The Senator And The Jedi

Chapter Thirty-Six: Looking Forward

Padme

Though there still remained a little over an hour before their ship was to leave, in her heart of hearts, Padme was already missing Varykino.

Visiting the beautiful country home where she had spent every summer until she had become Princess of Naboo at thirteen always brought to her such a sense of peace and pleasant nostalgia. Though she was a grown woman, she still found the place had a wonderful magic about it, each stone and tree and patch of grassland rich with warm memories days or decades old.

As the trees shifting in the wind outside cast a sunny spot onto the bed where she had the last of her clothes laid out, Padme allowed herself to shut her eyes and drift away, drinking it all in...

... only to be brought back to the present again a few moments later by a light snore from her sleeping husband, whose splayed-out arms and legs she had been using as temporary dividers to organize her things.

The last thing to go into the neatly packed suitcase was the most delicate: an elegant gown in a rich deep blue with a back that was nearly sheer, save for a few designs embroidered in sparkling thread and small gemstones. These were meant to evoke heavy blooms from exotic worlds, but with the way they caught in the yellow sunlight, she was almost sad she'd only thought to wear it at night.

"Thinking of putting that on for me?" came a murmur from the bed. "Because with how pretty you looked in it at the ball, I definitely wouldn't say no..."

Padme laughed. "How long have you been up? I thought I just heard a snore."

"On and off for half an hour. I didn't want to move for fear of upsetting your clothes, and then..." He smiled softly, and reached up for her. "Then I just wanted to watch you. It's so rare that I get to see you going about mundane tasks like this in your own way. Like this I can see how your mind works at the simple things, rather than when you're untangling some complex political situation. It's almost soothing."

"You say everything about me is soothing."

"Well, it's true!" Anakin motioned again for her to come lie down with him, tucking her against his chest as soon as she had obliged. Padme smiled softly and shut her eyes, happy, as she always was, to be safe and warm in his arms.

"I had a lot to think about, too," he said, stroking a hand through her curls as he pressed a few absentminded kisses to the top of her head. "I'm debating whether or not to talk to Ahsoka. She's not being very... discrete."

"I'm sure you're overreacting, Ani. I haven't noticed anything."

"Maybe not, but we'll be heading back to Coruscant soon, where there are thousands of Jedi who can sense when you have those sorts of things on your mind."

Padme bit back a smile, instead nodding seriously. She had always found it sweet when Anakin's protective streak began to show. "You're worried for her."

"Of course I am! What we have is amazing, Padme, and my life is richer for it, but I've gotta make sure Ahsoka's safe. It's my duty as her Master and her friend. And I don't know if a romance is the best thing for her, with how young she is."

"You're one to talk – you were only three years older when you asked for my hand in marriage!" Padme laughed brightly. "Let her be, and have faith in her... She has a good head on her shoulders, and if it gets too dangerous, she'll end it. But I've not seen her happy the way she is with Lux before, so I'm warning you now that I'll be the first one to stand in your way if you mean to suggest they break up!"

Anakin looked for a moment like he meant to protest, but in the end all that that passed his lips of the like was a weary sigh. "Why do I feel like some sort of overbearing father every time this kind of thing comes up?"

At that, she stretched up to kiss him softly on the mouth. "Because where she's concerned, you essentially are one."

He smiled then, his expression sweet but eyes shining brilliantly in the way Padme had always loved to see on him, and drew her close once more. She knew that protest as he did, he was quite proud of the fun, easygoing relationship he'd built with Ahsoka. While he took awhile to warm up to younger beings, once he was used to them, his loyalty was unshakable and kindness without bounds.

As she had observed in many of the men in her family, it was the mark of a good father; the nurturing qualities his young Padawan brought out in him only made that clearer. Though she knew it was impossible, sometimes, Padme wondered how he'd be as a real father, to children of his own flesh and blood...

Children she could give him.

Absentmindedly, Anakin began to pull a few of her loose ringlets together into a braid, drawing her out of her brief reflection. Though it clashed with the style she had chosen for the day, she let him do as he pleased, knowing that keeping his hands busy relaxed him.

"I'm gonna miss you when I have to leave Coruscant for the frontline again," he said. "We're supposed to be on meditative retreat, Ahsoka and I, but there's been trouble in the Quellor sector. We're going on patrol around there in the hopes of scaring off droid reinforcements, though I suspect if it gets much worse we'll be sent to the key systems nearby to intervene."

"But surely the Council has to give you your meditative retreat! You and the other Jedi need time to rest up, just like any other person. You're not all-powerful."

"The war effort grows dire, my love... and they need commanders with my and Ahsoka's skill out there making sure it doesn't get worse." Anakin shut his eyes and tucked his face down into her hair. "But I wish they didn't. I could stay in this little sunny spot forever, with you right here in my arms."

Padme nodded and rubbed his back soothingly. "I know, Ani... but being separated for a time is nothing new. So long as you come back to me in one piece, your spirit unbroken and mind as sharp as ever, I can suffer through anything."

Anakin hummed low in his throat. It was an approving sound he often made when she'd said something he could take as a compliment. What small amount of ego a Jedi lifestyle permitted him had instilled in him a desire to have his assets acknowledged – especially in the face of tasks he knew he could do well.

"We'll find a way through this war, won't we?" Padme asked in a whisper.

"Yes, we will." Anakin's voice was low and warm. "And soon, we'll be curled up again together, just laying quietly under the stars somewhere beautiful and dreaming about the future."

"That sounds perfect, Ani. I'll look forward to it – I always do."

*Can we all just have a moment of silence to appreciate how Padme is just the number one in-book Luxsoka shipper for this fanfic?

Ok, thank you for that moment. Now can we all agree that Anidala fluff is good fluff?

Good.

This chapter was believe it or not a bit of a challenge. It was initially supposed to be the last chapter of the book, and this (minus some filler) segment only the first half of it, but in the end I wanted more space to resolve things better. Besides, we've not had a ton of Anidala moments in this story, so I figured I'd give the ship its due.

Actually, it's kinda weird to think, but I'm not really used to writing Anidala anymore. I can write Anakin separately, but Padme doesn't really have a major enough role in a lot of my current fanfics for me to keep in practice writing her. It took awhile meditating over ROtS and watching a few TCW episodes to get back into the swing of things, and I hope I succeeded!

What was fun for me was, in my usual style, getting to drop little hints here and there – the Quellor sector, "you're not all-powerful", Padme wanting kids... Just the kinds of things you want toward the end of a fanfic from this era, to give it some interconnectivity and continuity into canon material.

But there remains one more chapter before we wrap up the fanfic, and I'm eager to hear all your reactions, so... ONWARD!!!