Anidala + haunt me for the fic ask meme please? :)
I didn't want to go the obvious route and have Padme haunt Anakin/Vader. This is set before ROTS and it was hard to write.
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A few weeks had passed since Padme learned about the death of her husband during his rescue of Chancellor Palpatine. She remained locked in her apartment on Coruscant, having no desire to face the outside world. After all, since their relationship was kept a secret, no one would understand why the news of his death affected her like they did or how deeply did they affect her.
Most days she would lie on the couch, wrapped in Anakin's Jedi robe. It was one of the few objects she had from him. Sleeping in the bedroom was painful as she once shared it with Anakin and seeing his empty side of the bed, brought back bad memories and the thought that he would never share her bed again. She did not care much for food anymore, but only ate enough to support the child she was carrying. Anakin's child. Padme brought her hand to her stomach, tracing her fingers over her swollen baby and a small smile crept on her lips. She thought about how happy both of them would have been. Of course, she had been worried about telling him about the pregnancy because of how it might affect their lives, but she knew deep down that Anakin would have been happy to learn of their child. Her lips quivered and the smile turned into a frown as tears started streaming down her face.
"I can't..." She took a deep breath, between her sobs. "I can't do this without you Anakin." And saying his name proved painful still as she started crying even more. She got off the couch and sat on the floor. Her knees were pulled to her chest and she had her arms wrapped around herself as she continued crying. The hood of Anakin's robe fell over her head, obscuring most of her face.
As she cried, she felt someone next to her, holding her. Her first instinct was to pull away, but the touch was warm and familiar, and she looked up to see Anakin kneeled next to her, his arms enveloping her. He seemed ethereal, like a ghost, but more real than that.
"Ani?" She whispered, taking short breaths to steady her voice.
"I'm sorry I left you." Anakin moved his hands to cup her face. His voice sounding almost as shaken as hers as he tried to hold back tears. "I should have been more careful. But I can stay here with you, like this. I promise I'll never leave again."
Padme nodded. She did not want him to feel guilty at all about what happened. It was all out of his control. She did not understand why or how he was there right now but she was not going to question it. Maybe it was really him, maybe her mind started playing tricks on her because of all the pain she had gone through.
"I don't want you to ever leave. You have no idea..." She held her hand close to his and she could feel all the energy he gave out. "I never got to tell you. We never had any time together." Padme continued and the tears started again. She hated that he was seeing her cry, but she could not help herself this time around. "I'm pregnant, Ani." She said, looking into his deep blue eyes. How she loved his eyes. She wondered if he knew, if she had told him enough times how beautiful his eyes were.
Anakin smiled widely at the news, brushing his thumbs over her cheeks and wiping off her tears. He couldn't find the right words to say anything back to her. He was happy about the baby, but at the same time it hurt knowing he wouldn't physically be there for her and their child.
"I can't do this without you." She repeated, looking at him pleadingly, as if she was begging him to come back to her.
"You can. But I'll be here. Not as before, but still here in some form. I'll make sure you and the baby are safe and loved." Anakin assured. "You'll be a good mother, Padme." He gave her a soft smile, the same smile he always had for her and she knew he meant it. His words did give her hope and they took away some of the pain. Although he was gone part of him stayed with her. She did not have to let go of him just yet.












