Naboo
Ha, I am so sorry - I uploaded an earlier version of the chapter when I edited for format. Thank you to Baileecat for letting me know. Here is the proper chapter!
Chapter Two: Naboo
The ship was massive!
Well, sort of. Luke had been on bigger ships before, but they'd all had so many people on them. This was just for the three of them and was so shiny and sleek that Luke literally saw himself in the metal as they loaded up the ship.
They were moving. Which was different somehow from being on the move, but Padme said it firmly like it was an event so Luke nodded and left them to it. It did mean that he'd had to say goodbye to the tally chart he'd kept on the floor under his bed that told him how long he'd been with Padme and Anakin. It was at sixty-three when he left.
He was sleeping on the ship tonight. They were doing a night flight so that they'd be in Naboo by the time that Luke woke up. And Naboo was where Padme was from so it was going to be a good place.
In fact, the ship was Padme's which explained a lot, Luke thought. There was a fancy conference part of the ship with the softest chairs and a table that you could pull up a holo on. Padme said that sometimes she talked to people about the galaxy around that table.
He jumped up on to it and swirled the Delta 7 around, quietly making the noises to himself. Then he leapt on to the sofas opposite, twirling the ship into a complicated arch and imagining doing it at the controls. He continued swirling it around, jumping from seat to seat and sometimes back to the table.
When he looked up, Padme was standing at the door, hands on her hips and watching him with an expression that didn't quite stay steady.
Unsure, he paused.
They stared at each other for a few seconds. "What is furniture meant to be for?" Padme asked and there was a wobble in her voice that didn't feel threatening.
Luke looked around the cabin. "Telling people what to do?" he tried, scrunching up his face as he thought.
Her lips pressed together and she lifted a hand to almost cover them. When she moved a little, he could see that she was trying to hide a smile and it made him feel warm. Grinning, he leapt down and ran over to her to rest his head on her stomach and stick his tongue out up at her.
It made her laugh, like he'd hoped it would. She dropped her hand down to his face and stroked his cheek with her thumb. "It's not for jumping on," she said softly.
He turned back to look at the cabin, leaning into her as he peered, then turned to look up at her again. "Where can I jump?" he asked earnestly.
"When we get to Naboo, we'll jump," Padme said. "I'll teach you to jump across the rivers and on trees."
He liked that idea. "Just us?" he asked.
"Maybe Anakin too," Padme said and there was a flicker of something on her face. "Come on. Do you want to see if you can help fly?"
Help fly?
Luke nodded, eyes wide as she took his hand and led him up some steps and into the pilot's cabin. It was a spacious area, enough for a co-pilot and some benches close. The viewer was narrow and pointed and Anakin was at the controls. He turned to look at Luke and gestured him forward with his metal hand.
Luke wasn't allowed to study it because it was attached to Anakin's nerves which was a bit annoying. He found it oddly fascinating, but Anakin had stopped wearing gloves when they were out and about so he saw it more and more. Anakin said he's lost his arm once because he'd been impatient, but Luke wasn't sure how that worked.
The stars were in the viewer and Luke sucked in a breath, oddly fascinated. He'd never really had a chance to see space – no-one wanted him up in the pilot's cabin and he'd seen it, just never had the chance to stare.
A playful tug brought him closer to Anakin and he grinned as the man sat back a little, offering up his lap. Luke scrambled up and Anakin winced slightly then wrapped his flesh arm around Luke. "Want to help us jump to hyperspace?"
Yes! Luke twisted a little to look up at him and grinned. Padme had taken the seat next to them and was pressing some of the buttons and adding in some co-ordinates.
Anakin shifted them forward and guided Luke's hands to the lever. Their fingers linked as they held the bar and Luke stared down at the sight.
Together they pushed and then the stars in the viewer started to streak as if they were pulling them from their place. He could feel the ship getting ready and Luke sucked in his breath, in awe as they entered.
"Have you ever seen it before?" Anakin asked quietly.
Luke shook his head as the ship suddenly lurched forward. It was a smooth motion; he'd been on ships that jerked and creaked on the entry. This jump was amazing and he leaned forwards, wanting to watch forever.
"How is the siege going?" Padme asked quietly.
Luke felt Anakin shrug. "They're going," he said. "Destroying the factory on Geonosis will make a huge difference." He sounded unhappy.
"Ahsoka and Obi-Wan have worked together many times before," Padme said gently, but Anakin didn't respond. "Who else will go with them?" she asked in a different voice.
"Master Mundi," Anakin said. "And Vos." He said the second name like he wasn't sure what to make of it.
"I imagine Obi-Wan was delighted with that," Padme said with a small smile.
It seemed to make Anakin lighten a little. "I told Ahsoka to record his reaction," he said with a grin. "It was glorious."
Padme laughed and batted at his shoulder, then ruffled Luke's hair. "I think that was an impressive first jump," she offered.
Luke blinked and then tipped his head back so that his chin was up to the ceiling. "You've jumped to hyperspace before?" he checked.
"It was our first jump," Anakin said smoothly. "As a family."
Hmm.
Luke pulled his thoughts away from that and looked away. They kept making those sorts of comments at the moment and it made him feel…bubbly. Like something might pop and everything was a bit jittery and unsteady. He felt Anakin sigh as if disappointed and continued to stare out the viewer.
"Ani," Padme said gently. "Just leave it."
"Yeah," he said, sounding a bit annoyed still. He ruffled Luke's hair and then shifted forward to the controls. He was fiddling though, Luke could feel that and it felt like Luke had done something wrong, but he wasn't sure what.
"Come on," Padme said and, when Luke turned, he could see that she was standing. "Shall we get you ready for bed?"
Anakin kissed his head as Luke shifted off his lap, but didn't say anything. His face looked tight, as if he was annoyed by something and Luke didn't want to ask. Instead, he reached out for Padme's hand again.
It was like they weren't on a ship. There was a fancy cabin off of the room that Luke had been in earlier and it had a huge bed that bounced softly under Luke when leapt at it.
"Come on," Padme encouraged. He lifted his arms and let her pull off his shirt and put his pyjamas on.
"Is Anakin mad at me?" Luke asked as she reached to pull back the covers.
She paused and then shook her head. "No, sweetheart. He isn't mad at you."
Luke hummed at that and snuggled down. "Are you sure?"
She tucked him in and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I promise you," she said, looking it his eyes firmly, "Anakin isn't mad at you. He's just…he loves you. We both do. Sometimes he is just a bit impatient. He wants you to be happy and safe." She stroked his hair.
"I am."
He liked it when she smiled in that gentle, secret way that made him almost sure she didn't smile at anyone else like that. "Good." She gave his cheek a kiss and then put the Delta 7 on the covers for him. "I still think we should give you something softer to sleep with."
Luke shook his head firmly and gathered the ship up close.
Xxx
He didn't need to be in the pilot's seat. Auto-pilot would work fine, but there was something about knowing that his son was on-board that made him just want to be sure.
When Padme's hand slid down his chest from behind, he turned his head into her, pressing a kiss to her lips, still a little distracted.
"Ani," she said in a way that made him want to snap at her. He restrained the urge and glared ahead. She must have picked up on it because she made her own annoyed sound and pulled away, turning the co-pilot's chair so that she was sat facing him. "He'll do it in his own time."
"Yeah," Anakin said, not looking at her.
"He thinks you're angry with him."
"What?" Anakin whirled around to her. She was watching him carefully, her brown eyes assessing in the way that she did in a diplomatic conference. He hated the fact that she was dealing with him like that and it was only the knowledge that Luke was downstairs that kept him from snapping at her.
"You bring it up and then get frustrated when he doesn't reply. He's seven-"
He shoved the auto pilot on and stood, determined not to have that argument.
"Anakin, would you talk to me?"
"We don't even know that," he hissed. "We don't know our own son's birthday. We do know he was shoved in the corner of some kriffin' ship like cargo. Force knows whether he should be eight by now or-"
She grabbed at his arm and he stopped, staring over the top of her head. When her hands cupped his face, he resisted for a moment and then gave in to her.
"I know," she said firmly. "I know."
Yeah.
"I…I need him to know," he said as he leaned down to touch his forehead to hers. "It won't…I…" he pulled back. "I just want him to say it."
She stroked his face. "I know," she said, her own face sad. "But he needs to be ready, Ani. Dr Firra said-"
Yeah, he knew that the good doctor said. Luke could keep attachments relatively casual on purpose. It could be years before he'd name them as Mom and Dad. He might never. He understood he was in the past, would talk about his parents and he'd talk about Padme and Anakin, but he'd never link any of those things together.
It made him ache. The idea that his son had been so lost in the universe, so alone made him want to choke something and rip a ship apart and he didn't know how to deal with it.
"Is your mom finally accepting that?" he asked, turning away and sitting down on one of the benches, keeping one eye on the controls.
Padme hummed at that. "We'll see how that one goes," she said.
Xxx
They arrived early in Thebes. Luke was still completely out so Anakin gathered him up, wrapping a blanket around him and settling the boy against his shoulder. His son shifted and snuggled in to Anakin's neck.
He picked up the Delta 7 and rolled his eyes and the thing. Not that he didn't approve, but he really did wish that Luke had found something softer to attach himself to. The amount of bruises that they'd all gotten from rolling on that force forsaken toy was idiotic.
Dawn was just coming up on the city and he'd forgotten how quiet the place could be, how peaceful. Strangely, Anakin wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't worse to be so quiet and he shifted Luke a little closer in his arms.
The streets were familiar, vaguely, from the last time they'd been here. He could remember Sola's thoughtful gaze as she glanced between him and Padme. The worry from her mother and the frown on her father's face as they'd all skirted around the issue of the fact that she'd needed a Jedi Knight to protect her.
It was different, he thought as she pressed a kiss to Luke's head. He hadn't really appreciated a parent's fear before. He'd accepted it and known to expect it, but if in fifteen years' time, Luke came home with an assassin on his tail-
Anakin scowled at the thought. They'd be dead, that he knew.
This time, when they entered Padme's parents' house, they were greeted at the door by her mother. It was early, Jobal must have been up at the crack of dawn to get ready and she hugged Padme to her with a fierce grip that made Anakin look away.
His mother would have adored Luke.
The sadness was like a blaster to the guts. The shock and pain of it almost robbed him of breath and he stood, almost adrift for a moment.
"Ani?" Padme said softly.
He stepped into the house, following the women down a wide, spacious hall that quickly opened to the dining room he remembered from last time. Through into a few steps and then up into the lounge area that opened up into the beautiful garden where he had once played with Padme's nieces.
His nieces too now, he supposed.
"Oh Padme," Jobal said, turning and looking at Anakin. "He's beautiful," she whispered, her eyes on Luke. "Is he completely asleep?" she asked, almost sounding amused.
"He might wake," Anakin said gently. "He'll go right back to sleep though do don't worry too much."
Jobal's eyes met his and she smiled. "And my son-in-law," she said. "I told you," she added with a sly grin at Padme who actually flushed a little and for a moment looked awkward which Anakin was almost sure he'd never seen.
Amused, he looked at his wife. "She told you?" he questioned, smiling.
"Handsome," Jobal said, busying about with some tea. "I said that you would make a lovely pair. I was right."
That was…huh. She might actually be the first person who had reacted to the news of their marriage with pleasure. Not sure what to do with it, Anakin glanced down at the seats.
"Oh, please. Do sit. I imagine the little one isn't as light as he looks."
He was. Heavier than he had been because Luke had been almost scarily thin when he'd first arrived. But he was still light and slight. At his age, Anakin hadn't had that same waif like look to him; he doubted Luke would ever fully grow out of it. Padme fussed as he sat down, still a little red cheeked as she tucked the blanket carefully around Luke.
"Handsome," he teased.
"She said it. I didn't," Padme muttered, her cheeks going redder.
"She didn't argue," Jobal said to Anakin, as if spilling some secret. "My daughter always argues unless she agrees."
It made him laugh, even as Padme looked skywards as if for help.
They talked a little. Sola's twins were Luke's age which would be good for him. They'd debated going up to the lake again, but Anakin wasn't sure he or Luke would cope with being quite that remote. And Luke did need to socialise and keep up his appointments talking to someone.
Ruwee came in a little later. He'd been a mild-mannered man when Anakin had met him and he hadn't really known what to make of him. He remained quiet and Anakin found himself almost hyper aware of Ruwee and he wasn't really sure why.
By the time Luke stirred, they'd been in Thebes almost an hour. He could feel his son's presence flicker a little as Luke naturally reached out and then contracted away again, hiding.
"Morning," Anakin whispered to him and Luke lifted his head to blink blearily up at him. Luke made a noise which Anakin easily interpreted, being used to it. He reached with the force and pulled the Delta 7 over and Luke tucked it under his arm and snuggled in again, awake but apparently not ready to wake up properly.
"What ship is that?" Ruwee asked.
"Delta 7," Luke mumbled. He yawned and then turned a bit in Anakin's arms to face the man. "The Jedi…" he trailed off a little and Anakin could feel his son waking properly now to try and assess what he was allowed to say. "Who are you?" he asked curiously, one hand reaching up to bunch in Anakin's shirt.
Ruwee opened his mouth.
"This is my father," Padme said, cutting in smoothly. "Ruwee."
He felt Luke whisper the name to himself, apparently committing it to memory.
"And Jobal, my mother."
Luke twisted, almost impossibly twisted, to blink owlishly at Jobal. Then he turned back to Anakin and looked a little unsure.
"Do you want to try some tea?" Anakin asked and Luke nodded as Anakin brought the cup close with his metal hand. He let Luke take a sip and then almost laughed at Luke's disgusted face. "No?"
Luke shook his head, eyeing the cup warily, like it might leap out at him. He sighed and buried his head back into Anakin's neck. Then craned a little to whisper in Anakin's ear.
"They're watching," Luke said, so quietly it was like he was hardly speaking.
"Shall we hide for a bit?" Anakin asked, whispering back in his son's ear. Luke nodded quickly and Anakin caught Padme's eye and shook his head. Her face fella little, but she nodded and glanced towards the garden. "Luke, why don't you show Anakin how to climb a tree."
Luke show him?
Anakin rolled his eyes, even as Luke's cheeky face appeared, apparently delighted. "You can climb trees," Luke laughed, suddenly like a different child. "You have to," he added, swinging around to look at Padme. "Ahsoka said it was in the Jedi data guide."
Jedi data guide?!
"There's a data guide?" Jobal asked, in an amazed voice.
"My former Padawan thinks she's funny," Anakin said, standing and lifting Luke over his shoulder so that his son dangled down and cackled with laughter. "You know she's fibbing," he added to Luke.
"Ahsoka said you have to crash at least three times too," Luke added and Anakin imagined his cheeks were turning red. "She said you're the expert."
He and his former padawan were going to have words. "That is not true," he said as he strode to the beautiful glass doors that opened onto the gardens. "I am not the expert in crash landings." He glared at Padme when she didn't look convinced. "I'm not."
"Gosh," Ruwee said suddenly as Anakin's hand rested on the door handle. "Do you remember Padme's flying test?"
His wife suddenly looked mortified. "There're many trees outside," she tried weakly, but Luke had already gotten himself back up and was sitting on Anakin's left shoulder, head tilted curiously and there wasn't a sith alive that could turn Anakin away from that nugget of information.
"Her flying test?" Anakin asked, looking back at the man as Luke clambered back down to his arms and then jumped to the floor, though he stayed very close to Anakin's legs. "You've never mentioned that," he realised, looking at his wife.
"Ruwee," Jobal said in a mock scolding tone. "Really, if Padme wishes to keep her crash landings quiet, then she should be allowed to."
What?
"Really?" Anakin asked, oddly delighted. "You crash land, do you?"
Padme glared at him. "Do not even go there," she instructed. "There is no way my stories are as bad as yours."
"Didn't crash in my flying test," Anakin said with a shrug. "In fact, I got a perfect score."
"And a speeding ticket five minutes after leaving the centre."
"There was Jedi business," Anakin said dismissively.
"That's convenient."
Luke was glancing between them, like it was a beep-ball tournament. At some point, his eyes fixed on Jobal and he was smiling shyly at her when Anakin looked down.
"Padme said her mom had cookies," Luke suggested sweetly. "I like cookies."
It made Jobal laugh. "Cookies and then climbing trees?"
Luke nodded seriously and then turned to Anakin. "Cookies first," he said in a grave tone, as if Anakin was a misbehaving child. And then, with that, he scampered to follow Jobal into the kitchen.
"He's a little champ," Ruwee said suddenly and Anakin suddenly realised the man had been watching Luke all along. He gave Padme a gentle kiss and Padme leaned into her father with a strange noise and Anakin realised, startled that she was trying not to cry.
He left them alone, oddly aware that she might need some time to be with her parents. So he went outside, feeling that uncomfortable stillness within him, as if he were trapped in a vast empty room and deeply aware of nothing happening.
He had no idea why he suddenly wanted to call Obi-Wan.
Xxx
Having Luke in Naboo was unbelievably soothing. Her son was such an easy going child that before long he was running around the house and the garden as if he'd always been there. Pooja and Ryoo had come over to play too and the three of them spent most of the afternoons after school running around the gardens. The first time, Luke had been adorned by a crown of flowers and seemed unfazed by it, giggling like a mad thing every time someone pointed to it. If he tired of their games, he'd just wander off and play with his ship, though Ryoo seemed to be equally fascinated, especially when Anakin made it fly.
It was Luke's nature. He was so much like her father, she'd realised. They both found a simple joy in life and had easy going natures. There was perhaps a stubborn core and a flicker of a temper to Luke that her father lacked, but it crashed over him and was gone quickly. The day that Pooja had called his Delta 7 poodoo, Luke had turned away and refused to speak to her for the rest of the afternoon. But he'd accepted the apology and seemed to have forgotten about it the next day, even as Anakin glowered at Pooja.
It was Anakin that she worried about.
They'd settled into a routine of sorts. They'd get up early and have a walk together as a family. Anakin would spend the mornings out by the lake doing exercises while Padme and Luke found a quiet place to meditate then they would swim. Sometimes Anakin joined them. Then he and Luke would spend the afternoon together while she was at the palace. There had been scattered conversations about places that she should buy, areas that they could look into, but it had never gone further than that because it wouldn't.
Anakin was calmer, but she could feel that he was going to get restless. He dabbled with repair work and upgrading some of the palace ships. He'd taken some of the pilots out to teach them manoeuvres. He meditated and had even made some half-hearted noise about helping to train up the clones, especially in their piloting, but she knew. And she thought he did too.
This wasn't for Anakin. In fact, she was starting to think there was only one thing for Anakin, but she had no idea how that would work, or even if it could.
There were beautiful moments though.
Anakin was in the garden with the children and he and Luke were play-fighting with sticks. Anakin was playing the role of villain as he held Pooja with one arm and the little girl shrieked with joy. Luke and Ryoo were trying to 'save' Pooja with big smiles of their faces and a lot of squealing. Especially from Ryoo as her braids dangled in the wind.
He was a wonderful man, she thought as she watched and sipped her tea. She loved it when he smiled the way he was now, all easy confidence and eager fun. Watching him surrounded by children seemed right somehow and it still stole her breath when she found him and Luke curled up together or whispering with each other.
"He's a rare one," her mother said, standing with her. "Like a child himself sometimes."
Yes. But she wondered about that little boy that she'd met so long ago and how much of a chance he'd actually ever had to be a child. Maybe, somewhere, it was balancing out for him, giving him a glimpse at a life he had never had.
"He's a wonderful father," Padme said quietly.
"Do you think you'll have more?" her mother asked. "The more conventional way," she added with a smile.
More? The idea of Anakin with a baby took her breath away a little. It came with a slight ache that they'd never got to have that with Luke but…another youngling?
"He needs to find something first." Anakin let out a dramatic cry as Ryoo 'wounded' him and he fell to the floor. The girls looked a little worried but Luke, evidently sensing that Anakin was perfectly fine, threw himself down to the floor and clambered on top of Anakin like he was conquering a mountain. "He misses being a Jedi."
"Will they have him back?"
"No." That was irrevocable. "But you do not need to be Jedi knight to fight at their side and use the force."
"And you?"
"I can take less diplomatic missions. Attend meetings more remotely. I think…I think I'm starting to realise how I want to balance this. And he," she said, watching her son as he howled with laughter at something Anakin said, "is what I want to prioritise. And Anakin…he needs to find his own way to balance all of this."
Xxx
That night, as they lay in bed, Padme turned to him.
"Geonosis isn't far from here," she pointed out softly. "How is the siege going?"
Anakin turned to her, blinking in confusion. "Not well," he said, not even pretending that he hadn't been keeping on contact with either Ahsoka or Obi-Wan. Probably both, knowing him. He sat up slowly. "The factory is well guarded, no matter how much of the planet we take. As long as those droids are being pumped out..." He trailed off, head tilting in the way that Luke had picked up from him. "What does it matter how far away it is?"
She watched him.
He was tempted, she could tell. Reaching out, she smoothed a hand down his chest. "We need to find something that works for us," she suggested. "Would you go, if it wasn't for Luke?"
He looked torn. "But Luke…"
"I went away for a few days," she pointed out. "You won't be far. If he needs you to come back-"
"It's a war zone," Anakin pointed out, but he looked already more focused.
"The factory is the last problem. The planet's mostly under the republic's control. Of course, I suppose that might not be interesting enough for you-"
He kissed her with more heat than he'd shown in weeks. She sucked in a breath, as he rolled them back down the bed. "I don't want to leave you," he whispered.
"I know who you are," she murmured into his lips. "You're a hero, Anakin. You can't sit on the side lines for long. The fact that you have…I love you for that."
His hand stroked down her side, fingers touching in a barely there caress as he looked down at her, eyes darkening. "You and Luke," he vowed to her. "You are everything."
She took hold of his face so that he looked at her properly. "Go," she said, smiling.
But a mischievous smile was twisting his lips. "Now?" he asked, as his hand slipped under her night dress.
"Tomorrow," she amended and gasped as his clever fingers got to work.
