7 Years Later
When Palpatine fell, the empire fell with him.
The Jedi Order thrived, finally being able to carry out their true purpose. Keeping the peace.
Now, when people spoke of war, it was through great tales of battle and heroism, stories that would stop humble passer-by's in their tracks, who couldn't help but be sucked in to the stories of the greats.
Now, instead of angst-filled expressions and turned down faces, the Jedi temple on Coruscant was filled with optimistic smiles and peaceful conversations. It was a place where people were finally looking up and taking note of the light around them instead of cowering in the shadows.
But if you were looking for a certain named family in particular who once roamed the temple halls, you wouldn't find them. They aren't there anymore.
For the Skywalkers were no longer on Coruscant.
They were on Naboo. Along with the Kenobi's.
(y/n)'s POV
(play "turning page" again but this time the version by Sydney Rose, trust me)
A feather-light breeze drifted through the wispy white drapes, cooling against my face as I pulled out of sleep.
The warm morning sunlight pooled over floor, leaking up onto the bed and soaking at my toes.
The comforting smell of Anakin was my first sense to be reminded of him, next was his touch as his body was pressed against mine and his arms lay draped around my waist, face nestled in my hair.
Not every morning was the same. Sometimes I would jolt to the crash of thunder from outside, or to the timid pleas of Destiny calling out for me. But no matter what dragged me from my sleep, Anakin was always there to pull me right back into his arms.
We could fall asleep side by side but every morning we would still wake up with limbs entangled, lips against each others skin and hands knitted in each others hair. It was inevitable and it was the best feeling in the world, waking up with him.
I dragged my eyes open and lifted my face to look at the man who slept soundly beside me.
Wriggling my arm out from his almost-too-tight hold, I let my fingers return to their favourite place in his hair, watching how they threaded through his soft, champagne locks.
They continued their journey down the back of his neck. I trailed my nails across his shoulders lightly then back up in a smooth motion, just admiring my husband.
Only when I looked back at his face a few seconds later did I realise that those ocean blue eyes were gazing right back at me.
His mouth curved into a smile "good morning" oh how his rough morning voice made me fall in love with him all over again every time I heard it "I like it when you do that"
"Hm?"
"When you play with my hair" he replied. His hands moved to my cheeks and he pulled my face to his, pouring kisses onto my mouth.
"I like it when you do that" I grinned into his lips.
"Oh yeah? how about when I do this..." his lips dragged down to my jaw, moving tantalisingly slow to the skin just below my ear. I felt the pads of his fingers trailing down my back as his kiss found my pulse and he sucked at it gently, taking all the air out of my lungs with just his touch as I gasped.
"Yep" I only just managed to get out "that too"
He brushed my hair over my shoulder to get better access to my neck, pulling at my waist to move me underneath him as he manoeuvred on top of me.
His touch set spark to a low-lying fire at my skin, growing with each brush of his lips. I giggled and rooted my hands back into his hair, then pulled his face up back so it was level with mine.
He looked at me eagerly, with kiss-swollen lips and a loving glow across his skin "how long until Destiny wakes up and remembers it's her birthday?" I whispered.
"I'd say about...ten seconds"
"alright" I said hurriedly pulling him in for one more kiss. I inhaled into his lips and pulled him closer against me then pushed him off playfully and returned to tucking my head underneath his chin as his arms looped back around me.
Right on time, the door flew open and a little girl with the widest grin I'd ever seen stood in the doorway.
"Umm who are you? and what have you done with my six year old daughter?" Anakin frowned playfully.
"Daddy! it's me, I'm seven now!" she replied excitedly as she clambered onto the bed.
"Well that can't be right...you were six yesterday...how does that work?...." he lifted his finger to his chin and squinted in thought. A faint smile at his lips attempting to give him away.
Everyone laughed as she jumped on top of us, sandwiching herself snugly in between us. "Honestly daddy" she crossed her arms and tilted her head, attempting to raise a disapproving eyebrow. A look she got from me.
"So what do you want to do today birthday girl?" I asked, running my thumbs over the apples of her cheeks.
"Umm...beach! would you want to come to the beach with me?" her round doe eyes blinked up at us.
"of course baby" I replied, looking over to Anakin who nodded.
"And...and can Kai come too?"
Anakin and I shared a glance and a smile "yes, we'll go by their house and pick him up on the way there"
"yay! thankyouthankyouthankyou I'll go get ready now" she bolted up excitedly and started to scooch away.
"Oh no you don't" Anakin grinned menacingly. His hands flew under her arms and he threw her back onto the puffy mattress, she exploded in a burst of giggles as he tickled her mercilessly
"STOP! NO! AHHH" she screamed.
I chuckled at the sight but what made me burst out in hysteria and pride was when only moments later, it was Destiny who had Anakin at her mercy. She pinched onto his ear, cackling in triumph.
"And what do we say now?" I grinned expectantly.
"Surrender or perish, Skywalker" she recollected what I had taught her the other day for when Anakin ever tried to attacked her with tickles.
"I will get my revenge. You two will rue the day you-" she tugged on his ear "ow! okay okay I surrender" he gave in with a grin "You're turning into you're mum, you know that?" Anakin stroked her caramel hair.
"And is that a bad thing?" I raised my eyebrow as the corner of my lips tugged upwards.
"I haven't decided yet. I can barely handle one of you, not sure I signed up for two" he joked, crossing his arms over destiny and looking away with a smirk.
"Oh honey, it's too late to back out now, you're stuck with us, whether you signed up for it not. Apologies"
"Eh, I guess I can try and manage" he loosed an exaggerated heavy breath "maybe a few kisses from mummy can help ease the struggle"
"EWWW" destiny recoiled with a giggle.
"In fact..." he puckered his lips, leaning in for a kiss as Destiny screamed underneath us, wriggling away.
I laughed into his lips as Destiny scurried out the room, muttering about how disgusting we were.
"Right, we will swing round to pick up Kai and then to the beach. I hope you're prepared Skywalker" I hopped out of bed and started for the dresser "I haven't forgotten about the last time we went swimming" I shook my head, remembering the time we went swimming a few weeks ago.
"You were asking for it"
"I was not asking to be nearly drowned!"
"You are so dramatic. You did not nearly drown." he replied, the smirk evident in his voice as I felt his eyes watching me change.
I turned as I clipped on the bikini top that hung as a halter neck. It was almost white but the faint purple undertones shone through from where I stood in the slither of light creeping through the open gap in the drapes.
Anakin had stretched out on the bed, head propped under his folded arms, biceps glistening with morning heat. His eyes scanned over me with a suggestive glint.
"Don't look at me like that"
"Like what my dear?"
"Like you want me to take this straight back off again" I moved my arm in a sweeping motion, referring to the outfit.
"I mean...I wouldn't object. I do love that bikini though, especially the way it makes your as-"
"Ready!" a face smeared with enough sun cream to shield from the sun if it was two inches from her face peeked round the corner
"Oh...honey...you got a little-" I pointed to her noise where a splodge of cream was threatening to drip off her face "oh, just come here you" I snickered.
I bent down, grabbing at her dimpled cheeks and taking some of the sun cream and rubbing it onto my own face whilst she giggled with glee.
"Anakin, come over here" I commanded without looking over at where he still lay on the bed, watching us. moments later his footsteps padded over to where we were gathered in the middle of the room.
"what-" he started, but I plastered more of the leftover cream onto his face before he could finish.
Laughter burst out through the room as a full-blown sun cream fight broke out.
I have to say, it was the most intense battle since Palpatine decided to create an empire.
I couldn't tell you how but by the time the white flags were waved, Destiny was clambering on Anakin's shoulders as his arms were gripped round my waist locking me in as he tried to nuzzle his sun cream drenched nose into my face.
"Who's surrendering now huh?" Anakin retorted as I tried to squirm out of his grasp, causing Destiny's laughs to only intensify as I failed.
"FINE. ME. I surrender! let me go!"
"Never" he whispered into my ear.
"What so you're just going to carry me to the beach like this then?"
"Hmm...what do you say sweetie, carry mummy to the beach and throw her in the sea?"
"Surrender or perish, Skywalker!" she squeaked at me.
I gasped dramatically "that line was meant for daddy, not me! who would have thought my own daughter would be the one to betray me"
"What can we say sweetheart, Destiny's loyalties have always been with her dad, it was foolish of you to assume otherwise"
"Ahh, I guess I'll keep her birthday cake all to myself then"
In an instant, Destiny had scrambled off Anakin and untangled his arms from around my waist. She dug her bare feet into the carpet and stood between Anakin and I, puffing out her chest and attempting to put on a fierce look whilst holding out a protective arm in front of me but she was only really tall enough to maybe protect my legs.
"Okay. Mummy wins." she proclaimed.
Anakin crossed his arms, peering down at his daughter with pride before his eyes flicked up and met my gaze with an amused glimmer.
"No Skywalker, I think you'll find our baby's loyalty lies with cake"
Around thirty minutes later, Destiny was up on her tiptoes, reaching for the big round knocker that accompanied the mahogany, white painted front door of the Kenobi's residence.
After a few failed wiggles of her fingers, Anakin lifted her up by under her arms so she could reach.
I took a step back, surveying the pale blue wisteria that crept up the light, brick front of their cottage, twisting and turning in brilliant display for all to admire.
Four sets of expansive, open windows spanned the front of their home. Obi-Wan had never been one for blocking out the light.
Before I had more time to revel in the beauty of their cottage, a slender, tall woman with a soft smile spread across her pink lips matching her sharp, rose dusted cheeks, opened the door. Half of her fair, blonde hair was clipped back, the rest hung loose just below her shoulders.
"Satine! it's great see you" I exclaimed, stepping forward and bringing her into a hug before Anakin and Destiny exchanged their greetings.
Obi-Wan and Satine had married not long after the fall of the empire. Once the conflict between worlds died, old relationships seemingly started to thrive once again.
I had met Satine a handful of times during the war with the empire during missions to her home planet of Mandalore, but only a few years ago, when our long awaited move to Naboo arrived did I really get to know her.
And now, after many nights of talking over a glass of some fruity concoction Obi-wan loved to create, I could truly say she had grown to become one of my closest friends.
Padme had known and loved her too, it was nice to share that with her
I could only imagine what mischief the three of us would get up to if padme was with us. But sometimes, just my imagination and memories of my old friend was enough to keep me smiling.
"Kai has been jumping off the walls since we told him he's going to the beach with Destiny today. He does so love that girl you know."
A burst of pink flushed onto the cheeks of the little girl holding onto her daddy's hand beside me.
And with perfect timing, a boy came hurtling through the doorway and jumped straight onto Destiny, enveloping her into one of his great big hugs. His hair was scruffy and a silver blonde like his mothers. His sun-kissed skin, lush green eyes and sweet smile were the mirror image of his father. Though he was one of the lively kids I had ever come across, he carried Obi-wan's goodness in his heart at all times.
Destiny and Kai were inseparable.
She was only a year or so older but from the first time they met just as little babies, they were already giggling and latching onto each others hands as they would do very often now, like it was their little comforting act to reassure the other they were there. Much like Anakin and I would do.
A familiar voice sounded from beside Satine. I lifted from my head from the bundles of joy that were still hugging onto each other to see Obi-wan standing in the doorway, one arm around his wife's shoulders and the same smile his son wore spread onto his face.
"You all have fun today. Happy birthday Destiny darling. Bring him back whenever he starts to get too annoying" Obi-Wan winked up at me.
"You sure you don't want to come with us?" Anakin inquired.
"Oh no that's quite alright, we could do with the peace and quiet for a while" Obi-Wan laughed, causing a snicker from the rest of the adults as Kai was blissfully unaware, too busy trying to tickle Destiny into fits of giggles.
"Alright then, we'll see you later. Bye you two" I smiled, taking one last look at Satine and then at Obi-wan, who had finally got his well-deserved happy ending.
Anakin ushered the kids in front of us as we headed towards the beach, keeping one eye on them as he moved to walk alongside me.
He brushed his hand against mine before taking it and slotting our fingers together where they belonged, drifting his thumb in featherlight movements up and down my skin.
I sighed with a smile and rested my head against his shoulder as we ambled on the sanded pavement.
Flourishing orange-blushed meiloorun fruit trees grew on either side of the pavement as far as the eye could see. Their leaves cast shadows at our feet but weren't quite being able to reach at where the morning sun beat down, warming our faces.
The kids ran over and around the coiling branches, playing a game where they were pretending to be characters from some other alternate universe that they loved to fantasise about.
Destiny would sit in bed at night and spill all of her thoughts into words, dreaming about how she hoped there was another civilisation out in the big wide universe, far away from our own galaxy, where other people lived their own wonderfully complicated lives, completely oblivious of us just as we were completely oblivious of them.
I however all thought it was a bunch of nonsense. But I wasn't going to tell her that.
"I wish we'd met when we were that young" I uttered, admiring Destiny and Kai.
Anakin's fingers locked around me chin and he tilted my head up to look at him. He observed me, giving me a puzzled look and one corner of his mouth tilted up, inviting me to go on.
"I mean, if we had just met when we were young and innocent kids and made each other as happy as those two do, then maybe all of the shitty stuff that happened instead could have been avoided. we would have had each other at the very beginning" I explained, looking back out to the walk ahead.
When he didn't respond for a matter of time, I slid my eyes back to him, wondering if maybe he hadn't heard me properly.
He had been looking at me the whole time though, a thoughtful look on his face.
"I disagree" he finally replied.
"Oh. You do?"
He nodded. The sun caught and swirled in his eyes just at that moment, setting alight a roaring blue flame dancing in his irises.
"I think the universe actually planned it all pretty perfectly. We were both looking for something, we were both desperate really, desperate just to fill that dark void that we were trying to deny was even there. And granted, we may not have been looking for love, but we sure as hell found it" his hand slipped to the back of my head and he pressed a kiss to my forehead, inhaling the scent of my fruity shampoo. "Yes, maybe we could have had each other all along as friends, but instead we got to save each other as something so much more"
I studied him for a few moments, searching his face to wait for him to start laughing or tell me he was just kidding but instead his sincere expression held strong "you have quite a way with words Skywalker"
"not...just words I hope?" he smirked
I crossed my arms and scrunched my face, trying to conceal my smile. "You...have quite a way with other things as well"
"And as do you my love" he pulled me into him, nipping at my ear and then moving his hand back so that it was interlaced with mine.
The beach was in sight now, the crystal blue sea already beckoning us towards it with gentle waves.
"Sand..." I heard Anakin mutter under his breath beside me which made me chuckle under my breath. Anakin didn't like sand.
Destiny was practically dragging Kai behind her in anticipation as her little legs started moving faster than the rest of her body could catch up.
When we reached the sandy paradise, we laid our things down in a fairly quiet area. The kids were already off, splashing around in the water as I stood in front of the towels looking out onto the happy scene.
I pulled off the sarong from around my waist, stretched my arms out above my head, tilting my face up into the suns beams and taking another peace-filled sigh.
Putting my hands on my hips I looked over my shoulder to catch Anakin laying on his towel propped up on his elbows with an entranced smirk dimpling at his cheeks as he stared at me once again but his eyes were not focused on my face.
"You okay there honey?" I asked knowingly.
"just peachy" he responded, his smirk growing even more. He put his hands behind his head and let his head fall back onto his towel.
"Umm what are you doing?"
"Dreaming about that ass of yours"
"Anakin! come on, come swim with me" I reached out my hand to him.
"But I'm having so much fun over here" his eyes were closed with a smile still painted over his face. His thoughts were clearly entertaining him.
An idea sprouted in my head, not my kindest idea, but he was practically asking for it.
I flicked some sand onto him with my foot and waited for his reaction.
"I can't believe you just did that" he kept his eyes shut, attempting to remain unbothered but the growl in his tone said otherwise.
I kicked more sand at him with a mischievous grin.
"Oh you're really asking for it now aren't you?" suddenly he was up, springing to his feet with an evil smile spreading on his lips "fine if you want to play dirty Mrs skywalker"
I squealed when he launched himself at me and I made a run for the water. I ran so fast my mind shot back to the last time I had exerted myself like this when we were fleeing from queen Celestina's castle years ago whilst being shot at. This was just about as terrifying as that.
Just as my foot made its first splash into the cold, blue shallow water, arms were curling round my waist and lifting me off the ground.
Anakin carried me with ease and no mater how much I kicked my legs and screamed with laughter in protest, he waded us further into the water until it was up to his hips. And then, with no regret he hurled me into the water.
One moment I was looking out onto the ocean, the next moment I was under it.
I re-emerged from the icy shock, gasping for breath as I pushed my now drenched hair out of my face. Anakin was in fits of laughter, hand on his stomach with his head thrown back as I tried to regain a bit of my dignity but failed miserably.
I frowned then shot for my revenge, leaping on top of him, I dragged him down into the water.
We plunged under together. If I was going down, he was coming with me.
When we resurfaced a few struggled seconds later, Anakin was gripping onto me with both my arms pinned to my sides so as to hold me in place. I looked at him confused at first until I saw his cheeks were puffed, filled with water, making aim and ready to shoot right at me.
And that's exactly what he did. The salty water sprayed all over my face as I shook my head from side to side, coughing and spluttering and trying to stay serious and annoyed.
"EW. You are disgusting!" I shouted.
"We've done worse sweetheart" he countered.
"Ugh, You are just..."
"incredibly handsome? the best husband anyone could ever ask for? definitely the favourite parent?"
"...So annoying. I was going to say so annoying" I crossed my arms over my chest, unable to hide the smile tugging at one side of my lips.
"Hey, you're the one who chose to fall in love with me" he held his hands up in defence, then looked over to check on destiny who was paddling in the shallow water with Kai and laughing with some of the other children she knew from school.
"Come here" Anakin commanded quietly, reaching out his hands and pulling me into him so that my back was pressed against his damp chest.
He smoothed my jair down and out of my face and then rested his chin on top of my head, his arms rested and crossed over my shoulders and I leaned back into him with a smile on my face.
Peace and bliss. Finally.
Destiny's POV
"You're parents are always so happy. I swear they're always laughing" Kai said out random when he looked over to her mum and dad.
Destiny followed his gaze. Her parents were swimming together and chatting.
Her mum was smiling at something her dad had said as they swum a lazy breaststroke, stopping every so often and treading water instead so as to splash each other or make some funny comment that Destiny didn't understand yet.
"Yeah. They're best friends" Destiny responded simply.
"Like us" Kai returned.
"Yeah. They are a lot like us. Except we don't kiss. My mummy and daddy kiss all the time. It's embarrassing" she exclaimed, making an exaggerated gagging sound to get her point across.
"It's cute. It's like in the stories I read. They're living their happily ever after" another girl, one of Destiny's friends who was a few years older and very imaginative spoke up.
Destiny wasn't one for stories of the prince and princesses. She didn't particularly care for the tale of happily ever after.
But now when she looked back at her parents, she smiled.
And she hoped that someday she'd have something like what her mummy and daddy did.
Because her mummy and daddy were the happiest people in the world.
(y/n)'s POV
Unsurprisingly, we were fighting again.
Every brutal splash crashing into each others face, each one bigger than the one before.
Flashbacks of the day Anakin proposed to me were attempting to break my focus. He had taken me to that secluded waterfall surrounded lagoon...I splashed him right in the face and he only returned the favour with a huge tsunami-like wave that almost buried me underwater.
"OK, YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET THAT" I screeched.
Using the force, I lifted a bucketful of water up into the air, let him observe it hovering above him for a second, then dropped it flat onto his face.
His expression filled with rage for only a second but then cracked into a smile as we burst out laughing. He chose to be the bigger man and didn't retaliate...now however, Anakin wasn't sticking to the same morals as seven years ago.
"Destiny?...come over here sweetie" Anakin called over to her after the water had settled.
My laughter grew when destiny paddled over "what are you going to do? use our daughter as a human shield? sorry honey, you can't escape me, I told you there would be payback" I proclaimed confidently, swirling the water with my fingers.
"No not a human shield...not exactly" he got that devilish look on his face, like he knew something I didn't.
Once destiny had reached him, she grappled at his arms for him to pick her up as the water was too deep for her. He hoisted her up and kept one arm steady at her legs so she could perch on his arm.
He lowered his head down and whispered something into her ear. She turned to face me and to my horror, gave me that same devilish look.
Oh gods.
"What-" I could barely begin questioning the evil duo's next moves because in the next moment, I was being lifted up off my feet in a ginormous wave.
Destiny's little, innocent hand was outstretched towards me mimicking the way the water wrapped around me and threw me around like I was a small shell from the ocean floor.
"PUT ME DOWN RIGHT-" the water crashed back down on top of me before I could finish my screaming as I plummeted underneath once again.
Everything stopped and I popped back up through the surface. The water was once again so calm that you would never have guessed the attempted murder that had just occurred.
My face fumed as I gasped for breath. Anakin and Destiny were also gasping but not because they felt like they had almost drowned, but because they couldn't get enough air in from all their laughing.
"How?- what?- when did you teach her how to do that?!" I choked.
"Our daughter has the most midi-chlorians in the entire galaxy. How could I not teach her a few things!" he replied when he finally caught his breath back "safe to say, I won that round" he said, looking extremely proud of himself.
Destiny held up a hand to him which he obliged with a high-five.
"You two are going to be the death of me"
"Great job sweetie" I heard Anakin coo into her ear before he let her swim back to her friends.
I tilted my head and crossed my arms over my chest, eyeing him from a few metres away.
"What? did you really expect any less?"
I rolled my eyes, and then looked down and watched how the aqua blue sea distorted my legs in its ripples before looking back up at Anakin to see once again he was already watching me carefully.
I finally let the smile at my lips break free and responded with an easy "No. No I didn't"
"And you still love me"
I sighed and headed back into his arms "I still love you"
The day progressed as quickly as the sea ran to the shore.
We spent lunch at Destiny's favourite little café on the beach-walk market. The old couple and their two children who ran it had handed out lovely smiles and an extra birthday dollop of ice cream for free.
As we walked back through the market to our base at the beach, I observed every little bundle of life bustling on around us. I waved at familiar faces who bartered their shell necklaces and homemade pastries.
I saw new faces too. People I'd never met who came up to me shaking my hand and praising me with thanks which I still got all flustered and nervous over. "You saved us" they would say "you rid the galaxy of the emperor" "thank you" they applauded. It still shocked me how seven years later people still came up to me on the street, hailing their gratitude.
Although, even seven years later, there would still be evenings where I replayed that night in my head. The day I killed him. The day lighting shot from my hands. The day I dropped to the dark side only to pull myself back up to the light minutes later.
It was a day...no...it was an entire twenty years of my life that wouldn't pass me by lightly and I would never forget. I had however, grown to accept them. Grown to accept myself. Darkness and all.
Anyway, when we walked, we bumped into an old friend who lived in the area.
Jar Jar Binks flapped his arms up in the air with frantic excitement when he spotted us through the pack of people and he came running, throwing Destiny into his arms in a bone crushing hug wailing "me am so smilin to see yousa! birthday girl" Destiny tugged the lekku on his head in greeting. "And kai, (y/n), Anakin how yousa!?"
"Hey Jar Jar" Anakin patted him on the back "we are all great"
"And what about you?" I added, curling my hand around Anakin's arm.
"Oh me am amazing, me was just headen to a celebration in gungan city, do da kids wanten to come with mesa? yousa two lovebirds can have some alone timen, me'll take caren of themsa"
A few hours alone with Anakin whilst the kids are off happy and having fun? I couldn't think of anything better.
Maybe in the old times I would be worried about leaving the kids alone, especially with the not-so-capable jar jar. But now, life was different.
We were safe. You could stay out at night watching the stars with no worry of monsters creeping up on you in the shadows. You could trust the people around you without the constant fear of someone stabbing you in the back.
Things here, and everywhere really were peaceful, and happy.
"Oh wow! that sounds great, what do you say kids, you want to go to with Jar Jar?"
They both nodded with eager, lit up faces and hugged us goodbye before heading off with Jar Jar "me will bring themsa backen home in a litta while me promisen!" he called back over his shoulder.
(Play the song "I hear a symphony" by Cody Fry, I've tried to time it perfectly right)
Anakin and I had tuned to each other then with grins on our faces, considering each other from a distance until it became too unbearable not to leave kisses all over his face.
We decided to stay on the beach for the afternoon, to stay there and watch the sun go down.
And so now we lay, shoulder to shoulder, propped up on our elbows, laughing and chatting over everything and anything. Sharing a box of sweet, fresh chocolate-covered strawberries we picked up from the market.
The view of the sunset was unbeatable. Everything about Naboo was unbeatable but this view, was one in a million.
Anakin's POV
The view of the sunset was unbeatable. Yes. Everything about Naboo was unbeatable, but the only view I had my eyes on right now, was her. Now that was one in a million.
(y/n)'s POV
It had fallen quiet between us as I stopped to listen to the oceans gentle melody and watch the sun makes its colourful descent. I took deep, serene breaths, letting the cool, salty air invade my senses.
A sweet caramel light glinted off the sea, like thousands of shards of glowing glass had been smashed and strewn across its surface as they shimmered with each gentle ripple and wave. A path of golden light travelled a long journey across the sea until it met the horizon and said its goodbyes to the sun that was beginning to dip under the ocean and let the moon have its time to shine.
"I love watching the sunset" I exhaled happily.
"I know you do" Anakin's hand travelled up my cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear whilst he continued to send gentle strokes of his thumb up and down my freshly freckled cheek.
"I used to come watch the sunset with my mum when I was a kid" I ran the sand through my fingers "we came to this exact beach actually" I looked around "maybe this exact same spot" I wondered.
"I bet she was a great mum"
"She was. I don't remember much about her but coming here with her, that I do. It was when we could just...pretend like the rest of the world didn't exist, it was our own little world"
Anakin nodded, I drifted my eyes back to him, he was watching me. Listening intently like he always did.
"After we swam she would wait until we had dried off in the sun and then drag me and my sister right back into the water, just to feel that rush of electricity, you know when the cold water first hits you. It's...it's a nice memory, one I don't mind not forgetting"
Anakin stayed quiet, maybe he wasn't sure what to say after I shared so much. I wasn't really sure what to say either.
It had been a while since I let myself think so far back into my past. I continued looking out onto the purple painted sky until his comforting voice sounded from beside me once again.
I heard him shuffle and move. Turning my head to look at him, he was starting to get up. "Take my hand"
"What?" I laughed, confused.
"Baby, take my hand right now"
I did. grasping onto his outstretched hand as he quickly pulled me up onto my feet.
And then he was pulling me with him and we were running, our feet spraying sand behind us and our laughter following as he hurried me to sea.
The waves had picked up with the wind, coming more frequently as the white horses that led them made their race to the shore.
Everything else was a blur, the only steady thing being the hand that gripped onto mine. It was like that until the first moment my feet met the shock of the cold water and everything fell back into the place.
I yelped at the shock as we persisted on, throwing up fountains of water with every step we dashed deeper.
I gasped when the water slid up to my waist but Anakin's hands replaced the icy sensation with a warm one, as his arms glided round me.
I gripped onto his shoulders, throwing my head back in elation as water sprayed over my face in tender showers from the crash of the waves.
"I wish we could live like this everyday!" I called out over the noise.
"We can and we will"
"Forever okay? you promise to live like this with me forever?"
"Forever sweetheart"
The sun said goodnight to its lover, the moon and pulled the covers of the ocean over its head for the night and drifted off to a peaceful sleep.
I jumped up and wrapped my legs around Anakin's waist just as he moved his grip to hold onto me from underneath.
And then he kissed me.
And I kissed him.
And we kissed to the promise of forever.
(a/n)
one more chapter to go my friends. I love you so much, thank you all for being so patient with me. My heart is happy :)