Morland, George; The Soldier’s Return; Lady Lever Art Gallery; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/the-soldiers-return-102607
A lot of my short stories and novellas use the childhood sweethearts reunited plotline. It’s fun, for one thing. It lets me use more mature characters, for another. And, in shorter fiction, it gives credibility, since the romance can continue from where it left off once they are reunited, rather than needing to develop from first attraction to happy ending in just a few thousand words.
Here’s the opening of my next newsletter short story, due to be sent out in the next few days. If you have a reunion scene, please feel free to share it in the comments.
At first, Magda thought it a prank. There Luke was, stretched out prone across the vegetable garden between the onions and the cabbages, crushing the spring carrots. At any moment, he would leap up laughing, as he had once before, long ago, when they were children.
Perhaps not a prank, then, but a humorous reminder of the years of their friendship, long ago, before the earl’s younger son was sent away to join the army a month from his eighteenth birthday. He’d been gone for fifteen years, until she spied him in the tavern this afternoon, drinking with their old friends from the village, Will from the tavern and Ned from the forge.
After Luke left, Will and Ned had not been able to stand out against their parents and maintain—at least in public—their friendship with the witch’s by-blow granddaughter against the steadfast enmity of the wives of both the squire and the earl.
They were sisters, Luke’s mother Lady Compton, now the Dowager Countess, and Lady Frederick Barlow, widow of the squire who had preferred to ignore Magda’s existence and mother of the squire who, even today, made her life as difficult as he could.
Despite their parents and the two ladies, Will and Ned watched over her from a distance, keeping the squire’s sons from any but the more the subtle forms of persecution. Several times they had risked their own necks, or at least the displeasure of the two most prominent families in the district, to protect her from unpleasant advances and outright assault by nasty friends visiting the young gentlemen of those families.
Old friendship, too, must have been the reason why Will employed her as a cook, once he took over his father’s tavern. A job meant wages so she could look after Gran, and save a nest egg to escape from this place.
Luke was still lying on her carrots. Perhaps he did not realise she was there. “Luke?” Though she supposed, now that she was no longer fifteen nor he eighteen, she should call him Lord Lucas. Or Major De Grenville, perhaps. “Major De Grenville?”
He did not move. Did not spring to his feet, his sea-blue eyes dancing, asking her to share the joke. Now that she was closer, she saw the bruise on his cheek, and a trickle of blood, dried now, that had meandered down his neck from the hair at the back of his head.
She leaned closer; skimmed her fingers over the matted evidence of an assault or fall. Though if a fall, he must have descended from a height head first, for the lump was high up in his hair and had split with the force of the blow.
Magda felt for the pulse in Luke’s neck, and released a breath she had not been aware of holding when it throbbed, strong and even, under her fingers. She pressed his left shoulder with her hand and spoke to him again. “Major De Grenville?”
I don’t do too many romantic reunions that make sense out of context, but how about a Star Wars fanfic taking place after Empire Strikes Back?
—
Vader fumed as he descended the ramp. His very young son had managed to escape his grasp before he could convince the boy he was foolish to run away at Bespin. The old Weequay pirate was harmless, at least compared to Rebels and terrorists who just didn’t want to admit the Empire was better than the Republic had been.
And that traitor Organa Senator got her claws into Luke somehow. The boy just didn’t see how…
An old surplus droid dating back to his youth led him into the hodgepodge structure. If anything, Vader was surprised this meeting was not in a rotting ship’s hull. A messy and silent building, he wondered if there were any more pirates than the old pirate. He didn’t feel any threat through the Force, no more than unstable equipment he could blast his way out of even without a saber.
Now, it would be more interesting if that traitor Senator was involved. Capturing her would simplify getting cooperation from the boy, He would see how quickly she would betray him for her precious Rebellion…
“Ah, the very tall and dramatic Lord Vader, you grace my humble home with your looming cape and doom-y mood…” The old pirate looked ancient, riding a floater chair. “The great Hondo is gratified to finally meet your lordliness at last, as an equal in influence and power. The Lord is a trifle early, as I expect at least two more parties interested in reimbursing the massive costs for the terrib…”
Nothing had really changed about the fool, but it was a long time since Vader wanted to laugh. He smiled where no one could see and raised his hand, choking and lifting the pirate.
“-ck.” The old Weequay waved and struggled as he rose above the hoverlift, struggling to breathe.
“Speak plainly, you old fool. I tire of your noise.”
The Weequay took a few breaths and made amusing noises when he dropped onto the ‘lift. “Mighty is the Lord of the Great Empire. Woe unto those who underestimate your generosity. The infantile and untrained boy I have caused to be captured is being held in a place that only the Great Hondo can locate. Hasty, nasty rebels might cause untold destruction in their foolishness to acquire this pilot.”
“Where is the boy?” Vader clenched his fist.
Hondo, the frightened weasel that he was, winced. “I regret the delay. The Great Hondo will arrange all for your comfort, the finest of melons and choicest of wines to sweeten…”
“Where?” Vader’s vision grew fuzzy despite his suit’s augmentation. He took a step back and looked at the now grinning pirate.
“Not far, not far. The Great Hondo truly regrets you did not take the great and subtle Hondo seriously but business is business. The pilot is very secure under the great Hondo’s care, an inestimable bait. Fire, T-5.”
Vader saw on his display that saturation in his blood was off the scale as he tried to force his legs to make that leap to physically tear that wrinkly Weequay limb from limb… before…
None of his limbs responded and as he fell, he drifted away feeling no pain.
He woke, still painless and fumbled to make his prosthetics respond. They sluggishly got him upright, and he almost clunked his own helmet as his arms over reached. The Force must be there, but he could not feel more than the faintest trickle.
A snicker came from behind him.
He had to steady his head when he rose and turned too fast.
Luke was sitting on a crate, wearing Padmé’s grin. “Hello, Father. I did not expect to meet you on this trip.”
“Cheeskar nok! Tooska chai mani. Maya sleemo… Fierfek Ulwan! Karking goo… Again! Kriffing again…”
“Yes, well. Now what? Food drops every so often. I just wish Artoo was here to slice the system.” The boy’s smile faded, mechanical hand twitching.
—
Of course they escape later, but they also talk once Vader calms down a little… One of the sad things about both guys is that they could have filled holes in the other’s life as family but someone else made it all about power instead of kinship.
(forgot to say one Luke deserved another 😉
Grinning, here. That’s a reunion I didn’t know I needed to see. Thanks.