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Finally, the war was over.
It had been about two weeks since Palpatine's death and the end of the war, and yet Anakin still didn't quite realize what was happening.
And yet, a lot of things had happened in the last few weeks. Palpatine had died, after trying to make Anakin Fall. And worst of all, Anakin had come so close to giving in. He had come so close to turning against the Order and siding with Palpatine against Master Windu.
But fortunately, Obi-Wan had arrived just in time. While he was still supposed to be on Utapau, a very bad feeling in the Force had forced him to turn around and get back to Coruscant as quickly as possible. And he had done the right thing, for without him, Anakin was fairly certain he would have Fallen.
But Obi-Wan had arrived. He had arrived and managed to convince Anakin that Palpatine was only manipulating him and that following him would only bring him pain and desolation.
And as always, Anakin had listened to his brother and, with Obi-Wan's help, had brought down Palpatine, or rather Darth Sidious, because Palpatine had been the Sith Lord they’ve been looking for.
That alone was hard enough to realize, but Anakin hadn't had a moment to rest, because just a few hours after the announcement of Sidious's death, and the reveal of his true identity, and thus the end of the war, Padmé had gone into labor.
The birth had been long and complicated, and several times the Jedi Temple's Healers had thought they'd lost either the mother or one of the two children.
Yes, because they were twins!
Suffice to say, Anakin had been more than a little panicked. But once again, Obi-Wan had been at his side to calm him down and keep his head on his shoulders.
And everything had worked out in the end. Padmé was fine. Luke and Leia were fine. Everything was fine.
Well, Anakin was still under threat of expulsion from the Order, but honestly, it didn't bother him that much. Unlike just a few months ago, he was no longer that attached to his place in the Order.
Without Palpatine whispering in his ear that he couldn't trust the Council and that the whole order was against him, he realized that he was less attached to a place on the Council or the title of Master than he would have thought.
While waiting for the Council to rule on his fate, his lightsaber had been confiscated, he had to be reachable and traceable at all times, and he had to obtain direct authorization from a Council member if he wanted to leave Coruscant. But luckily for him, he knew a Council member very well, and so far Obi-Wan hadn't refused him much. It had to be said that Anakin didn't feel much like playing with the rules anymore, so he wasn't trying to mess things up.
His excursions outside Coruscant had always been to Naboo, and Obi-Wan didn't even need to ask why Anakin was going there. Indeed, about a week after the twins were born, Luke, Leia and Padmé had returned to Naboo. Anakin unfortunately hadn't been able to go with them full-time, being officially under house arrest on Coruscant, but Obi-Wan hadn't refused any of his requests to go to Naboo to see his wife and children, even when Anakin asked to go every day or so. And although Naboo was over 6 hours away by hyperspace, that didn't discourage Anakin.
But usually, when Obi-Wan received Anakin's travel requests, it was just him and R2-D2, using Anakin's favorite fighter. Except this time, when Obi-Wan opened the notification, he saw that the request concerned several hundred people and asked permission to use an entire flagship. This time, Anakin was asking to leave with the entire 501st , using the Resolute to do so.
More than a little puzzled, and unable to accept this request without knowing more, Obi-Wan told Anakin to come and have tea with him at the end of the day, and that they could discuss the matter further.
Obi-Wan then tried to get on with his day as if nothing had happened, but he couldn't quite get it out of his head. What was Anakin thinking? His former Padawan had been surprisingly reasonable and quiet these past two weeks, doing nothing extravagant and abiding by the rules that had been imposed on him, so Obi-Wan really wondered what he wanted to do with the 501st
Finally, 6 p.m. arrived, the time Obi-Wan had invited Anakin to come, and the younger arrived right on time, with a big smile on his face.
If the end of the war and the death of the Dark Lord had been good for everyone, Obi-Wan felt that Anakin was one of those who had benefited most. Indeed, the redhead couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his former Padawan so happy, free and rested. It must have been during Anakin's early years at the Temple, when he was still discovering what it felt like to be free, to be his own person, and learning how to be a Jedi.
And frankly, it did Obi-Wan a world of good to see Anakin so at peace. The young man had suffered terribly during the war, and to see this burden lifted from his shoulders was liberating for everyone around him, including Obi-Wan.
"Hello Obi-Wan!" Anakin exclaimed happily as he entered the redhead's quarters as if he still lived here.
"Hello, Anakin." The older Jedi replied in a more composed voice but smiling all the same. "How are you? And how are Padmé and the twins?"
"Everyone's just fine." Anakin said as he dropped into Obi-Wan's couch. "Padmé's in great shape and Luke made his first smile! Wait a minute, Padmé sent me a holo." Anakin added as he pulled out his comm, searching for a moment before displaying a holo and giving his comm to Obi-Wan.
The latter grabbed it and saw a smiling baby Luke Skywalker with his toothless mouth wide open.
"Leia's still glaring though." Anakin said, switching to another image with a much less smiling baby.
"Your children are beautiful, Anakin." Obi-Wan said honestly, returning his comm to his former Padawan.
Anakin almost blushed at the compliment, but his pride echoed in the Force around them.
"When do you think you'll be able to come and see them? They need to meet their grandfather after all."
"I'm not their grandfather, Anakin. If anything, I'm more your brother than your father."
"Debatable but fine, you're their uncle, then." The younger shrugged. "No matter how you look at them or the words you put on your relationship with them, I'd really, really like you to be part of their lives. If... if you want to, that is." On the last sentence, Anakin had lowered his head and almost curled in on himself, looking even younger than he was, and Obi-Wan almost felt his heart clench.
"I want to be in their lives too. And I'll be thrilled to see them again now that they're a little bigger, especially if Luke smiles so adorably. But you also know I can't leave Coruscant just like that."
"Yes, of course I know that. Just... think about it ? Please ?"
"I'll consider it.” Obi-Wan assured. "Now, I hear you want to take the 501st somewhere."
At this, Anakin brightened and a big smile returned to his face. "Yes, I wanted to do it straight after the war, but there was a lot to do and the vode weren't really up to it. But now Rex told me they're all more or less settled, so I figure now's as good a time as any."
"And what is this plan? You didn't even put on the form where you wanted to go."
"I didn't? Ah sorry, I must have forgotten." Anakin apologized, rubbing the back of his head.
"Since we're discussing it verbally it's not a problem but I confess I'm curious. So, where do you want to take the 501st and what's your plan?"
"Well, I don't know if you've had similar conversations with the 212th, probably in fact, but you know that the vode have never been able to do what they wanted and it came up in a conversation with Jesse and Kix that the majority of them had never been to the beach. So you know, I promised them that when the war was over and they were free, I'd take them on a tour of the galaxy in peacetime, and I'd take them to the beach. I don't know if they remember that, but I do. And I think they might enjoy it. And I happen to know a place on a planet that has a vast meadow big enough to land an entire flagship. And this meadow is near a lake that has a very big beach, so it's all good."
"And, by chance, isn't there a house on this lake where the former queen of this planet and her two children currently reside?" Obi-Wan asked, understanding Anakin's point.
"Uh... maybe so?" Anakin said. "Come on Master, it's the perfect place. I know the Queen won't object and this way they can meet Luke and Leia too, I know they want to. But the twins are still a bit young to be traveling like this, so it's easier if the 501st comes to them. Especially now that the war is over, the vode are going to be scattered all over the galaxy and it's going to be more and more complicated to find a time when they're all available. This is one of those times, and I'd like to take advantage of it. Do one last thing just like their General. I know I haven't always been the best General, but I want to make things right."
Obi-Wan didn't answer immediately. Anakin had some very good arguments, but this was a rather peculiar request.
But he didn't have to think much about it when he saw the pleading look on his former Padawan's face. And just as he was about to give his consent, he thought of something else.
"Would this meadow be big enough to accommodate two flagships?" he asked.
And so, around a week later, the Resolute and the Negociator entered the airspace of the planet Naboo after receiving clearance to land.
Neither Anakin nor Obi-Wan had really explained to their troops what they were doing here, so all the vode had no idea what to expect, even if they trusted their generals completely.
Once the two flagships were on the ground, the two Jedi brought out all the vode, so they could talk to them all at once.
“I know you're all probably wondering what we're doing here." Obi-Wan began. "The war is over, you're all free to explore the galaxy as you please. However, as your Generals, Anakin and I would like to introduce you to a new place. Consider it a gift from us and your first step toward discovering the Galaxy."
After that, the two Jedi led the vode until they reached the edge of the lake, a little higher up than the latter, with a huge beach stretching out in front of them.
"General, is this-" Kix began.
"A beach!" Jesse and Fives exclaimed in unison, before starting to run towards the water, quickly followed by others of their vode, both 501st and 212th.
In less than 10 minutes, the beach was full and most of the clones were in the water, splashing and spraying each other and simply laughing, enjoying the idyllic setting.
On the mound, only Obi-Wan, Cody, Helix, Anakin, Rex and Kix remained. Anakin had a big smile on his face, Obi-Wan smiled softly, Helix and Kix seemed as excited as their siblings but held back a little, as did Cody and Rex.
"Is this what you had in mind when you asked me to round up the others?" Cody asked, looking at Obi-Wan.
"It was actually Anakin's idea. Originally, all I had to do was give the Council permission for him to leave Coruscant with the 501st. But I thought it would do you good too." The older Jedi replied, smiling softly as he watched the vode being so happy to be free and to have nothing to do but enjoy themselves.
"It was your idea?" Kix repeated as he turned to Anakin, seeming almost surprised.
"Of course. I promised you I'd take you to the beach, and I like to keep my promises. I promised you the beach, so here's the beach." Anakin replied, still smiling.
It took a moment before Kix seemed to remember the conversation he'd had with his General nearly 2 years ago.
"You remembered." He whispered, genuinely touched.
"Of course I remembered." Anakin confirmed, placing a hand on the medic's shoulder. "Go on, have fun with the others before Jesse comes looking for you and throws you in the lake."
Kix nodded, started towards the lake, then turned around, came to embrace Anakin in a quick hug, whispered a quick "Thank you, General.", and took off running towards the lake.
Helix then got moving. "I'd better get closer. With any luck, one of these idiots will manage to get hurt when there isn't even a fight." He said simply, moving closer to the lake.
Only the Jedi, Rex and Cody remained, and sensing that Anakin had something to say to Obi-Wan, Rex gave Cody a little nudge on the shoulder, and the older turned his head towards his brother.
"What is it?"
Rex replied with a mischievous smirk, and Cody knew what was coming next, so he took his brother by surprise. "Last one in the water is a womp rat!" Cody shouted, pushing Rex back a little, taking off running towards the lake.
"Hey that's not fair, you left before me!" Rex replied as he began to chase his brother, both of them laughing at the top of their lungs.
Anakin watched them both leave and his smile widened, watching all these people who had been created to die and never exist outside their role as soldiers discover the free life. It reminded him a little of when he himself had discovered what it felt like to be free after living his whole life as a slave.
Without really being able to stop it, a tear rolled down his cheek. Obi-Wan obviously noticed immediately.
"Anakin, are you okay, dear one?" He asked, placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder.
"I-I'm fine. It's just... Thank you Obi-Wan, for everything. And sorry."
Anakin couldn't really express everything he was feeling, but fortunately, he and Obi-Wan had always been able to communicate with more than just words, and Obi-Wan understood what his former Padawan was trying to say. And rather than answering, he came and took Anakin in his arms.
The latter didn't resist at all and buried his head in his Master's neck, even if he had to bend down for it, being a good 10 centimeters taller than him.
The two Jedi stayed like that for a few minutes before Anakin stepped back and Obi-Wan smiled at him. " Well, why don't you introduce me to your children? I was lured here with the promise of meeting Luke and Leia."
Anakin's face lit up at the mention of his children and he went to guide him towards the Lake House, which was visible from here when he found himself in the air.
"Sorry Sir, it'll have to wait!" exclaimed Fives, who had just lifted Anakin with Jesse's help, both soaking wet.
"We're all very keen to meet the little Commanders, but there are more important things first." Waxer added, he and Boil having caught Obi-Wan in the same way their brothers had caught Anakin.
"There's no way you're not coming to enjoy the beach with us!" Boil exclaimed.
Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged glances and burst out laughing. Both of them could easily have gotten rid of the vode holding them, but neither of them wanted to, so they let themselves be carried along and even let the boys throw them into the water.
The two Jedi joined in the celebrations of their troops, Anakin using the force to throw the vode who wanted it further into the lake.
The whole valley was filled with bursts of laughter, and it was at this sound that Padmé stepped out onto the balcony, Luke and Leia in her arms. And she smiled softly to see them all so happy.
When he saw her coming out, Anakin swam towards her, stopping just below the balcony, the same balcony where he had married the woman who was now the mother of his children, almost three years ago.
"Hello my loves!" He nearly shouted with a big smile on his face.
Padmé laughed softly, bending down a little. "Did the trip go well?" She asked.
"Wonderful! I'll come out and say hello." Anakin replied, swimming towards the pontoon.
But he never made it, as Tup and Wooley came to grab him, dragging him in the other direction. "Sorry Senator, we'll borrow him a little longer!" Needle shouted, having come to pick up the Jedi with two of her brothers.
Anakin protested a little rhetorically, but froze almost completely when he saw someone else appear on the balcony next to his wife.
"Ahsoka..." He whispered as he saw his Padawan overlooking the lake.
When the youngest had left the Order, Padmé had refused to let her vanish into the galaxy like that, and had kept in touch with her. So when Anakin told her he'd be taking the 501st to Naboo, Padmé contacted the Togruta and suggested she meet them at the lake house to surprise the others.
Ahsoka had arrived on Naboo the day before, and when she heard the Resolute and the Negociator arrive, she went into hiding in the huge mansion. She had watched from afar as the 501st and the 212th frolicked in the water, and when Anakin approached to speak with Padmé, she thought it was a good time to show her face.
And seeing her Master's stunned face, she told herself that coming to Naboo had been a good idea.
"Commander!" Tup exclaimed when he saw her in turn.
"What? Is the Commandant here?" Echo called from a little further away.
"That's what Tup said!" Dogma replied, from even further away.
A clamor went up from the vode as the news spread, but Anakin and Ahsoka only had eyes for each other.
Then, after almost a minute like that, Padmé gently nudged Ahsoka. "Go ahead." She smiled softly.
Ahsoka nodded and didn't hesitate after that, leaping over the balcony railing and jumping into the lake. And no sooner had she surfaced than Anakin came to take her in his arms.
"I'm sorry Ahsoka, so sorry." The taller one murmured.
"It's okay Skyguy, I know." Ahsoka said. "It's okay and I'm here now."
After that, Anakin and Ahsoka were quickly whisked off to the beach, where the rest of the vode were, and the good mood was further enhanced by Ahsoka's presence.
Watching all this from her balcony, her children firmly in her arms, Padmé told herself that everything would be all right. Not everything would be easy, but everything would be fine. And that was the most important thing.