Vader stared in horror at the announcement slip his children had brought home from preschool.

Apparently, the children would be putting on a play-or, rather, a presentation, if the description was anything to go by. The school had the children research a topic, and the children would be putting on a dramatic retelling of what they'd learned. It actually sounded terribly boring, but he'd read in that parenting book the children's pediatrician had given him that supporting their interests, including school activities, helped foster confidence in children. An important quality in the two most important children in the galaxy, even if his presence would terrify everyone else in the room.

The problem wasn't the boring play. It was what his son was signed up to be.

A walrus.

A walrus.

Leia had a stormtrooper, which was normal enough. But Luke had a walrus? How in the galaxy had he even had the misfortune of getting such an unfortunate aquatic creature?!

He looked up at Miss Laena, who'd handed him the announcement slip in the first place. "My son will not play a walrus in front of a crowd of people!"

The school the children went to was full of senator's children, as well as other important Imperial figures, such as Grand Moffs, generals, and the like. Vader doubted most of those important figures would actually be at the play; most likely, their partners or nannies would go. But it did not matter. Word would spread fast that the son of Darth Vader had played a walrus.

"Luke is very excited about the play, my lord." Miss Laena said carefully. "It's all he's been talking about for weeks, now. I even helped him make the costume."

His stomach dropped. "There's a costume?"

It just got worse and worse.

"Yes, my lord. I might be able to pull together another one in time, but it will break his heart."

Vader gritted his teeth. If this was any other assignment, he'd tell the boy to deal with whatever he chose for him, but he also didn't need him crying on stage in front of everyone because he was unhappy.

He would need to convince him.

"Summon my son. I will speak with him."

Miss Laena hurried to do so, and soon the tiny form of his son came running into his office, immediately climbing (uninvited) into his lap. Vader had no change to stop him before his little arms wrapped around his neck with a hug.

Despite the dire situation, he couldn't help but melt a little under the embrace.

"Hi daddy!" Luke said, pulling away after a moment, settling in comfortably on his leg. "Am I in trouble?"

Perhaps that was the reason for the immediate hug. He would need to discourage such behavior in the future.

"No, my son." He reached up and ruffled his hair. "I just wanted to know why you were assigned to be a walrus in this play."

Luke brightened. "Oh! I'm going to be a walrus, daddy!"

"Yes, but why?" Perhaps he hadn't understood the phrasing of his first question. He struggled to speak on a level the twins would understand, at times.

"Because I like them."

Vader winced. That would make it harder to convince him to change topics.

"But why?"

Luke shrugged. "They look funny."

And that was precisely why he didn't want him to play a walrus in the first place. "Why don't I help you choose something diff-" he cut off as Luke's expression immediately began to fall, his eyes watering.

"No, daddy, I wanna be a walrus!"

Damn.

Already, just from his presence alone, Vader could tell it would be far more of a fight to force him to choose something else than to just do the walrus.

"...I will need to have a word with the school. But fine."

Immediately the tears were gone, and Luke threw his arms around him again before climbing off and running to find his sister. Vader watched after him, wondering how his children had so thoroughly wrapped him around their fingers, before he pulled up his datapad to send a message to the school principal to order that no footage be allowed at the play.

If Luke insisted, he could at least make sure the incident was nothing more than a strange, unconfirmed rumor.

The night of the play, he'd debated on pretending his schedule was too full to attend. That way, perhaps no one would notice that the son of Darth Vader was dressed as a walrus. It wasn't like he didn't have plenty of things to do instead anyway, but every time he thought about not showing up, the imagined disappointment in his children's faces when they returned home was enough to guilt him into keeping the time reserved for the play.

That didn't mean he didn't show up at the last possible second before they closed the doors for the performance.

Naturally, the moment he walked in, a hush fell over the crowd of nannies and parents. He made a face when he recognized a few important officials there who were also apparently trying to be good parents despite their schedules. Normally he could respect that, but today of all days, he wished they'd remained at work.

The principal, a short, portly man, came rushing over not long after he'd found a corner to stand in. "I have issued a strict no recording policy as you wished, Lord Vader."

"Good." Vader crossed his arms, looking over his head to the curtained stage. "Because if there is any recording of my children distributed, I will personally pay you a visit."

The man paled, gulped, and nodded. "Understood, my lord." Then he turned and rushed off.

Moments later, the lights dimmed, and an announcement was made over a microphone to remind everyone of the very fact that no recording was allowed. He half expected them to use him as an excuse, but they mentioned nothing of the rule being a direct order from him.

Hm. He might have mentioned it just to make sure, but if he had to dispose of the principal, he would not lose sleep over it. His children barely knew the man and wouldn't notice if he disappeared. Perhaps he'd do it anyway just for the fact that someone in his staff showed the boy a picture of the infernal animal in the first place.

Once the announcement was made, the "play" began. Sure enough, it was less of a play and more of various small children of different species in costumes reciting facts about whatever they'd researched for the parents. This was followed up by polite clapping, which he did not participate in. They were not his children, after all. He did not care, and he thought most of them were terribly boring anyway.

He was also certain that none of these children had actually done their own research. What a complete waste of time and resources.

But then came Leia. Somehow, Miss Laena had managed to help her construct an almost perfect replica of a stormtrooper armor set, fit perfectly to her petite size. The only thing that he could tell was real was the helmet, which she carried in her arms as more of a prop than anything else.

When she walked onto the stage...as he suspected she would, she immediately acted as though the entire room was there for her. She squared her shoulders, looking over the audience with as high and mighty of a look that an almost five year old could muster.

"Stormtroopers are soldiers who help protect the Empire." She spoke clearly into the microphone. It was...well, as natural as a four year old could get, and a pang went through his chest at the thought of her suddenly looking very much like a mini version of her mother. "They serve over the whole Empire. They can be foot soldiers, or fly TIE fighters, like my daddy does."

He wondered if that was something she was supposed to say, or if she said it just because she was proud of what he did for a living. Not that she knew the full extent of that, but...he offered a rare, unseen smile nonetheless.

"This is a real stormtrooper helmet. My friend let me use it tonight." Friend? What friend? "Stormtroopers are not like clone troopers. They're normal people like you and me."

He refrained from snorting at that. In his opinion, Clone Troops were far superior, but the Emperor did not seem to care for that opinion.

"There's also lots of types of stormtroopers. You can tell what they are because of their uniform. In conclusion, stormtroopers are pretty cool and I like them. They keep us safe, and are friends to all."

That...didn't really make sense. But she was four, and again, probably had her lines written by someone else. Still, when she finished and did a little curtsy, he clapped proudly for the first time the entire show, then watched as she practically skipped off stage.

Then...it was Luke's turn.

It was an experience to have one child give a basic but Imperial pride-supporting speech, then directly afterwards have another child walk out wearing a walrus costume to talk about an animal he'd never even personally seen before. He was sure that anyone who knew Luke was his son probably had a lot of questions he'd never answer right about now.

But there Luke was, walking out wearing a well made, but monstrosity of a costume. He wore a dark gray, long-sleeved tunic that reached his knees, except that the sleeves ended well past where he knew Luke's hands to be, and the end was in the shape of walrus flippers. A tail flopped around with each step Luke took, and his head was almost completely engulfed by a walrus-face hood. The face opening was framed by two giant tusks, what he supposed were whiskers, and at the top of the hood, giant eyes that Vader could swear were staring into his soul.

And underneath, Luke had obviously painted his face. Probably the same color as the tunic.

Half of Vader wanted to have the ground open up and swallow him whole. The other half was admittedly impressed with the lengths his son had put his nanny up to in making this costume. He was also dead certain that if Luke looked back on this costume as an adult, he'd be embarrassed beyond all reason.

"Walruses are water animals who live on water worlds like Mon Cala." Luke began, just as confidently as Leia. It was also obvious he was very proud of the whole thing; he was bouncing a bit in excitement, causing the tail to flop around constantly. Nearby, Vader heard a few parents coo adoringly at the display.

He wondered if it would be noticeable if he used the Force to hold his son in place.

"They can dive deep in the water, but they like to stay near land. They are really, really fat. Also, both the girls and the boy walruses have tusks, like this!" He reached up and tugged on the tusks, earning chuckles from the crowd.

Well. Both of his children definitely liked to use visual aids. It was interesting to know, at least.

"They also live for a super long time. Forty years!" Luke lifted his flipper-hands up in excitement. "They also can live in the cold because they're fat. They like to eat fish. And they make these really funny noises, like-" then Luke proceeded to demonstrate, and more laughter erupted around the room.

As well as Luke was doing, Vader couldn't help but curse whoever had even shown the cursed animal to his son. He would definitely be finding a replacement for the principal after he was through with him.

What had he done to encourage such a fascination with the animal? He was from the desert, so this had to be something from his mother's side of the family, he was sure of it.

But Luke seemed pleased by the audience's reaction. He himself would have to ensure this incident never left this room, but at least his son was happy.

"So yeah, I like walruses. They're funny looking, and that's why I chose to tell you about them." Then, with that said, Luke made a bow, and the audience erupted in far more clapping than had been heard the entire night. Luke straightened, grinned, then ran off stage, his tail and flippers flapping wildly behind him.

Well. It was certainly the most interesting part of the night, he thought as he clapped for his son. And despite being a walrus, his son was perfect. Just...had some odd interests that he sincerely hoped he grew out of.

When the show ended, Vader waited uncomfortably by the doors for his children. Plenty of parents and their costumed kids walked by, all giving him a wide berth. He ignored them all, scanning the crowd for his children. He could sense them coming, but for whatever reason, they kept stopping.

Finally, he saw the small figures of Luke and Leia pushing their way through their crowd, beaming smiles on their faces when they saw him.

"Daddy!" Leia crowed, and he quickly reached out to place his hands on their shoulders before they could try to hug him. He had grown used to their hugs in private, but they were still learning that it was not permitted in public. "Did you like my play?"

"You did well." He confirmed, patting her head, which caused her to make a face and pull away.

"Don't mess up my hair." She muttered.

Luke had pulled the hood down and his painted face looked up at him. "What about mine, daddy? Lots of people told me they liked it." He paused, frowning. "Did you?"

Vader paused, deciding how to phrase it. He did not like that he was parading around in a ridiculous walrus costume, but the whole point of him coming to this ridiculous excuse for a play was to support his children and build their confidence. He could not ruin it by telling his son that he hated the animal he was portraying. "You played your performance well, my son. I am proud of you both."

Yes. That seemed safe. And to his satisfaction, the twins beamed up at him. But the moment was ruined when Luke asked, "Can we go to Mon Cala to see the walruses?"

"Yeah! Let's go, daddy!" Leia added.

He paused for a few breaths of the respirator. "Mon Cala...is not safe for humans."

Luke frowned. "But my friend said he went, and-"

"Why don't I take you to a zoo, instead?" Then maybe Luke would see a different, less embarrassing animal to portray next time. Or maybe he'd lose interest in animals completely.

Luke considered for a moment, then nodded. "Okay daddy." He paused. "Can I be a walrus for Trick Or Treat?"

Again, he paused, trying to come up with an answer that would not hurt his son's feelings. "Why don't you wait until after we go to the zoo?"

Luke also seemed to accept this answer, and Vader took his children's hands in his own, and led them from the theater.

Vader made sure to give pointed glares at anyone who dared look their way.

For slx99, who inspired me to write this little Dad Vader piece! I also have no idea if walrus' exist in the Star Wars universe, but THEY DO NOW!

Love,

LadyVader23