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Author's notes: I came up with this after I decided I was gonna right a sweet little A/A story. Let's say I TRIED to write a sweet little A/A story. It's very unlikely to happen in the real SW universe, but I have difficulties with SW so give me a little credit maybe...? *looks sheepish* All characters mentioned (Padmè, Sabè, and Anakin, right?) belong to the great and wonderful Georgey Peorgey Lucas (a.k.a George Lucas). Plot and writing belong to me. I think. And I'm sorry if this is really crappy. My EDITOR (*glares in LeeLee's direction*) was a little LAZY about helping me out... I'm a very impatient person... Sorry if it's bad. Thank you for actually reading my babbling here and I hope you like it at least a little... (Beware of typos and since this story was in the middle of PG and PG13, I went with PG...)
Time Period in the SW Universe: Somewhere in SW2... Annie's 19 or 20 and Padmè's 24... (Okay, NOW to the story...)
"Sabè, major crisis here!"
The door to her chambers swung open and Padmè stormed in, hair disarrayed and clothes rumpled, looking wild and nail-bitingly apprehensive.
With a look of utter calm, Sabè glanced up from her paperwork to register her unannounced guest. "Please be so kind as to knock next time."
If one hadn't known the depth of their friendship, they would have immediately categorized Sabè as extremely insolent and impolite. For Padmè wasn't an ordinary, in-need-of-talking twenty-four year old; she was Queen Amidala of Naboo, a small world of the Galactic Republic.
But, at the moment, she looked like a wry little girl on the verge of collapse.
Padmè plopped down on Sabè's bed as the door automatically slid shut behind her. Her dark brown hair splayed across Sabè's pale blue bedspread, contrasting prettily.
Sabè barely spared the Queen a glance. After serving as the Queen's main protector for over ten years now, she'd learned to distinguish a minor crisis from a truly major one by the tones the Queen used. This one would be in the minor area.
"What's so major it made you burst into my room on my day off?" asked Sabè wryly. "I'm rather busy, you know, with the wedding coming up and everything. We still have to find a place for Detriek to stay—"
She was cut off by a loud huff coming from the figure lying on her bed. "Stop bringing the wedding into every single conversation!" Padmè snapped. "How many times do I have to tell you that Detriek can stay in the Palace? He can get a job in Theed, it'll all work out, now listen to me!"
At the panic in her friend's voice, Sabè released a sigh and shut off her computer (where she'd been browsing through wedding gowns, but Padmè didn't have to know that). She swiveled around to face her feeble-looking best friend with a certain kind of attention only Sabè could masterfully give off: "I don't care but I do."
"What's so horrible you're snapping, Padmè?" she asked tiredly, rubbing her temples.
Padmè pulled herself up and met Sabè's gaze, her eyes looking rather red and puffy and her hair a huge static cloud surrounding her head.
"Well?" Sabè prompted, politely smothering a yawn.
Now that she had Sabè's undivided attention, Padmè seemed hesitant.
After a few seconds of dawdling silence, Sabè threw up her hands. "If you're not going to say anything, I'll go back to my browsing—"
"No! Wait!" Padmè reached out and grabbed Sabè's arm before she could turn back to her computer. "It's just a little awkward, that's all..."
"What's a little awkward?" Sabè demanded, her patience being flawlessly excised by Padmè's reluctance.
Padmè fidgeted and averted her gaze. "You've noticed how I've been spending...lots of time with Anakin Skywalker..."
Sabè raised an eyebrow. Ah, of course. Maybe she'll finally admit they have a relationship...
Padmè cleared her throat. "He's a very good friend—"
"Good friend," Sabè repeated softly, relishing the shudder in Padmè's voice as she said those words, but careful not to jog Padmè from her revealing trance.
"He's good and kind and...and—"
"Absolutely gorgeous—" Sabè supplied with a devilish grin.
"Yes..." Padmè's eyes had a glaze over them and she seemed completely oblivious to her friend's delight.
"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" Sabè asked, impatience returning. "If it is, I have a wedding to plan, you know—"
Padmè seemed jolted by these words and her eyes jumped back to the present. "Oh, Sabè, that's just it!"
Sabè looked utterly confused. "What's just it?"
Padmè had tears in her eyes. "He proposed..."
"Who? What?" Sabè looked startled, to say the least.
"Anakin. He proposed to me."
Now, Sabè had known they were attracted to each other. She hadn't known they were so serious. Not sure if Padmè was telling her this out of joy or fear, she opened her mouth to say the first thing that popped into her head. "Congratulations...?"
Padmè jumped to her feet and began pacing. "I didn't say I accepted!"
"So...you're not marrying him?"
"I said 'no!'" Padmè cried suddenly. "I feel like a witch or something now... His eyes just lost their sparkle and his face fell and he was like, 'oh.'" She covered her face with her hands. "I'm horrible..." she moaned.
Sabè wearily climbed to her feet and stopped Padmè in mid-pace. Grabbing her arm carefully, she led her over to the bed and sat her down, patting her shoulders soothingly. "So you want to marry him?" Sabè asked, trying to put the puzzle together.
"I don't know," Padmè sobbed.
"Do you love him?"
"I don't know..."
Frustration bubbled up inside immaculately patient Sabè. "You don't love him?"
"I didn't say that!"
Rolling her eyes dramatically, Sabè fell down on the bed next to the sobbing Padmè. "Okay, let me get this straight."
Sniffling, Padmè looked up. "All right," she agreed shakily.
"You like Anakin a lot—"
"He's my best friend," Padmè replied sadly. Her eyes widened as she realized to whom she was speaking and she quickly added, "After you, of course."
Sabè raised her eyebrow and didn't respond to that comment. "You've been...dating?"
"No. Queens do not date—"
"Okay, you've been 'friends' for a while now. May I ask what you 'friends' have been doing?"
"What?"
"Have you kissed?"
A blush painted Padmè's cheeks. "Yes..."
"Any further?"
"No!" Padmè snapped defensively.
Sabè held up her hands, indicating it was just a question. "Now the big question: do you love him?"
Padmè's nose twitched in a reflex Sabè recognized as nervousness. "I don't know."
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Sabè roved her mind for the best possible way to tell. "Say Anakin died today. How would you feel?"
"He won't die today," Padmè shot back vehemently. "How could I answer such a question?"
"I mean it rhetorically. Anakin is dead, Padmè. He's dead. You'll never, ever see him again. How do you feel?"
Padmè paused and pregnant silence fell over them. "I'd die, too," she whispered.
Ah, now we're getting somewhere, Sabè said to herself. Reverting completely from handmaiden-on-her-day-off to her Queen's advisor, Sabè continued. "How do you feel when he's near you?"
Padmè's face flushed. She was never one to reveal her feelings, not even to her best friend, and this was extremely hard for her. She studied Sabè's face to see if she could dodge the questions, but deemed it impossible. "I get all...wriggley inside."
"Wriggley?"
"Yeah."
Sabè wrinkled her nose. "Elaborate, please."
Padmè took a deep breath and wished she hadn't used that made-up-word of hers. "I feel funny inside."
"Funny how?"
Realizing fully that she couldn't get out of this without pouring her heart out, Padmè fell facedown on the bed and buried her head into the blanket. "My heart gets all fast and I get all sweaty and..."
"Thank you," Sabè said, sounding very much like a professional therapist. She folded her hands in her lap and studied the back of her friend's head. "And when he touches you?"
"He hasn't touched me!" Padmè cried defensively, saying all too well that he may have.
"I didn't mean it like that!" Sabè responded quickly. "I mean, if he like...holds your hand or something."
"Oh," Padmè said, calming down to her usual level of calmness if Anakin was mentioned. "It just goes faster and I get nice and warm inside..."
"What gets faster?"
Padmè picked her face off the bed enough to glare at Sabè's probing questions. "My heart, idiot."
Sabè had to smile, but, almost immediately after, took on her professional aura again. "And if he kisses you?"
Padmè's cheeks picked up a delightful rouge color. "I get all tingly inside..."
"Elaborate."
Another glare. "You know, you should try psychology, not security."
"Nice try, but you're not getting out of this question."
Padmè sighed and pushed herself into a prone position. "I'll warn you I may become sappy."
Sabè laughed. "That's what I'm looking for. I'll drown in sap if I'll get some truth out of my dear Queen here."
"I won't be dear in your mind if I kill you—"
Sabè merely gave her a stern look and Padmè shrank back.
"It's like...I feel safe and happy, like I'm in heaven... It's like there's nobody in the world but us and I don't want to leave and I'm in my own special haven and..." Feeling extremely meek and embarrassed, Padmè timidly peered at Sabè's face to register her reaction.
A slow smile quirked the corners of her mouth. "I think I know why you're so upset about saying 'no' to him, Padmè, and it's not just guilt."
"Why?"
"You love him."
"No. I don't."
"Yes. You do."
"How would you know?"
Sabè grinned. "I don't know. You do."
Padmè hesitated before asking, "I know?"
"Look inside, highness," Sabè said gently, finally showing some respect for the Queen. "You love him."
Instead of immediately retorting with, "No, I don't," a thoughtful look passed over her eyes and Padmè stopped. "I do love him," she finally admitted faintly.
Sabè gave her a lopsided smile. "Told you so."
Padmè responded with a weak grin that collapsed as a thought ran through her mind. "Why did I say no?"
Sabè shrugged, leaning back and resting her head against her many pillows. "Maybe you just didn't want to admit it?"
"No," said Padmè softly. "It's another reason."
"What's that?"
"I'm five years older than him..."
"And...?"
Padmè glared at her. "What would the people think? They'd think I was a child-molester or something!"
A look of indignation flickered over Sabè's face. "Oh, come on! That's no reason to deny your feelings."
"Are you saying I should have said 'yes?'"
"No." Sabè leaned close, face stone with a sudden conviction. "I'm saying you should say 'yes' now."
Padmè opened her mouth to argue, but Sabè cut her off. "You love him, your highness. Don't let something petty like age or status beat that out of you."
Blinking stupidly a few times, Padmè weighed her words. Then she nodded. "Do you think he'll still want to marry me?"
"If he loves you he will."
"What if he was just joking? What if he didn't mean it?"
Sabè's glare halted her words. "You're going to go and find Anakin Skywalker and you're going to propose to him."
"Why should I follow out your orders? I'm the Queen..." She trailed off at the fire in Sabè's eyes. "Oh, all right." She wearily got to her feet and straightened out her clothes. "How do I look?"
"Horrible," Sabè admitted. She sat up. "Maybe we should fix you up before you go see him..."
The door to his quarters was open.
Padmè nervously peered in and saw that he wasn't inside his room, but the balcony doors were wide open. She could see a tall figure standing in front of the railing, watching the beautiful Naboo sunset.
As always when Anakin was near, her heart beat a little faster and her hands got clammy. She ran a hand over her hair to check if the twist Sabè had pulled it into was still in place. It was.
Biting her lip nervously, she stepped inside, craning her neck to see through the billowing drapes. She paused next to the doorway, studying the button that shut the door. She didn't want anyone to hear her pouring her guts out, so she gently tapped the red button. The doors silently slid shut, locking her in.
She wet her lips nervously and took a deep breath. Picking up her skirt, she inched quietly to the balcony doors. The room was messy. The bed wasn't made and clothes spilled out across the floor. The door to his 'fresher unit was open and she could see various cleaning utensils decorating the sink. This was Anakin's room, all right.
The only light in the room was the setting sun and it cast a dull glare through the lace curtains. With another deep breath, she reached the doorway. She pulled away the curtains and peeked out. Anakin stood, hunched over, looking down at the beautiful waterfall. As she stepped silently onto the balcony, a gentle mist hit her face and a blast of flowery spring air settled over her. The sun was slipping over the horizon in a beautiful show of reds and golds, painting Naboo in a picturesque light. She knew why Anakin was standing here. It was like heaven itself.
It was why she'd given him this room to stay in while he and Obi-Wan visited Naboo on vacation. She'd known he'd love the view, and she'd wanted him to see Naboo in all its true beauty. She wanted to impress him, really. And she hoped she had. She knew Naboo had, at least.
He didn't hear her approach over the thundering of the waterfall, he couldn't have. But just as she was gathering up her courage to speak, his voice rang softly through the air. "You can't sneak up on a Jedi, your highness. I see no reason why you're attempting to."
He said it so coldly she actually shivered. "I had no intention of sneaking up on you," she replied, in an equally cold voice. Two could play at that game.
She walked over to stand beside him, keeping a respectful distance. After a thoughtful hesitation, she continued. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Normally, Anakin would have replied with some cliched statement like, "No more than you," and then kissed her with a fancy flourish.
His eyes stayed focused on the thundering falls. "Yes, it is."
She didn't like him like this. Had she really hurt him that much? She cautiously studied his face. It was the picture of calm, but it always was. It was difficult to dub a Jedi's emotions. To know Anakin's emotions or feelings, you had to see his eyes. His eyes told everything about him.
As if sensing her gaze, he finally turned to look at her and she backed away in fright. They weren't her Anakin's eyes. Her Anakin's eyes always sparkled mischievously, or caressed her own lovingly. These eyes made her feel cold, so very cold...
She quickly looked away and Anakin turned back to the scene in front of him. "Is there some reason you've decided to join me? Why is a Queen presenting herself to a mere would-be slave like myself?"
Ouch. She blinked back tears. That one hurt.
"I don't care that you were a slave—"
"Or is it that I'm younger than you?"
"No—"
"There must be something repulsive about me, then," Anakin snapped, turning to her. She avoided his eyes. "Oh, I know," he spat angrily. "I was a toy, wasn't I? I see it now. I was an amusement. Use Anakin for all he's worth. Take his heart out and tear it to pieces, huh? I was fun, but then you found out I wasn't in on the game and actually gave a damn about you, right?"
She flinched at the fury in his voice and of his words and bit back a sharp remark that mingled confusingly with tears. She met his eyes and stoically refused to look away. She deserved it. She'd said 'no.' But she hadn't done any of what he was accusing her. Except doubted him because of his age, but...
"Say something!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Why'd you come here? You obviously don't love me. Come back to apologize? 'Oh, poor Anakin. I hurt his feelings.'"
She blinked back tears of hurt. Here she was, come to say she loved him, and he was yelling at her.
No more than you did to him, a nasty little voice reminded her.
Fear should have bubbled up in her. He could kill her in a second. He could pick her up and throw her over the railing to her death.
But she wasn't angry or terrified. Only nervous about what she wanted to say. Only hurt that she had caused him so much pain. Only edgy because of the odd feeling that this wasn't really Anakin...
"Why did you come back?"
She swallowed down the lump in her throat and kept hold of his eyes. "I love you," she whispered.
His eyes flickered. "What?" He released her and she fell back against the railing, taking a deep breath.
"I love you," she repeated, with a little more strength now. "I said 'I love you.'"
The cold was receding now, uncertainty replacing it. "You...love me?"
She felt surer now, surer about everything. That look on his face, the innocence, the way the gold-red of the setting sun highlighted the blondes in his hair and how his eyes sparkled with the most beautiful blue Padmè had ever seen...she loved him so much, she realized, that it hurt.
She smiled at him. "More than anything."
He shook his head, his face set into a childish look of bewilderment (she loved that too). "Why did you say 'no' then?"
She reached out and took his shaking hand. Squeezing it gently, she brought it to her lips and kissed his fingers. She drew him nearer. "I didn't know it then. But if the offer's still up, the answer's yes."
He looked away for a moment and Padmè's heart stopped. What if it was too late? What if he hadn't meant it? Oh, it couldn't happen now. Not when she finally knew how she truly felt for him. It would kill her heart and soul.
But then he looked back and met her eyes and this was her Anakin again. His eyes had that playful gleam, and the undaunted love, and utter confidence, they had always possessed, even as a little boy. He pulled her up against him and looked down at her slight form. "Will you marry me, highness?"
She smiled at the playful use of her status and said, with no doubt, "Yes."
Anakin's old self was returning so rapidly the memory of his previous coldness died. He tipped her chin up and studied her face. "I believe you."
"Thank you," she whispered.
"No," Anakin replied, just as softly, "thank you."
There he was, spouting his cliched lines again. She had to smile. He studied her face thoughtfully. "I don't know... I do enjoy this view... Your face is quite remarkable in itself..." "Anakin..." He grinned and gently traced her lips with his finger. "I'm afraid that, if I kiss you now, I may be tempted to do more..." A look of seduction you wouldn't have considered proper for a Queen settled on Padmè's face. "Who's stopping you?" Anakin's eyes registered his surprise that this. But he quickly recovered and grinned. "I would have thought a Queen had more prudence." "Not this Queen." He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, but kept away enough so this merely annoyed Padmè. "You're so infuriating," Padmè grumped. "I love you," he said softly. Her heart jumped and then started racing. "How do you do that?" "Do what?" he whispered, tracing his finger over her face so lightly she got goosebumps. "Annoy me and then make me forgive you a second later." He bent low and kissed her softly on the lips. Pulling back, he slipped his arms gently around her waist. "It's my talent, your highness." He pressed his lips to hers again, more vehemently this time, opening his mouth against hers and then immediately breaking away again. "Are you taunting me, Skywalker?" Padmè demanded in a Queen Amidala-worthy tone, but not quite there as she was practically gasping for air. She took a deep breath in an attempt to quiet her racing heart. It didn't work. It never did. Anakin had that kind of control over her. He grinned. "But of course." Padmè shook her head and leaned her forehead against his chest. "I don't know why I bother with you. Or ever did, for that matter." "But you do," he reminded her. "Like you told me...you love me." Pursing her lips, she turned her head so that she was still leaning against him, but able to see the sunset too. The sun slipped out of sight and the beautiful display was now being eaten by the darkness of night. "More than anything," she whispered so softly she wondered if Anakin could hear. He pulled her closer to him and rested his face in her hair. She could feel his heart beating under the worn fabric of his tunic, her head rising and falling with each breath he took...and she finally understood Sabè's unceasing chatter about Detriek. Because, very soon, as soon as the saw Sabè next, in fact, Sabè would be hearing about Anakin every second of every day.... Feedback please? Thanks... :)