Calm between Storms
Disclaimer: Disney owns everything and I make no profit from this.
Summary: As the Clone Wars continue to set the Galaxy ablaze, Anakin Skywalker has returned from deployment and decides to spend the evening with his girlfriend, taking a break from the crisis that threatens to destroy everything they fear to lose. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't count of his love's bodyguard taking her a job a bit too seriously.
Warning: For those who have not read my story "A Messed Up Destiny: Before the Dark Times", it is needed for context of what's going on here and for the other side stories I plan to write that will take place in the same universe. So I suggest you go read it or you'll be completely lost here.
Note: This story takes place directly after A Messed Up Destiny: Raging Wars and parallel to "In the Grip of a Tyrant", another short story that occurs in the same universe. However, reading those stories is not necessary to understand the plot of this one, though there will be minor spoilers for the end of Raging Wars, but without going into specifics.
Coruscant, 500 Republica, Anakin Skywalker's point of view:
I had messed up. Really, really badly. In hindsight, sneaking into Padme's apartment in the middle of the night was one of the stupidest things I've done in months, topped only by my underestimation of her handmaidens. Unfortunately, it had seemed like a great idea at the time, since I knew she was probably still working and therefore not asleep, but I had been dead wrong.
I had tried to enter from the Veranda like most of the times during the Clone Wars, having arrived in a modified –and almost silent- speeder 'borrowed' from the Jedi Temple's Hangar. I quickly managed to unlock the balcony door with the Force and stepped inside, expecting to see Padme working or her Handmaidens running around completing various tasks, but the place seemed devoid of life.
Alarmed and worried for Padme's safety, I used the Force to sense where she was, and found her in her bedroom, sleeping soundly. I took another step inside the apartment, careful not to make any noise out of fear of waking her, intending to simply deliver a data pad with notes on what I could remember from upcoming Senate Sessions and leave since I didn't want to bother her, but I never even got the chance.
Barely a second later had the sound of a blaster shot rang through the room, the bolt made contact with my left shoulder and leaving a smoking mark on the flesh. Out of instinct, I used the Force to find the assailant and grab them in a Force Choke, rendering them defenseless. I heard the sound of a blaster pistol being dropped to the floor before a second shot rang through the room, making contact with my chest, but it was absorbed by the chest plate underneath.
Dazed, I found the light switch with the Force and switched the darned thing on so I could see, and immediately spotted Sabé and Padme in the room, one levitating in the air and the other with a smoking blaster in her hand.
"Anakin!", Padme exclaimed, clearly surprised.
Not wanting to worry her for something as minute as a blaster shot, I shrugged, trying to tell her that I was fine. "I'm okay. It's only a small graze.", I told her calmly.
"Padme why the heck is your boyfriend sneaking in here in the middle of the night?", Sabé asked, enraged by my action. "And tell him to put me down for Force's sake!"
Not needing to be told twice, I immediately put the Handmaiden down before turning to Padme, who was clearly waiting for an explanation. "Sorry for sneaking in.", I apologized to her. "I just wanted to bring you some notes about the Senate. Stuff I've gathered through my…visions.", I added, calling the data pad to my hand. Padme nodded, accepting the explanation and understanding the meaning behind it.
"That isn't a reason to be here, or to choke me half to death!", Sabé yelled, angry at me for less than justified reasons. After all, I had been trying to help Padme. I wasn't going to hurt her.
"Well excuse me for not whipping out a laser sword and deflecting it in your face instead!", I argued, but Padme didn't seem pleased with the response.
She let out a sigh, and I could feel the exhaustion in her presence. "Can you both just stop arguing?", she shouted suddenly. "I'm really tired and this whole situation isn't helping in the slightest."
"My apologies Milady.", Sabé said, and I felt a spike of jealousy go through me, though it was quickly repressed since I knew that the Handmaiden cared about Padme's happiness, and therefore wouldn't interfere in our relationship, less she be choked for real.
"Yeah…sorry.", I apologized weakly, not wanting to raise my voice in fear of disturbing her.
"Apology accepted, to both of you.", Padme said, and I felt my heart flutter at the sound of her sweet voice. Some things never change…
"Knight Skywalker said something about the Senate. Is that something we should discuss?", Sabé asked absentmindedly, or at least pretended to, but I could feel that she was expecting me to say no and let Padme go back to sleep.
I wasn't about to that however, and confirmed that the matter was of 'incredible importance' in the most formal way possible, making fun of Sabé's tone in the process. She scoffed at this, but Padme seemed fine with it, claiming that she wouldn't be able to sleep even if she tried after shooting me, though I couldn't see the problem. It had been an accident after all.
Sabé gave me a pointed glance, trying to tell me to drop it, but I gave her a smug smile and accepted Padme's reasoning, making her giggle at 'our antics'. She then sent the Handmaiden away to Force-knows-where and sat on the couch, patting the spot next to her as an indication for me to sit next to her.
"You know I'm not a house pet, right?", I joked, wanting to say something.
Padme giggled at that. "I'm well aware, Knight Skywalker.", she teased. "Unfortunately, it seems we have a crisis on our hands.", Padme said in the voice she used when addressing the Senate. "One that can only be resolved by a massive payment of cuddles.", she half-yawned, but I found it adorable.
Deciding to play along, I sat next to her on the couch, letting her rest her head on my shoulder. "Thanks Ani.", she said, her voice sounding sweet as always but betraying fatigue. "I didn't want to sleep alone tonight.", she confessed.
"Oh…did you miss me?", I teased her, wrapping my organic arm around her waist.
Padme didn't say anything in response. She simply moved herself a little bit, trying to use me as a pillow. "Ani…I'm going to be embarrassed in the morning", she murmured, almost in a whisper.
"Don't be. We've done worse.", I answered honestly, making her blush. "What?", I exclaimed loudly, wanting to mess with her.
"You, Anakin Skywalker, would be the best husband ever.", she told me sleepily, but I didn't mind the compliment.
Wanting to tease her a bit more, if only to cherish one of the rare moments where I had managed to make her flustered, I carefully selected my next words. "Well…you did marry me that one time…"
"Shut…up…", Padme murmured in my ear, now fully asleep. Seeing her like this, asleep and using me as a pillow, brought back memories of our marriage from years ago, but I didn't let myself reminisce. After all, memories of our time together aren't better than the real thing, and she was all I ever needed.
Morning came quickly, with Sabé being the one to wake me, slightly nudging my shoulder until I opened my eyes, and promptly whispered to me to shut up when I tried to ask what was going on. My first instinct was to check for threats or assailants with the Force, but after a moment I realized that it was just us who were awake, with Padme still soundly asleep and using my robe as a sort of blanket.
I will never admit to cooing at the sight, since it would be unbecoming of a Jedi, and most importantly, very embarrassing. Sabé rolled her eyes at my –totally nonexistent- cooing and motioned for me to get up, so I used the Force to gently lift Padme enough so I could stand up straight and took my robe off, leaving it for her to use in place of a real blanket, like she had been doing since presumably yesterday.
After making sure that she was still comfortable, and most importantly, asleep, I followed Sabé to the other side of the living room, presumably so she could talk to me about something.
"I took care of your speeder. Parked it with the rest like a normal person.", she said in an annoyed tone.
I raised an eyebrow at her, surprised that she'd actually helped me out. "Huh. Thanks for that.", I replied, not knowing what to say.
Sabé sighed, as if exasperated. "Be more careful when coming here. You're a Jedi, for Force's sake. Even if we ignore the scandal, there's a lot of people that want you dead just because of your status. Being with Padme puts her in danger, but she's at her happiest when you're around, so you better not hurt her, you hear?", she whisper-yelled to me, doing her very best to seem threatening.
She might have actually scared me if I hadn't been a former Sith Lord, or if I hadn't seen for worse than anything Sabé could do to me, though I wasn't about to underestimate her for the second time in a day.
"I will be, from now on.", I reassured her. She didn't seem to believe me, but accepted the response regardless.
"Good.", Sabé said with a nod of the head, walking away and to the kitchen area of the apartment to make some caf, and I followed her, asking for a cup. She complied without telling me off, but didn't seem very happy about it, not that I had time to continue talking to her since Padme was almost awake now, or at least, the Force said as much.
Not wanting her to worry for me in case she remembered shooting me last night, I made my way over to the couch and stood next to where Padme's head was so she could see me when she awoke. She opened her eyes a few moments later, stretching like a two-year old who'd just woken from a nice nap, though in her defense, she was really cute while doing so.
"Ani?", Padme asked a moment later in a whisper. She seemed to still be sleepy, though that was normal considering she wasn't even fully awake yet.
I gave her a smile, one of the few true smiles I had given in the last few months, when I wasn't joking around with the men, that is. "Morning Angel.", I said in a low voice, not wanting to disturb her.
"Hey…", she murmured, sending feelings of happiness and comfort through our bond, though I doubt she knew what she was doing.
Glancing once in Sabé's direction and seeing that one of the cups of caf, presumably there for Padme, was ready and after receiving a nod of confirmation from the Handmaiden, I levitated the cup over to us and near Padme's hand. "Sabé made coffee.", I commented, offering it to her by moving it in her now open hand.
Padme took a sip from the cup and seemed a little more awake as she leaned her head towards my chest and wrapped me in a tight hug. "I hate early mornings.", she complained, most of the sound being muffled by my tunic.
"Well, I'm here to make this one better.", I replied coyly, making her giggle.
"Alright then milord…let me show you how I usually spend my mornings around here.", Padme teased, making a knot appear in my stomach at the use of the nickname.
Deciding that flirting was more than worth the risk, I flashed Padme a coy smile. "Oh really? And pray tell, Senator, how will you make this morning more interesting than fighting on a battlefield?", I teased back, making her blush.
Sabé shot me a pointed glance in that moment, effectively ruining it by reminding the both of us that we weren't alone. Thankfully, it seemed like Padme also noticed her Handmaiden's intervention and decided to do something about it, which was to lean in for a kiss that I eagerly returned.
When we pulled apart, I felt as if the air had been sucked out of me and I nearly missed the glance Padme sent to Sabé, as if to piss her off further. The Handmaiden said nothing and simply left the room, excusing herself in order to attend to her other duties, which I found more than acceptable, considering that Padme and I were finally alone.
"Sorry about Sabé.", Padme was quick to apologize. "I don't know what's gotten into her."
"It's okay Angel. I'm sure she's fine.", I said, trying to keep her calm. "So, do you have anything to do this morning or can we do whatever?", I asked, changing the subject.
"Nothing that can't be done in the afternoon. I'd prefer watching a something on the Holonet.", Padme replied.
I found myself liking the sound of the idea and was I quick to agree to it, even after Padme began second guessing it, asking if I'd get bored watching a show that I'd probably already seen with past-her, as she put it. I told her it was fine –which it was-, but she wasn't convinced and began brainstorming for activities, rejecting one after the other out of fear that she'd bore me with something I had already done.
I stopped her rambling about a minute into her little freak-out session and placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, sending waves of happiness and love through our Force Bond to help the process along. "Angel, you don't have to worry about boring me with anything. So long as I'm with you, nothing will ever be boring.", I told her honestly.
"But haven't you already watched that show with me?", she questioned.
"I recall you once told me that silly rom coms and soap operas are the way to any woman's heart. If that's the case with you, I'd re-watch them a thousand times just to spend that time with you.", I answered honestly, and Padme's face lit up with enthusiasm and pure joy.
She immediately stopped pacing and squeezed me in a tight hug –that I was more than fine with-, telling me that she loved me. Hearing her say those words sent even more knots in my stomach, but I just smiled and sat down on the couch with her, asking what show she wanted to binge first.
As Padme began explaining the plot of her favorite rom com -newest obsession- I allowed myself to completely relax, enjoying the fact that I was spending time with her after being away for so long and doing by best to throw myself in the well of light that was her presence in the Force.
Padme pressed play on the remote and the first episode of the show started playing, while our Force signatures sang with happiness at being reunited at long last, leaving no room for the Dark Side in my heart and filling me with love I hadn't felt in far too long, the type of love I once couldn't live without.
And…scene! I hope you guys enjoyed this short story about Anakin and Padme, and I sincerely hope that no one cringed while reading. Romance isn't my strong suit, but I think I did a good enough job, if I do say so myself.
Anyways, below is my commentary on this one-shot, otherwise known as exposition, so let's dive right in!
First of all, Anakin sneaking around Coruscant to see Padme. There's a reason there are quotation marks around the word borrowed when he talks about the speeder, meaning we can –and will- assume that the Jedi are going to be looking for that thing later. Also, I can totally see Anakin taking the stealthiest routes possible to Padme's apartment in order to keep the secret from Sidious a bit longer.
Secondly, Sabé's character. In the Novel "Star Wars: Queen's Shadow", it is confirmed that Sabé was and still is –at the time of the Clone Wars- in love with Padme. Thankfully, she's willing to accept her relationship with Anakin, but disapproves of it and is incredibly protective, something I tried to portray in this story. It's worth noting that I haven't actually read the book, which means I couldn't check to see how accurate the interactions between Sabé and Anakin would be, so please take this with a grain of salt as far as canon goes.
Thirdly, Sabé shooting Anakin. Here she's trying to protect Padme from who she believes to be a possible assailant, but it's worth mentioning that Anakin doesn't sense her until after she's fired her blaster at least once. This is because Jedi can detect emotions from others and that's the most common way of figuring out if someone is about to do something, because actions are usually accompanied by emotions.
In fact, that is why Order 66 was so effective. The Clones executed the Jedi without emotion, which made it difficult for them to sense the danger they were in. This, coupled with the fact that Anakin wasn't actively looking for someone other than Padme herself and didn't expect an attack is the reason why Sabé managed to land a hit on the Jedi Knight.
Also, I should clarify that Anakin is not in any way injured. The first blaster shot hit him in the shoulder and was mostly absorbed by the robes and the second, the one fired by Padme, did go through his robes, but he was wearing armor underneath. Or at least a chest plate, at the very list. Therefore, Anakin isn't harmed during this chapter.
Fourthly, Sabé being protective of Padme. As I mentioned above, Sabé loves Padme and will do anything to protect her, which is explicitly stated and shown in Queen's Shadow, in case you need an example. She takes care of Anakin's speeder to help guard Padme's secret; not Anakin's, and she also threatens a Jedi Knight –and former Sith Lord, but she doesn't know that- in order to ensure that he doesn't break Padme's heart.
Lastly, the banter between our two lovebirds. I personally like how this turned out, but I hope I can do better in the future. I'm pretty sure it's something along the lines of what they would have said if this had happened in canon, so that's good enough for me. Besides, if AOTC is any indication, sometimes canon shouldn't be followed too strictly when romance is concerned.
That's all for now guys! Remember to drop me a review/PM if you have questions/want to talk about the story! I'll see you all in the next short story, "Shadows of the Sith", but until then, May the Force be with you!