Author's Note: I know this has an open-ending, but this IS the end! Enjooooy! :D:D:D
~ Amina Gila
Leia leans against the large window in the Senate hall, outside the room where her father is meeting with Maul and Sidious, staring out at the lines of passing traffic. She didn't need to come, but she didn't see any reason not to, either. Ahsoka and Ventress are momentarily preoccupied.
She doesn't mind being in the Senate, exactly, though the place does feel so much of corruption. There's a certain dirtiness to it that grates on her, but she knows some of the younger Senators, or the Senators in training, a little bit. They're some of the only people around her age she's ever interacted with.
She's about to wander off down the hall again but pauses at the sound of the door snapping open.
Maul steps out, looking decidedly grumpy about something.
"Hey, Maul," she calls, turning away from the window as he approaches. They know each other fairly well, even if they've never spent much time together.
"Still keeping up in your training?" he asks, eyeing her.
"Of course, I am," she replies, brushing a dark lock of hair behind her ear. She wonders for a fleeting moment, though, what it would have been like to know her real mother – who... apparently looked very much like her – to come here to the Senate to see her. But when she tries to imagine what it would be like to have a mother, she almost ridiculously finds herself thinking a little of Ventress. Or Asajj, whatever she should call her. "Did you expect anything else?"
"Vader seemed pretty unhappy that you came to the Sith Temple," he points out, dryly, "But that was a foolish move."
"What was I going to do, leave you there to get possessed?" She doesn't like thinking about how close it actually came to going terribly. Her father could've died there. Everyone could have.
"As I recall, you arrived too late to be of use," he replies, though she can tell it's more intended to be teasing than serious.
"I gave Father a ride," Leia defends, "And I could have helped a lot more if I got there sooner."
"I have little doubt of that," he replies, "Your skill is impressive."
She offers him a half smile. She is the best of the younger Inquisitors, and everyone knows it, even if she'd never brag about it.
"What of Tano?" Maul asks, "I imagine Vader has been speaking to her a great deal."
Leia nods. "They're working things out." At least, she hopes they are. After how Ahsoka nearly killed him, she's surprised they're smoothing things over so easily, but she knows Vader adores her unquestioningly. (That could also be a bad thing.)
"She is not attempting to deceive him?" Maul presses. He's...worried, she thinks, at least a little for Vader personally.
"I don't think so," she replies, "But I'm keeping an eye on her."
"I do not trust her intentions," he tells her, distinctly unhappy. Maybe that's what he seems so irked about.
"She wants to be with him," Leia answers, slowly. She's always been good at reading people, and she can tell that much is genuine. "Don't worry, I think it will be fine."
"Keep a close eye on her," Maul advises finally, before turning to go. She will, but... she doesn't think it's a problem, even if she knows why Maul's unwilling to see that.
Ahsoka does want to... know him again, even if Leia's wary after what happened on Lothal, but still, she doesn't know why the Togruta would ruin that chance.
***
"I'm sorry about the Commander," Cody tells him the moment Vader goes to talk to him again. "I don't know how she got off without me being alerted."
"It's fine," he reassures, "Leia would have found a way to get to me even if you attempted to stop her." She's good, and Vader is ceaselessly impressed with her skill. She always finds a way to make anything work, the same way he once did.
"That's true," he concedes, faintly amused. "She can be very hard to keep track of."
It was a nightmare when she was little, but her presence was always brilliant, and Vader could find her anywhere if he tried. She always sang like a beacon of light in the Force, and he has to admit he misses those days, back when she was little and so bright.
She's... changed though. She's older and understands the darkness and realism of the galaxy, for all that he's tried his best to shield her from it. He used to think he could protect her, but in the end, there's been so little he could do for her.
"There is a chance the war may be over soon," Vader tells him. It feels so surreal, to even think it's possible. The galaxy has been in a state of constant war ever since the Clone Wars broke out in the first place. It's been practically two decades.
"We heard that once before," Cody points out, bluntly. Yes, when the Empire first formed, and Vader can't blame him for not really believing it.
"I know," he concedes, "But it will depend on the Jedi."
"As it has this entire time. I... can't imagine the war ending."
"I can't either," Vader admits, "But we're negotiating now."
"Will the other insurgents stop simply because the Jedi agree to stand down?" Cody queries.
"The Jedi fueled most of it. I... believe they will." Or at the very least, he can hope. Yes, there will always be something else to fight, but that doesn't have to mean the galaxy needs to be in a constant state of war. "Either way, it will change the galaxy as we know it."
"That may be for the best, sir," he responds.
"It will be." Of that, at least, he's certain. Ahsoka's right that if there's a chance, he has to take it.
***
Ahsoka left to meet with what's left of the Jedi command immediately, with the Empire's offer. Aayla's in charge now – she's one of the last leading Jedi who escaped Malachor; many of those who did get out of the Temple were captured by the Empire – and she was hesitantly willing to take up the Empire's offer, of the Jedi being given a planet to stay in the Outer Rim, where they won't be a danger to anyone.
They can stay in the Empire itself if they want to, but they can't reconstruct a Jedi Order there. And with how long the war's been going on, public opinion has turned very much against the Jedi anyway, so Ahsoka doesn't think starting a new Order so soon would be wise.
"You're sure this isn't a trap?" Hera asks, from over the hologram.
Ahsoka only doesn't wear a hood because there's nothing to hide anymore. She's right on Coruscant. "On Vader's part it isn't. I can't say about the Emperor." Sidious is the only she doesn't trust at all, and she can't understand how Vader could, either.
Out of range of the hologram, someone shrieks loudly. Several someone's actually.
"Don't mind the kids," Hera advises, dryly.
"There seem to be more than normal," Ahsoka replies, raising an eye marking. She's almost certain she had someone distinctly feminine, and the only kids should be Zeb, Ezra, and Chopper.
"Remember that colorful stormtrooper?"
"... How did you get her to join you?"
"I don't know either," the Twi'lek defends, amused, "But she's their new best friend. Especially Chopper."
"Don't know if that's a good sign," Ahsoka replies, with an amused huff, "But it sounds like the truce you have there is as tentative as the one in the galaxy."
"I'm inclined to agree."
"What does Kanan think about it?"
"He's... tolerating it. What are you going to do, after the Empire's new directive?"
Now is probably not the best time to explain who Vader is. "There are some things I need to work out where I am. I... don't think I'd stay with the rest of the Jedi, either way. I left the Order long ago."
Hera nods. "Be careful," she says, finally.
"You, too." Ahsoka disconnects the call and the line fizzes out. She thinks they, at least, will be okay, and it's probably time to talk to Anakin again.
***
Vader hasn't taken anyone to his private apartment on Coruscant before, except for the clones, of course. It's small, but the place feels like home, for whatever little time he and Leia have to spend here.
Ahsoka lingers uncertainly in the doorway, pausing to just look around the room. "This is where you live?"
"Yes, it is," he confirms, "We aren't here much, so it's been... sitting for a while." It's often a bit dusty, but it's their home, and it's all he and Leia have ever known.
They move further into the room, sitting down near each other, even if it's not quite as close as they once might have. At least Ahsoka's here. Which is when another thought occurs to him.
"What happened to Rex?" Vader queries. "When I... got back to Coruscant to talk to the boys, they said Rex was gone with you." It can't be an easy thing for her to think about, but he needs to know.
Ahsoka's expression dims a little. "He was helping whatever clones wanted to escape the Empire, in the beginning," she replies, "But after that, he... didn't know if it was a fight that he believed in. He... left."
That he hasn't been fighting against Rex all this time helps, somehow. If something happened to Rex because of him... "Do you know where he is now?"
"I don't," she admits, "But I can try to find him. We stayed in contact for a while before it dropped. I don't know what happened, but I'm sure he's fine. I would have felt it if something happened to him."
That's somewhat of a relief. "I... would like to find him," Vader tells her. It wouldn't mean much, wouldn't change anything, but it would mean something.
"It... has been a long time," Ahsoka says, quietly. He knows she means more than just about Rex; it's been a long time since all three of them were together at all.
There's so much he wants to say to her, but he doesn't know where to start. They haven't been together in so long, and he hates how there's a part of him that's still afraid to trust her. He can't just dismiss it when he doesn't know it's unreasonable, and that's... what makes it so hard. "We are still family," Vader tries hesitantly, and he's afraid to say that because he hasn't in so long, but when he thinks about it, he remembers Asajj's words ringing through his mind, of when she told him that he can choose differently if he wants.
Ahsoka looks at him, something oddly intense in her eyes. "Are we?" she asks quietly, hesitantly.
His heart clenches. "Of course. You are still my padawan. My..." Sister doesn't sound quite right, but he doesn't really know what to call her, either. All he does know is that she's still as important to him as she always has been. "Responsibility," Vader settles on finally.
"I missed you," Ahsoka breathes finally, almost inaudibly, "Maul told me that – that Sidious was grooming you, trying to get you to join him. I didn't believe it, but then everything happened, and I didn't hear any traces of you when I got back, and I thought..."
He'll consider the grooming comment sometime later. (Though, he can see a lot more clearly now, how Sidious had been somewhat manipulating him when he was younger. Even if he was still always there, when no one else was.)
But he can only imagine what it was Ahsoka thought happened to him. "I'm fine," he attempts reassuring awkwardly, reaching out for her. It's relieving when she doesn't pull away, letting him touch her shoulder the same way he did years ago. "Sidious didn't hurt me, and nor did the Jedi."
Ahsoka looks up at him, expression tight and unreadable, before she leans closer, wrapping her arms around his waist. It catches him a bit off-guard, but he returns it fiercely, clinging to her tightly.
He hasn't had the chance to hold her in so long. Not since... it was sometime before Cato Neimoidia, the mission where everything started falling.
But Ahsoka is here now, his padawan and little sister, if that's really what she is, and there's no going back to the time that was lost. They can still... choose to make things better though, and that's more than he can ask for, after spending so many years entirely certain he would never see her again.
"I am sorry for... everything I did fighting against you," he adds quietly, because that is something he needs to say. "I know I hurt you. I... may not have had much choice, but I still regret it."
Ahsoka presses closer to him, lekku pressed against Vader's shoulder. It's been so long since he felt their... fuzziness.
"Me too," she whispers finally, "For... Lothal."
He can't help stiffening instinctively at the mention, even if he doesn't let her go, and she doesn't make any move to pull away, either. "I understand why you were upset."
"I still don't understand why you did it," she admits.
"It was a... series of decisions that got worse," he offers.
"I would like to understand," Ahsoka replies, pulling back to meet his gaze.
Thinking about that day is impossibly hard, the day he lost everything, but he owes her answers. "The Jedi asked me to spy on Palpatine, to commit treason. Sidious told me they were planning to take over. I didn't want to believe it, but I knew they were hiding something from me, and then I saw Windu about to assassinate him when he was defenseless. I... intervened, and then I thought Sidious killed him, and I... couldn't go back to the Jedi after that."
She's staring at him, lingering horror and disbelief in her eyes. "You aren't wrong that what Windu was starting to do was... wrong," she admits, finally, "But I can't believe a Sith Empire was the only way."
"Perhaps not," he agrees, subdued. The more she says it, the more he thinks she's right, even if he doesn't know what other path there was, that day. Not that it matters, because he can't undo what he did. "I will not deny that I made mistakes. And Sidious had promised me to save Padme and Leia's lives, and I was blinded by that."
"What?" she asks, confused.
Pain lances sharply through his heart. "I had visions of Padme's death in childbirth. I did know if Leia would... make it or not."
"I'm sorry," Ahsoka whispers, reaching out to take his hand. "What happened to her? I wanted to find you, so I went to find her, but she was gone."
"I never knew. She... left, and when I found her, it was too late. The Jedi were there, escaping. I do not know what happened."
She squeezes his hand, and he returns the grip. "I can't believe they would have hurt her. But... I doubt this is easy for you to talk about."
He shakes his head, sighing. "It is from long ago now. We cannot change it."
"I'll stay," Ahsoka tells him, "For now, at least."
That is... more than he can ask for.
***
Vader isn't all that surprised when he finds himself alone with Asajj again, shortly after the negotiations have been made. She's sticking around, true to her word, and he wants her here. She's a friend, even if it still feels strange to describe her as such. He cares about her, and being around her heals something in him, makes him feel a little less empty.
It makes him feel like more than what he always has been, and he doesn't really understand what that means.
It's not whole, and he doubts it ever could be with Obi-Wan gone and after his mother and Padme died, but Asajj makes him feel wanted.
That isn't something Vader remembers feeling for a long time. He doesn't even understand why he feels that way towards her, given their history, but she's the first person he's been... close with in years who he's not taking care of.
"I think you're right Leia's beginning to see me as a mother," Asajj comments, lounging in the seat next to him. He can't tell if she's touched, mildly freaked out, or a bit of both.
Vader side-eyes her. "She does." And he's glad that Leia at least has someone to look to like that, even if not who he ever imagined.
"Did she ever know her... real one?" Asajj queries.
Greif flares up inside him, but he's become so accustomed to it, it hardly affects him anymore. "No. Padme died when she was born." She died in childbirth, no doubt, just as his visions showed him.
Asajj touches his shoulder, lightly. The suddenness of it catches him off-guard, even if he's not really surprised, either. He finds himself leaning into it a little – Vader cannot remember the last time someone has tried to comfort him. It's not like this with Cody or the boys, and Maul doesn't have a clue how to show kindness. "Padme, huh?" she says, "I knew too much about her. Dooku respected her, but he constantly whined about her getting in his way."
"Whined?" Vader repeats, a little incredulously, but he's glad they veered away from talking about that. Even if he can't quite get his mind off it now. It's been so many years since he lost her, and even if he still has Leia, the way he always dreamed of what it would be like to have a family isn't... at all what he has now.
"Yeah. He was surprisingly ineloquent, no matter what people say."
"I doubt he could have swayed a third of the galaxy to his side if that were true," he replies, dryly.
She hums. "Maybe."
A long pause of silence settles between them, and he can't help thinking back to what it was like in the war. He misses it so much sometimes, but it's not coming back. He has to let it go, as impossible as that often seems.
"Ever thought about getting Leia a real mother?" She's smirking, and Vader nearly gapes at her. It's a fair question, but the sheer bluntness of it just throws him.
Asajj outright laughs at his expression. "What?" she has the audacity to ask.
"I never had a reason to," he replies finally, even if he really has no reason to answer her ridiculous question. It would feel like replacing Padme, even if that's not really true, and... It's been years. Nothing could ever replace her, and Vader knows that. Even if he were to... look at someone the same way, it wouldn't be Padme.
Asajj is studying him with this look in her eyes now, at least for a brief moment, and he... knows what it means, even if she's not saying so. (Padme looked at him like that once. A long time ago.) He never really... thought about it, and isn't entirely sure if he wants to, but... it's close enough. And... would Leia want it?
It isn't as though he hadn't been wondering not so long ago if Leia would want someone she could see as a mother.
"What about now?" she asks, and for once her voice doesn't have quite the usual snippiness. She's... completely serious, and she wants this, but she's leaving it entirely up to him, and he's grateful for that.
He doesn't know what to say to her. It may have crossed his mind briefly, fleetingly, but it was never even a serious thought until this very moment. Leia would probably be happy, and he... He's been alone for so long, aside from those he's taking care of, and he wants Asajj to stay. Even if the thought is downright ludicrous, considering how they once fought constantly throughout the war. But they aren't who they used to be then. Now, he's Dark and she's the one who's light.
And she's still waiting for him to answer. "I have. I think... maybe."
She leans a little closer, a faint smirk on her face, but it's obvious what she's asking for.
He hasn't... done this in years. Never thought he'd consider getting married again, or... any of what comes with it. There wasn't time to think about it, but with the temporary peace treaty, maybe.
Maybe they have a chance.
She leans closer, and he does, too, despite his better judgment. Vader rests his forehead on hers, hesitant, still slightly uncertain. Asajj's hands lift to his shoulders, and he returns it, before he throws caution into the wind and tugs her closer.
It's Asajj who moves in first, kissing him.
It's...
It's been a long time, and it doesn't have half the fire and passion that it did with Padme, but there's something calm and gentle, soothingly light about Asajj's presence that is everything he needs right now, so he leans into it, tugging her close.
Vader's mind catches up with him a few minutes later, mostly struck by the sheer oddity of it.
He... needs to ask Leia somehow, and he has no idea how to address something like that with his daughter. He thinks it's what she wants, what she needs, but he doesn't know without talking to her about it.
"This is weird," he offers, and Asajj laughs a little breathlessly.
"Yeah," she crows, "I never thought we'd consider marriage when we first fought on Christophsis."
"Yeah," he almost laughs, "Especially not with how many times you nearly hurt Ahsoka."
"Are you sure it's what you want?" Asajj asks, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes.
"I don't know, but it couldn't hurt more than it already has, right?"
Asajj smirks gleefully. "What if Leia's little siblings have gray hair like her uncle?"
He feels himself flushing. "We are not going there yet."
"Hmm, okay," she hums, only looking more amused.
He almost reluctantly pulls away, standing. They need to talk about this more... some other time. "I should find Leia and Ahsoka, before they wonder where we are."
"Don't worry, they'll never guess right," Asajj drawls, and he ignores her, moving for the door.
They're in Leia's bedroom, and she's showing Ahsoka a picture she drew, back when she was little. They're talking like they've known each other for a long time, and it warms something inside of him to see. Maybe Ahsoka fitting back into his life won't be as hard as he was afraid of.
"Hey, Father," Leia calls.
"Why do I have horns?" Ahsoka asks, and Vader steps closer, smiling faintly at the memory of when Leia had first drawn that picture.
"Huh, nice art," Asajj smirks, peering over her shoulder – which is easy when Leia's the tiniest around. "Who's the yellow faced one?"
"I didn't know how to draw Cody's helmet, so I put the colors on his face," Leia replies, laughing.
"Maybe you should draw one with me in it," Asajj snips, though the comment is more pointed than anyone knows.
Ahsoka gives her a dubious look.
Trying to explain this to Ahsoka would be a lot more awkward than Leia. But he's not really ready to talk about it, not when he himself is still processing what this could mean for the future. It was never something he dreamed could happen.
But nor was having Ahsoka back at his side, and for the first time in a long time, the future feels... brighter, like it's something he can truly live instead of merely surviving.
"Sometimes, I do... feel like there's someone else who should be in there," Leia comments, something almost distant on her face for a moment.
"Who?" Ahsoka asks.
"I don't know," she replies, shrugging helplessly, "I just... someone."
Leia's mentioned feelings like that before, briefly. Vader knows she's lonely a lot because she's never known anyone her age, but there's more to this than that. "Do not worry," Vader promises, touching her shoulder, "Whoever it is, you will find them eventually." And then they will truly be... whole.
***
On the other side of the galaxy, Luke stands outside his homestead, watching the million distant stars prickling in the sky. His father used to be out there once, and Luke wants to see the stars as he once did.
He's tired of being trapped here on Tatooine, and it feels like there's something waiting for him elsewhere. Something that needs him. He'll find a way off this dust bowl eventually.
Somehow.
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