It was a typical day on Coruscant. The sun was shining, and everything was cheerful in the Republic's capital.

In the residence of Padmé Amidala and her unknown husband Anakin, the Naboo Senator was packing his belongings in his bedroom, humming a pleasant tune.

"You suddenly look cheerful." Anakin said from the doorway. "Anything good happening in the Senate?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Anakin soon paled a little and tensed. "Is this our anniversary? Your birthday? If so, I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you."

"Again, no, but I'm glad you remembered that."

"what is that?"

"Giving myself a little break," Padmé replied, heading to her closet and picking out a few other clothes. Then she answered the unspoken question. "Back home to Naboo, spending some time at my family estate."

"Oh?" Anakin blinked and smiled. "What a coincidence. I have some time off too."

“I have invited the Avengers, your Padawan and many others to come along.

“…I’m sorry, what?

Padmé laughed at her husband's response.

"I'm sorry you won't be alone with me, even though I would find it pleasant and enjoyable."

Anakin smiled. "What on earth is this for?"

Padmé began to choose her clothes with C3PO helping her pack.

"Well, if you didn't know what our Avengers friends are doing, they are getting ready for vacation." Padmé said.

"...I don't recall any vacations anytime soon. Anakin made a thoughtful gesture. "Then again, there are so many cultures in the galaxy, I may have forgotten...

"Yeah." Padmé elaborated. "Holidays. Back on their home planet, it's almost the end of the year. It's the last two weeks of their calendar year. They're celebrating a bunch of holidays.

"Oh?" Now Anakin was interested. "What are they?"

C3P-O responded, “I believe Mr. Rogers said one, called Hanukkah.

“Hanukkah?”

“Yes, about lighting candles once. It was a celebration of one of their home religions.

3P0 then spoke about other holidays. “They also have Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve; the last day of their calendar, and New Year’s Day… So, the new year begins.

"You did this because..."

"Since they are homesick, and can't get there anytime soon, I thought it would be nice to celebrate some of these holidays at my estate," Padmé told her husband.

"What the hell is going on with them?" Anakin asked, walking over to his wife.

“While everyone is different in some way, from what they described, the whole concept is about gift giving and spending time with loved ones.”

"Gifts?" Anakin mused. "That... sounds interesting actually.

"It does, doesn't it." Padmé smiled. "I think it's going to be a great time. I believe Peter mentioned something about cultural exchange.

Anakin laughed loudly.

After a day or two of packing, many people boarded a luxury cruiser to the beautiful and scenic world of Naboo. After leaving the cruiser, they flew directly to Padme's family estate, where they would spend the Christmas holiday together before returning to their respective residences.

"I don't even know where to begin to thank you, Padmé," Natasha said, pulling the Senator in for a hug.

Padmé laughed happily and hugged her friend. "I guess after everything you've done for us, this is nothing.

The taste of home is the best that any Avenger could describe, and the break that Padmé and her family have managed to set up is truly touching.

Thanks to the Avengers' personal AI, Tap, who managed to correlate data from the holographic network with the best materials and basically everything else they needed to replicate a festive time that felt like home.

There were several trees decorated with lights and other ornaments. Candles were lit in an atmospheric way, adding to the festive feel.

"I must admit..." Obi-Wan stood a few meters away with Steve, Rhodes, Matt, and Anakin, looking around at all the decorations. "These festivals you celebrate on your own planet are quite attractive."

"It could use a little less glare," Anakin said.

Matt coughed and smiled. "Being blind does have its advantages sometimes."

"Wow, Matt, wow," War Machine said in a flat tone.

Suddenly, Sola Naberri's little daughters rushed to Steve, grabbed his hands, and pulled him away from the group of people he was standing with.

Elsewhere, Quicksilver and a companion walk around the small estate.

Senator Rio Chuchi.

"This Christmas holiday sounds like a merry one."

Quicksilver chuckled softly. "Yeah, it was fun. Gift giving and all that..." The Avenger softened. "This was the best time I can think of with my sister and my parents."

Noticing his change in mood, Rio placed a hand on his arm.

He looked down at her and saw the comforting smile she gave him, making him smile as well.

As she looked up at Pietro, she noticed a strange plant hanging over them, seemingly coming from nowhere.

"What is that?" Chucky asked, causing Pietro to blink and look up at what caught Chucky's attention.

Quicksilver's eyes widened slightly when he realized what it was, and out of the corners of his eyes and ears, he swore he saw a small figure, wings humming.

"Uh...well," Quicksilver coughed awkwardly. "You see, it's another Christmas tradition back home.

"Oh?" Rio looked up at the plant. "What does this mean?"

Quicksilver rubbed the back of his neck, smiling a little as he looked away from the senator who had a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Well... I'm not sure you should know. He teased. "It might embarrass you."

"Come on, tell me." Chu Chi said with his hands on his back.

“…you asked for it.

Before she knew it, she received a quick kiss on the cheek. Chucky froze and blushed, which made Quicksilver grin before looking around and seeing what, or rather who, he was looking for.

"Okay, Hope, keep going now. Now go and bother others. Quicksilver said helplessly to the flying spot, and it flew away quickly.

"Huh—what's that?" Rio stammered.

"It's a Christmas tradition back home," Quicksilver explained. "When two people are under the live oak tree, they... well, if they're a couple, they usually kiss, but--"

What Quicksilver didn't expect was that two slender arms held his head and he was pulled down by the diminutive senator, whose soft lips pressed against his. After a few seconds, he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her slender frame, standing there in shock.

From a distance, the Wasp spun triumphantly and flew away.

Back inside, everyone present was chatting and celebrating.

Kenobi was "interrupted" by Natasha, who asked him if Satine had received her gift, to which the Jedi Master replied that she should receive his gift soon.

In another corner, Anakin was talking to Padmé's parents in a more private way.

Not much was said, but the looks Anakin got from Chopper and Ruwe were enough to get the message across. He just breathed a sigh of relief and grinned at Padmé's parents.

The rest of the Avengers are talking with Padmé, her sister Sora, Sora's husband Darede, and Aayla.

However, an Avenger is alone.

Scott Lang stood outside, looking up at Naboo's moon, then glancing down at a photo in his hand.

In the photo, he is seen holding up his daughter, Cassie, in his Ant-Man suit as Hope tickles her.

He smiled sadly, his eyes lighting up when he saw his daughter, hating himself for not being there right now.

This was supposed to be his first Christmas with her out of prison, and…

Scott felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at Hope.

In her other hand she held a picture of herself and Scott.

He wordlessly put his other arm around her and they leaned their heads together.

In another part of the estate, Ahsoka and Barriss sat in a large hammock made entirely of spider webs, gazing at the stars above. The commotion in the distance reached their ears, but never disturbed them. The only brief incident was when Peter crawled over to them to bring them some of the food and drink they had requested.

"Thanks, Peter," Ahsoka said and Barriss gave their male friend a smile.

"You're welcome," Peter said, and the three of them sat in silence in the comfortable spiderweb hammock.

They ate their food without saying much, until...

"Oh, I almost forgot." Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out two packages.

"What is this?" Barris asked in surprise.

“It was a little thing that took me a while to make, but thanks to Scott I pulled it off,” Peter explained.

They both tentatively took the gifts from him, hesitating for a moment.

"Peter, you know, as Jedi, there are certain things we can't really own," Ahsoka said after a moment.

"I know...but I was just trying to be nice, and..." Peter muttered the next few parts, which were hard for the two Padawans to hear.

Barriss figured it wouldn't hurt to see what Peter got, and she opened her gift first, with Ahsoka following closely behind.

What they saw were beautifully crafted pendants that were flower-shaped in structure but delicately designed…

"This..." Ahsoka ran her hand over the colors of the pendant. "These are my marks."

"Peter, you did this?" Barris asked in mild surprise, staring at the patterns on her own pendant, which were identical to her facial markings.

"It took me a while to get them right," Peter admitted. "I was trying to figure out the best metals that would be compatible with your lightsaber."

"What?" Ahsoka asked confused.

Spider-Man shrugged. "Well, yeah, I remember you guys always told me that a lightsaber is a Jedi's most important possession, so I thought if you don't want to wear a lightsaber, I'd make some things that you can attach to your lightsaber."

They were both silent for a while until Miriam Padawan gave Peter a kind smile.

"That's very thoughtful," Barris said, looking at her gift again.

She then put the pendant around her neck, hiding it beneath her clothes, surprising Ahsoka.

Barris said with a satisfied look on his face. "Now it will be with me forever."

Ahsoka frowned in thought, looking at her hair until her eyes lit up and she placed it as a second braid to hers.

"Now I have it too." Ahsoka announced happily. "Thanks Peter."

"Haha~ You're welcome. Happy first Christmas." Peter said happily.

Both girls hugged Spider-Man and continued stargazing.

Although the galaxy is at war and the conflict continues, there is a brief moment of relaxation for all on Naboo as they celebrate Earth's first festival.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like