The Perk, Late Saturday Afternoon

[suitably_heroic]

Considering how Portalocity was, Atton usually preferred to stick to home until it felt like a good time to head back to the island for class. But, well, he still had some stuff to move home from the Hawk, and the end of the semester was coming up, next weekend was prom (with all the potential chaos that involved, and while he'd made sure he wouldn't have to worry about children, well, he still sometimes worried about children), and most importantly: he was an absolute coward and needed time to regroup after trying and failing to move himself to have Conversations last week.

So he'd just... jump in and out, maybe overnight it. Yeah.

Luckily, his Jedi Portalocity account was still active - maybe Mical hadn't dared to terminate it, so one quick portal later, and he found himself back at the Perk, sipping a chocolate macchiato and staring out the window. Well after noon, so that he'd at least find out quickly if there was something happening he needed to worry about.

"Really?" he muttered, as the preponderance of new tiny Force presences on the island finally registered. "Really, island?"

Right, if anyone stormed in calling him 'dad' he was out of here. Out. Of. Here.

[[ open! set late in the afternoon, so feel free to make Perk posts at an earlier hour if necessary ]]

Comments

[sith_happened]

Well, she wouldn't call Atton "Dad", and she delighted in calling Anakin Great Gramps so maybe that'll cheer your day?

Anakin swept into the shop, cloak swirling and slightly obscuring the little girl behind him with three ponytails lined up along the middle of her head. "If you sit and don't touch anything--and lifting them with the Force counts as touching--you can have a muffin along with your drink," he promised. "A bran muffin."

The little girl gave him a deeply unimpressed look in reply.

"Rand," Anakin added with a nod. "Meet Bae."

Who was not at Anakin's house because Anakin's daughter had jokes. SO MANY jokes.

[suitably_heroic]

There was a very, very long pause.

And then Atton began to snicker. Quite loudly. "Bae."

Beat.

"Skywalker."

Another snicker.

"Bae Skywalker."

He had lived on contemporary Earth for too long.

[sith_happened]

"She's not from around here," Anakin hissed. "It's not her fault."

Rey, on the other hand...Anakin had questions.

[suitably_heroic]

"Oh, I'm not judging her, I'm judging whatever future version of you named her that," Atton said, attempting to get the snickering under control.

What? He knew he wasn't parent material, why did you think he hated this weekend?

[sith_happened]

"Oh, she's Rey's daughter," Anakin said, "and Rey is not on the island right now. So I'm babysitting." He blew out a breath. "What a dream come true," he added dryly.

[suitably_heroic]

"...Doesn't Rey live here?" Atton said. "Like. Long enough to know what bae means?"

She was friends with Summer, of all people.

[sith_happened]

"It's on my list of questions right after 'where are you and when are you picking this child up'," Anakin assured him, turning to the barista and asking for a hot chocolate and a non-bran muffin because he wasn't that cruel.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton rubbed the side of his head. "I have not," he said, "Missed this particular weekend."

[sith_happened]

"I'm better with this one than last week," Anakin replied. "But then I have four children already."

[suitably_heroic]

"Yes, because you're absolutely insane and you apparently have the most patient wife in the world," Atton sighed.

[sith_happened]

"And there were twenty years between the first set of kids and the second," Anakin added. "That helped."

[suitably_heroic]

"You realize that doesn't necessarily reflect well on you, right," Atton pointed out.

[sith_happened]

"Oh, most things don't," Anakin said readily.

[usual_suspects]

Well, here came a tiny green whirlwind dashing in the door and flinging herself at him. "Uncle Jack!"

[suitably_heroic]

"What? Oh n--"

Poor little ex-Sith, ex-Jedi, so easily caught by surprise by a child tackling him.

Metaphorically? Mostly metaphorically.

[unusual_sith]

Lana followed soon after, shaking her head. "I'm sure I must have taught you not to jump unexpectedly on people," she said.

The little girl rolled her eyes. "But it's Uncle Jack, not people!"

[suitably_heroic]

"I am not an uncle!" Atton protested.

(Uncle Jack? No, he wasn't going to get into the insanity of thinking about that one.)

[unusual_sith]

"Apparently you are," Lana said. "Metaphorically. If it helps at all, apparently this one's other mother is the Jedi Barsen'thor. I still have no idea how that happened."

The little girl rolled her eyes. "Sometimes when two ladies love each other very much, they live together, and when they want to have a family, they adopt someone."

Lana sighed. "Well, she certainly gets the attitude from somewhere."

It was absolutely you, Lana, you troll.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton pulled his macchiato a little closer towards himself, now that he was vaguely sure he'd keep his arms free. "Yeah," he said dryly, looking straight at her. "I wonder who?"

[unusual_sith]

Lana raised an eyebrow. "I couldn't say."

"Mum, can I get a cocoa?"

Lana nodded. "Go on. Get two; I think I could use some chocolate."

She ran the couple steps to the desk.

Lana watched her go, then sank down in another chair at Atton's table. "I haven't decided if this is more or less likely than the last child that showed up. Honestly, this island!"

[suitably_heroic]

"It's better not to think about it," Atton said sagely, still watching the kid from behind his macchiato. "I was planning to clear out for prom weekend, just to avoid the island sneaking one up on me."

[unusual_sith]

"Well, unless they're on their way, I think you're safe," Lana said. She quirked a smile. "Relatively, anyway. She did ask if we could go watch your band."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton rubbed his forehead. "And here I thought I was getting out of this one unscathed," he sighed. "Guess we're still friends in the future."

Besides the kneejerk panic that 'uncle' brought on in him, that at least didn't sound too horrific.

[usual_suspects]

There was a brief jump over to their table as their drinks were made.

"Uncle Jack, where's Uncle Dane?" Kyala asked. "Can we go to New York? Can I play guitar? Can we go see a show?"

[suitably_heroic]

Why had Atton chosen to keep drinking his beverage?

Because right now he was absolutely choking on a gulp of coffee and it was not comfortable.