A/N : Don't hesitate to leave a comment. I would be interested to know what do you think about the story.
Christmas morning is not only for little children.
Anakin kissed his fiancee awake while, holding a turquoise package. "Merry Christmas, my Angel,"
She yawned and stretched before opening her eyes. "Good morning, Ani. Merry Christmas to you as well. Oh, you have something for me? And what is that? A box? The color seems so familar." She grabbed the little package out of his hand and rose up to the sitting position. She unpacked and was surprised.. "Oh, ...playing cards?"You suggest that we play cards instead of..."
"We shouldn't simply agitate some of our body's cells, but we need also take care of our brain." He giggled as he winked.
"Wait a second, I've got a little something for you too." She stood up and searched her bag, removing a turquoise box along with it. "With love, Ani."
"The color is the same, uh, thanks." He opened the box and said, "A silver money clip... WOW."
"This little thing holds the bills together and keeps them from loosening out your pocket."
"Are you implying that I handle money carelessly?"
"No, Ani, you're just being too generous."
"Just look, we're back together, after so many years, so much sorrow, and so much suffering. We have more money than we can spend, we are fine, and we are happy again. Despite everything, there is still enough money to pay for our children's top education and other expenses. Of course, we shouldn't waste money, but we could reward ourselves and enjoy life. If I were Dormé, I would ask: am I right or am I right?"
"And if you were Dormé now, I would tell you: I hate you when you're right, but you're not and I still love you even when you're right."
"Tell me when you purchased this money clip."
"I had a rather large shopping list on that particular day."
"So, the fact that we didn't meet at Tiffany's was just a coincidence."
"Speaking of Dormé, should we call her and wish her a Merry Christmas as well as the others?"
"Both you and I should phone our parents, as well."
"Oh...yes, I suppose I have to...it's preferable to complete it right now."
"You sound as though you don't enjoy doing that."
"Correct. I won't tell them anything about us because our relationship has changed. I have to call Sola. She trusted in your innocence when no one else did. You have her favor, Ani."
"She is a really unique sister."
"Do you inform your parents?"
"Not now; perhaps when we go home and consider a trip to New York."
"Now in winter, by car?"
"Yes, New York is not in the Rocky Mountains." He chuckled.
"Smartass. OK. Calling right away." She made a call after removing her iPhone from her bag.
*Hello, Mom, Dad, Merry Christmas to all of you.*
*Thank you, dear; the same to you. How rarely do you call? Where are you right now?*
"I'm in Aspen for a few beautiful days.*
*Oh yes, Aspen is a beautiful place. Do you stay alone?*
*Mother !
*It's all right; I'm just worried for you.*
*No need; I'm fine.*
*When will you come back home?*
*My home is not where you think it is, Mom.*
*OK. Padmé, hold off on fighting till we next see one another.*
*Perhaps soon. Merry Christmas to Maria, and best wishes. Bye.*
*Goodbye, dear.*
"My father didn't even bother to wish me a Merry Christmas, as you heard. However, I don't care as much anymore...and now Sola, I'll turn it up loud right now."
*Good morning, sis Merry Christmas to all of you.*
*The same as sister. Where are you?*
*In Aspen.*
*Oh good, I know you need a little break. Are you a lone? You seem so, I don't know, happy and sort of. Someone is present in the background, I think?*
*You are on loud.*
*OK. spit it out, who he is?*
*You're correct, there's someone in the background. Oh Sola, I've never been so happy in my life.*
*Padmé. you've only ever had true happiness once in your life with a very young man, when you were very young and that's the tone I can hear in your voice right now. Tell me it is Anakin..*
*Merry Christmas, Sola.* The background was filled with the baritone of Anakin.
*Oh, Anakin! The most beautiful gift I could have received for Christmas is hearing your voice next to Padmé. You give my sister her life back.*
*And she gives me mine. Hello to Darred and the girls.*
*Thanks. I hope to hear from you and meet you soon.*
*I want to present my fiancé, my future husband, to our parents, so maybe we'll run into each other soon. Don't say anything to Mom and Dad.*
*Congratulations, wow! When you arrive, I want to be there so I can see our father's face.*
*Everyone, bye.*
*Bye Anakin, bye sis.*
They then gave Merry Christmas wishes to all of their friends over the phone. They promised to visit New York shortly and instructed Dormé to arrange a short vacation.
They made love together from the morning till the evening while making plans for the immediate future and even daring to discuss their long-term goals.
Since it was Christmas, they dressed nicely for the evening. Anakin was dressed in a charcoal gray suit, white shirt, Hermes tie, and black booties. A heavy down jacket was required due to the icy 10°F outside. Padmé wore a white St. John suit, burgundy boots, and a handbag from Valentino that matched. On her finger, the priceless engagement ring gleamed; she was wearing only little diamond ear studs. Anakin thought he recognized the long, real-fur lined winter coat.
"Is it the same coat you wore on New Year's Eve eight years ago? You look beautiful, Angel."
"Exactely the same."
"I'll get you a new one, but it brings back wonderful memories. The wife of a millionaire only wears a coat once."
"How did that money-clip thing go?" He was speechless when she laughed, so he brought her close to him and began kissing her neck, his mouth numbed by her scent.
"We'll be late and the table will be given to someone else if you keep acting this way."
The Wild Fig, which may not be the most expensive restaurant in Aspen, has a table with a white tablecloth designated for Christmas dinner, Padmé noted.
"My future wife is a little stuffy." Anakin guffawed.
"You haven't had the chance to see the bad and stuffy side of me in those six months we were together, most of which we spent in bed."
"Padmé? I'm sorry, I was kidding."
"That's how I understood it and if we recall correctly, we spent the most of our time together in bed, didn't we?"
"Padmé, I'm afraid this conversation is going in a direction that we do not want to go."
"That's not true. That's how it was, and it was the best time of my life. We were students, we had parties with our friends, Finch didn't have white tablecloths, but life was carefree and pleasant. Our tastes change as we do, especially as we become older and more mature. I simply want to point out that if there's anything you don't like on me, we need to talk about it right away. Also, yeah, I've grown to enjoy white tablecloths."
She recognized Anakin's wink as a sign that the evening would be great.
They shared a French onion soup as an appetizer, Padmé chose a filet mignon with asparagus and pear, and Anakin chose a rib eye with truffle parmesan fries.
Anakin brought up the wedding date in between the soup and the main dish.
"When we return, we will immediately seek for a marriage license so that we may get married. It takes three days, after which I shall inquire within the Order to see whether anybody is aware of a priest who is authorized to perform church-related weddings. We are both Catholic, so there is no issue.
"Why are you moving so quickly?"
"When everything is OK., why to wait? Are you sure that you want to marry me?"
"Of course, I am."
"Then there's no reason to postpone the wedding."
"That suggests that we might exchange vows as soon as the end of January."
"Exactly."
"Oh my God, this needs to be planned out."
"Wedding planners are used for such purposes, and if paid well, they are also capable of working magic." He smiled.
"How did you envision everything, or what are our long-term plans?"
"COVID-19 causes a lot of headaches for us all. So once more, I had hoped to complete my doctorate by the end of 2021, but that won't be possible, and I'm not sure if it will take me till the end of 2022 or perhaps the entire year of 2023. We'll see, but it's starting to loosen up enough for me to visit the research centers and institutions. Nothing can be forced on me. I'll spend a lot of time traveling if the situation gets better.
"And just me."
"We're going to the doctor for a consultation, you know, about the baby, when we return."
"You want to avoid wasting any time, right? We're running out of time, aren't we?"
"I'll let you make that decision."
"We'll consult a doctor before making a decision, but in the meantime, let's enjoy the holiday here; it's beautiful and skiing is fun."
"I agree, my Angel."
The vacation days essentially went the same way. Breakfast was late, they went skiing, dinner was early, they went to their suite, got drinks, and occasionally they played cards. Then, they went through sexual activity as frequently as they wanted to catch up on all those years.
Reminiscing about the New Year's Eve of 2012, when they made their relationship public, they spent New Year's Eve back at The Wild Fig. Bittersweet.
They took out again on a rented plane for Boston early on January 6. Expensive.
When they came home, the fridge needed to be stocked.
"I don't want to go out to eat right now, Anakin; I'm exhausted. I can prepare anything like pancakes with chocolate cream, ice cream, or jam, or we may order pizza."
"An Italian salad maybe?"
"Good idea, healthy food."
They talked about their next tasks during dinner, including getting a marriage license, visiting the Order, and scheduling a doctor's appointment.
First, a marriage license was requested, along with all the required paperwork and documents.
Padmé was quite interested in what the Order had in store for her. Actually, Order worked as a foundation. A local industrialist who was wealthy, left the foundation his whole fortune many years ago. Anakin had previously explained to Padmé how the profits would be used.
The so-called Master Yoda, who was actually the chairman of the foundation, was a kind little man with an odd pronunciation, and Padmé was certain that English was not his native language. The vice chairman was Mace Windu, an dark skinned American man who was usually serious, tall, and bald. There were still a few board members left, including Kit Fisto, an elderly man with white hair and large, dark eyes, and Adi Agilla, a nice dark skin lady. Although she wasn't on the board and had already met Padmé, Ahsoka constantly appeared to be at the parent firm. Padmé reasoned that she must be quite busy.
Anakin briefly introduced Padme.
"Hello Skyguy. You weren't accessible since you were on vacation."
"Indeed, we had a vacation."
"Oh, we !"
"Yes Snips, but there's more to it than that. We're getting married."
"Was that really love at first sight?"
"Precisely, over ten years ago."
"And why did you hold off for so long?"
"We were students at the age of 18, but then something happened."
"A failed attempt at suicide?"
"Snips!"
"It's OK. , Anakin. Yes, Ahsoka. We reconciled, moved past it, and we are back together."
Everyone congratulated after listening to their story with interest.
"All these years, we've worried about Anakin. He was generally kind yet reserved and kind of sad." Adi Gallia stated her thoughts. "But now we understand why, we're glad to see that sadness go away."
"You're correct, Adi, I'm back to life."
"Anakin, what can we do for you?"
"You, Master Yoda, you know Pastor Unni...and we would appreciate it if you would talk to him about finding for us a civil and a church wedding...uh, an appointment...soon."
"I'm sure that can be done, give me a few hours of Anakin."
"Thanks...and we wanted, actually, Padmé wanted to offer her services as legal counsel."
"Would you do that for the Order? ...and you know that this is voluntary?"
"Yes and with pleasure... as long as I have no job, I have time."
"Then, welcome to the Order of Padmé."
.
Best regards from Germany