Private Paid Time Off

[Alicio Organa]

Grand Assembly, Fondor
Office of the Chancellor
- Amani Serys -
​

Alicio hadn't seen Amani or the kids in weeks.

It was by far the longest time he'd been without them, ever since he'd been marooned with Kai on Zaathru. All of his time was eaten up by meetings with heads of state, hopping around the Alliance on negotiations, shaking hands and making promises with power no one man should have any right commanding. He was fighting to keep ahead of it all, and so far, he was succeeding. But that just made him feel like the Alliance's next crisis was imminent. It didn't help that the Future was infuriatingly silent on the matter.

In all that time, his family was never far from his thoughts. He'd synced his datapad's timer to Liana and August's schedules, just so he could step out of meetings to wish them sweet dreams, and tell them he loved them very much. But he couldn't tuck them in. It hurt every time he had to disconnect, being too far to kiss their foreheads good night.

All that was changing, today. Alicio stared at his clock, willing the minutes to tick by faster. Any moment, Amani and the children would walk through his doors. And for the first time since his inauguration, their family would be together.

He could hardly wait.

 

[Amani Serys]

The last few months had been incredibly busy for the Organa family. Alicio's responsibilities in the Alliance were amping up; Even before he was certifiably selected as the net Chancellor, preparations were well underway for the transition of office. Meanwhile, Amani had been hard at work overseeing the Vonnuvi Enclave, which was taking a heavy role in Outer Rim outreach. They decided it would be best to have the children taken to the herdship with Amani, where they would at least have one of their parents regularly around to take care of them.

Now, Alicio was settled into his station, and the Vonnuvi Enclave was back to more standard day-to-day operation. The chaos had (mosltly) subsided. August and Liana were practically dragging Amani along with them on the way to see their dad again. They seemed to understand the weight of their parents' work, but it didn't make it any more difficult for a child to be away from them. Amani and Alicio had always strove to try and keep such absenteeism to a minimum. Amani liked to think that, all things considered, they were succeeding on that front.

The two kids burst through the doors with palpable, almost destructive excitement. If Alicio's future didn't bother to give him any warning, he might very well end up tackled to the ground by the twins. Amani appeared in the door frame soon after, removing her hood to reveal a relieved smile, "Hello, Dad," She said.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Danger, Alicio's future-vision warned. But the good kind.

Alicio was already rushing to the door before he saw the kids, kneeling to meet them. All the same, they nearly pulled him to the ground with their tackling hugs, gripping onto him tightly and squealing a greeting. Alicio released a surprised chuckle, letting his lips graze across their foreheads, and feeling a speck of moisture at the corner of his eye. It hadn't been that long, in the grand scheme of things... but to him, it had been forever since he'd seen them.

"Hello, Lovely. Hey Auggie. I missed you both so much." Alicio cradled the backs of their heads closely, giving them his undivided attention for a few beautiful seconds. Then, he looked past them, at the love of his life.

Maneuvering his children around so they were each hugging one of his calves, Alicio trudged over to her, causing the little ones to laugh as they were pulled along by each stomping footfall. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around Amani, putting his brow to hers.

"Amani." Alicio said her name with the reverence of a prayer. "I missed you. A lot."

"Please save me. I can't stand another minute in this building."

- Amani Serys -

 

[Amani Serys]

"We missed you too, daddy."

Amani laughed cheerfully at the sight, silently appreciating these moments that were once the norm. It had been easy to forget with how busy life had become all over again. After an appropriate amount of showered attention for the kids, the parents locked eyes. Alicio's ankle weights giggled as they stifled his movement, and Amani took a half-step forward to spare him the last ounce of effort. They embraced, the two children stuck between them in the moment. "I missed you, too."

"Please save me. I can't stand another minute in this building."

"Got a speeder waiting outside." She said, then looked down at the children, "Ready to rescue your dad?"

"Yeah!" The twins said in unison, already unlatching themselves to run back down the hall and towards the exit.

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Seeing them felt better than he could've ever forseen.

Alicio lingered with his family in his arms for a moment, already feeling some lost strength from long days and sleepless nights returning to him. For a lovely moment, the Chancellery slipped his mind. All that mattered was Amani and the twins.

After drinking in that moment for as long as he could, Alicio pulled away, standing as the children rushed towards the door.

"Ready to rescue your dad?"

"Yeah!"

"My heroes." Alicio chuckled, letting his hand entwine in Amani's. "Let's go. Before they rope me into another meeting."

Walking through the General Ministry Canton, Alicio had a new pep in his step. Aides, senators, and government officials seemed to part around the Organa family. A few seemed to think about chancing a conversation with the senator, before noticing the guard dogs that were his children, obviously on a mission to get their father out of the building, and deciding to save it for another day.

"How have you all enjoyed the Temple? Made lots of friends?" Alicio directed the question at each of them, though Amani kept his attention a little longer. "I hope you haven't been too busy."

- Amani Serys -

 

[Amani Serys]

"Can't have that," Amani replied, taking the Chancellor's hand as they left the room. The children did a good job protecting him from any would-be conversations, be it with gazes pitiful (August) or threatening (Liana) directed at those who seemed to be weighing the choice.

"Yeah!" Liana suddenly turned to face her father innocently, "The Vonvee is a cool ship. Lots of nice people there," She didn't seem to distinguish between the enclave and the ship as a whole, and began rattling off a number of figures who piqued her interest as best as she could remember them, hardly gibing August a chance to speak.

Amani smirked, "I have, unfortunately. But the work was worth it, I think. And now it's done with. That's what matters to me." She studied Alicio for a moment, "What about you?"

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Before Alicio could get a word in edge-wise, Liana was listing off an impressively extensive list of names. Alicio closed his mouth, simply nodding and encouraging Lia to continue speaking, making sure to file away the people she mentioned for later reference. He didn't mind the endless stream of childish consciousness from his daughter- it was very cute.

August didn't seem to think so, though. He waved at Liana to get her attention. "Hey! Lia! My turn!" He raised his hand, as if waiting to be called on by one of his parents.

"I have, unfortunately. But the work was worth it, I think. And now it's done with. That's what matters to me. What about you?"

Alicio's eye twitched a little as the question was brought back to him. He decided to take the meandering route to his answer. "Good. I'm sure the Vonnuvi Temple appreciates all you do. At least, they'd better." He chanced a grin. "Or else I'll have some strong words for them."

"Um... I..." How did he say this? "I haven't been this tired since Sanctuary City. I'm barely keeping up with everything. Lots of meetings. Long nights. Early mornings. Negotiations..." Alicio's expression soured, his gaze suddenly finding the floor. "I don't see an end to it. Not for a good long while."

Finally, they made it to the Canton's private hanger, breezing through a security checkpoint. Freedom was so close.

- Amani Serys -

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani snorted, "They'd definitely better. I'm the one who built the place, after all." Alicio was dragging out his own response, however, and she waited expectantly for him to get around to her question. He admitted that the work was indeed straining. And seemingly unending. It was probably to be expected. He was Chancellor of the largest democratic body in the entire galaxy. Trillions, if not quadrillions, of people were beholden to his office. And it a time such as this, with conflicts on all sides, there was all the more weight to his decisions.

"Well… no one ever said being Chancellor was easy," She tried to make light, but turned more serious after a moment, "I'm sorry to hear that. It must be heavy to carry." As they passed through the checkpoint and headed for the speeder, she offered him a kiss on the cheek, "All the more reason to let it go for one day."

August was still trying to have his turn when the doors to the speeder opened for them. Amani chuckled, and finally gave him the attention he needed, "Yes, dear?"

Alicio Organa​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"I'm sorry to hear that. It must be heavy to carry." As they passed through the checkpoint and headed for the speeder, she offered him a kiss on the cheek, "All the more reason to let it go for one day."

"Mmm." Alicio hummed low, discovering a silly little grin. "You know me. Master of leaving work at work."

But he would try regardless. He wanted to be completely present, with his family.

Finally, August got his turn. He hopped on his tippy toes. "Hi Mommy! Ummmm..." He had to think a moment, having spent so much time getting their attention, he had forgotten what he was going to say. "Oh! I have lots of friends. I played starships with Ti, and me and Omar were drawing, and I played on the swings with Shale! Which was hard, because she is a rock..." He continued in very much the same vein as his sister, oversharing the specifics, and not seeming to care how much time he was taking.

Alicio helped the children into the speeder, climbing into the passenger seat alongside them. "So, Amani. Did you have a plan for today, or shall we wing it?" He didn't mind either way. Sure, he enjoyed a good plan... but some of his favorite moments with Serys had been spontaneous.

- Amani Serys -