[fic] For Thine is the Kingdom (2/4, NC17, Star Wars, for vikkir)
Here's chapter two of my Luke/Vader fic. The rating is changed from R/NC17 to just NC17, 'cause I finished the sex in chapter three...and it ain't R. This part's still PG, though; it's the last two chapters that are high-rated.
Title: For Thine is the Kingdom
Author: Rynne
Fandom: Star Wars
Rating: overall, NC17. This part, PG.
Summary: Vader will do anything to persuade Luke to the Dark Side...post-ESB Luke/Vader slash/incest
Warning: This is rated NC17 for father/son incestual slash, sexual acts, dubious consent, and (possible) disturbing themes. If you do not think you can handle such things maturely, please do not read.
Notes: Thank you to jedibix783 for betaing. Written for and dedicated to vikkir, who asked me for L/V slash. Hope you like it. :)
The warning and rating apply to the fic as a whole; this part, however, is rated PG and does not have any of the things I'm warning for. Those come starting next chapter.
Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four
2
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
T.S. Eliot, "The Hollow Men"
The quarters that Vader brought him to were spare, bare black and white furniture, but large enough and equipped enough to be officers' quarters. Luke was surprised, for a moment, that he hadn't been brought to the detention center; but no, Vader wanted Luke to join him--
It is your destiny...
--and so of course he would be shown courtesy and comfort, or at least as much of either as he could get from an Imperial, especially Vader. Sweet bait snared more than sour, after all.
"You will want to refresh yourself," Vader said, and indicated a door at the other side of the room. "New clothing has been set out for you. Go."
Slightly miffed at Vader's high-handedness, but knowing there was nothing he could do about it, Luke went. And he would be glad to have a shower, after so many hours in a cramped cockpit, and after a battle as well. He was not sorry to get out of the crumpled flightsuit and sweaty clothing beneath it, either.
It was only after his shower that he noticed that the clothes, completely black, fit him perfectly. Luke could not help but be slightly disturbed at that. Vader knew his clothing size--even his shoe size, Luke noticed as he pulled on tall black boots--and how much else did he know of the minutiae of Luke's life, or even the more important things? That he was from Tatooine was no secret, nor that the deaths of his aunt and uncle at the hands of Imperials was his impetus for joining the Alliance, and especially not that he was training to be a Jedi, but--how much did Vader know?
As Luke finished dressing, he almost wished that he'd put on his own clothes again, sweaty and rumpled as they were. The clothing Vader provided, utilitarian and very Imperial, made him feel rather prickly, and more so because the clothing itself wasn't uncomfortable, and there was no real reason for his discomfort. Given by the enemy or not, it was just clothing, and couldn't convince him to join the Dark Side by itself.
But still, when Luke looked in the mirror and saw himself so attired, he wondered that the reflection didn't look like the person he was used to it being. The difference was somehow more than could be accounted for by a simple change of clothes.
Vader was gone when Luke entered the common room again, and though Luke was not surprised and could not regret the absence, it left him at something of a loss. He looked around the room, but there was nothing there he could use to occupy himself, not even something as innocuous as a datapad.
Then he snorted--had those weeks spent with Yoda been for nothing? He needed nothing but himself and the Force to meditate, which Yoda would likely have been counseling him to do anyway. He needed to be under control now, as he perhaps never truly had before, because surely Vader would take advantage of anything he could use to turn Luke to the Dark Side, Luke's own confused emotions not the least.
Perhaps it would discomfit Vader, whenever it was that he would deign to return, to find Luke meditating like a Jedi--and that decided him. On the other side of the room was a door he thought might lead to a bunk, and it did. Just as spare as everything else, the tiny room held nothing but a bed attached to the wall and a small bedside table with a few drawers and nothing on it, but he didn't need luxury. He sat on the bed and drew his legs up underneath him. Then he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sought the Force.
It came eagerly at his call, which was a relief after the feeling of the shroud and cobwebs during the battle. But there was nothing stopping him from reaching it here, and letting his consciousness sink into its flow felt so good, like sinking into a pool of cool water. He was content to drift for a moment, thinking about nothing but this connection--how deprived he had been, his early life, to touch it only accidentally! And how frustrating it had been, after Ben died, when he knew that it was there but could only reach for it clumsily, missing more often than not. Despite his last disagreement with Yoda, he did have to thank the little Master for teaching him to open up to the true flow of the Force.
But he was here to center himself, to be able to stand like a Jedi before Vader, regardless of the other's attempts to turn him. And though he knew it would be like pouring salt in open wounds, he would have to examine his memories of Bespin and all the pain they caused. If he could come to some measure of peace over them--that would be like a Jedi, he thought.
Your destiny lies with me, Skywalker.
Did it truly? What would it mean, to have their destinies intertwined? Would it perforce mean that he had to follow where Vader led, wherever the road should take them? That was something he could not accept.
But surely there were other meanings. That Vader was part of his destiny, Luke could acknowledge. He was a Jedi, standing against everything that Vader was for; it had come to a fight once already, and he thought it would again. Vader was unstoppable, unavoidable, and there had always been something binding them together. But that that should stop Luke from going his own way--he didn't think so.
Perhaps their destinies lying together did not mean that Luke should have to turn, but more that the Force was bringing them together for something--and it did not have to be as Vader willed. Luke would make sure of that.
I am your father.
No! Still his first reaction at every remembrance of those words was a swift denial, one that gained vehemence whenever he found himself thinking of Vader as his father. But...
Search your feelings. You know it to be true.
Hadn't he just acknowledged that there was something binding them together? The Force, yes, but the Force did not bind him as strongly to Ben, or to Yoda, and he'd spent more time with both of them than he had with Vader; and they were Jedi, as much in the Light as he, if not more. But this strong connection...he'd felt it, fighting Vader and afterward, and it was impossible to deny.
That it should be a bond of blood--he shuddered in his meditation, and the Force trembled with him, and he was almost jolted from its flow. But how could he feel otherwise, with Vader as his father? That revelation had stripped away the Jedi father he'd so admired, had torn the image up and ground it beneath hard black boots. And he could not create it again, with the doubt planted that it was false.
This connection--it was so deep, though it seemed to have sprung up so suddenly. How could it have grown so deep so quickly? The only other connection he had that had formed as quickly was with Leia, but he did not want to associate that bond with this unwanted one, did not want to taint it so.
But...was it truly unwanted? Yes! something inside him cried, but from beneath it No resounded, and Luke felt it inside him, that knowledge that this bond was not unwanted at all. It was not the father he had hoped for, was nothing like, but still Father in his mind was being paired with an image of Vader, and that it should have an image at all to latch onto was a joy he'd always hoped for in his youth. The identity and actions of that father could mar that joy, could diminish it, but could not extinguish it altogether.
He drifted further into the flow, and there was something, here, powerful and unexpected, deep into the Force inside him, in a place he'd never examined closely before. And he thought he could touch it, reached out a mental finger and did--and when he drew back, it seemed to vibrate like a plucked harp string, resonating.
And with that resonance, Luke felt something else stirring, and it looked at him, and he recognized the sensation from before: it was Vader. Was it, then, the bond he touched, so deeply inside him that he would probably never be able to uproot it? And he felt Vader more clearly now, with dark regard becoming focused on him, growing and growing until it seemed to fill his mind and senses.
Vader was coming, he thought, just barely catching the intent before drawing back. Force, that presence was potent! Han and Wedge had taken him fishing, once, and he was reminded of the one fish that he'd caught, and the way it had flailed around and struggled, only to fail to free itself in the end. He'd let it go, and Han and Wedge had teased him mercilessly for it--but now he saw himself in that fish, in the way that Vader's presence seemed to reel him in like he was caught on a line, though he fought against it much as his fish had--and then he wondered, uneasily, what would happen should Vader catch him.
He tried to hold onto his meditation, but Vader's approach distracted him, and the Force slid away from his grasp. Soon it was gone, apart from that little frisson of energy he always felt lately, and he was left close-eyed and cross-legged on the bed with nothing but his thoughts.
Stupid! he berated himself. Did you have to attract his attention? Who knows how long he would have left you alone for if you hadn't caught his notice, and you could have used the time to finish meditating and plan an escape!
But it was too late now, when Vader was coming. And Luke rather thought that, with Vader around, planning an escape was going to be less than easy, if not downright impossible. He'd slipped so easily into Luke's mind before.
Closer. Closer. Luke's heartbeat sped up, adrenaline rushing through his body, as that presence drew nearer. But he did not move; if Vader wanted Luke, he would have to come to Luke. Though his meditation was lost, he stayed seated and kept breathing evenly, in and out, in and out, trying to keep himself calm, keep that presence from affecting him.
"What are you doing?" a voice said from the entrance, and Luke was barely able to stop himself from flinching at the sound of it.
But he schooled his body and expressions, kept his eyes closed, and only when he was sure of himself, replied, "Meditating."
Vader made a disbelieving sound. "You are not," he said. "You have barely touched the Force since you touched me."
"I was meditating, then," Luke replied, fighting to keep an edge out of his voice. "And I hopefully will be soon again." He left as soon as you leave unsaid, but implied, and he knew Vader caught it by the darkening in his mood.
"You will be busy with other things," Vader said.
Against his will, annoyance ran through Luke, and he frowned and opened his eyes. He was almost uncomfortable with his head so far below Vader's, in such a position of weakness, but since his head would be below Vader's anyway, he didn't bother standing up. "I will choose whether I will be busy or not," he said sharply. Admittedly, it was a foolish thing for a captive to say, but damned if he was going to so easily let Vader take control of his life!
Now Vader felt almost...amused. What was so funny? But Luke fought down his annoyance; it was only to Vader's advantage, and he was probably trying to goad Luke into anger.
"You have rarely chosen anything in your life," Vader said, with the air of explaining matters to a small child. "You did what your uncle told you until he died, and then you did what Kenobi told you, in trying to be a Jedi and joining the Rebellion. Since then, you have done what the Rebels have told you; your very presence here is the proof of that, since I am well aware of the mission they sent you on. I do not think you have ever made an important decision on your own in your entire life."
Luke's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't stop the anger uncurling in his chest. But he took a deep breath, and then another one when the first didn't help, and waited until he was in control of himself before he replied, as serenely as he could manage, "I do not make choices in a vacuum. Others have influenced me, of course, but they were still my decisions. I am a Jedi, by my own choice. Obi-Wan just gave me the opportunity."
Now Vader snorted. "Some Jedi! You can't even touch something unexpected in meditation without losing control over the Force." The contempt in his voice whenever he spoke the word Jedi was plain.
Don't get angry, Luke told himself firmly. That's what he wants. But something inside him was not so much angry at what Vader was saying as that he was saying it at all. Weren't fathers supposed to be supportive of their children? He remembered his childhood, wishing so fervently for his father, because he believed that father would support him against the dictates of Uncle Owen and let Luke live the kind of life he chose. And there was a twinge of hurt, quickly suppressed, at the seeming disappearance of the respect Vader had earlier given him...
The ashes of dreams tasted bitter in his mouth as he said, shortly, "I'm still learning."
"Yes," Vader agreed darkly. "You are. I do not know why Kenobi waited so long to begin your training, but it is good for you that he did."
Luke looked up at him sharply. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, suspicious, though he didn't think he would care for Vader's explanation.
He was right. "You have less to unlearn," Vader said. "It is unfortunate that you have already been poisoned by Jedi teachings, but that can be overcome."
Poisoned! He would think of it like that. "And if I do not care to overcome it?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow. Unwilling students do not learn well, and he will not find me a willing student in the Dark Side.
"You will," Vader said, full of damnable confidence. "In time, you will happily learn from me all that I have to teach, and we will have that time. I have spoken with the Emperor, and he has suggested that I leave the fleet to the admirals for the moment and concentrate on you."
Concentrate...on...me. Oh Force, no. Luke's eyes widened. "You mean your only duty right now is to turn me to the Dark Side?" he asked, incredulous. "What about the Alliance?"
"It will keep," Vader answered ponderously. "You, on the other hand, seem to have quite a talent for escape, and it is more imperative that you learn as quickly as possible. You are more important."
"I'm not," Luke said, still not believing, and not quite wanting to. "One man, as opposed to the whole Alliance? I'm not that important."
"Not just a man, but a Force-user," Vader corrected. "And my son. You do not realize your own significance, Luke, but you will."
"Don't call me that," Luke snapped, frantically trying to think of a way out of this mess. If Vader's sole duty right now was to turn him, then Vader would very often be with him, severely cutting down on Luke's chances of escape.
"What should I call you, then?" Vader inquired. "Would you prefer Son?"
"No!" Luke exclaimed, even as part of him was crying Yes! To hear the word son and know that someone was talking to him... "I'm not--"
"You are," Vader interrupted. "Stop behaving like a child. Denial gets you nowhere. You may not like the truth, but I know that you have already accepted it. Persisting in trying to reject it makes you seem foolish, and I know that you cannot be a fool."
Luke took a deep breath, fighting against a peevish reaction that would do nothing to remedy the image of him as acting like a child. "Very well," he said, then added, slowly and reluctantly, "Father."
And it was time to stop being in denial; though Luke hated to concede it, Vader was right about that. When there was this bond between them, when he could feel Vader so clearly, so strongly...could Vader be anything else but his father?
"Good," Vader said, and stepped closer. "Now we will begin your lessons."
"Hang on," Luke interrupted, and scooted back a few centimeters on the bed, trying to put more distance in between him and--Father--Vader. "You may be my father, but that doesn't mean I've agreed to you teaching me. In fact, I would rather you didn't."
But Vader stepped closer again, until he was standing directly beside the bed. Luke would have liked to scoot further back, but he was against the wall now, and Vader was so close. Too close.
"Lesson one," Vader said, and leaned forward. "You do not have a choice."
"Weren't you just berating me for not making my own choices?" Luke asked, apprehension tightening into a ball in his stomach. What was Vader doing? Surely he didn't need to be that close to do...whatever it was he was going to do to try and teach Luke. Did he?
With a speed surprising in one of such size and with so many mechanical devices adorning him, Vader reached out with both hands and caught Luke's wrists, holding them together. Luke struggled, but Vader was too strong and too skilled in the Force for him to break away.
"Lesson two," Vader said, ignoring Luke's question. "'Peace is a lie; there is only passion. Through passion, one gains strength. Through strength, one gains power. Through power, one gains victory, and through victory, one's chains are broken.' That is the Sith Code."
Luke closed his eyes, trying not to look into that mask, trying to ignore the strange feelings running through his blood. "There is no emotion; there is peace," he murmured. "There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is--"
"Serenity?" Vader interrupted caustically. "Where is your serenity, my son? Where is your peace, your knowledge? Do you feel them now? Do not bother answering; I know you do not. You feel. Don't you?"
There was something like electricity shooting up his spine, and his blood seemed to roar within him. He kept his eyes closed, but it made no difference; he could still feel Vader, in front of him, all around him, inside of him. The bond between them seemed to open wider and wider, the physical contact breaching some barrier in his mind. Vader was intent on him, and he felt exposed beneath that black masked gaze.
Too much. It's too much! something inside him seemed to shriek, but it was drowned out. Your destiny lies with me, Vader's voice said to him in memory, thunderous and commanding, undeniable.
"Stop it," Luke gasped, and tried again to wrench his wrists away from Vader's grip; again he failed, and could not, for all his tugging, even move them. "Stop it!"
"What will you do if I do not?" Vader asked him; but still he let go, and Luke quickly put his hands in his lap, rubbing his wrists. "Lesson three," Vader said next. "You cannot stop me. Your only hope of being able to do so lies in learning more of the Force, and there is no one here to teach you but me."
There was no choice, like Vader told him before. He was trapped, and it seemed that no matter what he willed, Vader would overwhelm him.
But that did not matter. "I am a Jedi," he said steadily, despite his quickened heartbeat, despite the ball of apprehension in his stomach, despite Vader's "lessons". "I will not turn. Son or not, I will not be your student."
And Vader sighed, an explosive exhalation of air full of static. "You are as stubborn as your mother," he said. "But whether you will or no, my son, you will change your mind. I promise you that. Your obstinacy just ensures that other methods must be tried."
Other methods? Luke didn't like the sound of that. He didn't like the sound of that at all.
Title: For Thine is the Kingdom
Author: Rynne
Fandom: Star Wars
Rating: overall, NC17. This part, PG.
Summary: Vader will do anything to persuade Luke to the Dark Side...post-ESB Luke/Vader slash/incest
Warning: This is rated NC17 for father/son incestual slash, sexual acts, dubious consent, and (possible) disturbing themes. If you do not think you can handle such things maturely, please do not read.
Notes: Thank you to jedibix783 for betaing. Written for and dedicated to vikkir, who asked me for L/V slash. Hope you like it. :)
The warning and rating apply to the fic as a whole; this part, however, is rated PG and does not have any of the things I'm warning for. Those come starting next chapter.
Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four
2
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
T.S. Eliot, "The Hollow Men"
The quarters that Vader brought him to were spare, bare black and white furniture, but large enough and equipped enough to be officers' quarters. Luke was surprised, for a moment, that he hadn't been brought to the detention center; but no, Vader wanted Luke to join him--
It is your destiny...
--and so of course he would be shown courtesy and comfort, or at least as much of either as he could get from an Imperial, especially Vader. Sweet bait snared more than sour, after all.
"You will want to refresh yourself," Vader said, and indicated a door at the other side of the room. "New clothing has been set out for you. Go."
Slightly miffed at Vader's high-handedness, but knowing there was nothing he could do about it, Luke went. And he would be glad to have a shower, after so many hours in a cramped cockpit, and after a battle as well. He was not sorry to get out of the crumpled flightsuit and sweaty clothing beneath it, either.
It was only after his shower that he noticed that the clothes, completely black, fit him perfectly. Luke could not help but be slightly disturbed at that. Vader knew his clothing size--even his shoe size, Luke noticed as he pulled on tall black boots--and how much else did he know of the minutiae of Luke's life, or even the more important things? That he was from Tatooine was no secret, nor that the deaths of his aunt and uncle at the hands of Imperials was his impetus for joining the Alliance, and especially not that he was training to be a Jedi, but--how much did Vader know?
As Luke finished dressing, he almost wished that he'd put on his own clothes again, sweaty and rumpled as they were. The clothing Vader provided, utilitarian and very Imperial, made him feel rather prickly, and more so because the clothing itself wasn't uncomfortable, and there was no real reason for his discomfort. Given by the enemy or not, it was just clothing, and couldn't convince him to join the Dark Side by itself.
But still, when Luke looked in the mirror and saw himself so attired, he wondered that the reflection didn't look like the person he was used to it being. The difference was somehow more than could be accounted for by a simple change of clothes.
Vader was gone when Luke entered the common room again, and though Luke was not surprised and could not regret the absence, it left him at something of a loss. He looked around the room, but there was nothing there he could use to occupy himself, not even something as innocuous as a datapad.
Then he snorted--had those weeks spent with Yoda been for nothing? He needed nothing but himself and the Force to meditate, which Yoda would likely have been counseling him to do anyway. He needed to be under control now, as he perhaps never truly had before, because surely Vader would take advantage of anything he could use to turn Luke to the Dark Side, Luke's own confused emotions not the least.
Perhaps it would discomfit Vader, whenever it was that he would deign to return, to find Luke meditating like a Jedi--and that decided him. On the other side of the room was a door he thought might lead to a bunk, and it did. Just as spare as everything else, the tiny room held nothing but a bed attached to the wall and a small bedside table with a few drawers and nothing on it, but he didn't need luxury. He sat on the bed and drew his legs up underneath him. Then he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sought the Force.
It came eagerly at his call, which was a relief after the feeling of the shroud and cobwebs during the battle. But there was nothing stopping him from reaching it here, and letting his consciousness sink into its flow felt so good, like sinking into a pool of cool water. He was content to drift for a moment, thinking about nothing but this connection--how deprived he had been, his early life, to touch it only accidentally! And how frustrating it had been, after Ben died, when he knew that it was there but could only reach for it clumsily, missing more often than not. Despite his last disagreement with Yoda, he did have to thank the little Master for teaching him to open up to the true flow of the Force.
But he was here to center himself, to be able to stand like a Jedi before Vader, regardless of the other's attempts to turn him. And though he knew it would be like pouring salt in open wounds, he would have to examine his memories of Bespin and all the pain they caused. If he could come to some measure of peace over them--that would be like a Jedi, he thought.
Your destiny lies with me, Skywalker.
Did it truly? What would it mean, to have their destinies intertwined? Would it perforce mean that he had to follow where Vader led, wherever the road should take them? That was something he could not accept.
But surely there were other meanings. That Vader was part of his destiny, Luke could acknowledge. He was a Jedi, standing against everything that Vader was for; it had come to a fight once already, and he thought it would again. Vader was unstoppable, unavoidable, and there had always been something binding them together. But that that should stop Luke from going his own way--he didn't think so.
Perhaps their destinies lying together did not mean that Luke should have to turn, but more that the Force was bringing them together for something--and it did not have to be as Vader willed. Luke would make sure of that.
I am your father.
No! Still his first reaction at every remembrance of those words was a swift denial, one that gained vehemence whenever he found himself thinking of Vader as his father. But...
Search your feelings. You know it to be true.
Hadn't he just acknowledged that there was something binding them together? The Force, yes, but the Force did not bind him as strongly to Ben, or to Yoda, and he'd spent more time with both of them than he had with Vader; and they were Jedi, as much in the Light as he, if not more. But this strong connection...he'd felt it, fighting Vader and afterward, and it was impossible to deny.
That it should be a bond of blood--he shuddered in his meditation, and the Force trembled with him, and he was almost jolted from its flow. But how could he feel otherwise, with Vader as his father? That revelation had stripped away the Jedi father he'd so admired, had torn the image up and ground it beneath hard black boots. And he could not create it again, with the doubt planted that it was false.
This connection--it was so deep, though it seemed to have sprung up so suddenly. How could it have grown so deep so quickly? The only other connection he had that had formed as quickly was with Leia, but he did not want to associate that bond with this unwanted one, did not want to taint it so.
But...was it truly unwanted? Yes! something inside him cried, but from beneath it No resounded, and Luke felt it inside him, that knowledge that this bond was not unwanted at all. It was not the father he had hoped for, was nothing like, but still Father in his mind was being paired with an image of Vader, and that it should have an image at all to latch onto was a joy he'd always hoped for in his youth. The identity and actions of that father could mar that joy, could diminish it, but could not extinguish it altogether.
He drifted further into the flow, and there was something, here, powerful and unexpected, deep into the Force inside him, in a place he'd never examined closely before. And he thought he could touch it, reached out a mental finger and did--and when he drew back, it seemed to vibrate like a plucked harp string, resonating.
And with that resonance, Luke felt something else stirring, and it looked at him, and he recognized the sensation from before: it was Vader. Was it, then, the bond he touched, so deeply inside him that he would probably never be able to uproot it? And he felt Vader more clearly now, with dark regard becoming focused on him, growing and growing until it seemed to fill his mind and senses.
Vader was coming, he thought, just barely catching the intent before drawing back. Force, that presence was potent! Han and Wedge had taken him fishing, once, and he was reminded of the one fish that he'd caught, and the way it had flailed around and struggled, only to fail to free itself in the end. He'd let it go, and Han and Wedge had teased him mercilessly for it--but now he saw himself in that fish, in the way that Vader's presence seemed to reel him in like he was caught on a line, though he fought against it much as his fish had--and then he wondered, uneasily, what would happen should Vader catch him.
He tried to hold onto his meditation, but Vader's approach distracted him, and the Force slid away from his grasp. Soon it was gone, apart from that little frisson of energy he always felt lately, and he was left close-eyed and cross-legged on the bed with nothing but his thoughts.
Stupid! he berated himself. Did you have to attract his attention? Who knows how long he would have left you alone for if you hadn't caught his notice, and you could have used the time to finish meditating and plan an escape!
But it was too late now, when Vader was coming. And Luke rather thought that, with Vader around, planning an escape was going to be less than easy, if not downright impossible. He'd slipped so easily into Luke's mind before.
Closer. Closer. Luke's heartbeat sped up, adrenaline rushing through his body, as that presence drew nearer. But he did not move; if Vader wanted Luke, he would have to come to Luke. Though his meditation was lost, he stayed seated and kept breathing evenly, in and out, in and out, trying to keep himself calm, keep that presence from affecting him.
"What are you doing?" a voice said from the entrance, and Luke was barely able to stop himself from flinching at the sound of it.
But he schooled his body and expressions, kept his eyes closed, and only when he was sure of himself, replied, "Meditating."
Vader made a disbelieving sound. "You are not," he said. "You have barely touched the Force since you touched me."
"I was meditating, then," Luke replied, fighting to keep an edge out of his voice. "And I hopefully will be soon again." He left as soon as you leave unsaid, but implied, and he knew Vader caught it by the darkening in his mood.
"You will be busy with other things," Vader said.
Against his will, annoyance ran through Luke, and he frowned and opened his eyes. He was almost uncomfortable with his head so far below Vader's, in such a position of weakness, but since his head would be below Vader's anyway, he didn't bother standing up. "I will choose whether I will be busy or not," he said sharply. Admittedly, it was a foolish thing for a captive to say, but damned if he was going to so easily let Vader take control of his life!
Now Vader felt almost...amused. What was so funny? But Luke fought down his annoyance; it was only to Vader's advantage, and he was probably trying to goad Luke into anger.
"You have rarely chosen anything in your life," Vader said, with the air of explaining matters to a small child. "You did what your uncle told you until he died, and then you did what Kenobi told you, in trying to be a Jedi and joining the Rebellion. Since then, you have done what the Rebels have told you; your very presence here is the proof of that, since I am well aware of the mission they sent you on. I do not think you have ever made an important decision on your own in your entire life."
Luke's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't stop the anger uncurling in his chest. But he took a deep breath, and then another one when the first didn't help, and waited until he was in control of himself before he replied, as serenely as he could manage, "I do not make choices in a vacuum. Others have influenced me, of course, but they were still my decisions. I am a Jedi, by my own choice. Obi-Wan just gave me the opportunity."
Now Vader snorted. "Some Jedi! You can't even touch something unexpected in meditation without losing control over the Force." The contempt in his voice whenever he spoke the word Jedi was plain.
Don't get angry, Luke told himself firmly. That's what he wants. But something inside him was not so much angry at what Vader was saying as that he was saying it at all. Weren't fathers supposed to be supportive of their children? He remembered his childhood, wishing so fervently for his father, because he believed that father would support him against the dictates of Uncle Owen and let Luke live the kind of life he chose. And there was a twinge of hurt, quickly suppressed, at the seeming disappearance of the respect Vader had earlier given him...
The ashes of dreams tasted bitter in his mouth as he said, shortly, "I'm still learning."
"Yes," Vader agreed darkly. "You are. I do not know why Kenobi waited so long to begin your training, but it is good for you that he did."
Luke looked up at him sharply. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, suspicious, though he didn't think he would care for Vader's explanation.
He was right. "You have less to unlearn," Vader said. "It is unfortunate that you have already been poisoned by Jedi teachings, but that can be overcome."
Poisoned! He would think of it like that. "And if I do not care to overcome it?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow. Unwilling students do not learn well, and he will not find me a willing student in the Dark Side.
"You will," Vader said, full of damnable confidence. "In time, you will happily learn from me all that I have to teach, and we will have that time. I have spoken with the Emperor, and he has suggested that I leave the fleet to the admirals for the moment and concentrate on you."
Concentrate...on...me. Oh Force, no. Luke's eyes widened. "You mean your only duty right now is to turn me to the Dark Side?" he asked, incredulous. "What about the Alliance?"
"It will keep," Vader answered ponderously. "You, on the other hand, seem to have quite a talent for escape, and it is more imperative that you learn as quickly as possible. You are more important."
"I'm not," Luke said, still not believing, and not quite wanting to. "One man, as opposed to the whole Alliance? I'm not that important."
"Not just a man, but a Force-user," Vader corrected. "And my son. You do not realize your own significance, Luke, but you will."
"Don't call me that," Luke snapped, frantically trying to think of a way out of this mess. If Vader's sole duty right now was to turn him, then Vader would very often be with him, severely cutting down on Luke's chances of escape.
"What should I call you, then?" Vader inquired. "Would you prefer Son?"
"No!" Luke exclaimed, even as part of him was crying Yes! To hear the word son and know that someone was talking to him... "I'm not--"
"You are," Vader interrupted. "Stop behaving like a child. Denial gets you nowhere. You may not like the truth, but I know that you have already accepted it. Persisting in trying to reject it makes you seem foolish, and I know that you cannot be a fool."
Luke took a deep breath, fighting against a peevish reaction that would do nothing to remedy the image of him as acting like a child. "Very well," he said, then added, slowly and reluctantly, "Father."
And it was time to stop being in denial; though Luke hated to concede it, Vader was right about that. When there was this bond between them, when he could feel Vader so clearly, so strongly...could Vader be anything else but his father?
"Good," Vader said, and stepped closer. "Now we will begin your lessons."
"Hang on," Luke interrupted, and scooted back a few centimeters on the bed, trying to put more distance in between him and--Father--Vader. "You may be my father, but that doesn't mean I've agreed to you teaching me. In fact, I would rather you didn't."
But Vader stepped closer again, until he was standing directly beside the bed. Luke would have liked to scoot further back, but he was against the wall now, and Vader was so close. Too close.
"Lesson one," Vader said, and leaned forward. "You do not have a choice."
"Weren't you just berating me for not making my own choices?" Luke asked, apprehension tightening into a ball in his stomach. What was Vader doing? Surely he didn't need to be that close to do...whatever it was he was going to do to try and teach Luke. Did he?
With a speed surprising in one of such size and with so many mechanical devices adorning him, Vader reached out with both hands and caught Luke's wrists, holding them together. Luke struggled, but Vader was too strong and too skilled in the Force for him to break away.
"Lesson two," Vader said, ignoring Luke's question. "'Peace is a lie; there is only passion. Through passion, one gains strength. Through strength, one gains power. Through power, one gains victory, and through victory, one's chains are broken.' That is the Sith Code."
Luke closed his eyes, trying not to look into that mask, trying to ignore the strange feelings running through his blood. "There is no emotion; there is peace," he murmured. "There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is--"
"Serenity?" Vader interrupted caustically. "Where is your serenity, my son? Where is your peace, your knowledge? Do you feel them now? Do not bother answering; I know you do not. You feel. Don't you?"
There was something like electricity shooting up his spine, and his blood seemed to roar within him. He kept his eyes closed, but it made no difference; he could still feel Vader, in front of him, all around him, inside of him. The bond between them seemed to open wider and wider, the physical contact breaching some barrier in his mind. Vader was intent on him, and he felt exposed beneath that black masked gaze.
Too much. It's too much! something inside him seemed to shriek, but it was drowned out. Your destiny lies with me, Vader's voice said to him in memory, thunderous and commanding, undeniable.
"Stop it," Luke gasped, and tried again to wrench his wrists away from Vader's grip; again he failed, and could not, for all his tugging, even move them. "Stop it!"
"What will you do if I do not?" Vader asked him; but still he let go, and Luke quickly put his hands in his lap, rubbing his wrists. "Lesson three," Vader said next. "You cannot stop me. Your only hope of being able to do so lies in learning more of the Force, and there is no one here to teach you but me."
There was no choice, like Vader told him before. He was trapped, and it seemed that no matter what he willed, Vader would overwhelm him.
But that did not matter. "I am a Jedi," he said steadily, despite his quickened heartbeat, despite the ball of apprehension in his stomach, despite Vader's "lessons". "I will not turn. Son or not, I will not be your student."
And Vader sighed, an explosive exhalation of air full of static. "You are as stubborn as your mother," he said. "But whether you will or no, my son, you will change your mind. I promise you that. Your obstinacy just ensures that other methods must be tried."
Other methods? Luke didn't like the sound of that. He didn't like the sound of that at all.