A/N: I have to admit there's just a lot of smitten fluffy Anidala time here, the meat of the story really keeps going with the next chapter so if fluff isn't quite your favorite... next chapter will be, I hope. If fluff is what you came for then you're in luck! Enjoy ~

Ch. 5

Anakin swore a week ago that he saw nothing and that all her outfits looked exactly the same but standing in front of the mirror, she frowned. He was definitely a liar. She twisted herself all around, looking from as many different angles as possible and there was definitely a bump. Not…that noticeable, but there nonetheless in the dress she had planned to wear. It would only drive her crazy if she wore it now. Back to the closet!

The last thing she wanted to run into was a conversation with her parents about any weight she'd put on, let alone any that happened to land in her lower abdomen. But of course, they had to come in from Jersey to take her out at one of the nicest restaurants they could find. Which meant the yoga pants and baggy t-shirt she wanted to wear for her night off work was absolutely out of the question. She was just happy to have not thrown up in a few days now, only dealing with lingering nausea, but it was a worthy sacrifice. The good with the bad, Padmé, good with the bad.

And speaking of the good…

"Anakin! I miss you. You're lucky you caught me right now though, I'm on my way out the door. And hey! I'm mad at you!"

He laughed, "Whoa, whoa, that's a lot of emotions in a single statement, I'm so happy to hear from you too, glad you're having a great day."

She huffed, throwing her purse in the passenger seat and starting her car, "Hush. I'm not in the mood."

"I didn't know you were ever in the mood. Did you want to just call me back then? Whenever the…mood strikes you?" he sounded a little sad. Maybe she didn't need to be quite as sharp with her tone.

It wasn't his fault she was on her way to a dinner she didn't want to go to in clothes she didn't want to wear to answer questions she probably didn't want to have asked. "No, I'm sorry, I am glad to hear from you. I just… wish you were coming over instead of me going out."

"Bad day?"

"The worst. You?"

"I probably have you beat," he sighed, "What happened?"

"I forgot my entire line of questioning in the middle of a deposition, I grabbed the wrong briefs on my way to a meeting…and I almost went to the wrong courthouse, but Rabé needed me for something before I actually left the office so that one was avoided." Was pregnancy brain a real thing? She always thought that was made up but now she's pretty sure it wasn't.

He didn't respond for a long time, "I take it back, that's pretty…" he let out a chuckle, "It's not funny but that is really bad. I'm sorry."

"Yeah… And I can't have a giant glass of wine which is all I want right now… And now I'm off to meet my lovely family… At this stupid restaurant I can never find anything to eat at…" she trailed off. "Oh! And I had to change, because the dress you promised didn't show anything felt tighter than I wanted it to."

"That's a lot of 'ands.' Is that what you're mad at me for? I promise it didn't, but that was a week ago. Do you want me to come over later? You can forget about your stuffy dinner, and I can bring your favorite takeout, instead. And my laptop so I can work remote, start our weekend early?"

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Didn't you say you had a bad day? What's wrong?" She laid on the horn, cursing at the traffic she was caught in. If that truck didn't get out of her way…

"I am worried about you. Especially because you just used a string of cuss words even I've never used before on some poor unsuspecting driver," he laughed. "And I'd normally just show up anyway, but I don't want to make your bad day worse if you don't want me around. What happened with me isn't important, we can talk about it later."

Like he'd been every other day, his thoughtfulness was unmatched. Satine told her as much too when she finally had a moment to breathe and call her. That he was a young guy, but he really had his act together and beyond all else was a real sweetheart. Meanwhile he was starting to win her over, with his playfulness, not letting her take everything so serious all the time, and his patience to deal with her every time she yelled at him over something minor… Trying to not lash out at him was a skill she didn't know she needed. It was a work in progress.

Hopefully that, and the nausea, would get better sooner than later. She wasn't super keen on the flipping between yelling, crying, and wanting Anakin's hands all over her in a matter of minutes. But what she was most ready for was her dating scan and appointment so they could confirm everything was fine before figuring out how they wanted to spread the news. Not being able to talk to anyone and lying was starting to kill her.

She could hear doors creaking in the background and different things clattering as he left his proposal hanging in the air, the quiet taking over their call.

"If you want to come over, I wouldn't be opposed," she said at last, "I just don't want you to feel obligated. And I'm pulling up to Ocean Prime now so I'm gonna have to let you go…"

"You're not an obligation, Padmé. Not to spend time with, not ever. I'll see you tonight, I hope you enjoy at least something about your dinner. And you can tell me about it later."

"You and me both." She threw her phone back in her purse as she finally pulled out in front of the restaurant, handing her Lexus keys to the valet and rushing inside. No doubt her parents were already there.

As usual, Ruwee and Jobal came happy as ever with photos from their latest cruise and vacation. She loved them dearly but sometimes they were too much… And naturally, they ordered one of the most expensive bottles of wine on the menu, which she tried so hard to decline inconspicuously. Her parents were too preoccupied with their stories of the interesting couple they sat next to on their flight back from Tahiti, but her sister's stare lingered more than she preferred.

Not to mention the smell of everyone else's seafood dishes, or the smell of meat in general, was about to push her over the edge. Just when she thought she would be done throwing up. She'd ordered the most basic salad she could, ridding it of the cheese, any meat, any dressings with alcohol… Then when it finally got to the table along with the rest of her family's meals – the smell ruined any hope she had of eating. Thank the stars Anakin is bringing food. Why on earth did she even agree to this? Or not suggest literally any other restaurant? When the check came and her dad snatched it up before any of them could see it, she was more than happy to get out of there. Excusing herself before it was even all said and done, she hugged her parents, promising she'd make it out to see them soon. Soon because she'd come to drop a bombshell but that was neither here nor there. Finally, she was in the clear.

As she walked toward the valet stand, she felt two hands grip her shoulders. "Little sister, running off so quickly?"

Ugh. She turned, quickly hugging Sola, "Never! I just…it was such a long day. I just want to kick my feet up tonight. You know. Busy day tomorrow," she added with a nervous laugh.

She nodded; her eyes narrowed. "Not wanting to take the edge off with that bottle of Cabernet dad splurged for though?"

"Is it really splurging when it's a regular occurrence and the topic of discussion is two weeks in Bora Bora?" she offered trying to change the subject, her and her sister chuckling.

"Probably not, but what do we know, it's just our normal."

That was true. Her and Anakin hadn't quite talked about it, but she was pretty sure he knew that her family was wealthy. She didn't have reason anymore to rely on it making her own six-figures at the firm, but it didn't make it less true. She gathered from his stories that wasn't the case for him and rather than pry, she just dropped the topic. They'd circle back eventually. And hopefully it wouldn't be a big deal when they did.

"Anyway – not what I chased you down for. Well, it was, but also not." Sola eyed her carefully, "You're sneaky, you almost had me fooled."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said as confidently as she could muster, controlling her face from giving her away.

She pointed, poking Padmé in the chest before leaning closer, "You're pregnant." She leaned back, folding her arms.

Padmé wasn't sure what she wanted to do first – explode with joy from having someone to talk to that wasn't Anakin, or play dumb. Given that Sola had two small children and she could definitely recall her sister's similar pregnancy experience, she should just go for option A.

She clicked her tongue. Grabbing Sola by the arm, she whisked her away as they waved goodnight to their parents heading out the door as their car was brought around. "How did you know?"

She smirked, "You just told me." She laughed as Padmé's mouth fell open before adding, "No, but I thought it when you shied away from your wine like it was going to give you some kind of disease and wrinkled your nose at mom's scallops. Disregarding the actual gagging noise you made over dad's steak, I thought you'd burst from the table at any second. Plus, you keep subconsciously resting your hand on…" she motioned to Padmé who was, in fact, cradling her belly as she spoke.

Padmé groaned, dropping her hand to smooth out her dress, "Okay, fine. Yes. As you can see, I'm having a really hard time not making it obvious."

Her sister smiled brightly, pulling her in for a tighter hug, "Oh my god I can't believe it! I didn't even know you were seeing anyone!"

She laughed, awkwardly. "Yeah, well… It's a long story, really. I can't get into it right now, and I should get going because he's…"

"Waiting for you?" A sly grin coming across her face. "Don't let me hold you back."

"Thank you…" she stammered out trying to not think about him 'waiting for her.' She went to turn away from her older sister before she grabbed her hand.

"How long? Have you known?"

"Like a month? Sola, I promise, I will gush about all of this with you when I come by next week, and it'll be after my appointment so you can help me figure out how to tell mom and dad, about my 'long story' situation," she said, desperately wanting to get away.

"Deal. Alright go on and enjoy yourself, not like you can get any more pregnant," she snickered, following after her to the valet for her own car, "Your secret's safe with me. For now."

Sola had the audacity to say she would be the death of her when it was obviously the opposite. Part of her hoped she knew her sister well enough that she wouldn't make a big deal out of Anakin, but… who knows.

The doorbell startled her awake, shuffling over to the door. She completely forgot he was coming in her rush to get home, out of her heels, and onto the couch.

He was beaming, his duffle bag slung over one shoulder, bag of Chinese takeout in the other hand, "Hi beautiful!"

She yawned, running her fingers through her now tangled curls, "Hey handsome," she managed.

He kissed her forehead and made his way to the table. "One large vegetable fried rice, no egg. And a side of veggie spring rolls?" He turned, holding the small containers in his hands.

He looked at her so lovingly, and it was such a small gesture but the fact that he'd done it in the first place… "I might actually cry over that food. I can't even tell you what a nightmare dinner was. I don't deserve you," she said, waltzing over to grab the spring rolls on her way to get a plate.

Coming up behind her and enveloping her in his arms, he said softly into her hair, "You deserve everything that's good in this world. I'm sorry your dinner was so bad, maybe we can still turn the night around."

Padmé closed her eyes and let that little jolt of electricity flow through her at his words and his hands now slowly rubbing up and down her arms. She turned, setting the food down to grab his collar and pull him in for a slow passionate kiss. When he started to pull away, she gripped the curls at the back of his head and held him there. She backed herself up against her cabinets, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He smiled against her lips as she continued attacking him with her affection, "What's gotten into you?"

"I just… appreciate everything you've done since we decided to… do this. I feel like you're giving up so much for me and I just—"

Her voice silenced as he lifted her onto the countertop and kissed her hard, more intensely than he ever had before. She leaned into him, pouring everything she felt into the way her lips moved against his, her tongue slipping in his mouth as his hands moved up her thighs. She cautiously slid one leg up around his hip and that startled him back into the moment.

He broke away suddenly, panting, "As much as…" he kissed her again, "Damn. As much as I'd love to continue, you need to eat something."

She whined, pulling him by the shirt closer again. "Not true, what I need is…" her stomach interrupted them with a growl that confirmed how hungry she was on her behalf.

He laughed softly, placing a chaste kiss on her nose and stepping away. "See? Now, c'mon."

"I take back everything I said, you're the worst," she grumbled, grabbing the food and doing her best to not stomp off.

"You're really fucking cute being all angry right now," he said, following her back to the living room.

"Does that line often work with women?" she huffed, taking a bite. She did her best to not make an audible noise, but her typical order somehow tasted better than it ever had. Maybe she really was that hungry. After everything else repulsed her, she did need this. Though it better have been good after he disrupted what they were doing to force her to eat it.

He flopped down next to her, pulling her into his side and resting one hand on her thigh, the other on her barely-there baby bump. "It doesn't have to work on 'women' it just has to not get me killed by one in particular."

"Brave man, testing your luck like that," she teased, cuddling into him.

"Hey, they didn't call me the Hero with No Fear in high school for nothing," he leaned over pressing another kiss to the top of her head.

"Who called you that?" she looked at him suspiciously, eating the last of her spring roll, as he shrugged. "Fine, don't tell me. I can just ask your mom when I meet her."

He laughed, "Okay, okay, maybe it was the 'idiot' with no fear, but still."

She snorted softly, shaking her head, "Seriously, Anakin. Thank you. You didn't have to." She handed him the nearly empty container of rice to set aside as she climbed into his lap, resting her feet beside his thigh, and laying her head against his shoulder.

"I did have to make sure you eat, you are carrying a Skywalker, y'know. And you've seen how much I eat."

She patted his cheek, "Don't remind me. I'm gonna be huge, you're probably the reason I'm already showing despite every book and resource telling me I had at least a month or two left of people being oblivious."

He wrapped his arms around her tighter, "Well, there also isn't a lot of room in there," he said, rubbing his hand slowly across her stomach. She wished he'd either not do that, sending a warm tingle spreading through her body, or he'd do a lot more than that. "But as long as the baby's healthy, and you're healthy, that's all that matters, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. My body be damned in the process," she said playfully rolling her eyes before taking his hand in hers and intertwining their fingers. "Are you excited we'll actually get to see the baby next week?"

His face lit up. "Absolutely, and so that we can tell everyone! Aren't you?"

Padmé played with the collar of his shirt, "I'm…getting there. About the whole thing. I'm just looking forward to the appointment so we can…start to talk about the future. Have a plan, not be doing everything so on-the-fly. This is the most chaotic I've been in my entire life."

His breath seemed to catch and that worried her but then he relaxed again and gave her a squeeze, "I'm ready whenever you are. For whatever comes our way."

"I still don't understand how you're so calm about all of this…"

He pressed a kiss to her temple, "Sometimes I'm not… sometimes I'm really scared, or worried. Then I come here, where everything is calm… And I stop feeling that way. When it's just me and you."

She tried to not rain on his every parade, waiting for his waves of happiness to wash over her alongside him. Keeping her worries and struggles to herself. Once everything was out in the open and she didn't feel like she was lying and hiding maybe she'd share in his excitement, or at least his calmness. Earlier with Sola was the most relief she'd felt since before she found out, and she was ready to talk to her sister about anything and everything related to being pregnant and being a mom. Being a mom. Padmé was going to be a mom. She kept repeating in her mind until it seemed real, a sense of joy that temporarily overcame her anxiety.

She reached up and stroked his stubbly cheek, "You know we have so much to figure out, right? And… we probably won't always agree…"

He chuckled, "Padmé we don't agree most of the time anyway… But this is a happy moment, okay? I know we can figure the rest of it out."

She nodded, "Okay. I'm…" She yawned again, the warmth of his embrace making her sleepier, "so glad you're so happy about all of this. I was afraid you'd be upset if you found out, I didn't want you to make a decision you'd regret, or resent me—"

He cut her off, "You have no idea how happy I am. Let's go, your bad day officially ends now." Suddenly, he stood, and she felt herself moving but she didn't care enough to open her eyes.

He laid her down in the covers, pulling them up around her. "Are you actually tucking me into bed right now?"

"You don't want me to?"

"I'd rather you join me…" she scooted over, flipping the duvet back and patting the space next to her.

"You're being awful friendly tonight, you sure you didn't drink?" He laughed, kicking his jeans off and throwing his shirt onto the chair

She scoffed, "Very funny. I can stop if you want," she went to turn over away from him before the mattress bounced as he fell into the covers and pulled her back into him. "That's what I figured." She smiled, running her hand over his chest.

"So, do you wanna talk about dinner?"

"It was terrible. Too much meat, everything smelled awful, everything had wine in it, or any number of other things I don't, won't or can't eat…"

"Why did you agree to go? I know I don't know them, but wouldn't they—"

"No. They wouldn't. And I'd have to explain why…"

"Isn't 'I'm a vegan and this is a seafood and steak house' a valid explanation?"

Fair point. A very fair point that she didn't even consider but probably would've saved her a lot of agony.

"Don't go making sense right now, okay?" Her face shook as his laughter rumbled his chest and she pinched his side softly.

"Ow! What was that for? My problem-solving skills?"

"No… it was for your know-it-all attitude," she huffed.

"Mmm. Maybe I've been spending too much time with you then because that doesn't sound like me at all." He laughed harder when she smacked his chest.

"Do you want to sleep on the couch alone this weekend?" She lifted her head up only to see his wide grin shining back at her.

"No, because then I couldn't do this…" He leaned down some and captured her lips in a slower kiss, biting and pulling her lip softly before laying his head back again. "And you'd miss me."

She hummed, tracing indistinct patterns on his chest. If he left her alone on this weekend they had specifically planned to spend together… "Maybe you're right."

"Maybe so. How 'bout I just stay and not find out."

He covered her hand with his, stopping her movements. She slid her hand from his grasp to drag slowly down the taut muscles of his stomach. His breath hitched before he took her hand again and kissed her palm, laying it back on his upper chest on top of the covers. Maybe she'd put them on a slower track than she wanted. Or, slower than she wanted right now. She hitched her leg over his, running her foot down his calf, hoping to get her point across after all. But just like with her hands, he reached down, settling a hand on her knee to still her.

"Anakin?" she said, softly.

"What is it?" he said, jostling her some as he started to sit up.

She pressed her hand against him, pushing him back down. "Nothing, just… wanted to say goodnight."

There were a lot of things she wanted to say, but very few words came to mind for how to say them. Beyond all her earlier worries about the baby and their future, now she wanted to know why he hadn't made a single move and why he continuously stopped her every time she tried. Or at the very least she wanted to know how long he was going to keep acting that way. When she said 'slow' she didn't really mean 'ice age slow' just…not on the first night, or two.

But now it'd been over 2 weeks that they spent nearly every minute they could together and talked every other one. And he'd spent the night all but one of the possible nights. And… nothing. No matter what she did, or how, or when. If something didn't happen soon, she was taking matters into her own hands, and she'd rather not have to confront him about it. It was awkward enough without point blank asking what his problem was. She thought it would be easy to slip into a comfortable normal with him, but this was like platonic cuddling… She didn't exactly think there was a timetable for when it was appropriate to have sex with someone you were already pregnant by but had only recently started dating, but surely it would be soon? She rolled her eyes, suppressing a groan. Maybe she should write a whole book about it, the handbook to handling one-night st—

Interrupting her thoughts, she felt his other hand trailing down her back, fingertips brushing against her spine, her eyes slowly closing, only to have it settle on the curve of her waist. She sighed, letting it go for the night and snuggled closer instead.

"Sleep tight."

"I was thinking we could tell my mom this weekend, after your appointment. And I was hoping you'd do it with me?" he called from the bathroom where he was shaving. He's pretty sure his mom was going to react fine, and they could get everything out there in one dinner – rather than drag it all out. It was her family he was worried about. The way she talked about her parents reminded him of all the people he went to Cornell with. Pretentious, with haughty stares, and cars that cost more than his house…

Padmé was none of those things, despite every reason he'd drawn up for her to be. Instead, she was remarkably down-to-earth, kind and non-judgmental, and usually trying to downplay the wealth he knew she had. It would've been stupid for him to not guess she made a lot, knowing what she did for a living or just looking around her Manhattan high-rise that was bigger than the place he used to share with 3 of his buddies. If that didn't give it away, he could've assumed from all the glass fixtures and ornate décor scattered around her place that he'd only seen in movies. Maybe Obi-Wan had a point about how different they were…

She came in the room behind him in her bathrobe, running her nails across his back, making it so hard to not want her right then and there … No, Anakin, you're supposed to be taking it slow. He wiggled away from her, rinsing his face and brushing his teeth. Their weekends together were too damn short.

"If you want me there, we can. Can I pick the restaurant, though? Or will she be like you and be offended by my 'rabbit food'?" She raised an eyebrow, forcing him to hold back his laughter.

"I've come to admit the error of my ways with your food, okay. And I trust you, so wherever you want. That's where we'll go." He wiped his face, turning toward her as she was about to lean over the sink.

He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand and smiled. "God you are beautiful first thing in the morning. Like some kind of angel."

She blushed, "I think you need your vision checked…" She nudged him out of the way with her hip.

He moved around her back, caging her in with his arms and watching her in the mirror. "I don't think so, my vision, like my view, is perfect." He said, sweeping her hair over her shoulder and leaning in to kiss the back of her neck.

She hummed pleasantly. Standing up, she leaned back into his chest, and tilted her head to give him better access. He took her earlobe in his mouth, tugging softly. "I wish we didn't have to go to work…" he whispered.

She shivered as she turned back to face him. "I wish we didn't either…" She ran her hands up and across his chest, "But we do… so, you better get out of here so I can get ready too. My boss would never let me come in 3 hours late with a suspiciously full cup of coffee." She grinned, pushing him back.

"Hey that was one time, thank you." He laughed, making his way back to her bedroom to get dressed. "And I brought one for her too to excuse my being late!" he could hear her laughter from the other room. It was infectious.

It probably shouldn't, but everything about being with her felt perfect. Everything about them. Every moment he was nearher. Obi-Wan had no idea what he was talking about last week. As soon as he knew the truth, he'd see. He'd understand.

Anakin was hoping they'd start to discuss their own relationship real soon, hopefully once some of her anxiety eased up regarding the baby. She flipped between wanting to figure every little detail out and not wanting to talk about it at all, so he tried to set an agreement that she'd lead the conversations whenever, however, and for whatever length of time she needed until it was all out in the open. He just wanted her to be happy, or at least less anxious.

But man was he looking forward to not keeping secrets. Especially with how terrible he was at it. He slipped up with Ahsoka twice in a single conversation and then almost slipped up in telling Padmé he'd done it to begin with. Luckily, his mom and stepdad had been on vacation, so he hadn't really talked to her. Shmi was going to lose her mind, though. This probably wasn't what she meant but she had been asking about his personal life since his stepbrother had gotten married to his high school sweetheart. Owen and Beru were practically made for each other, and they both embraced that small-town life out near Ithaca. But Shmi raised Anakin in the city before she met Cliegg so that would always be home to him. And in not so many months… He'd be raising his own baby in the city.

He laughed to himself. He was going to be a dad. His mom was going to be a grandma. He was going to have everything he always dreamed of, and even though they weren't in the relationship he expected, it was hard to imagine a better woman for the mother of his child to be. Padmé shuffled around, stuffing papers into her purse, switching blazers to match her dress and eyeing her collection of heels. She made the mundane look extraordinary, just with her grace alone. How a kid from subsidized housing ended up here, with someone like her…

"What?" She caught his eye as he was looking at her, smiling and crossing her arms.

He shook his head, biting his lip. "It's nothing…" Just think I might love you…

"It's never nothing with you," she laughed, walking back into the apartment, him following behind.

"I'm just thinking about how lucky I am, having you in my life." He said, grabbing his coffee off the counter with the tea he'd fixed for her.

"Well." She turned as they reached the door, leaning up to kiss him, "I think I'm pretty lucky too…"