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ANAKIN AND PADME WENT TO TALK TO THE QUEEN OF NABOO WHILE ASTRID SPOKE TO HER MOTHER OVER THE HOLONET. Like every other talk with her, Astrid ended the call mentally exhausted and drained. Something about speaking to her mother sucked something for the girl's good spirit. It was always work, almost never motherly talk.
The trio reunite and make their way to Padme's home. It had been a while since Astrid had seen their family, she was looking forward to it–they were like the family she wished she had. They were all so kind and friendly to each other, and rarely talked about work.
People pass through the little street, old men are sunning themselves, women chatting amongst each other, kids playing–it was all so lively. The cobblestone path filled with laughter and friendly chatter.
Finally arriving at the house, Padme was beaming, glowing in joy. It had been a while since she had felt like forever since she talked to her family. "There's my house," Padme starts forward, Astrid following her.
The Apollonian slows down, however, when she notices Anakin hanging back, "Ani?" A small grin grows on her face when she sees the way he fiddled with the sleeve of his Jedi robe, "Are you feeling shy? The Anakin Skywalker is shy?"
"What? No!" Anakin untruthfully says, a small playful smile forming on his lips, "don't make fun of me."
"I promise they're the kindest people I've ever met," Astrid reassures, walking back to the padawan and looping their arms together, "plus, I'll be by your side the entire time."
Anakin smiles, his blue eyes shining with a strong emotion that Astrid couldn't quite put a finger on, "I guess you're right." The way Astrid spoke had calmed down his nerves slightly, though they didn't fully get away. The truth was that Anakin wasn't really sure how to interact with the family. Being born and raised in Tatooine, the way his family and Padme's family interacted was extremely different.
Astrid led the tall boy to the Naberrie house, where Padme was hugging two little girls. They were her nieces, daughters of Sola. They turn their attention to Astrid, their glimmering brown eyes lighting up. "Aunty Ash!" they called out as Astrid unloops her arm from Anakin and crouches down.
The black-haired girl scoops up both girls into her arms with a bright smile, "Ryoo! Pooja!" The girls giggled into Astrid's shoulder, where they had buried their faces. "Force, you guys have grown up," the Apollonian pulls back to see the girls' faces.
Anakin smiled fondly at their interaction. The way her eyes sparkled when talking to them, the way her nose scrunched when she complimented them, the way her smile on her face looked like it would never falter–it made him rethink his view on having children. Padme notices the awestruck smile glued to Anakin's face and grins, her ship was going to sail.
The girls move onto Artoo, who whistles and beeps in excitement. The older Naberrie, Pagonia, and Skywalker walk into the house. Noticing the tension on Anakin's shoulder, Astrid links their arms together once again to show him that she is right by his side. A bright smile grows on his lips, and he nods as a thanks.
When they entered the kitchen, they could see Sola, Padme's gorgeous older sister, placing a big bowl of fruits on the table where her father, Ruwee Naberrie sat. Sola squeals with a large smile, tackling both girls into a hug, "Padme! Ash! You guys are late, mom was worried."
"Sola, it's been too long," Astrid chuckles, hugging back the woman she would consider her older sister. She pulls back and turns to Ruwee, "Ruwee!" The Apollonian envelopes the older man into a tight hug. Being best friends with her father, Astrid had grown very close to him and his family.
"Hi, sweetheart," Ruwee hugs back, a coarse laugh vibrating through his chest, "how have you been?"
"Amazing," Astrid flashes a toothy grin, her dimples coming to display. The girl glances back at Anakin, who stood in the room awkwardly. "Anakin," the girl gathers his attention, "this is Ruwee, Padme's dad, and that is Sola, Padme's sister."
The two Naberries greet him with warm smiles, easing Anakin's nerves. He nods, "Hello." Just then, Jobal Naberrie walks in with a heaped bowl of mouth-watering food. The aroma earned a growl from Astrid's stomach–force, she was hungry.
"This is my mother," Padme introduces.
"You're just in time for dinner," Jobal says, placing the food on the table, "I hope you're hungry, Anakin. I know these two girls always are."
The girls let out an offended sound as Anakin replies, "A little."
"He's being polite, Mom," Padme takes a seat next to Sola, "we're starving."
Astrid takes a seat next to Ruwee and Anakin. They start passing around the delicious food. Astrid could tell that Anakin had become a little more comfortable with the family, which made her happy.
"Honey, it's so good to see you safe, we were so worried," Jobal exclaims. Padme gives her mother a dirty look, annoyed to have to talk about the assassination attempts. Clearly, they didn't know that Astrid could also be under threat, and the black-haired girl intended it to stay that way.
Ruwee smiles at his wife's worry and daughter's annoyance, "Dear..."
"I know, I know," Jobal sighs, "but I had to say it. Now it's done."
"Well, this is exciting!" Sola grins mischievously, after whispering something into Padme's ear, who then also smirks smugly. Astrid knew they were about to pull something, her eyes narrowing on them. "Do you know, Anakin, you're the first boyfriend that Ash has ever brought here?"
"Oh my Force," Astrid's cheek warmed up, pinprickling with heat, "Sola, he's not my boyfriend," she wished he was though. A thought pops into her head as revenge on Padme. Astrid could help the smirk growing on her face, "he's the Jedi assigned by the Senate to protect Padme."
"A bodyguard!" Jobal exclaims, his head swiveling to his daughter. Astrid sends a wink to Padme who glares at her, dumbfounded by what the Apollonian had just told them. Anakin watches this all amused at the interaction between the family, though he wished he was Astrid's boyfriend. "Oh, Padme! They didn't tell us it was that serious!"
Padme glances at her mom, "It's not, mom, I promise." She glares at Astrid, "Ash was also a possible victim of the assassin that's why she's here too."
"Hey!" Astrid pouts, "That is not true. I was already a few feet from the cruiser before it blew up. You were right there!"
"Blew up?" Sola looks bewildered, glancing at her parents.
"Guys!" Padme says, kicking Astrid from under the table who hisses at the assault, "We're not in danger."
"Yeah, what she said," Astrid nods, taking a bite of her food so she doesn't have to talk about the attacks anymore.
However, the Naberries didn't believe the girls so they turned to the one person who they knew wouldn't lie, Anakin. Ruwee asks, "are they?"
"Yes," Anakin says, making Astrid and Padme slump in their seats, "I'm afraid they are."
"Traitor," Astrid playfully scoffs, a teasing smile lifting the edges of her lips.
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