Your prison is walking this world all alone

[jedi_librettist]

Ben watched out the window as the ship dropped out of hyperspace. He took a shaky breath. It was time. He wouldn't burden his brother anymore. He walked back to his cabin. He didn't know how what he would do after he left. It didn't matter. This was the right thing.

Comments

[middleoftheforce]

Leia nodded, leading them to her quarters. Solo sighed. Ben would need to get used to the crowds sooner or later, you couldn't exactly avoid them.

[jedi_librettist]

Ben tried to smile. He dropped back a step to talk to his brother. "You said I wouldn't have to be... him, remember?"

[middleoftheforce]

"Going to the mess isn't being him," he said. "It's blending. Making people not notice you. Best place to hide is in a crowd."

[jedi_librettist]

"Right. They'll just assume I'm your clone."

Ben rolled his eyes.

"Dada," Ani whined, wiggling.

[middleoftheforce]

"With the stuff I've pulled? There'll be some here who'd believe that."

He glanced at Ani, wondering what was annoying the kid now.

[jedi_librettist]

"And I just happened to show up now with a kid. I doubt they're stupid, Bail. They'll figure it out."

"Dada!" Ani repeated, more insistently. "Stop!"

[middleoftheforce]

He stopped, looking at the kid.

"What's up with you?"

[jedi_librettist]

The toddler frowned. "Dada not being nice. Dada stop."

[middleoftheforce]

Solo shrugged, glancing at Ben. "You heard the Kid. Stop being not nice."

[jedi_librettist]

Ben sighed, shaking his hair away from his face. "Fine. Just... don't try for anything that will remind everyone else I exist."

[middleoftheforce]

Solo looked at Ben, and then glanced at Ani.

"What do we think to that, kid?"

[jedi_librettist]

Ani looked intently at his father and then turned back to his uncle. "Dada scared. Why?"

[middleoftheforce]

Now that was a question.

"It's been a long while since he's seen anyone round here," he said simply. "Seeing people you haven't seen in a long time can be scary."

[jedi_librettist]

The toddler frowned but rested his head on Ben's shoulder.

Ben shrugged his free shoulder. "That'd be simple way of putting it. I guess it's accurate enough."

[middleoftheforce]

"How would you put it then?" Solo said, tilting his head in Ani's direction as if to remind his brother of the presence of the too young to understand the complicated reasons child.

[jedi_librettist]

Ben shrugged again. "Something like that, I guess. But it's especially scary when you did things you shouldn't have done."

[middleoftheforce]

"That explain it all for you, Kid?" Solo glanced once more at Ani.

[jedi_librettist]

Ani nodded against Ben's neck. An arm snuck up and wrap around Ben's neck. "Dada not bad."

Ben stopped, closing his eyes. He bit his lip, trying not to cry.

[middleoftheforce]

There wasn't much that could be said to that, was there? He clapped his brother on the shoulder, in what he hoped would be taken as the reassuring gesture it was meant as.

[jedi_librettist]

Ben automatically stiffened at the touch before leaning into it. He still couldn't get used to touch as something benign. He walked closer to his mother. Whatever else happened, he wanted his son to know Leia.

[middleoftheforce]

As they arrived at her quarters, Leia waved them both in ahead of her. She would go grab them some food and come back, but she had the feeling Ben needed the time to get used to being around people who were not entirely awful again.

[jedi_librettist]

Ben set Ani down when the reached his mother's quarters. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The apartment reminded him of their home when he was a child except without Han's tools. "Is this... Did she..."

[middleoftheforce]

"Did she...?" He wasn't entirely sure how that one was meant to end.

[jedi_librettist]

"This is just like home."

Part of him expected to walk down the hall and find their childhood bedroom.

[middleoftheforce]

"Leia likes keeping things familiar." Not exactly true. She liked keeping things exactly as they were when Ben was with them so that it was familiar for him when he came back.