Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars any more than I did in the last chapter or the one before that or the one before that.
Anakin and Padmé walked trough the crowded spaceport toward the freighter on which they would be transported off Coruscant, with Artoo rolling along close beside them. It was slow work, getting through the masses of people – everyone seemed to want to get off Coruscant these days. Anakin hoped he and Padmé were blending in and that nothing would happen to call attention to them.
They reached the boarding ramp and entered the ship, which was already swarming with passengers and was taking more on. It was apparent that the ship had initially been intended for cargo only; the owners must have seen that transporting humans was becoming a much more profitable endeavor. Anakin personally thought Padmé deserved something better, but he understood the need to hide her aboard a large ship with many passengers and loose security.
The crowd seemed to get thicker as they followed the directions they'd been given to the living area; when they finally reached it, they could see that it had originally been a hold for small cargo. Storage cubbies lined the short walls, and fold-down bunks which had obviously been added as an afterthought covered the long walls. The door was low, and Anakin had to duck a little to get through.
He stepped into the room and was horrified when, simultaneously with putting down his foot, he heard a little shriek of pain from Padmé. He'd stepped on her foot! Angry with himself for hurting her, he hurriedly picked his foot back up again and put it down somewhere else – on top of another foot, whose owner gave him and indignant scolding in some alien language.
"Sorry, sorry," he said, cringing. He picked his foot up once again, and in setting it down smushed yet another passenger's toes.
There was no where he could set his foot down! He reeled back and forth, coming down on a few more feet before finally toppling and hitting the floor. So much for not attracting attention. Trying to hide his embarrassment and ignoring his grumbling fellow passengers, he looked up at Padmé, who was over her pain and trying not to laugh, and asked, "Are you all right?"
Being asked if she was alright by someone lying on the floor was too much for Padmé, and she was overcome by laughter. Anakin blushed bright red. What was the matter with him anyway? Why could he suddenly not manage to remain upright?
Once Padmé recovered from her giggle fit, she and Anakin proceeded into the room. Anakin lifted Padmé's suitcases and lugged them over to the wall of storage lockers. He searched until he found one whose locking system indicated that it was empty. It was just over his head, so Padmé would have difficulty reaching it, but all of the lower ones were taken. As he opened the door, Padmé came beside him, observing his efforts appreciatively. "Thank you, Anakin," she said with a smile, and Anakin stared into her soft brown eyes and until something – namely, the locker door – collided with his head. The corner of it was sharp.
"Ow!" he wailed, rubbing his throbbing temple, his face reddening from both the pain and from embarrassment. He supposed it served him right for not watching what his hands were doing.
"Oooh! That must've hurt! Are you all right?" Padmé's voice was sympathetic, but he could see that she was trying to suppress a smile.
"I'll be fine," he grunted. He picked up the suitcases and shoved them into the cubby, then shut the door and activated the old-fashioned coded lock. He memorized the code, but told it to Padmé as well in case he managed to forget it anyway. He rubbed the sore spot again, then stalked over to a bunk and lay down, nursing his wounded pride as well as his head. It wasn't long before he ws asleep.
Hours later, Anakin and Padmé sat at a small table, eating… whatever it was the kitchen crew were serving. Neither one of them was able to recognize it because it didn't really have a flavor that could identify it. Instead of focusing on the taste of the meal, they had been speaking of the rules of the Jedi Order, but that subject had taken a turn that Padmé found uncomfortable, so she changed the topic to the nightmare she had awakened Anakin from earlier. He spoke of his mother, how he missed her and didn't want to forget her. Padmé heard the sadness in his voice and decided to change the subject yet again, this time to Jar Jar Binks. She soon had Anakin smiling at her descriptions of the clumsy Gungan tripping over his Senatorial robes and of some of his speeches to the Senate. By then, they had finished their meal. Padmé rose gracefully from the table, Anakin watching her every moment. Even disguised as a refugee, she was beautiful and engaging and elegant and…
"Well, Anakin, are you coming?"
Anakin stood up from his own chair and gathered up his empty bowl, all without taking his eyes off her. He stepped away from the table, but his legs somehow tangled themselves in the legs of the chair and he fell to the floor, taking the chair down with him. His spoon clattered under another table, and he just barely managed to catch his bowl and keep it from shattering on the floor. Silence reigned in their immediate vicinity, as passengers at nearby tables gawked at him. Padmé also stared at him, startled, for a few seconds, then shook her head in mock despair.
"I can't take you anywhere, can I?" she said, pretending to be exasperated.
One or two people chuckled, and nearly all returned to their meals. Padmé reached down, an amused expression on her face, and took Anakin's bowl from him.
"Perhaps I should take this to the dish return," she said, and walked off, leaving Anakin to extricate himself from the chair. His face burned when he recalled that they had just gotten done talking about how clumsy Jar Jar was.
By the time the freighter landed in Theed, Anakin was very ready to get off it. There were just too many obstacles for him to navigate. Considering his awkwardness around Padmé, he had been extra careful while on board the ship and had thus far managed to avoid further mishap, but it was a bit draining to be on constant alert. He breathed a sigh of relief when it was time to disembark. He went over to the cubby where he had stored their things and opened it – carefully this time – and removed the luggage. As he and Padmé proceede toward the door, he turned his head to remark to her,
"I sure am glad to get off this ship."
She smiled, and he reveled in it, until her expression changed to one of concern.
"Anakin! Look out!" she cried. He turned around again and smacked his head hard on the low doorway that he'd forgotten to duck for.
"Owww! That hurt!" he wailed, glaring at any surrounding passengers who dared to laugh at him. "That's not funny!" That was specifically intended for Padmé, who was once again covering her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter. Anakin lowered his head in discouragement – and because he was making a second attempt to walk out the door. It just wasn't fair; here he was, trying to prove to her that he was really no longer a little boy, and all he could seem to do was make her laugh at him!
