A/N: Finally part three of this series! This idea was actually given to me by a user who wishes to remain anonymous. They said they'd love to read a oneshot in this universe of Ahsoka watching the twins while Padme and Anakin are out and chaos unfolds.
As usual, you don't have to have read the other "Happy Family AU" stories, this better than the other's actually, can stand alone.
Enjoy, and please leave a review letting me know what you think!
"This has been wonderful… I love our children with all my heart, but sometimes it's nice to get away. To leave the parents behind and just be us again for a little while." Padme muses, leaning against Anakin body, head coming to rest against his strong shoulder. When he'd suggested taking her out for the night, she'd been… Reluctant. There is so much work to be done, with the election of the new Queen, running around after Luke and Leia, and the preparations for the upcoming Fete Week; she hardly has time to breathe, much less allow her husband to whisk away, even for just a night out.
Eventually they compromised on simply going out for a meal.
Now it is over, and they wait for the turbolift, she wishes she'd agreed to his original suggestion of a night away in one of the nicer hotels Coruscant has to offer… Well, no matter. They don't need a hotel to share in some more grown up fun. They're very fortunate, despite the whirlwind that is their lives these days, that aspect of their relationship has never suffered. After the birth of the twins, Sola warned that it may take some time for intimacy to return to them. However once her healing time passed, it was as if nothing had changed. As the children grow, perhaps it has become a little more difficult to find times for such things before bedtime, but Padme shall not complain about this. From her sister's stories, things could be very much worse.
"See? And you didn't want to come tonight." The elevator doors open and as they step inside, Anakin's arm slithers around her waist, holding her close.
"Wanting to come was not an issue. But I am glad we did…" Tipping her head back as she smiles at him, Padme reaches one hand up to trace the dark leather of his tabard. At once he leans down, capturing her lips with his own. It does not remain an innocent kiss for longer than a moment; there is an unspoken promise between them, whispering of what awaits them in their bedroom tonight. As soon as they relieve Ahsoka of her duties and get the children into bed, she plans to thank him thoroughly for this evening. One hand slips up, into his hair, tearing a quiet groan from his lips which she swallows as he pulls her flush against him.
She forgets all about the small security camera in the corner for a moment and lets the fingers of her free hand dance along his waistband earning her lips a gentle bite. Perhaps Ahsoka has already put the twins to bed and has unwittingly given them a chance to completely shrug off the role as parents for the night. After they ensure she is given some credits for her efforts of course. It is only when Anakin presses her against the wall that she breaks their kiss, completely breathless, and attempts to keep some level of control until they are at least out of the lift. "Ani, wait, the camera…"
"What about it?" Comes his husky murmur against her throat as he begins kissing a trail along her skin. If he had it his way, Padme knows he'd take her against the wall right now, and she cannot say she would be inclined to deny him if it weren't for the camera recording their every move. They do not need the security team seeing that.
"I don't particularly wish for footage containing you ravishing me to exist. With our luck it would end up all over the HoloNet for whoever wants to see such things to enjoy." Anakin glances up, toward the camera for a moment, and sensing exactly what he wishes to do, Padme merely laughs. Such an impatient man. "Don't destroy it. How else will our security team oversee my safety and the safety of our children?" Their connection is open, stronger than ever after years of honing it; she can feel his disappointment and frustration. Honestly, he acts as if she has denied him outright. He need only wait a little longer…
"Alright, alright… But those two are going straight to bed tonight." Padme can't resist lifting a hand to cover her mouth as she giggles. He can act the part of the tough father all he likes, but one pout from Luke and a flutter of Leia's eyelashes and they'll be up all night.
"Yes, show our babies who's boss…" Leaning up, her kiss falls upon his cheek. Perhaps tonight he will do just that for once, but she highly doubts it, he is far too enamoured with their children for his own good. The few times he must reprimand them leaves him as shaken as they are. More often than not, she is the only adult in this family.
They separate just as the twin doors of the lift part to allow them into their home. What she expects to see is Ahsoka playing with the twins in some form or another, or perhaps all three of them sprawled on one of the couches watching one of the children's favourite shows or movies. Something calm, a quiet welcome home before Anakin whisks the twins off to bed.
The sight before them instead, is anarchy.
It is as if a battle has been raged within their living room. One couch stands on top of the other, and every piece of furniture as far as she can see has been flipped, pushed over or dragged half-way across the room. Somehow Artoo and Threepio have been bound together with multiple sashes from her gowns, even the protocol droid's arms have been tied to his waist tightly. Both droids have been abandoned in the far corner of the room, forgotten by the hellions behind this destruction.
"How have we descended into such savagery?!" Threepio cries and the only response is Artoo's head spinning.
The hellions in question are in the midst of a heated battle with the training blades Anakin uses for their lessons, with Ahsoka, working together to best her. Luke imitates something he saw his father do on the HoloNews once, rolling, blade still in hand and swipes at his guardian for the night's legs, laughing with premature victory, however she jumps, dodging the blow while Leia begins an aggressive attack. "Aha!" Ahsoka laughs, still utterly unaware of their presence. "No Skywalker will ever been able to defeat me! I am-" Finally her eyes lift to see them just as Padme's arms cross over her chest. Immediate panic lights in the girl's face at the sight of them standing here. "… In big trouble…" She mutters, lowering her blade.
Luke is the first to turn around, eyes widening much like Ahsoka's. "Oh no…" Leia follows her brother's gaze and immediately drops the blade, as if not holding it shall free her of incrimination alongside her brother. To her credit, she manages to maintain a sense of calm while Luke winces, stepping back toward Ahsoka. Well, any hope they had of quickly ushering the children off to bed and locking themselves away in their own bedroom for the night are quickly forgotten.
"What in the name of the Force is going on?" Anakin demands, stepping into the apartment toward the now silent trio. For a moment, she is just too stunned at the destruction to so much as move. They've only been gone a few hours! How could this have happened?! She was right; they should have asked Ben to care for the twins. By now he would have them in bed while he meditates on the chair in the corner. Or, perhaps, judging by how disastrously tonight has gone, he would be locked in a closet somewhere…
"It's the battle for the Republica daddy." Leia says, as if it is obvious. Bail is right; she will make a wonderful politician one day… "Luke is the heroic Jedi come to rescue the droids from the evil Conquer Ahsoka who holds them as prisoners." Padme has been letting them watch too much of the Holoreels of Anakin's time in the Clone Wars… All of their games include battles and heroic ventures now. She's worried they're beginning to glorify the horrors of what happened. Anakin laughs off such concerns, telling her she's overthinking things, that there is time for them to learn the details of what truly happened, and then there is time for children to be children.
He falls to one knee before their daughter while Ahsoka sends Padme an apologetic glance. She should make the girl listen to every one of Threepio's complaints about this evening for this… However she is not quite that cruel. Perhaps she'll have Anakin wipe tonight from the droid's memory altogether to spare everyone such suffering. "And who are you supposed to be?"
Leia points to the costume crown resting on her little head with something of a dramatic flair, making Anakin laugh and Luke roll his eyes. "I'm the warrior Queen!" Even she, despite her irritation and disbelief at what's occurred while they were gone cannot hold back a small smile. They may be little terrors but she cannot say her children aren't adorable, even after literally destroying their home. What other rooms have been torn apart in this battle of theirs? While Anakin speak to the children – all three of them – she drifts from room to room of the apartment. Mostly, everything is untouched. Apart from the bedrooms… They have been ransacked, beds flipped over for reasons she is eager to hear about in the morning, toys have become the new floor. Usually Luke is messy anyway, but it is an organised mess. He knows exactly where everything is, while Leia enjoys things neater, however tonight both bedrooms have been pulled into the destruction.
The kitchen… She only takes one glance at the kitchen before turning on her heel. That is a problem for tomorrow.
When she returns to the living room once more, Padme has every intention on making the twins apologise for creating such a mess and inform them that they shall be going nowhere tomorrow until the apartment is exactly the way it was then they left this evening. Despite Anakin's tendency to let their children away with everything, he will no doubt agree with her on this. They are not raising brats; their children know there are consequences for their actions. However once more upon entering the room, she freezes on the spot. She has been gone all of perhaps five standard minutes and again chaos has descended!
Anakin is standing on the table in the centre of the room battling Luke with the training blades, letting their son gain somewhat of an advantage over him as the boy declares loudly, "when I defeat you, I'll be the most powerful Jedi ever!" Meanwhile Leia and Ahsoka are also duelling, around the poor droids they have in their captivity. The room is filled with the sounds of blades clashing, laughter and childish battle trash talk – from all four of them. For a moment Padme cannot decide who is the worst of them, her children, Ahsoka or Anakin.
They are all children, she swears it.
Now, she could reprimand them all, send Luke and Leia to bed then allow the two grown up children to murmur apologies before Ahsoka retires to the guest room – because she will be here in the morning to aid the clean up – and glare at her husband until he himself withers. However all of that demands more energy than the Senator can muster at the moment. Merely watching them is exhausting, and Threepio's exclamations only make it worse. If they do not wipe his mind she shall never hear the end of this one. Never.
"Oh no! Artoo do something!" She barely hears the small whistle the shorter droid emits over Anakin's laugh as he hauls Luke into his arms, swinging the elated boy around. In any other context the sight would have filled her heart with the sweetest joy. Now it only serves as a reminder that she was right before, she is the only adult in this family. "What do you mean you can't?!" Threepio demands, crying out in horror as Leia's blade comes very close to whipping his face. It is going to take more than a trip to the droid spa to make up for this night.
Leaning against the doorframe by her hip, Padme watches the game change as Ahsoka and Anakin team up to defeat the giddy twins for possession of the living room. It has been a very long time since she has seen these two fighting together, even in a pretence such as this. If her husband's former apprentice hadn't changed so drastically over the past few years, it would almost be exactly how it once was. Leia manages to knock Anakin's blade from his hand – whether he let her do such a thing is a very different story – and it flies across the room, colliding with a lamp, shattering the fragile object to a thousand pieces all across the floor as Threepio pleads with them to end the madness.
She is going to bed.