatine himself.
[ She can't help but shudder faintly at the idea of the man. He must be positively ancient by now, yet still powerful enough to remain in hiding and gather resources, to reach out in the Force and try to tempt her to the Sith throne in her dreams. ]
[Luke and Vader will get there, slowly. Luke and Kylo... that's a lot more up in the air. Mostly because they seemed to have settled into this unspoken rule of just avoiding each other.]
You've been through a lot, I get it.
[Does that stop him from reaching out and playfully poking her forehead? No, no it doesn't.]
Just try to remember for next time, okay? I've got your back and that's not going to change.
[Well, maybe with old him that would change. But that's not Young Luke's problem, old him is a cranky old asshole and probably smells. Gross. Forget he exists please. Her smile, small as it is, gets met with one from him. That's much better, not because of the smile, but because she genuinely feels a little better than she did before.]
I don't know, it's hard to say what we'd learn in all that time. It's hard for me to even imagine it.
[But that's a worry, once again, for the future. This is the present and he's intending to remain grounded in the moment.]
You think you can manage eating now?
[As he enjoys his tea. Like an old man. The affects the old people have on the young'uns isn't to be underestimated.]
[ Rey finds herself blinking back wetness in her eyes at Luke's assurance. She'd love to believe the truth of it; that nothing so entirely out of their control will damage their friendship. Maybe it will even prove true so long as they're here. ]
Thank you, Luke. I'm going to have to talk to a few others about this later -- Ezra, at least, deserves to know, and I don't want anyone from home to ever be able to accuse me of having hidden anything. But you've made it easier to begin.
[ She's still a little shaken by everything, but the siren call of pastry cannot be ignored forever. She picks hers up and bites into it gratefully, and manages not to stuff the entire thing into her mouth like the starving gremlin she used to be only because she's not quite back to herself. Give her time. ]
[And it will, because Luke will make sure of it. Hopefully they'll have plenty of time to really cement that and prove to her that people won't just abandon her when it's convenient. At least not the people worth her time anyway. And Luke would like to think he's worth her time. At least right now anyway.]
I can't see Ezra reacting any differently than I did, Rey. Or any of the others for that matter.
[And if Ezra did? Well, that'll just show Luke that maybe he doesn't know the other guy as well as he thinks he does. Not to mention hurting Rey like that would absolutely be grounds for a fight. Which... wouldn't end well, because Ezra is definitely much closer to Jedi-hood than Luke is. But it'd be for the principle of the matter.]
Place like this, we've got to look out for each other. Because if we don't, then who will?
[And while he doesn't overtly watch, the fact that she's actually eating something does fill him with satisfaction of a sort. Which might leak through their bond just a little bit. Sorry not sorry.]
[ Rey is feeling slightly more optimistic now that she's said the difficult thing out loud without bursting into flames or something equally dramatic. Food is helping. ]
I don't expect anyone to outright curse my existence, really. I just don't want to be looked at any differently than before.
[ It's not as bad in some ways, here. She's not the only Force user she knows, and she's not being held onto as a last hope for her side in this war. She imagines if people back home knew it could get more complicated; there were those among the Resistance who sometimes glanced at her with a wary eye because they didn't understand the Force. Even Poe, who'd spent enough time around her to know her reasonably well, still seemed to bristle at her Force training instead of just coming out to fight. ]
Leia kept it a secret a long time, you know. About her and Vader. From what I understand it was difficult for her when people learned.
[Bursting into flames? Seriously Rey? Sure Palpatine's an awful person, but it's not like she's the grandchild of evil incarnate or anything and his place isn't exactly a religious center. Yet.]
Why would they? You're you. Your grandfather is your grandfather. It's not like he raised you or anything.
[A pause.]
And even if he did, your actions still speak more than your bloodline does.
[At least... he hopes so. He'd like to think that it's the same for him as well. Who he is and what he's done, that means more than being Vader's son. More than being Anakin's son either for that matter, though Anakin's name is quite impactful in how most people looked up to him. Still, Luke's hoping to make a name for himself outside of all of that.]
Yeah, I'm not surprised. From Princess and leader to daughter of their enemy? That'd be a lot for some of those people to swallow.
[Sure, he doesn't really know the Resistance that well yet. But them having issues with Leia isn't exactly a hard thing for him to imagine.]
[ Look, look. It honestly felt like she might spontaneously combust out of sheer will not to be a Palpatine. Maybe if she got angry enough about it she could channel some of that energy into making her grandfather catch on fire instead when she gets back home? ]
People are ... a little wary of Force users. Understandably so. And since he's just appeared again after years of being presumed dead, I imagine how it would look if I suddenly revealed this back home.
[ It's a little safer here in that regard. If nothing else, it's clear she is making a genuine effort to follow the Jedi way. No one can say she's not trying. ]
[He totally gets that honestly. Because his first reaction to finding out who his dad is was probably pretty similar. Though odds of her grandfather randomly bursting into flames probably pretty low. They're never that lucky.]
You're probably right.
[Though he's not exactly pleased by this. More so annoyed. They'll want their help, what they can do, but also apparently be really, really awkward about the fact that they can do it. Make up their minds.
Maybe it's part of why he ends up a grumpy old hermit. Maybe best not to think about this too much.]
Maybe not there then. But things are different here.
[Anyone who can't tell that Rey is nothing like her grandfather is a lost cause as far as Luke is concerned. So he's not going to worry about them too much.]
[ She munches on her pastry and sips her tea thoughtfully for a minute. It might be best to leave this one alone, but--]
Have you talked to Kylo any more?
[ If she and Kylo can work out some of their problems, surely Luke could manage it as well? It would be more harmonious for her, at the very least, if she weren't tethered and forcebonded to people with such tension between them, and she didn't ever want to be forced to choose a side if it came to that. ]
[Not the change in conversation he'd been expecting, so he looks confused for a minute before looking sheepish.]
No, not really.
[But to try and salvage things.]
I just thought he'd need a bit more time or something, I don't know. I don't want to force anything with him.
[Getting to know his nephew would be nice, but he's aware that he fucked up a lot in the future. More so than with Kylo than with Rey even and Rey hadn't exactly been overjoyed when she'd found out his identity either.]
[ It hadn't felt like a sudden change in her head, only because she had Kylo had been on such tenuous ground after their prior conversation when she'd revealed her tether choice. And with Vader stressing the importance of family connection -- it seemed like something they ought to all sit down and sort out with one another. ]
I don't know if he'll ever approach you on his own, honestly. He didn't respond especially well to learning I'd tethered to you.
[ She's still not actually sure where they stand on that matter, honestly. Kylo had put aside his anger long enough to treat her kindly, but she's not sure that'll be the case now that she's not at risk of wandering off into the forest in a traumatized daze. ]
[Luke, who'd... mostly forgotten Kylo was even here with everything that's been going on. Not guilty exactly, but uh...avoidant absolutely. But not the point that he'd outright deny anything if asked about it.]
I mean, from what little I've heard about things I'm not really sure I blame him. I wouldn't want to talk to me if I was him. You almost didn't at first either, it felt like.
[An uphill struggle, this. Dealing with the many screw ups and just general wrong-ness of his future self. But it's not like he can avoid them forever at this rate. Plus, maybe it'll help him avoid the same pitfalls when he actually gets older.]
But if you want me to talk to him sometime. I can try.
[ Rey's largely come to see this Luke and the other one as entirely different people, not least because she's fairly determined to make sure this one doesn't go back to his time and repeat the same mistakes. It might not change things for her or Kylo, but maybe there's another version of them somehow, who won't be hurt. ]
I was angry with you back home, and upset with myself for the way things turned out. But you're not that person. I think you should try, for both of your sakes."
[ If this place was good for only one thing, it would be the second chances it had given all of them. Rey doesn't want to see any one of them waste it. ]
[Well, good. Because that's how he'd prefer it. Old grumpy hermit Luke is clearly.. a weird hidden sibling or something. Maybe he and Leia are secretly triplets? Yeah. Though making sure he doesn't make the same errors just in case is probably for the best.]
You're right. I'll see if I can't come up with something, it just might take some time.
[After which he'll fail and then resort to 'for Rey's sake we need to talk and at least try to get along'. But she doesn't need to know that. Yet.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
I shouldn't have doubted you.
[ She manages a tentative -- but genuine, this time -- half-smile. She supposes it is fitting that they both learned a world-altering truth about their family in this place where it's possible to at least sit down and try to untangle some of it together. ]
I wonder if Leia knew, back home -- or if you did. It's something your father sensed about me, but Kylo didn't know until he heard it straight from Palpatine himself.
[ She can't help but shudder faintly at the idea of the man. He must be positively ancient by now, yet still powerful enough to remain in hiding and gather resources, to reach out in the Force and try to tempt her to the Sith throne in her dreams. ]
no subject
You've been through a lot, I get it.
[Does that stop him from reaching out and playfully poking her forehead? No, no it doesn't.]
Just try to remember for next time, okay? I've got your back and that's not going to change.
[Well, maybe with old him that would change. But that's not Young Luke's problem, old him is a cranky old asshole and probably smells. Gross. Forget he exists please.
Her smile, small as it is, gets met with one from him. That's much better, not because of the smile, but because she genuinely feels a little better than she did before.]
I don't know, it's hard to say what we'd learn in all that time. It's hard for me to even imagine it.
[But that's a worry, once again, for the future. This is the present and he's intending to remain grounded in the moment.]
You think you can manage eating now?
[As he enjoys his tea. Like an old man. The affects the old people have on the young'uns isn't to be underestimated.]
no subject
Thank you, Luke. I'm going to have to talk to a few others about this later -- Ezra, at least, deserves to know, and I don't want anyone from home to ever be able to accuse me of having hidden anything. But you've made it easier to begin.
[ She's still a little shaken by everything, but the siren call of pastry cannot be ignored forever. She picks hers up and bites into it gratefully, and manages not to stuff the entire thing into her mouth like the starving gremlin she used to be only because she's not quite back to herself. Give her time. ]
no subject
I can't see Ezra reacting any differently than I did, Rey. Or any of the others for that matter.
[And if Ezra did? Well, that'll just show Luke that maybe he doesn't know the other guy as well as he thinks he does. Not to mention hurting Rey like that would absolutely be grounds for a fight. Which... wouldn't end well, because Ezra is definitely much closer to Jedi-hood than Luke is. But it'd be for the principle of the matter.]
Place like this, we've got to look out for each other. Because if we don't, then who will?
[And while he doesn't overtly watch, the fact that she's actually eating something does fill him with satisfaction of a sort. Which might leak through their bond just a little bit. Sorry not sorry.]
no subject
I don't expect anyone to outright curse my existence, really. I just don't want to be looked at any differently than before.
[ It's not as bad in some ways, here. She's not the only Force user she knows, and she's not being held onto as a last hope for her side in this war. She imagines if people back home knew it could get more complicated; there were those among the Resistance who sometimes glanced at her with a wary eye because they didn't understand the Force. Even Poe, who'd spent enough time around her to know her reasonably well, still seemed to bristle at her Force training instead of just coming out to fight. ]
Leia kept it a secret a long time, you know. About her and Vader. From what I understand it was difficult for her when people learned.
no subject
Why would they? You're you. Your grandfather is your grandfather. It's not like he raised you or anything.
[A pause.]
And even if he did, your actions still speak more than your bloodline does.
[At least... he hopes so. He'd like to think that it's the same for him as well. Who he is and what he's done, that means more than being Vader's son. More than being Anakin's son either for that matter, though Anakin's name is quite impactful in how most people looked up to him. Still, Luke's hoping to make a name for himself outside of all of that.]
Yeah, I'm not surprised. From Princess and leader to daughter of their enemy? That'd be a lot for some of those people to swallow.
[Sure, he doesn't really know the Resistance that well yet. But them having issues with Leia isn't exactly a hard thing for him to imagine.]
no subject
People are ... a little wary of Force users. Understandably so. And since he's just appeared again after years of being presumed dead, I imagine how it would look if I suddenly revealed this back home.
[ It's a little safer here in that regard. If nothing else, it's clear she is making a genuine effort to follow the Jedi way. No one can say she's not trying. ]
no subject
You're probably right.
[Though he's not exactly pleased by this. More so annoyed. They'll want their help, what they can do, but also apparently be really, really awkward about the fact that they can do it. Make up their minds.
Maybe it's part of why he ends up a grumpy old hermit. Maybe best not to think about this too much.]
Maybe not there then. But things are different here.
[Anyone who can't tell that Rey is nothing like her grandfather is a lost cause as far as Luke is concerned. So he's not going to worry about them too much.]
no subject
[ She munches on her pastry and sips her tea thoughtfully for a minute. It might be best to leave this one alone, but--]
Have you talked to Kylo any more?
[ If she and Kylo can work out some of their problems, surely Luke could manage it as well? It would be more harmonious for her, at the very least, if she weren't tethered and forcebonded to people with such tension between them, and she didn't ever want to be forced to choose a side if it came to that. ]
no subject
No, not really.
[But to try and salvage things.]
I just thought he'd need a bit more time or something, I don't know. I don't want to force anything with him.
[Getting to know his nephew would be nice, but he's aware that he fucked up a lot in the future. More so than with Kylo than with Rey even and Rey hadn't exactly been overjoyed when she'd found out his identity either.]
no subject
I don't know if he'll ever approach you on his own, honestly. He didn't respond especially well to learning I'd tethered to you.
[ She's still not actually sure where they stand on that matter, honestly. Kylo had put aside his anger long enough to treat her kindly, but she's not sure that'll be the case now that she's not at risk of wandering off into the forest in a traumatized daze. ]
no subject
I mean, from what little I've heard about things I'm not really sure I blame him. I wouldn't want to talk to me if I was him. You almost didn't at first either, it felt like.
[An uphill struggle, this. Dealing with the many screw ups and just general wrong-ness of his future self. But it's not like he can avoid them forever at this rate. Plus, maybe it'll help him avoid the same pitfalls when he actually gets older.]
But if you want me to talk to him sometime. I can try.
no subject
I was angry with you back home, and upset with myself for the way things turned out. But you're not that person. I think you should try, for both of your sakes."
[ If this place was good for only one thing, it would be the second chances it had given all of them. Rey doesn't want to see any one of them waste it. ]
no subject
You're right. I'll see if I can't come up with something, it just might take some time.
[After which he'll fail and then resort to 'for Rey's sake we need to talk and at least try to get along'. But she doesn't need to know that. Yet.]