Chapter Text
“And that is the end of our class. Enjoy your mid-term break and make sure you use the time wisely. I will see you all back here after Empire Day.”
A few shouts and whoops scattered out across the room as the lecture hall began to come back to life. The sound of shoes scraping against the floor accompanied the sound of hushed excitement growing louder and louder like the starting rumble of a speeder engine.
Luke hissed and shielded his eyes as the blinds were raised to let in the bright sunlight of Theed University’s central courtyard. A tanned hand gripped his shoulder and shook him.
“If you don’t sleep through lectures, you don’t get woken up at the end of them,” one of his companions teased.
Luke laughed and batted away Jav’s hand.
“Hey, that hurt,” Luke whined, stretching out his arms and legs with a groan before standing up. “It’s the right of every University student to sleep through lectures. Besides, you and Orma make much better notes than Professor Thentaus does lectures.”
Orma sighed and rolled her eyes, placing her hands on the desk as she stood up as well.
“You’re such a suck up, Luke,” she said, a warm smile coming over her face. “Anyway, what do you have planned for the mid-term break?” She asked, looking down and reaching for her datapad. Her lashes brushed against the mix of blue and brown splotches of colour on her cheeks as she packed up her backpack and swung it over her shoulder.
Luke grabbed his bag too, turning to face his friends by walking backwards in the direction of the exit.
“Well… Considering my two best friends are having a private romantic getaway to the lake district,” he said, tapping his cheek and looking up in faux thought. “A whole lot of absolutely nothing.”
Jav laughed, slipping his arm beneath his girlfriend’s lekku so it rested on her shoulders before kissing the top of her head.
“If it’s any help, it’s not that private. Just know that we’ll be stuck listening to a lot of pro-Imperial posturing for the whole of the Empire Day weekend. My dad’s hosting a big party at the lake house,” he complained as Luke made a face of distaste.
“I’m excited for the lakes,” Orma said reassuringly, kissing Jav’s jaw in return. “The half twi’lek micro aggressions… not so much."
“Okay, maybe I am getting the better end of the deal,” Luke mused. “Me and mom will probably just spend Empire Day ignoring it as per usual.”
“Luke Amidala, if I might hold you back for just a moment,” their lecturer called.
Luke whipped his head around in surprise as his friends laughed.
“Kriff. Don’t wait up, I’ll see you later,” he told them, turning and jogging down to the desk.
“Professor, what can I do you for?” He asked upon arrival, watching her scroll through the datapad in her hands.
Professor Thentaus tapped at the data pad.
“Luke Amidala. Is that any relation to the Naberrie family?” She asked, looking up and meeting Luke’s eyes.
Luke felt a flush rise from his chest and up to his face.
“Um, no. Not at all,” he said quickly. "My mother was a handmaiden to the queen and took her name after her death,” he admitted, chewing on the inside of his lip and avoiding her gaze.
He glanced up at the powerpoint title slide on the holo-screen to see a portrait of Padmé Amidala looking down at him next to the title ‘Naboo settler v Gungan philosphy’.
Luke suddenly felt very small.
“Ah, I see. My apologies, I was simply making small talk,” she said, noticing Luke’s discomfort. “I wanted to grab you because I’m missing your textbook chapter summary from the last two weeks.”
Thentaus looked him directly in the eyes, drawing out the silence for five long beats.
Luke swallowed, choosing to not answer and incriminate himself further.
“I am choosing to be generous and not deduct any marks from your grade if I get both them and the next one before we resume class,” she told him. “Considering you are now a second year, you should be more on top of your studies and doing more sleeping at home, and less during my classes. Am I understood?”
“Loud and clear,” he said, pursing his lips and readjusting his backpack over his shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Consider it an Empire Day miracle,” she said with a wry smile. “I’ll see you after the break.”
“Thanks,” Luke muttered again, hurrying out of the lecture hall and letting out a sigh of relief and pressing his hand over his heart.
“Hey, criminal,” Jav greeted, causing Luke to jump in surprise. “What was that about?”
“I thought I told you guys not to wait up,” Luke pointed out.
“You did, but it felt wrong to abandon you,” Orma said, guiding the group from the building and outside into the sunshine. “What did she want?”
“Oh,” Luke said, “She was just chasing up some late submissions. I’ve been doing extra hours tinkering at the garage, so I’ve been kind of out of it. I thought philosophy was supposed to be a bludge major,” he complained, threading his fingers together to rest behind his neck.
“Just because you can’t get a job from a degree, doesn’t mean it’s a bludge. With the amount of work you don’t do, it’s crazy that your marks are still good,” Jav commented, pointing at him with a finger blaster on his free hand.
“Yeah, I guess I just can’t help being charming,” Luke shrugged with a smug smile. “Should we hang out along the river?” He suggested, trotting a little ahead of the couple.
The trio headed down to the riverbank and settled on the grassy incline, Luke lying back on his elbows and watching students rowing along the great river. A gungan swam along the next to the team, giving instruction and critique.
Jav sat down with Orma behind him. She began threading her fingers through his long brown hair.
“See, if we do this,” she explained, dividing his hair into two main halves. “It’ll keep your hair out of the way properly, and we’ll be matching.”
Luke rolled over to watch the two of them, feeling slightly like an intruder on their moment.
“Don’t look jealous, Luke,” Jav said. “It’s nice until she starts pulling.”
“I only pull because you move your head all the time,” Orma insisted, leaning around and kissing the side of his cheek.
“Well,” Jav said, leaning forward and picking sapflowers from the grass to start weaving the stems together. “Well, I have no argument.”
Luke and Orma both laughed, Luke rolling back over to watch the river again.
The three of them sat in a peaceful silence for a little while, Luke closing his eyes and practising his meditation. Breathing in and out. In and out. He could hear birds in the distance, the sound of the water splashing, the heartbeats of his two friends. There was always so much life to explore on Naboo.
“Hey, Luke,” Jav said, kicking him gently back to reality.
“What?” Luke laughed, rolling over onto his front and having a crown of flowers dropped onto his head.
“It’s Prince Luke Amidala!” Jav announced with a fake gasp, watching Luke blush.
“You’re mean,” Luke whined.
“It suits you,” Orma said, leaning around. “A son and heir of Naboo.”
“More like a cousin, by marriage, once removed,” Luke said, not removing the crown.
“You don’t even know what once removed means,” Jav pointed out, causing Luke to laugh brightly.
“You got me,” he admitted. “Besides our monarchy is democratic.”
Luke’s comlink chimed and he pulled it out of his pocket.
“Pooja!” Luke gasped, upon seeing the sender of his message:
I’m in Theed staying at my parents’ house. Come over for caf.’
“What is it?” Jav asked, turning his head and making a shout of pain as Orma tugged him back into position by his hair.
“I said to stop moving your head,” Orma reminded.
“I gotta go,” Luke said, tapping at his comm and shooting through a reply.
I’ll be there soon!
“Have a great getaway,” he said, looking up at his friends for a short moment and scrambling up from the grass, throwing his bag over his shoulder. Luke’s crown fell from his head in his haste, but his reflexes were fast enough to catch it, quickly depositing it onto Orma’s head.
His feet hit the brick and he dashed across the campus in the direction of his speeder bike, not bothering to wait for a reply.
The abandoned couple sat in silence for a few seconds.
“That guy’s always thinking about something else, I swear,” Orma sighed, watching Luke fade into the distance.
——————
The sun continued to shine brightly as Luke raced his speeder bike through the streets of Theed. Stone and vines blurred past him in a haze of sand and sage. The wind on his face and the knowledge that Pooja was home on Naboo after so many years of being gone filled him with a feeling of giddiness and anticipation.
He parked his speeder bike in the familiar street of his childhood and saw his old friend walking the path from the front door to the gate.
Luke felt his heart repair itself, a little hole that had been there the last six years was mending.
“Luke!” Pooja greeted, opening up the gate to her mother’s home and holding her arms out wide.
“Pooja!” Luke shouted, joy and relief shining from his face. He ran forward with his feet slamming heavily on the cobblestone before her ran into her and wrapped his ams tightly around her chest, pressing his face into her hair.
Pooja followed suit and hugged him back, moving her hand up to pat the crown of his head as they stood silently for a few moments, neither one wanting to break the hug first.
“I missed you,” Luke finally sighed, feeling like the fourteen year old he was when she first left. “You should quit being a senator and stay here with me.”
“Hmmm,” Pooja hummed, rocking him gently before pulling back and brushing his hair out of his eyes. “And what, Lukka? Have former senator Binks take his job back?” She teased. “Let’s go in, I’m only here for a night.”
The two of them walked up the path and through the doorway into the house. Luke stopped as he hopped on one foot to take off his left shoe, eventually giving up on balance and instead leaning against the doorway for stability instead.
He leaned down and set the shoe down on the tile, lifting his head to call in the direction that Pooja had walked.
“It’s nice to have you back on planet even though-“
A small purr sounded from Luke’s right, successfully distracting him.
“Hey, Toochi,” he greeted gently, scratching the old Voorpak behind it’s head.
Toochi purred a little louder from the attention.
Luke pulled off his right shoe and placed it neatly next to its other foot before scooping the little pet up into the crook of his arm.
The Voorpak snuggled into his chest and Luke continued on his route to the kitchen, finding Pooja waiting for him behind the island bench.
The smell of warm spices filled the room from the large pot that was boiling on the stove. It smelled like the days of his childhood that he spent living here whenever his mom was off planet.
“Okay, give me the rundown of everything in your life right now,” Pooja directed, turning her back to him as she put together caf for Luke and a tea for herself.
Luke manoeuvred himself onto a stool on the other side of the bench, carefully making sure not to disturb Toochi.
“It’s my second year of university.” he said, stroking the fluffball.
“The passage of time is alarming,” Pooja lamented, turning to look at him as though she was looking for the little teenager she left behind on planet. “You’re so big now.”
“I’m majoring in philosophy,” Luke continued, cutting her nostalgia short.
“That suits you, Lukka. Do you like it?” she asked, sliding a mug towards Luke and watching him take a sip as she remained standing.
“I don’t dislike it,” he said. “I really like philosophy, I think it’s really interesting. I learned a bit about it around when you left. But it’s also not flying either.”
“Ah,” she replied, nodding in understanding.
“But I’m still doing work down at Peyana’s garage, which is great,” Luke reassured.
“Hmmm, I imagine that gives you access to a lot of parts that you can fix up,” she said in a way that sounded an awful lot like a leading question.
“I guess. I mostly just see land speeders and speeder bikes, but it still means I’m my hands dirty, while getting a degree to keep mom happy. Is the senate everything you were hoping it would be?” He asked, wanting to know more about her current life than talk about his lack of direction.
“That’s an interesting way of asking,” Pooja said with a laugh before taking a moment to think.
“I would say,” she began slowly. “That it was everything I was expecting, but much less than what I was hoping.”
“That’s a very realistic statement from an idealist,” Luke commented.
“You say that like those things are mutually exclusive. I think you have to be somewhat of a realist in order to achieve idealism,” she explained. “Like I keep saying to people, just because the senate isn’t what I would like it to be, that doesn’t mean I can just abandon my post and my people.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” he agreed, deciding his caf was cool enough to start drinking.
“You know, I heard a pod racer by the name of Ben Starkiller won the Keren street race last month,” Pooja mentioned offhandedly.
Luke choked on his caf and spluttered, disturbing the ball of fluff in his arms.
Toochi squeaked and leapt from his lap, scurrying out of the room.
“Don’t tell me that’s why you came home,” he said, holding up a hand to his mouth as he coughed the last of the drink out of his lungs.
“It’s not. But you being reckless like this is always a little concerning,” she pointed out. “It’s my job to worry about you.”
“I think you’ll find that’s my mom’s job and she doesn’t need to know I’m racing,” he said, a slight warning in his tone.
“And how is your mom?” Pooja asked, leaning her elbows on the island bench. Her velvet bell sleeves draped elegantly against the marble. She - like all of the women in her family - always appeared so poised and statuesque. Always in repose, rather than at rest.
“She’s fine,” Luke answered quickly, putting his caf down and not looking Pooja in the eyes as he felt her searching over his face.
“Did you two fight again?” She asked gently.
“I told her I wanted to change my name,” Luke admitted, looking at his mug.
“Oh.”
“It just seems insane,” Luke began. '-and not to mention embarrassing to go around with the last name of someone who I’m not even related to. I get that it’s apparently ‘to honour her’ but it feels disrespectful!”
“Hm, I don’t think your mom is capable of committing a disrespect against the Amidala name, Luke,” Pooja said gently.
“She’s your aunt, Pooja. Doesn’t it feel even a little bit weird for me to have Admidala as my last name?” Luke looked up, meeting Pooja’s caring gaze.
“I don’t think so, but might only be only because I’ve known you for so long that you basically feel like family,” she reasoned. “Anyway, how did the suggestion go?”
“It was about as welcome as a Hutt in a refugee camp,” Luke sighed.
“I thought as much. I gotta say, Luke, bringing this up so close to Aunt Padmé’s death anniversary was not a smart move,” Pooja pointed out, bringing her tea up to her lips and finishing it.
“I mean that’s half the problem, it's always about her,” Luke said, sitting back on the stool and his hands coming up to move as he started his rant. “I know your aunt was important and amazing, but I’m living in the shadow of a woman that I have no connection to! It’s always ‘her death day’ instead of ‘Luke’s birthday’. It makes me feel like… I feel like I have to compete for my mother’s love against a martyr!”
Luke noticed Pooja wincing at how loud his voice had become.
He took a deep breath, getting his emotions under control.
“Everyone acts like they know who I am and who I should be, but I’m only ever going to just be me,” he finished.
“Luke… your mom loves you,” Pooja assured him.
“Anyway, let’s get back to you,” he said abruptly, waving away the topic with his hand. “Upholding the dying breaths of democracy against sock-puppet-body Palpatine is way more important than my identity crisis,” he insisted, trying to get a laugh out of Pooja to ease the tension.
“What are you doing over the Empire Day break?” Pooja asked instead.
Luke looked confused.
“What? Nothing. Why do you ask?”
“Why don’t you come to Imperial Centre with me? Just a week’s break. I can have you back here in time for your birthday, and you can let loose a little bit,” she suggested, putting her mug down, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.
“Pooja I couldn’t,” he protested, leaning away from her. “I have assignments I’m behind on and I-“
“And I have a holonet connection,” she reasoned. “You can work while I’m at the senate, or come in and shadow me. Politics is basically philosophy in action! A trip away from Naboo will be good for you.”
“Pooja-“
“Why does Luke look like he hasn’t slept in a month?” A warm voice asked.
The inquiry floated through the room as Sola Naberrie appeared in the kitchen doorway.
Pooja let go of Luke’s hand and took the opportunity of her mother entering to rinse out her mug in the sink.
“Hi Auntie Sola,” Luke greeted, giving her a soft smile.
Sola walked over and put her hand to Luke’s cheek and kissed the top of his head.
“Luke told Sabé he wanted to change his name right before Aunt Padmé’s death anniversary,” Pooja told her mother over her shoulder.
“Ah, I see,” Sola said, patting the side of Luke’s face gently and heading to re-boil the water that was used for their drinks.
“Which is why I’m dragging him kicking and screaming to Imperial Centre for Empire Day,” Pooja explained.
“I still haven’t agreed to that,” Luke protested, pointing at Pooja before turning his head in the direction the other woman in the room.
“Sola, I swear the name thing isn’t out of disrespect,” he explained hastily. “It’s just mom wanting me to be connected to your sister makes me uncomfortable. Luke Amidala is just a name with so much… undeserved expectation.”
Sola turned and gave Luke a sympathetic look.
“We all dealt with my sister’s death in different ways,” she explained, reaching to tuck a dark curl behind her daughter’s ear. “All of Padmé’s handmaidens loved her, but not all of them were in love with her.”
“I know why mom misses her,” Luke said, trying not to whine. “I just don’t get why she expects me to feel some kind of way about it-”
“Luke, you used to scream at Aunt Padmé’s mausoleum every year,” Pooja interrupted. “I have to admit it was pretty freaky. She probably just remembers that.”
“I was a baby!” Luke said exasperatedly, sitting back and finishing his caf. “I was probably just picking up on the energy in the room.”
“I think some time away for Empire Day would be good for you, Luke,” Sola suggested gently. “It’ll give you and your mom some space, and my sister’s shadow doesn’t loom as large outside of Naboo, I promise.”
Luke looked between the two women for a moment and sighed. He might as well come back from break with some interesting stories for Jav and Orma.
“Alright, alright. I don’t exactly have anywhere else to be,” he agreed.
“It’ll be amazing,” Pooja insisted, grinning ear to ear. “All my aides will be so excited to meet my cute little Lukka.”
And just like that, it was decided.