#luke centric

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What’s worse? Awkwardly landing on your feet in front of a whole crowd or toughing it out till the end of a performance when you can already feel that you’ve hurt yourself. Luke will tell you that the worse is to continue on with greeting the fans and doing interviews and all when you can feel that your ankle is absolutely killing you. Listen the jump wasn’t even that complicated. It was only a synchronized one that was planned so as to get a few loud cheers from the crowd and Luke managed to complicate that too. And now he had to bear through an entire schedule for the night to even whisper that he probably needed help.

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It was during their synchronized jump in SLSP that Luke stumbled slightly. He brushed it off, smiling awkwardly at his other two bandmates who glanced at him. He was fine or that’s what he thought until his ankle felt his weight and from then, it was a pure struggle for Luke to stand upright for the entire night.

What Luke didn’t know was that his bandmates had noticed that something was wrong with him. His bandmates had seen the way his face scrunched up when he made that jump. From where Ashton was sat, he could see how Luke was trying his best to shift his weight on his foot. Michael noticed how the boy was gritting his teeth as he sang with them. And Calum saw the slight limp that the boy was trying to cover up.

Despite what how sneaky Luke thought he was being, his bandmates had an eye on him, slightly doubtful of the situation.

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Once they’d wrap up the performance, Calum was the first to approach Luke.

“Luke, you okay?” Calum asked, smiling at the fans who came to get stuff signed.

“I’m good. Why do you ask?” Luke nervously spat out.

“You’re limping” Calum pointed out.

“I’m sitting. How can someone limp while they sit, my dear Cal” Luke forced a smile to his face as he patted Calum’s cheek, earning a coo from the fans next to them.

Calum didn’t look convinced but he let go of it for the time being, still watching Luke from the corner of his eye.

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After the meet and greet, they had an interview lined up and slowly, Luke’s façade was coming to an end. He painfully made his way to the couch and struggled to answer the questions.

“Luke, are you in pain?” Ashton leaned over and asked.

“Shh… Don’t draw their attention” Luke chided.

“Lukey?” Ashton warned.

“The interview is gonna be over soon” Luke said, instead.

“Kid, sometimes it’s better to just ask for help before it gets too late” Ashton whispered.

Luke gathered all his strength to just pull through the interview and once it was done, his body made the decision for him.

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Right after the interview, Luke could no longer keep up.

“Ready to admit that you’re injured, kid?” Michael huffed but a single look at the boy’s face had him melting.

“Oh kiddo” Ashton sighed.

“It hurts” Luke sobbed out, barely able to hold his body up.

“Get the car! He needs a hospital” Michael told Ashton as he and Calum helped carry Luke to the car.

Once they were on their way to the hospital, Luke slightly relaxed, knowing his bandmates would take over for him.

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Luckily enough, Luke had only sprained his ankle. A protective boot, some pain meds and a bit of scolding from the doctor for having pushed through the entire night with an injured ankle, Luke was back home. His bandmates, though upset with him for hiding his injury, were quite happy to play nurse for him. And as far as Luke was concerned, he knew he could rest now that he was in safe hands with his best friends.

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A/N

ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The shrill noise brough Luke to attention. He was currently in a dogfight flying in the sky above in his x wing. He gritted his teeth; he had to focus– oh wait, no! He pulled away just in time as an Imperial fighter just skimmed off of him. That was close. Too close.He didn’t know how long he could keep this up. There weren't a lot of fighters left now and the tide could change on them any second. So he had to keep his focus. His hands tightened on the steering yoke and he fired.

BANG!

Another fallen foe. Three Imps left, five rebel fighter ships left including him.

“Artoo what’s the status?” Luke asked.

R2-D2’s shrill response told him that everything was fine. But that was short lived. A TIE Fighter came shrieking out of the thick grey clouds, and before Luke could blink, it shot down two of the Alliance fighters.

KRIFF! Vader. It was Vader. Luke thought to himself. No one one else flew a TIE Advance X1.It could only be Vader, the man who betrayed and murdered Luke’s father, who slain Obi-Wan right in front of his eyes, and who ordered his Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen execution. The one who took everything from him.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Luke could hear his racing heart, was this really it? The End? His breath was growing shorter and shorter as he desperately tried to soothe his nerves by taking deep breaths. This wasn’t just about him. Leia. Alderaan. The Rebels. That’s not even considering all the other worlds the Empire has subdued and colonised for their own needs, all of which Vader has participated full heartily in. How many more worlds has Vader struck down with impunity?!

With no remorse. No regret. No mercy.

Vader was a monster.

How he even existed, vile and corrupt was beyond Luke? Luke began to sweat and his hands began to shake. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth in anger. Accepting his oncoming fate. His shaking stopped. His fury dispelled. Luke was in the eye of the storm now, in his mind. Calm and silent compared to the unstoppable inferno of flying debris of the burning ships and gunfire on the outside. Luke’s life meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. He was tiny. Insignificant. But perhaps...He could do something with it. Such as taking down this monster.

Luke had a plan. He might go down with Vader but it was his only chance. He might not get this again. He could hear yelling. It could have been command shouting through his commtelling him that he was veering off course or the rational part of his brain telling him how stupid this was.

Luke didn’t care.

“Artoo close comms,” he ordered and silence consumed him.

His heart was thumping widely and he started to sweat profusely. He was going to take down this monster and didn’t care whether or not he lived. Just the thought of Vader dying brought Luke peace.

CRASH!

The two ships crashed.

Everything burned. The flames licked and ate away at his ship but Luke wasn’t focusing on that. He was in for a rough landing.

He shouted to Artoo, “The stabilisers are down! Artoo, we are going down! Hold on!”

He could feel it, no longer walking the sky, but falling down onto a nearby planet below. He closed his eyes. He had no idea what was waiting for him but he called out. To whom he wasn’t sure. He only hoped someone could hear.

I’m sorry. _____________________

The Force was with him when he landed.

He was in a massive jungle, one that thrived off of decay and ruin than light and substance. What an awful place he had found himself in but in a way, it reminded him of the home he lost, not so long ago.

Luke threw off his helmet, the sun came in through the hole his fighter had caused in the canopy above. The light was blinding and cooking him. Yep, just like home. He gave a hollow laugh. He clambered onto the wing of his X- Wing and looked at his droid. Once Artoo was out, the next thing Luke was focused on was communication. It was a big planet. He knew that much, so it could take a while before they found him. Plus, how could he forget it wasn't just Rebels out here, but also Imps?

Luke had a feeling that Vader wasn’t gone. He felt it in the force, the blackhole that consumes everything positive and kind, leaving only darkness and decay behind A horrible feeling, that drowned and consumed everything in sight. It still tainted the force, with its energy. It seemed his suicide kamikaze into Vader didn’t work as planned. Luke groaned and looked at his radio. It had been damaged during the crash and no matter what he seemed to adjust or press, no response seemed to come from it. Something must have broken on the inside. This was going to be a problem. Here he was on a planet, alone, no supplies, no shelter and Imps and Vader on his tail. What fantastic luck Luke had.

Why did Force love to mess with him like this?

He couldn’t stay here as the smoking remains of his fighter was too much of a signal for any scouts looking for him. Luke grabbed what tools and equipment he could that weren’t blasted and with Artoo by his side, he entered the forest.

Before long it was nightfall, and he had found himself amongst large windy, spindly trees with leaves the size of saucers. He gathered some firewood and created a small campsite. The silence was deafening and it was killing him. It wasn’t meant to be this quiet, where was the wildlife, the chittering, the squeaks, the squakes? There was only quiet. Luke could see no creatures, no birds, not even a single bug.

It drove an eerie feeling into Luke, it only made him more alert. It didn’t sit easily with him and it brought up another issue. Namely scavenging for food would be a lot harder than he expected. Using his lighter, Arto ignited the wood and Luke felt alive for a moment. Yet, the rumbling in his stomach reminded him of the little supplies he had. He was lucky to have a canteen on him, but the emergency rations in his X-Wing had been damaged. He laid on the ground with Artoo keeping watch and ignored the pain in his stomach. He patted the droid’s robotic head letting Artoo know that he appreciated him so very much before finally drifting into the realm of dreams and nightmares.

_________________

Several days had passed and Luke was still struggling to contact the Alliance. He hadn’t been able to fix his radio despite taking it apart and putting it back together. He thought time and time again he had finally fixed what was broken, only for his hope to fade when the radio failed to turn on.

Hunger. It panged and ached. He was constantly exhausted and didn’t seem able to find much food.But If this kept up, he could . . . No, he resolutely said to himself. You are not dying here Skywalker and you know it.

He hugged himself trying to keep in the pangs but to no avail. On one hand, he was fortunate to found a steady water supply. Years of working as a moisture farmer have served him well in that regard. He knew what good water should look and taste like. But he was also on an unknown planet with no idea, what was safe and what wasn’t to eat. He knew little what was edible in a jungle. It was a far cry from the desert planet he grew up on.

Luke trudged into the forest once more searching for anything to eat. He kept his eyes peeled for something, anything. There, near him beside the bushes, was a bundle of root vegetables just poking free of the dirt. Was it safe to eat, he asked himself. But before he could even properly debate this, his hunger won out. He dug up the roots and without thought, he began to chomp away at it.

Blurgh. He spat it out. Yuck.

His rational mind walloped his starving belly. What the kriff was he doing? Eating something he didn’t know. He had a bad feeling about this. He grabbed what was possibly a toxic vegetable. If it was toxic, did he need to find an antidote or cure?

Luke vomited in his mouth. He retched up whatever food remained in his stomach. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Great. He was sick. He stood up and began to stumble. He could barely step one foot in front of the other. Somehow he made it to his makeshift camp where Artoo was beeping furiously at him. He didn’t pay attention to that because he collapsed on the ground, unconscious. ___

Vader’s son was strong in the Force. He knew that much. He walked through the forest and cut the large branches out his way. His son was akin to the blazing suns of Tatooine in the force. How hadn’t he ever realized that before? Was he truly engulfed in shadows and despair to ignore the light and hope his son radiated? His child. Their child. Padmé.

It had been so long. It was a miracle the boy was alive as he thought him dead. He and his son will rule together side by as rulers of the universe. It was Luke’s birthright. It was his as well.

When his son crashed into his fighter, he was shocked, yes, but also impressed by Luke’s abilities in the force. Luke burned bright and fiery, an eternal inferno that warmed the freezing ache in what was once his heart. A forgotten feeling. His son still had a long way to go. He wasn’t a Jedi, yet. That much was obvious and if Vader could get to him, he would never be a Jedi.

Vader allowed the Force to guide him. He would find his son no matter what. He trudged through the sticky mud of the forest and sheared the gigantic leaves of the trees and bushes out of his path with his scarlet lightsabre.

Luke was near. He knew it. He could sense his son, but something was wrong.

His son was an inferno, much like one of the twin suns of Tatooine he blazed in the force, impossible to look away from and so very strong. This was not what he felt at this second. His son presence flickered in and out of existence. It was more difficult to see him through, the bright supernova that was Luke was enveloped by the overwhelming existence and consumed by the familiar grasp of death. The light was being snuffed out and wavered more unsteadily by the minute.

Luke was dying. He was sick. He must’ve been poisoned by something. Something in the jungle had gotten to him.

He began to race towards the wavering and weakening presence of his son through the thick bushes and trees.

Luke.

He called out in the Force.

Hold on.

___

Luke rolled on the ground, clutching his belly, choking in agony. He was such an idiot. Kriff his hunger for enhancing his stupidity.

Luke.

He could hear a voice. Either it was the Force or that blasted vegetable induced some crazy hallucination. Though it was probably the former. Who was calling him though?

“Ben,” he cried out, though he was certain the voice wasn’t him. “Ben is that you?”

Found you.

Luke couldn’t turn around, but he felt a horrible chill go down his spine. His blood clotted; his heart on the precipice of attack. Cold. So very cold. Luke had a bad feeling about this. He weakly struggled to lift himself as he had to hide. Now! Using his instincts he spotted a massive fallen over log, he limped over to it, and slumped behind it.

He was only buying himself time. If Vader didn’t kill him, whatever he ate sure as he would. That didn’t include any Imperial ships tracking him down. How did Vader find him,and what did he want with him? Luke recalled their first proper meeting on Cymoon 1. He had been flung to the side with no care or attention by Vader’s impressive use of the Force. Luke’s screams for justice for the death of his family, his father, his aunt and uncle, Ben, were brushed aside much how one might brush aside a cat.

Luke knew it was him. Vader. He held his breath and heard loud resonant footsteps marching towards where he had been minutes ago. He didn’t look back but he could hear Vader’s blood-red saber humming. Would he be the next victim to it? Did his father die to that blade? Luke blinked in and out of consciousness, when he sensed a lingering shadow hanging over him, a spectre of death and decay. Vader.

He had found him.

Then Vader did something Luke never expected him to do. He extinguished his saber and gently caressed his face, much like how Aunt Beru used to during the night when the twin suns finally set. Her warm smile made him feel so loved. Except this was not warm, this was possessive and tentative and cold.

Luke somehow managed to find the strength within and pull away from Vader. Why wasn’t he dead yet? Why wasn’t he skewered with the red lightsaber, choked to death, or has the toxin finally claimed him?

“Why?” Luke laughed bitterly at him, his eyes blazed with fury. “Why leave me alive?”

Vader took several heavy breaths.

Kush. Kosh. Kush. Kosh.

“You have no idea how important you are.”

His low voice dominated the scene. Even with the mask, Luke glanced at his soul for a moment and saw it open, vulnerable, but why?

Luke belted out a short burst of laughter. “Important. Ha, sure I shot down the Death Star but when I faced you on the Cymoon, and probably even back on the Death Star, you looked at me like I was nothing. What changed?” He had mocked Vader, clutching at his stomach, tighter as the pain increased. He gritted his teeth and spat the next words out. “Heh, what changed?”

Vader was silent. Luke didn’t like this, he didn’t like this one bit. His nose scrunched up as Vader spoke, “I’ve discovered that some things that I once believed as truth were, in fact, lies, namely the one where you were dead”.

Luke frowned. He didn’t have enough strength to fight, no matter how much he wanted to. But he pushed on. Maybe he could make his life count in some meaningful capacity even at the end. “Me? What the kriff do I mean to you? You betrayed and murdered my father! Just get this over with and kill me!”

“No. I did not betray or kill your father. I am your father.”

...What.

Luke was silent. Vader was lying. He had to be but no, no, no, NO!

“Search your feelings, you know it to be true.” Vader spoke quite bluntly and concisely. It was almost like his voice was gleeful due to finally reuniting with his son.

Luke grabbed his hair and started to scream in anguish. Anakin Skywalker was the one he had idolised and longed to become. He was to be a Jedi like him. But now that pristine and proud pedestal Anakin had stood on was crumbling. Anakin was Vader? Vader was his father?

“NO!” Luke shrieked, shifting away from Vader, but there was no use trying to escape, much like a fly he was trapped in this web of deceit, lies and revelations.

“Come with me, my child. I can save you. We will be a family once more.”

Luke's stomach churned and twisted as he screamed in pain. He did not know if it was because of the revelation or his physical disposition, but it did not matter. Ben...Why didn’t you tell me? Luke began to cry, lost in the agony of truth. He was drowning. Why was it true? Luke was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Vader kneel down before him and place his gloved hand over his head. Luke struggled to remain awake, but both his body and Vader’s strength in the Force was too much for him to handle. He drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Vader quickly scooped Luke into his arms and carried him off. He should not have had to wait until Luke was an adult and seriously ill them to have met. Luke should have grown up at his side, learning the ways of the Force. Obi-Wan should’ve died a slower death for his actions but no matter. Vader had Luke now. The galaxy should’ve been Luke’s and he should’ve known that all along. It would be his, though. If Vader had anything to say about it. He cradled his son and made his way to the waiting Imperial ship to get the antidote and finally take Luke home.