Wartorn

Epilogue

Author's Note: I cannot BELIEVE we are at the end of this fic! Thank you all for your support! :D

~ Amina Gila

Anakin's never lived at Padme's apartment the way he is now, and it's... it reminds him of what they used to have long ago. Of what they used to be, even if he's long since moved on, and doesn't really feel like that anymore.

It's been too long and too much has changed, and even if they separated because he was a Jedi, and he's not anymore, that doesn't automatically undo anything. Even if the Order being gone means that it's technically allowed for him now. (He doesn't think the knowledge that the Order is gone will ever stop flooding him with an overwhelming emptiness, every time he thinks about it.)

"I'm still not sure about letting Luke make this choice," Padme says, in a rare moment that they find themselves alone together.

"I do not... like it," Anakin admits, "But if he's not ready to let go of the Dark Side, he does need to learn control."

"I thought that was something the Jedi say can't be," Padme points out, "And do we really want him learning from the person who did this to him in the first place?"

"He's still close with the twins," Anakin points out, and taking that away from them would only make things worse, even if he's worried about how Palpatine might affect them, too. "And I do not truly know how far gone he... is."

Because at the end of the day, Anakin doesn't know how much of the war was up to Palpatine versus him manipulating what would have happened anyway.

Padme doesn't look happy, but she nods, glancing between him and the slowly setting sun. "It... hasn't been like this with us in a long time."

He stills. "No, it hasn't." He knows what she's referring to, but he doesn't fully know what she wants to say, either.

"I never wanted us to be apart," Padme continues, "But I didn't see any other way at the time."

"What do you want now?" he asks. Once, he'd pushed for their relationship, but it's... different now.

"It... has been a long time," she admits, "I stopped thinking years ago that it could change one day."

"I – we were young then," Anakin replies, bluntly, "This is not something I have considered pursuing again in years." Even if she wants to, he has to be honest with her from the start. He just... doesn't see the way he once did. Not like that.

She nods, though he doesn't think she's that happy about it. "If we ever want that to change eventually, maybe it can."

Maybe.

He can't speak for the future, but right now, he's just grateful to have both his children with him.

***

"I'm not going to backstab you," her mother's voice drawls. Merrin would have laughed at it once, but her father died just weeks ago. He's – he's gone, and she doesn't find anything amusing. Hasn't ever since it happened. The Jedi killed him, even if it was Sidious's fault, and she has no particular inclination to staying peaceably with them.

But it happened, and the opportunity presented itself, and they have little choice but to ally for now.

With the Empire, they have to lay low and survive, no matter how much they dislike what that means. It's even true with the Jedi.

"I'm certain you'll wait until the opportunity presents itself," Cere Junda replies, irked. She's a former Jedi Council member, and she and Asajj are not on the best terms.