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The first child he met was while he was on a mission to liberate the planet from separatist military’s control. The 501st succeeded in regaining control back, but the conflict had left the nearby town in shambles. Despite the evacuation, many civilians were left trapped under the debris.
It happened so quickly that even Anakin couldn’t react as the orphanage went up in flames. At least his men and the children they were escorting had already left when it happened. He only had time to lunge at the female twi’lek teacher and the human kid in her arms before what felt like the whole building dropped on top of him.
He blinked awake in the darkness, and immediately started coughing violently to get rid of the dust choked in his throat. Everything hurts. His back under the robes felt suspiciously damp. At least his arms could still move. One of his legs was ominously numb, and he tried not to think about it.
The twi’lek teacher was unmoving in front of him. He knew she was dead before he even reached out to gently shift her body off the boy.
The boy stared up at him under the corpse of his teacher, blinking huge, green eyes. It was unnerving being stared at, with the oddly focused and knowing look in the boy’s eyes. By some miracle, he wasn't even scratched.
“Hey,” Anakin croaked. He immediately grimaced as his voice rasped horribly in his mouth. “Are you alright?”
It felt like rocks were grinding against each other in his throat.
“Rex would get us out of here in no time.” He said quietly. “We’ll be alright.”
The boy reached out towards him. Instinctively, Anakin reached back to hold the tiny hand in his.
The physical contact felt like being battered over the head. He squeezed his eyes shut instantly, although he knew it was happening in his head. It felt like a supernova had just gone off next to him, so hot and bright it nearly blinded him. Too much, he thought. The boy’s Force presence roared like a wild storm. He has absolutely no shields at all. It was a shock that no other Force-sensitive has found him before.
Anakin struggled to contain that Brightness, desperately dragging the Force behind a wall before it could overwhelm his own senses. This must be what other people feel about him all the time when his own shield is down, he thought in a daze. It left him feeling more exhausted than before, and he almost didn’t notice the newly formed bond.
Little one. Brother. Mine.
His eyes widened in shock as the Force settled in contentment around them. The child cooed in satisfaction and tightened his grip around Anakin’s hand.
The second child was a little older than Corin, his new bright and demanding brother. But she was still really young; she was maybe 5 or 6 but her bones were visible under her sallow blue skin and she looked tinier than a child of her own age. The robes that Anakin draped around her body swallowed her and he had to carry her so she wouldn’t keep tripping over the hem.
He could feel the Force like an ebbing tide behind her flimsy and untrained shield, hiding a vastness beneath, as strong and powerful as Corin’s when Anakin first met him. But at least she has a semblance of a shield when they touched, although the bond that abruptly formed between them still nearly knocked him over.
He wanted to scream as the new bond rooted deep between them, basking happily beside Corin’s like a sleepy loth-cat. Despite the tightness in his chest, the flutter of trepidation swallowing his words, he knew that this little Pantoran slave was his sister now.
He determinedly ignored the building hysterical panic to focus on the girl in his arms.
He needed to get her to Kix, get the detonator chip out of her body and settled her down first before he could think about anything else.
He could barely manage Corin. How was he going to care for this severely traumatized and frightened girl?
He tried not to think about how he was already thinking of caring for her, instead of dumping her on someone else.
(No one was going to take her away from him.)
Well, at least he has Padme. And Obi-Wan, as much as his old mentor was going to complain about the appearance of a second Force kid. He also has Ahsoka and the 501st to babysit the kids.
Everything was going to be fine.
After the fiasco with his two new siblings, and as much as he had grown to love them (although don’t let the Council hear that from him), he was a little wary of children on missions now. Rex teased him for it, but Anakin knew his captain was a little worried about running into more Force kids (or whatever they were, whatever he was) too.
He left the children for Ahsoka to deal with now.
So why?
He stared blankly at the defiant Togruta boy glaring beside a bemused Jesse. Rex didn’t even bother to hide his exasperated sigh.
“Kriff.” He exhaled. How did no one not noticed the kid sneaking onboard the Dominator?
“Language, General.” Rex said.
Kriff, there’s seriously no way to turn back now. The ship was already in hyperspace. Obi-Wan and the 212st were waiting for them to rendezvous.
“You have to take me with you.” The togruta exclaimed hotly.
“Yeah?” He said tiredly.
The togruta escaped Jesse’s startled hold and threw himself at him. Rex snapped to attention, hand flying to the blaster at his hip. Anakin threw his arm out to stop him, freezing in surprise as the boy’s skinny arms wrapped around him. He was already used to Corin and Shania’s powerful Force presences to be startled by the wildfire that wailed against his senses, but this--
This was ridiculous. First time’s a fluke and second time’s a coincidence, but a third child? Somehow he knew Obi-Wan was going to blame him for this. Ahsoka, though, was probably going to be gleeful. She loved the children.
Still, he cradled the new bond between them, and regarded his new little brother. This time the presence in the Force was fiery and passionate, righteous and bullheaded, a boy with a heart as vast and loving. Between the three children, this boy was most like him.
“You’re mine.” The boy said firmly, scowling up at him even with his arms trying to squeeze Anakin’s waist as tight as he could.
He goes unchallenged.
The Jedi Council was getting tired of his nonsense. Anakin would like to declare that it’s really not his fault. For once.
Their gazes were exasperated and confused as they stared at the teenaged Rodian beside him. Mellia’s Force presence was more contained than the younger children, but she blazed equally bright and impossibly overwhelming. Standing side by side, she and Anakin was like two mini suns.
It was mildly amusing to see the Council conflicted and unsure with how to deal with his little siblings. They preached about attachments leading to the dark side, tried to separate the kids from him (the children had not taken it well, especially Vashee), and despaired over training three younglings as powerful as the Chosen One. It was so much fun telling Mace Windu that the Force told him so when questioned about the children’s relationships with him. Who would dismiss the word of the Force’s son?
There was no one capable of training another child of the Force than another child of the Force. Much less four Force’s children.
Anakin thought that it was odd that the Jedi would rather believed that he was the son of the Force than accept the prophecy of the Chosen One.
“Is this going to be a habit, Anakin?” Obi-Wan sighed from his seat.
He felt a little guilty for being the cause of more grey hairs in Obi-Wan’s head. But for all his nagging and complaining about having to babysit the kids, Obi-Wan never once rejected to help.
They were strangely mature and wise, knowing beyond their years. Sometimes Anakin was jealous at the ease of how his siblings seemed to be so secure of themselves and comfortable of their relationship with the Force. Any one of them would have make a better Chosen One than him.
(He doesn’t realize that it’s him who the children looked up to. The one who held their unshakable belief and faith. The reason they never have to doubt themselves, or doubted that they were loved. Because love was different from attachment, and love was the Force. They loved their big brother, and no one was going to take him from them.)
He lightly bumped shoulders with Mellia, and exchanged a smile with her. One day she was going to be taller than him. He’ll still be by her side in the future.
“No,” he said. “She’s the last.”