Anakin Skywalker never mastered the art of saying no to Padmé Amidala.
Protecting Padmé is what Anakin was assigned to do.
And, because Anakin had the most shit luck in the entire galaxy, Padmé was dead set on attending a party in her honor this evening, which was thrown by the whole of the Naboo.
It was crazy to think about just how much these people loved and adored their former queen. Though, Anakin understood. She was kind of the best.
"Ani, here. Try this one on."
Padmé was busy digging through one of the closets in her room, rummaging happily before picking up the desired garment and tossing it over to Anakin, who was grumpily seated on her bed.
"You're enjoying this far too much."
The Jedi donned a very frilly purple mask, accented by a woven orange outline and at least a dozen blue feathers sprouting from the top corners.
"Anakin. If you don't wear one everyone will know it's you. You're supposed to be undercover. And tonight is really special, so… Please? For me?"
At this point, he was doubting that it was at all possible to ever say no to her.
"Fine."
Anakin reluctantly took the next mask into his hands, schucking off the ridiculous one he'd been wearing and replacing it with the new.
It was a solid yellow color with a pink outline, completely encrusted in lavender gems.
Anakin hated each one he tried on more than the last.
"Why do you have so many of these, anyways?" He felt himself asking, curious about the culture on this strange planet. He'd only visited Naboo one other time; another mission to protect the queen.
"Masquerades are very popular here. I didn't get to go to many when I was queen, though. The makeup I had to wear didn't really work with a mask, plus, I mean, I was queen. Everyone always knew who I was."
Naboo was very different from Tatooine. And Coruscant as well, for the matter.
It was obvious that Anakin didn't know much of wealth or prosperity during his time on the desolate, desert planet he grew up on.
That was a given.
Though, things all changed when he was taken back to Coruscant by his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn.
It was a lot colder.
Everything was green and shiny and big and new and grand.
Naboo was less chaotic than Coruscant, more… Wholesome. The Naboo, for the most part, were typically a lovely race of people, and Anakin enjoyed his stay on the planet.
The extravagant parties, however, were never his forte.
"I don't see the appeal of them." Anakin spoke again, pulling himself from his thoughts and directing his attention back to the senator.
She'd been smiling at him, looking amused, yet used to how often Anakin lost himself in his head sometimes.
"It's the mystery. Dark lit rooms, covered faces. It's mysterious and feels dangerous when you're talking to a stranger like that." Padmé's voice was soft, full of wonder and whimsy. She'd always been a hopeless romantic. It was obvious that she'd thought about this before, maybe had an experience of her own with a romantic partner in that setting.
"Sounds creepy." Anakin butted in, intruding into her thoughts.
Padmé scoffed.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot that the Jedi strictly prohibit any types of fun."
"That's not true. The Council granted me permission to come here and have the time of my life with you. You know, I'm having so much fun with this girly mask on my face. Really, I have to thank them for allowing me this wonderful experience."
The sarcasm radiating off Anakin's words had Padmé giggling as she continued to dig through a closet.
"Whatever you say, Ani. Oh! Here, this one next!" She squealed, handing Anakin another mask.
This was going to be a long night.
Hours and countless masks later, Anakin and Padmé were finally arriving at the party. Padmé was busy fawning over the glorious city of Theed while Anakin was busy driving, still as grumpy as ever.
Eventually, they'd decided on a simple white mask for him, which went well with Ana- Padmé's chosen outfit for him.
He didn't have much choice in the matter.
She'd had him wear a white silk poncho over his Jedi attire, which hid his underclothing very effectively.
Padmé assured him that it was very fashion forward on her home planet, not that he particularly cared.
He was going to this party to protect Padmé and nothing else.
It's not like her whimsical words of mystery and dangerous passion in a darkly lit room had gotten to him or anything.
Not at all.
Padmé, on the other hand, had picked out a nice blue dress that Anakin had seen her in once before. The midsection was cut out, revealing her stomach completely. It was a beautiful color of blue, very light yet vibrant, perfectly matching the flower covered blue mask she'd chosen for herself.
She looked, to put it lightly, gorgeous.
As the two of them arrived at the venue, Padmé cheerfully greeted the valet, who was more than happy to see her. The two chatted for a moment before Anakin decided they'd better get inside, much to Padmé's annoyance.
This night was going to be a lot longer than he'd first anticipated.
Anakin sighed, allowing Padmé to loop her arm into his own before walking through the large, open doors.
The duo walked into the building on time.
Well, twenty minutes late, though Padmé had insisted on it.
"Fashionably late." She'd said.
"But we've been ready for hours." He'd replied.
Anakin didn't understand her sometimes.
Overall, he really didn't understand much about this planet.
They'd been inside for all of two minutes and Padmé had already been approached by at least fifteen different people, all wanting to talk or dance or buy her a drink.
Anakin, who was beyond annoyed, had a few choice words for each of them.
"Padmé, you're here to enjoy your night. Not be pestered by all these people."
"They're my people, Anakin. You have to understand that. How about you just go for a drink or something? I promise I'll be fine. And I'm sure you'll sense if I'm in any danger."
Of course he would. His senses were uniquely attuned and he was very skilled in the Force.
"Fine."
Unlocking their arms, Anakin gave Padmé a small smile before turning his attention to the crowded room ahead of them.
The Naboo had a very specific sense of fashion
Typically, their clothes included some velvet. Sometimes there was some porcelain headpieces, as well as some rare gems for more wealthy individuals.
As Anakin scanned the dimly lit room of people, his eyes eventually landing on a small group of people congregating near the open bar.
There was a large chandelier in the middle of the room, with the bar off in the very corner, causing light to be darker towards there. The fade of it was elegant, just like the rest of the room, which was decorated in bright colors and sharp golds.
There was soft lighting around the corners, a warm glow shining down on the less-than-willing recipients around the bar.
Chatter was happening all around, causing his senses to become slightly dulled.
He was flooded with everything the party had to offer for a moment, thick and heavy and overpowering amounts of excitement, familiarity among party-goers, and the occasional sprig of lust.
Everyone was talking about pointless things and pointless people and all Anakin wanted to do was get out.
Get back to Padmé, the sole reason he was here.
He glanced back at her and found that she seemed to be having fun, chatting to a few girls and their dates.
Sighing, Anakin moved back towards the bar.
He knew this was a mistake.
Drinking on the job, really?
What would his Master think of this?
He'd surely be disappointed, but Qui-Gon wasn't exactly here right now, was he?
And so what?
He was a Jedi Knight, after all.
It wasn't like he was some little Padawan anymore.
He could make his own choices, and after what he'd been through today with Padmé, he decided he deserved a drink.
His eyes caught something in the crowd towards the bar.
It'd look innately feminine on anyone else.
A golden mask; the areas above the eyes outlined with a woven blossomings of deep red. There was a couple red gems scattered across the golden garment; a few poking out and suspended with rods of gold on the top right side, above a dark colored rose. The mask was completed with a few simple golden designs along the front, none that Anakin could discern to mean anything of importance. There was some other strings of gold near the sides, though Anakin was more focused on something else.
The eyes behind it.
In this lighting, they looked almost grey. Grey mixed with green; the two of them mingling beautifully to create a soft, pale color.
There was a softness to his eyes, despite his sharp exterior.
His hair was the color of dark caramel, leading down into a sophisticated, maintained beard.
He obviously took very good care of himself.
He was dressed in a black wrapped top and darkly colored pants, complete with a light, sheer blanket of fabric draped over one of his arms and around his back. He looked regal, perhaps someone high up on the royal court of this planet.
The contrast from sharp golds and reds to black was strange, though Anakin thought it fit him.
Whatever the man had been going for, he'd achieved it.
There was some red along the inside of the black fabric peeking out, along with some gold along the very edges.
Anakin couldn't bring himself to pull his eyes away for some absurd reason.
Slowly, as if he were in a trance, the Jedi felt himself gravitating towards that particular person, as if caught in some kind of tractor beam.
Searching through the Force, he allowed himself to feel around the group of people, scanning for any Force sensitive individuals.
He needed to be certain that this individual wasn't dangerous, wasn't connected to the Force in any kind of way.
It felt like a black hole.
The way it bends space, redirects everything it is away from itself.
After a moment of brief thought, Anakin deemed this person as a non-threat, and continued walking towards him.
He had a bad feeling about this.