Padmé blushed slightly as she closed the door to his room behind her. She shouldn't have just walked in on him while he was in the shower. It wasn't something that friends did. However, she couldn't help herself. Hearing him sing made her want to listen even more. His voice had drawn her in, and it was delightful. She knew he was just singing in the shower, but it felt like he was serenading her. If he ever did serenade her in earnest... well, her heart might not be able to take it. She didn't know why she was surprised to hear him sing so well. Perhaps it was the fact that he was good at everything... with the exception of beating her at combat. A smirk crossed her face as she remembered how she'd bested him in front of his own class. The smirk quickly turned back into a blush as she thought of how he felt beneath her in that moment. Aside from seeing her arm buried in his neck, it had been a nice view.
She stepped forward from his door and returned to the kitchen, rooting around in his freezer for some vegetables. She knew he told her that he'd help finish cooking, but she truly didn't mind. After figuring out his microwave, she pulled out her phone and opened her chat with Anakin.
Padmé: Hey, Ani, I was wondering if you had time to talk?
Thought bubbles popped up... then went away... then popped back up again.
Anakin: Right now?
Padmé: When you're free.
Anakin: Is it about us? ;)
She chuckled. He never knew when to quit.
Padmé: It's about you. It's been a while and I wanted to see how you were doing with everything that's going on.
Anakin: Oh... Are you free tomorrow?
Padmé: I'm out of class by four.
Anakin: I'll stop by then. Tell Obi-Wan I'll be home late.
Padmé flinched at his last text. She shouldn't feel guilty about being with Obi-Wan, or about Anakin knowing that they were close, yet for some reason she did. He probably didn't even mean it to be a slight, but texting was so ambiguous.
Obi-Wan came out of his room then, dressed in some comfortable clothes. "Did the microwave give you any trouble, darling?"
"None at all. By the way, Anakin said he's going to be home late," she replied.
His eyes lit up in hope, "Oh, you spoke to him?"
She felt bad dousing that spark in his eyes, "Well, I texted him. I'll be seeing him tomorrow to check in."
"Padmé, I really do appreciate you," he said with a soft smile.
She looked down at the floor sheepishly. "It's nothing. I'm just a friend looking out for a friend."
The timer on the oven buzzed and Obi-Wan made his way around to check on it. "Well, that's done. Now to just make the rest of it."
Padmé hopped up to sit on his kitchen counter to be out of his way as he worked around the kitchen. He's fun to watch, she thought. Obi-Wan had such an intense look in his eyes as he set about preparing things. His approach was methodical, deliberate. It was impressive.
"Do you ever feel things with your soul?" she asked curiously.
He turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you cook so rigidly," she replied. "Everything measured, everything perfect."
"Are you saying I shouldn't measure things out?" he asked with a bemused smile.
"No, but it's okay to improvise," she replied.
"Alright. What should I do, then?" he asked.
Padmé popped off his counter and hip bumped him out of the way. "Get me a tea bag."
"A tea bag?" he asked in confusion.
"Mhm. Jasmine," she replied.
He gave her an odd look but complied. She smiled, feeling his curious gaze on her back.
"Darling, what are you doing?" he asked in amusement.
"Cooking."
"With your soul?"
"Precisely," she said, smirking at him over her shoulder.
Padmé made the tea, removing the bags before adding the rice to the pot to cook.
"By cooking it in tea, you infuse it with the flavor," Obi-Wan said in realization. "I've never thought of that before."
"Exactly," she said, bopping his nose, "Because you haven't been cooking with your soul."
Obi-Wan chuckled, shaking his head at her. "Anakin cooks with his soul, but it usually results in dinner being burnt."
"I cook with my soul, Anakin flies by the seat of his pants," she grinned, fluffing up the rice with a fork.
Soon enough, everything was done and ready to eat. Obi-Wan pulled the plates down from the cupboard and started to dish it out onto there.
"I still owe you a dinner, since technically you cooked half of this," he remarked.
"There are multiple days in the week," she shrugged as she picked up her fork and knife to cut into her meal. "I mean, if that's not too forward."
"It's not too forward. Friends can have dinner together. Besides, eating with someone else is always better than eating alone," Obi-Wan replied before taking a bite of the rice. "Darling, this is amazing."
Padmé blushed at the compliment, smiling softly at him. "See? That's what happens when you cook with your soul."
They talked amicably about their current class topics, debating lightly on certain topics. Nothing ever got too heated, but it was a nice meeting of the minds. They surprisingly agreed on many things despite their different upbringings. When they needed lighter topics, they switched to discussing more of their favorite things.
"So, you like Moulin Rouge?" she asked in amusement. "You have a very nice singing voice."
"I do, and thank you. You sounded great as well," he blushed. "I've always enjoyed the story. Finding a love like that..."
Her heart skipped a beat as he trailed off. A blush came over her face, "Someone to love you no matter what?"
"Come what may," he replied, looking off as if in a far off place, "It's something I'd treasure forever."
Gently, she placed her hand over his. "I'm sure you'll find that."
She smiled, but it didn't quite meet her eyes. She wanted to say that she was right here, but she thought better of it. He came back from wherever he'd mentally went and looked at her with a smile.
"One can only hope," he replied.
"Well, I should get going," she said, slipping out of her seat. "I'll talk to Anakin tomorrow and I'll check in on him."
He walked her to the door. "Thank you, again."
"Thank you for dinner," she grinned. "Good night, Obi-Wan."
"Good night, Padmé."
She stepped back into the hall, turning back to her own apartment and entering it. It didn't take her long to get ready for bed. She sat in front of her vanity, brushing her hair as she thought about her schedule for the next day. It wasn't anything too crazy. She had a few classes, and then she was going to meet with Anakin to see what was going on with him. A part of her was dreading that conversation, hoping that it would go better than the last conversation they had. What kind of a mess had Anakin gotten himself in? She placed her brush back on the vanity and crawled into bed, drifting off to sleep thinking about how nice it would be to hear Obi-Wan sing her to sleep.
Padmé woke the next day feeling determined. She made herself a quick breakfast, got ready for her day, and then went off to class a bit early to study for a test she had that day. She purchased a tea and nestled down in the library to go over her things. After setting up her desk, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and she took it out to check it.
Obi-Wan: Missed you in the hallway this morning.
Padmé bit her lip as she crafted a response.
Padmé: I have a test and wanted to get out early to study.
Obi-Wan: Well, darling, the early bird gets the worm. Good luck on your test.
His words were simple. Silly, even. But, they still brought a smile and a warm blush to her face. She'd never gotten along with someone as easily as she got along with him. Nor had she ever wanted to spend so much time with someone. She could spend hours with him and still want more time. Perhaps it was because the time they spent together passed by quickly. However, she felt silly for missing him as much as she did when she knew she'd see him again later. With a shake of her head, she returned back to her studies.
Her day was fairly uneventful, but she felt a pit in her stomach grow as she thought about the conversation she'd have to have with Anakin later. On her way home, she decided to stop at the store to pick up some essentials that she needed. What she hadn't expected was to run into an old friend.
"Padmé Amidala, is that you?" a voice asked as she was picking out apples. She turned to its owner and grinned.
"Tsabin! It's been too long," she smiled, pulling the other woman in for a hug.
"Please, you can still call me Sabé," her friend grinned. "How's school going?"
"Oh, you know. Tests here, papers there..."
"Plotting your run for Senator once you graduate in your free time?" Sabé teased.
"You know me so well," Padmé smirked.
"At least tell me that you're remembering to make time for yourself."
"Of course! Don't I always?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?"
Padmé shrugged, turning back to the produce. Her eyes fell on a person across the way and noticed that it was Anakin.
"Ani?" she asked.
Anakin turned towards her. "Padmé? Are you following me?" he smirked.
Padmé rolled her eyes. "Of course. Don't you know that all I ever do is follow you?"
Anakin grinned, but it wasn't at her. "Who's your friend?"
Padmé bit her lip, looking between her two friends. Interesting, she thought.
"Ani, this is Tsabin. Tsabin, you remember me talking about Anakin back in high school?" Padmé asked.
"Little Skywalker?" Sabé asked incredulously as she gave Ani an appreciative glance. "Clearly he's grown up. Please, call me Sabé. All my friends do."
"Are we friends?" Ani asked with a raised brow.
Sabé blushed, "I'd like to be."
Padmé cleared her throat. "Well. I'm heading back to the apartment. Walk with me Ani?"
Anakin deflated a bit, but nodded. "It was nice meeting you, Sabé."
"You as well," Sabé grinned. "Padmé, don't be a stranger."
"I'll try not to be," Padmé smiled as she went to check out.
Anakin carried half of the bags while they walked home.
"So, what did you want to see me about?" he finally asked after they walked in silence for a block.
"I've just been worried about you. You lost your father, and you started a new job. It's only rational that a friend would want to check in on you," she replied.
Anakin sighed. "Because you were worried about me? Or is it because of Obi-Wan?"
"Can't it be both? You're both my friends and I care about you. You're having a rough time right now, and I want to be there for you," she said in earnest.
"That's why you stayed with Obi-Wan the night dad died?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ani, that's not fair."
"No, it's not, Padmé. But, life's not fair. Obi-Wan had you that night. Do you know who I had? No one," he replied, stopping in the sidewalk. His eyes searched hers. "Do you love him?"
"Ani, it doesn't matter-"
"Do you love him?" he asked again.
"Yes," she sighed, looking off to the side. "I do, but that doesn't negate my friendship with you."
Anakin swallowed. She was right. Her relationship with Obi-Wan didn't need to mean that her friendship with Anakin was over. She could see him trying to accept that.
"You're right," he conceded as he started to walk again.
Padmé fell back in step. "Where are you going at night?"
The question had come out of nowhere, but its what she'd been tasked to find out.
"Nowhere," he responded.
"Nowhere? Let me guess, doing nothing?"
"Exactly," he grinned.
She sighed in frustration, "Anakin, he's worried about you."
"Oh? He's worried about me? When does he have time to worry about me in between his internship, his classes, his job, and you?" he asked pointedly.
"Tell me the truth, Anakin. Where do you go?"
He sighed. "I'm just hanging out with friends from work after the shift is over."
Something told her that there was more to it than that, but she didn't want to push. Besides, they were home anyway. He walked her to her apartment, following her in and placing the bags he'd carried onto her counter.
Hesitantly, he reached out to place his hand on her arm. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"I know, Ani," she sighed. "I just- I want you to know that I am here for you. Truly, I am. As a friend. I don't want to ruin that."
He gave her a lop-sided smile. "You really are an angel."
She smiled back up at him. "So I've been told."
Padmé pulled him in for a hug. "Don't shut him out. He wants to help."
"I know," he sighed, resting his chin on the top of her head.
When they let go, she gave his hand a squeeze.
"I'll see you around," he smiled before leaving.
"Good bye, Ani."