Chapter Eleven - Fucking Gorgeous

"You don't have space travel on your planet, do you? How do you like it?" Anakin asked quietly and leaned back in his pilot's chair. He had tried to make the take off as smooth as possible. Lili had been gripping the arm of the chair so tight he thought she was going to break it. He didn't want her to be scared. Not of him. Not of anything. He knew that was an impossible thought. He didn't know why it mattered to him that she not be scared, but it did. He was thankful when she finally let out the breath she was holding when they went into hyperspace and the ship entered a steady stream of flight. Sabé had simply patted her shoulder on her way to the back of the ship, to her cabin, leaving Anakin and Lili alone.

"No, I don't and it's not as bad as I thought…I expected it to be different," Lili said and got up to stretch her legs. She had been sitting in the same, tense position since she sat down. Scared that if she moved, she would somehow cause Anakin to crash the ship. She knew it had been a dumb and foolish idea, but then again, she hadn't been able to make sense of anything she thought at the moment.

"Different how?" Anakin swiveled the chair around to face Lili, who was stretching in a form he had never seen before. He couldn't help but notice how graceful her movements were. Her long, slender fingers were positioned like that of a dancer. She arched her arms and body as if she were being moved by a melody. The dress she was wearing shifted, showing all the curves hiding underneath. Her hair was loose and swayed beautifully. It was enough to make Anakin take a deep, calming breath at all the thoughts he wasn't supposed to be having about her. The woman doesn't know her appeal… He thought as she continued her slow dance.

"I don't know. Just different," Lili said finishing her Yoga stretches as well as breaking Anakin's trance. She sat back down, curling her feet under her.

"Good," He said and turned back to the console, pretending to press something important and trying not to think about Lili. Faydra… must think of Faydra…

They sat in silence for a few moments, each willing the other to speak. When not looking out the window at the stars whizzing by and causing herself to become nauseous, Lili occasionally looked at Anakin, as if she were trying to figure something out about him. Anakin occasionally looked at Lili just to look at her.

"So… what's a movie?" Anakin asked, finally breaking the silence when he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Well… It's something you watch. Um…actors, people who play parts, 'pretend', or act, for a story line. It's recorded and people see these storylines. Does that make sense?"

"Oh, that's like a Holovid here."

"You said that Star Wars was a movie," Anakin continued when Lili didn't say anything else.

"Yes, it is. One of my favorites, actually, but it's more than just one movie, though. " More like an obsession…

"Who plays me?"

"Who plays you? Oh…uh…well… in which movie?" Lili had begun to glide her fingers against the smooth surface of the console, not looking at Anakin.

Anakin laughed. He wasn't expecting that response. "In whatever movie in which I look like I do now!"

Lili smiled at how silly her question must have sounded and looked up at him.

"Well…In Episode One, you are played by a kid named Jake Lloyd. In Episodes Two and Three, you are played by Hayden Christensen," Lili answered, wondering where this ironic conversation was going.

"And he looks just like me?" Anakin prodded, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Yes… exactly like you. You act like him, talk like him…" Lili said looking down again.

"Do you like him?"

"Hmm?" Lili responded.

Anakin noticed that she had taken on a dreamy look as she stared down at the console. She was biting her lip again…

"Do you think he's attractive?" Anakin asked, testing her response. He already knew the answer to his question, of course, but he wanted to hear it from her. What woman didn't find him, Anakin Skywalker, attractive?

"Oh God, yes!" Lili had practically shouted, closing her eyes and smiling.

Anakin was barely able to hold back his laughter. He grinned in reaction. The mortified look and blush on Lili's face when she realized what she had just said was priceless.

"Oh my God…I didn't just… oh God… I mean… oh shit…" Lili was stumbling over her own words. She couldn't believe she had just fallen for that. Stupid. STUPID! "Damn it, Anakin," she mumbled, averting her eyes and trying to sink as low as she could into the chair. It was bad enough he wanted an answer that she knew would stoke his already inflated ego, but to answer it like that?

"I'll take that as a compliment," Anakin said, grinning like an idiot.

"Why you arrogant son of a… you did that on purpose, didn't you?" Lili asked, narrowing her eyes and trying to sound furious.

Anakin enjoyed seeing the feisty sparkle in her eyes again. She looked ready to strangle him. He had only been mildly curious until he noticed how she had taken on a blissful look when she mentioned the actor's name. That and the little sigh she gave was an indication she thought more of the actor than she cared to admit. So, he decided to tease her.

"Yes, I did," Anakin proudly stated.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to…and it's fun to make you blush," Anakin drawled out, lowering his voice, just above a whisper. The pink on her cheeks when she blushed was obnoxiously cute in his infinite opinion.

Lili momentarily lost her train of thought and her anger. His stormy blue gaze was dark and sultry…and it was focused on her. Butterflies suddenly gathered in her stomach.

"Well, now that I've inflated your ego…" Lili crossed her arms over her chest.

"You really like him, don't you?"

"Anakin, he's an actor, practically unattainable. Sure, he's a real person, but he's also a fantasy. Something I can't have…and so what if I do. He's a good…actor," She tried pleading her case, but sighed when she saw Anakin's disbelieving look. "Oh, I give up… Yes, okay…I do think you're hot. You're fucking gorgeous, all right? That's the truth you wanted. Happy?" She asked and jumped up from the seat. She started pacing, hoping the heat of embarrassment would wear of soon.

Anakin could tell Lili was uncomfortable. She was wringing her hands and mumbling under her breath. Feeling not quite guilty, he cleared his throat and tried to change the subject.

"What do the words 'God', 'damn', 'fucking' and 'shit' mean?"

Lili stopped her pacing and began laughing at Anakin. She hadn't expected him to repeat her swear words, let alone asking what they meant. She stopped laughing when she saw Anakin the confused look on his face.

"Sorry. Um, God is what you would refer to as 'The Maker' here, I guess. To some people It's male or female or both, actually," Lili said and continued when Anakin nodded. "The other words are derogatory or curse words, like, Sithspit, I guess. One of them having a se…uh, double connotation," she explained and stopped there in her description. She turned around and faced the window on the passenger side of the cockpit when Anakin stood up. Please don't ask me what word…please don't ask…

"What word has a double meaning?" Anakin asked, noticing her change in wording. He was enjoying this new conversation immensely, especially since the redness in Lili's cheeks returned with a vengeance.

He asked… "Uh…nevermind," she whispered. Anakin had approached her from behind. She could feel her heartbeat increase. If she were to turn around, she'd bump into his chest. Why does he have to stand so close to me?

Anakin heard her sharp intake of breath when he pulled her hair away from the side of her neck. She stood frozen in place as he leaned down to repeat his question, this time in a whisper just as soft as hers.

"What word, Lili?"

Chancing it, Lili whirled around and pressed her back against the wall, trying to move away from Anakin. Unfortunately, she had placed her self between the passenger chair and an adjacent wall. She was stuck and he knew it.

Anakin raised his arms and splayed his hands on the wall on either side of Lili's arms, trapping her.

"What word?" He asked again, leaning in closer still. Force, she smells incredible…

"Why do you want to know so bad?"

He noticed the quiver in her voice. "You fascinate me, that's why. Everything that comes out of your mouth-" Anakin's eyes shifted to gaze at her mouth, "is something exotic. It's something I'm beginning to really like…and you're blushing again. That's how I know it's something… appealing," he said, his gaze meeting her eyes again on his last word.

"I'm not that appealing," she said, her own eyes focusing on his mouth. One thing she had always loved about Hayden Christensen was his perfect mouth. But this wasn't Hayden, no, this was his character, Anakin Skywalker…who was determined to make her squirm. Her mind was screaming at her that this was too weird to be happening.

"Yea, you are. Did you know that you bite your lower lip when you are nervous? Like you are now…"

God, is his voice is so damn sexy… "I only do that when I'm around you, Anakin." She could barely choke out her words.

"What word?"

"Huh?" She couldn't seem to hold her thoughts together. His eyes had turned a dark, stormy blue. Was he getting closer?

"You were going to tell me what that word meant," Anakin said bringing up his hand to cup her cheek. He grinned when he heard her whimper.

"What word?" She whispered. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek.

"That's what I asked you, Lili," Anakin whispered back, caressing her cheek. Lili instinctively leaned into his caress.

"Oh… fucking…" she had closed her eyes, enjoying his touch. She hadn't been touched like that in a long time. It was wonderful, calming…and disarming.

"Yes…that word. What does it mean?"