A/N: So this story idea started when I noticed that an alarming number of Sith!Anakin/Darth Vader and Padmé fics had Anakin being a huge jerk to Padmé while Padmé usually ended up compromising on her ideals in order to be with him. This fic is a challenge to myself to write a Vader/Padmé fic where Vader is as instantly infatuated with Padmé as Anakin was in canon and where Padmé doesn't give up her beliefs and principles for love. Also I'm a huge sucker for dramatic irony, and there's so much of it when secret identities get involved.

Vader hated politics and politicians alike with a burning passion. He hated the Senate, the Senate building, the Senators, and everyone who worked there.

Unfortunately for Vader, his Master had decided it was high time he learned about the political aspects of the Empire, so he had to shadow Mas Amedda for three months. It was a ridiculous waste of time, time he could be spending drilling the military, refining his lightsaber technique, or achieving a deeper understanding of the Force. But no, his Master had willed it, and so it would be done.

One of the worst parts of the whole ordeal, Vader reflected as he hovered behind the Grand Vizier, was how slow he moved. Amedda walked through the Senate building at a stately pace, nodding pleasantly to each of the Senators he saw.

As Amedda approached an intersection of hallways, Vader had only a moment's warning through the Force before someone ran into the Grand Vizier.

"Forgive me, Grand Vizier," the person said, pulling back to reveal the ornate hair and painted face of Senator Amidala before she bowed. The two handmaidens flanking her bowed as well.

Vader's face twisted into a grimace of distaste underneath his mask.

"Do not worry, my dear," Amedda reassured. "Neither of us were looking where we were going."

"Of course." Her lips lifted into a polite smile that didn't reach her eyes. "It is always a pleasure to see you."

"Why thank you. May I introduce you to Lord Vader, head of the Imperial military?" Amedda gestured to him.

The Senator turned her gaze upon him, her smile fading and her eyes as cold as the snows of Hoth. "It is an honor, Lord Vader."

Vader silently nodded back. He would not deign to acknowledge her any further.

It was well known that Senator Amidala espoused ideas just this side of sedition, however, Vader suspected that she was a Rebel. He didn't have enough proof for an arrest, and the Senator was too beloved by the Empire for her to disappear without a trace, so he could do nothing but wait for her to slip. No one could maintain a façade forever.

The Senator made her excuses and, with another bow, hurried away to do whatever it was politicians did to fool their people into believing they were actually working.

Vader dismissed her from his mind.

0o0o0

Padmé kept a tight grip on her emotions as she, Sabé, and Dormé hurried down the wide halls of the Senate building. It was only once they were back in her office that she allowed her anger and frustration to show on her face.

"Despicable," she spat. "They're all utterly despicable."

"My lady, please don't say such things here," Sabé said. "We have no way of knowing who might be listening."

Padmé sighed. "Alright, but tonight we're taking a break."

Taking a break was a code phrase they had come up with two weeks into Padmé's term as Senator. On days when the stress of her job became too much, Padmé and one of her handmaidens would sneak out to a bar in one of the lower levels of Imperial Center in disguise and not worry about politics for a few hours. She only allowed herself one day a month to do so, but she really needed it tonight, after having her bill to reduce military spending fail in a committee again, not to mention meeting Darth Vader.

"Of course, my lady," Sabé said with a small smile.

Padmé spent the rest of her day slogging through paperwork and carefully composing another bill, eagerly anticipating the end of her workday.

Finally, a glance at the chrono on her desk told Padmé that she had been working for a solid ten hours, so she packed up her desk. Sabé and Dormé were waiting for her.

As soon as she got home, her handmaidens removed all but the lowest layer of her intricate dress and helped her wash the face paint off her face. They left her to chose her own outfit and makeup for their outing, too busy choosing their own clothing.

They used hooded cloaks to conceal their identities and snuck out as night was falling. It was Sabé's turn to choose the destination, so they ended up at a club near a speeder racetrack.

They split up once they entered the club. Padmé found an empty table where she could sip her brightly colored drink in peace and enjoy the noisiness of the club. Dormé hit the dance floor, while Sabé almost immediately left for the racetrack. They would meet up again after three hours to return home.

The pulsing music drove all thoughts of work from Padmé's mind, and the alcohol buzzed pleasantly underneath her skin. She could feel her good mood returning.

Suddenly, a tall man with dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes emerged from the crowd and pulled out a chair from her table.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Anakin. Do you mind if I sit here?"