Chapter Text
Anakin scowled down at the mashed potatoes as he shoved them in the oven next to the asparagus. This dinner was a lot of effort for people he wasn’t exactly looking forward to seeing. The kids would be arriving any minute with their boyfriends, a term which Leia had begrudgingly admitted now could be applied to Solo. Luke’s boyfriend was also bringing his son, who Anakin supposed would be pretty cute, so maybe that was something to look forward to. Anakin had asked if he should make something else for the kid, but Luke had assured him the baby would eat anything and everything.
His gaze didn’t leave the oven as he heard Padmé’s soft footsteps approaching. His wife inserted herself in the space between him and the oven, forcing him to look at her. “Stop sulking.”
Anakin gave her his best pout, to which Padmé just smiled indulgently and gave him a quick kiss. “The table is set, the food is in the oven, and the kids will be here soon, so the only thing left to do is get you in a sociable mood.”
“You’re getting me in some type of mood,” Anakin grinned, grabbing her hips to pull her closer.
Padmé rolled her eyes fondly, giving him a playful slap on his shoulder. “You’re incorrigible.”
Anakin pressed his face into her hair, the smell of her lavender shampoo briefly winning out over the roast in the crockpot. “Let’s just cancel.”
“Ani, this is important. These men are big parts of the kids’ lives, and we should be making an effort with them.”
Anakin just nodded. The twins had barely been home the past week, just coming back for a few hours or a night here and there, and Anakin would be lying if he said that wasn’t making him nervous. He and Padmé had encouraged them to live at home during college. They could have paid for the cost of the dorm, but they lived close enough to the school Luke and Leia had chosen, and he accompanied Padmé on enough business trips that they would have been constantly asking them to housesit anyway. With the exception of a couple trips to summer camp years ago, Anakind had never really been at home without the twins for so long.
At least with the twins living at home, whenever he was gone with Padmé, he could rest assured that he probably knew where his children were and that all their needs were being met. When they were out with friends or partners, Anakin had no way of knowing that for sure. It wasn’t that he thought the twins’ partners wouldn’t take care of them, exactly, though if that was the case, there would be hell to pay. It was more that taking care of them had always been Anakin’s job, and he didn’t know if he was ready to give that up just yet.
But maybe that wasn’t up to him. The realization broke his heart a little bit, but the twins were grown up and ready for more independence. They probably had been for a while. And if Anakin didn’t approve of what they were doing with their newfound independence, it didn’t really matter, did it? He didn’t need to approve of their boyfriends, he would just have to deal with the fact that his kids didn’t need him anymore.
He was broken out of his rather depressing thoughts as a familiar old pickup truck pulled into the driveway. Padmé squeezed Anakin’s forearms gently. “Ready?”
He nodded silently, looking out the kitchen window as Leia climbed down from the truck.
“Are you going to behave?” Padmé asked skeptically.
Anakin huffed, rolling his eyes. “If I say yes, do I get dessert?”
“If you say yes, you get to sleep in our bed tonight instead of in the guest room,” Padmé shot back. Shooting a quick glance out the window to make sure Han and Leia were still far enough down the driveway, she leaned up close to his ear. “And if you actually behave, maybe we can get you back in that mood from earlier.”
With that, she went to open the door, and Anakin grinned after her in spite of himself. If there was one thing in the world he didn’t want, it was for his kids to grow to resent him. If that meant being on his best behavior while his children introduced their much older boyfriends, then that’s what he would have to do.
—
Twenty minutes later, Anakin was already finding his resolve weakening. First of all, Luke had walked in comfortably holding a baby, which was something Anakin hadn’t really thought was a possibility for several more years. Although, when the twins were born, he wasn’t much older than they were now, and wasn’t that a terrifying thought?
Solo wouldn’t stop looking at him out of the corner of his eye, like he was afraid Anakin might lunge at him when his back was turned. A healthy and reasonable fear, in Anakin’s opinion. However, Solo being so on edge meant Leia was glaring at him every couple seconds. Anakin wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to do, though, it’s not like he had actually lunged at his daughter’s boyfriend. This time, at least.
The twins had been smart enough, and kind enough, to place themselves on either side of Anakin where he sat at one end of the table. Padmé, on the other end, was bracketed by the boyfriends, and she was handling it with the same grace she handled everything else. The kid was placed between Din and Luke, naturally, and was enviably ignorant to the tension surrounding him.
Somehow, in all the drama surrounding Leia, Anakin hadn’t given much thought to Luke’s partner. Din was pretty much Luke’s exact type: taller but not towering, dark hair, mustache. Anakin had to admit, Din’s adherence to Luke’s general type rang some alarm bells in his head. After all, it had never worked in his son’s favor before. Luke had also, as far as Anakin knew, never dated a single father before. As he watched Luke interact with Din and Grogu, though, it was clear his son fit into their dynamic very well. Grogu was looking to Luke for attention just as much as he looked to his father, and Luke attentively gave the boy whatever reassurance or reaction he was looking for.
Anakin couldn’t ignore the way Din was looking at Luke, either. It was somewhere between fondness and adoration, maybe both at once, and the two seemed to smile inadvertently any time they locked eyes. It was honestly extremely heartwarming, and Anakin was having a somewhat difficult time reconciling that.
Anakin and Leia had always been close, with Leia getting her appearance exclusively from her mother and her personality almost exclusively from him. Luke, though, was physically more similar to Anakin and much more like his mother in terms of his demeanor. He was gentler than Anakin had ever been, and he had clung to Anakin as a child, needing a little extra reassurance and support. And as much as Anakin wanted his little boy to develop a strong sense of self worth and confidence, he honestly loved how much Luke needed him, loved providing that security for his child.
In that way, Luke choosing to be with someone so much older and not telling Anakin about it was even more upsetting than Leia doing the same thing. Especially with the man having a child of his own, it was almost like Luke had gone and found a whole new family.
Anakin stabbed at his roast harshly, finding himself glaring down at his plate intently.
“Um, the food is really good, Mr. Skywalker.”
Anakin’s head shot up at the sound of Han’s voice, and he cringed. “Why did you call me that?”
Solo looked like a deer in the headlights. “Uh…”
“Ani,” Padmé warned, giving him a look across the table.
Anakin winced. He supposed Solo had been trying to be respectful, as odd as it seemed coming from him. “You can just call me Anakin. Thanks.”
Solo nodded jerkily and tucked back into his food. Anakin went to do the same, but Padmé was still looking at him dangerously. Anakin gave her a bewildered shake of his head, confused, and she mouthed for him to say something.
Anakin looked between the two men at his table, scrambling for something to talk about. “Solo, how’s the Falcon?”
Han almost choked on his mashed potatoes at the sudden attention and quickly took a sip of wine to collect himself. “Uh, she’s doing better. Leia actually got her up and running a few days ago, and she’s been going strong ever since.”
“Strong isn’t necessarily the word I would use,” Leia quipped lightly.
Han looked over at her, wary yet clearly amused. “Oh yeah? What word would you use?”
“I think a phrase would be more appropriate. Maybe more like, she’s barely clinging on to life.”
“Hey, now, watch how you’re talking about her. Not very polite,” Han chided, but he was grinning.
“And you’re the authority on polite conversation, clearly,” Leia grinned back.
Anakin watched the little exchange with a sinking feeling in his gut. Solo actually liked Leia. A lot, if the way he allowed her to trash the Falcon was any indication. Of course, he would have been upset if Han was just stringing Leia along, but there also would have been a sense of vindication. This just felt like he was losing both his children before his eyes.
Before the emotions tied to that feeling could catch up with him, Anakin stood up, hastily excusing himself and escaping upstairs ahead of the calls of his wife.
He entered their bathroom and started the tap, splashing cold water against his face. He gripped the edge of the counter with white knuckles and stared himself down in the mirror. He heard footsteps entering the bedroom and closed his eyes. “Angel, I’m fine, I just need a minute.” His voice was shakier than he would’ve liked.
“It’s us,” Luke said softly.
Anakin looked up to see his children standing in the doorway, concern written all over their faces. “You didn’t have to come up here,” he began.
“Mom tried to follow you. We told her we wanted to come instead,” Leia replied, leaning against the doorframe.
Anakin blinked back the moisture in his eyes. “Well, I appreciate it, but I’m fine.”
“Dad, seriously, what’s wrong? You were watching Din and I like a hawk the whole time, and then you started brutalizing your food.” Luke stepped further into the bathroom, hopping up to sit on the counter.
Anakin looked at each of the twins for a long moment before sighing heavily. “You’re happy, both of you.” It wasn’t a question, and Luke and Leia looked at each other in clear confusion.
“And that’s what you’re upset about?” Leia asked slowly.
“No. Of course, I want you to be happy. I just,” he stopped, clearing his throat. “I guess I just wasn’t ready for you two to be so grown up.”
The twins blinked at him in surprise. “Dad, I don’t think either of us are planning on moving out soon, at least not until we’re done with school,” Luke assured him.
Anakin smiled. Or, he tried to, it probably came out as more of a grimace. “That’s nice. It doesn’t mean you’re not grown up. Or that I’m ready to deal with the fact that you’re not my babies anymore.”
Leia huffed. “Don’t make us say it, Dad.” Anakin raised a brow and Leia rolled her eyes. “We’ll always be your babies, and all that other corny stuff. Just because we’re having adult relationships doesn’t mean we’re not still your kids.” Luke nodded along.
Anakin laughed. “I know you will always legally and biologically be my children, and I’ll certainly always think of you as my babies, but there’s a new dynamic with you two forming close relationships with people outside of our family. I’m not trying to sound like I want you to just stay inside our little bubble forever, but really, that’s exactly what some part of me wants.”
Both twins opened their mouths to respond, but Anakin held up his hand. “Let me finish first, I think I just need to get it all out. When you were little, I spent every single day caring for you and thinking about how to care for you better. You were my little shadows, and I was so, so proud of every single thing you two did. I still am. Being your dad is the single most fulfilling thing I have ever done, and it’s because you two needed me. You incredible, smart, perfect little people needed me to take care of you, and I loved doing that. And now that you’re all grown up, you don’t need me anymore. Not like that, at least.”
He paused, exhaling and looking at the twins’ uncertain faces. “I’m not saying that to make you feel guilty for growing up. I’m so beyond glad that you two have grown into strong, independent people who don’t need to rely on me for every little thing. I brag about you guys to everyone I know, and I am so thankful that I got to be the one to raise you and watch you grow into the people you’ve become. I don’t want you to need me forever because I’m not going to be here forever. The very least I could want for you is for you both to find people that will care about you as much as I do, and judging by how those two looked at you both downstairs, I think you have. But there is this part of me that so fiercely claims you as mine, and it tells me to just grab onto you and never let go. Downstairs, though, I saw that you’re already on your way. Both of you. You have people to rely on now that aren’t me or your mom or your aunts and uncles, and that’s a good thing, but part of me is always going to have a hard time with that.”
Luke and Leia slowly turned to look at each other, and Anakin began to panic. “Look, I don’t know if that made any sense, and I’m not trying to be creepy or controlling, more than anything I just want you two to be happy-”
He was abruptly cut off by the twins hugging him from both sides, squeezing like their lives depended on it. “Did you sleep last night, Dad?” Luke asked in a much more humorous tone than Anakin would have expected.
“Yes, why?”
“You’re having this whole existential crisis about this, and it really seems like you’re blowing it out of proportion a bit.”
“Or at least getting a little ahead of yourself,” Leia added. “Dad, we’re in serious relationships. That’s literally the only thing changing right now. We might be gone a little more often, and we might not depend on you as much as we used to, but honestly, now that you’re going on all mom’s trips with her, that’s kind of how it’s been the last couple years, anyway. We’re not moving out, we’re not replacing you or Mom.”
“We’re really lucky to have you as our dad, and we know that,” Luke mumbled into Anakin’s shoulder. “You were our best friend, and that’s never gonna change, no matter how many more friends we make.”
“We’re always going to need you, Dad, just in different ways,” Leia agreed, tucking herself into Anakin’s side like she’d done since she was in preschool.
Anakin sniffed a little, looking down at the tops of his children’s heads. One thing he had always secretly been happy about was that they got their height from their mother. His genes had made a valiant effort with Luke, but only managed to make him about the average between the heights of his parents. It made them very good sizes to hold in his arms, and for just a moment, he could pretend they were still little.
“Where did I go right that you two ended up like this?” he mused fondly.
“That was all Mom,” Leia replied without missing a beat, causing Luke to giggle and Anakin to laugh loudly.
“Can’t argue with that. Speaking of your mother, we left her all alone with your scoundrels downstairs. I suppose we better go rescue her.” He started moving toward the door, not relinquishing his hold on the twins.
“Rescue them, you mean,” Leia laughed, squirming against her father’s arm.
Anakin laughed again, “Stop trying to get away, I just want to hold my babies.”
“There’s an actual baby you can hold downstairs if you just let us go,” Luke offered.
Anakin paused. “You think Din would actually let me hold him?”
“Yeah? Grogu’s not particularly shy, he likes pretty much everyone,” Luke shrugged.
Anakin straightened up, releasing the twins and moving toward the stairs. “Alright, Luke wins. His guests are my favorite.”
Leia squawked in disbelief. “Not fair! You’ve known Han for years!”
“What? Can’t hear you, I’m on my way to hold a baby!” Anakin called over his shoulder, jogging for the stairs. He heard Leia start running after him, and he grinned and picked up the pace.
“Does this mean you approve?” Luke called after him.
Anakin stopped at the top of the stairs, grabbing Leia as she ran into him and slinging her over his shoulder, ignoring her halfhearted protests. “You’re both adults now, I don’t need to approve.”
Luke’s face dropped and Leia stopped struggling against him.
Anakin let the mood linger for a second longer before he chuckled a bit. “But yes, I do. Alright, time to get this big sack of potatoes down to the kitchen. It ought to be just enough to replace all the ones I used today.” He adjusted Leia on his shoulder and started down the stairs.
“Don't you dare say anything like that in front of Han, you’re so weird!” Leia groaned, but Anakin could hear the laughter in her voice.
He smiled to himself as Leia started struggling again the closer they got to the rest of the group. His babies might be all grown up, but some things never changed.