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And Anakin had known her all his life, he didn't have eleven years of solitude and sadness, with only a single memory of his mother screaming at someone to take her instead of him to hold onto.
A sharp mental prod from Aayla brought Harry back to the here and now and he pushed his jealousy away quickly. He sent a feeling of grateful thanks back to Aayla, who nodded back. After all, she had never known a father or mother, and they had each other and Lily now, so wasn't that the important thing?
"I'm a mama's boy," Harry said aloud, "and the good of her being around far outweighs the bad. In fact up to a few moments ago I'd have been hard pressed to think of anything bad about having my Mum around," he said, mock glaring over at Lily who had finally followed the boys into the kitchen. In reply she merely smirked, leaning down to bus his cheek with her ethereal lips.
"Since you have all gotten this morning's comedy routine out of your system, I think it is indeed time for us to plan out our day," Dooku said drolly. He looked at Aayla then through the open doorway into the small kitchen at Harry. The two of them no longer seemed to be fighting the urge to look at one another, and seemed far more centered than they had been the day before. Best to make certain however. "I trust the two of you are over your reaction to once more meeting one another?"
"Yes Master Dooku," Harry and Aayla said as one, before looking at one another and sharing a laugh.
"It was just, we spent so many years apart and could talk so rarely, we had a lot to catch up on up here," Aayla went on tapping her forehead. "We're over it now." What she didn't say was that there was now a small constantly open back door between their minds, connecting their mindscapes through their bond. That was no one's business but their own, for now. Though Aayla knew they might well face opposition from the Order as a whole because of it.
Aayla sat down at the tiny table as Harry and Anakin came out of the small kitchen with the food Harry had prepared. Most of it had come from his expanded bag, a project Lily and Fay had completed while taking a break from working on Fay's ship. Anakin had seen Harry use the bag last night, but it was still wondrous to him.
Not so much the fact that Harry could do it, Harry was after all a Jedi padawan, and Jedi could do anything in Anakin's mind. No, it was the variety and the fact that there was actual meat in the food, making it a hearty meal rather than a soup or something else accompanied by cheap bread.
Padme flushed slightly as Harry sat across from her, sending a grin her way before nudging Aayla with his elbow and holding out a plate of something that looked like small cherries but not quite. They were a pink color rather than red, and seemed to have a hard rind to them as well. Aayla beamed in turn, smacking her shoulder against Harry's for a second as she took two of them, peeling the rind off the small items expertly before popping them into her mouth. "Kelu berries, they're really good," she said, holding out the plate to Padme.
Nodding in thanks Padme reached out as the others all grabbed their own meal. At one side of the small table Dooku had immediately begun to question Fay about their plans for the day, and Fay had promised to meditate once more on the near future while he and Qui-Gon dealt with Watto. Qui-Gon in turn was speaking to Anakin. He was so intent on questioning the youth he didn't even seem to notice the food in front of them.
With the skill of a trained diplomat to listen to multiple conversations at once, Padme heard Fay say "And I trust that you will be able to try to do so peacefully?"
"We will certainly endeavor to do so, but Tatooine is technically within the environs of the Republic. If we have to we can simply point out that slavery is illegal, and as a known slaver Watto's rights to retain his 'property' go out the airlock. I am not in the mood or see any need for us to tread lightly on this planet any further." Dooku replied grimly.
While that sounded good to Padme, she had a hard time concentrating on that, or even on the plate in front of her. Those eyes of Harry's and his handsome face was still enchanting to her. I am not used to feeling jealousy towards another woman, but I have to admit that I am somewhat jealous about Aayla and her connection to Harry. It seems the sort of thing out of a fairytale.
Thankfully Anakin broke Padme out of her momentary stupor as Qui-Gon's attention was taken by his former master. The young boy began to talk excitedly about what kind of planets he'd like to see when he became a Jedi, finishing with, "But anyway, what I wanted to ask is what kind of planet Naboo is Padme?"
Padme smiled wanly and answered as best she could while the meal went on and Dooku and Qui-Gon left on their mission. "I would say it is an idyllic world in many ways. We have a magnificent climate, which allows us to grow enough food to feed our own population, with large oceans, vast plains suitable for farming, and a few scattered mountains. Naboo is all green, blue and water from above, a pristine world which has never felt the touch of overcrowding, over industry or any other excess which might have harmed its environment. We are an ancient people, with an ancient and storied history, mostly one of peace, showcased in our architecture, our cities are a wonder of history. Naboo is not a powerful planet, but we are self-sufficient.
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