"You know, this would be a lot easier if you stopped moving around," Anakin said, trying to tug the datapad out of Leia's grip. His daughter only dragged the corner of the datapad back down. Even at such a young age, Anakin was both surprised and pleased to discover that Leia was stronger than she looked. "Daddy's got to work. Just sit still like Luke."

Leia made a small sound, and Anakin looked down to find that Luke was crawling along the floor on his belly, arms reaching for one of the toys. There was a beat of silence, and then, Anakin watched in both awe and pride as the toy levitated into Luke's grip. That seemed to be getting easier and easier with each passing day.

Leia bounced a little in Anakin's lap—not really a bounce and more so a little squirm. The message was clear enough, though.

"Okay, okay," Anakin said, setting Leia down on the ground. "Have at it, then."

He watched as the two made happy little sounds: scuffling and babbling as they tried to wrest the toy away from each other. Happier sounds than Anakin had heard in what felt like forever, anyways.

"Good news," Anakin muttered, looking down at the datapad in his lap. "Give me some good news."

He figured he should feel lucky that he hadn't received any calls from Ahsoka or Obi-Wan or Padmé or Rex about something blowing up in their faces yet: but then again, it was only early afternoon. There was plenty of time for something to screw itself up.

Well, that's cheerful.

Anakin dismissed the thought. Things had to be fine. They were going to be fine. They didn't all just survive a three year war and everything that came with it just for things to not be fine anymore.

But all the same—

Anakin found himself scrolling through the HoloNet anyways. There were already updates and commentary and reports on Duchess Kryze's big reveal—no surprise there. Some articles were neutral, tiptoeing on just barely opinionated language (one article said that the duchess "articulated with reasonable caution", while another article said that the duchess was "reluctant to respond to certain criticisms"). Other articles were much more aggressive: and so she just comes back when the war's over? How convenient, one person griped. Are we sure she actually died, or was she just hiding? wrote another. And what about that kid? Look at this thread—

Anakin found himself looking at a page of photos and notes: photos of Satine and Obi-Wan on Mandalore from what he could only guess were their earlier days. Under different circumstances, he would have found the pictures amusing. Obi-Wan with a Padawan braid, his face beardless and hair significantly shorter. Anakin had forgotten how short his master's hair had been when he first met him. Satine was much younger too, of course, herself with shorter hair and her posture a little looser. Not quite yet the duchess that she would be in just a few years, Anakin supposed.

See? If you combine their features, you'd definitely get—

Anakin looked down at the picture, even though he didn't really have to. The news image had been enough for him, and with each passing minute, his memory of the young Korkie Kryze seemed to grow clearer in his mind.

But these pictures—

"Well, that's none of your business," Anakin said aloud. And with a few satisfied swipes of his hand and some typing on the screen, Anakin wiped the page clean. Good luck to anyone who tried to put up those images later. And good luck to anyone who tried to go on to gossip sites.

Next, Anakin turned to articles about the clone troopers. Those were easy to find: clones, chips, the question of citizenship to people who could very well dismantle the—

"Please," Anakin muttered. He was almost seriously considering deleting those articles too—just for a moment, that was sorely tempting, but then again, these articles weren't actually on a gossip site. They were coming from actual sources, but really, when all the news stories were wrong and telling the incorrect facts, did the sources really matter anymore?

Anakin paused.

A coo from Luke brought him back. He was slapping his toy against the carpet, his little brows furrowed.

"Don't give me that look," Anakin said, sliding down to the carpet. He stretched his legs out before him, adjusted the datapad on his lap. "You'd want to do the same if someone was spreading lies about our family." Luke only slapped the toy against the carpet again.

"It's fine," Anakin said, more to himself than to Luke. "And everyone will be busy writing actually true articles later, anyways, when Ahsoka and Rex figure out a solution…" But Luke and Leia only looked at Anakin with what he could have sworn was Padmé's cynicism. "Listen, they started it. And it's their job to keep the story straight. I'm technically doing their job. Which is good."

Another sound from Luke, this time joined by Leia.

Anakin wasn't quite sure how to respond—how does one respond to children who already seem to be protesting against their father? Were they protesting at all, or was Anakin just tired?—when the holoprojector beeped.

"Whatever happens, don't tattle," Anakin said. And then he answered the call.

"Everything okay over there?" were Padmé's first words when she appeared on the holoprojector.

"Absolutely," Anakin replied, scooting his datapad away. Luke and Leia, upon hearing their mother's voice, instantly perked up, their little hands and feet wriggling towards the holoprojector. "Hold on a second." He leaned over to scoop the children off the carpet, sat them down in his lap. "Look at who wants to say hello."

Padmé's features softened, and she reached up a hand, wriggling her fingers a little in response to Luke and Leia's delighted snuffles and cries. "Mommy misses you, too," Padmé said quietly. "I'll be back later tonight."

"How much later?" Anakin asked. He adjusted his grip on Luke to keep him from toppling off his lap. "Is everything…"

"A bit messy," Padmé said with a braced smile that made Anakin's chest tight. "I'm about to meet with Senator Burtoni. Rex and Ahsoka went off to the Detention Center to see to our other Kaminoan friends. Hopefully, they'll be back with some answers—I decided to take over the negotiations part."

"Senator Burtoni's certainly been keeping herself busy," Anakin said. "Did you see the—"

"I wasn't there for the session itself, but yes. I saw." Padmé pressed her lips together. "But the duchess is stronger than she looks. She's handled worse before. Even with all of the…issues floating around." She rubbed at her temples, looked up at Anakin. "And are you—"

"Keeping myself busy," Anakin replied. He paused and then said, "I might have deleted some of the gossip threads on Satine and Obi-Wan's…situation."

"So long as they were gossip threads."

"Right," Anakin said, relieved. "They were probably going to get removed eventually. Everything gets removed eventually on the HoloNet."

"Maybe," Padmé said distractedly. "Then again, gossip threads usually are—wait a minute—" She stopped, blinked at Anakin. "What do you mean, about what you said just said before? Everything gets removed eventually—"

"Well, you know, like I said—gossip stuff," Anakin replied. "Pictures taken without our consent. Stupid conspiracy theories. Stuff like that. Things that aren't…right."

"Yes," Padmé said slowly. "But…" Her voice drifted. "Anakin. What's going on?"

Anakin could have sworn the look Leia gave him was meant to be smug. Were babies supposed to look smug?

Don't you start, Anakin thought, tapping Leia on the nose.

"Like I said, I've been keeping myself busy," Anakin said. "Removing stuff from gossip columns…"

"And?"

"And…?"

"Anakin." Padmé's voice was flat.

Anakin paused. And then, with a frustrated sigh, he said, "They're writing lies about the clones. The stuff they're saying…" He tossed his datapad aside. "I don't know how the information got out in the first place, but you know as well as I do that most of the stuff the reporters and journalists are saying are all…exaggerated. And it's not helping anyone. It's making people panic, and it's not good for the clones, and it's just—it's all fake, and it needs to be taken down, and I know you might not approve—"

"Why would you think that?" Padmé asked.

Anakin stopped. And then, after a beat of silence, he asked, "You…"

Padmé gave Anakin a look that could only be a cross between exasperation and affection that Anakin was all too familiar with. "There are still laws that journalists and reporters and news sources have to follow," she said. "Laws against slander and libel and spreading false information—so of course I don't want those articles out there." She sighed. "You're right," she said after a beat. "Those articles are dangerous and spreading unneeded panic."

"So if I removed them—"

"But you can't remove them."

"Why not?" Anakin asked. "You said it yourself—those articles are dangerous—"

"And how would that look to everyone else?" Padmé asked. "It'll look like we have something to hide. Like the clones have something to hide. It'll make them look even worse." She shook her head. "We'll handle the actual damages of the exaggerated information later—but right now, our first priority is making sure that the clone troopers have the chips safely deactivated and that the veteran affairs are underway without a hitch. Once all that is done, then we can address—"

"And public opinion?" Anakin asked. "That's got to count for something—"

"Of course it counts for something, Anakin," Padmé said wearily. "But there are other ways of handling bad press—"

"This isn't bad press—they're spreading lies—"

"They're spreading lies, and we need to give the press something that they can actually cover," Padmé countered. "We have to leave them with something to work with instead of pictures of loth cats!"

"What's wrong with loth cats?" Anakin asked defensively.

"Nothing—"

"Really. Because for a second there, it sounded like—"

"I know what it sounded like."

"Then why did you—are you mad that I—"

"No, Anakin—"

"But you're not happy," Anakin said.

Neither of them said anything for a moment.

And then Padmé said, "I'm tired. That's what I am." She gave Anakin a sad smile. "Tired of people twisting things into politics when it shouldn't. Twisting things like family and friends into a matter of politics. Twisting private conversations and memories into politics." Padmé's voice was heavy, heavier than Anakin had ever heard it. Like she had been keeping that heaviness locked up for a while. "And I just want it to be over. All of the twisting privacy into something to be used in a political game—I need it all to be over. For everyone. For us."

And there it was—those last two words that set an alarm bell ringing in Anakin's head. An alarm bell, associated with memories of Padmé coming in late and looking drained and still getting up for the next day. Anakin had always credited it to the fact that that was just Padmé—that was his hardworking, diligent wife who would say no to retreats and vacations because she wanted to make last-minute edits to a bill or a speech.

But now, Anakin wondered if the weariness associated with her work had to do with something else.

"What's going on?" Anakin asked at last. "What do you mean—people twisting…" He stopped as Padmé's eyes shifted away. "You're not just talking about the photos." And he suddenly thought of all the times he had only partially joked with Padmé about tagging along to the Senate Building—aggressive negotiations—and all the times Padmé had laughed at him but not really, because—

"I need to go now," Padmé said, glancing away from the holoprojector. She turned back around, gave Anakin another semi-smile. "Senator Burtoni awaits."

"Wait—Padmé—"

"I love you."

Anakin stopped. Padmé's tone was final: nothing more was to be said. The conversation was supposed to end now, and she was supposed to go back to politics—back to a world of words and memories and privacy being twisted into a game that Anakin still didn't really understand but tried to. Well, was now trying to. Fighting a war hadn't exactly given him too much of an opportunity to see beyond what was directly in front of him.

Maybe that part hadn't changed—the seeing directly in front of him part. Because no matter how hard Anakin tried to think of the situation now, he could only ever see his family and friends directly in front of him.

"I love you too," Anakin said.

And when Padmé closed out of the holoprojector, Anakin looked down at Luke and Leia. Held them close. Looked around the apartment, looked at the datapad that was still tossed aside.

Anakin looked down at Luke and Leia.

For us, Padmé had said, and something in Anakin had shifted at those two little words. They were an us. Of course they were an us, but there was more to it now, because they had kids, and they had a whole family to look after instead of just the two of them hiding away in alleyways and apartments.

For us.

And Anakin wanted that too—more than anything, Anakin realized, he just wanted nothing in his family to be twisted in something it wasn't. That was why he had to be kept out of public eye, he knew. That was why the Council requested (ordered) for him to be quiet, and he was glad to be quiet because that meant he could be with the kids and be with Padmé, but then—

The Jedi is your life, and you'll have to choose. Padmé.

There's too much going on right now, Anakin thought, letting Luke tug at his fingers. They wouldn't—

They probably wouldn't. There had been quiet on the Council's front. And there was just too much going on. Actually, Anakin didn't even want to think about what exactly the Council were deliberating on. Anakin had too much going through his own head to even start there. Anakin's first priority was Padmé and the kids, and Obi-Wan and Ahsoka and Rex weren't—they weren't second, Anakin realized. They were just lumped all into one category together.

You'll have to choose.

Are you happy? Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan had asked that just this morning, and that felt like a million years ago.

Yes. Anakin hadn't even had to think about it.

There's too much going on right now—

But those two little words still stuck in Anakin's mind, and even despite the fact that there were so many things to be said and done, Anakin suddenly knew what he had to do.

Anakin looked down at Luke and Leia again. "How do you two feel about a little trip?"

Out of all the ideas Anakin had, he couldn't tell if this was his worst or his best. Most of his plans operated that way, he realized as he pulled into the Senate Building. To his relief, there weren't too many people around: a few Senate guards, a cluster of Coruscant guards who held their positions as Anakin jumped out of the speeder. Anakin didn't need them to take off their helmets to know they were tense: the whole building seemed to be holding its breath for something.

Anakin reached to the back of the speeder and took Luke and Leia out of their seats. Booster seats—seats that Anakin had made himself, even though Padmé had gently pointed out to him that they probably wouldn't be riding out in public any time soon.

Well, now they are, Anakin thought. And he was glad that he had went ahead and made them anyways.

"Okay," Anakin said, picking them up. "You guys need to be quiet. Okay? We're surprising Mommy. Surprise."

But Luke and Leia weren't focused on him: their heads were swiveling around, trying to take in as much of their new surroundings as possible. Of course they were—they hadn't seen much except the apartment and the buildings out on the balcony. This was probably the whole galaxy to them.

A whole galaxy—just wait until we go flying—

"Okay," Anakin repeated, "quiet, remember? Shh…"

To the guards' credit, they didn't say or react much except a quick tilt of the head to Anakin. He briefly wondered if maybe he had been seen around here before—actually, now that he thought of it, the guards were probably used to his presence in his…past escapades, but still. Anakin nodded back and hoped that this would all be over soon.

Anakin looked down at Luke and Leia. "Quiet, okay?"

Leia made a sound that Anakin was pretty sure was a sigh of annoyance.

Anakin couldn't help it—he grinned anyways.

And then he was walking into the Senate Building.

He felt the tension draw tighter almost right away: he felt it in the hallways as the few senators walking around slowed their steps, and for a moment, Anakin wondered if maybe there were too many eyes watching them. Because this was a them now—not just a him.

"Take a picture," Anakin said loudly. Preferably don't. "It'll last longer."

He heard a few cleared throats, some shuffling feet, felt some of the tension being released from the hallway.

Good.

"General Skywalker?"

Anakin looked up and let out a quiet sigh of relief as the familiar form of Bail Organa made his way through the corridor. The senator looked a little wearier than the last time Anakin had seen him, but he still managed a smile, albeit a surprised one.

"Senator," Anakin said, well-aware of the eyes focusing back on them now. "I was just on my way to visit Padmé."

"She's in a meeting with Senator Burtoni right now," Bail replied. "But she should be coming back to her office afterwards." He paused. "But did you…"

"Meant to be a surprise," Anakin replied.

Bail's expression softened. "I see," he said, sounding almost amused. "Well, in that case…" He nodded down to Luke and Leia still squirming in Anakin's grip. "Would you like a hand?"

"Sure you can handle her?" Anakin asked, handing Leia over to Bail. Leia, to Anakin's relief and surprise, didn't whine. She blinked up at Bail with her contemplative eyes, and after a full beat of silence, she smiled. "Never mind—looks like she's decided you're worthy."

"I'm honored," Bail said, smiling as Leia tugged at Bail's finger. Anakin remembered that Bail didn't have any children of his own, but Padmé once told him that Bail and Breha were still on the hunt to adopt. Looking at the gentle look on Bail's face, Anakin had no doubt that whatever child wound up with the senator would be loved.

"Well," Anakin said at last, nodding ahead. "Lead the way, Senator."

But Padmé's office wasn't empty when Anakin and Bail walked in.

Senator Burtoni turned around from her seat across from Padmé's desk, the expression on her face flat and unimpressed by the sudden interruption. And Padmé—she looked unhappy, Anakin noticed. Unhappy and angry and stunned as the doors slid open. Not angry at him. At least, Anakin didn't think so, but still…

"Look at that," Senator Burtoni said, pushing herself up from her seat. She looked down at Padmé. "My point stands, Senator."

"We're sorry, Senators," Bail said hastily. "We were under the assumption that you two were meeting in—"

"No, no, don't bother," Senator Burtoni said, waving her hand lazily. "I was just on my way out, Organa." She turned back to Padmé. "I'll offer some of that intel, my dear Senator Amidala—but remember what I said. Consider your choices from here on out." And then Senator Burtoni was turning back around, making her way across the office.

Anakin caught the smug little look that Senator Burtoni shot his way, and for a second, Anakin wondered exactly how bad it would be if he started aggressive negotiations of his own when Padmé called out from her desk:

"You know, Senator," Padmé said, "I'd just be worried about your own reputation from now on." Her voice was ice cold as she continued, "I doubt the Republic will be as favorable to Kamino if you keep making the noise that you call negotiating."

Senator Burtoni bristled. She turned around, ready to speak, but Padmé was already sitting back down at her desk, her eyes on a datapad. "I'll be looking forward to receiving your intel."

Another second passed, and then Anakin cleared his throat. "I believe the senator's finished now," he said, just barely able to swallow back his own smile. That's my wife, he thought, shooting Padmé a quick glance.

Another moment of silence.

And then Senator Burtoni let out a soft huff. Walked out the doors, and then they were all alone.

"I'm assuming it went…well?" Bail asked, moving into the office.

"That's one way to describe it," Padmé muttered. She looked up from the datapad, both relief and exasperation washing over her face. "What are you two doing here?"

"Surprise?" Anakin asked, waving Luke's hand.

Padmé looked at Bail.

"I found him," Bail replied. He held up Leia. "And apparently, your daughter thinks I'm worthy."

"Of course she would," Padmé said. "She'd be a fool if she didn't." She pushed herself up from the desk, and with a sigh, she said, "It's not that I'm not happy to see you, Anakin, but what are you…why are the children—really, now, of all times—"

"Yes, now of all times," Anakin replied. "Really. Now."

Padmé let out another sigh. She looked at Bail.

Bail cleared his throat. "I have a meeting I should be preparing for," he said, and he carefully handed Leia over to Padmé. There were some quick exchanged smiles, some exchanged nods—Anakin waved Luke's hand Bail's way, and then with a quizzical look at them both, Bail left the office.

The moment the doors closed, Padmé said, "I know that you like surprising me, but don't you think now's a little…the timing's a little—"

"Now's not ideal, and the timing's not ideal, but I've been thinking," Anakin said.

"That really isn't helping the issue—"

"First of all, hey, and second of all, listen." Anakin looked down at Padmé. "What you said before—about wanting all of the twisting to stop. For us." He dropped one hand from Luke so that he could find Padmé's hand. He did, eventually. Her fingers were cooler than his, but they were familiar.

"There's an us now," he said. "And I've been thinking about that." He nodded to the doors of the office. "And that means that you, Senator Amidala, have been doing things on your own. Fending off all kinds of…" He paused at Padmé's warning glance to the children. Okay, fine.

"Point is," Anakin said, squeezing Padmé's hand, "you're doing things on your own, and that's not really an us thing, is it?" He lowered his head, just so that his forehead was barely brushing against Padmé's. "Point is," he repeated, "let me be there. Let me be here. For the us thing."

There was a moment or two of silence before Padmé responded. "There's other things that might interfere with that."

"Like what? Talk?" Anakin asked. He squeezed Padmé's hand again. "Then we'll face it together this time."

Anakin saw a corner of Padmé's lip twitch, and then fade. "But there's…others." She started to pull her hand away from Anakin, but Anakin held on tight. "Anakin. You know that there's still…you might be asked to—"

He already knew what she was going to say.

"And I'd choose us," he said quietly. "I said it before, and I'm saying it again. I choose us."

"They're your family," Padmé said. "Obi-Wan, Ahsoka…" She stopped short, as though she had surprised herself with the last part. Although Anakin wasn't sure why she would—he was tempted to point out that Ahsoka wasn't a part of the Order anymore, but he figured that wasn't going to get him anywhere. That wasn't the point.

"They're my family," he agreed. "But this is my family, too." He bumped his forehead against Padmé's again. "Padmé…"

Another quiet.

And then: "what?"

Anakin swallowed. "It's been five months," he said. "Almost six now."

Padmé didn't say anything, but he felt her shift against him. So he pulled away lightly, just so that he could actually see her eyes. "Anakin…"

"Almost six months of this," Anakin said. He gave Padmé a slight smile. "I think it's time to hand in my own resignation to the Order by now, right?"

For a moment, Padmé only looked at Anakin. And looked, and looked, and looked.

"Padmé?"

"You're sure?"

"Yes." There it was—that natural fall of the word, the same natural fall of the word when Obi-Wan had asked if he was happy. Yes.

Padmé's eyes were shining. And then she shook her head.

Anakin found himself smiling. "So?" he asked hopefully. He waved Luke's hand. "Is this the part where—" He didn't get to finish, because Padmé suddenly pushed herself up, brushed her lips against Anakin's.

Anakin smiled against her mouth, heard Luke and Leia coo and giggle—yup, that was giggling, because babies giggled, and it was one of the happiest sounds Anakin had ever heard, next to Padmé's laughter—and when Padmé pulled away, he found that they were both laughing, too.

So fine—there was too much going on, and there were still problems to fix, but as Anakin walked around to the other side of Padmé's desk with Luke still in his arms, he had the feeling that at least one thing was settled for now.

A/N: As always, reviews/follows/favorites are greatly appreciated!