Prologue

Plot: In one universe, the Clone Wars happen later, long after Anakin and Padme have married in secret, after their twin children, Luke and Leia, have been born. In one universe, the Clone Wars break out when the Skywalker twins are teenagers. While Luke joins Anakin on the battlefield, Leia fights from her throne on Naboo, and only time can tell what their fates will be.


Author's Note: Enjoy the beginning of our newest Anakin-Luke-centric fic! It focuses most on them, but it's really about the entire Skywalker family, even if Padme isn't around that much, unfortunately. xP

This is a fic request by IceyGemini on ao3, who also drew the fanart of Luke and Leia which are on the front cover. :)

We'll be updating this fic weekly on Sundays. :D

~ Amina Gila


In the darkness of his apartment, Sidious meditates. He doesn't need to sleep – he has long since become accustomed to drawing all the strength he needs from the Force. But here, the Dark Side gives him strength, gives him everything he needs.

He has had visions before, but none of them are quite as real as this.

The room is dark, though the expanse around them is much too large to be a simple room. Sidious sees through the eyes of his alternate self, an older version. A black-clothed cyborg is lying on the floor, the green lightsaber of another – a Jedi, Light, though his presence is darkening at the edges – hovering over him. The Jedi somehow strongly resembles Anakin himself, and though Sidious has hardly sensed his future apprentice, he knows instinctively that his future apprentice is the cyborg. His presence is dark, burning, overwhelmingly strong – and it's easy to see how Anakin Skywalker could become this.

Could become his.

Because this is what it will be, the only way Sidious will allow it.

"Your hate has made you powerful," Sidious hears himself saying. "Now, fulfill your destiny, and take your father's place at my side!"

So, the boy is Anakin's son.

Instead of complying, he steps back, shaking his head and turning around, extinguishing and throwing off his lightsaber. "Never," he replies firmly, refusing to budge, even though Sidious can see the fear in his eyes. "I'll never turn to the Dark Side. You've failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

There's a long pause of silence before the older Sidious raises his hands. "So be it, Jedi. If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed."

The next bit blurs together, but Sidious sees Anakin standing from where he was laying, returning to his side. It will take time, but Sidious can be patient – he will ensure it always be like this. But within him, Sidious can feel the... conflict, the uncertainty. The fire in Anakin's presence is surprisingly dull for how much strength he now wields, but Sidious can feel how the fire of his apprentice's presence is slowly fading from a burnt-out black back to something... lighter, brighter.

It's something light.

The boy – Anakin's son – calls for him, asking for his help.

In hindsight, Sidious doesn't know why he didn't think Anakin would listen. Of course, he does – the boy is prone to attachment. He can sense it, even if he's scarcely seen him. The battle on Naboo was only weeks ago, after all.

But somehow, he didn't expect the darkness in Anakin's presence to shift lighter, or for Sidious himself to get thrown down the nearby shaft.

It's the last thing Sidious sees before the vision fades.

And he's angry.

Very angry.

Anakin is supposed to be his, and his alone. He should never be anyone else's.

Instincts tell him to ensure this child is never born, to ensure that he never has to concern himself with the possibility of his apprentice betraying him.

But the boy is powerful. It's not Anakin's level of strength, and yet, it would be a waste of potential to not exploit.

If Sidious could find a way to turn them both, it would be... preferable.

**w**

Thirteen years later

So much is happening and has been for the last three and a half years after Palpatine left office. Everyone felt that. The Republic has fallen far further into chaos than it was in the time Palpatine was still Chancellor.

But right now? That's the least of Anakin's concerns. He's wanted a way out for a long time, and Padme was that for him. She gave him that, her and their marriage. And now, their children. That's the most important thing, the thing that Anakin cares for far more than anything else.

Except, for some inexplicable reason, Anakin can't shake the feeling that... it's just a dream. That, for some reason, it will never happen. Maybe it's just the part of his mind that's understandably paranoid, but when he sees the worried look on Padme's face, he finds himself questioning that.

"What's wrong, Angel?" he asks her, softly.

"I know how much this means to us both," she tells him, "And I keep thinking about it. I know you said not to worry, but our baby will change our lives. And I don't know if I can leave the Senate, not now."

"You won't have to," Anakin points out, "I can leave the Order if I have to."

"Think," she replies, and it sounds sharper than he knows she intended it. "You already explained to me that you can't leave the Order, that the Council would have to expel you themselves." That's... true. He can't leave the people who freed him, who gave him life. He can't leave his master, Obi-Wan, who raised him, who stuck with him through thick and thin, even when he never had to. He definitely can't leave Ahsoka, his Padawan. "And if it gets out about us, if the Council knows, it will spread. I'll be forced to leave the Senate."

Anakin looks away, swallowing hard. He doesn't want to do that to her. He... he was nineteen when they happened, and he was so desperate for a way out that he never truly thought over what it would mean for the future if they went through with it. It doesn't help now, though. "What else could we do?" he asks finally, almost helplessly.

She sighs quietly. "I don't want to do that, Ani."

"Do... what?"

"I can't leave," she repeats, "Not when I'm needed here. But we can't let our relationship be found. Either we can give our baby to someone else or –"

"No," Anakin refuses firmly, outright. He won't even consider that possibility. Ever. This is their child, and he won't let her – or him – be raised by another, even if most people could raise their child better than Anakin himself. He can't let that happen. Won't.

"Or, we'll have to stop spending time with each other."

He inhales shakily, turning away. This was supposed to be a happy time, the best time in their lives. They weren't supposed to have a child though. This... was never supposed to happen. All he'd thought about this entire time is the future, dreams of being with Padme on Naboo, because he refused to let himself worry about the soon-to-be most important person in his life. Even if it would mean having to leave Ahsoka behind.

And he never wanted to leave Ahsoka.

"I don't know what to say," he says at last. Leaving Padme would mean no way out, and it would be relieving to not have to worry about leaving Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, but that doesn't mean he wants to. He's wanted nothing more than to leave with Padme and live, no matter how selfish it is, to just be for a little while.

"Think about it," Padme requests, "We still have time. I want to raise our child, too. But we knew, when it happened, that our duty would have to come first."

He wants to cry. Knowing that this is hurting Padme just as much isn't helping, either. Doing this would mean... he would never be able to spend time with them, not beyond fleeting moments, just like it is with him and Padme now. He'd have to be careful. "I don't know if I can do this."

"We have no other choice," Padme replies gently. "If we can't..."

He has never asked the Force for something like this before, though he has multiple times in the course of their relationship. But now, that's all he can do, close his eyes and reach out, begging for some sort of revelation, for something to reassure him that this is just a terrible nightmare, and he won't have to believe this.

Except it's true for both of them, and it's like Padme had told him when they first discussed it – that they live in a real world, and they can't ignore that, no matter what the cost is. Really, they should have thought about what would happen if they had children before this got so far. But they didn't. So, here they are.

"I never wanted to stay in the Order," Anakin admits at last. "I just couldn't – couldn't leave. Not when they freed me. That would be ungrateful."

"And I can't leave," she replies quietly. "We both knew that from the start."

"And I could never ask you to." It wasn't supposed to go so far. But maybe... maybe there's still a way they can work this out. He can't think of anything though, and all he can do is go to Palpatine, but... what would it do?

Padme gives him a strained smile, tears lingering visibly in her eyes. "You can still see them," she tells him, "When there's time."

Just like it is with them, and that's... Anakin wanted his children to have better than that. They deserve better than that. It's unfair that it's all they can be given. "I know."

'I know' is hardly the right way to end this conversation, the one discussing the fates of their children, one that will undoubtedly put so much strain on their lives. But really... there isn't anything more either of them can offer each other. An 'I'm sorry' would be pointless, because he knows she is, and he knows Padme knows he is, too.

**w**

He doesn't feel much better when he returns to the Temple and sees Ahsoka again. His Padawan greets him as cheerfully as she always does, and Anakin hardly has the energy to pretend to feel the same.

Maybe... maybe there is still some good in it, Anakin hopes. At least this way, he can still have everyone, though it won't be real. None of it will be real, and he's tired of all the deceptions. He's tired of living a lie, but they have no other choice. Padme is right about that. She can't leave the Senate, especially not when Palpatine is no longer Chancellor.

Everyone feels his absence and does every day. Palpatine served two terms full, and while nothing got better exactly, it's rapidly deteriorating now that he's gone. The corruption is somehow becoming even more obvious than it was before, and Padme is right that it would be wrong for her to leave right now. It's just so wrong that it has to be at the cost of their families.

Final Notes: Reviews are always appreciated! ^-^

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