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Being Galactic Emperor isn’t as easy as some would believe; most of the day, when he isn’t sitting in on Senate debates, Cody is locked away in his office or in Council meetings with an assembly of various Vode of high rank. He rarely has time for anything other than paperwork, and even five years after his sudden… promotion , he’s still weeding out dissenters and dealing with regular assassination attempts on not just himself, but on Rex, Fox, and the royal family as well. The paperwork is nearly endless - somehow, Cody doesn’t know how, peace creates more documentation than War does, most of it something that Cody considers useless but Fox insists is important, and then gets annoyed when Cody tries to abdicate the throne to give to him instead, and threatens to resign when Cody tries to give him more political power. There’s always something to sign, someone to meet, or some disaster that needs to be averted. Nonetheless, he always tries to make time, and his riduur is always understanding of the power the call of duty has over him.
Their ad’ike, however, not so much.
Cody is sitting through another Council meeting, listening to Commander Stone of the Guard go over the recent series of hate crimes aimed towards the Vode, and the new information that had connected former Senator Ister Paddie - a Palpatine Loyalist who hadn’t had any provable crimes connected to him in their original sweep of the Committee members, and who was an avid supporter of the Military Creation Act - to the attacks. Tech, as Head of the Cybersecurity Division, had managed to trace a dark web code from the former Senator’s home comm on Halbara to a dissident forum where the Human had been spreading wildly untrue rumours to stir up support to attempt to ‘remove’ the Vode from power. Fox insisted that it was only a small movement, mostly viewed as radical since most of the Galaxy has come to grips with the new Empire, comfortable in the fact that it wouldn’t negatively impact their lives, but there were still plenty of beings that would buy into the words of charismatic people because of their own innate prejudices against cloned beings.
It’s boring, to be honest, because there’s really not much Cody personally can do besides leave it to the Guard, but he is the one who’s always insisted on being kept in the loop - something he regrets immensely because he could be at home right now, with his riduur and ad’ike , watching silly children’s animated shows on the holovision, and eating the sugary fruit treats that Leia loved so much. His daughter would pout adorably whenever he’d cheerfully steal one from her bowl, and it would lead to scowl-training for the future Galactic Empress while Luke would simply laugh at his sister and Buir from Obi-Wan’s lap, easily sharing his own snacks with his Da.
And of course, because his ad’ike can read minds to know the exact moment one of their fathers are thinking about them - no matter what Obi-Wan says about the Force not working like that, Cody knows for sure that the twins can read minds and use that to know when their fathers were in the proper mindset to give into their Tooka-eyed demands - Cody’s two bundles of joy and chaos burst into the room with bright cries of, “Buir!”
Stone cuts his voice off immediately, and Rex brightens like he always does when his niece and nephew are in his presence.
Two small bodies collide with Cody’s chair, the Force powering their bodies letting the twins move much faster than possible for children their age, and immediately the two Naberrie children are clambering into Cody’s lap and settling against his chest. Leia plops herself imperiously on his lap, surveying the Council room with sharp intelligence in large brown eyes, while Luke giggles and wraps his arms around his Buir’s neck, pushing his nose into Cody’s cheek, blond hair tousled from the run. Wooley, Echo, and Jesse are right behind the twins; with their greater stamina, the three ARC Troopers were among Leia and Lukes’ favourite ‘playmates’ - also known as Royal Guards - and could keep pace with the two five year olds almost as well as Cody could.
“Hi Buir!” Luke chirps brightly, beaming, and Cody gently ruffles the boy’s hair, turning to kiss his forehead in greeting, and Luke leans into the touch, all-but purring at the attention like a pleased Tooka. “We got tired of waiting for you! So we came to see you!” He peeks over his shoulder at the ARCs, expression mischievous, and Wooley rolls her eyes, sending the boy an over-the-top mock-offended look.
“Almost managed to give us the slip, Your Highness.” Jesse praises cheerfully, and Luke giggles while Leia grins smugly, making herself comfortable against her Buir’s stomach while she daintily straightens her skirt.
“We ran very very fastly.” Luke shares, returning to smooshing his face against Cody’s, hanging from him like a limpet. “Are you done yet, Buir? We put on Tooka King but you weren’t there, so I says to Da that we can’t watch until Buir is done, and Leia says that we should come get you! She says that we need to save you!” The blond informs him, voice rushed, and he bounces slightly.
Cody chuckles, wrapping his arms around both children, and they giggle in response. “My heroes.”
“Well?” Leia demands petulantly, scowling adorably around the room in an attempted threat, and Cody hears the muffled snickers his vod’e release in the face of the future Empress. “Are you done?”
“Patience, dear heart, is a virtue.” His riduur’s amused voice chimes from the doorway, and the ARC Troopers shuffle aside to reveal the Imperial Consort leaning against the door frame, expression warm and eyes loving, even as he playfully scolds their children.
Leia sniffs delicately, “But sloth is a sin.”
No one bothers to hide their chuckles this time, and Obi-Wan smirks in amusement, “I knew I shouldn’t have introduced you to Quinlan.” He says in playful mourning, and Leia preens. “He’s ruined you.”
“Uncle Quin is funny.” Luke says cheerfully, and Fox coughs in amusement, and Obi-Wan rolls his eyes.
“He’s also an uncivilized brute.”
The blond child sends an alarmed look towards Fox, “Da! You can’t say that! Uncle Fox is here!”
“Your Uncle Fox knows what he was getting into when he married that terror.” Obi-Wan replies easily, and Cody kisses the crown of his son’s head as the redhead sends an apologetic glance around the room, “My apologies for the interruption.”
“It’s fine.” Cody says immediately, shifting his hold on the two children on his lap so that he could stand, tucking an ad on either hip and ignoring the knowing look the Vode in the room share with grace, “We were just finishing up anyways.”
Obi-Wan hesitates, but leans into the kiss when Cody dips down to capture his lips in a sweet exchange, “If you’re sure.” He says when they break apart, but they stay in each other’s space, basking in the other’s presence. With a giggle, Luke is transferred into Obi-Wan’s arms instead, and the boy cheerfully leans into the hold, while Leia clings to Cody’s shirt with the determination of a child not to be separated from her favourite person in the Galaxy, glowering around the room as if daring the Vode to make their Emperor stay.
“Go on.” Fox is the one to speak up, rolling his eyes, “Tooka King holds the utmost importance. I can handle it from here.”
“You heard the man.” Cody says, looping his free arm around his husband’s waist and pressing a kiss to his cheek, “Tooka King waits for no man.”