Author's Note: Hello everyone, it's That Star Wars Guy again, and I am here with my Christmas special. Now I wasn't sure if Star Wars celebrated Christmas because it's never mentioned. So I decided to look through fanfics and the internet. I saw Life-day, but I had seen a fairly high amount using Life-day as the birthday in Star Wars. In the end, I decided to just use Christmas as Christmas, and Life-day as Birthday. I'll stop talking now so you can read the story. Also, no quotes, just enjoy the story.
I had planned to release this at around 1:30 pm in the UK, but I ended up running out of time as I went to have lunch, but it's here now. I don't own the cover image, just thought to let you know, but it's on Pinterest if you want to look for it.
Anakin woke up to a faint thud. He couldn't tell what it was, only that the noise was getting closer. Still disoriented from just waking up, he looked around the room, his eyes adjusting to the low light level in the room. He could make out a dressing table, a door, and a wardrobe. Something moved next to him and looking to where it came from, his eyes fell upon the sleeping form of his wife. So he was at home. Again he heard the noise getting closer and he realized what it was as he remembered the date. They only acted this way when it was Life-day or Christmas, and Life-day was months ago. Oh no…
He was interrupted when the door opened, and through it came two speeding bundles. Anakin had no time to react as the bundles jumped up onto the bed and landed on him and Padme, shocking them both fully awake before they started jumping up and down on the bed, and both of them were practically shouting.
"Mommy! Daddy! Wake Up! Wake Up! It's Christmas! It's Christmas!"
Annoyed, Anakin casually used the force to lift the children up into the air, earning giggles from both of them, and moved them off the bed and to the floor.
"Luke, Leia what have I told you about jumping on us at Christmas." Anakin scolded, as he lifted himself up, but Padme stopped him. "Ani, it's Christmas. Let them have their fun."
"I have no problem with them having fun." Anakin defended himself, holding up his arms. "It's just that they are having fun by harming us. And besides, you know how much I dislike Christmas!"
Anakin thought Padme would reply to that statement instantly, but she instead looked over to Luke and Leia. "Kids, why don't you go to the living room and see if you got any presents. I need to have a quick chat with your father."
"Ok!" the pair chorused, before racing out the room. Moments later, both Anakin and Padme heard shrieks of joy and shouting as the twins had most likely found their sacks of presents, their noise drowning out the sound of C3PO, who was being his usual self. Anakin looked to where the twins had left with a brief smile before going back to a slight scowl. Padme looked over at him, knowing that she would have to do this for the third time.
"Ani, I know that you don't like Christmas because of your past, but that doesn't mean you have to spoil our children's fun."
"It's got nothing to do with my past." Anakin retorted, getting out of bed. As he looked at Padme, he noticed that Padme was looking back at him with an eyebrow raised and giving him the same knowing look she gave him every time he lied and ended up sighing as he got out the bed and looked out the window. "Ok, yes, it is because of my past. I wasn't allowed anything for Christmas, not even a break to spend the holiday. I'd notice the slave owners dancing around in their houses as I walked home, and it annoyed me so much that I ended up despising Christmas."
Padme looked at him, sympathy welling up inside her though she didn't show it, because they both knew she had heard this same explanation every Christmas since they had kids.
"Ani, you need to stop being ashamed of your past. You are no longer a slave. You are a hero. If you keep living in the past, then you won't heal and you won't be free."
Padme continued to look at Anakin, and for a moment she thought her words hadn't reached him, but then she saw the faintest twitch of a smirk appear on his face as he looked back at her.
"Ok Angel, I'll try." He replied, and he looked like he was about to say something else when they heard the kids shouting for them to join them. Anakin still looked slightly hesitant, so Padme answered back with a shout of her own.
"Ok kids, we're coming!" She shouted, getting out of the bed, before heading over to the corner of the room, picking up both hers and Anakin's robes (Think Star Wars equivalent of a dressing gown), placing hers on and handing over the other to Anakin, which he took placing it around his shoulders. After doing this, they both left the room and headed to the living room, hand in hand.
After half an hour, Anakin's mood had seemingly improved. They had sat down, watching Luke and Leia open their various presents from two small red and green sacks. They had gotten everything they had wanted, from clothes to toys, a particular favorite of Luke's was a model pod racer which Anakin had made for him, which caused a smile to spread across Anakin's face. Along with their separate toys, the twins had also been given a gift each from Obi-Wan, and another present each from Ahsoka and Rex. Luke had been given a training Holocron from Obi-Wan while Leia had gotten some books. From Ahsoka and Rex, the two had been given training sticks which they were playing with now, running around the room in their pyjamas clashing sticks, jumping over discarded wrapping paper. Anakin just watched on from the sofa as the twins ran round and round, a sense of pride and fondness swelling up within him. They had already started basic training, learning from himself, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan with Master Yoda showing up from time to time, and when they got old enough, he intended to take on one of them as his new Padawan. He didn't mind which twin he chose; both were as good as each other. If he picked one, he had no doubt that Ahsoka or Obi-Wan would take the other as a Padawan.
Not long after this, all three of them would be called into the dining room to have breakfast, which consisted of several pancakes, Jam on Luke's, Chocolate Spread on Leia's, as well as another plate for each other with a Sausage, Bacon Rash and an Egg on. As they all ate, Anakin's mood improved again. Each bite he took was delicious, and he pushed back the thoughts of his past even further into his mind.
After they had finished, they had all gone to their rooms and gotten changed. Luke was wearing a pair of tan trousers and a white top (Think Ep. 4 clothes), and a Christmas jumper with a snowman on, while Leia had gotten into a white dress and a Christmas Jumper with a Bauble on, her hair done up into a bun either side of her head. Padme had gotten into one of her festive dresses, decorated with snowflakes, her hair done up but left to just drape down behind her. Anakin on the other hand, had a sort of permanent scowl on, as he had been told to wear his usual clothes but with a red Christmas jumper with a Christmas tree on it. Anakin sighed as he pulled at the red wool.
"You know Angel, I'd feel happier if you didn't make me wear such a ridiculous piece of clothing." He said, looking over to Padme, who chuckled.
"Ani, if you don't dress up in something festive, then you will never enjoy Christmas."
Anakin was going to retort when the doorbell rang. Padme gave him a knowing smirk before walking over to and opening the door, revealing the distinctive Ginger beard and hair of Obi-Wan. Padme moved to the side to let him in.
"Obi-Wan, good to see you, though I'm surprised to know that you were actually able to come," Padme said in greetings.
"Well, I just came back from negotiations with Bail Organa on Mandalore. Bo-Katan has decided to remain neutral until she can properly rebuild her planet, though we have come to the agreement that the Republic will provide aid should her people need it. Hopefully, in the coming months or years, she will bring Mandalore into the Republic, though that decision is up to her." Obi-Wan replied.
"Well, that's good to hear. Losing Satine must have been hard on both her and the people." Padme replied, remembering how alike she was with Satine.
"It was hard on me as well. I cared for her. If the attachment rule had been removed earlier, I would probably be married to her by now." Obi-Wan replied, a slight frown appearing on his face as he looked down slightly.
"Oh Force I completely forgot, I'm terribly sorry," Padme said.
"Don't be Padme, it's all in the past now. Besides, I have my new family to look after me. You, Anakin, the Twins, and Ahsoka and Rex."
As if on cue, the bell rang again, and this time Anakin answered it, revealing the familiar sight of his former Padawan and Captain. Looking at them, he could see that Rex was wearing casual clothes, something he didn't see very often, but looking at Ahsoka he could tell that she had just woken up at the temple, thanks to the almost glossy look in her blue eyes, and the fact that she was wearing her usual Jedi attire under a white jumper with a blue reindeer pattern going across the area over her chest, with one side falling off her shoulder a slight bit, confirmed his suspicions.
"Hey Snips, glad to see you," Anakin said joyfully, though it was because Ahsoka was here, and not because of Christmas.
"Hey Anakin," Ahsoka replied, her voice still slightly tired. Anakin then turned to Rex.
"Rex." Anakin greeted.
"Anakin," Rex replied. Anakin then turned back to Ahsoka. "I thought you would have come in something other than your Jedi wear. Don't tell me Obi-Wan's attitude to clothing is rubbing off on you." Ahsoka was about to reply when Rex chimed in instead.
"Well, when you consider that I had to go to the temple to wake her up, I don't think she had a choice," Rex said, earning an elbow to the arm and a glare from Ahsoka.
"Come on Rexster, you of all people knew how tired I was after our mission to Onderon."
"Speaking of Onderon," Obi-Wan spoke up. "Ahsoka, how are they doing over there."
"Well, all things considered…" Ahsoka didn't have a chance to finish when Leia and Luke burst in. Luke ran straight to Obi-Wan, but Leia kept running, straight towards Ahsoka. But before she could collide into her legs, everyone watched as she stopped moving and was lifted up into the air, and all they heard was her giggling. They turned to see Ahsoka with her hand outstretched and watched as she carefully placed Leia down on the sofa and Ahsoka walked around to greet her.
"Auntie 'Soka!" She greeted, giggles almost overcoming her. Ahsoka, acting more like her usual self, gave a slight laugh back. "Hello, little one." She replied, before lowering her voice. "Did you and your brother jump on your parents again like I told you to?"
Before she could answer, she heard a growl behind her coming from Anakin.
"Ahsoka! I'll get you for this!" He yelled.
"Uh Oh, Leia let's go before Anakin gets us."
"Ok." Was her only reply as they both ran away out of the room, an angry Anakin following behind, while everyone else just laughed.
After an hour and some hard-fought apologies from Ahsoka and the twins, everyone settled down at the table for Christmas Dinner. Padme had prepared well, bringing plenty of meat for Ahsoka, but keeping enough vegetables that everyone was happy, Anakin especially. Lunch was probably his only favorite time of Christmas because of not only the quality of the food Padme could get, but also how good of a cook she was. It didn't matter what the meal was, in Anakin's eyes, Padme would always make it taste divine, and today was no exception. As they dug into the usual festive food, Ahsoka chimed in.
"Padme this is delicious, where did you get all this food?"
"It was a shipment straight from Naboo. It was the finest food I could get, and in my eyes, it's also a special occasion as it was the fifth anniversary of the end of the Clone Wars. We didn't celebrate then, so I decided to mix it all up into one with the Christmas Dinner." Padme replied as she poured some gravy onto her food.
"Ok," Ahsoka said, pausing for a moment before speaking again. "Padme, do you mind teaching me how to properly cook?"
"Wait, you already know how to cook Ahsoka, why would you need to learn how to cook again?" Anakin interrupted.
"Anakin, I knew how to cook a ready-meal or a nutrition bar, not an actual meal. It's why I went to Master Plo for fresh food instead of you considering how bad your cooking is."
The others laughed while Anakin gave a scornful look at Ahsoka who just shrugged her shoulders. As they ate, they took a break to open crackers and tell jokes, everyone laughing at a particular joke told by Rex about Cody, which both Ahsoka and Obi-Wan knew Cody wouldn't like. As they continued to eat, Anakin's apparent happiness had seemingly disappeared, with only Ahsoka noticing, though she didn't show it, but deep inside she knew that something was troubling him and it deeply concerned her. 'Was it like this every other year and she just didn't notice? Did Obi-Wan notice?'
After eating, they all moved back into the living room to play Charades while C-3PO cleaned up the table. They had split into two teams: Boys and Girls. But there were four men and three women, and after a quick and heated argument, they decided that Obi-Wan would be the game-master, much to Anakin's chagrin. One team nominated a person to act out what was on the card, and the other would try to guess. If the guessers were wrong, then the acting team would get a point and vice-versa, and they would play it out in a best of seven format. Each team easily guessed what Luke and Leia were acting out. Padme was guessed relatively easy by Anakin, considering that he knew her the best, and Ahsoka guessed what Rex was doing in a similar time. However when Ahsoka was acting, thanks to her flexibility, she was able to beat out the combined effort of Rex, Anakin, and Luke. After finding out that Ahsoka was acting out one of Anakin's many crashes, Anakin looked at her in annoyance while Rex gave a quick chuckle but quickly stopped when Anakin pinned him with a glare as well. Now it was the moment Anakin had dreaded the entire game, his turn to act. However, because of his competitive nature, he knew that he wanted to tie the game just so that he could possibly earn the satisfaction of beating not only his wife but his former Padawan. Getting up, he walked over to Obi-Wan who handed him a piece of Flimsi. Looking at what was written on it, he saw the words.
Mace Windu
He looked at the words in frustration. He still despised Windu for not overly trusting him as well as his part in Ahsoka's expulsion, but he pushed those thoughts aside as he thought about what to do. Leia wouldn't know it, as would Luke. Padme likely wouldn't know it. Rex possibly would know it. It was Ahsoka who he feared the most in this moment. She had seen Windu about as much as he had in the Clone Wars. Perhaps if he portrayed Windu before the Clone Wars, he would have a chance.
Moving to the center of the room, he force pulled a datapad and a chair over and sat down. He then lifted the datapad up, the back of it facing towards the group. Padme and Rex looked confused as they hadn't seen this method in the temple, and Luke and Leia looked on in confusion also. Obi-Wan sat off to the side, well aware of what Anakin was trying to imitate. But it wasn't Obi-Wan he was worried about, but Ahsoka. She sat there, one leg stretched out, the other lifted up, her knee below her chin with her hands on top. She knew exactly what Anakin was doing as she had experienced it herself, but she knew that it wasn't the technique, rather the person that usually did it. She thought hard, back to when she had her test done, but she still couldn't come up with an answer. She looked to Anakin again and noticed that he had lifted one leg over the other so that it was resting on the other. A lot of the council members did that, but she could at least cross out Yoda, Plo Koon, and Kit Fisto. She continued watching as Anakin lowered the datapad slowly so that it was resting in his lap and he looked over at Obi-Wan, who was sat right next to him, which confirmed it for Ahsoka, but she didn't show it.
Anakin looked at Ahsoka and the others, and thought to himself, 'I've done it, there's no way she could remember it from all those years ago'. He was broken out of his thoughts when Ahsoka stood up, proudly stating, "Mace Windu." With a smile appearing on her face. Anakin stopped and stared at her in surprise. 'How did she figure it out?' He thought. Looking over at Obi-Wan, he saw that he was smirking as well at the answer and then gestured down to his hands. Looking down he noticed that his hands were together, fingers touching, which he realized was the main thing Windu did in the council chamber.
Slightly angry, he got out of the seat and put the datapad down whilst Padme, Leia and Ahsoka celebrated their official victory. Rex and Luke admitted defeat, while Anakin just walked out of the room, which Ahsoka noticed.
"What should we do now?" Rex asked.
"We could watch a movie?" Leia suggested.
"Let's put Polar Express on?" Luke chirped, and Leia perked up as well.
"Ooh yes, put Polar Express on." She said.
As Padme went to the cabinet to find the DVD, she noticed Ahsoka leaving the room.
"Ahsoka, are you not joining us?" she asked, prompting Ahsoka to turn around.
"I'll be back in a moment, I just need to talk to Anakin first." She replied, gesturing to where Anakin had walked off to.
"Ah," was her only answer. She didn't need to ask what it was about as Ahsoka left the room, as it was probably to do with what she had talked to Anakin about earlier.
Anakin sighed as he placed the cup of Whisky on the tabletop. If he had won that game, he would have gotten more involved in the celebrations, but since he lost, he just went away to drink it away as sour memories of loss and other sensitive topics to him about Christmas returned. He was so pre-occupied with his own thoughts that he didn't notice Ahsoka walking in until her hand was on his shoulders, causing him to jump.
"Snips, don't jump me like that," he said, trying to put on a brave face, but failed.
"Usually I never get the chance to jump you, with your senses being so attuned. Or so you claim." She casually replied, pausing a moment to take a sip of Anakin's Whisky, before continuing, her voice softening a bit. "What's bothering you?"
"Well you won the game of Charades, I just thought I could beat you and…"
That's not what I'm talking about." Ahsoka interrupted, causing Anakin to slouch down on the seat, his eyes frantically trying to look elsewhere "Losing a game of Charades doesn't warrant this sort of reaction. Now tell me what's bothering you, and don't lie to me." She said, a stern tone in her voice. "I've been lied to enough through the years so don't lie to me now."
Anakin sighed again. Why did he lie to her? 'Why did I lie to her?' Anakin thought. Those words rang through his head over and over, and he would have forgotten Ahsoka was there if she didn't rub his shoulder again, and the reassuring voice she always used whenever Anakin got troubled at the temple. "Anakin, what's wrong?"
Letting out a breath, Anakin turned around to see the worried and concerned face of Ahsoka. 'Ever the young woman he practically raised in the war', Anakin thought. "Fine. It's Christmas Ahsoka. I don't like Christmas." He admitted. He expected Ahsoka to look at him in surprise, but instead, he saw a face of caring and understanding. 'What did she know?'
"Is this because of your past as a slave?"
That caught him by surprise. 'How did she know that; I never told her.'
"How much do you know?" Anakin asked instead.
"Only the basics." Ahsoka simply replied. "Obi-Wan told me that you and your mother were sold into slavery by the Hutts. He didn't tell me for how long."
Anakin, in that moment, should have felt anger at Obi-Wan for revealing his past to Ahsoka, but instead, he felt a sort of weight lift off his shoulders. He had wanted to tell Ahsoka about himself so bad but just couldn't. He feared that Ahsoka would think of him differently. But considering the reaction and the reply she gave, he now knew that wasn't the case.
"When I…" a pause. "When I became a slave, I had one Christmas before that, and I enjoyed it, but when I became a slave, the joy went away. I never got anything as a gift except the usual ration of food. As I saw the slave owners enjoy Christmas, I grew to despise Christmas more and more."
Ahsoka looked on at Anakin, getting more worried. 'How did I not notice this earlier?' she thought.
"Didn't you celebrate Christmas after becoming a Jedi?" she asked, though her words sounded quiet and slightly timid.
"I had no need to. When I came to the temple, I still despised Christmas so I just shut myself away every year that passed. And the worse thing Ahsoka, is that Obi-Wan didn't even notice that his Padawan was shutting himself away."
Ahsoka stepped back, slightly startled, before composing herself again.
"Perhaps Obi-Wan didn't notice because you never told him. We may be Jedi, but we aren't psychic."
Anakin looked at Ahsoka hearing those words. He'd never thought about it like that. His thoughts were interrupted by Ahsoka again.
"Anakin, you are a Jedi, you can't be tearing yourself up over Christmas. You are no longer a slave either. You can live the life that you want without suffering the consequences of old memories. If you do that, then you will never be free." She said. As she spoke, she noticed that Anakin was crying. She'd never seen him cry. Wiping away the few tears that fell from his face, Ahsoka embraced Anakin in a deep, caring hug, which Anakin, to her surprise returned rather fiercely. As they embraced, Anakin could feel Ahsoka sending waves of calm, soothing feelings over their old training bond, healing his mind, and banishing the negative thought of Christmas away. He could feel her presence in the waves, but it was interwoven with the presence of something he hadn't felt in years- the Daughter. He remembered finding out about Ahsoka's newfound power, which Master Yoda had decided to take over Ahsoka's training just after she re-joined the order. Feeling both presences, and the feelings they sent, Anakin found that he had no hate or dislike of Christmas. The feelings he had for the event were all but washed away, being replaced by the soothing waves of healing projected by Ahsoka. They remained that way for several minutes before separating.
Anakin sat there, still stunned and taking in the newfound light from Ahsoka before finding the courage to speak.
"You are wise and strong Ahsoka, as I always hoped you would be. Thank You. I'm glad to have had you as my Padawan." Anakin shakily said before composing himself properly again. His statement caused Ahsoka's Lekku to darken slightly in shade, the Togrutan equivalent of a blush.
"Thank you." She said slowly. "I'm also proud to have you as my Master, Anakin."
For several moments they sat there, twiddling their thumbs before Anakin spoke up.
"So," he started. "Are we going to watch the film or not?"
"I thought you said you didn't like Christmas?" Ahsoka slyly replied, causing Anakin to laugh.
"Well thanks to you, I like Christmas now, and besides, if I didn't like Christmas, I wouldn't have asked." Anakin playfully replied.
Ahsoka gave a chuckle as she followed Anakin out of the room.
For several hours the group sat there and watched films, but before long it became dark, and much to the twins' dismay, they had to go to bed, leaving the adults in the main room, all of them sat down with a glass of Nabooian Wine, and were deep in conversation.
"So Ahsoka, have you gotten a Padawan yet?" Anakin asked.
"No, I haven't. Not yet." Ahsoka replied. "My training with Yoda to harness my new abilities takes up a lot of my time, so I wouldn't have time to train a Padawan even if I wanted to. Besides, I've already decided that I would take Leia as my Padawan when she's of age. We already get along well, and I spoke to Master Yoda about it in my last training session with him, and he agrees with my decision."
"Huh, I guess that's going to leave me with Luke then."
"Is this Anakin deciding that he wants a Padawan now?" Obi-Wan quipped.
"Yeah, who are you and what have you done with Anakin?" Ahsoka continued the joke.
"Well, I have you to thank for my new point of view my old Padawan," Anakin replied, causing Ahsoka to blush slightly again. "Besides, I don't trust any other Jedi to train and keep my children safe other than you two," he continued, pointing to both Ahsoka and Obi-Wan.
"Oh, I'm flattered Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "But when are you going to learn that you can't keep them in your life forever. Master Windu would disapprove."
"With all due respect Obi-Wan, there is no attachment rule anymore, and I'm a Master on the council, so I can do what I want."
"Within reason," Obi-Wan replied.
"Uh, have you met Anakin, Obi-Wan, he's known for breaking the rules." Ahsoka joked.
"What like you always do," Rex chimed in, causing Ahsoka to glare at him while the others laughed.
They talked on for another hour before they started to wrap up. Obi-Wan was first to leave, saying that he had to report to the Council in the morning and he practically pleaded with Anakin to be there on time, with Anakin saying he can't promise anything.
Rex and Ahsoka then left, their arms intertwined as they walked out of the residence and headed off to their own place they had set up. And then Anakin and Padme shut everything off and went to bed. When in bed, Padme nodded off quickly while Anakin took a bit longer, contemplating what had transpired that day. He'd had a weight taken off of his shoulders by Ahsoka, and Rex and Obi-Wan had also been great company. As he nodded off himself, his last thoughts were on the family that helped him to love Christmas and what was yet to come in their lives, allowing Anakin to sleep at peace for the first time after a very, merry Christmas.
Author's Note: So did you enjoy it. I hope you did. Now allow me to explain my thought process for this. For those wanting to know, this is set in what I call the 'Perfect Universe'. The Jedi won the war against the Separatists and Sidious, there's no attachment rule, and there is no accelerated aging for the clones, which was sorted out within a year of the Clone Wars ending. Also just letting you know, this takes place seven years after the birth of Luke and Leia, and in that time, Ahsoka and Rex are married as well but have no plans of having a child.
For some reason, I had Anakin be this Scrooge Figure where he doesn't like Christmas, so I made up a backstory about, being because of his past as a Slave. Also, I've got Ahsoka having the powers of the Daughter, hence why she is training personally with Yoda to harness them.
In terms of the twins being Jedi, I genuinely thought that if it happened in Canon, Anakin wouldn't let them be trained by anyone other than those he was really close friends with, AKA Ahsoka and Obi-Wan.
Also, I hope I got the emotion stuff with Ahsoka's Lekku right. I think that's how she portrays emotion. Also had no idea what they do for entertainment so I just had them play Charades and then watch Polar Express (which I watched yesterday, great movie) and a couple of others as well.