Chapter Text
Sometimes the universe was cruel and unforgiving, but occasionally there were those that got lucky. Luke and Leia could have lost their parents, been separated at birth, and forced through countless horrors. Instead, they grew up with two fathers and a mother, with a wonderful godfather, and kind and caring friends. They had the chance of meeting their grandfather, Ruwee Naberrie, before he passed and were able to go on fun and interesting vacations over breaks with plenty of opportunities in front of them.
As both grew, it quickly became clear that Luke strongly took after Padmé. He was quieter and had a delicate, almost gentle sense about him. Yet when it was needed, he equally had inherited his mother’s strength. Even if he seemed to be beaten, Luke always managed to pick himself up and stand strong as he always looked out for those around him.
Leia took after her mother as far as interests went, fascinated in politics and economics and government, yet her personality more closely resembled her fathers, Anakin and Obi-Wan. Often, it was difficult to read what Leia was really thinking as she quietly observed everything from afar, like Obi-Wan liked to do, or she was in the center of attention, her presence almost daunting and unavoidable like Anakin.
Ultimately, it was clear Luke was the dreamer and Leia was the logical one, though Leia was still the one more likely to snap at someone damn the consequences once again contrasting with her brother’s soft spoken nature. This easily led to arguments amongst the twins but balanced them as well and when they worked together, they were unstoppable.
For a fair section of their younger years, Anakin and Obi-Wan were the ones tucking the twins into bed and driving them to school. It wasn’t uncommon for Padmé to be called to DC and this became even more common once she made senator. Nevertheless, she did the most work she possibly could in her home state and always called every night when she was away, making her a still constant present in their lives.
Now, Padmé was still a senator, successfully holding her title for years as she fought her fellow senator, Sheev Palpatine, constantly. The conflict made it to common for Padmé to come home exhausted emotionally and physically and on that day as Leia opened the door to her childhood home, she saw that her mother looked ready to pass out.
Under normal circumstances, Leia would have called her fathers over to help but she knew Padmé wouldn’t want all the attention drawn to her, which undoubtedly it would. Besides her fathers and Luke being at home, so were a hoard of people as they celebrated hers and her brother’s twenty-first birthday.
Leia was suddenly very thankful that she had answered the door and quickly looped an arm around her mother’s arm and began to guide her upstairs.
“Leia,” she said kindly, “you don’t have to. I’ll be fine—”
“Mother, please don’t argue. We both know that you won’t be,” Leia replied firmly. She guided her mother up the stairs before anyone else could see and immediately went to her parents’ bedroom.
They both sat down on the edge of the bed and Leia could tell she had made the right move. With all the commotion below them, Padmé allowed the stiffness in her form to fall, her appearance changing from stressed to defeated.
“Would you like something to drink?” asked Leia. When her mother shook her head, Leia got right to the point and asked, “What’s happened this time?”
Padmé covered her eyes. Leia had always admired the steady, strong voice, the determined eyes, the perfectly placed smile or lack thereof that she used when making a speech. She contained a beauty and grace with words and posture that Leia hoped to one day achieve. But Leia wasn’t blind and she didn’t place her mother or her fathers up on pedestals like some kids. She knew that they were human and she knew that even the strongest had their weaknesses.
Leia had seen her mother cry a total of three times. The first time had been when her grandfather, Padmé’s father, had died. The second time had been when Anakin had collapsed and they’d been stuck in a hospital for hours, waiting to see what the problem was (in the end it had just been stress but at the time a million, horrible ideas had stayed in their minds). The third time had been when her and Luke graduated from high school, tears of joy.
Now, Padmé didn’t cry and it was that which Leia took note of. Her mother cried when she felt surges of emotion but what she was feeling right now was a sad and lonely defeat. When Padmé finally set her hands back in her lap and Leia could see her mother’s eyes again, she also noted a hint of disgust.
Leia asked, “What did Palpatine do?” She knew of no one else that could cause such emotions in her mother.
Again, Padmé remained silent for a time. Leia had to wait a considerable length and it took all her concentration to not pry out whatever was eating away at her mother.
Finally Padmé said, “He’s using his charity for cancer patients to embezzle money.”
“Cancer patients?” Leia asked incredulously. She had heard of his backwards bills and how he moved through loopholes like a shark. She knew that Palpatine played dirty and everything about him screamed hypocrite but what she had just heard was a new low. “His own charity? What else has he done? Helped animal shelters by buying the dogs only to wring their necks later?”
The ridiculous nature of the statement actually caused a laugh out of her mother. It wasn’t Leia’s intention but the sound certainly didn’t come unwelcomed. Nevertheless she immediately asked, “What are you going to do about it?”
Here, Padmé sighed again and that defeated look came across her face. “Nothing. I will do nothing.”
“But mother you can’t let him just embezzle funds for his own benefit—”
“I can if there’s no evidence,” she sighed.
Leia looked at her mother hard. “Then how do you know this is true?”
“I took a leap of faith. I didn’t actually find anything but apparently my snooping around didn’t go unnoticed. So the bastard came right out and told me,” Padmé murmured.
Though whether or not the word ‘bastard’ was a curse could be argued, it was something that rarely came from Leia’s mother’s lips and showed how truly angry she was.
“But that shows he’s to confident,” Leia quickly said. “If he feels he can outright tell you his illegal activities, then that means he feels safe and people who feel safe always slip up.”
“Do they?” asked Padmé, more for Leia’s benefit than her own.
“Of course,” Leia said heatedly. “And if he doesn’t then we can always plant evidence.”
Once again, Padmé laughed and it was not exactly what Leia intended but she took it anyways. Her mother gave her a sidelong glance and said, “So we stop someone’s illegal activity by committing a crime as well.”
“Sometimes it has to be done,” Leia responded. She knew that her mother was taking this jokingly, and she was glad that her mood was lightening, but one thing Leia would always disagree with was her mother’s following of the rules in the political field. Sometimes rules only got in the way of actual results, such as the moment at hand. Nevertheless, that day was not a day to argue back and forth and Leia asked, “Are you sure about not wanting anything to drink?”
“I’m fine,” Padmé assured her. “Just…give me a few more moments and I’ll join you downstairs.”
“I can wait for you.”
Padmé shook her head. “It’s your birthday sweetheart. I want you to enjoy it as much as possible. Now go before I have to push you out the door myself.”
Leia sighed but nodded in agreement. “Fine. But I’m coming back up if you’re not downstairs in ten minutes.”
“Understood. I’ll see you in a minute sweetheart,” Padmé promised.
Leia kissed her mother on the cheek and then moved to go back downstairs. Already, her mind was turning with ideas on how she could turn the tables in her mother’s favor. Though having never run for public office, she had been around politicians since she was a baby. Her godfather, Bail Organa was a politician as well and her older father was a professor in political philosophy. It was easy to ascertain resources and ideas and theories from a number of different viewpoints, including the classes she’d already taken on the corresponding subjects. Nevertheless, she felt that she’d have to try a different path in this case. Like she’d told her mother, sometimes the rule abiding way wasn’t the way.
Because of this new goal in mind, Leia avoided the noise in the living room and quickly turned into the dining room and headed for the kitchen. It would give her a few extra minutes of alone time to think and she’d be able to grab something to—
She stopped, rather confused as she saw one of her fathers standing there with his arms crossed and giving an accusing stare at one of the guests.
Obi-Wan’s hair was nearly white but there was still specks of the soft ginger that had once been there. It made him look somewhat older than he was but no less handsome or charming. For the moment, his glasses were expertly balanced at the edge of his nose as he looked at the guest. Leia recognized it as his classic ‘you’re not moving from this spot unless I say so’ look. Leia finally turned her attention to the guest and couldn’t help but let out the disgruntled sigh that alerted them to her presence.
“Han Solo,” she grumbled. She walked up to her father and subconsciously mimicked his stance. “What are you doing now?”
Han Solo snorted. “What is it with your family and accusing me of things?”
“It’s hard to tell,” Leia responded icily, “maybe because you stole my dad’s watch and tried to pawn it off.”
“I said I was sorry,” Han replied defensively. “And it was one time!”
Obi-Wan shook his head. “If only. You know, my son believes a lot in you and I tend to trust his instincts. You’re an intelligent, resourceful man. You shouldn’t put yourself so low.”
“You should just call him what he is,” Leia interjected. “A thief, a con man, and a coward.”
“Hey! Nobody calls me a coward but myself. Anyways, it was nice seeing you Princess but I think I’ll go where I’m actually wanted,” Han responded before passing both of them.
Leia resisted the urge to hit the man as he moved by. She still couldn’t remember when Han had started calling her that but she knew she’d always hate it.
“Leia…”
She looked up at her father who was giving her a warning glance.
“What?”
“He is here for Luke. Please don’t attack him,” Obi-Wan sighed.
Leia simply rolled her eyes. “I’d do something worse than that. Cuts heal. Egos are a bit harder.”
Obi-Wan let out a soft groan. “I will always regret it that Anakin was the first one to respond when you got into that school fight.”
“Why? He handled it very well.”
“He took you out for ice cream!”
Leia couldn’t help but laugh at Obi-Wan’s face. She always found it amusing when he got riled up. It was always so out of character. It passed quickly though and Obi-Wan just rubbed his eyes tiredly. “Anyways,” he said, “you could have been a bit nicer with Han.”
“What’s the point? He’s a thieving, no good, double crossing, backstabbing, money hungry-oh my god. He’s perfect.”
Obi-Wan rapidly blinked at her. “Wait-what? What the bloody hell are you—”
Leia gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to shut him up. “Just an idea that I have. Finally Han will be useful.”
“Useful-Leia what are you going to do? Leia…”
“Don’t worry. No one will get caught,” Leia said affectionately. She quickly walked back to the party before Obi-Wan could argue any farther.
Once in the living room, Leia nodded in acknowledgement of a few of her friends as she passed but she made sure to head straight for her brother. Her dad had an arm wrapped around Luke, trapping him there as he told some embarrassing story to his friends. Though Luke was playing his part of the reddening cheeks and bashful glances, Leia knew her brother loved it when Anakin did this. Luke didn’t get truly embarrassed easily. If it brought a smile to anyone’s face, Luke would just as readily tell it himself, but of course he held off, knowing that Anakin loved it just as much. And of course Anakin always tried to find a chance to joke on Luke because he sure as hell knew that Leia wouldn’t let him.
Leia allowed the story to finish before grabbing Luke. “Sorry, Dad, gotta steal him away for a bit. We’ll be right back.”
Leia dragged her brother into the hallway. “I’ll make this quick but before we meet up with our friends tonight, I want you to keep Han and Wedge around.”
“Han?” asked Luke. “But you’re constantly complaining about him. And you know he doesn’t like Wedge either. Are you trying to start a fight?”
“Yes but not with them. And it’s not my fault that you pick the most dysfunctional friends,” Leia responded. “Just make sure they’re here, alright?”
“What about your friends? Why aren’t any of them going to stay?”
Leia gave her brother a mischievous smile. “Because they won’t do anything illegal.”