Chapter Text
Anakin was pretty sure his heart was going to explode as he watched his twins interact. With each other, with their cousins, with Leia’s monster of a loth-cat whose head was bigger than both the twins’ torso’s easily. Seeing Luke eagerly and instantly welcome his sister into his life had a weight gone from his shoulders and in its place a happiness he had never known was possible.
He knew without a doubt that he didn’t deserve this happiness, but he was going to bask in it anyway. Deserve or not, he wasn’t going to give this up for anything. Wasn’t going to take it for granted for a single second.
Padme suddenly wrapping her arm around his waist had him turning to beam down at her. He was even more certain of the fact that this joy he and the Force were now full of was due entirely to her. His wife was the most resilient, badass person he had ever met. He really was foolish for thinking something like childbirth could take her from him.
He always had been. Not once did he ever take a second to consider the fact that they weren’t in chains. That Padme was the senator for one of the most advanced, medically sound, planets in the galaxy. Looking back, he could do nothing but curse his stupidity, and Palpatine, for letting him believe such a ridiculous notion. She was Padme Naberrie-Skywalker. Not even an army of Sith could best her.
Not that that was in any way a threat. The galaxy’s only Sith’s, (If he could even call himself that? Anakin still wasn’t fully sure what or who he was. Though he wasn’t going to admit it out loud until he absolutely had to.) intentions were to bring her home and shower her in the love he should have been giving her for nearly a decade.
“Credit for your thoughts?” She asked softly, tearing him abruptly from them.
“You don’t need to buy them, angel,” he replied. “They’re yours free. And are of you, and our family.” he bent to kiss her forehead. “They always should be.”
She sighed happily, causing the already glowing Force to become brighter, and laid her head against his arm. “Ani?”
“Yes, my love?”
“Take us home?”
“Would be my pleasure.”
Getting the kids, the Naberries’ luggage, a giant loth cat, and the three adults settled into Anakin’s speeder was a bit of a struggle. It ended up with the twins half in their parents’ laps as they headed towards home. Luke eagerly clung to Padme while Leia leaned against Anakin as much as she could without impeding his flying, all while holding her giant ball of gray blue fur. He would have told her not to worry about disrupting his flying, if he hadn’t known all that would earn him was an unimpressed look from Padme. (At least he was sure it still would.)
As they flew through the Coruscant traffic towards their penthouse home, Luke eagerly told Leia, and the other Naberrie women, about said home and everyone who lived within it.
“Right now, it's just daddy, Aunt Beru and us! Uncle Fox is there all the time too, though, ‘cus he is romancing Aunt Beru. Normally, ‘Soka and Uncle Rex are here too, but they’re trying to find a bad guy who took daddy’s brother from him. Oh! There’s also Foof! He’s my tooka! Think him and Hurricane will be friends?”
Leia nodded easily. “Hurricane has never had friends before! Felines can totally form bonds though! Foof isn’t territorial, is he?”
Luke laughed. “He’s lazy . He just likes to sleep and cuddle. Oh! And eat!”
Leia giggled and then asked nervously, “Do you think Aunt Beru will like me?”
“She will love you.” Anakin and Luke agreed together, with zero hesitation from either of them. There was no question. Beru would adore Leia.
They were, of course, right. Beru didn’t hesitate to pull both Leia and Padme into tight hugs. In fact, Sola and her girls received the same treatment. Not that Anakin was surprised. This was Beru. She loved everyone. But she especially loved family.
Fox, though, awkwardly hung back as Beru greeted them. When Padme’s attention turned to him, he lifted his hand in a small wave and smiled.
“Glad to see you alive, Senator.”
She laughed and pulled him into an embrace as well. “It's Padme, Fox, it always has been. Especially now, though. After all, I hear you’ll be my brother in law someday.”
He turned bright red while Beru beamed and Anakin snorted.
“Good luck, angel. I can’t even get him to use my name consistently.”
“You’re his boss. It's different.”
“You want to be his boss instead?” he asked, only partially joking and received a look he knew meant, ‘we’ll be discussing that question later.’ Not that he was surprised, it was a bit soon to talk about handing an entire Empire over to her.
Beru cleared her throat, pulling his attention over to her instantly and thankfully stopping the thought spiral he had almost fallen into. “I’m going to help Sola and the girls get situated across the hall. Ani, are you still making dinner?”
“I am.” he replied simply, even more excited to be doing so than he had been that morning. He had rarely gotten to cook for Padme, and had never been able to make desert food for her before. Yet another opportunity he had thought lost to them, and he was more than ecstatic to change that.
“Excellent! Fox, will you come carry these?”
He didn’t hesitate to grab the bags she gestured to, following after the four ladies. Luke chose that same moment to loudly declare he was going to show Leia her room, happily guiding her away. Which left Anakin and his wife standing alone in their living room.
“Your home is beautiful.” she told him softly and he shook his head.
“ Our home.” he corrected. “Always our home. And I’m glad you like it. I don’t know if I could have brought myself to tear Luke from it for something different.”
“And I would never ask you to.” she said instantly. A definite statement that had him suddenly frowning in worry.
“But, I’m asking you and Leia to do the same thing.”
“No.” this time it was Padme who shook her head. “Leia and I have been living with Sola. We haven’t had a home of our own. You and Luke are giving us that home, Ani. You aren’t taking us from anything .”
He reached out to cup her face, still in awe of the fact that he could do so, and said softly, “You have always been my home, Padme. I wouldn’t give a kriff if we moved back to Tatooine if it meant you three were safe and happy. And I hate that right now, the best place for all of us is here on Coruscant. Someday, though, I promise we’ll go to Naboo and make the home we’ve always dreamed of.”
She leaned into his touch. “I have you and Luke back. That's all I need right now.”
He let out a love filled sigh and pulled her into a kiss, delighting in the way she fell into it. For a second, with his eyes closed and Padme in his arms he could pretend that the last decade had never happened. Pretend that the pain and hardships they had suffered were nothing but a bad dream. Could imagine they had never been torn from each other, never lost even a second of time.
His one reason for wanting the past to happen as it had came running up just in time to stop those futile, pathetic thoughts from progressing further. Soft, faint steps followed by slightly heeled heavier ones. He pulled away from Padme as their footsteps stopped beside them to smile down at Luke and Leia’s expectant faces.
“Yes, darlings?”
“Can Leia and I have fruit water, daddy?” Luke asked eagerly. “I can pour it myself and everything! Promise.”
He nodded without hesitation. “Of course, Lukkeen. I’m going to get mama settled in our room, then would you two like to help me make dinner?”
“Yes!” they both exclaimed together and Anakin chuckled fondly before nodding towards the kitchen.
“Get your water carefully, little star. Don’t want you or Lei’avell to get hurt by a broken pitcher.”
“We’ll be careful!” Leia promised as Luke nodded and once more guided his sister away.
“I’m so glad they love each other already.” Padme whispered as he played guide as well and walked her to their room.
“It's probably instinctual.” Anakin replied softly. “They’ve always known each other. Even if they don’t remember it.”
She nodded as they entered the room, head swiveling around to take in the, admittedly, sparse space. Other than the large bed covered in plush blankets, the room was more or less empty. A fact which had him feeling embarrassed and awkward, even if he couldn’t fully name why.
“It is very bland, I know,” he said in an apologetic tone. “I’m not in here very often, and did not really do anything with it. You are more than welcome to make it a home. Please do.”
“Anakin.”
Her soft, but worried utterance of his name had him tilting his head down to give her a questioning look. “Yes?”
She reached out and placed her hand on his chest. “Why do I feel like I was suddenly speaking to Emperor Skywalker and not my husband?”
He hadn’t even realized he had slipped into the tighter, more formal sentences he used while working, and the fact that he did had his face flushing immediately. His shoulders curled up to his ears and eyes immediately dropped from hers.
“I, well, because your husband doesn’t know what he’s doing.” he admitted softly. “I’m not sure if I’m reacting right, saying the right things. Or, or if you even want to share the room with me or if I’m overstepping. I’ve, well, I’ve gotten into a habit of doing that, being that. And I forget sometimes.”
“Of course I want to be in our room with you.” she slid her hand up his chest to rest at the back of his neck. “I know this is a lot, and I know there is so much we need to talk about. But Ani, please, don’t feel like you need to pretend with me. I just want you to be you . Okay?”
He nodded and gathered her into his arms again. He wasn’t going to tell her that he wasn’t sure who he really was any more. Not now. Though, he hadn’t at all meant to become posh and stiff with her. It was just, the second they were truly alone in their room, he realized he had no clue how to go back to what they were before. Had no clue how to reset after so much turmoil and pain. When he admitted that part to her, she shook her head against his shoulder.
“There is no going back, Ani. But that isn’t a bad thing. We’ve changed as people. Which means our relationship will change with us. And it needs to. We can’t go back, but we can go forward.”
His brow furrowed and he asked skeptically, “And ignore everything?”
“No.” she shook her head again as she leaned back to meet his eyes. “We both have a lot we need to talk about, but that is just part of moving forward.”
“I’ve made so many mistakes, Padme.” he whispered, eyes fluttering closed. He didn’t know if he could face her expression on that admittance alone. He had no idea how he could tell her about the last eight years.
“So have I.” she admitted, causing his eyes to snap open and stare at her in shock. “We learn from our mistakes, Anakin. It's what helps us grow.”
She removed her arms from around his shoulders to hold his face in her small hands. He didn’t resist turning his head to kiss her palm, which brought a familiar, heartwarming, love filled smile to her lips.
“That's a conversation for the future, too. Tonight, if you’d like, even. Right now, though, you have two eager helpers waiting in the kitchen for you and I have some unpacking to do. But, I promise you, my love, our relationship will change and evolve, but one thing that will never change is how much I love you.”
“I love you too.” he replied nearly before she had finished speaking. She was right, that at least was a constant that would never change. No matter what else did, the love he held for his wife, for their family, and for the future would always be there.