Chapter 9
Having brought the children home with Padmé, Anakin made for the Jedi Temple next. His insides tightened as he tried to formulate what he was going to say to Han. You've never had any trouble talking to him before, he reminded himself; don't be so foolish, Skywalker.
The weekend usually meant that the temple was less busy than usual, many of the padawans taking advantage of the new and less stringent rules of the New Order to spend time with their families. Anakin was not at all surprised to see Obi-Wan there, however.
"Don't you ever take time off?" Anakin asked his friend.
Obi-Wan smiled. "Old habits die hard I suppose," he said, looking at Anakin rather closely. "May I ask you why your hair is wet?" he asked.
"I was attacked," Anakin explained as they walked along. "With water guns."
Obi-Wan laughed. "Your younglings do like to gang up on you, don't they?"
Anakin nodded. "Yours did too," he commented.
Obi-Wan was surprised by this and looked at Anakin. "Benjamin and Chloe shot you with water guns?" he asked, the shock evident in his voice. "You? A Jedi Master??"
Anakin laughed. "Yeah, and they had a lot of fun too," he said. He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "You know you really should spend more time with them, Obi-Wan," he said. "They're great kids. They would love to see you loosen up once in a while."
Obi-Wan said nothing but Anakin sensed that he wasn't thrilled with his suggestion.
"So what brings you here on a weekend?" Obi-Wan asked, changing the subject rather abruptly.
"I was hoping to find Han Solo here," Anakin replied. "Have you seen him?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact,"
Obi-Wan responded. "He's out in the hangar doing some
maintenance."
"Okay thanks," Anakin replied. "I'll
see you later."
Obi-Wan nodded and then watched Anakin go on his way, pondering what his old friend had said to him.
Anakin found Han with his head under the hood of one of the older fighters, deeply engrossed in what he was doing. Like Anakin, Han enjoyed tinkering with old engines, and this particular vehicle had been a favourite past time of his for months. The fighter had been all but destroyed during the Clone Wars many years earlier, but Han had managed to replace most of the parts. Anakin was impressed with the young man's tenacity; it reminded him of himself. In addition, Anakin had spent many hours with Han working on this very ship, enjoying both the times they'd spent together as well as the work which he found relaxing.
"Han," Anakin said as he reached the fighter.
Han was so startled by the unexpected sound of Anakin's voice that he looked up and whacked his head on the hood of the engine.
Anakin did his best not to chuckle aloud. "sorry," he said.
"Yeah, no problem," Han said, rubbing his head gingerly. He picked up a nearby rag and wiped his hands with it.
"Engine still not turning over?" Anakin asked.
"well, it gets half way there and then sorta gives up," Han replied, looking back at the engine like a worried parent looking at a sick child. "I'm trying to replace the fuel input cylinders, see if that helps."
Anakin nodded. "That might do it," he offered.
Han set the rag down, aware that Anakin was not one for small talk. "So…what's up?" he asked. "What brings you here on the weekend?" he asked.
"You sound like Obi-Wan," Anakin commented.
"If you're gonna get nasty I'm gonna leave," Han quipped.
Anakin laughed, reminded of why he had always liked Han so much. "I came to see you, actually," he said. He could feel Han's tension level rise at once.
"Oh? Why is that?" Han asked, trying his best to remain cool.
"Well…I just thought you and I needed to talk," Anakin said.
Han frowned. "Padmé put you up to this, didn't she?" he asked.
Anakin nodded.
Han snorted. "Why do women always think talking will help?"
"Beats me," Anakin replied. "But I did promise."
"How'd she get you to do that?" Han asked.
Anakin thought back briefly to the black outfit Padmé had worn last night, and where it had ended up….and then pushed the thoughts from his mind. "Not important," he replied. "What's important is that we need to talk about the situation that has developed recently."
Han frowned. "You've made it pretty clear how you feel about the situation," he said. "What more needs to be said? You don't think I'm good enough to date your daughter. I'm just a grease monkey, I'm not a Jedi, and I'll never measure up. Is that right?"
Anakin sighed. "I never said any of those things," he pointed out.
"No, but you were thinking them," Han replied, returning his attention to the engine.
Anakin frowned. "I'm not finished talking to you," he said in an authoritative tone.
Han looked up, getting the feeling that Anakin meant business.
"You don't know what it's like to be a father, Han," Anakin said. "One day perhaps you will, but right now you have no idea."
"What does that have to do with this?" Han asked.
"A great deal," Anakin replied. "You see….daughters are special to a man," he said. "Leia has always been my little girl, just as Shmi and Ami have been. To see her grown up and now wanting to enter to a relationship with a man…well it's kind of difficult."
Han was somewhat surprised by Anakin's admission. "So…it's not me, it's just….her dating? Is that it?"
"Pretty much," Anakin replied.
"So you'd be giving any
guy a hard time,"
Han continued. "Even if he were a Jedi?"
Anakin nodded.
"I get it," Han replied. "So…what now?" he asked.
"Now I just have to learn how to get over it I guess," Anakin replied. "Leia means too much to me to jeopardize our relationship by being an ass."
Han nodded.
"And you've been a good friend too, Han," Anakin continued. "I don't like this…tension between us."
"No, me neither," Han
replied. "It's been hard on Leia."
Anakin nodded,
impressed that the young man would think of her feelings. "So…truce?"
he asked, offering him a hand.
"Sounds good to me," Han replied, shaking Anakin's outstretched hand.
"Good," Anakin said. "Now maybe Padmé will leave me alone," he couldn't help but add.
Han couldn't help but laugh.
Later that afternoon
"So? How did it go?"
Anakin tossed his cloak on the back of chair, aware that his wife was watching his every move.
"Ani?"
"Fine, it went fine," Anakin assured her as he sat down with her. "We called a truce."
Padmé frowned. "A truce?" she asked doubtfully. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that," she remarked.
Anakin looked at her. "If you're expecting us to kiss and make up it's not going to happen," he said.
Padmé rolled her eyes. "Of course I don't expect that," she said. "But a truce just sounds so….hostile."
"No, a truce means the end of hostilities," Anakin corrected her. "And that is what you wanted, isn't it?"
Padmé sighed as she stood up. "I suppose this is the best I can hope for isn't it?"
Anakin nodded, watching her as she headed towards the door. "Going somewhere?" he called after her.
"Yes, I told Dormé I'd go shopping with her," she replied. "She needs some help finding…something."
"Why? What is she shopping for?" Anakin probed, sensing that there was something that Padmé wasn't telling him.
Padmé hesitated for a moment, then turned to him. "If you must know, she's trying to …spice things up between she and Obi-Wan."
Anakin stared at her for a moment, and then burst out laughing. Padmé frowned, not appreciating his mirth. She waited for him to stop before speaking.
"Really, Anakin," she said. "What's so funny about that?"
"Spice up and Obi-Wan, don't belong in the same sentence," Anakin told her with a laugh.
Padmé shook her head and turned to go again.
"Wait," he called. "What exactly is she planning? Or do I even want to know?" he asked.
"Never mind," she said. "You'll only laugh if I tell you."
Anakin smiled. "I'll get it out of you later, you know that right?" he remarked.
Padmé shook her head and left the room, leaving her still laughing husband behind.
A short time later
Padmé glanced at Dormé as she piloted the speeder towards the shopping district. She looked decidedly uncomfortable, Padmé couldn't help but notice; and she wondered if Dormé was having second thoughts.
"You sure you want to do this?" Padmé asked finally.
Dormé looked at her. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean are you sure you want to go to this shop?" Padmé asked. "You seem a little…uneasy."
"No…no I'm fine," Dormé replied.
"Are you sure?" Padmé asked. "If you're having second thoughts, or you're not ready we could come back another time," she offered.
"No, I want to do this," Dormé said. "Really."
Padmé sighed. "Okay," she said, pulling into the large shopping complex. "Let's do it then."
The lingerie shop where Padmé brought her friend was very tasteful, and yet Dormé was visibly uneasy looking at the garments that were on display. Padmé tried her best not to smile, thinking of how Anakin would laugh if he knew.
"This is what Anakin bought for me on our last anniversary," Padmé told Dormé, pointing out the black, sexy outfit that she'd worn for her husband the previous night. Dormé's face turned pink as she beheld it.
"Anakin bought you this?!" she asked incredulously.
"Yes, he buys me things all the time," Padmé said.
"I know….but something this ….skimpy??" Dormé asked.
"Dormé, he's my husband," Padmé replied. "Surely you don't mean to say that you have never worn anything sexy for Obi-Wan," she said.
"Yes, of course I have," Dormé replied defensively. "Just nothing this…revealing."
Padmé laughed. "Oh come on," she said. "It's fun. The man has seen you naked, what difference does it make if it's revealing??"
Dormé said nothing, but her face turned even redder.
"Okay, let's find something a little…tamer," Padmé suggested, steering her friend away from the provocative outfit. "There are plenty of nice things here. We'll find something."
Dormé wasn't so sure.
Later that night
Anakin was usually able to read his wife's mind. And when he couldn't, he was usually able to wheedle it out of her somehow. He had watched her very closely at dinner, but she had been very good at deflecting his attempts to probe her mind, something she had learned to do being married to a Jedi for close to 25 years. Anakin hated it when she did that.
For her part, Padmé was aware that Anakin was desperately trying to figure out where she had been with Dormé and what they had been doing. Padme was no Jedi, but she had learned how to keep her thoughts fixed elsewhere when her husband was attempting to fish for information. And she knew how annoyed he was when he did that.
"So how was your shopping trip?" Anakin asked casually as Padme sat brushing out her hair.
"Good," she replied noncommittally.
She's good…Anakin reflected. "So….buy anything?" he asked.
"No, I didn't," she replied, setting her brush down.
Anakin was starting to lose patience. "Did Dormé?" he asked.
"Yes," she said, coming over to the bed.
Anakin watched her, impressed by her resolve.
"What did she buy?" he asked as Padme climbed into bed besides him.
Padme turned to him. "It's just killing you not to know, isn't it?" she asked with a smile.
Anakin frowned, and lay
down in the bed. "Not knowing what? What Dormé bought? I don't
care…why should I care?"
Padme smiled. "Okay, if you
say so," she said, leaning over and turning out the light.
They lay in the darkness for a few moments, neither of them saying a word.
"Padme?"
"Yes
Anakin?"
"Please tell me what she bought."
Silence.
"Good night Anakin."
Padme smiled in the dark as she heard Anakin sigh loudly. She rolled over and found his face. "I love you," she said, kissing his cheek.
"Yeah, sure you do," he muttered.
Padme giggled and then rolled over to go to sleep.
