[ Padmé had gone to check on Leia, as she did everyday, whether in person or over the comms. She returns to their room much too soon, distracted and worried. She's so distracted, in fact, that she doesn't notice Anakin is there too for a few seconds. But when she does, she moves toward him. ]
Can you sense Leia?
[ That's really the only way to be sure, she thinks. ]
[ He didn't have the heart to tell her right away. He checked the circuitry in his arm for a moment longer then he stands. His arms are around her shoulders before a soft answer comes. ]
[ He runs a hand across her back and press a kiss on her head. He doesn't like seeing her like this, he hurts seeing her sad and worried. But there are no words for this strange lost, he only holds her like he should. ]
[ He's not sure she will either, but he's not sure he wants her to remember at all. His encounters with Leia were just civil; it's not the relationship he wants with his daughter - or any of his children. ]
That's not up to us. All we can do is take comfort in knowing her here. [ Or knowing her at all, he doesn't add. ]
[ He almost scoffs at that but he huffs a small laugh instead, smiling down at her. His mechanical hand brush against the side of her face, cautiously as always. ]
[ He leans down and kiss her lightly. There's no reason for it except that she smiled at him, that she looks up and he knows-- he can feel that she loves him. ]
[ He brush his thumbs across her cheek, giving just a faint smile. It doesn't show in his eyes but he loves her enough to pretend it is. ]
You-- [ A part of him chokes up at the thought of children, hers and his. Little hands in hers, her happiness as radiant as the binary suns; he wants, more than anything, for that to be a palpable image. ] You would make a fantastic mother.
[ Whatever (false) cheerfulness she had managed collapsed into grief. "You would have been," she mentally corrects him. She had been in Leia's life just enough to leave a vague impression on her. Luke didn't know what she looks like. She'd be a ghost, a fairytale, a stranger to her own children.
Yes, it's grief. Grief for what they won't have. She hadn't thought about having a family. Now there's an emptiness where Leia should be.
[ She doesn't have to say it. He knows, like he always does. He knows the heavy sadness that shrouds her, he can feel it as if it were his own. But she-- she alone has always been able to bring a brightness to him in the Force, in a way that no one can. And he won't leave her in the darkness.
Anakin dips his head and cups her face once more. He steels himself for this; he has to believe it to convince her. ]
Padme, look at me. Listen to me. The future is always in motion. Nothing is set in stone. We will be happy. We will raise our children. And you will be the galaxy's greatest mother, wife, senator. I will give you all of that, my love. All of it.
[ She touches his cheek lightly, her eyes filled with a different kind of sadness. Anakin lives in "should." He should be able to fix things, the galaxy should be fair, their children should grow up with them.
He's making a promise he can't keep. A promise he'd die to keep. ]
I trust you. But, more than anything, I want you with me. I don't want to sacrifice 'now' for a 'maybe.'
[ he smiles, a ghost of that rakish smile from when they first met again twisted with a touch of bittersweet. he wraps his arms tight around her. he doesn't have the words to tell her how much it means to him to hear it.
ultimately, because her happiness means everything.
she means everything.
so it makes sense, that he will give her everything. ]
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Can you sense Leia?
[ That's really the only way to be sure, she thinks. ]
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No.
I'm sorry, Padme. She's gone home.
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I thought so. Thank you for looking.
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I'm glad I had the chance to meet her.
[ Softly: ] I wonder if she'll remember.
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That's not up to us. All we can do is take comfort in knowing her here. [ Or knowing her at all, he doesn't add. ]
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I know. [ He might as well have said "or at all" because that sadness is heavy in her voice. ]
She had all of your best traits, you know.
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She reminds me more of you than me. They both do.
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I think you're a little biased.
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[ He leans down and kiss her lightly. There's no reason for it except that she smiled at him, that she looks up and he knows-- he can feel that she loves him. ]
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Hmm. I don't know, you're pretty great yourself.
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You-- [ A part of him chokes up at the thought of children, hers and his. Little hands in hers, her happiness as radiant as the binary suns; he wants, more than anything, for that to be a palpable image. ] You would make a fantastic mother.
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Yes, it's grief. Grief for what they won't have. She hadn't thought about having a family. Now there's an emptiness where Leia should be.
Words stick in her throat. ]
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Anakin dips his head and cups her face once more. He steels himself for this; he has to believe it to convince her. ]
Padme, look at me. Listen to me. The future is always in motion. Nothing is set in stone. We will be happy. We will raise our children. And you will be the galaxy's greatest mother, wife, senator. I will give you all of that, my love. All of it.
Trust me.
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He's making a promise he can't keep. A promise he'd die to keep. ]
I trust you. But, more than anything, I want you with me. I don't want to sacrifice 'now' for a 'maybe.'
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I'm right here.
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I wouldn't be doing half as well as I am if you weren't.
[ She strokes his cheek lightly with her thumb. ]
I want you to know that whatever happens in the future, I'm happy for this. For the time we have together. For your love.
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ultimately, because her happiness means everything.
she means everything.
so it makes sense, that he will give her everything. ]