Chapter Text
She was thrumming with anticipation. Obi-Wan had just spotted the moisture farm in the distance, and Padmé craned her neck over his shoulder, drinking in the homestead.
They slowed to a halt and climbed off the speeder.
“Remember, I’m Uncle Ben, and you’re Aunt Aminé,” he said.
The lights were on ahead, and Padmé stopped short.
“What’s the matter?”
“I…” she trailed off.
“The Force is with you. And with this little rascal, you’ll need it.” He flashed her a genuine smile and approached the door. He spoke his alias into a receiver, then waited until the door slid open.
“Ben, welcome. And… Aminé? It has been quite some time.”
Beru looked older and plumper than she had before. Trailing around her legs was a small, dark-haired child. “Hi Uncle Ben. Is that your wife? She got sunburn,” the child asserted.
“Leia. This is Pa— Aminé, your aunt, well, Uncle Ben’s, uh…”
“—Ami. Call her Ami,” Obi-Wan cut in.
“You’re all dusty. Sillybilly.”
“Hi, Leia,” Padmé smiled shakily, feeling dizzy and not-entirely-present.
“Hi, Mom-miné—“
“Ami,” Obi-Wan corrected. Padmé felt as though her heart was falling down a set of steps: sometimes pounding, sometimes still. Full of fits and starts.
“You know Uncle Ben too? He’s really old. And boring. But he’s my friend, and if you can’t say something kind then you shouldn’t speak at all,” Leia recited.
“Did your Aunt Beru teach you that? That’s very wise,” Padmé said. She knelt down in the Lars doorway, letting precious cooled air out into the desert as she took her first real look at her daughter.
“No, I just knowed it already,” Leia heaved a long-suffering sigh. “That’s why I don’t tell Uncle Ben that he’s really old and boring and I’m gonna put him in jail.”
“Why you little—“ Obi-Wan swooped in and carried a shrieking Leia high in the air, leaving the entrance open for Padmé to step into. She watched in a daze as the three descended into the main living space.
Owen walked up the steps to her. “It’s Ami now, is it?”
“Yes… Is she— I—“
“You’re not gonna get to know her standing in the door, letting all my cold air out. We can discuss her future later. For now, get to know her.”
Padmé took her first hesitating steps inside.
After a small meal of grain and bantha milk porridge, they sprawled around the living room.
Padmé sat on the woven rug, clapping and cooing while Leia displayed her newest tunic, her newest dance, and her newest “trick” (which appeared to be an attempt at a cartwheel).
“She rarely gets the chance to show off,” Beru smiled.
“Hey! I’m not a show-off!” Leia yelled back.
“No, honey, I didn’t say you were—“
“No, you did! You said show-off!”
“Sometimes,” Padmé interrupted, “Words that sound the same have different meanings. Like 'brake' and 'break'. One means to slow down a ship, another means something is broken. It’s like that.”
“Oh.” Leia immediately lost her steam and began playing with Padmé’s hair. She felt tears welling up, and she wasn’t sure what to do with her hands, and all she could focus on was her precious daughter, right in front of her.
She squeezed her fingers into her thighs, resisting the urge to hold her in the tightest of hugs. Leia didn’t know her yet. She wouldn’t understand why this strange woman was embracing her so strongly.
And unfortunately, Padmé was reaching her limit.
She thanked the Force when Obi-Wan stepped in. “Little Leia, Auntie Beru says it’s time for bed.”
Immediately there were protests.
Padmé slipped outside to escape from the ensuing chaos. The dust had settled, the stars were clear. She sank down onto the steps and breathed slowly, carefully. She was there for nearly twenty standard minutes, until the door slid open to allow Beru to exit.
“There you are.”
“I was just so… I’m so overwhelmed.”
“She is a handful,” Beru admitted.
“No— well, yes, she is, but that’s not what I mean. I just want to take her away with me, but at the same time… I don’t know her whatsoever. I feel guilty for missing it all.”
Beru looked hesitant. “Well, Mr. Kenobi over there said that we wouldn’t need to give her up. Not for many years.”
“I hadn’t thought… I don’t mean to take her from you so soon. And… she should be able to choose. One day. Whatever she prefers. But Ob— Ben is right. That won’t be for a long time to come. I just thought… Do you know what happened to Anakin?”
“Yes. Darth Vader. Ben told us.”
“Sometimes I wish… well, it doesn’t matter now.”
They both looked out at the stars above.