Chapter Text
It wasn’t very often the Skywalker-Naberrie’s had dinner together. From Padmé and Leia being on Coruscant, Anakin- now Luke- being tied up with Mand’alor duties and Mandalorian politics, the rest of their family spread out through the galaxy as Jedi and vagabonds, or having meals with the entirety of clan Skywalker, the traditional “family dinners'' Padmé was used to on Naboo were unheard of. Which made them all the more special when they did happen.
Padmé couldn’t stop smiling at the chaos around her. Anakin was by her side, arm over her chair and bickering as usual with Obi-Wan. Ahsoka egged the bickering on while Rex and Cody tried to deter it.
Leia was glued to Paz’s side- having been away from her husband “far too long” as she would say- as she spoke to Luke about the stupidity of some politicians in the New Republic Senate with R2 throwing in his two-cents in every now and then. Threepio tried to stop him but that only made the smaller droid sass harder.
Han, Lando, and Chewie were discussing something amongst themselves (probably something Padmé shouldn’t know about) but Luke would inevitably interject at some point and bring them into the conversation he was having with Leia to distract his twin from her frustrations.
Later, Shmi, Jango, and Boba (and, hopefully, Boba’s new spouse Cobb) would join them for dessert when they came back from retrieving Boba for a much-deserved vacation.
And this jovial occasion was all over a spread of food that Padmé never would get used to because of the unbearable spices. (Bless the Maker, though, there was some Nabooian cuisine for her palette).
As she continued to eat and talked with family, she overheard Lando chortling with Chewie’s roaring laugh.
She turned to see Lando leaning on Chewie while Han frowned at Luke. Her precious son’s cheeks were as red as one of Tatooine’s two suns. At the same time, Leia looked absolutely done, and Paz’s expression could have murdered anyone if looks could kill.
“Something wrong?” Padmé asked.
“Nothing, Mom,” Leia sighed. “Just these nerf herders being idiots.” R2 beeped in agreement.
“‘Idiots?’” Han echoed, entirely offended. “We were just information Luke of the word in the galaxy is!”
“You just want to know for betting reasons,” Leia fired back with a bit of heat.
“Hey now Senator,” Lando soothed, still with a bit of laughter in his tone. He leaned on Han. “We were just passing on the news.”
“Aruetiise have no right to speculate on our Mand’alor’s marital status,” Paz hissed through gritted teeth. “Let alone make bets on it.”
“I very much agree with you, Master Vizsla!” Threepio nodded. “It is highly inappropriate.”
Padmé sighed, placing her utensils down.
“They’re making bets on when Tran’ika is going to get married?” Anakin laughed. Padmé’s heart warmed when he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Didn’t they do the same for us, Cyar’ika?”
Padmé sighed again, this time less heavy, as she remembered the beginning of their marriage. “They did,” she smiled softly. “I believe Obi-Wan and Rex were the only ones that got it right.”
“I was close!” Ahsoka interjected as Rex laughed and Obi-Wan took a sip of his drink.
“I don’t know what you mean,” he hummed casually.
“And I am a Bantha.” Anakin sniggered as he took a swat at his Jedi Master. The older man easily knocked his hand away with put-on annoyance.
When R2 laughed about how obvious Padmé and Anakin were, the Skywalker matriarch looked at the younger adults. She pressed her lips together to stop from giggling at their expressions, ranging from disgust to agony at the news. It was only Luke who wore a distressed expression as he stared down at his plate, picking at his food.
Something small and heavy formed in Padmé’s gut. “Milla?” she called gently. “Is there something wrong?”
It spoke how lost her son was in his thoughts when he jumped at her voice, wide eyes snapping toward her. That small feeling grew bigger and Padmé frowned with a tilt of her head.
“Hey,” Anakin’s voice cut in, equally soft, as he must have picked up on Luke’s odd behavior. “Don’t worry about Tran’ika.” He leaned forward on the table towards Luke. “No one is going to force you to marry, Mand’alor or not. That’s not the way of things, you know that.”
There was a soft murmur of agreement and reassurance from everyone that meant to ease the tension. Yet Luke didn’t relax.
His blue eyes were still wide but clouded with worry as he put his utensils down. He licked his lips before he lifted his chin, head held high. He took a deep breath and voiced, “And if I already am?”
Everything stopped.
Padmé stared at her son, unable to breathe. It felt as if there wasn’t even any air in the stillness of the room. Her son didn’t smile or even take it back to say it was a joke. He just stared at everyone seriously.
“Are you?” Padmé heard Obi-Wan’s voice distantly.
Luke took a second before he nodded curtly. “I am.”
Then everything happened all at once. Anakin and Leia shot out of their chairs and Luke matched them, all of them tense and ready for a fight. Padmé and Obi-Wan quickly followed, if they had to break it up, which prompted Ahsoka, Paz, Rex, and Cody to stand as well. Han, Lando, and Chewie stayed seated but leaned away from the group. They were joined by Threepio who moved out of the way with a worried yelp. R2 remained where he was between the twins.
“Who is it?” Anakin hissed as Leia asked,
“For how long?”
Luke eyed Leia and Anakin with an uneasy glint before he answered, “Since I took over as Mand’alor.”
It was a second punch to Padmé’s gut. “Luke...”
Her voice however was drowned out when Leia hissed, “That was a standard year and a half ago. You’ve been married for a year and a half and didn’t tell us?!”
“Who is it?” Anakin demanded again.
The air around them was growing colder and Padmé couldn’t say who was from- Leia or Anakin- until Obi-Wan warned, “Anakin...”
Luke’s jaw tensed as a bit of sadness mixed with apprehension in his eyes. “I can’t tell you.”
“What do you mean you can’t tell us!” Leia bit out. She tensed, leaning toward her twin. “Don’t we have a right to know who your riduur is!? Who you invited into our clan without telling us?!”
Luke shifted his stance, making his feet wider.
R2 told both of them to settle down but neither of them seemed to be listening.
Padmé could see the fight coming and quickly shifted into her senator persona.
“Enough,” she spoke firmly.
Both her children froze. Padmé glanced up at her husband to see his blue eyes were stormy and hard. And underneath it, something that was hard to see, was fear and worry. She reached out and wrapped her hand around his to get his attention.
“Paz,” Padmé spoke, not breaking eye contact with Anakin. “Can you please take Leia to the conservatory?”
“It’s alright, Mom.” Padmé snapped her gaze toward her son just as he stepped away from the table. “I need some time to myself.”
Before she could say a word otherwise, he disappeared to the back of the house.
Padmé snapped her gaze between Leia and Anakin. At least both of them had the decency to wince when she did. “Both of you sit and stay put,” she ordered with a tone that brokered no argument. Then without another word, she followed her son. Distantly she heard R2’s low whistle and Threepio trying to assure him.
Based on his words, she found him on a bench in the house’s private conservatory.
Her senator persona had washed away by the time she arrived and she was back to being a worried and stunned mother. So it was a stab to her heart when she saw her son’s eyes wet with unshed tears as he stared longingly through the skylight to the stars. It wasn’t anything new, Luke had always looked to them when he was feeling out of sorts, but now it held a whole new context.
When she approached, she wasn’t surprised when Luke turned to her. She stopped a few feet away, leaving the invitation to leave if he really needed the space. Yet her sweet son smiled weakly and murmured, “Hey Mama.”
Padmé’s heart broke even more. She seldom heard either of her children say ‘Mama’ nowadays- both of them having stopped using it when they grew into their teens. Luke saying it now made him appear so small and exhausted.
“Hi, my little Milla,” she whispered as she closed the gap.
She slid onto the bench and didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around her son. Luke breathed a wet inhale as he buried his face into her shoulder.
Neither of them spoke. Padmé felt her clothes slowly get wet as her son cried but didn’t sob. She silently offered him comfort by just holding him with one arm around his shoulders as the other hand pet the back of his head.
She wasn’t sure how long they stayed, but, after a while, Luke slowly pulled away from her.
Sniffling softly, he whispered, “Thank you, Mama.” He wiped away a few stray tears and then met her eyes.
Padmé smiled softly and brushed a few strands of his hair from his forehead before she cupped her son’s face. “You’re welcome, Milla.”
Luke pulled further away, forcing Padmé to let go of him but she quickly reached down and took both of his hands in hers.
“Well that could have gone better,” Luke huffed before deeply sighing. “Can’t imagine how everyone else will react.”
“Oh, Luke...” Letting go of one hand, she gently rubbed his shoulder. “You know your father and Starflower can’t truly be mad at you. They just don’t take surprises well.”
Luke smiled with a weak laugh. “That’s an understatement.”
Smiling, Padmé squeezed her son’s hand. “I’m sure when we head back, they’ll have calmed down.”
Luke’s smile dropped and he turned his gaze to their hands. After a moment, he softly asked, “And what about you?” He lifted his face to look at her uncertainly through his lashes. “How do you feel about me being married?”
Her heart ached at the uncertainty in her son’s voice. Moving her hand off his shoulder, she gently put her fingers under his chin and lifted his face. “I was surprised,” she confessed. “And shocked. I still am.”
Luke’s eyebrows pinched, face morphing with worry.
Padmé quickly cupped his cheek. “But I know you,” she soothed. “And you would never marry someone you didn’t love and trust.”
A soft, warm light sparked in her son’s eyes and washed away the lines of worry on his face. He smiled softly while his eyes grew distant in fondness.
“I love him so much, Mama,” he whispered as if he was revealing his deepest secret. And perhaps it was, considering how long he held onto it. “He is such a good person. Kind, strong, caring, and so, so , amazing.”
The worrying ache in her chest quickly was replaced by warmth and relief as her son spoke. There was nothing but an all-encompassing love in his voice- a surety of how head over heels he was with this person (a man, if the pronoun Luke used was correct).
“Tell me about him?” she asked with a squeeze of his hand.
Her son blinked, coming back to the present, and looked at her confused. He opened his mouth but then snapped it shut and his cheeks went red.
Before she could inquire why Luke sighed and used one hand to rub his face. “I can’t,” he sighed again. Dropping his hand, his whole face was apologetic as he added, “If I give you details, you might figure out who he is.”
Padmé thought he meant a senator but then shoved that thought aside. Luke wasn’t keen on politicians and hadn't met one around the time he became Mand’alor.
Frowning, she asked, “Is there a reason why?”
Luke grimaced. “He is in a position where if anyone found out we’re married, he could lose everything.”
Padmé’s breath hitched at the hardness in her son’s eyes. It was something she recognized from Anakin when he was certain about things. “Oh, Luke...”
“He has worked so hard for everything he has, Mama,” he whispered fiercely with a small bit of beseeching. She felt the hand she still held curl into a fist. “And I don’t- no, I can’t be the reason he loses it all.
She squeezed his fist. “So he isn’t afraid of Mandalorians?” she asked to be sure. It was something that plagued her mind. It wasn’t an uncommon thing for non-Mandalorians to not want to be associated with Mandalorians, besides being married to one. “He isn’t ashamed of being married to you?”
Luke’s eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. “No, no!” he reassured, blue eyes earnest. It calmed the motherly in Padmé’s chest and stomach. “He was afraid at first, but that was mostly about losing everything and worried how being married to him would affect me. But he recently started becoming open to at least let me tell people I am married.”
Padmé wanted to ask about why his partner didn’t want to tell anyone- why just Luke- when her son’s face grew redder. “We talked about it for a while before we agreed it was okay but only if... if I didn’t reveal his gender...”
Catching on, Padmé grinned and patted her son’s cheek. “Don’t worry, Milla,” she giggled. “Your secret is safe with me.”
With her reassurance, Luke released a relieved sigh, body relaxing. “Thank you, Mama.”
Patting her son’s cheek again, she pulled her hand down and asked, “Do you feel better enough to head back to dinner?”
Luke’s mouth opened but then slowly closed before he shook his head. “Not yet, but you can go on without me.”
Padmé frowned gently. “Are you sure?”
Grinning, Luke nodded. He then brought his hands to either side of her face and pressed their foreheads together briefly. Padmé smiled and happily cupped her son’s face and pressed back.
When they pulled apart, she delivered a quick kiss on his cheek. “Love you, my little Milla.”
Luke’s grin widened as she stood. He caught her hand and gave it a brief squeeze. “Love you too, Mom.”
Warmth blooming in her chest in relief, Padmé squeezed back before they parted ways.
Rounding a garden divide, she wasn’t surprised when she ran into Anakin hiding in its shadow. She sharply frowned at him and he grimaced in response.
He grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her into the darkness with him.
Tilting her head, she wasn’t sure why they weren’t leaving until she heard the soft trill of a comlink ring back from where Luke was.
Realizing what her husband was now up to, she pulled on his arm urgently. She didn’t want to call out and warn Luke, lest she made things worse between her husband and son, but Anakin remained immovable with his strong grip on her hand. When their eyes met, she glared at him. ‘We’re going to talk about this later,’ she warned with her expression.
Her husband grimaced again but nodded curtly.
“Hi, ner Kar’ta.”
Padmé froze at hearing her son’s tired voice.
A moment later, he spoke again. “I don’t want to talk about it right now...” He sighed. “I- I just really need to hear the sound of your voice. Tell me about your day?”
Despite wanting to give her son his privacy, Padmé couldn’t deny she was also curious. And Anakin knew that when their eyes met again and he smirked. She poked him hard in the side as retaliation- no one wore their armor when in the home as a rule- and tried not to feel too smug when he flinched.
Together, the two of them peeked out from behind the divide.
Luke had taken to laying across the bench with his eyes closed. He wore a delighted, if wistful, grin as he listened to his spouse over the comlink near his face. She couldn’t make out anything, and she highly doubted Anakin could either, but Luke would quip back with something or sometimes laugh at whatever was being said.
A tension in Padmé’s body she didn’t know she had released as she watched, the soft sting of tears in her eyes. She had never seen her son so relaxed in such a long time. It was like seeing him again when he was younger again- innocent of the troubles of the world and not weighed down with responsibilities.
Happy, Padmé stepped back and, after a few tugs, her husband followed. When their eyes met, she smiled softly at the misty-eyed expression he wore.
She moved her hand to wrap her fingers with his and squeezed. ‘Are you satisfied?’
Taking a deep breath, Anakin nodded.
With a nod back, she pulled her husband away to go back to the others and give their son some alone time with his spouse.