ten_fwd | mending bridges ↺ backdated to the 23rd ↺ closed & ota

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mending bridges ↺ backdated to the 23rd ↺ closed & ota

Curveballs — of the metaphorical sort — have long been a part of Cash's life. During his work for the OSS, it was parts of his plans that hadn't gone accordingly. He'd learned to roll with the punches and to adapt those plans, one of the greatest lessons in his life. In the War, the curveballs had been different altogether: they were sights you couldn't unsee, sounds that never left you after you heard them, sights you had to work past. The same had been true for the town Cash had ended up in, the town in another universe, in varying forms of unpleasantness.

But this particular 'morning', when Cash wakes up, he receives a different kind of curveball altogether. After showering and eating, he sits down to give Squirrel a good backrub and then stiffens when he hears a familiar voice.

"And here I pegged you more as a dog man."

Blinking hard, Cash looks up to see August Gillingwater staring at him from the comm screen.

→ closed to Luke

The family resemblance is visible, though Cash's father is more heavyset and stocky in build. But their faces — that's the key. They have the same blue eyes, the same dark brown hair, the same cheekbones. August has a neat beard, threaded with grey hairs. He's wearing the same beat-up shirt, dark blue faded to middle blue, that Cash remembers him always wearing around the house. His suits are for Sundays only.

"...dad," Cash manages, shocked.

"That's me." August frowns. "You called me, didn't you?"

"Er... yeah, sure." Just go with it, he thinks, getting up to sit closer to the screen. Squirrel's attention will have to wait. When's the last time he'd even seen his father? He can't remember. Some call during the War, probably... perhaps two years ago. "How've you been?"

August — in the same gruff voice he remembers, lower than Cash's — talks more about the family than himself, as per usual. How his brothers and sisters are doing. How Cash's mother is making too much food, as per usual. How Abingdon is faring. How tedious he finds the latest electronic devices. Cash sits, entranced, until his father mentions one of his brothers getting married.

"Jackson? He must have found a saint. ...Oh, uh... dad, I have someone I'd like you to meet," he says slowly. He feels a bundle of nerves settle in his stomach, though nowhere close to how many he'd be feeling if this were in person.

August looks surprised. Like Cash, he jokes about it. "I've already met the cat, son."

"Squirrel doesn't count." Cash looks around, toward the bedroom, trying to figure out if Luke is still hanging around their quarters. "Luke?"

→ OTA

Though his relationship with his father has been on the mend for a few years, Cash doesn't know how to process suddenly getting to speak with him. Things seem fine back home. It should be a relief, but there's a little tug of feeling in Cash's stomach — discomfort, that he isn't around. It's not his fault and it hasn't been for a while, but he supposes a part of him is still finding it hard to settle on the Enterprise.

Instead, he settles for getting some off-ship time. Cash grew up on a large portion of land, where his father had grown corn and wheat. He'd helped with the crops every step of the way until things at home had gotten bad enough for him to run away, as a teenager. He can't claim to know about every plant, certainly, but he knows the basics. And working with dirt is a familiar, calming task. So he puts his skills to as much use as he can.

When the natives aren't looking, Cash also puts being a divinity to use. He has only raw healing energy, which works more effectively on humans, but it tends to have a positive effect on plants with prolonged exposure. He keeps his output slow and faint, focusing on the plants which aren't doing so well, and gently rubs his thumb against the leaves. Perhaps some of the plants will turn back toward health.

He's smiling as he works, keeping his feelings under wraps. Anyone who works near him gets a friendly nod at the very least. He doesn't bother to hide his magic from fellow inhabitants of the ship; he's sure they've seen stranger things, for the most part.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That was when a very cheerful young woman on a motor scooter arrived with several more boxes of supplies. Ed was not a planter or even having a green thumb but her electronics skills came in handy for greenhouse lighting and she also offered her bike to make supply runs. "Fresh supply of saplings and seeds!" she called with a cheery smile. "Also brought down more water." pointing to the pallet of bottles perched atop her scooter.

Cash glances up from the warm soil, resisting the urge to wipe away a droplet of sweat that's hell-bent on tickling his face. He'd just end up with the biggest muddy streak of them all, he tells himself.

Recognizing her from their previous conversation in Ten Forward, he grins.

"Ah, thanks. It was starting to get low over here." Pausing, Cash awkwardly shrugs his shoulder so that he can wipe his face on a clean spot on his sleeve. "Nice ride."

As Ed unloaded the pallet of water and the seeds/saplings from the back of her scooter she had to smile. "Thanks! Had her for ages and she's taken her share of damage from pillar crashes to potholes. Figured since I can't plant or research I'll make supply runs since I do have wheels."

"Doesn't take much effort to plant, if it's a lesson you want," Cash offers, taking a deep breath and a short break from his work. He sits back on his haunches, looking much less stressed than when he started. "Just have to make sure the roots are free, and it's got enough space around it for growin'."

And the water, of course. The water is the truly simple part. But he won't take any issue if she refuses, since he's known his fair share of people who can kill plants by seemingly doing nothing at all. Perhaps it's some sort of aura they put off. He's not certain.

Being an early riser, Luke has already been up for a while, though he spent most of the morning in the gym getting a good workout. Now that he feels that his life isn't completely falling apart anymore, he actually has the energy and drive to do so. He got back a little while ago and he's been in the shower, but is only just now stepping out after drying his hair.

It sounded like Cash said something. Luke's clothes are in the bedroom but he decides to peek into the living room first. "Did you say some-- OH!"

Luke's eyes go wide when he realizes what, or who, Cash had been talking to. The comm screen is on and Luke realizes that he's just inside the camera's field of view. Spinning rather comically on his heels, he quickly reverses gears and sprints back into the bedroom.

He doesn't emerge until several moments later after he's had a chance to pull on a shirt and some pants, but pauses as he peeks out from the short hallway. At the moment he still has no idea who Cash has on the comm system. There's only a small handful of people on the ship who Luke wouldn't be mortified to see on that screen. That doesn't narrow down the possibility of humiliation by a whole lot.

He's put so off-balance by the sudden nature of the conversation with his father that it doesn't occur to him to warn Luke, which he immediately feels bad about when he sees the pair of retreating legs. Oops. He bites his lower lip, looking back to the screen. August Gillingwater's wearing an impressive poker face, but perhaps there's a shade of amusement in his blue eyes.

And here Cash had been wondering how to broach the subject — what Luke means to him — any way other than the direct route. He's never introduced his flings, or thoroughly short term partners, to either of his parents before. Based on that alone, his father is visibly doing some quick math in his head.

"And here I thought you'd stick to bar floozies the rest of your life."

Cash sighs quietly. Despite the nature of the comment, his father does sound approving. "Dad, please."

But his father takes no quarter, outright smirking now. Still in that vaguely approving manner. "I hope you're not bein' too much of a jackass."

He glances back, catching sight of Luke again. This time with clothes on. His expression is briefly almost as overwhelmed as he feels, but he makes an effort to smile and try to seem less so. "Hey, sweetheart. Uh... so... my dad's on the horn."

And I know how absurd that is, his tone implies, but here we are.

Well that's probably one of the last people in the universe Luke expected to be on that comm screen. His brows furrow and he stands and stares in confusion for a moment before slowly emerging from the hallway to get a better look.

"Your dad?"

Sure enough, the man on the screen certainly does look like someone who could be Cash's dad. The family resemblance is easy to see. Luke's somewhat forgotten the embarrassment from a moment ago in favor of doing some more confused staring. How? Why? What? seem to be the first questions that cross his mind but something about Cash's expression is telling him that even he doesn't know how this happened.

So now Luke is faced with the realization that he is officially meeting one of his boyfriend's parents. This is normally an occasion that one would want to make an impeccable first impression for.

... Which is a hope that can be safely tossed out the window. Perhaps a good second impression can make this salvageable.

"Hello, sir," he says in a remarkably even tone for how nervous he actually feels. Dads like it when you call them 'sir'. "Bar floozies, huh?" he utters to Cash with a dry smirk. He only caught bits and pieces of the conversation from the bedroom but that one carried.

Cash reaches out and threads their fingers together, just in case his father had any lingering doubts on the matter. And perhaps for some courage in the matter. He hadn't had any time to prepare for this at all. Normally -- as he understands it -- you're supposed to fret and worry for a few days or a week over this kind of thing.

"Dad, Luke. Luke, my dad."

The man on the screen, in his late sixties, waves a weathered hand. While his face has aged well, his hands bear the signs of working in the dirt -- and with machinery -- all of his life. "Just call me August, please. It's nice to meet you, Luke. His mother and I never thought we'd get to meet anyone he was with."

Cash shrugs easily, as though this entire situation was planned. Though there's a touch more color to his cheeks than usual. "Well, now you have."

August's blue eyes are sharp, but not unfriendly, as he peers at the screen. "Harriet would love to be here. She's out right now, at her book club. I hope he's been treating you well, Luke? He's my youngest boy, you know. Grew up with twelve siblings. Whenever we needed to find him we'd look out in the woods."

At least he's probably not going to go get baby pictures, Cash thinks, holding back a sigh.

"It's uh..." he glances to Cash again, the surprise and confusion still hinted on his face, "... really great to meet you, too."

Questioning how this conversation is possible at all should probably wait until later, Luke figures. Cash's dad doesn't seem all that surprised or confused, other than at meeting Cash's boyfriend, apparently. Luke raises his eyebrows slightly. He knew Cash hadn't had much in the way of relationships, but he's wondering why his parents would be so surprised to see him with anyone ever.

Is there something Luke doesn't know? Probably something else to save until later too.

He certainly doesn't miss Cash's slightly pink-ish face and he can't help but grin. Seeing Cash in a somewhat vulnerable state is one of his favorite things, mostly because Cash usually fights it so hard.

"He's been wonderful," Luke says with the utmost confidence. "And my standards are pretty high." Something's telling him that that might catch August off-guard. He doesn't seem to have much belief in his son's ability to hold onto anybody. While Luke doesn't exactly know what's going on, he's somewhat set on proving that notion wrong.

Then, some little spark of thought enters his head, as if it were an idea that had floated to him from elsewhere. He grins in the most shit-eating way that Luke ever does. "You should get out the baby pictures. That'd be fun, don't you think?"

His fingers squeeze Cash's hand gently, in a sort of teasing-affectionate way.

August blinks, briefly, as if this news -- that his son could be wonderful in a relationship -- really does surprise him. Cash tries not to think about it too much. His dad's never had a high opinion of him. Even now, when, from his dad's perspective, he was serving alongside the military in the War, there were still flickers in their conversations. His opinion was improving, but it was a slow climb.

As a teen, his view of his father had been just as low. But he'd never stopped loving him. After most of the hurt had been soothed away by their reconciliation, Cash had known what he'd known as a small boy: that his father was an influential person in his hometown for a good reason. He was a strong leader, a kind ear, and someone who had a talent for bringing others together. He'd just proved to be terrible at those skills with Cash.

"Well, good. See to it that you keep it that way, kiddo. Your mom'll be thrilled."

When Luke mentions baby pictures, the smile on August's face turns decidedly smirk-like as he glances around him at the room he's in. He's in the living room of the Gillingwater family home, decorated in a rustic manner and surrounded at the walls by bookshelves -- Cash's mother is a voracious reader.

"Now, where did I put that tablet?"

Cash groans, not quite loud enough for his father to hear, and resists the urge to toss a dirty look in Luke's direction. He should have known not to think that too hard. But he's still caught off-guard by this whole thing.

"Dad, you don't need to--" he tries.

"No, no, Luke's right. That's a tradition, innit?" August pipes up, reappearing on screen with what appears to be a rectangular piece of glass. He puts on a pair of plain brown-framed glasses and squints as the glass lights up with icons, navigating them slowly with pokes of his index finger. He's still smirking. "If I can work this damned thing. I miss the old computers. I knew how to deal with them."

"Don't you still have that hulk?" Cash wonders. He starts hoping that, just maybe, his dad won't be able to find the pictures.

"Tara gave us this thing for your mom's birthday, and we've been learning." His dad glances up for a second at Luke. "Tara's one of his younger sisters. Used to follow him around like a shadow. She's a real estate professional now."

Certainly, Luke could have anticipated a slightly less than enthusiastic reaction out of Cash. However, the audible groan coupled with the verbal protests gets Luke eyeing him with his eyebrows slightly raised. He's always known that Cash tends to react defensively when put into a vulnerable position, but for baby pictures?

He leans over and mutters so that only Cash can hear, "Are you that afraid of me seeing you in a diaper?" Then with a soft, encouraging smile he presses affectionately against Cash's side and says a bit louder, "Relax. I'll bet you were a cute baby."

Luke's willing to wait as long as it takes for those photos, and it might be one of the few times Cash ever gets to see him wait this patiently. Of course, he's also trying to make a good impression.

August probably wouldn't be as impressed with a younger Luke who used to blow up in irritation at people who didn't move fast enough for his liking. As it is, though, he's still waiting for an opportunity to mention that he's a retired general and has been awarded nearly every high honor there is in the New Republic.

While he isn't too confident with his looks or dateability, Luke will talk someone's ear off about his accomplishments, especially when he's looking to impress.

"I wish I had some of my own pictures with me to share," he comments with a little smirk.

Of course he'd be patient. It's almost a thought, but Cash cancels it out as Luke says, just that bit louder, that he must have been a cute baby. August snorts audibly as he navigates the tablet. Because there's no back to the screen, all of the photos are visible as the elder Gillingwater navigates through them. The majority are family photos, but some are also photos taken inside of the church he preaches in every Sunday.

"Oh, he was a real troublemaker," August recalls, shaking his head. "Never wanted to nap. Always wanted to be in the middle of things, with the older kids."

Cash shakes his head and mutters, quietly, "S'not the diapers."

As one of the youngest of a large group of children, all of his early clothes had been hand-me-downs. It had been necessary, financially, with ten children already in the family. All but the first few had been in hand-me-downs. The first picture his father pulls up, naturally, is one of the pictures that he's dreading.

Two boys, eight years old and seven years old, are holding a toddler -- Cash -- in their laps at a picnic. His white one-piece outfit is lace with a side of lace, and perhaps just a smidge of white fabric in the front. His hands can barely be seen through the lace cuffs, and his head doesn't fare much better with the elaborate collar. His brothers look as though holding their baby brother is the ultimate in terrible chores. Cash already has a decent mop of brown hair, a few shades lighter than his hair now, barely visible through the lace.

"Here we are. Jackson looks real thrilled, doesn't he," August snorts. "Ah, and then..."

The picture vanishes and is replaced by one of a wrinkly, pink much younger Cash, a month or so after being born. His onesie is, in Cash's mind, one of the ugliest shades of yellow that can be seen by the human eye. It has a pattern of blue elephants holding snare drums -- which is mostly covered up by the huge nest of pink, blue and green-and-yellow polka dot blankets keeping Cash warm and safe. Holding Cash securely is his mother, Harriet, a kindly-looking woman with an angular chin and bright blonde hair in an elegant knot on the top of her head.

"Yellow's mom's favorite color, isn't it," Cash sighs. August nods a confirmation, before looking to Luke as he scrolls through a few more. Cash at five, wearing beaten-up green overalls... Cash at ten, with a black eye... Cash at twelve, wearing an angry expression while one of his older brothers catches him in a 'joking' headlock... As the pictures go on, Cash looks unhappy in nearly all of them, except when with his youngest sisters. They stop at the age of fifteen. In the last one, Cash is clearly trying to ignore the family gathering with a tablet in his lap.

"So, Luke. What is it that you do?" August wonders.

Cash mutters to him, and the first photo nearly makes Luke snort. All that lace...

Though as he watches the photos on the screen, his smile slowly fades. He's beginning to realize why Cash didn't want this and, while he feels a bit badly, he's still glad he knows. He'd gotten a hint of Cash's past earlier, but of course Cash was hesitant to delve into too many details. Luke's known many, many people with pasts they weren't that proud of. The Alliance was chock full of ex-Imperials looking to right their wrongs. He's one of the last people likely to judge someone for it.

So long as they've lived and learned, he figures. Luke's other hand comes up to hug on Cash's arm affectionately.

Though it appears that August is less than eager to forget things like that. Perhaps it's a bit harder when the person is your son, but Luke still doesn't like it. Suddenly, he feels that twinge of determination that he gets when he decides to take matters onto himself.

It's time to prove a little point.

He interjects with a confident and amused tone. "If I didn't know any better I'd say it sounded like you were talking about me when I was a kid. It's hard to remember a time when I wasn't grounded. Anything my uncle didn't want me to do... I usually did it. And I do seem to remember running off a few times."

Of course, without a way to get off-planet there really wasn't anywhere to go. But he sure tried. Although he's trying to prove a point, every word of what he says is true. Not even a single exaggeration. And he hopes Cash is listening, too.

Finally August asks the question Luke had hoped he would ask. And he already has his speech prepared.

"I'm a retired army general and commander of an elite starfighter squadron, a war veteran. Full honors. They begged me to stay but I had more important things to do. I was promised funding to open up an academy for people who have powers like mine. I want to teach them how to use them. And occasionally I do favors for the government when they need the help."

By the end, he's beaming quite proudly and looking August right in the eyes. He gently squeezes Cash's hand again.

If Cash hadn't made up that he's doing void travel amidst the War, his father would have a perplexed expression on his face in trying to digest Luke's accomplishments. But luckily, the concept of the Multiverse is second nature to anyone from Cash's world. So August simply digests that with a nod which could absolutely be seen as approving.

He even looks mildly pleased, for the briefest of moments, before his casual expression descends again. But he's smiling. The wording of 'powers' seems to throw him the most, but he simply assumes that Luke is talking about some specialization of magic and the crease in his brow passes quickly.

"Retired, huh?" August raises a friendly brow. Luke is young for that kind of thing. Whatever explanation Luke offers, he gobbles it right up. Military service is highly thought of in the Gillingwater family. "You must've been some General, son."

Cash internally cringes, expecting his father to put in something about being a good influence for him. It isn't that, even. He knows Luke is a good influence on him, and it's one of the many reasons he loves him. But from his father, it would sound detrimental. As though Cash has no good things of his own. Happily, however, that doesn't happen.

Perhaps they're making better ground in their relationship than he thought.

He winds an arm around Luke and gives him a gentle squeeze. "He certainly is." Cash chuckles warmly. "You can tell mom I'm very happy. I know she'd ask."

"Speaking of which, I should probably go pick her up now, Cash." August smiles at the both of them. "I'll give everyone your regards. Speak again soon, eh?"

Cash's expression wavers into troubled territory. He still has no idea what caused this call into another universe -- although he can make an educated guess. Getting another shot at it? Well, there's no guarantee. He might have grey on his temples before that time comes again. ...or perhaps it won't. Perhaps, in all of his odd travels, this is the last time he'll speak to his father. It's an oddly pessimistic thought from a man who tries to be optimistic, but it won't go away so easily.

"Yeah, dad." He nods, forcing himself to look like this was all planned by him. "We'll talk again soon."

Cash's assurance to his father as to his happiness broadens Luke's smile and he even goes a bit pink as he leans into him, an arm sliding around his back. From what he's learned about the relationship between Cash and his father, it seems to him that this encounter went about as well as it could have.

Well, perhaps he could have avoided that embarrassing moment of exhibitionism towards the beginning. Aside from that.

Though as Luke realizes that the call is ending, and what that might mean for the future, his smile starts to fade. He can feel a hint of a similar emotion through the Force from Cash. There's no telling when they might get to speak with anyone from their home universes this way again, if ever.

"It was an honor to meet you, sir. I'll make sure Cash stays out of trouble." If August wants to take that literally, so be it. Maybe it'll make him feel better. Luke's hoping he at least acknowledges it as a promise to protect Cash.

His arm around Cash tightens and he rests his temple against his shoulder.

August nods, his smile remaining. Cash silently marvels at it -- as a kid, he'd gotten used to this expression being leveled at his siblings. It's still something of a rarity to see it directed at him. There's an extra layer, too; if he never sees his father again, at least he gets to see him smiling. It's a good thing to remember him by... if it comes to that.

"You kids take care," the elder Gillingwater tells them. It's almost a command, but a friendly one. "It was nice to meet you, Luke."

And just like that, the screen goes blank. In the same way it was before Cash heard his father talking, abruptly, and the whole strange -- but good -- journey was started. He blinks at the screen for a moment before he turns his head to Luke, against his shoulder and side.

"Sorry I didn't warn you." Cash keeps his arm where it is. He likes having Luke close. "That just suddenly... happened. Couldn't even respond to him at first, I just stared like a fish through aquarium glass. Luckily he thought I'd just gotten up or something."

And luckily, he'd bought the rest of the story about void traveling. The exact bits about void travel is still off-limits to the public, or his father would know that you always returned to a universe in nearly the exact same moment you left. There wouldn't be any real passage of time since someone saw you last. He'd thought about coming clean and just telling him the whole story, but... he'd have to gloss over a lot of unpleasantness. No need to stress August Gillingwater out any further, with all they'd been through before.

"He likes you," Cash adds.

A moment after the screen darkens, Luke opens his mouth to ask Cash how the heck that happened, but Cash just barely beats him to it. It sure doesn't clear much up, though. It just happened? That doesn't make any sense. But then, a lot of things around here don't make sense. Is this just part of the experience? Is Q up to things again?

Luke looks back to the blank screen again a bit sadly, contemplating the sudden thought that he and Cash could very well never see that man again. He also remembers that Cash had been ready to follow him to his home universe, possibly separated from his own home forever.

He was vaguely aware of Cash's rickety relationship with his family, particularly his father, but this conversation hadn't been too bad. August seemed far more agreeable than many other fathers Luke has known, not even including his own. Anakin Skywalker was in a category all his own...

Luke stays pressed into Cash's side, suddenly wanting to wrap his arms tightly around him and comfort him. He smiles softly at what Cash tells him.

"I'm glad. He seems like he's worth impressing." Which is a compliment to August. Luke knows that sometimes there are people you simply can't please no matter what you do. Cash's father doesn't seem like that sort at all. In fact, he reminded Luke quite a bit of Uncle Owen. Gruff sometimes, slow to show affection, but a good man and very caring deep down.

Finally Luke gives in to his desire and reaches up around Cash's shoulders to pull him into a tight, warm hug. "You okay?" he asks softly, nose tucked close to Cash's ear.

As an adult, Cash knows that his father is a kind soul. He spends long hours at his church listening to the troubles of people in the community, and he represents their concerns at town meetings and other such gatherings. But as a boy, he'd only known him as an impossible to please, commandeering father.

Living out of the house, with an adult relationship rather than that of a minor and an adult, has done worlds of good for them. Especially after Cash had been assigned to the war effort. Both his mother and father had been happy to overlook their complicated past in order to accept that their youngest son was finally, in their eyes, doing well. Which had also helped August's opinion of Luke, Cash is certain.

Cash sighs quietly, in contentment, as Luke hugs him. He takes advantage of the closeness to twine his own arms around the small of Luke's back and, helped by his substantial upper body strength, tug him into his lap. Having him close helps the conflicted feelings he's having -- the happiness at seeing his family again, but the uncertainty of not knowing if this will be the last time.

"I don't know," he admits. "I guess I'm okay. I'm glad you got to meet someone from back home. But... still not sure where that came from, or..."

He shrugs, rather than admit what he's been thinking. Luke can probably feel it anyway.

"Glad to know embarrassing baby pictures are a thing in other universes," Cash adds teasingly.

There's something very sweet and very affectionate about the way Cash pulls Luke close, and he huffs a small, soft laugh as he's tugged into Cash's lap. His legs slide over a bit awkwardly as he tries to keep his balance, and then he melts into Cash as his arms tighten around him.

All he wants to do is stay like this, with Cash, for as long as possible. Just holding each other. Perhaps he's feeling more sentimental than usual, which is saying a lot, because of that conversation.

He sighs slowly against Cash's shoulder, feeling a tiny hint of turmoil from him. Luke knows what he's thinking and it hurts. Cash says he's okay but Luke can easily guess that's not the whole story. His fingers run up into Cash's hair and hold the back of his head, trying for some comfort.

The corners of his mouth quirk at the mention of baby pictures, but then the slight smile fades. There's a small twinge of guilt as Luke is brought back to the realization from before.

He lets out another slow breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was going to bring up things that--..."

Luke realizes he doesn't even know how to describe it. The Force is too foggy for him to have gotten a clear reading. All he could sense was negative feelings. He frowns softly. "I didn't like the way he talked about you. He didn't seem to have much faith in you."

Contented, Cash settles his cheek against the side of Luke's head and his hair. There might be more than a few unpleasant thoughts in his head, but having Luke close, like this, really makes them seem less... well, upsetting. His presence in Cash's arms is a balm against them.

He's never had anyone like that before. Sure, he's met some people who were a lot of fun to be with, while he was, but having them near -- or far -- had never impacted his emotions like this. They'd always been a temporary comfort. Whereas having Luke around is a surefire way to put Cash in a good mood.

"It's fine," he murmurs softly, smiling. "My childhood's just..."

Cash isn't sure how to finish that. Complicated? Luke deserves more than that answer. He tries again.

"My dad and I had a complicated relationship when I was a kid. He wanted me to become a preacher, like him. My mom wanted me to become that or a doctor. There were a lot of... expectations. Too many for me. So I ran away when I was a teenager. I didn't talk to them or see them for four years. Fell in with some... bad people. When my dad tracked me down, it was because I'd gotten arrested. He refused to bail me out. After that, even when I worked for the government, he was... disappointed. It was when I joined the War effort that we patched things up. I was finally doing something of worth, I guess, in their eyes."

He shrugs his shoulders lightly. It is what it is. His father had been too set on him following in his footsteps, and he hadn't known how to deal with that much responsibility at that age.

As Cash talks about the complications with his family, Luke's fingers stroke gently through his hair. It doesn't matter to him what Cash's past is like. All that matters is that he's made things right and that he finds peace in that. All Luke wants is to comfort him. And everything Cash is saying about his father sounds awfully familiar...

Luke snorts softly. "If I hadn't just met him I'd start to wonder if your dad and my uncle weren't the same person."

He's spoken about Uncle Owen a few times, told Cash that they never got along very well. Luke and Owen were just about polar opposites and they clashed constantly because of it. Owen was a bit of a homebody and believed in sticking to safe, tried and true methods, whereas Luke always likes to keep moving and trying new things. Owen stuck very close to the rules and Luke is always pushing the limits. Not because he wants to create trouble for anyone, but simply because he feels claustrophobic otherwise. There's always bigger and better things out there and Luke has to see what they are. It's just who he is.

And they were both incredibly stubborn, which just made the clashing that much worse. They had very different opinions and compromises very rarely happened. If it hadn't been for Aunt Beru's calm nature to mediate things, they would have driven each other crazy.

"He wanted me to stay at home and take over the moisture farm someday. Knowing me, you can probably imagine how much I would have enjoyed that." Luke scoffs softly and can't help rolling his eyes. Even though he was difficult to live with sometimes, Luke knows Owen was only trying to protect him. But he couldn't have honestly though that Luke would ever be content to live out his life on Tatooine. He knew Luke better than that. It must have eaten at him every day, knowing that he would likely fail to keep Luke around.

"But part of me thinks he'd be proud of me anyway, if he were still alive." At least, Luke hopes so. With Uncle Owen it was sometimes hard to tell. He cared deeply for Luke, but his actions were so often out of selfish, paranoid reasons.

Luke then lets out a quiet sigh through his nose and lifts his head to look at Cash. "And I still think you deserve so much better from your father. I hope I at least got him thinking."

Cash kisses Luke's forehead softly. He can't imagine Luke sitting still in one location long enough to run... a farm. Much less on Tatooine, which sounds like Australia but far worse. They'd both been born on farms, but neither one of them had felt the need to stay on a farm.

"I'm sure he'd be proud of you. If he wasn't, I'd worry about his judgment," Cash says firmly. He looks less convinced as to his own father, but... maybe.

Maybe if they ever get back to their own respective universes, or another fluke like this happens. It makes him momentarily guilty that he was so ready to go with Luke to another universe. But only for that moment. If there's one thing this whole thing has taught him, it's that he's exceptionally comfortable with, and feels close to, Luke.

The fact that he was able to tell Luke about his early turmoil, without feeling exceptionally self-conscious, says volumes.

If that's where his life goes, then he's fine with that.

"I'm proud of you, and I don't even know how much we've known each other," he jokes. Thanks, kidnappings and lack of resources where they initially met.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

mending bridges ↺ backdated to the 23rd ↺ closed & ota

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