A/N: Sorry for all of my usual followers! I've decided to undertake a 'coming of age' ceremony to get the full US experience. Since I am woc, my parents never really had me watch Star Wars. (My mother did watch the Original Trilogy since it was released around the time that she came to America. She remembers Jabba the Hutt and Darth Vader - and that's about it. She refers to Jabba as, 'the ugly frog thing' and Lord Vader as...well, Vader. lol! There's a funny story attached to this, but I don't want to bore you all with the details.) Anyway, I am currently on AotC and watching eps of CW series.
Oh and if I owned it, I would write better scenes between Anakin and Padme, ones that would tear your shipping heart to pieces.
Summary: AU, One-Shot / "Our love will destroy us." And it did.
Pairing: Anakin/Vader x Padme
The heat of Mustafar surrounded her as she locked eyes with Anakin, her brown eyes wide and pleading. "Come away with me. Help me raise our child far away. Leave everything else behind while we still can..." Padme trailed off, her hands clutching the front of Anakin's clothing. Anakin shook his head, wishing to banish the traitorous thoughts in Padme's head. His tone was deadly and intense, a darkness swirling in his eyes. "No. Don't you see? We don't have to run away anymore..." A brief glimmer of hope, a small spark of salvation presented itself. As he continued, it was snuffed out, Padme's mouth dropping in horror as Anakin continued to speak, "We no longer have to hide our love for each other. I am more powerful than the Chancellor, I... I can overthrow him! And together, you and I can rule the galaxy! We can make things the way we want them to be!"
She pushed him away, curling into herself. It was a defense mechanism, a symbol of submission. The dynamic between was destroying itself. The fury was coming off of him in waves, coupled with the toxic atmosphere of ash and the broiling heat that was Mustafar, Padme knelt her head. Her mouth was dry, her lips cracked as she mumbled her reply, "You've changed..." She glanced up to meet her husband's gaze, the yellow tint present in his blue eyes. "Obi-" She swallowed, choosing her next words carefully upon seeing his face darken. "They were right...you've turned to the Dark Side."
The finality of her statement shocked them both. Padme searched Anakin's face for something, anything that held a semblance to the young boy she met on Tatooine and the padawan that protected her with his life. There was a flicker - his eyes becoming blue, real or imagined, it gave Padme a reason to stay. The young man before her noticed her wavering, "Don't you turn against me too." The threat to her life was real, the threat to their continued happiness was slowly coming true. Their love was destroying them and it was taking the rest of galaxy with it. "You're not-" She swallowed, trying to gather enough saliva to wet her mouth. She felt her throat beginning to constrict, "Anakin, you're breaking my heart..." She clutched her chest, suddenly heaving, as if she was pained. "You're going down a path I can not follow. Come back, please come ba-" Padme howled in pain, a sudden contraction overcoming her body. Anakin rushed forward to catch her, supporting her. He repeated his earlier promise to her, "I'm doing this all for you. To protect you."
In another world, Padme would have denied his advances, would have let her ideology decide for her, but instead, as she looked up at Anakin, all of that was forgotten. As Anakin turned to escort her back to her ship, telling her to go back to Coruscant, Padme felt numb. She glanced up as they neared the entrance of the ship, Anakin still preoccupied with relaying what she was expected to encounter when her ship landed. "Obi-Wan."
It took that simple name to break through to Anakin. "Ani, I-" She felt a sudden push forward. "I didn't know, he must have-" Obi-Wan rushed forward, his lightsaber ablaze now that Padme was out of the way. Padme locked eyes with Anakin as he engaged Obi-Wan. I know. It spoke volumes to her. Her Anakin, her Ani was still there. The trust they shared held firm. Another contraction caused Padme to tear her eyes away from him. "Go!" Everything became a blur then, the ship taking off, Threepio panicking and running about in his funny little way, Mustafar with its vapors and ash and fumes, leaving her with nothing to remember Anakin by.
She held a blaster at the ready at all times. She hadn't slept in days as she waited for word on Anakin. Her labor was hard and taxing. She had insisted on landing at the nearest medical bay once she saw the blood pouring between her legs. Following a week of recovery and fighting with the medical droids, she made for Coruscant and hid in her apartment. She waited, anxious, her finger ready on the trigger. The two children, she was told, were born still. Dead as they exited her womb and taken away to be packed for travel. She was barren as well, the damage incurred by the labor was extensive. It was not until she received word from Artoo, urging her to see the Chancellor, did she let her guard down.
Anakin was alive.
They were separated by a glass wall. Had she known that this would become commonplace, Padme would have insisted that she be allowed to stand by his side during the procedure. HIs body was charred and mutilated. Mustafar had left its mark and it was, almost, nearly as devastating as Obi-Wan's. His legs were gone, as were his arms. Charred bits of skin, colored black and pink, and the sinews of muscle and the occasional glimpse of bone horrified and fascinated Padme.
He was conscience, the flicker of his eyes and the slight twitch of his fingers. She could see it all. The medical droids approaching and pulling away the bits of dried skin, open wounds being treated for infection and new limps, mechanical now, being attached. One object was absent for the entire procedure - anesthesia. It was hours before the operation was complete, each of Anakin's groans piercing her heart. The droids had assured her that they had outfitted him with a special, pressurized suit - the best they could make. Yet, as Padme watched, her legs tiring from standing for so long, she knew that the man she loved was now a machine.
Padme had spent days in the operating theater, only sipping at the occasional drink which was brought to her by Threepio. The stress of all that happened finally culminated in Padme's appearance. Pale, taut skin stretched over her face. Her eyes tragic, a dull brown, and near white lips, dried and cracked. She often doze off, snapping awake after only moments of respite. The insomniac behavior she began to exhibit took its toll. She couldn't remember when she woke, but she did remember why she did so.
"Where is Padme? Is she safe? Is she alright?" The voice, distorted by the vocoder and its fragility masked by the imposing suit woke Padme. Palpatine was at Anakin's side and he gestured at the viewing window.
The couple stared at one another for hours.
They were, or rather, she was attempting to enjoy a meal. They sat on opposing sides, again, the glass separating them both. It was a custom made meditation chamber. His helm and mask were discarded, he watched her quietly. Their love for one another was now a caricature, a rotting corpse that could never equate to the throws of passion and affection they had once felt for one another.
Much like the colorful silks she once wore. The elaborate hair pieces and thick, white makeup with shy touches of color. It was all gone now, as if she had been struck with a pin and drained of all the vibrancy that characterized her as a former Queen and Senator. Her clothes were still made of fine silks, chiffon and other such material - but it was now in dreary blacks and greys and whites. Her hair was left to fall to her shoulders or in a long braid that came to her waist. Once a year, she would have it done up in an elaborate hairstyle and visit the graves of her children alongside her estranged husband. The two in a constant state of mourning, splashed with brief twinges of regret.
Two makeshift boxes, filled with bits of dried blood and dead, still children. Their eyes permanently closed shut, their fingers curled in fists, clenched close to their hearts. Padme could barely recall how she managed to keep them in the same proximity for so long until she and Anakin, no, Vader, were able to fly to Naboo and give them a small burial.
It was in this fashion that the years passed them by. Darth Vader and the Dark Lady, inseparable beings that oversaw the destruction of the galaxy.
A/N: I have a plot bunny for a new story swirling in my head now. I want to write Dark!Padme now. I apologize for my lack of knowledge concerning the Star Wars universe. (I'm more of Doctor Who and Star Trek fan...sorry!) Thanks for reading, please read and review!