The Cloak
Their rendezvous on her consular ship was far too brief. But it was all of the time that could be spared and one had to accept whatever gift was given to you, no matter how small. Anakin had flown in on his own ship under the cover of night. Once they were in the privacy of her stateroom-and Padmé had assigned Threepio to keep Artoo company-most of his belongings were as per usual tossed around the room carelessly. Padmé had kept the stateroom dark save for a single old-fashioned scented candle from Naboo, making Anakin's hurried efforts to dress challenging. When Padmé offered to turn on the stateroom's illuminators, Anakin declined. *Typical male,* she'd thought. Before leaving, he'd leaned over the bed and gave her a long goodbye kiss. Then he dashed out, eager to make it to a pre-planned meeting location with the fleet so they could go back to pursuing Grievous.
Padmé had re-dressed in her jumpsuit and turned the illuminators back on, so she could pin her hair up. To her horror, she saw Anakin's Jedi cloak in a pile by a corner. Snatching up the homespun brown garment, she ran out of the stateroom and almost knocked down a startled Threepio in the process. "Where are you going, Mistress Padmé?" the poor droid asked.
"Anakin forgot something," she said. She ran down the ramp of her ship, just in time to see Anakin's fighter streak off into the sky. "Oh, Ani," she sighed. She hoped he had a good story to explain why he needed another cloak once he got back to the fleet. In the meantime, she'd have to hold on to this one until they next saw each other. It was just now that she noticed the cloak had his unique natural scent on it. She went back aboard the ship, holding the cloak closely to her.
"Oh, I suppose you just missed Master Anakin," Threepio said sympathetically.
"It's all right. I'll just hold on to it and give it back to him the next time he visits." Padmé went to one of the storage lockers, pressed a button to open the door, and hung the garment up on a peg. She reverently brushed her hand over the cloth, then shut the locker door behind her.