#avayarising

Okay so obviously Little Ani is too little to be told the truth about the situation when they first meet. He’s six and, as bright as he is, six-year-olds are not exactly known for their discretion. There are too many secrets to juggle, so the only one he gets trusted with at first is the Jedi thing, mostly because Snips and Skyguy want to get a head start on teaching him about the Force. Little Ani gets the cover story they cooked up about Big Anakin being his mom’s younger brother, and he buys it because... well, slave families get separated all the time. The fact that his uncle managed to win his freedom and come back to save everyone is the part that’s basically a miracle.

Age six is a young enough divergence point that Big Anakin can look at the kid and go “nephew” instead of “me, but small.” It’s before enough Major Life Events (podrace, Naboo, Obi-Wan, Padme, the Tuskens, Geonosis, the war) that all the things Anakin considers integral to being himself are things that haven’t happened to the kid. They share the basic backstory of “born a slave, raised by Shmi, likes droids” and after that the story splits. This means that Anakin has minimal trouble with treating him like a younger family member, and oh man.

Oh man.

Anakin loves being a cool uncle. He is down. He is so ready to show this impressionable child how to hotwire eight different kinds of speeders and the best way to throw a punch. He is enamored with the idea that there is a small child he is not 100% responsible for but still has some familial claim to, one that he can get into tickle fights with and cuddle on cold nights and tell half-sanitized war stories to. Little Ani adores his uncle for a myriad of reasons, and is very, very willing to tell people how cool Big Anakin is, even if he can’t talk about the Jedi stuff or about how that massive slave release a few cities away last week was definitely the most reckless Skywalker.

The fact that they have the same name is a source of great hilarity for both (if for slightly different reasons), and they treat the whole situation as an inside joke. Generally, people differentiate with just Big/Little Ani, or they refer to the kid as Ani and the adult as Anakin (Ahsoka goes with Skyguy and Skykid, and Rex gets to learn that Little Ani loves it when he gets called Cadet or Private). Little Ani will definitely just say “Uncle Ani” and that’s clear enough for everyone.

Anakin and Anakin will regularly address each other as “Big Me” and “Little Me” as an inside joke that only one of them gets the full scope of.

All this to say, after the Naboo situation is handled and the reality of the clone chips starts to come out, and The Team comes to the Temple with Mace and Quinlan, and a very annoyed Maul in cuffs, there is a moment.

A very special moment.

Where Little Ani feels his uncle coming in from the hangars, and goes to whichever atrium has inside balconies instead of normal floors, and screams “BIG ME!” in excitement, while the crechemaster that was put in charge of him swears under their breath and chases him, a gaggle of small and curious children at their heels.

(Nobody approves of the screaming.)

This child with no sense of danger proceeds to fling himself off the balcony, trusting fully that his uncle will catch him, and causes at least three heart attacks. Force-sensitive children are resilient, but Ani is a reckless little fucker and his uncle has done nothing to curb the enthusiasm. He just shouts back “LITTLE ME!” and catches the kid, partly with the Force to prevent damage, and swings the kid around with the biggest damn grins on both their faces. Ahsoka is just as excited to see the Small Child she’s been a bad influence on. Rex is ruffling the terrible Initiate haircut. Quinlan is enjoying the sight. Maul is judging them all, not very quietly.