Heart to Heart

this story is my personal version of what happened after RotJ. it is based on my headcanon which consists of episodes 1-6, Solo, Rogue one, most of the canon comic books by marvel, the clone wars, rebels and a few novels from the current canon. this is my first writing project so gimme a lot of reviews with constructive criticism so i can improve my work and please forgive any grammatical errors as english is my second language.

Chapter 1: Binary Sunrise

the blue flow of hyperspace dissappeared to reveal a desert planet surrounded by far away stars. giving his homeplanet a bittersweet smile, Luke had started preparations to land near Anchorhead when his attention was drawn to the small screen in the cockpit of his X-Wing.

[ I have bad memories linked to this planet .]

Luke gave a small chuckle " don't worry Artoo, I am sure you won't get captured by Jawas this time. "

[ at least it's better than Dagoba , My Processors still smell from that slimeball. ]

A few hours later, Luke parked his rented speeder near a familier looking homestead. As he walked into what was once his yard, he gave the two flimsy graves in which he buried his parents a small, sad smile. He had little time to bury them on that fateful day on which his life changed forever.

As if sensing his distress, Artoo gave a sad whistle and lightly bumped into him as if to comfort him. Luke simply placed his hand on the Astromech's dome and continued to gaze at the two gravemarks.

" funny. ever since I was a kid, I wanted to leave Tatooine more than anything. Now, I almost wish I became the moisture farmer Uncle Owen Wanted me to become. "

did he really wish that? the last few years definitly sent him through hell and back. He lost many people and many things not the least of which was his innocence. He tasted tragedy and friendship, faliure and triumph. He was very different now from that dreamy farmboy who thought about joining the imperial academy. He didn't regret anything that had happened, but a part of him wished that he hadn't had to deal with the death of his family, or mass murder, or The Empire, or even his father...

he still didn't know how he felt about his father. A part of him was still angry at him for everything he did: to his sister, to Han and to the galaxy but another part found great relief in the fact that his father had found peace in the force. He knew that he cared for him, loved him even, because he was his father and because he was once the good man he came to admire. He still couldn't understand how the man he saw beneath the mask, the man whose love, shame and regret practically stained the force, became the dreaded monster that was Darth Vader.

releasing a tired sigh, He grabbed a sleeping bag and went down to sleep in his old room.

he surprisingly slept well that night and woke up at sunrise. A voice in the back of his head ,that sounded suspicously like uncle Owen, whispered something about the importance of not burning daylight. he always loved sunrise and staring at it now surprisingly brought a lot of good memories about Tatooine: Aunt Beru reading for him, Uncle Owen teaching him how to fix vaporators, racing across begger's canyon with Biggs...

" beautiful sight, isn't it? "

he turned around to the unfamilier voice to see a young man with long wavy hair, blue eyes and a ghostly aura around his frame.

" yeah, it was always one of the few things i liked about Tatooine. " he replied with a fond look as sat on an old, large crate, once again facing the twin suns.

Anakin smiled and moved to sit next to his Son " yes, Tatooine doesn't have many likeable things. I should know. "

Luke didn't miss the subtle bitterness in his father's voice. " You...grew up here too? ", Anakin only nodded at this.

" Uncle Owen told me as much but most of what he told me about you ...wasn't exactly accurate. "

Anakin raised an eyebrow in response " what exactly did Owen tell you about me? "

" not much. only that my grandmother married his father after you left Tatooine, that you were a navigator on a spice freighter and that you died around the time the clone wars ended."

Anakin almost chuckled as he gave an amused smile " well his father did marry my mother after i left to train as a Jedi, I. only met him once really when I ...returned to see her. I think he chose to alter my career to prevent you from developing some sort of hero worship, although I could tell that didn't work. "

Luke gave a small chuckle and a fond smile " yeah, uncle Owen never did approve of my dreams, he always told me I was too reckless for my own good and that i had my head up in the clouds all the time. we didn't always get along but a part of me appreciated that he wanted what was best for me. Aunt Beru though would always encourage me and tell me I can be whatever I wanted to be. funny thing is, for a long time I had no idea what that was. "

a hint of sadness - and was that jealousy? - escaped to the force.

" I only met them once but I could tell they were good people. They did a great job raising you. probably better than anything i could have done."

an awkward silence took place for a few moments until Anakin decided to break it. " Luke...I wanted to tell you that i am sorry...for everything. What i did to you, to your sister and to the galaxy is unforgivable. You had every reason to hate me yet you chose to help me and for that i am grateful. I don't think words can describe how grateful I am. "

" I did hate you. To me you were everything we hated about the empire, you were the man who betrayed and murdured my father and countless others. this hatred was calling for me on Bespin, it was there when you shattered everything i thought i knew. every time i had looked at you in the force I only saw anger and hate, but during that moment, even in my confusion, I recognized other things: Pain, Longing ,...Love...as weird as that was "

" why did you risk yourself trying to help me ? "

" Because...you were my father. Anakin Skywalker was a good man, of that i was certain and everytime you called to me in the force, I saw that deep down he still existed. i had to try... also I knew by then how corrupting the dark side can be, I had felt it calling more than one time, I even had a chance to see it in action once. "

his mind drifted for a moment to what happened on Jedha, to what happened to poor Chulco.

" the Dark Side does corrupt everything. it feeds on your anger, your fears and your pain. it twists your thoughts to serve your desires. all you can focus on are yourself and your own pain and hate. however, this doesn't absolve me from my crimes as much as I want it to. the dark side may have twisted my thoughts but it didn't remove my sense of right and wrong. "

Luke gave him a look that held little codemnation but plenty of sadness " then why did you continue to serve him ? "

Anakin's expression turned to one of shame " the core of the dark side is focusing on one's self. which is why most of the time i didn't care about the suffering or even death of the people i hurt. all i focused on was my hatred: for the emperor, for the Jedi, for Obi-Wan...but i realize now that the person i loathed the most was myself. I deemed my former self to have been a weak, naive fool. i focused on my hatred because i was taught to use it as a weapon, but i now realize i needed it more as a shield. I was afraid and i didn't have the courage to give up my hatred. "

" because i knew that without it, without the dark side, i would have had to face the guilt that would come without mercy, i would have had to face the fact that redemption wasn't possible. I embraced my role in the empire because i had nothing else, i had already lost everything: Obi-Wan, my friends, your mother...I had no reason to live..until you came along" Anakin continued and gave his son a smile full of pride which Luke returned with a Sad smile.

" I look forward to getting to know you father, the real you i mean "

Anakin gave him a bittersweet smile " i look forward to this too, Luke. before i go, i want you to know that i loved you and your sister since the day i learned you existed, and i am proud of everything you too became and acheived. you are everthing we imagined for you and more."

Luke had to battle tears as he gave his father a weak smile " yeah...well, I still have a long way to go. the last thing Master Yoda told me was to pass on what i had learned, but i know so little about the jedi i have no idea how to do that. how am I supposed to restore an ancient order that once had more than ten thousand memebers all by myself ? "

Anakin gave him a proud smile " i remember that my first mentor told me that even if one succeeds in becoming a jedi, he will still have a hard life ahead of him. but you are not alone Luke. Me, Obi-Wan ,Yoda.. we will always be with you. the fall of the Jedi was tragic, but i believe it is the will of the force for them to return stronger. whatever the problems that lead to our downfall were I know they won't escape you. always trust in the force Luke, things don't go well when you don't trust it. Believe me, i should know"

Luke's mouth broke into a grin " well the force did practically sing in approval when i went to meet you on Endor "

Anakin grinned then gave a small sigh " well i have to go now. but don't worry, this won't be the last time we meet. "

Luke gave him a dissapointed look " will you...come and visit ?"

" always. may the force be with you son."

" may the force be with you father."

and with that Anakin vanished and as he did so did a burden that was lying on Luke's heart. for the first time since Bespin, Luke felt at peace.

he now knew who he was and who his father was, his father was at peace and he knew what he had to do.

not the last of the old jedi, then. the first of the new.