#intcthatgoodnight

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm not really the 'wait for permission or approval' kinda girl, cause let's be honest with each other here -- between the two of us, I was definitely more qualified to go do the repairs, given the fact that I can, I dunno, not die in the cold airless vacuum of space? Oh, and unless you can shoot laser beams out of your eyes that can actually weld the pieces of your crap-tastic ship back together so that you don't die a sad and lonely death in said crap-tastic ship-----?" Sure. Frost still clung to her skin and her breath came with its' own fog, but it had been way faster, and easier, for her to just deal with the repairs than sit around and wait for him to come to some collective decision with he, himself, and ... him. "How exactly have you survived this long out here, without, you know - dying?"

His eyes roll but he pulls to the side and turns off the engine before looking at her properly. "Are you always this dramatic?"

            “Master Kenobi --”  A hint of surprise colored Anakin’s words, though a broad smile was offered as he reached out to clasp Obi Wan’s hand in his own warmly.   “No one said you’d be stopping by the academy today - is everything all right?”  The title was offered as one of respect, both for the time that they had spent together and for the position that Obi Wan still held within the Jedi Council.  There had been much dissembling when Anakin had come to the council to declare that he was leaving the Order, and even more so when he had begun the process of researching even further back into the history of the Jedi and the Force as a whole to find a method of teaching that allowed for a balance between every side of it’s essence.  Many of the council had downright decried the attempt as obscene, and wanted to cut ties with Anakin (and his children) entirely.  Anakin knew it was likely due solely to Obi Wan’s persistence that any geniality remained between Anakin and the order that he had once been a part of.  

She dropped the files on his desk. "I thought geniuses like you could multitask," she notes dryly. Another week, another worldwide disaster. Nothing like the Avengers inspiring Avengers-requiring emergencies in a never-ending circle.

"People are trying to kill us because you just had to marry some rich asshole and you want a break? I didn't even do anything!" Of all the ways she'd dreamed of reuniting with Grace, this had never been one of them. Not even in the same fucking universe. "I'm just here!"

               “Lord Fernos ...”   Her smile was pinched in a manner that only those few that knew her well would recognize --  unfortunately, he was one of those few -- but pretenses were as much a part of the dance of their Empire as betrayal and murder.    Not for the first time, she thought bitterly of how much more their empire could achieve, how much further they could go, if they spent as much time fighting their enemies as they did each other.   “I must have missed the notification of your intention to stop by,” she spoke, knowing full well that he had not sent any such message, and knowing just as well that she was in no position to refuse him entrance.   “The children are down for the night and I was just about to sit down for supper --”  Which, he had to know, having been invited to dine with his apprentice more times than she could count.  Which meant, in turn, the timing was undoubtedly intentional.  “Please, allow me to have the staff set a second place.”  A second place, and not a third.  

         “Good morning, little one,” Padme whispered softly, fingers trailing gently across his brow, sweeping sleep tousled strands back off of his forehead.  The twinge of guilt that she felt for disturbing his sleep lasted only a moment -- she had arrived not too long before the twins would be waking for their morning chores and meal, and she hoped he’d consider the trade off a worthy one.   

     This was where she would always feel safest, she knew -- leaning into him, his arms wrapped around her waist, his head nestled against hers, the warmth of his body permeating through her like he was the sun itself.  Life itself.   It wouldn’t matter where it was, where she was, where they were, so long as they were together.    She let her head drift back to rest against his chest and shoulder, her fingers curling over his around her waist, lashes sinking closed, only the last hint of setting sun flashing light against her eyelids.   It had been far too long since she’d been back here.   This place had become more than just a home.  It was a refuge.  For Anakin, for the twins, for others that had left the Jedi order over the years, others that had received no formal training at all and were too old to be considered for the Jedi -- and for her.   A reprieve from the pressures of the Senate, and the galaxy beyond here that seemed to rest on her shoulders.  She dared not let herself dwell on how close things had come to being so much worse.    “I’ve missed you so much, Ani.”