Hi everyone! So this story was requested by ObeliskX (sorry it took so long to write!) and the title is based off the song of the same name by Of Monsters and Men, as well as the art of the same name by shorelle (her art is amazing – check it out!) on deviantart. It's a little strange doing gender swapping, but it's also pretty fun, haha; I've had Fem!Anakin dealing with the Clone Wars stuck in my head for eons now because of this, lol. Anyway, enjoy!
Padmé swore as he crawled over debris, his legs soaked all the way to his knees. He had been part of an entourage of diplomats visiting an underwater city on the nearly forgotten world of Nozula, and they hadn't been expecting any trouble; they were there for a mercy mission, bringing supplies to a small planet in need. It had been relying heavily on Republic help before the Clone War had begun, and after the Separatists had sprung up the senate had basically lost all concern for Nozula until Padmé had finally convinced them otherwise. Since he'd been responsible for the senate's newfound interest, he'd been appointed to lead the mission and reestablish contact with the starving people. It was supposed to be a routine mission, a diplomatic mission.
Why did things always have to go wrong in this war?
It had started out fine. They'd landed on one of the few landmasses on the world and had entered a submarine heading for the capital, a city deep in the ocean. Then, out of nowhere, the submarine had been attacked by Separatist water droids. The boat was quickly taking on water, and Padmé was trying desperately to find any survivors and get them out of there; this place was massive, and of the hundred people in the delegation there had to be someone he could find and help.
They had sent out a distress signal as soon as they'd been hit, but it was highly unlikely they'd receive any help in time; Nozula was on the fringes of the Republic, and it was certainly nowhere near any contested space.
Turning, Padmé spluttered as he got a face full of water coming in through a hull breach. He coughed harshly, quickly moving around the leak, and he gasped when he saw a fellow passenger buried under debris. Rushing over, he pulled as hard as he could to remove what was crushing the poor woman, but despite his best efforts, he could barely move anything. The person moaned, and her mouth was nearly at the same level as the water; if he didn't move quickly, she would drown.
"Come on," he muttered through gritted teeth as he pulled a piece of hull plating with all his might. He felt pain pierce into his fingers as the jagged edges of the debris tore through his skin. The silver clasp to his brown cloak tugged at his neck, choking him slightly, and he hastily yanked it off before renewing his efforts.
"Senator Amidala!"
Turning, the senator of the Chommel Sector saw the representative from Nozula approaching him. She looked frantic. "Senator, we have to get out of here!"
"Help me get this off!" Padmé asked, returning his attention to the debris.
"There's no time!" the representative shouted.
Padmé turned to face her once more. She was panicking, and that was the last thing they needed. "We have time, representative. We'll get out of this alive."
At least he hoped they would.
The representative shook her head fervently. "No, we don't have time! We have to get to the escape pods!"
"We're not just leaving her!" Padmé argued fervently.
The representative's expression shifted. Her panic morphed into anger, and she pulled a blaster on him. Padmé stared at her in shock; what the blazes was she doing?!
"I tried to be nice," the representative said darkly. "I tried to let you come with me since you were kind to me. But we don't have time for heroics, and now you're in my way. Tell me where the escape pods are, and I'll let you live."
"Let me live?" Padmé repeated angrily. "You mean let me live long enough to drown in this place?"
The representative shrugged. "You would've gotten out with me if you'd just gotten over your karking martyr syndrome."
Padmé had a few choice words for that, but he wasn't really in a position to argue. Still, he himself didn't know where the escape pods were; how could he tell the representative that without getting shot?
"Look, I will help you find the escape pods, okay? Just put the blaster down." He said slowly, as if to soothe the representative's temper.
It didn't work. "Tell me now!"
Before Padmé could try to appease the frantic woman, she randomly flung herself into the wall. Padmé stared at her in alarm and confusion until he realized that something had actually thrown her… something invisible. The senator dared to hope, and he looked up to see a tall young woman walking through the waterfall gushing from the hull breach. She was soaked from head to foot, her face hidden in shadow, but Padmé knew those determined blue eyes from anywhere.
"Anakin!" he shouted, surprised and immensely relieved.
Anakin's eyes, cloudy like the sky before a storm, lit up with happiness upon seeing Padmé was alright. She smiled and rushed over to him, and it looked like she was about to hug him when she noticed the woman trapped under the debris. Without even needing to be prompted by her husband, Anakin used the Force to gently lift the hull pieces off of the poor woman, and Padmé helped her stand.
"Nice mess you've gotten yourself into," Anakin remarked smartly, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh, well, I like a little excitement in my life," Padmé retorted with a casual shrug as he helped the woman stand.
Before Anakin could reply, the representative was on her feet again, albeit shakily, and she was about to fire. Anakin kicked back without even looking, her leg angled high in the air, and her foot came in contact with the representative's jaw, knocking her to the ground once more. "Exciting? That's outside."
When Padmé noticed that the representative was now unconscious, he motioned to her. "You think you can carry her?"
Anakin looked from the representative to Padmé, slight exasperation in her eyes. "Really? After she tried to kill you?"
"We can't leave her to drown, Anakin," Padmé said firmly.
His wife sighed heavily. "Fine."
Leaning over, Anakin scooped up the unconscious woman easily and then jerked with her head in a certain direction. "I already saw the schematics for the ship. Escape pods are this way."
Padmé smiled and helped the other delegate follow his wife. "How did you find us? Why are you even here?"
"Your distress call reached my fleet," Anakin replied over her shoulder. "We were between skirmishes, and I knew you were here…"
There was no way in hell I was leaving you to die, was the unspoken sentiment. Padmé felt himself grow warm with comfort and relief; he knew his wife would never let him down.
"Once we reach the escape pods, you get out of here, got that?" Anakin instructed. "I'll see if I can find any other survivors."
"I'm not leaving you behind," Padmé argued. "We can get these two out of here in one of the pods."
"No. You're getting on the first pod out of here." His wife insisted stubbornly.
Any protest Padmé had was interrupted when the ship groaned ominously. The walls creaked, and Anakin froze in place, looking around in alarm. She sensed something that Padmé couldn't detect, and she immediately dropped the representative and reached out to her husband, shouting something. Her words were immediately overpowered by the screech of tearing metal, and the walls shredded around them as if the submarine were being twisted by an invisible force. Water poured in from all directions, knocking Padmé to the ground… or at least it would have if Anakin hadn't immediately grabbed his arm with bone crushing strength. She tried to grab Padmé's fellow delegate as well, but it was too late, and the couple was swept into the torrents of the ocean as the submarine tore in half. Anakin grabbed her nonrebreather and shoved it into Padmé's mouth, making him gasp, and the senator closed his eyes against the onslaught of water. Within thirty seconds they had gone from running through a flooded hallway to being completely submerged and exposed in the ocean.
Thankfully the submarine hadn't been too deep when it had been attacked, so they weren't crushed by the pressure of the water. However, they were still quite deep, and they were now stuck in the middle of a fight between Republic and Separatist forces. Padmé looked at his wife and was surprised and horrified to see that the nonrebreather she'd given him was the only one she had; Anakin was currently holding her breath, looking around at their surroundings with determination in her eyes.
Padmé tried to get his wife's attention so he could let her use the nonrebreather as well, but a submersible droid took notice of them. Anakin pushed her husband back and stretched her hand out, furrowing her brow in concentration. The droid trembled for a moment and then it slowly started to implode as if the water were crushing it. Anakin's outstretched hand slowly curled into a fist as the droid crumbled inwardly more and more until she finally released her grip and it floated harmlessly into the depths.
As soon as this was done, Padmé frantically tapped Anakin on the shoulder to get her attention. He took a deep breath and held it, removing the nonrebreather and offering it to her. Anakin gazed at him worriedly and pushed the nonrebreather back towards him, but Padmé shook his head, pleading her to just take a breath. Anakin grudgingly put it in her mouth and exhaled what little air was left in her lungs before taking a few breaths and holding it once more, returning it to her husband.
Padmé accepted it and gratefully gulped in the air it provided. Meanwhile, Anakin searched their surroundings. Eventually she found whatever she was looking for and swam ahead, motioning with an open hand that Padmé stay where he was. He obeyed, watching his wife swim closer to the skirmish between the two forces, and she pulled out her lightsaber. She'd apparently adjusted it for water combat since it activated easily, and Padmé worriedly saw her swim towards the droids. What was she doing? She couldn't take them out like this; she had no oxygen and no armor!
Anakin sliced through several droids initially and then floated in place, deflecting bolts from others. When several droids approached on separate propelling machines, she swam to meet them, charging headfirst, much to her husband's concern. Padmé desperately wished he had a blaster right now so he could help her, but he had nothing; all he could do was stay put and pray she didn't get hurt.
Anakin twisted so her stomach was facing the underbelly of the propeller machine and droid. She sliced the droid cleanly in half and then swam upward, grabbing the handles on the propeller machine and driving it towards Padmé. He nearly laughed in relief to see she was fine, and she quickly returned to him.
Just as Anakin approached and offered for Padmé to hold one handle, the senator noticed movement from above. When he gazed upward he saw small cylindrical objects slowly floating down and beeping strangely. It took him a second before he registered what they were, and he gestured frantically to Anakin.
Depth charges! He waved towards the objects, and Anakin finally saw them as well. She recognized them faster than he had, sensing the danger they presented, and she pushed her arm up in a sharp motion. The depth charges shot upward, and then she grabbed the propeller and pressed a button, making the semicircular machine pull the two in another direction. The charges exploded, and the force of it flung them off the machine, which immediately stopped working and floated harmlessly as the couple twirled in two different directions. Padmé felt himself grow steadily dizzier until he felt his spin slow as if something were holding him, and he eventually reoriented himself; he was far away from the battle now, but he didn't see Anakin anywhere.
Panicked, Padmé whirled around, looking up, down, left, right, everywhere to find his wife. He swam in every direction, constantly seeing clones and droids but never catching sight of his Jedi Knight. Then, out of nowhere, he felt someone grab him around the waist, making him gasp, and he twisted to see his wife holding him with a confident smirk on her face as she drove the propeller machine upwards towards the surface. Immense relief flooded Padmé and he felt a lump in his throat as the sheer terror of the previous moment left him. Then he hastily pulled off the nonrebreather and offered it to his wife, but she was too busy to take it, so he pressed it against her mouth and put it in for her. Anakin gasped for air appreciatively and then nodded, and Padmé took it back.
The two eventually reached the surface and they both breathed the fresh air with relief. Panting, Anakin caught sight of an island and started to swim towards it, abandoning the propeller. Padmé followed suit.
"Rex… has it handled down there… barely any droids left…" Anakin said between gasps of air. Padmé watched her worriedly, but she was swimming steadily and didn't falter, so he simply nodded in acknowledgement and followed her lead.
When the couple reached the island they dragged themselves onto the shore. Padmé winced as the sand dug into his torn fingers, but he ignored it as best he could. Eventually they reached some grassier terrain and the two sat beside each other, leaning against a tree and catching their breath.
Anakin sighed heavily, her head resting atop Padmé's shoulder. She looked down and made a small noise, grabbing his hands. "Your fingers…"
Padmé gazed at his wife and marveled at how she could worry about such small wounds when she was bleeding from multiple lacerations and had nearly drowned. She always worried about others, always put those she cared about before herself. It made him love her all the more, but it also sometimes exasperated him; it was no wonder Obi-Wan had so much grey hair. "Anakin, you're in far worse shape than me."
Anakin laughed and waved a careless hand. "I'm fine, Padmé. I'm always fine." She quickly grew somber, however. "All those people…"
Padmé felt his gut clench at the realization that the two they had been assisting had no doubt drowned, as well as everyone else on the submarine. Anger and sorrow passed through him, and then he realized that his wife no doubt blamed herself. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he made her face him. "Anakin, it wasn't your fault. You had no way of knowing that was going to happen."
Anakin watched him silently, not arguing but not agreeing. Padmé sighed and pulled her to him, entwining his fingers with hers. She leaned against him heavily, closing her eyes and resting her other hand on his lap. Padmé planted a kiss on her wet hair, which was out of its usual tail that normally held it away from her face.
"I guess we'll be stuck here for a while," Anakin eventually muttered, either accepting Padmé's reassurance or deflecting the topic altogether. She pulled away and eyed her husband seductively. "Imagine, us all alone on an island with nothing to do for an innumerable amount of hours…"
Padmé rolled his eyes, poking her playfully. "Sounds terribly dull."
"Right. I forgot you were an addict for being almost killed." Anakin replied, crossing her arms. "This is starting to develop into a worrisome habit, you know. Every time I run into you, you're in some desperate situation and about to die, or you're captured and awaiting my rescue."
"It's almost as if I want you to constantly come running to my aid," Padmé surmised, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
The two watched each other shrewdly before laughing and hugging tightly. Padmé then remarked, "Besides, I'm not the one running headfirst into battles all the time."
"Not like I have much of a choice," Anakin muttered into his shoulder. "And it's not like I'm going to abandon my men."
"I know," Padmé sighed, stroking her hair. "I just… worry about you."
Anakin pulled away, a wry smile on her face. "Yeah, because obviously I'm the damsel between the two of us."
"All right, all right," Padmé grudgingly admitted. "I'm not always needing rescuing, you know."
"No, I suppose not," Anakin shrugged before growing very serious and placing her hands on Padmé's face, looking him in the eye. "But whenever you do need rescuing, I will always be there for you. Always. No matter what happens and no matter who has you, I will always find you and bring you home."
Despite always knowing what to say, in this instance Padmé found himself speechless, touched by her words. He cupped her cheek and smiled tenderly, and the two leaned towards each other and kissed.
The galaxy raged with war. People despaired, suffered, and died every moment. But in this one instant, Padmé and Anakin were deaf to all of it, content in each other's arms and safe in each other's love. They knew that their love would keep them strong and get them through anything, and they knew they would always have each other.
Fin
Hope you liked it. :)
Link to King and Lionheart song: https(colon, backslash x2) .com(backslash)watch?v=N30sBDpUR1Q
Link to King and Lionheart art by shorelle: http(colon, backslash x2) .com(backslash)art(backslash)star-wars-king-and-lionheart-384802846