There are a few deleted scenes from Attack of The Clones where Anakin meets Padmé's family. This is set after the scene where he and Padmé's father speak about her safety.
There's a lull in conversation. Anakin guesses there isn't much to talk about anymore. He's run through the protocol for Padmé's -Senator Amidala, don't be so informal- protection.
But it isn't every day you get to talk so casually to your crush's parents.
"Um…you're her father, right?" Anakin resists the urge to run away. He couldn't have said anything more stupid.
To his credit, the man laughs. "I am, yes." Anakin ducks his head, looking away from him. "Do you have something to ask?"
It takes a long moment for Anakin to gather himself. "Yes. I wanted to know…" No going back now. He's already under the spot light. "Did she ever mention me? Before today, I mean."
"Mention you?" Mr. Naberrie says it like it's ridiculous and Anakin wants to disappear all over again.
What is it with this family that makes him so nervous?
He waits for the answer. "Yeah, I think I remember her talking about you. But you must forgive me, my memory hasn't been the best."
"Of course."
They continue to walk. He wants to ask more, to know what she said or if it was only by a passing of name. How much does he really mean to her beyond the distant memory of a lost child?
They stop and Mr. Naberrie turns to him. "I know what Padmé said about you two but…are you really just friends? It doesn't seem that way to me."
Anakin is tied between answers for a moment. "I…to be completely honest with you, I don't know."
The man furrows his eyebrows, an expression he sees on Padmé often. "You don't?"
"We're together now because of my duty as a Jedi. It's the first time we've seen each other since she was queen."
Mr. Naberrie nods slowly. "I see. But you do like her, don't you? I saw your face fall when she said you were only friends."
Anakin looks away. He wishes he had something to hide behind. "Did you?" He tries to play it off as if he himself wasn't aware of it, but the attempt fails.
A firm hand grips his shoulder and Anakin looks up again, surprised to see such a warm smile directed at him. "I know my wife is the one who's supposed to give the blessing of marriage, but if you do decide to…figure something out, I am in support of it."
Anakin stares at him. He doesn't know whether to deny his attraction or hug the man. Instead, he just smiles gratefully. "I…thank you, Sir."
"I can't say what'll happen. I know my wife will likely accept but Padmé is…stubborn. And narrow minded."
"Well-" Anakin is about to defend her, but he's interrupted.
"It's not always a bad thing. It helped her as a queen and now as a senator. If she wants something, she will get it." Mr. Naberrie pauses. "It just…takes her away from other things sometimes. She gets so caught up in her job that she ignores family."
Anakin can understand that. At least in some way. He left everyone he knew on Tatooine to become a Jedi. He left his friends and the kind old lady at the market.
He left his mother.
"You know," Mr. Naberrie starts, "she's always wanted a family. Kids and a spouse. I thought she'd marry one of those handmaidens she's always around."
Anakin freezes. The handmaidens? Is she…oh no. Has he misread everything? Is she in love with Dorme or Sabé or whoever she was talking to before they left for Naboo?
Are they really just friends?
"-and here you are, making her smile so easily." Anakin snaps back to attention. "She gets nervous around you. And a little bossy, but that just means you're important. Whatever it is you two are, I think it's good for her."
So…what? She does like him? Anakin rubs at the back of his neck, more confused than before. Then, he realizes he should respond in some way. "Um, thank you."
The man gives him a fond look, then they continue walking; this time, back toward the house. "You're a good man, Anakin. I think she'll come around eventually."
"Come around?" He asks, because he needs to know. Does he see something Anakin doesn't?
"You'll understand eventually." And with that, the topic changes. They talk about the native plants and animals. Mr. Naberrie seems to love the planet just as much as Padmé.
And when Anakin eventually finds himself standing in front of Padmé, "will you marry me" slipping from her lip, he realizes that Mr. Naberrie was right.
It's a shame they can't tell him.
