Remember What We Were

Ten

"Palo, does your hand come off?" Pooja asked expectantly. Palo almost scoffed. "Is it supposed to?" he asked.

Anakin, Padme, and Palo all sat outside in the garden watching the girls play. Anakin smiled with satisfactioton as Ryoo leaned over his shoulder. "Anakin's arm comes off!" she chimed.

Padme was seated with Palo on a bench. "You girls are funny," she said with a laugh. Anakin relaxed in the grass while Pooja and Ryoo fussed over him while comparing him to Palo.

"Palo, can we braid your hair?"

"Why?" Palo asked. Ryoo tugged Anakin's Padawan braid. "Anakin let's us braid his hair!"

"Palo? Can you make Shuura fruit float in the air?"

"Let me guess," he answered in annoyance, "Anakin can make Shuura fruit float in the air..." Pooja giggled, "He can juggle it too!"

Padme glanced uncomfortably at Palo and Anakin. "Girls, did you know that Palo can paint?" Palo grinned proudly but the girls ignored them both. Ryoo sat down beside Palo.

"Palo? Do you have a light-up sword like Anakin's?"

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A blue sky carried cotton-like clouds over Naboo in slow motion as Anakin wandered through the Naberrie's home. As he found his way into the garden, late in the afternoon, his mind lingered on Padme. Palo had taken her to see his exhibit at the gallery, leaving Anakin alone to brew in his envy.

It didn't take Pooja and Ryoo long to find him. He heard them running up behind him just before they latched onto his legs. "Anakin!" Pooja screamed. Ryoo grinned up at him. "Do you wanna play with us?"

Anakin sighed with a soft chuckle. "You bet." The girls erupted into elated cries. Anakin watched with a smile, but his thoughts still hung on Padme. If only she were as easy to please as Pooja and Ryoo.

While the girls played, Anakin would occasionally join in, allowing the girls to wrestle him to the ground. But he mostly thought of Padme. His stomach had an agonizing hunger to be with her again. He couldn't stand the idea of her with Palo but even more, the fact that he had hurt her before. He didn't want to watch Padme's heart be broken any more than he wanted his own heart to be left in pieces.

If only she remembered the real Palo. He said to himself. Pooja wrapped her arms around Anakin's back. "I got you!" she squealed triumphantly. Anakin laughed at the childish game. Ryoo joined in and soon, the girls were rolling over in the grass, giggling loudly.

They were so care free. Anakin sat up to admire their blissful youth. Padme must have grown up just like them. How different his own childhood had been. After being a slave on Tatooine, adjusting to life as a Jedi Padawan was difficult. He quickly fell into a pattern of meditation and training, of solitude and confinement, of retained emotions and strict order. A gray life on a gray planet.

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, Anakin stood up to head inside. As he did, he noticed a face peering out the window. Although Padme had a soft smile painted on her lips as she watched the girls, Anakin saw in her eyes the melancholy of someone who missed her memories and her nieces.

A smile crossed Anakin's face as his eyes met Padme's. He nodded his head back, inviting her to join him outside. Considering ot for a moment, Padme hesitantly left the window and entered the garden through a the side door. Pooja and Ryoo hopped up when they spotted their aunt but Anakin stepped in front of them, cautioning them not to move in. Pooja stuck her thumb in her mouth and with her free hand, pleaded for Anakin to pick her up. Lifting the little girl onto his hip, Anakin kept his eyes on Padme.

"Do you wanna play with us?" Ryoo asked, breaking the silence like a stone cast into still water. Padme looked back at the door. "Dinner's ready..." she said slowly, her words caught in thought. Pooja whimpered. "Just five more minutes?" she begged. Anakin mimicked Pooja with a pout.

"Yeah, five more minutes?" he pleaded along with the girls. Padme laughed at Anakin's impression and finally nodded. "Okay, five more minutes."

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They played a lot longer than five minutes.

After completely skipping dinner, the group of four decided to picnic out in the meadow. They ate shuura fruit among the wild grasses that waved in the wind and listened to the birds whistle around them. Padme hardly touched her food as she watched Pooja and Ryoo giggle and gush over Anakin.

"Anakin, juggle the shuura fruit!"

"Please Anakin!"

"Oh alright."

Anakin gathered five round shuuras in his hands. As he began the cycle of tossing, catching, and tossing again, the girls cheered in delight. A smile broke across Padme's face as Anakin continued his performance, occasionally using the Force to keep the fruits from falling on his head. Padme laughed. "I had no idea you were such a crowd pleaser."

The complement caught Anakin off guard. As his face grew red from blushing, one of the shuuras escaped him and rolled into the grass. It only took a second for all of the produce to scatter around him, one hitting him on the top of his head. "Ouch!" he exclaimed.

Pooja and Ryoo gasped and rushed to his aid. "Anakin did you get a boo-boo?" Ryoo asked with concern. Pooja pursed her lips. "Does your boo-boo need a kiss, Anakin?" Anakin chuckled as he rubbed his forehead. "Why not?"

Pooja stood tiptoed to reach Anakin's head where she gave a quick peck. Ryoo did the same as Anakin stole a glance at Padme who was watching thoughtfully. Once the girls had backed away, he smiled playfully. "How about one more for good measures?" Padme blushed.

"I don't think so."

"Just one?"

Padme looked down at the picnic blanket with a wide smile. Pooja and Ryoo scrambled to his side. "Anakin, do you think Auntie Padme is beautiful?" Ryoo asked. Anakin leaned back and took in a relaxed breath. "I think she is very beautiful," he said slowly, keeping his blue eyes on Padme. When she finally looked up, a less amused expression inhabited her features. She almost looked sad.

Anakin studied her for a moment before realizing that she was looking at Pooja and Ryoo sitting on his lap. He connected the dots. Is she upset that the girls are spending so much time with me? He wondered. Almost guilty, he leaned forward slightly.

"Why don't you hold Pooja for a minute? I think I have shuura fruit... In my hair..." he lied. Padme blinked in surprise but nodded. "Okay." Pooja was nestled into Anakin shoulder but he picked her up and set her in Padme's lap. Anakin couldn't help but smile as he watched Padme tenderly cradle the little girl. Her eyes softened as she looked down at Pooja who was beginning to drift off to sleep.

Anakin shifted even closer, enjoying his current proximity to Padme. Without thinking, his good hand brushed her shoulder and she looked up at him. Anakin felt his mouth open to speak, but he could find no words. Padme cradled Pooja in one arm and faintly touched her free hand to Anakin's collar bone. Her palm was warm and delicate. As his heartbeat picked up, Anakin could feel the heat of their bodies colliding on the air between them, thick with the perfume of wildflowers.

"Ooh! Ooh! Are you gonna kiss Anakin, Auntie Padme?"

Anakin abruptly straightened from the surprise of the sharp squeal as Ryoo stuck her head between him and Padme. Pulling the little girl into his lap, Anakin tickled her sides so she erupted in more laughter. "Don't you think it's past your bedtime?" he asked.

Padme smiled at him for a short moment before she got up to take Pooja in for bed. Anakin grinned back crookedly as they mad their way inside. A tingle near his neck remained as a reminder of that soft touch. Another moment of closeness that he would replay in his head all night long.

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Hey all my lovely readers! Thanks for being patient with me. I kept rewriting this chapter so I could get it just right so I really hope you enjoyed it. Last week of school ahead of me so I'll be busy with finals but expect something, say, Friday-ish? Idk we'll see but until then, may the Force be with you!