Uh-oh.
An awkward silence filled the room as the twins stared at their Aunt Soka. Luke swallowed thickly, before plastering his best, most smoothest smile on. "Oh hi, Aunt Soka," He greeted her nonchalantly, as though it wasn't blatantly obvious downstairs what was happening. After all, he had a DJ setting up, he'd used some of his savings from his smuggling days to order one of those VR-video game trucks, and a bunch of giant hamster balls were already rolling around in the backyard. It wasn't exactly something easy to explain away...at least not any other way than what it appeared. "How are you?"
Ahsoka's eyebrows arched, and she gave him a look like she couldn't believe he was actually trying to act like nothing was amiss. "Oh, I'm fine, Guys. I'm just wondering how you two are going to be when your parents find out about the wild party you're throwing."
"Who said we're doing that?" Luke asked innocently. From the expression on Leia's face as she turned to look disbelievingly at him, he didn't think he was achieving it. "Mom and Dad said we could have some friends over." He shrugged casually, trying to make out like it was no big deal.
"Oh, I'm sure they did, but did you specify how many?" Ahsoka raised an eyebrow again, her lips twitching, as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Luke pursed his lips and shrugged. "Does it matter?"
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "As a mother myself, I can say emphatically that, yes...Yes, it does matter." She shook her head, letting out a long sigh. "Has anyone told you lately how much like your father you are?"
"Every damn day." Luke mumbled under his breath. He wished people would stop doing that-comparing him with his father. Even if he was starting to begrudgingly admit that maybe they had a point.
"Look, Aunt Soka, please don't tell Mom and Dad." Leia suddenly cut in, stepping forward. "I know this looks bad, but…"
"Oh, the party itself looks like it's going to be awesome. Off the charts, really. I always thought your mom did a helluva great job planning parties...especially when we were all in college. Which one of you thought to rent giant hamster balls, by the way? That's a nice touch, I must say. Different." Ahsoka interrupted, a grin spreading across her face. Luke might have been assured, except that it didn't reach her eyes.
"Well, technically the hamster balls were Chewie's idea…" Luke began, but Leia held up a hand to cut him off.
"Be that as it may, we actually have other reasons for throwing this party." She launched into her explanation of the plan to Ahsoka, who stood there, listening intently as Leia explained 'The Plan.' As usual, Leia made it sound completely logical. Luke stared at her, impressed despite himself. If he was like their father, then Leia was certainly like their mother.
Suddenly, Luke winced and gasped in pain as a brief vision entered his mind…
Leia was surrounded by people in bright orange jumpsuits. Though they all towered over her in her warm, white snow gear, she held their complete attention as she gave orders. "When you get past the energy shield, proceed to the rendezvous point. Understood?" She waited briefly as determined soldiers agreed with her and spread her arms out. "Good luck."
The vision was over so fast, Leia and Ahsoka had only barely stopped talking to look at him with concern. He shook his head, clearing away the lingering headache. "I'm fine. It's fine. Honestly. Too short to do anything."
Leia and Ahsoka shared a disbelieving look before glancing back at Luke. "Are you sure? Maybe we should…?" Leia began, but Luke shot her a glare.
"I said I'm fine."
She bristled at this, but she didn't press him on it. After an awkward silence, Ahsoka cleared her throat. "That plan may work fine and all," she said, "but even a well thought out plan doesn't mean your motivations for this party are pure. I'm pretty sure there were other, better ways to handle tonight than inviting a bunch of underage hooligans to your parents' house. You do know Padme is going to kill you guys when she finds out, right?"
"Dad too, we know." Luke grumbled.
Ahsoka smirked and shook her head, "Oh no. Your father will be upset about what Leia's costume is. That's what'll set him off. He'll be annoyed about the party for Padme's sake. But, your father was just as wild and reckless in his youth. Hell, he'll probably be secretly impressed you had the balls to pull this stunt...but at the end of this, it's going to be your mother who attempts to Force choke the both of you. This is her dream house, after all."
Luke remembered the volcano project explosion in the kitchen and flushed, a twinge of guilt creeping into his conscience. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…
Shockingly, Leia stepped in to wipe that concern free and clear. Would wonders never cease?
"They won't know. Luke and I are planning to stay up to clean it all up afterwards. When they get home, the house will be pristine. Besides, it's a little late to cancel now." As if on queue, the doorbell rang.
"Please don't tell Mom and Dad," they pleaded in unison. Both twins shot their aunt their best 'puppy dog' look.
Ahsoka frowned, looking between the both of them, as if deciding. Finally, she shrugged. "I don't approve. I think you two are pulling a classic Skywalker here...and not a good one. But...not a harmful one. So...I'm going to let you two hang yourselves this time. But, if your parents ask me what you two did tonight...I'm not going to lie for you. Just so you know."
Luke and Leia grinned and both of them suddenly rushed her, scooping her up into a hug. "Thank you, Aunt Soka!" They both cried, as Ahsoka sighed and patted their shoulders.
"Don't thank me. I'm already mentally planning on what I'm going to say at your funerals. Now. Go get your doorbell. I'm going back out to patrol with the other Jedi." She extracted herself from their embrace, giving them one last stern look. "Don't make me regret this by burning the house down or something equally as terrible. Then SkyGuy will really kill you alongside your mother."
Leia was agreeing as Luke pushed past Ahsoka and rushed downstairs, grinning ear to ear. No matter what Ahsoka said, tonight was their night. They weren't going to get caught. No way in Sith Hell.
When he got downstairs, he'd found that their first guests had already invited themselves in...and the sight of one particular guest made Luke skid to a halt, staring in open-mouthed shock.
Han and Chewie stood in the living room, Han leaning back on the arm of the couch. He had claimed to Luke that he wasn't dressing up, but he was currently wearing a very familiar hat, dirty white shirt, satchel, dark brown pants, and a whip at his hip. Indiana Jones...the character his father had so famously played. Luke couldn't help but think he was the spitting image of his father's character, too. If only his mother could see him like this. She had a soft spot for Indiana Jones...much to his father's annoyance. Chewie was currently dressed up as Bigfoot, but Luke secretly thought that the costume wasn't any more hairy than Chewie naturally was anyway.
Okay. Maybe that was an exaggeration. But not by much.
But, the person who made Luke stop in his tracks had her back facing him...a back that was almost completely revealed down to right above her lower waist in a skin-tight red, sparkling dress. The only thing mostly covering her back was the bright red curls of her hair, and as she turned to face him, she reached up with purple-gloved hands to brush her hair over her shoulder. The front of the dress didn't leave that much to the imagination either. The strapless, heart-shaped neckline of the dress only accentuated Mara's rather well-endowed assets...something Luke had never stared at before, but was now having a hard time keeping his blue eyes away from. Along one side of the floor length dress was a slit, almost all the way up her leg.
Luke's mouth had gone bone dry. Apparently, Leia hadn't been the only one looking to catch her man's attention. He suddenly felt very underdressed. "Umm." He stammered as Mara smiled slyly, having noticed the effect she'd had on him. "W-who...What are you supposed to be…?"
"Jessica Rabbit." Mara replied casually, as if she had announced she was a nun instead of...whatever Jessica Rabbit was. "Really, Luke. Not every famous motion picture character resides in your space movies. You should really get an education in famous movie characters."
He made a mental note to look up who she was talking about later, as she sauntered over to him, her hips swaying rather seductively, he noticed. "You...uh...Look….great." Great wasn't the right word for it, but his brain didn't seem to be functioning fully anymore. Over and over, his mind kept reminding him that technically, this woman was his wife. Hot damn! What in the galaxy had he done to deserve her?
Don't know, don't care, don't matter! He thought to himself with a feral grin.
As Mara wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, he barely noticed Leia coming down the stairs behind him. "Um. This is not that kind of party. I'm just going to make that clear right now." Leia said, her voice filled with annoyance, as Luke and Mara broke apart to look at her. With a blush, Luke realized he was blocking the stairs, and he hurried to move out of the way, pulling Mara with him.
"Well, then why did we come, Chewie?" Han teased, nudging his best friend, who made a sound that Luke recognized to be laughter. But, Luke saw the smirk get wiped off Han's face as he too got a good look at Leia. In fact, Luke had never seen Han's face go blank like that…
Blaster fire was shooting past them as Luke hid behind cover, looking for a way out. Suddenly, Leia was there, grabbing his gun and blasting open the grate. Across from him, Han and Chewie stood, gaping at Leia like she'd lost her mind. "What the hell are you doing?!" Han demanded, though his voice was laced with awe.
"Somebody has to save our skins!" She snapped back, as she began shooting at what Luke knew now to be Stormtroopers. Once she'd reached the other side, she tossed the gun back to Luke, who caught it. "Into the garbage chute, Fly Boy!"
This time, it took a few more seconds for Luke's head to clear of the vision, and the subsequent pain. Mara's gloved hand was cradling the side of his face, and he looked down to find her worried bright green eyes staring up at him in concern. "Are you sure you're up for tonight?" She whispered.
Luke blinked, willing the pain to go away, before he nodded. "Yeah, but…" he looked back to Leia and Han who were sizing each other up as though they were deciding which one was the more surprising-the handsome tomb-raider archeologist, or the equivalent sexy tomb-raider. "I don't think that's the first time Han has looked at Leia like she's done something unexpected."
The corners of Mara's mouth twitched. "You can say that again."
Ahsoka chose that moment to head down the stairs, where she stopped, looked over all of them, pausing on Mara for the briefest of moments, her eyebrows raised, and shook her head. "Never mind, Luke." Ahsoka said as she headed out the front door. "Your father is going to murder you, too. May the Force be with you-all of you. You're going to need it."
There was only one way Obi-Wan expected this night to go. He expected to pick up Hayden, take him and his own younger daughter, Rachel, to the nearest neighborhood to go trick-or-treating. Since they were still eight, they would likely drag him around until his entire body was sore, but he wouldn't complain. He'd be content that his daughter and Anakin's son were happy and not getting into trouble at home. Not that either of them were troublemakers, but children were known to get squirmy if they thought they were missing out on something fun. Once they tired out, he'd take Hayden home, and then take Rachel home to tuck her into bed.
Sure enough, most of the night went exactly according to plan, which was precisely how the Jedi GrandMaster preferred things to go. According to the plan. He kept one eye on his phone and comm to make sure Satine didn't need him (she too was at the fundraiser with Padme and Anakin), that Ella didn't need to be picked up from her sleepover at a friend's house downtown, or more concerning, that the Jedi patrolling the grounds didn't run into any trouble. On this last part, he was certain Anakin was likely doing the same in between speeches and photo ops.
But, as expected, everything was quiet. Thankfully. That didn't happen often in the lives of the Jedi...especially when Skywalkers were around, he couldn't help but think with a smirk. Hayden, dressed in a pirate outfit with a little eye patch over one eye (Obi-Wan had teased him about this, causing Hayden to giggle and remind him that he had, in fact, not actually lost an eye. Kids. They'd believe anything), stayed close to Rachel, talking animatedly with her about how pretty she was in her dress, and what she'd do if she really was a princess. Rachel giggled and kept reminding Hayden that she was a fairy, but she didn't discourage him from calling her a princess the whole night either. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes with a smile-that line was almost as cheesy as Anakin's "Are you an Angel?" line. He wondered if Anakin put Hayden up to it, or if it just came naturally. Obi-Wan snorted...Naturally. No doubt about it. What did Anakin call it again? Oh yeah...that Skywalker charm. Seems his sons had inherited that trait...in spades.
But, after two hours of being dragged all over the neighborhood, the children finally grew tired, their sacks now full of candy, which Obi-Wan took from them when they got back to the speeder. "No, Uncle Ben, that's our candy, you can't eat it!" Hayden protested with a frown.
Obi-Wan thought back to those "I ate all of your candy" pranks and wondered if he could potentially get away with doing it to Rachel the next day. Probably not. Satine would have his hide...though if he mentioned it to Anakin, he had no doubt Anakin would totally do it. "I have to check to make sure the candy is safe. Your parents' orders, Hayden...and mine as well. You never know these days."
Hayden and Rachel gave each other worried looks. Unlike most children who probably would roll their eyes and complain, Hayden and Rachel had grown up knowing the dangers their lives were almost constantly in, just because of the parents they had. That tended to happen when members of their family had been kidnapped, killed, or grievously injured throughout their entire lives. "You don't think the bad people would poison our candy, do you, Daddy?" Rachel asked, eyeing the candy with suspicion now.
Obi-Wan mentally cursed Palpatine for being the cause of such serious concern in children so young. His own child, no less. "Maybe. You don't know, Sweetheart. So, I'm going to make sure it's safe before I give it back." With that settled, he loaded them into the backseat of the speeder, and flew for home.
Expect the unexpected. A Jedi knows this. Obi-Wan just wasn't expecting that to happen tonight. Figured.
Upon arriving at the property, Obi-Wan frowned, noticing a steady line of speeders entering the gates, where security was checking ID and waving them through. "Are these all Jedi, Daddy?" Rachel asked, as Obi-Wan frowned and reached out through the Force. They didn't feel Force sensitive, nor did they seem to harbor any ill-intent. As far as he could tell, they were normal teenagers.
"I don't think so." Obi-Wan replied cautiously, as he finally made it to the security guard, who recognized them immediately and waved them through. Obi-Wan was tempted to stop and ask what the hell what was going on, but he had the feeling he would need to see this...whatever it was...for himself. So, he followed the speeders in, skimming over the road winding through the immense property until they reached the fork in the road. If they continued straight, they would be going for the Jedi Academy. If they turned left, they'd be going towards his house. If they turned right…
The speeders all turned right, and a bad feeling began to sink into the pit of Obi-Wan's stomach.
Anakin's house.
"Why are all these people going to my house?" Hayden asked in bewilderment, as if Obi-Wan should automatically know the answer. Obi-Wan was at a loss, but he did know one thing for sure: Luke and Leia were up to something.
That was never good.
"Hold on, Kids. We're going to take a short cut." Obi-Wan said as he pushed the speeder off the road and towards the house, pushing the craft to go faster. It caused both Rachel and Hayden to yelp in surprise, but soon Obi-Wan was stopping, unable to go any further due to a makeshift parking lot surrounding the front of Anakin's house, a house that, from where he sat staring in shock, was completely lit up with multiple, flashing, multicolored lights, and loud...very loud music pulsing and shaking the ground. Loud raucous laughter could be heard coming from the backyard and within the house. A large truck was parked out front with a logo for one of those virtual reality game companies on it (Ella had once gone to a birthday party with one), and...was that….a large wayward hamster ball rolling away from the back of the house?!
Obi-Wan sat, eyes wide, mouth agape. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Is it someone's birthday?" Rachel asked, looking at Hayden like he'd forgotten to tell her vital information. Hayden shrugged, looking just as perplexed as she was.
Obi-Wan just stared, a million thoughts racing through his head, none of them good, as he struggled to decide what to do. There was no way in Sith Hell he was dropping off Hayden in that mess. There was also no way he wasn't going to not inform Anakin and Padme what was currently happening inside their home. "Hayden, how would you like to sleep over tonight?" Obi-Wan said casually, turning the speeder around to head back to his own home.
Both Rachel and Hayden brightened up and began cheering, the wild party now forgotten. Hayden and Leia were over at the Kenobi house so often, both children had personal items already at the house, so there was no reason for Obi-Wan to have Hayden brave going into that. As the children squealed over what they were going to do that night, Obi-Wan pulled out his phone, opening the speed-dial list and calling Anakin.
He sincerely hoped his children never grew to be this reckless. Skywalkers, he thought with a shake of his head. At that moment, the phone picked up…
"Umm…Anakin, it seems we've got a bit of a situation brewing here…"
It became evident to Leia a few hours into the party that letting Luke talk her into this had been a huge ass mistake. She seemed to be the only one who cared what happened to her parents' stuff. Worse, multiple someone's had decided to bring kegs of beer, and the party was quickly becoming one of those wild parties she'd seen on TV and in movies. She tried to send a message to Luke through their bond to tell him to get the kegs out, but Luke genuinely seemed puzzled as to why it mattered. It was then she remembered Luke had spent years in countries where the drinking age was vastly lowered than it was in the States, and had drunk alcohol himself multiple times on his own. As long as they get a designated driver, Luke replied, it shouldn't be an issue.
It was then that she shot Han a glare and proclaimed, "You never explained the dangers of underage drinking to Luke. Did you?"
Han, who had a red plastic cup of his own beer (which, being in his late twenties, wasn't a big deal) gave her an offended look. "The kid's responsible. Why would I need to?"
Leia groaned, and then quickly (and subtly) used the Force to keep someone from knocking over her mother's delicate vase from Nepal on the mantel. Thankfully, no one noticed these displays of subtle Force-use, either because they were too busy dancing or getting drunk to notice or care. "That doesn't mean everyone else here is."
"Maybe you're just too responsible, Your Highness." Han replied with a shrug. "Or, you pretend to be."
Leia scowled. "What's that supposed to…?" She paused as his words fully hit her. "Your highness?!" She echoed, hands on her hips, fingertips grazing the bare skin at her midriff, reminding her just how revealing her outfit was. "Why do you keep calling me that? I'm not a princess." On this world, she thought to herself. Luke's words came back to her, and she studied Han again, wondering for the billionth time since reuniting with him what he would do if...when she told him the truth.
Han grinned, looking her up and down...again, she realized, trying to hide a smirk of her own. "I guess tonight you're not a princess...though you still act like one."
She rolled her eyes before turning to scan the party again, making sure all was going well. "I should check with Luke," she said, "make sure we don't have any intruders…"
As she began to move, Han suddenly caught her hand in his own, stopping her. She blushed as she felt the familiar calluses from working on the Falcon on his fingertips brush her knuckles. "Now wait just a minute." Han said, pulling her back to him. As he did so, she lost her footing, stumbling into his chest, where he caught and steadied her. She froze for a moment, memories of him doing the same thing every time she stumbled back in their old life. Usually, that led to either an argument...or something else entirely. Sometimes she used to purposefully stumble, just so she'd have an excuse to have his hands on her...without actually making it obvious that's what she wanted. Now, it wasn't intentional...and she didn't have the heart to argue. Not tonight. "Why don't you just stop worrying about what could happen and just focus on what's happening right here, right now?"
She swallowed, thickly. This wasn't the first time Han had asked her that. Before, she was bound by duty. While she was still technically going to be partially responsible for this party if something broke in her parents' house, she no longer had an entire galaxy depending on her. "Old habits, I guess." she muttered, looking up into his dark eyes. This close, it wouldn't take much to lean forward and… "So. What are you thinking would be a good use of our time?"
She knew Han well enough to know that by the way his eyes flicked to her lips, he was thinking the same thing she was. Casually, he lifted her hand up to his chest, his thumb tracing circles in the palm of her hand. Instantly, she was reminded of the first time he kissed her, in the Falcon. Her excuse at the time was that he needed to stop because her hands were dirty. This time, she had no excuse...and even if she did, she knew her heart belonged to him. She wouldn't - couldn't deny him if she tried. "I can think of a few things." He said, tilting his head as he leaned in just a bit. Oh yes, he was definitely thinking about kissing her.
She should have been worried about being surrounded by a bunch of drunk teenagers. Or the fact that Chewie was somewhere in the rather large crowd...or her brother and Mara. But...instead, as she looked at him, she was again reminded of the last time she'd seen him...leaving her. On the Falcon. Again. This time never to return. Her throat tightened, and this time it was she who leaned forward and closed the distance between them, her mouth pressing against his.
Han was only surprised for maybe half a millisecond before his tongue brushed against her bottom lip, and she was opening her mouth for him, and soon they were sharing a kiss that was not nearly as chaste as their first kiss on the Falcon. Han released her hand, and she reached up with it to pull him closer as he began pushing her back. Where to, she had no idea. She just knew she was clumsily walking backwards, Han's hands on her hips as he guided her...somewhere. Honestly, she didn't care where. Her fingers curled in his hair, and as she broke for air, she remembered what she'd told Luke before. "Wait," she breathed, but Han's mouth was right back where it belonged, capturing her lips with his own, and she groaned. "Wait…I need to tell you something..."
"Live in the moment." Han reminded her, his breath hot against her cheek. "Talk later…"
Somehow, Han always knew how to get her to lower her defences, to forget about duty for just a few, breathless moments that swept her away and made her want to let go of everything. And she might have this time...had not a very familiar presence entered the room, and a wave of white hot fury hit her so fast and furious, she barely had time to jump away.
"WHAT. THE. HELL. LEIA?!"
Han's hands dropped from her hips as if she was on fire, and she whirled around to find not only her raging father about to go ballistic standing in the middle of a crowd of weaving, bouncing drunk teenagers, but also her very angry mother standing at his side, also flanked by her Uncle Ben and a slightly amused (but trying to hide it) Ahsoka.
Leia froze, staring wide eyed at her parents, her mind whirling for ways to get out of this mess...and finding none. "Mom." She greeted weakly, her mouth dry as the desert, "Dad. Happy...uh….Halloween?" She tried to smile and offered a small shrug.
But, it didn't do any good.
Her father was already taking in her outfit, raking her from head to toe with blue eyes now almost black in rage, and his complexion was rapidly turning from red to an alarming shade of purple. Unfortunately, her mother's expression wasn't much better. Subconsciously, as though something within him remembered what Anakin Skywalker's past self could do, Han stepped in between Leia and her father...which her dad didn't miss, from the way his eyes narrowed at the smuggler. Leia could practically see him contemplating relenting on his promise not to use the Dark Side just this one time. But he didn't. Thank the Force. Instead, the speakers suddenly stopped mid-song, as though someone (or something, Leia noted) had ripped the plug out from the wall. The gyrating crowd groaned and began complaining, but in the relative silence, Anakin roared, "THAT'S IT! PARTY OVER! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE! NOW!"
There were plenty of "ooooohs" once people realized what was actually happening, but people began filing out of the house. More than one kid sulked out muttering, "Busted." Leia meanwhile noticed Galen at the door, arms crossed, a smirk on his face, making sure their guests left...without taking anything with them probably. She wondered if Han and Chewie would take the opportunity to leave...but instead, Han remained at her side, still between her and her enraged parents. Well, she thought dryly, at least she had Han by her side, but given her father's increasingly enraged expression, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Anakin couldn't remember the last time he was so angry. Ok. Wrong. He could. The night of that stupid speeder chase he'd been this pissed off. But, other than at Palpatine, he rarely got angry with anyone...a true testament to how far he'd grown since his days as Darth Vader. But tonight...Oh yeah, his anger rivaled that of Darth Vader.
It hadn't started out that way, of course. He'd been mildly annoyed but put on a show of being upset about the phone call from Obi-Wan for his wife's sake, who had been beyond livid the moment he'd told her what Obi-Wan had called about, and why they'd needed to leave the Gala and go home. But the moment he'd walked in his living room and found his daughter-his SEVENTEEN year old daughter-wearing barely anything decent and making out with that stupid, idiotic smuggler ten years her senior…
He'd lost it.
"Never have teenagers." Anakin snarled under his breath to Obi-Wan, Galen, and Ahsoka, as the last of the stupid teenagers left….a teenager he noticed he knew. Very well. Too well. Ezra. "And, don't think I'm not calling your parents!" He called after the boy, who visibly winced, but seemed accepting of his fate.
"Sorry, Master Skywalker...but hey, at least it was a fun party while it lasted. Luke knows how to throw them! It was da bomb!" Anakin ground his teeth together, clenching his fists, as his companions snickered at that.
"As I said," he growled, when Ezra had gotten into his speeder and left, "NEVER have teenagers."
"Actually, I already have one." Obi-Wan reminded him with a smirk. "But, mine doesn't seem to be as...prone to trouble."
"It's a quirk of being related to you, Skyguy." Ahsoka giggled. Anakin turned to level a glare at her. She smirked, "What? The apples don't fall far from the tree, y'know. Need I remind you of some of the stuff you've pulled over the years?"
Anakin would have loved to say that she was wrong, or that maybe they'd gotten some of their wilder tendencies from Padme, but...at the end of the day, this was probably his genes making his children make stupid decisions. "Just...Ahsoka, Galen, sweep the perimeter. Make sure those...hooligans get off of this property completely. I never want to see another drunk, costumed teenager ever again."
"Sure, whatever you say, Master." Galen smirked, and he and Ahsoka trotted off into the night, still chuckling between themselves.
He attempted to take calming, deep breaths, but it didn't help much. "Thanks for the heads up." Anakin said to Obi-Wan wearily, running a hand through his hair. "Seriously. You may want to invent a time machine or a de-aging machine to make Ella go back to being a cute, adorable little four-year-old girl who could never pull…," he waved a hand to the messy shambles the house was in. "Leia was still innocent at Ella's age. Just remember that."
"I'll see what I can do." Obi-Wan said, amused. "Though you're the brains when it comes to inventing. I'll leave that de-aging machine up to you." Obi-Wan paused, looking Anakin over, as though assessing his anger level and finding it was unusually high. Glancing around at the living room, he said, "You know, this reminds me of that Halloween party Padme and Mindy threw shortly after you got here. I do believe Luke took after Mindy when it comes to crazy parties."
Anakin clenched his fists, not wanting to remember that particular party. Or the fact that Leia's costume tonight revealed almost as much skin as Mindy's had back then. Maybe the twins did get something from their mother after all. "I will say, though, the look on your face when I showed up in that chicken costume…"
That cracked the surface of his anger...just a little. "I'm not in the mood for reminiscing, Obi-Wan...but that was still the best costume ever." And, it was obvious Obi-Wan, who never brought that incident up, was bringing it up to get Anakin to calm down enough to face his wayward children.
"Cluck, cluck," he said, then when Anakin rolled his eyes and cracked the tiniest of smiles, "Alright, old friend." Obi-Wan said with a smile and a hand on his shoulder. "Go easy on them. They are teenagers...and let's be real. We've pulled worse stunts in our time...Remember Geonosis? Hell, this is an improvement where Luke is concerned." When that didn't get much of a reaction from Anakin, Obi-Wan sighed. "Okay, I'm going home. I'll send Hayden home in the morning after breakfast."
"Thanks, Obi-Wan." Anakin said as his oldest friend turned and left. Obi-Wan raised a hand in acknowledgement and headed off down the driveway. Anakin closed the front door, took a deep breath, and turned.
Now to deal with his children and their friends.
When he entered the living room, Padme had already corralled all five of them onto the couch, where she currently stood over them. She still had her hands on her hips, a clear indication she was furious, but she was waiting for him to come back. "...look exactly like your father." She was saying to Han, who was looking a little annoyed at the comparison. Anakin frowned-he hadn't actually seen much other than the smuggler kissing his barely dressed daughter. Now that he looked at him…
"He does NOT look like that...that…" Anakin began, storming over to his wife's side. He was well aware that despite his words, Solo looked exactly like that stupid Indiana Jones character his wife had liked so much, much to his annoyance. "He's not…!"
Padme rolled her eyes and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. It worked. Somewhat. "Please, Anakin, it's just an observation. Contrary to what you might believe, I'm not actually into men half my age and who are dating my daughter. Besides, you are more than enough man for me."
"Oh, my stars, SERIOUSLY?!" Leia groaned, dropping her head into her palms, and Luke was also making a face. "Go talk about that stuff somewhere not here!"
"Well, it's true." Padme grumbled, not at all amused.
"Good." Anakin replied, mollified by his wife's assertions, though he was still a bit irked….which just grew worse when he finally took in Mara's costume. "What the hell are you wearing, Jade?!"
Mara cooly raised an eyebrow, clearly not at all affected by his fury. This only made him more upset. Stupid Mara Jade. Never did respect him...How and why had Luke decided to get involved with her in the first place? Had he somehow instinctually picked up on the fact that Mara was someone his father disapproved of and thought 'Yes, this is how I'll get my revenge on my father for turning to the Dark Side?' Hell, maybe Leia had, too. This was the Force's way of punishing him. He was sure of it.
"Apparently, Luke isn't the only one in need of a famous movie character education." Mara replied smoothly. "I wear what I want, Skywalker. I don't answer to you. If you haven't noticed, most girl costumes are pretty sexualized these days. What Leia and I are wearing is tame, trust me on this."
While Anakin didn't want to admit she had him on this one, he couldn't stop himself from growling, "Will you STOP trying to seduce my teenage son?!"
Mara just smirked, not bothering to dignify his outburst with a Leia didn't say anything (wisely), Anakin could tell she actually agreed with the infernal woman. It was like his children were out to kill him or something.
An awkward silence fell as Anakin struggled to come up with the words to say next; however, it was Padme who spoke first. "I don't care why you decided to throw a wild party without our permission," she began, and when Luke opened his mouth to point out, likely, that he had technically asked, she pointed a warning finger at him, "And NO, young man, asking if you could have friends over is NOT the same damn thing as...as this debacle!" She waved her hand around the room, which was almost completely torn apart with cushions thrown out of place, red plastic Solo cups everywhere, and beer spilled all over the floor.
"I thought we were progressing, Luke." Anakin began, backing his wife up, "But, now it looks like we're going to need to grill you every time you ask us a vague question!"
"It wasn't actually just Luke, Dad." Leia said softly, "I didn't do anything to discourage him. I'm the one who told the Jedi…"
"And, that's another thing!" Anakin shouted, cutting her off and glaring at her. "I expect better from you! From both of you! You aren't little children anymore-And Leia, you're a Jedi Knight now! You used your influence, and my position in the Order, to lie to the other Jedi, who were just doing their damn jobs by protecting this property and my family!"
"I understand Luke thought it would keep Inquisitors away, but what if it hadn't? Hmm?" Padme added, her voice just as hard and demanding as her husband's was. "They could have decided to hell with it and snuck in with one of the other teenagers! Then someone could have been hurt, or worse!"
"But, they didn't," Luke chimed in, seeing his opportunity. "I sensed them show up." Leia, Han, Chewie, and Mara all looked at him in surprise. Clearly, he hadn't told them about that. He shrugged almost casually. "They didn't even leave the forest out back of the property. They took one look at the party, and like I said they would, they left. Even your Jedi didn't pick them up. Not because they're incompetent, because they aren't, but because they don't know what they're looking for. They don't know their tricks like I do."
"Then maybe instead of throwing a wild party you should have told the guards what to look for, Luke!" Anakin replied heatedly, though he made a mental note to check in with the Jedi who had been on guard for a full report. "Don't expect me to believe your motives were pure here. You wanted this party. Both of you did. For some unfathomable reason…"
"We were going to clean it up before you got home, Dad. I made sure no one broke anything…" Leia started, but Padme raised her hand, cutting her off.
"No. I don't give a DAMN about the house! I care that you two needlessly put yourselves and all of your friends in danger by creating a distraction that would have made it harder for the Jedi on guard to keep control of the situation. I care that you deliberately lied to them, that you intentionally lied to US. If something had happened to you two…" she trailed off, shaking her head, her expression pale. "I can't...I can't go through losing either of you again!"
Now, the twins were looking rather uncomfortable. "Okay," Luke said, clearing his throat. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry isn't cutting it." Anakin crossed his arms. "You two are grounded for at least a month. Maybe more. I don't know. I'll let you know in the morning. In the meantime, none of you are leaving or going to bed until this property is spotless, you hear me? It'd better look better than it was when we left for the Gala. Am I clear?!" He watched, somewhat satisfied, as the five nodded their heads. Han, Chewie and Mara didn't even bother making the argument that he technically wasn't their parent and couldn't tell them what to do. Too bad. He would have loved an excuse to rip into them more. He pointed to the kitchen, where the cleaning supplies would be. "Go!"
They didn't need telling twice - or more encouragement. They scrambled off the sofa and out of there so fast, one would have thought he had threatened to Force choke them. Soon, it was just him and Padme in the room. He felt Padme's hand on his shoulder, and he turned to face her, some of the anger melting away. "What are we going to do with those two…," he grumbled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight. He wrapped his own arms around her waist, bringing her close...and then remembered this was how he'd found Solo and his daughter earlier. He scowled.
"It's like being back together again amplified their tendency for trouble tenfold." Padme agreed. "I'm pretty sure someone warned us twins would be more than a handful."
"Skywalker twins especially." Anakin sighed. "Well. At least, they aren't in a dangerous speeder chase this time."
"You're right," Padme chuckled, "Progress."
There was a pause as he held her, his anger slowly melting away the more he did so. "There might just be another silver lining to all this."
"Oh?" Padme pulled back and looked up at him, though by the smile on her face, she likely knew where he was going with this. "And, what would that be?"
Anakin grinned wolfishly, tilting his forehead down to hers. "Wanna play in those hamster balls, Angel?"
Padme's smile turned into a feral grin. "You're on."
Whew! I updated again! I think the Skywalkers should stop throwing Halloween parties haha. Trouble just seems to follow them to it. Well, next chapter we begin the start of the climax. The end is in sight!
The song for this chapter is Freaks by Timmy Trumpet. I imagined that as the song that was playing as Anakin walked in and saw Leia making out with Han.
By the way. If you haven't seen Solo, you're seriously missing out. I didn't have high expectations, but it was a great movie. Was it the deepest Star Wars movie? No. But it was a solid adventure, and I have to agree with Harrison Ford, Aldren or whatever his name is nailed it.
Review!
Love,
Sarah
