Luke and Ben // before & after snippets

WHOOSH

ZZZOOOOM WHOOSH

Lightsabers clashed in the air, sparks flying as the two Skywalker boys fought. It was father vs son and father was absolutely winning.

"You're thinking too much, Ben. You need to let go in a battle. Let the Force guide you." Luke said, frowning as he noticed his son beginning to get frustrated. Ben was always a bit too eager to show off and prove himself... just as he had been, as a boy.

Silently, he thanked his lucky stars that Ben was a much better behaved child than he was. He was absolutely proud of the boy; sure, he clung to Mara a bit much, but he couldn't begrudge him that after growing up without a mother, himself.

"I am!" Ben complained, charging his father and huffing as his strike was deflected with ease.

"Your emotions are guiding you." "But isn't the Force all my feelings? Why shouldn't they guide me? It's always 'trust your feelings, Young Ben,'" Luke laughed, amused that even his boy had an impression of Uncle Ben, "and carry on. Always with the carry on but I can't carry on because I always lose and this is dumb!" The ginger boy exclaimed, throwing his lightsaber to the ground.

Blond brows shot up in surprise and Luke flicked off his lightsaber, stepping over to his son. "Hey, now. You were doing really well. Don't get so discouraged." He smiled, going to take Ben's face in his hands and kiss his forehead.

"I don't wanna practice any more today." Was his sulky reply.

Chuckling, Luke nodded and picked up the lightsaber Ben had cast aside, going to clip it back to his belt; it was one of his own that he'd made. They still used practice sabers in class, but Luke thought it was more effective to use a real one, for it gave a sense of danger and extra care all at once, which helped give oneself over to the Force.

Anxiety was actually a good way to lose yourself to the Force. Once you did, then the calm would come; it was how Luke often accessed such power, being as jumpy as he was at times. Unfortunately, Ben didn't seem to grasp the concept quite yet. Either that, or he accessed the Force in a different way. It differed from person to person. They just may not have found his path quite yet.

"Very well. We can go inside and steal what's left of Grampa's bread pudding." "That's foolishly assuming Sammi hasn't already..." Ben replied dryly, making his father laugh.

"That's very true. Well, come on then!" Luke turned and knelt, letting his boy jump onto his back, carrying him piggyback toward the praxeum.

They were quite a distance away. They had to be. If Mara knew he sparred with Ben using real lightsabers, he'd be in serious trouble.

"I think we should get some milk too, Dad!" Ben said matter-of-factly. They always had milk, all the time! His Dad said that if he drank enough then he'd grow big and strong just like Grandpa, but the boy was starting to have his doubts. Everyone was taller than him, even the girls! Even Brinn! And he was basically a girl and way younger, so it wasn't fair!

HMPH.

"I sense a little irritation in you..." Luke glanced back at his son with a smile, giving him a little bounce. "Need to talk?"

Shaking his head, Ben let go of those sulky feelings and flashed a tiny smile, hugging his father tightly around the neck. "Nope, it was just silly stuff. I'm okay, Dad!"

"Well, if you're sure. You know that I'm always going to be here for you, no matter what you need. I'd never, ever abandon you. No matter what!" "Even if I decide to be a junk dealer or a fisherman or join Hallie's pirate crew?!" Ben grinned, resting his chin on his father's shoulder.

Laughing, Luke nodded. "Absolutely! Whatever you want to do is fine with me. I'll always be with you and support you. It's really important for a father to do that."

"Did Grampa not support you?" Ben asked, curious because of how his father worded that statement. It made it seem like he didn't have that sort of relationship. Dad and Grampa weren't all that close, but sometimes they could be!

Humming quietly to himself in thought, Luke took a moment, unsure of how to proceed. He wasn't going to lie to Ben, nor would he badmouth his father to the boy.

"Grampa and I clashed a lot when I was your age. Disagreed about a lot of things. I got hurt easily and he got frustrated really easily... we're not too alike, but we have similar reactions to things. And by that, I mean we overreact to basically everything." Chuckling, he glanced back over his shoulder, offering his boy a smile. "It was hard. But I think we both made it through okay. Things turned out fine in the end."

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so too. I love Grampa a lot. He's great." "Yeah.. yeah, he really is. I was a lucky boy. I just couldn't see it at all back then. But don't you dare tell him how mushy I'm getting, okay?"

"Okay, Dad!" Though he absolutely would gush to him later on. Hehehe~

Seeing that they just about made it to the praxeum, Ben wiggled and hopped off of his father's back, running toward the doors. "I'm gonna beat you there and eat alllll the pudding and drink all the milk! HA!" "Hey, now! Be kind to your old man!" Luke rushed after him, though he kept his distance, going to let his son win. It made him happy, afterall. Ben was so easy to please.

He loved life at the praxeum with his family. He couldn't be happier, wouldn't change a thing. Life was perfect.

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It had been several days since they'd been rescued from that creepy place. Ben had practically been glued to his mother's side, though he still snuck off to see Annie and play with him whenever he could. That place had fogged his mind and made it hard to concentrate for a while, but he felt better now. There was just one thing bothering him... his dad.

Dad hadn't quite been the same since their return. Sure, he was there a lot longer, but this was more than his head being crowded with thoughts and bad feelings. This was something much worse. Ben just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

So, he decided to find out!

Mom was off somewhere, he wasn't quite sure where - in town buying him something, maybe?! he hoped so, that would be wizard! - so he went off to find his father. If they talked for a little bit, he thought he could probably figure out what was wrong with him and help out. Dad always did the same for him when something was wrong.

He knew people underestimated him a lot. This could be a good chance to prove them wrong, too!

Wandering through the praxeum, the ginger boy sought out his father, feelings leading him toward the balcony near the dining area. There weren't many kids around; most were resting in their rooms, the others opting to spend time in the meditation rooms or sparring with fellow students. He was the only one there by the time he arrived, and he frowned upon seeing his father.

He was standing there in the rain, wearing nothing but black cotton pants, his glove missing -- but instead of the familiar glint of metal, it was all flesh, which caught his attention immediately. Tilting his head, he winced as the icy drops hit him, approaching his father's side, going to take that hand which should have been mechanical, but was no longer.

"Dad...?"

"Ben." Luke acknowledged softly, slowly turning his head to offer a faint smile. He shifted then and went to pull the boy right up against his soaked torso, stroking his curls. "My boy. You shouldn't be out here. You'll catch a cold."

"Yeah well you shouldn't either, then!" He turned his blue eyes upward to meet his father's own, lips jutting out in a pout inherited from his grandfather. "It's really cold and wet and I don't like it so you should come in, okay?"

Chuckling lowly, Luke gave a nod and turned, holding Ben's hand still as he led the boy inside, not seeming to care about the water he was shedding in his wake. "Very well. We shall go in. Tea, I believe, is in order. It will do us both some good."

... he sure was talking funny. So formal and weird. Ben decided immediately that he didn't like that very much. It wasn't fun or Dad-like.

"Yeah, okay I guess." "You guess?" "Well, I'd rather have warm milk but then I'd get sleepy. But then again Annie says I'm always sleepy and what we do always depends on how sleepy I am but I'm not that sleepy right now. So I guess it doesn't matter either way.

"Such an odd boy. I wonder where you get that from." Luke squeezed his son's hand, fairly amused by his ranting.

Ben looked at their hands after his father squeezed his, suddenly reminded-- "How come your hand is real?"

Glancing down at their hands as well, Luke shrugged a single shoulder. "Does it frighten you that my hand is real?" "Well, no. I was just curious. It's kind of weird that it's real. You lost it way before I was born, right? You can't just grow a new hand." "Oh? You can't?"

Huh. Well. He didn't think so, but, "I... I guess you could? I mean if you knew how..."

"And assuming that's true, what does that mean?"

A pause, as Ben thought. Then, "That you know how?"

"Very good, son. I know how." He affirmed, giving his hand yet another squeeze. "And someday soon, I will show you how. Skywalker men have a tendency to lose hands. Such a skill may prove to be quite valuable to you someday. Though I hope you'll never have to use it."

Blinking, Ben nodded, saying nothing. This was all just getting stranger.

He swung their hands lightly as they walked, happy to be near his Dad, even if he wasn't quite himself. Usually he could feel something from him, anything, even if it was just something like if he was in a good mood or not. And he usually was! But right now it was kind of like he was.. well, a blob. Of nothing. Ben didn't know what to make of it, yet.

"We'll go out to train later. We've gotten behind due to the incident. I have much to teach you. Beyond just lightsaber technique, now. There are so many things about the Force, far beyond what you and anyone else here can even imagine... but soon, you will know it all. You will know everything, and you will learn what great power is."

"Power?" He'd never talked about power before. Knowledge, peace, happiness... those were always what they discussed before. Now he was really, really worried.

"The power to defend yourself and the ones you love. But also, the power to gain in life those things which you desire, more than any other. I will show you how. As my son, you will learn to build a life that most men can only dream of. You will be happy."

Ben wanted to argue that he was pretty happy, now, but didn't think Dad would like that very much.

He already had a really good life. Loving parents, even if one was super weird right now, and a big family.

There was Annie, too. He stood out from the family, in so many ways. He was always the kindest to him, they were best friends. Inseparable. The very few times Annie had to leave to visit his parents, Ben missed him very much and was lost without him. In his heart, he knew that he loved him. Maybe a little more than a cousin and friend probably should, but did it really matter? He didn't think so.

Just thinking of Annie brought a warm smile to his face. He leaned in closer to his father without realizing, only coming out of his thoughts when he noticed they'd come to a stop and his father was inspecting him with an unreadable expression. "Dad...?" He questioned, startled.

"... I'm going to shower. I must get out of these clothes." A beat. "... perhaps you are far more like me than I realized." He mumbled to himself, much to Ben's confusion.

"Why don't you go find Anakin? I'll meet you both in the kitchen for tea in about twenty minutes. We can have a bit of boy-time."

"Oh. Okay!" Ben agreed easily, giving his father a hug around the waist before turning on his heel and immediately running off to find his cousin. He was too excited by the thought of all hanging out together that he forgot he'd originally set out to find out just why his father was acting so weird.

Whoops!

He could do that later. And with Annie's help! He was so much better with the Force and stuff than he was, anyway.