A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger…

Oh, Gods, the suspense in this chapter…!

Sologirl: You are my favorite!

Korifi: You are not that far behind…

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Caleb opened his eyes and muttered, angry that he had been disturbed from his sleep. The door to his room opened and in complete silence he followed the figure that clumsily made it's way to the bed next to his.

"So", Caleb cut in sharply. The figure jumped and looked at Caleb. "How was your date?"

"Wonderful", Anakin replied. His roommate turned the light on and rubbed the sleep off of his eyes. When his eyes adjusted to the light Caleb noticed Anakin's grin.

"I don't like that smile…"

"Why not?", Anakin asked, his smile spreading more. Caleb leaned on his elbow and looked at his roommate.

"I don't want to form the thought in my head… For the first time in my life I'm not asking for 'details' and I hope you won't share them with me", he implied, disguising his real intent. Anakin recognized what he meant and laughed.

"I wouldn't have told you anyways, I'm a gentleman", he said proudly. Caleb scoffed and shook his head. "What, you don't believe me?", Anakin asked.

"I don't know you for that long, Skywalker, but everybody knows your reputation…", he said, putting special emphasis on the last word. Anakin frowned and crossed his arms, daring Caleb to continue. "I didn't say anything while Padmé was here to avoid hurting her, but I know that you weren't the 'gentleman' you claim to be with your other conquests…"

"That is the past", Anakin corrected quickly. "And Padmé is not a conquest, she's different, with her I'm different"

"People don't change, Anakin", Caleb said in a hard tone. Anakin shook his head.

"No, they don't change. They grow up", he countered. At a loss of words, Caleb just stared at him. For minutes they shot daggers at each other through their eyes, remaining in complete silence.

"If you hurt her I will make you regret it for the rest of your life", Caleb reminded. Anakin shook his head and chuckled sarcastically. "I mean it", he insisted, "I love Padmé, she means everything to me and if I ever see her shed a tear because of you… I swear to Yoda, Skywalker…"

"Drop the overprotective brother act, will you?", Anakin snapped. "I'm a big boy and I know how to do things right. And by the way, my relationship with Padmé is between me and her, not me, her and your family"

Caleb turned to his side and stared at the wall. Anakin took his clothes off and slid into his bed, still uneasy at the discussion he and Caleb had just had. He understood his worries for Padmé, but he was overreacting. Padmé. Anakin smiled impishly when he remembered their date. Everything had been perfect, even better than the way he had planned it.

He recalled the way she had burrowed into his arms as if he was the only thing sustaining her. He smiled at the way Padmé had fed him dinner, careful of not dropping the food all over him in spite of her shaky pulse. When her hand relented she had spilled the food over his robe, giggling playfully at his shock.

He remembered how they had fallen asleep in each other's arms, careless of the worlds around them. He remembered how he had been forced out of his sleep by the feathery kisses she was pressing on his face. He remembered the shock on her face when he had flung her onto her back and started tickling her, extracting even louder laughs than the ones he had forced from her in his dorm.

But what had definitely immortalized in his head was the gentle and loving look she had given him when her laughter ceased.

With that memory in his mind, he fell asleep.

***

One week later.

Padmé was getting ready for bed after another wonderful date with Anakin. Reaching for her datapad she checked her messages before going to sleep. She frowned when she saw a specific name in her inbox. She clicked on the message and read it. As the words processed in her head she felt everything going in slow motion.

It was terrible news. At least to her they seemed terrible.

How would she face it? How would she tell Anakin? Was it worth to continue with their relationship?

Padmé closed her datapad and placed it on her nightstand. She sighed determinedly, her decision already made.

**

Anakin had just finished one of his exams and was walking merrily back to his dorm. His joyful pace was interrupted with the annoying beep of his comm. link. Looking down, he reached for it and answered the call. A small hologram of Padmé met his eyes.

"Hi, Padmé! Boy, do I have good news for you… I just finished my…"

"Ani", she interrupted. "We have to talk".

Anakin felt his stomach contracting in warning. Something was wrong… terribly wrong.

"Um, okay. Meet me in Dex's Diner?", he suggested. Padmé shook her head and sighed.

"It's better if you come here". Anakin swallowed hard and nodded.

"All right. I'll be there in 20 minutes", he assured.

"Good. See you then". Her image faded leaving a puzzled Anakin staring into nothingness. What was happening?

*

Every step echoed in the walls of the hallway. Every move seemed to go in slow motion. After what seemed like years to Anakin, he finally reached Padmé's door. Before he could knock the door opened. Padmé received him and asked him to come in, immediately closing the door once he was inside.

"Padmé, what…?"

"Let's go to the living room. We can talk there", she said sharply. Anakin just nodded and followed her. Once they were sitting on the couch, not necessarily comfortable, she started.

"Anakin, we have to end this"