I have created a Patreon in case you're interested, there I will publish more chapters and new fanfiction before releasing them on Webnovel.[1]
The house next door to the Smiths had become a strange sanctuary. During the day, it was a command center for two clandestine wars, with Kaelen and Rick collaborating on physics-defying projects in the garage. But at night, when the Smith family settled into their own noisy chaos, the house became a haven of peace for Kaelen and Padmé.
One evening, several weeks after the parent-teacher conference, Kaelen found Padmé in the small backyard garden she had begun to cultivate. She was gazing up at the Earth's night sky, a blanket of stars different from the one she knew.
He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. The cold metal of his left arm contrasted with the soft fabric of her nightgown.
"What is the galaxy's bravest Senator thinking about?" he whispered.
"How quiet it is," she replied. "Here, now. It's strange. After everything that's happened, the silence almost feels... loud."
"I know what you mean," Kaelen said. He paused, and then an idea, one that had been brewing for days, finally took shape. "You know, with the Naboo blockade, the escape to Tatooine, the war, two assassination attempts, being hunted by an interdimensional council of my genetic fathers, and becoming prisoners of the U.S. government... we skipped a very important step in the traditional sequence of marriage."
Padmé turned in his arms to face him, a curious smile on her face. "And what would that be?"
"The honeymoon," he replied, his eyes shining with a light she knew well: the light of a crazy, wonderful idea. "We never had one. A trip somewhere beautiful, no politics, no droids, no threats of annihilation. Just you and me."
"Kaelen, I'd love that," she said, her heart quickening at the thought. "But where could we go? There isn't a single place in our galaxy that's safe for us right now."
Kaelen's smile widened. "Darling, who said anything about our galaxy?"
He pulled out his portal gun. He had perfected it; it was now an instrument of precision. "I have access to an infinite number of realities. Most are unspeakable hellholes, universes where everything is made of screaming shrimp heads or ruled by fascist squirrels. But I've been searching. I've been scanning dimensions for a specific place."
He manipulated the portal gun's dials, not with the urgency of battle, but with the care of an artist. "I looked for a universe without the Force, without Sith, without Jedi. No blaster weapons, no spaceships, no galactic politics. A universe where people live quiet, simple lives. A place... beautiful. Just for you."
He aimed at the empty air of the garden and pulled the trigger.
The portal that opened was not threatening. It was an invitation. Through the swirling green, they saw no rocky caves or suburban streets. They saw a scene of such profound peace it took their breath away.
It was night. They were on the shore of a crystal-clear, tranquil lake, so still it perfectly reflected a sky filled with a million brilliant stars and a full moon. On the other side of the lake, the majestic, snow-capped silhouette of a massive mountain rose against the night sky. The air entering from the portal was cool and smelled of pine and damp earth. The only sound was the gentle crackling of a nearby campfire and the chirping of crickets.
"Where...?" Padmé whispered, mesmerized.
"They call it Japan. In a version of Earth where the most exciting thing that happens is camping by a lake to watch the sunrise over Mount Fuji," Kaelen explained. "No powers. No threats. Just... peace."
He extended his hand. "Padmé Amidala, would you do me the honor of joining me for a one-night honeymoon, in a world where the only thing that matters is the view?"
Tears filled Padmé's eyes. Not from sadness, but from overwhelming gratitude. The man who could build weapons to destroy reality had used that same power to find a tiny corner of the multiverse where they could simply be themselves.
She took his hand without hesitation. "Yes, Kaelen. Yes, I will."
Together, they crossed the portal. They left behind the house, the war, the fear, and appeared on the lakeshore. The portal closed behind them, leaving only the sound of the fire and the starry sky. A small tent was pitched, and two chairs sat by the fire.
Kaelen led her to the chairs, and they sat, watching the reflection of the stars on the water. He wrapped his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
For the first time in a very long time, they were not a Senator and a Director, nor fugitives, nor saviors. They were just a husband and wife, on their honeymoon, in a perfect place under a tranquil moon. And in that silence, in that absolute peace, they found the home they had been searching for all along.
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