Story Title: An Eternity of Golden Moments
Disclaimer: I clearly do not own Star Wars, just writing for fun.
Summary: Valentine's day fic, just fluff.
Author Notes: Thanks for reading, reviews would be greatly appreciated.
Sunlight slowly filtered through the closed blinds, making visible minuscule particulates that drifted lazily through the air. The room was silent, peaceful, the minimalist furniture giving off an air of comfort and sumptuous luxury. Beneath silken sheets, Padme slept. She breathed in and out with a steady, peaceful rhythm, her dark, curly hair spread out on the pillow behind her like a comet's tail. Her lips curved in a subtle smile that marked happy dreams. Brilliant rays of sun shone from an open doorway where stood a tall young man, face obscured by the light that shone around him. He was leaning on the door frame, a tray in his hands, but he made no move to wake the sleeping senator, instead watching her, a smile brightening his own face. She shifted slightly, encountering the emptiness in the bed beside her. In sleep, her forehead wrinkled, perturbed by the empty space beside her, the space where she hoped to find warmth and security. Walking forward, Anakin decided it was time to wake her, any longer and her breakfast might get cold. With the gentlest touch he could manage, he brushed against her mind, pushing away the cobwebs of sleep. Her eyes flickered behind still-closed eyelids as he walked towards her, opening the blinds with the Force. It was only as he sat on the bed that she awoke for real, eyes blinking open slowly.
All of a sudden, she was alert and aware, "Anakin!" her smile light up the room brighter than any sun. "You're here!" She sat up, flinging her arms around him and kissing him fiercely, he only just manage to get the tray out of the way in time. For an eternity of golden moments, there was nothing else but Padme, the scent of her hair, the warmth of her skin, the taste of her lips. Anakin gripped her back just as fiercely as he felt himself relax for the first time in so very many months. Too long had they been apart, separated by a galaxy of war and politics that seemed to conspire to ensure that they never even caught glimpses of one another. But he had beaten them, cast them aside, at least for one day, a single, glorious day they could be together. It would be perfect, it had to be. So short was the time they had that every moment felt like a dream, every moment recalled in sleep for the months to come. He let her go with the greatest reluctance, fingers tracing her smooth skin.
"Happy Valentine's day," He met her deep brown eyes, basking in the love that he found there, boundless and unconditional, the smile on his face growing with every second.
"I didn't know you were coming back! How did you manage to get this day off?" Her voice was music, soft and lilting, nothing that any orchestra could ever hope to capture.
"The will of the Force and the fact that we have no idea where General Grievous is, we came back to improve the tracking network, and I managed to get the day off. I made you breakfast." He said as he belatedly recalled the food that he had spent so long preparing, lifting up the tray. He was rewarded with another smile that made his own face light up. He was getting the feeling that his face might be very sore by the end of the day, but that didn't matter, he wouldn't stop smiling the whole day if that was what it took to make her happy.
"I love you," Padme shook her head as she spoke as though she couldn't quite believe he was here, wrapping her hand in his, she met his gaze, a touch of sternness entering her melodic voice "No politics today, no war. Today we are going to enjoy ourselves."
"I agree." As she ate, they talked, running through plans and ideas that would allow them to avoid their normal lives away from the pressure of the Senate and the watchfulness of the Jedi Knights. It felt like a dream, there was no way his fortunes could have changed so quickly. Only two days ago he had been on a far off world of Gamorr, searching for the elusive droid general. There was no way that Obi-wan had let him have this day off when he already suspected what was between them. Yet, here he was, sitting cross-legged on her bed, discussing whether they should visit the gardens or the ice caps, the picture of an ordinary life, a life that he dreamed about, a life he would take so long as it meant he could be with Padme. After much deliberation, they decided on the Great Western Sea, the only major body of water remaining on Coruscant, her love for swimming winning him over.
They got dressed in normal clothes, not the robes of a Jedi or the dresses of a Senator, but just two people, ordinary people who could get lost among the billions of humans on Coruscant. Then they went on their way, Anakin piloting Padme's open-air speeder as they raced through the traffic that clogged the skies of the city world. They could have made it faster if he had flown as he normally did, twisting and diving through the lanes of traffic, but as Padme pointed out, they would be noticed and if they didn't want to be recognized, they would have to behave as normally as they were clothed. The slowness of the traffic grated on him. He wanted her to have a perfect day, and despite her remarks of just being happy to be with him, he knew that this was not where she wanted to be. Still, the day was bright and golden, sunlight reflecting off of skyscrapers thousands of stories tall, a light breeze ensuring that it wasn't too hot. So he calmed his frustration, taking in the stunning views of the world that unfolded around him, the new wonder around every bend and the voice of Padme as she talked about swimming, which was something he had never actually tried. The drive became less arduous as she lulled him into calmness and serenity as they took in the beauty of Coruscant. The clouds drifted by, not so very far above their heads, but still the skyscrapers stretched onwards. The skyhooks drifted in the upper atmosphere, though it seemed as though there was nothing holding them down. The world sang in the Force, sang with lives of trillions and the heat of the sun and the light of the moons that hung like pale ghosts in the bright blue sky.
They stopped for lunch at the Skydome Botanical Gardens, surrounded by plants it almost felt as though they were on a different world. The air was moist and cool, filled with the sounds of exotic animals and the hum of conversation. Light from the transparisteel celling filtered down past the trees and gave the world a green glow. All around them were other couples from every species imaginable, but Anakin paid little attention to any of it. He took in everything about Padme instead as they ate food that he couldn't recall ordering, how she moved her hands as she talked, the way her hair reflected the light. The smile on her face made him giddy with a joy that had seemed so far removed from his life back on the Outer Rim, a life of struggle and blood and death, a life that grated on him no matter what he told Obi-wan. He refused to think of it, memorizing the location of each of the faint freckles on her face instead. She paid for lunch and they walked around, staring at plants that had been collected from every corner of the galaxy, from tiny fungi from Felucia to dwarfed, but still giant Wroshyr trees from Kashyyk. As they walked through a section of vines he lifted them with the Force, tapping her on the shoulder and tickling her. With a flick of his hand, he coerced the vines into lifting up both of them, depositing them on a Wroshyr tree were they could sit and see the cityscape laid out before them and eat the complementary chocolates that they had been given while bird-like animals flew around them. They were so high; they could touch the roof of the circular dome, the light shining white onto their heads. The noises from below didn't carry this high; instead they sat in near silence except for the cries of animals and the rustle of leaves. From their perch, they watched the tourists go by, and tried to guess who they were and what they might do for a living. After he had answered with several astute guesses, she punched him gently in the shoulder, "Using the Force is cheating!"
"I prefer very accurate guessing," He laughed.
They made it to the beach as the sun reached its zenith in the heavens, and began the search for somewhere to lay their towels on the crowded white sand. He hated sand, the way it made it hard to walk and got all over clothing, but this stuff was different, it was soft and powdery instead, instead of getting everywhere it simply fell back to the ground. They managed to find a spot to call their own, despite Anakin's growing feeling that everyone on Coruscant had decided to come to the beach today, and why should they not have, it was a perfect day. The sky was a solid blue he had no name for with only a few errant wisps of cloud, the water that stretched to the horizon looked cool and clear, the waves little more than ripples. It was the perfect temperature as well. They got out of their clothes, his toes sinking pleasantly into the sand. As he looked at the water, he felt the first twinge of nervousness. He hadn't the first idea what it would feel like, and only the vaguest notion of what he was supposed to do, but when Padme ran forward, he grabbed her hand and followed.
The water was cool on his skin, leaching away the heat from the blazing sun above; it was unlike anything he had felt before. He stopped dead, pulling Padme to a halt beside him. She gave him a quizzical look, "It's more fun if you go in deeper." He looked down at the sparkling blue water that came up to his ankles, and then met her eyes, and the silent laughter that danced there.
"What is it?" He said, trying not to sound to perturbed at her lack of accommodation for him.
"The Hero without Fear, afraid to go for a swim," She chuckled. He opened his mouth to retort, then stopped, realized how silly he did look. Recognizing his resignation, she picked up his hand and began to run again, feet splashing through the surf, water flying in all directions. It grew deeper at a steady rate, and eventually they had to walk. Padme was up to her chest when it suddenly dropped off. Anakin began to sink instantly, fear bubbling up in him as he sank deeper and deeper into the cool darkness that lay underneath the placid waves. Despite his fear, it was the most bizarre sensation, thinner than bacta, and even more buoyant, the water felt almost like floating in a vacuum, but for the sensation of the liquid against his skin, he decided that he liked it. Two hands grabbed his and Padme pulled him to the surface, her dark hair plastered to her head. "You have to kick your feet," She was laughing again, floating easily in the water that she loved. Still holding her hands, he did as he was told, discovering to his relief that he could float, though not nearly as gracefully as she could. "Now move your arms like this," she demonstrated a back and forth motion that allowed her to remain still. She moved as if she had been born in the water, as fluid as the waves themselves. He felt infinitely clumsy in comparison, thrashing about like a nerf in an antiques bazaar.
"I think I got the hang of it," he said happily as he floated, blinking the water out of his eyes even as he splashed up more. Then he began to sink again, his mouth filling with sea water, it was bitter and metallic, Anakin spat it out immediately. "What is this?" he asked disgustedly as he kicked more rapidly, managing to float once more.
"It's sea water, it has salt in it," She responded before twisting through the water and sinking out of sight. Suddenly panicking, he stopped kicking, letting himself float underwater again, flailing his limbs in a desperate attempt to find her. The water stung his eyes, but he kept them open, using the Force to expand his field of view down under the waves. There she was, body undulating like a sea creature as she twisted around him. Padme watched him as she circled a smile of amusement on her face. She made it look so damn easy. His lungs began to cry out for oxygen and he resurfaced gasping in the air and pushing the hair out of his face.
"You're so beautiful," he told her as she emerged, flicking her head back to remove the hair from her eyes.
"You're not so bad yourself," She beamed as she splashed water in his face. He returned the favor, but she disappeared, this time, he didn't panic, instead turning in circles, trying not to cheat and reach out with the Force to find her. Still, she managed to appear behind him and kiss his neck. They swam for a long time, the sun slowly sliding towards the ocean as Padme tried her best to teach him the art of swimming. She tired of it long after he did, continuing to find wonder and beauty in the water. As people started to leave, they made their way to one of the many floating islands that dotted the crystalline waters, now burning red from the light of the setting sun. They sat on the sandy beach with tall palm trees at their back, feeling utterly alone in the universe, intending to watch the sunset, but neither of them saw much of it. He was too busy remembering every curve of her body. Twilight deepened as they swam back to shore, he managed not to lag too far behind. The water was a dark, inky black punctuated by bioluminescent microbes that sensed their motion and lit up a white blue, leaving an iridescent trail behind them. A few other swimmers were still out, but no one paid attention to them as they walked out of the water, hand in hand, bodies brushing up against one another, no need for words, words would only break the spell of what had been a perfect day.