A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and follows! With that being said, please enjoy the next chapter!
Vader woke to find Padmé still in his arms, her face still buried in his brawny chest. He smiled, remembering the vision he had of her memory on Naboo, of him promising that they would meet again. Of course, it wasn't like he would change her memory, but to be able to find her in such an emotional state and provide comfort to her at such a tender age of eighteen was immeasurably wonderful.
It was a shame that she had to see such a violent image of what happened to him. It was a shame that there weren't more good memories in him that she could take pleasure in. There were mainly dark memories, darkness that he had lived in his entire life. But they were making good memories now together, memories that he would cherish no matter what and that's what counted.
He bent his head down and gave her a kiss on the top of her head, enjoying the flowery scent of her shampoo. It reminded him of their first night meeting on Kashyyyk when she clumsily told him about her perfume only to smoothly recover. He was so cocky that night, it made him wonder how she even could stand him when they made it back to his room on the ancient tree, rather than running for her own room cursing his very name for the harrowing adventure they had through the shadowlands.
Now, it was just them in this bed and it was wonderful. Being able to hold her every night and wake up to her beautiful face in the morning was a privilege that he wouldn't take for granted, not now, not ever. They certainly did have their disagreements, but that was natural, two people, especially when one was a damned Sith Lord, would have disagreements.
After another few moments he felt her stirring in his arms. She brought her hands to her face and began rubbing her eyes. When she finally looked up at him, he was greeted with a warm smile.
"Thank you for holding me all night", she whispered. "I needed it after the nightmare I had."
"I'm always happy to hold you through the night, even if you don't have a nightmare, Angel", Vader whispered in response as he bent down to steal a quick kiss. "I had a bit of a dream about you myself."
"Oh gods, what was it?", she asked nervously.
"You were on a veranda outside of the palace at Theed. I found you crying as you had just been broken up with. I may have sat down next to you and told you that you and I would meet again, and that there would be many good times ahead for us both", Vader said.
Padmé gave him a wistful smile. "I wish you really had been there that night. I could've used you back then, but I have you now and that's all that matters", she said. She wrapped her arms around him again and smothered her face in his chest, sniffling.
"Angel, don't cry", Vader pleaded. Damn women and their emotions.
"I can't help it", she whispered. "I truly wish that we had met each other long before than we did. It would've been the most wonderful thing ever. Especially if you hadn't left that morning after we had made love on Kashyyyk. You would've avoided so much pain and suffering."
Vader clutched his arms around her tighter. She was right, he wished that he had stayed with her, but there was no way that his master would've allowed him to remain missing for so long, especially since Padmé had been a senator. What was he to do, tell her that Sidious was the damned Chancellor of the Republic? That wouldn't have gone over very well.
"I know, I wish it were so as well, Padmé. But we have each other now, and that's what counts", Vader said. "Nothing else matters, just that."
Her sniffling stopped. "I suppose you're right", she said. "Thank you for making me feel better, Ani. You always do."
"Well, I don't know about always", Vader said as he shifted down to be on her level. "But I try to do it most of the time."
"You do it more than you think", Padmé said with a soft smile. "I don't know where I would be right now without you. Probably galivanting across the galaxy with Bail Organa of all people, thinking I'm some damned warfighter. I'd much rather be here with you."
"I'm glad you think so", Vader said with an odd lump in his throat. That was the first time Padmé had openly said that she would rather be with him over the Rebellion. It nearly broke his heart that he had her imprisoned here and had kept his identity from her for so long, even though he wanted to tell her. That he needed to tell her, but he had been afraid of telling her.
"Well, what will it be today, Milord?", she asked. "Are you off to go smash the Mimbanese for breaking through the lines you fought to secure?"
"I actually might go today", he admitted. "The Emperor wants me to bombard the population centers, but I don't like that strategy. It'll turn the galaxy against the Empire, not for it."
Padmé froze. "I had only been joking about you going", she said with a pout. "The garrison is encircled, what are you going to do?"
"Invade with a superior landing force", Vader said as he affectionately rubbed her back. "They won't know what'll hit them when we attack them from their flanks. They'll be too surprised to do anything but break ranks and run and hide. Then I'll resecure the grounds that were taken and leave a substantial presence there, with a vow to bombard them if they use such a weapon in the war again."
"Wouldn't it just be easier to bombard them now?", Padmé asked.
"Easier, yes, effective, not really", Vader said. "Yes, we'd end up killing scores of them, but for what? More soldiers to join the war and attack the garrison? The Emperor wants the planet for himself, hell, he wants every planet for himself, but if the Empire capitulates, or worse, starts falling to tactics that are beneath us, then we'll have problems on our hands that we don't want."
A tear ran down Padmé's cheek.
"What's wrong, Angel?", Vader asked.
"I'm just worried about you. You're so hellbent on putting yourself in a dangerous scenario, even if it's your job. I don't think that I've ever met a man that's been nearly killed as many times as you have", she admitted. "It makes me nervous for you, nervous for us. I didn't wait for you for as long as I did just to lose you."
Dammit, why did he have to tell her so flippantly. He should've figured out that she was joking, not been considering that she wasn't, especially after the dream she had the previous night.
"I'll be safe, Padmé. I'll have my platoon of Death Troopers who've fought with me on Mimban before along with thousands of Stormtroopers. We'll take the territory back and make certain that there won't be any aggressive counter attacks, at least not like the ones that a damned fission bomb can inflict", Vader said. "I'm sorry if that makes you nervous, I don't want you to be nervous, but I know that it's just going to be a part of it regardless of what I might do or say."
Padmé sniffled once but didn't let it get any farther than that. "Just be careful gods dammit, I don't want to lose you."
"I don't want you to either", Vader replied. "All I want is to do my job then come back home safe and make love to you a thousand times."
She looked up at him with a small smile on her face. "Just a thousand times?", she said coyly.
Vader smirked. "Alright, maybe more than a thousand times, but afterwards I don't think we'd be able to walk for a month straight", he said with a laugh.
Padmé laughed as well. "I think it'd be worth it", she replied. "It's always worth it."
Unable to resist himself, Vader bent in to deliver her a scorching kiss. Padmé automatically wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in deeper. They found themselves in one of the best impromptu make out sessions that they had ever had, taking their time just enjoying one another's lips.
Vader ran his hand along her curves, pausing at the most generous valleys and crests. They were approaching the point of no return, not that either of them had any issues with that. He needed to leave her with a good sendoff, not promising sex when he got back if he were to be injured.
He pushed her on her back and got on top of her, still kissing her deeply. She whimpered when she felt him at the entrance to her core, and he pressed himself inside of her gently causing her to break the kiss and let out a sharp cry. No matter how many times they made love, she simply couldn't easily take his size very easily, not that he was complaining.
Once he allowed her to adjust momentarily, he began to gently thrust inside of her while kissing her. This morning of lovemaking wasn't about raw sex, it was about being slow and passionate. The rougher sex could wait for his return.
They both moaned and groaned into each other's mouths as he continued to gently thrust, enjoying every inch of her. It felt better than some of their more sensual lovemaking, like they were in perfect harmony with one another.
Once she was well used to his size, he began to thrust at just a quicker pace, but not by much. He enjoyed the feelings of her nails on his back, scratching him as she withered beneath him. Her legs wrapped around his waist, drawing him even closer to her, locking him into pace. He chuckled into the kiss and began to thrust just a little harder, causing her to arch her back, pressing her breasts into his firm chest.
They continued this for a while, not showing any sign of letting up. It may very well have been the longest time that they had gone at it as seconds turned into minutes. They could feel the sun shifting on the bed, indicating how much time was passing, but neither caring as they were merely focused on one another, not some trivial notion as how long they were going at it for.
Their lips were becoming bruised from their constant kisses, and Vader knew that he would have swollen lips for at least a day afterwards, but she was worth it. She always was worth it. As he dove deeper and deeper, her moans and groans turned into cries. He knew that she was approaching her climax, that it would come sooner rather than later. He kept up his pace, stroking into her as deeply as possible, ensuring that every last bit of him was deep inside of her. The pleasure from it was remarkable, and he was just aching to find his own release.
Soon, it came. Her legs started to quiver and she broke kiss to scream out as she spasmed around him. The sensation was too much for him and he felt himself release inside of her, groaning loudly as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.
After a moment he lifted his head and began giving her short but firm kisses, showing his appreciation for their generous lovemaking.
Vader reached down and brushed a loose lock of hair from her face and smiled at her. "I love you; you know that don't you?", he asked.
"I do. I hope you know that I love you too", she replied.
"I certainly do", he said as he bent down to give her one last sensual kiss.
With that, they both got out of bed, feeling a new vigor for the day now that it had started out right, the only sour note being that Vader would have to leave in a few short hours to board the Devastator and shoot across the galaxy to fight in a war that he had already fought in. He hoped that he wouldn't have to fight it a third time, as then he would truly consider the Emperor's option as a more feasible one.
Mimban was an important strategic target, one that the Empire couldn't just give up on, no matter how well the Mimbanse fought. It was something that needed to be taken, so it would be taken. To hell with anyone who got in his way.
Vader and Padmé went downstairs to find Dormé lounging on one of the couches on the front living area.
"Cozy?', Vader asked.
Dormé opened her eyes. "I actually am, Milord", she replied. She was getting a little too cozy, but he couldn't fault her for that. He was engaged to her best friend and they were no longer prisoners, but had continued to live here out of their own free will.
"Ani's going to go off today to return to Mimban", Padmé announced.
Dormé sat up. "Anakin, isn't that dangerous? They used a fission bomb during their counterattack", she said with no small amount of alarm in her voice, causing Vader to wince. Padmé didn't need to be more worried than she already was.
"We're not going to try and take new ground; we're going to attack their flanks while they're busy laying siege to the garrison. That's how we'll break the stalemate, with an overwhelming strike force", he replied.
"And you just have to lead it, don't you?", Dormé asked.
Damn this woman. "Yes, Dormé, I do. I can't ask any of my soldiers to do something that I wouldn't do, I need to lead from the front not manage from the rear, that's how you really motivate an army to succeed", Vader replied. "I'm not trying to go off to be a hero or anything, I just find this option a little more preferrable than to bombard the entire planet into oblivion. At least for now, but if they pull the stunt with a fission bomb again, I might be tempted."
"I don't think anyone would blame you at that point", Dormé said. "Padmé will you be joining Anakin on the Devastator?"
Padmé looked at Vader hopefully.
"No, it's too dangerous", Vader replied immediately.
"And the wampas on Kijimi weren't?", Padmé asked with her hands on her hips. Damn, he was going to get an earful. Damn Dormé and her innocent mouth.
"That was an unforeseen circumstance", Vader said, holding up his hands. "I didn't know that there were going to be so many of the gods damned things, or I wouldn't have taken you to Killich."
"Ah, so you would've been able to be alone with the large breasted red head", Padmé said with a deadly look in her eyes.
"A busty red head that I was close to murdering given her petulant behavior", Vader reminded. "Besides, we don't know if the Rebellion is going to see this as an opportunity to jump their fleet in to attack the Star Destroyers that are holding orbit over Mimban. It isn't like there's no threat of that happening."
"So, bring more Star Destroyers", Padmé said, her hands remaining on her hips. He was going to lose this one, he just knew it.
"But you just got back from Kijimi, your friend Dormé has been by herself for a while now, are you telling me that the two of you are going to be separated from one another again?", he asked. This had to work.
"So, she can come too", Padmé replied.
"I could stand to get off of Coruscant for a while", Dormé said with a stretch. "Besides, I imagine that you'll be taking Orson with you on this one, am I correct?"
"You would be", Vader said annoyed. "But he's a soldier, that's his job."
"So, my one distraction in this wonderful estate of yours would be gone", Dormé argued.
"Oh, don't give me that, you're free to go into the city whenever you want", Vader said, losing his patience.
"There's really no one in the city that I would like to go see", Dormé said. "If you must, I'll just toil here by myself."
"You won't be by yourself because Padmé isn't going and that's final", Vader growled.
…
Four hours later, Vader sat in next to Padmé who had Dormé on her other side. The shuttle was rocketing up to the Devastator and Vader was wondering just how in the hell he had been outmaneuvered by two damned women given that he was the fucking Dark Lord of the Sith. Maybe Sidious was right, maybe he was growing soft. Shit, he hated to admit when that thing was right about anything. He was a monster and he hated him; he wasn't about to start giving him credit for any gods damned thing.
"I love you", Padmé said as she gripped his arm.
"I love you too", he growled. "But I'm not happy with either one of you right now."
"I know, but that's just something you'll have to get over, fiancé. If there's a chance, I can be with you, then I'm going to take it, I'm not going to just toil around your estate while you go run yourself the risk of getting shot up or blown up", Padmé lectured.
"Fine", Vader said in reply, not wanting to get into it with her in front of the kriffing Death Troopers who were undoubtedly smirking underneath their helmets right now. Had he lost all respect from everyone? Kriff he might have.
Padmé squeezed his arm in response that made him smile a bit underneath his hood. Damn, the woman knew how to get under his skin, and she was good at it. There wasn't much that he could do once she set herself to her purpose of warming his once dead heart.
Once the shuttle landed in the Devastator's docking bay, Vader quickly exited walking straight up to Piett. "See both the women to my floor, I'm going below to brief the Death Troopers. Have all the section heads of every last Stormtrooper battalion that we have ready for a briefing once we enter hyperspace. Make certain that all the heavy lift transports and walkers are ready. I'm not fucking around on this one Piett, I'm going to crush this conflict once and for all", Vader commanded.
"Yes, sir", Piett responded as he gathered the women and walked them away from Vader as he trekked to go find his men. Eight of his Death Troopers from his personal guard were in tow, with the remaining eight guarding his estate while he was gone. There were no foreseeable threats, so eight should be a perfect number to guard the empty estate.
Once Vader went below to the Death Trooper barracks, he stuck his head in. "Meeting room in five, we're going to Mimban", he commanded. His men shot up, ready to go.
They gathered in the cramped meeting room, each trooper anxiously awaiting their commander's briefing.
"So, by now you all have heard the cowardly attack on Mimban where they used a fucking fission bomb to break the lines and have the ground forces trapped in the garrison, correct?", he asked.
All of his men nodded with a few of them muttering curses. Good, let them get fired up.
"Well, we're going to be the advanced element of an invasion to their flanks. The plan is that we land with the advanced element of Stormtroopers and begin attacking them from their rear while additional Stormtrooper elements and walkers are landing. I want this one to go crisp and clean, we're to kill, no prisoners. If you see anyone, and I mean anyone of the Stormtroopers starting to waiver, you give them a swift punch to their helmets and tell them to get their asses in gear. Now isn't the time for cowardice, it's the time to fight, am I understood?", Vader demanded.
"Understood, sir", the troopers replied in unison.
"Good. Now, I'll be briefing each section leader of each damned Stormtrooper battalion as soon as they're assembled and need you there with me. Look as imposing and professional as possible. Stormtroopers may be considered as elite soldiers, but we all know that they aren't. You all are, and you're with me because you're the best damned Death Troopers in the entire fucking military. So act like it, no foolery or jokes in front of them, I want clean and crisp movements. If you see a section leader that's nodding off, smack them on their fucking heads and wake their asses up. As you may be able to tell, I don't have much patience on this one because the Emperor would have preferred that we bombard the population centers versus engaging the Mimbanese in groundside combat. That's not to say we won't be using the Star Destroyers for fire support once we hit groundside, but I'm not going there to create civilian casualties, no matter how evil of a monster I really am", Vader said. "Does anyone have any questions at this point?"
"What weapon loadout do you want us to have on this one, Milord? Light, medium, or heavy?", Sergeant Alexander asked.
"Good question. I want you all to be maneuverable, yet lethal, so I would say medium. But designate one out of every three of you to carry a mobile missile launcher in case we need to go up against enemy armor", Vader said. "Any other questions?"
"Not really a question, Milord, but I would feel a lot better if you wore some of our spare armor on for this one, sans the helmet", Corporal Eckard said.
"The Force is my shield, Corporal, but I appreciate the concern" Vader replied. "Anything else?"
"No, sir", Sergeant Alexander said as he looked around the room. "I think we're all ready to get back into the fight."
"Good. For those of you who weren't at Mimban the first time, link up with the ones that were. I want you all to share as much information as possible with one another as I don't want to reinvent the wheel", Vader said. "That'll be all, feel free to talk amongst yourselves. I'll be on the bridge."
The men shot to their feet as Vader strode out of the room. Once Vader was barely within hearing distance, he could hear the whooping and hollering of the men, eager to get into the thick of things, which made him smirk. He couldn't blame them; he was ready to get into the thick of it himself. Kijimi had been a challenge, but he was ready for a gods honest fight, not a damned assignment where he would negotiating with criminals.
…
"So, how worried should we be on a scale of one to ten?", Dormé asked Padmé as they both lounged on the crescent couch in the common area of Vader's floor.
"I'd say at least an eight", Padmé said as she took a drink. "Maybe a nine. You saw the footage of the last engagement on Mimban, those Mimbanese aren't soft fighters."
"Neither is Anakin", Dormé pointed out. "And neither are his Death Troopers. He'll be well protected, but I'm sure he'll also be a touch enraged that he is having to go back and fight in that hellhole again, which will probably make him fight even harder."
"Good point", Padmé agreed. "I just hope he uses some damned common sense when he's fighting and not get caught up in some blood lust or whatever the hell Sith Lords get caught up in."
"I'm sure he'll be fine", Dormé said.
Padmé was getting annoyed at her friend's encouraging attitude, but she couldn't find it within herself to do so. The woman was just trying to be supportive, and it wasn't like she didn't have someone at risk of losing in combat as well. Orson was likely a fierce opponent in combat to have been selected for Vader's personal guard, but he didn't have the Force, he wasn't as well as protected as Vader was. Shit, this entire situation was difficult.
"Maybe you're right, Dormé. I'm sorry for being so doom and gloom. I'm just glad that we convinced Ani to let us come on this one, no matter how worried that I'll be", she said. "It beats waiting around at the estate for some gods awful news or to sit back and watch it on the holoprojector. That was frightening beyond all belief."
"I'm sure it was", Dormé agreed. "All we have to do is just sit back and send good thoughts to them while they're on the ground."
"Yes, plenty of good thoughts. The more the better", Padmé mumbled as she took a drink. "I think that it'll be fine, we just have to keep them in our hearts, and they'll be alright."
"That's the spirit, love", Dormé said.
The door to the lift opened and both women turned around to see a very exhausted looking Vader walk in. He flopped down on the couch next to Padmé and she poured him a drink, which he downed quickly.
"Tough briefing?", she asked.
"Very. Remind me to let the General and Colonels brief the section chiefs if I do something this moronic ever again. Dealing with them myself was a bit rough, even with the kriffing Death Troopers policing the idiots", Vader said gruffly.
"Well, I'm sure that you were an inspiration to them at the very least", Padmé countered.
Vader rubbed his eyes furiously. "I suppose so. I'm going to shower and go to bed, I'm tired and I need to get my internal clock set for Mimbanese time anyway", he said as he rose and placed his glass on the caff table. "I see you ladies are ready for bed already."
"We didn't have much better to do while you were gone for so long", Dormé said with a shrug.
"Nothing wrong with that", Vader said as he turned to go into his bedchambers. "You both should get some rest too. It'll be a two day hyperspace jaunt, but we'll be there before you know it."
With that, he left Dormé and Padmé to their own devices.
"I suppose I'd better go warm the bed for him", Padmé said as she got up and stretched.
"Just remember that I can hear you all through these walls", Dormé said.
"Oh, I don't think either of us will be up for that tonight, love. He's too frustrated and I'm too nervous. Maybe tomorrow, but not tonight", Padmé said.
"Well, goodnight then", Dormé said with a yawn as she got up to go get in her own bed.
"Goodnight", Padmé replied as she slipped into Vader's bedchambers. After taking off her robe, she flipped the sheets and blankets down and slid into the bed, just to pull them back over her before she got chilled. She never understood why all of Vader's bedchambers were always so damned cold.
After a few minutes, Vader stepped out of the fresher wearing his sleep pants. He went to the other side of the bed and slid in, before spooning her and wrapping an arm around her.
"I love you", he mumbled, obviously exhausted.
"I love you too", she replied, feeling her eyes grow heavy herself.
A/N: I know this one was short, but there will be plenty of action the next chapter. If you liked what you've read, please consider dropping a review and following.