POV: Anakin Skywalker

I rubbed my temples on the transport ship as we exited the Resolute and began our flight down to the planet of Mandalore. I had a handful of clones in here with me and they all felt exhilarated as well as afraid. There was yet another Death Watch threat and we were assigned to defend the duchess as well as Senator Amidala. I didn't even know she was here until we were being briefed on the mission.

My heart raced, knowing that everything I'd done on Geonosis and after it would come back to haunt me here. As soon as she realized it was General Skywalker coming to her defense, she'd give me the dirtiest look of all time. Things had been rocky between us. I'd falsely said I loved her at a very confusing stage in my life and now she hated me for it. She wanted to marry me after we returned from Geonosis and I couldn't do it.

In all honesty, I've been a homosexual since I was sixteen years old. Well, at least that was when I'd figured it out. There was only one other who knew and I was aware that I couldn't publicly come out because no one would ever look at me the same. I was just happy that I wasn't alone in this now. The one man I had always been the closest to was also in my situation and we'd bonded through that for nearly six years.

My former Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, had fallen in love with me and I'd returned his feelings shortly after my sixteenth birthday. We were four months into the Clone War and Obi-Wan and I have secretly been together for the duration. It was difficult at times because we weren't always assigned to go on missions together. It was also difficult because, as I said, I told Padme I loved her when I really hadn't meant it and I was with Obi-Wan.

I was afraid of Padme's distasteful looks as well as the confused ones of Obi-Wan. He had no idea that I'd mistakenly fallen for Padme. It took a while for him to admit his feelings for me because of the code. He didn't want to betray his moral code or the Jedi code, but he'd done it anyway once I convinced him that I would be doing it with him. I wouldn't jeopardize our relationship just because I'd accidentally slipped three words to another person.

The only thing that relaxed my nerves was knowing that Obi-Wan was boarding a transport and heading down onto the planet from his flagship. We'd been separated for weeks without communication until a few days ago when we were able to receive a transmission from him. He returned to Coruscant and we were immediately reassigned to this. I haven't even had the chance to see him yet and my heart was pounding due to the longing feeling I had. I longed to see his face and to hear his voice in person once again…

"General, are you all right?" Rex asked me, resting a hand on my shoulder. I shook a little bit due to the surprise, but nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks, Rex."

"You look tired, sir." I was tired, but, if I let him know that, he'd think I was too tired to be able to complete the mission and he'd be concerned with my performance. I hadn't gotten much sleep since Obi-Wan's departure several weeks ago. I didn't like sleeping alone at night. It felt so much colder without his warmth beside me.

"I'm all right." I gave him a small smile and he nodded slowly. I knew he didn't believe me. He was the one clone in this battalion that understood me. He knew I was exhausted, but he didn't know why. He knew I was troubled, but didn't know the cause.

The pilot called out over the intercom and told us we'd be landing momentarily with General Kenobi's transport shortly behind us. My heart galloped and I couldn't help the small smile that curved upon my lips. I was excited and looking forward to seeing him.

Several minutes of senseless chatter from the men around me passed before we hit the landing point and the doors slid open. I stepped out first, my heavy armor nearly dragging me down with the fatigue. I met up with Duchess Satine Kryze and Senator Padme Amidala on the platform and they both nodded their heads in respect. I did the same and then got down to business. "Master Kenobi is on his way down with a second group of clones. Once he's here, we'll get to the protection plan."

Satine looked up at the sky and I saw the same longing in her eyes that I assumed were in mine for my Master. I glanced over my shoulder as I felt his presence enter the atmosphere. My heart warmed and I smirked. I watched as his clone transport flew down from the clouds and landed beside my empty one minutes later. Rex was setting up our battalion a short distance behind me and I spun around completely to watch Obi-Wan step out of his transport first.

I smiled widely at him until he finally saw me. He grinned widely and I saw him laugh. It was a small laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. He calmly walked towards me and it took everything inside of me to resist jumping him as soon as he came near me. He nodded at me and gave me a secret smile that I understood. "Anakin," he whispered.

"Master," I responded, bowing slightly to him.

He smiled warmly at me before tortuously tearing his eyes away from me. "Duchess, Senator." The greetings and motions were repeated until we were all satisfied and heading into Satine's palace. We took refuge in the dining room. Obi-Wan quickly took the seat beside me and the women sat across from us. The guards and clones were filing into the room, giving Obi-Wan and I a brief moment to speak.

He rested his hand on my leg and smiled at me as I intertwined our fingers on my thigh. "I missed you," I whispered.

"As I missed you."

"How was the mission?"

"All went well. The negotiations were completed successfully and I was able to make it out alive."

I inspected his shoulder and saw bacta wrap poking through his robes. I cocked an eyebrow and lifted my eyes back up to his. "Any injuries on your end?"

"Just minor ones. It's nothing you can't fix later." I chuckled and it was hard to keep myself from leaning any closer than I already had. He squeezed my hand gently. "How have you been? I'm sorry that I wasn't able to contact you…"

I chuckled. "I know you would have called if you could have. I've been all right. I was just missing you."

The ladies cleared their throats. They hadn't heard us because we'd kept to ourselves pretty nicely. We still held hands beneath the table as the duchess began to speak. "Master Jedi, what is this plan you've come to begin?"

"Well," Obi-Wan began, clearing his throat briefly. "Anakin and I will be watching each of you separately. Duchess, Anakin will be protecting you. I will be with the Senator. Our clones will reside in key points of the palace in order to prevent an invasion of any sort."

I watched Duchess Satine's eyes sadden as he mentioned that I would be her protector. I glanced sideways at Obi-Wan as he continued to explain how the night and dayshifts would work and how we would go about providing a proper defense in case of an invasion. It was all really dull and I, unfortunately, tuned him out until he was finished. I'd already heard this prior to departing for Mandalore and I hated hearing things more than once.

After he finished explaining everything to them, he asked if we could be excused for the night. The Duchess allowed us to leave and we stood up. Well, he pulled me up and I unconsciously walked out of the dining hall with him. I eventually woke from my trance and chuckled at the face he was giving me. "You zoned out again, didn't you?"

"A little…"

He sighed and shook his head. "Well, you'd best not do that when we go to our quarters."

"Oh, we're sharing?"

"We certainly are." I liked the way he was smiling at me. We walked down a few hallways because he knew his way around here pretty well, so he led me to our room. He pushed the doors open and I followed him in. The doors closed moments later and my back was pressed up against them. He held my wrists up above my shoulders and smirked deviously at me. "Now, I haven't seen you in quite some time. I think it's time we… see each other again."

"With the ladies around?"

"Do you care if they're around?"

"A little," I whispered. "Maybe we should wait till later… When they're all asleep."

He quickly pecked my lips, but then decided he wanted a longer kiss. His lips engulfed mine and my eyes shut tightly as I embraced the wondrous and glorious feeling that surged through me as his lips moved against mine. He let go of my wrists and I rested them on his shoulders lovingly. His hands slid down my body until he held my hips. He squeezed me gently and I smiled against his lips. I felt his tongue emerge from between his lips, silently asking for permission to enter my mouth.

I eagerly parted my lips and his tongue slid between them. His tongue danced with mine and intertwined as best as they could so we could taste each other. His nose rubbed against mine as he moved his head a little to deepen the kiss.

He became a bit more forceful while kissing me and I moaned loudly before hitting my head against the door. He broke the kiss to hold me up against the door firmly. He breathed heavily as he leaned forward and grabbed my legs, yanking them up around his hips. I was surprised that he was able to hold me up, but I liked it. I moved my arms around his neck and clasped my hands behind him. He smiled at me and I smiled back. "Master Kenobi has learned something new," I whispered.

He shifted my surcoat a bit and rubbed his hard member against mine. I moaned and moved my head forward a bit to nibble on his shoulder. I was harder than hell in comparison, but he never seemed to mind that. He always liked that I was far more turned on than him. I moved my face closer to his neck and slid my tongue across his skin. He chuckled quietly in my ear and began to nibble on the lobe. "Now young Skywalker must learn how to cope with his Master's newfound knowledge."

I crossed my ankles behind his back and tried my best to contribute a bit to the grinding between us. I thought it would be easier for us to do this on one of the beds, but one or both of us usually got louder until we actually began to make love. I sighed and made a few pleasurable sounds as he rubbed himself against me more.

I could feel presences coming nearer to us and I knew we needed to stop soon. For one, we both had major boners. Also, if anyone opened these doors, I'd fall on whoever it was and I'd be sandwiched by them and Obi-Wan. We were on a very serious mission and we couldn't afford to get romantic when this was going down. I loved him. I truly did, but the mission and all that it entailed came first.

He tried to kiss me again and I sadly turned my head away from him. I slouched forward and attempted to hug him in my current position. He sighed, but kissed my neck lovingly. "I understand," he whispered. "I don't want to get caught any more than you do."

He slowly lowered my legs until my feet touched the ground and I was able to stand up straight. I felt Padme and Satine outside of the room and I stared into his eyes solemnly, wishing I could love him the way I've wanted to for the last few weeks. He mouthed his love for me and I did the same, smiling weakly before fixing my outfit and turning around to open the door.