THE GAME

Hello ya'll, jedimasterroyal here. Here's the submission for Anidala Week 2014, Day 2-Reunion. I'm one day late, so hopefully I can post Day 3 as well tonite. Anyways I hope you like it. Leave a comment, review, favorite, follow, whatevs. Got it? cool.

disclaimer: I don't own SW, Disney does and i bet $5 that the super hottie Oscar Isaac is gonna play some form of Jagged Fel.

The first year of their marriage Anakin Skywalker develops the game. He's a very young man, younger than his wife, and he knows that to her it might seem like a childish antic but it makes her laugh. And Anakin loves it when his wife laughs. So every time he comes back from the war he hides away someplace she would never guess and surprises her.

By develop he actually does mean develop, because the first time he did it, it was not as thought out as he'd liked. He was back from his first mission in the Clone Wars. It was also the first time he would see his wife since their marriage ceremony and honeymoon in Naboo. To say he was nervous, was an understatement. His silly mind even thought that perhaps she would have changed her mind in loving him but he forewent that thought immediately. He was grimy though, the planets he had been had little resources for showering and the last thing he wanted was to be in his angel's presence and smell like bantha dung.

So he went to her apartment and decided to shower there. He knew she was at the Senate during the day and she had given him all her security clearance codes to her apartment, and the lake country. She had even wired him an account with credits that she had opened just for him, which he had frowned upon, but she kissed him and said it was only for emergencies, so he forgot about it.

The point is that he was taking a shower in her (their) fresher when he senses her nearby. She's in her (their) bedroom and he assumes that she might see R2 somewhere and she'll know he's back. He waits for her to rush in but…nothing. Five minutes later he shuts off the water, having washed up and he stays there, naked waiting….and still nothing. Then suddenly he hears her, "Wait 3PO I have to use the fresher. I'll be right back!"

And a wicked smile adorns his face. Oh he was going to get her good. With the force he quickly hides his discarded robes and shuts down the lighting. He's careful in not making a sound when she barges in. He could smell her and her presence simply makes him dizzy. For a second, he closes his eyes and forgets his plan, that is till he hears her flush the fresher unit.

Perfect timing for scaring her.

"HEY THERE!" and he whooshes the door to the shower open. He caught her right before she turned the dial to the sink. She gives a loud yelp, jumps, and looks to the mirror in front of her with the most horrified expression.

He's laughing his ass off when she realizes who it is and turns around to tackle him back into the shower. She seems to forget what he had just done because she's kissing him and laughing too.

So he decides afterwards to make it a game. Leaving her always involved tears, so he figured that their reunions should be joyful, funny, and light.

The second time he plays the game he's in her office. He arrived back from his mission with Obi-Wan in the dawn and he did not want to wake her or disturb her, it was most likely she and her handmaidens were getting her ready to come to the Senate. He's hiding under her desk and he feels his legs start to cramp up after 30 minutes.

"Damn, when is she getting here," he mutters and then like a beacon of light, he can sense her arrival. He burrows really in there and tucks his padawan braid behind his ear so it won't tickle her before the surprise. Soon she's walking in and he can hear her dismiss C-3PO.

She's humming and he swears its the most beautiful noise he's ever heard. Soon she's gathering her flimsies and sits down. Her smooth legs cross right in front of him and keep tapping to the beat of her hum.

He smiles and waits only a minute until he reaches out and places a soft kiss to her leg, below her knee. The next thing he knows she yells out and kicks him in the nose. The pain is so excruciating in that moment that he moans and tries to stand but only manages to bang his head. He senses her guards rush in and he puts a hand over his mouth to stop from groaning in pain.

"Milady is everything alright?" he can hear Captain Typho question.

Padme looks down at him, still in shock of everything that happened. "Uh….yes….Yes, everything…is fine. It was just a….spider. But uh, I killed it, so...everything is fine. Thank you captain."

There was an awkward silence between him, Padme and Typho and for a brief second he swore he would lose it and burst out laughing. He closes his eyes until he was sure Typho was far enough and then explodes in laughter, that is until the pain in his nose resumes and only then does he notice it's bleeding.

"Ugh you…you….you Scruffy Looking Nerfherder! Why do you scare my like that?" Padme yells at him, now standing and allowing him to stand up from his hiding spot. His legs had long fallen asleep so he places his weight on her desk.

His hand covered his bleeding nose and he muffled to her, "I fink you froke it."

"Well, I'm sorry. Suits you right," she huffs.

"No 'felcome vfack my flove', no 'i nissed you fo mush'" he says until he finds the courage to snap his nose back into place. Padme rushes to get a medkit stashed away in a cabinet and grabs a handful of absorbing gauze and a bacta strip. She soon came to stand in front of him and dabs the blood away.

And then she's pulling him down and the kiss that ensues brings fireworks go off beneath his eyelids. Her nose bumps into his and he groans into her mouth and then she's pulling away, all the while whispering an apology.

Her smile melts away all the frostbite he might have had from his last mission.

The third time he plays, the circumstances are much more difficult. For one, his left leg has a torn ligament and he has to limp, but this time though he's in Naboo. He once again finds that he does not necessarily mean to play but it just works out that way. Padme is arriving to her parents home, obviously. His wife does not enjoy being alone. So he's there as well, hidden in the closet of her childhood bedroom. Nobody knows his location, having managed to sneak into the home when the Naberries had gone out.

Soon enough he hears the boisterous delight when she arrives. He can feel her elation at seeing her family again. For a brief moment he thought about leaving her alone and allowing her to have an interrupted time with them, but he simply could not resist. He needed her. The war he had been fighting was increasing in size and nature. Everyday he felt more tiresome and more disgusted. He and Obi-Wan were starting to become famous galaxy-wide due to their exploits but he honestly did not care for such things. All he wanted was a future where peace could rule the galaxy and he could whisk away his wife wherever she wanted.

He stayed there for a long time, sitting, lamenting to the fact that he could not join them. The secret also was something that was toiling. It's as if she knew he was there though because she asks to retire to her room rather early. He could hear her steps grow closer and closer. This time he decides to simply stand inside the closet, readying himself to grab her before she screamed. They could not afford for that to happen, at least not here.

She opens the door to put her bag and before she can register anything he kisses her. Her eyes are open but when she realizes what exactly is happening and that this truly is not a dream, she melts into his arms. The kiss holds longing and Anakin pours out all his desperation.

"I missed you," he professed to his love. "I love you so much."

She nods her head in agreement. "I love you too. Tomorrow in the night we'll meet in the lake house."

He agrees and together they hold each other until she is fast asleep and he leaves.

Soon enough Padme knew how the game went and so she strategized. The last time they had reunited was when Anakin had passed the trials and been promoted to Jedi Knight. He had been to overwhelmed with his promotion that he had foregone all the formalities of the game. This time though, Padme would have the upper hand. She knew her Jedi husband would try to scare her tonight but he would fail.

Now that he had been knighted, Padme understood that everything regarding themselves would become utterly difficult. Anakin would be called to more difficult missions, he would be gone for longer amounts of time, and most likely he would see more death. She tried her hardest to end the war but it seemed that as hard as she tried, the forces of evil always managed to win. Padme had hired informants that would tell her who was to be shipped and who was coming home. She knew many other senators had this information as well, serving simply as grounds for argument in the senate, but for her this information served valuable when it came to knowing when he would be back.

Just yesterday her informants had mentioned that Anakin would be back tonight. Tonight also happened to be the annual Senate ball, which she thought stupid having during the war, yet nonetheless needed to attend.

Despite the frustration the war, she needed to play the part of civil servant well. She would get dressed in her best tonight, chat, wine and dine but she would not enjoy it at all. The only thing that had her excited was that tonite she would win the game. She was sure Anakin would be at the ball tonight, probably hidden away from public view and from her. It was a masquerade ball so her plan would be easy to implement. She would act like she does not know he is near and then she will ask to go to the restroom where most likely he will be waiting for her instead she won't go to the restroom at all.

"Excuse me senators, I must use the fresher," she sang out. She was a bit tipsy but her senses were still strong. Strong enough to know there was a shadow following all around her but had disappeared 5 minutes ago. She chuckled at the thought that Anakin and her were so attuned that they knew when the other needed to use the fresher.

She saw the fresher up ahead and stopped. To the left was a utility closet large enough for two people. She went in and slowly she set it up a few things. A small step ladder to the right front corner of the room would be the perfect place to jump from when he went inside. And he would surely go inside because right now he would most likely lost hope of her ever entering that bathroom, and when he walks back into the ball he will most likely feel her presence with the force into the utility closet. When he asks himself what she could possibly be doing a utility closet, bam! Out she'll go showering him with love and kisses like she always does.

And that's exactly how it goes except a few things go wrong. She jumps out of him in surprise, confident that he will catch her because he knows its her, but what happens instead is that he jumps in surprise and by instinct he pushes her, a bit too hard. She stumbles back behind the brooms and step ladder, her head bumping against something blunt sticking out behind her. She cries out and he's there again, grabbing her arms.

"I'm sorry," he whispers against her hair. "I'm so sorry, angel." He's rubbing the back of her head and she winces a bit but then she recognizes the irony in the situation. Anakin hears her laughter and he pulls back in surprise.

"This game always results in someone getting hurt," she giggles.

Still Anakin does not laugh. His face remains etched with a seriousness and only then does Padme take the time to see him. Oh how her love has changed. Long gone are the innocent features of the boy from Tatooine, all she finds are the hard muscles of a man and his hair longer. If she was his enemy, she would honestly say she was scared. But she knew what he was.

She cupped his cheek and murmured softly, "I'm fine, Anakin. Honest."

And he breaks. He holds her tightly and she could feel him shudder. Wet tears trickle down her bare shoulders. "This war is becoming too much, Padme," he sobs.

She only realizes the game is over when the next time before he arrives to Coruscant she receives an encoded message simply saying "I'm coming home midnight, leave a light on."

It's her turn to sob when she realizes that the war, that swelling darkness before the dawn, has managed to rob her of the sweet reunions they used to have.

FIN

Music that inspired this fic

Midnight-Coldplay

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