A/N: Happiness and fluffy times because god knows that they need it. My babies need to be happy after all the stuff I've put them through over the last few chapters (yes, I'm a terrible mother).

Also, I love Sola Naberrie. I wish I had a sister like her (actually, I just wish I had a sister in general. Being an only child is such an unfortunate, lonely fate).

Enjoy xx

"I'm going to make you dinner!" Anakin announced proudly as he watched Padme pour tirelessly over her course material for the upcoming semester. It would be the last time she'd ever have to do this, and she was both relieved and terrified, because once it was over, she would be out in the real world. It was something she had longed for since she had started, but now that it was drawing near, she was anxious.

"Yeah," she responded, not entirely listening. She was sitting on the sofa, legs crossed underneath her, an open textbook in her lap and her tongue between her teeth. Anakin lay on his back at her feet with his arms behind his head, his sweater risen up from the pull of his arms to expose his lower belly and waistband of his low rising jeans. Odd matched socks were on his feet, his shoes having been discarded by the door once he had entered the house.

He prodded her knee with his finger. "Are you even listening to me?"

Tearing her eyes away from her textbook, she blinked at him with a blank expression. "Hmm?" she tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What did you say?"

Anakin just laughed at her and sat up. "That's not the reaction a guy wants when he says he's going to make dinner for his girl."

Padme grinned at him and leant over her knees to peck his lips sweetly. "I didn't know you could cook," she teased.

"Mom wasn't always home at night so I had to make myself food," he explained with a shrug. "I've been cooking since I was ten."

"So how come you've never cooked for me before?" Padme asked, quirking an eyebrow. "You're not exactly modest about your talents."

Grinning impishly, he stretched out with a sort of feline grace, flexing his long limbs, before relaxing. "I've been saving them for a special occasion."

Padme scoffed at him. "Or you're just lazy."

He gasped, feigning insult. "Ouch," and clutched at his chest. He was so dramatic sometimes, it made her laugh.

"Well, enlighten me, Anakin. What's the special occasion?"

Anakin reached up to take her hand, pulling it away from her book so it fell awkwardly off the sofa, and caressed each of her fingertips. "It's New Year's Eve," he told her simply, as though that explained everything. "It's a start of a new year together." He sat up and crossed his legs. "I want to cook for you and then kiss you at midnight."

She shook her head at him. "You've got to be the sappiest person I've ever met, Ani," she told him fondly.

"What?" he tipped his head to the side, pouting at her, as he put both of his hands on her knees.

"I didn't know you were such a romantic," she grinned, cheekily.

Anakin, however didn't appreciate it and began to flush adorably, biting his lip and ran a hand through his hair. "Oh… well, we – we don't have to – it was just a suggestion… I was just – "

She shushed him with a finger over his mouth. "I think it's sweet, Ani." Before he could retort, she pushed her book off her knees and slid into his lap, taking his face in both of her hands. His went instantly on her hips, to steady her. "So, what are you going to cook for me?"

He grinned. "I can't tell you, it'll ruin the surprise." His hands caressed her lower back and he drew her in for a kiss and Padme closed her eyes happily. Everything was so much better now. She relished in the new progression forward. They'd both been stupid and made mistakes, but they'd gotten through it and made it to the other side, and she knew that it could only get better from here.

"Oh," she remembered when they pulled away to breathe. "Sola's taking the girls ice skating today, because they're leaving tomorrow and she asked me to go with her. Did you want to come?"

Anakin shrugged, a lazy smile on his face. "Sure."

Padme beamed. "The girls simply adore you," she said, which made his chest puff up a little in pride. "Pooja said that when she's older she wants to marry you."

"Who can blame her," he winked, waggling his eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes at him. "You're so full of yourself."

Grinning madly, he seized her tighter in his arms so that their noses were pressed together. "You love me."

"I don't know…" she retorted playfully, and he responded by gripping her hips and rolling her over so he hovered above her, resting his weight on his elbows. Just when she thought he was about to kiss her again, his fingers began to dig into her sides and she squirmed uncomfortably at the sensation. Mad laughter ripped through her as she giggled and tried to throw him off of her. He dodged every one of her swinging limbs, before taking her wrists in his hand and pulled them roughly above her head. She pouted up at him, breathing steadily through her nose as her chest rose and fell deeply from her laughter. "Not fair."

Anakin laughed huskily and pressed his lips to her neck, suckling at the hollow of her throat making her eyes roll back in her head from her pleasure. As he lulled her into a vulnerable state of euphoria, she failed to notice his hand creeping up underneath her sweater, until he began tickling her again and she broke away from his mouth to giggle uncontrollably. "Ani – s-stop !" she cried as she gasped for air. Tears welled in her eyes and she hook a leg over his hips in an attempt to roll him over. He didn't budge. "Anakin!"

"Say it," he demanded with a grin, continuing to torture her. "Say you love me."

She bit her lip stubbornly before she was wracked with another shiver. "Never," she whispered, with a teasing smirk.

His hands tightened around her wrist and he stared straight into her eyes. "Say it."

Just when she was about to relent, an awkward coughing interrupted them. Padme jumped and looked away from Anakin to see her father standing in the doorway, in his pyjamas. His face was red from embarrassment and he quickly averted his eyes from the scene before him. Anakin immediately rolled off of Padme and sheepishly ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh, morning dad," Padme greeted him more cheerfully than intended, flashing him a wide smile.

Ruwee cleared his throat and nodded. "Good morning, Padme. Anakin."

Padme took this opportunity to glance over her father. He looked well rested, there were no bags under his eyes as they're had been the day before, yet his hair was ruffled and messy. She thought nothing of it, until she realised that the sofa she was sitting on, the pull out sofa that her father had been sleeping on ever since he arrived, hadn't been used last night. She bit her lip and frowned as she began to put the pieces together. Glancing at the time, she noticed it was almost 9:30, which was far too late for her father to be waking up. He was an early riser. Had he been… had her parents…?

As she put two and two together, her mother came downstairs, a joyful bounce in her step. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her hair equally messy, and Padme swallowed awkwardly as she realised what had happened last night.

"Good morning, sweetheart," she greeted Padme happily, and beamed when she noticed Anakin. "Hello Anakin, are you joining us for breakfast?"

Padme glanced at him, and he shook his head. "No thank you, Jobal. I'm going to head home I think." He stood up and helped Padme to her feet, kissing her cheek. "I'll see you in an hour?"

Nodding, Padme squeezed his hand. "Sounds good." She watched him leave, muttering polite goodbyes to her parents, and then she was left alone. Alone with her parents. Her parents who had obviously slept together last night. The knowledge was confronting. Padme didn't know what to do. All she knew was that she needed to tell her sister.

"Your father's offered to make breakfast," Jobal informed her, a wide grin on her face. Padme couldn't recall the last time she had seen her mother so happy. Her father cleared his throat again, not quite meeting Padme's eye, and nodded. She suspected he knew that she knew and was obviously just as embarrassed as she felt.

Padme needed to get out of there. "Oh, that's… nice. I'm just… shower and – I'll be down soon." Then, without another word, she hurried upstairs and knocked on her sister's door. "Sola?"

The door opened moments later to reveal Ryoo, dressed head to toe in pink; a puffy pink snow jacket, gloves, beanie and scarf and gumboots. She was like walking candyfloss. Her blonde ringlets curled down to her shoulders underneath her fluffy beanie. She looked positively adorable. "Hello, Aunty Padme," she said politely.

Beaming down at her little niece, she pressed a sweet kiss to the top of her head. "Hello, Ryoo. Don't you look cute."

The eight-year-old pouted, a pout that reminded Padme of her sister, and narrowed her blue eyes. "I hate pink," she said. The way her little voice, so sweet and innocent, said those words made Padme laugh.

"I don't like pink, either," she told the little girl. Ryoo brightened up a bit at that, just as Pooja sprinted into the doorway and flung her little arms around Padme's leg.

"Aunty Padme!" she squealed in delight, letting go to bounce on her toes excitedly. Like her older sister, she was equally dressed head to toe in pink, but unlike Ryoo, didn't seem to mind at all. "Do you like my outfit?" She twirled on the spot several times, before stumbling into her sister, giddy. Ryoo pushed her little sister away with a frown and walked back inside.

"Very stylish," she told her niece, bending down so that she was eye level.

"It's from Santa," she trilled, the smile so wide on her face that it caused dimples to break out on her cheeks.

Padme looked up to see her sister sitting on the bed and grinned. "Well then, Santa much have very, very good taste." Sola rolled her eyes. "Now, can I talk to mommy?"

Pooja nodded and took Padme's hand, pulling her inside the room. Her sister smiled at her before turning back to her husband, who was buttoning up his coat. The way she was looking at him, such love in her eyes, made Padme smile.

"Hey, sis," Sola said, before standing and straightening the collar of Darred's shirt. "You're thirty seven, honey. You should be able to dress yourself by now," she tsked, placing her hands on her husband's chest.

The blond, Swedish man rolled his eyes at his wife, before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Why would I bother, when I have a wife who insists on dressing me?"

Padme watched the interaction, fondly. It reminded her of her relationship with Anakin. She hoped that, one day, they would be like this, still bickering and teasing each other like they did now.

"Daddy!" Pooja called, running over to him and tugging on his arm. "I wanna build a snowman!"

With a heavy sigh, Darred flashed Sola an amused smirk, before taking both of his daughter's hands and leading them out of the room. Padme sat on her sister's bed. The distant, high-pitched singing of Do You Want To Build A Snowman filtered up through the window and Sola muttered, "bloody Frozen", under her breath.

"You have a wonderful family," Padme told her sister honestly. It was moments like this that made her wish for a family of her own; with a husband and children, doing cute things like this. With Anakin.

Sola beamed at her. "Yeah," she agreed, wistfully. "I'm pretty lucky." She joined her little sister on the bed. "Are you coming ice-skating with us?"

"Yes," Padme nodded. "I wouldn't miss it. Anakin's coming too."

Laughing, Sola made a face. "Well, as long as he knows that Pooja won't leave him alone the entire time…

Padme laughed. "Yeah, he knows. Secretly, I think he loves it." Anakin had never been shy when it came to getting attention. Part of her believed it was because he was an only child and his mother doted on him.

"He's pretty good with the girls," Sola remarked, sounding impressed. "You did well."

"Yeah." Her voice trailed off as she remembered just how attentive and adorable Anakin was with her nieces. He doted on them, and didn't mind acting silly and playing girlish games with them. It only made him more wonderful in her eyes. When she saw him with the girls, her mind often wondered to the future, imagining him with their own children, seeing him playing with a little blond haired, blue eyed boy, and her heart would swell with affection. One day, she thought to herself, unable to keep the shy smile off her face.

Her sister noticed. "I never thought I'd see the day," she whistled in astonishment.

"What day?"

"The day that my little sister wants to settle down."

Padme shook her head immediately. "I don't want to settle down," she replied, immediately.

Shrugging, Sola grinned. "Not now, no. But eventually. I know that look, Padme. Don't let mom see it though; she's already talking about having more grandkids."

Her eyes grew wide. "Grandkids?" she stammered. "Don't be ridiculous. Anakin and I aren't even – "

"So you haven't even talked about it?" her sister interrupted, fixing her with a confused expression. "I mean, you thought you were pregnant. Haven't you two talked about the possibility of having a child?"

Padme blanched. They hadn't talked about it. They'd muttered ideas, in the heat of the moment, but as soon as Padme found out she wasn't pregnant, they hadn't talked about it again. Should they be having these kinds of conversations? Was that moving too fast? Padme didn't want children just now. She wasn't in the right mindset to start a family, and Anakin definitely wasn't. "I guess we… we'll just deal with it if it ever happens," she replied carefully.

Sola reached out and squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to scare you. I just want you to think about these things. It happens."

"I know," Padme said, meekly. She clasped her hands in her lap, staring down at them as her fingers twined together. This wasn't something she wanted to talk about – even with her sister, whom was her best friend and someone she could talk to about everything. After everything that had happened with her and Anakin over the past few days, she didn't want to do anything that would possibly ruin everything they'd worked so hard to make right.

Sensing that she was uncomfortable, Sola changed the subject. "What did you want to see me about? When you came in here, you looked like you'd seen a ghost."

Padme swallowed. She didn't know how to broach this topic, or how her sister would react. It was shocking enough, even for her, who already knew that her father still had feelings for her mother. But Sola's relationship with Ruwee was different. Padme didn't know if they had sorted out their issues and made up, so she was unsure how her sister would take this information. "I think mom and dad slept together last night," she muttered quickly, refusing to look at her sister.

The silence was deafening. From the corner of her eye, she could see Sola frantically absorbing the information, a frown of confusion etched on her face. When she eventually face Padme, her eyes were narrowed. "What?"

"Dad didn't sleep on the pull out, last night," Padme explained. "And they both came downstairs this morning at the same time."

"Oh my god…" Sola let out a harsh laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's so… fuck, that is so messed up." She looked at Padme then, a slightly crazed look in her eyes. "Are they – are they back together?"

"I don't know."

"He left," she hissed. "He left her, left us! How can he just come back and – "

Padme reached out and took her sister's hand. Her anger and confusion was completely justified. "He still loves her, Sola. He told me."

Sola's expression hardened and her jaw locked. "I don't care. He left her. He broke her heart and left her all alone. How can he just expect to come back and be forgiven after all these years?" Padme suddenly realised that her sister was not talking about their mother anymore, but was referring to herself. Clearly, she still hadn't forgiven their father for choosing his career over his family.

She sighed, sadly. "You should have seen mom, though," she told her sister. "I haven't seen her that happy in a really long time."

Her sister didn't speak. She only stood up and reached for her coat, throwing it over her shoulders. Padme watched her do the buttons up with trembling fingers. It was a few moments before she spoke. "They're adults," she muttered under her breath, seemingly to herself. "I'm sure they know what they're doing."

Nodding, Padme smiled. "We should be supportive," she said. "Whatever happens between them."

Sola snorted. "Typical Padme. You think everything with have a happy ending."

"Is that a bad thing? To have hope?" she asked.

Shaking her head, Sola just sighed. "When are you going to stop being so naïve, little sister?"

Padme sat on the bed, pondering her sister's words as Sola left the room to join her family outside in the snow. Naïve? Was she really naïve? Yes, a voice told her. The more she thought about it, the more she realised the truth in her sister's words. She believed in a world where everything worked out just right; where her parents would get back together without any hard feelings, where she and Anakin would make it through the distance that divided them. It was a childish way to live. There were some things that couldn't have a happy ending. But Padme was an optimist. Everything would work out in the end, she was sure of it.

After breakfast with her parents, which had been one of the most awkward encounters she had ever experienced, because the flirting had been outrageous and her mother had never giggled so much in her life, Padme met Anakin, and they walked with her sister and family to the park. Every winter, the council set up a rink in the park where it cost $2 to have a skate. They had skates to hire, which Padme was grateful for, since she hadn't been ice-skating in more than ten years and had outgrown her pair of skates.

She tied up her laces and took Anakin's hand as he led her out onto the ice. She felt unsteady and clutched at the wall, clinging to it desperately. More experienced skaters flew past her and each time she flinched and closed her eyes. A part of her felt embarrassed at how scared she was, for the only other people clinging to the wall like her were young children. Anakin laughed at her and then skated away with a sort of athletic grace that made her scowl. Why was he always so good at everything? She watched him turn and twirl and spin with envy.

"What's with that face?" he teased when he returned to her. She glared at him and slowly shuffled her feet, still holding on tight to the wall. Laughing again, Anakin took her arm and said, "hold on to me." Biting her lip, she looked at him and then back to the wall.

"Ani…"

He flashed her a reassuring smile. "Would I ever let you fall, angel?"

She shook her head and, with a deep inhale, she let go of the wall and flung herself into Anakin's chest. His laughter rumbled through her as he wrapped his arms around her and slowly glided backwards. Her fingers curled tightly into his coat as she nuzzled into him, not trusting herself to remove herself from his embrace in case she lost balance.

"It's alright, angel," he whispered, lips at her ear. "I've got you."

That steadfast reassurance was all she needed and she slowly lifted her head and gripped his forearms so tightly, she was sure she was hurting him. If so, Anakin didn't show it, and simply beamed down at her, his hands resting steadily on her hips to keep her upright. "Thank you," she muttered gratefully.

He shook his head. "I thought you liked skating," he asked, a bemused smirk on his face.

"I did – I do," she insisted, stubbornly. "It's just… well, I haven't skated in ten years. I forgot how… terrifying it is when you're out of practice."

Anakin laughed at her, his eyes incredibly blue in the white light reflected off the ice. "It's not terrifying," he assured her. "You just need to trust yourself."

Padme scoffed. "Easy for you to say, Mr Professional Skater." He grinned at the praise. "How come you're such a natural?" she demanded, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"I grew up here, remember," he reminded her. "Ahsoka and I would go do this every winter – she went through a phase where she wanted to be a hockey player."

Padme was about to retort when a series of skates whizzed past her, causing her to lose balance and she went crashing into Anakin with a little squeal of fright. The impact caused him to fall over and Padme landed on top of him, crushing his ribs. "Ow," he muttered, blinking up at her and then he suddenly began cackling with laughter and Padme forgot that everyone was looking at them making fools of themselves because Anakin looked so gorgeous in that moment that she couldn't help but laugh as well. Her lips found his and she kissed him fiercely, earning a few wolf-whistles from fellow skaters, but for once, she didn't care. All that mattered was her and Anakin, sprawled across each other on the freezing ice.

"I think that's enough skating for you, Miss Naberrie," Anakin teased, rolling her off of him so he could stand up, before pulling her up on her feet. She laughed in agreement, and let him lead her over to the wall, where she stepped out and sat down on a seat to take off her skates. When she looked back at Anakin, he winked at her, and then skated over to where Sola was spinning with Pooja. Her little niece squealed in delight when Anakin took her hand and the two of them began skating together and Padme watched, a surge of affection rushing through her. He really, truly, was great with her nieces. One day, when they were ready, he was going to be a wonderful father, Padme just knew it.

Sola joined her a few moments later, her cheeks flushed from the cold. "If you looked any more in love, you'd have hearts for eyes," she remarked, rolling her eyes.

Padme blushed furiously, unable to stop smiling. "What do you mean?"

"You're like a lovesick puppy, the way you look at him."

"What's wrong with that?" Padme asked, timidly.

"Other than the fact that it's sickening?" Sola teased with a smirk. "Nothing."

Giving her sister a curt glare, she turned her attention back to Anakin. There was such a brilliant smile on his face, so bright and beautiful, it lit up everything around him. And the way he was laughing, so carefree and easy, it almost made Padme fall in love with him again. She could have watched him forever.

"How soon did you know?" she asked Sola suddenly.

"Know what?"

"That you wanted to spend the rest of your life with Darred?"

Sola regarded her curiously. "I don't know," she replied. "It just sort of happened. Why?"

Padme sighed and turned to face her sister, her expression completely serious. "I think – no, I know, that I – I want to marry Anakin."

The sudden proclamation took Sola by surprise and she spluttered. "Wh – what?"

"Not now," Padme assuaged her. "We're not ready for marriage yet, that would be ridiculous! But… one day, when we're both graduated…" she broke off with a silly smile. "Do you think that's weird? To know so early on? I mean, we haven't been together for that long, not really, and we've got things we need to work on and yet I know, you know? I don't think – I just know that I… I can't live without him."

Sola beamed at her and put her hand on her knee. "Padme, that's not weird at all," she said, earnestly. "Sometimes, with the right person, it just clicks. I never would have thought I'd marry a guy like Darred, a put-together, sensible, intelligent man who knows what he wants. You know what I was like…" Padme nodded. Her sister had been a girl of many flings, who'd gone through boyfriends so quickly, that no one had ever thought she'd settle down and marry. "But then I met him and… he grounded me, and the best decision I've ever made in my life was to agree to go out with him."

Padme smiled and looked back over at Anakin. Sola followed her gaze and smiled. "When you've got a man like that," she said, "someone who knows you and accepts you and completes you, you don't let him go."

When Anakin returned to her, holding Pooja's hand tightly, nose and ears and cheeks red from the cold, and met her eyes with the most endearing smile on his face that made Padme's heart flutter in her chest, she knew her sister was right. He pressed a kiss to her temple as he sat down beside her, unlacing his skates and Padme made a promise to herself. Never, ever again was she going to do something that would make Anakin walk away from her.