The sound of stumbling footsteps and half-bitten off curse words alerted her to her husband's return home before he even got to the bathroom door.
"You know," Padme said calmly, not bothering to open her eyes as the door burst open and the smell of engine oil and sweat cut through her scented candles, "The point of taking a long, hot soak is to relax, breathe, be alone with your thoughts… unwind from the day's troubles…"
She opened her eyes just slightly, her hooded gaze raking over Anakin's disheveled appearance. "You look like you could use one," she pointed out.
Anakin, in the middle of stripping off his reeking uniform top as if was burning him, cast a coy smirk at her. "Is that an invitation, dear?"
"Don't you dare!" she refused quickly when he took a couple rumbling steps toward her safe haven. "I just got the bubble-bath right, you are not disturbing my bubbles!"
"I know," he said, crouching beside her head with his signature cheeky grin, the bastard. "I just wanted you to wake up a little."
"Rude," she muttered.
He shrugged innocently. "Maybe, but you married me."
"I did. What was I thinking?"
"No idea. You almost done? I need a rinse."
She rolled her eyes so hard it almost hurt. "Ruin my relaxation time with your stink and then kick me out of the tub, that's nice."
His pout was incredibly immature and not at all effective. "I had a long day!"
"Go cry about it to Obi-Wan, I'm sure he'd love to hear all about your worldly woes," Padme griped as she reluctantly sat up all the way to fumble for the drain plug, pulling it out with a pop! before refocusing on her stripping husband.
'You're not getting away with this by getting naked!' she thought vindictively as she loudly cleared her throat. "A hand, please?"
"I thought I was supposed to be complaining to Obi-Wan?" he snarked right back.
Despite his cavalier words, when she raised a dripping hand to take his, his grip fastened around her wrist to pull her up gently, his other arm slipping around behind her shoulders to help support her as she carefully lifted her large, heavily pregnant body from the warm cocoon of water she'd been in for the past hour.
Padme climbed out of the tub, still tightly holding her husband's hand in case of slippery floor mishaps, and smiled her thanks when he handed her a towel.
"Don't take too long, okay?" she cautioned him with seriously raised eyebrows. "I have something to tell you, but if I fall asleep waiting for you you're not gonna know for, like, four months."
"That's a pretty serious ultimatum. I guess I better move fast." Anakin said, an equally serious expression on his face, which they both managed to hold for approximately four seconds before they both dissolved into juvenile giggles, for a moment no longer soon-to-be-parents but a couple of newlyweds both clueless and curious of how marriage would really affect them together.
Padme got dressed for bed slowly, listening to the running faucet and the occasional splash as her husband cleaned the daily grime from his body, trying to think about what she'd been told today and feeling another momentary flash of panic now that the time had just about come.
'It's fine. It's fine. He loved the thought of being a father; he'll be totally onboard for this!' Strangely enough, the inner pep talk didn't completely work, but she shoved her reservations aside; this was nothing compared to being in the courtroom, or hearing something truly awful going down at the precinct. They'd make it through this. It would work out.
It had to.
Anakin did not reappear for about twenty minutes, seeming to take his wife's joking words as a real threat – it usually took him twice as long to bathe, but not tonight – opening the door with a puff of steam and wide grin splitting his face.
"Looks like you'll have to tell me your secret after all," he said triumphantly, slipping under the covers to face her eagerly, like a puppy; so many years since they'd met at the illegal racetrack, and he still managed to flip from twenty-three to seventeen in a matter of seconds.
That fact alone made her smile lovingly at him, knowing she looked like a lovesick fool and unable to help it.
Shifting closer to him, Padme allowed her smile to widen until her entire face hurt. "I'm pregnant."
The reaction was immediate; exaggeratedly big eyes, wide open mouth, pure shit-eating grin curving his lips upwards. "No. I never would have guessed," Anakin said sarcastically, gently tapping against her enlarged stomach. "I thought you'd just been eating more of mom's pies without telling me!"
She buried her face in a pillow, bemoaning his stupidity. "Ugh, I wasn't finished! And don't bring Shmi's pies into this; I told you butter pecan was a delicacy back home in Naboo!"
Anakin's laughter was the greatest gift she could ever receive in the universe, and somehow she kept managing to weasel it out of him.
"Ooookay then, as you were saying?"
The humor had managed to make her relax a little, but she still felt a thrill of fear as she gazed at him pensively. No turning back now. Best to get it over with.
She took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant," she repeated, and wow that was always such and odd thing to say, even after all this time. Gnawing on her lip, she edged closer, getting as close as she dared, until their noses were nearly touching. His eyes, big and blue and beautiful, sparkled at her, clueless, and she almost lost her nerve, but she kept going.
"With twins."
It seemed to take a moment for her words to register.
Anakin was still staring at her, his grin quietly dimming into something else entirely, and for a moment she thought, this was it; this was the moment where things come undone, this was where everything would implode.
But it didn't.
The intensely concentrated look in his eyes didn't fade as he raised one hand, allowing one finger to trace along her cheek. She closed her eyes at the sensation, controlling the inevitable urge to shiver at his touch; she knew exactly what he could do with those calloused digits, and the amount of care he took when touching her never ceased to take her breath away.
His touched trailed away, pulling a bit of her hair out of her face, and when she blinked her eyes open again he was smiling, soft and small and sweet, the same astonished, shy little thing he'd worn way back when after he'd ducked his head in embarrassment upon catching sight of her and asking, dumbstruck, "Are you an angel?"
"Twins?" he asked, breathless, like he couldn't quite believe it, and she felt like her heart would burst from her joy.
"Yeah," she giggled, "Twins. Boy and girl. We don't have to keep arguing over names anymore."
There was nothing said after that; it seemed Anakin was at a complete loss, a rare occasion, and his delighted laughter preluded the longest kiss of Padme's life.
There were plenty more things to discuss, nursery renovations, college funds, savings adjustments, but that could wait; it could all take the backseat for now.
For now, her husband was kissing her senseless, and either her son or her daughter was kicking her rather enthusiastically in the spleen, and Padme had never been happier.
A/N: THE FLUFF. OH MY GOD THE FLUFF! WHY CAN'T THIS BE TRUE CANON?! DAMN YOU GEORGE LUCAS!
You can blame this entire thing on my friend Rie; she gave me Anidala feels at the worst possible moment, and so, instead of study for exams, I wrote this. Hope you enjoyed.
~Persephone