A/N: I'M BAAAAAACKKKKKK! My goodness, that was quite a long break wasn't it? I'm sorry to keep you all waiting. I've been holidaying it up here and haven't had much inspiration to write, that was, until the other day... so I'm sorry. Writer's block really does suck. But thank you for being patient. I hope this chapter is worth the terribly long wait! Enjoy xx


"Ani!" Padme called out to him from the bedroom.

"Hmm?" Anakin muttered back as he shaved at the sink in his bathroom, dragging the razor delicately along the contours of his jaw so as not to accidentally cut himself. The last thing he wanted was to have photos taken with him looking like someone had glassed him.

"Can you come here real quick, please?"

Huffing impatiently, he rolled his eyes as he rinsed his razor under the running water, unable to stop himself from smirking. "Hang on a sec, Babe. Kinda busy at the moment trying not to slit my throat."

He distinctly heard her grumble a quick, snarky remark under her breath and grinned to himself. With one final stroke, he rinsed off his razor one last time under the tap, washed off his face, and lathered himself in after shave, before turning off the tap and heading into the bedroom; half-dressed in only his navy dress pants and fitted white V-neck undershirt, his white dress shirt still hanging over the end of his bed, in need of a good iron.

The sight before him once he entered his room made him stop where he was, his breath catching in his chest, his eyes widening in appreciation. There, standing in front of the full length mirror on the back of his closet door,and dressed in red, was Padme. Her dress was open at the back, exposing her flawless ivory skin and her black, strapless bra and the top of her thin, lacy black thong. Hot tendrils of arousal instantly flushed straight to his groin as he shamelessly admired her. Truly, she was the most breathtaking creature Anakin had ever beheld, and she was all his. It ignited his primal, animalistic instincts, and he was suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to peel that offensive red fabric slowly off her body, revealing her luscious, perfect feminine form to his hungry gaze, and worship her skin with his lips and hands and tongue, like the angel that she was. His angel.

His delicious thoughts were soon interrupted by Padme huffing and tapping her bare foot on the floor impatiently. "Stop standing there gawking, Anakin, and help me do up my dress." She pointed over her shoulder at the back of her dress with a well manicured fingernail.

Anakin was about to retort that doing up her dress was the last thing he wanted to do, but when she whipped her head around to glare at him impatiently over her shoulder, he swallowed, nodded his head firmly, and hurriedly approached her. Sweeping her glorious chestnut tresses to the side, he reached for the tiny zipper and delicately drew it slowly upwards, being mindful not to snag the fabric of her dress, before fastening the hook at the top, just between her shoulder blades. Then, because he couldn't help himself, he bent to brush his lips chastely against her neck just under her earlobe, smirking as he felt her shudder at the light caress and heard her sigh happily.

Pressing himself flush against her back, he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and dropped another sweet kiss to her shoulder, enjoying the feel and taste of her smooth skin underneath his lips. His eyes eagerly raked over her appearance in the mirror.

Her figure-hugging red dress reached to her knees, moulding to her curves perfectly. The neckline was low and straight across the top of her chest, with off-the-shoulder short sleeves and a small little 'v' that dipped down between her breasts, showing a tasteful, yet tantalising amount of cleavage, emphasized by her push-up bra. She looked stunning, and as Anakin continued to press affectionate kisses to the side of her neck, he felt incredibly lucky to have such a beautiful woman on his arm.

"You look simply ravishing, Angel," he rumbled his appreciation intimately in her ear, kissing her again just under her earlobe and making her shudder once more.

She gave him a radiant smile and turned in his intimate embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck and twirling her fingers through the curls growing back at his nape. Anakin delighted in running his hands up and down her sides, before resting them on the sensual curves of her hips, sliding his open palms down over the upper swell of her bottom, pulling her hips forward tightly against his own and swooped down to capture her lips softly. The kiss was over far too soon for Anakin's liking, as Padme lightly pushed on his chest and stepped out of his arms, her expression bemused.

"Focus, Ani. We don't want to be late."

With a wolfish grin, Anakin just shrugged his shoulders. "I can be quick, Babe," he winked at her, and she let out an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes at him.

"Oh, I know you can, Baby," she teased him, her beautiful brown eyes sparkling with mirth. "But as tempting as that offer is, I've still got to do my hair and makeup. And, you've got to iron your shirt. So, go. Shoo." She pushed him lightly towards the door, an amused smile on her face.

Pouting at her, Anakin grumbled in compliance and picked his shirt up off the bed. "Alright, alright. I'm going." Her light, airy laugh drifted out of the room and followed him down the stairs as he hurried down to the laundry room to iron his shirt. It took him longer than he'd anticipated, because he wasn't very good at ironing out creases, having had very little practice at it – Shmi had always done his ironing for him when he had lived at home, and he'd gotten into the habit of just lazily smoothing out the creases in his t-shirts with his palms at college on the rare occasion he could even be bothered. But, this was a wedding, and he seriously doubted that either Padme or Shmi would be impressed if he turned up in a wrinkled shirt, so he gritted his teeth and complied, being careful not to scorch his new shirt.

When he was finally pleased with the crisp looking results of his efforts, he went back upstairs, putting on his dress shirt as he went and buttoning up the front. He walked into his room to find Padme was still busy in the bathroom, and he knew better than to bother her while she was doing her hair. The last time he'd done so, he'd frightened her accidentally, causing her to burn her scalp with her hair straightener. Once she'd recovered from the immediate pain of it, she'd pulled her hair-straightener on him, wielding it like a weapon, and started swearing and yelling at him for being annoying and insufferable, for being a guy basically, and he definitely didn't want to repeat that history. So, he let her be to do whatever it is females...do with their hair and makeup.

Once he'd buttoned up his shirt and fastened his new gold and silver cufflinks in the cuffs– leaving the top button undone until he did his tie because it was unnecessarily uncomfortable to have the stiff starched collar of his shirt suffocating him for no reason - and tucked it into his pants, he looped a new brown leather belt through the loops, clasping it at the front with the silver clasp, then sat down on the end of his bed to put on his socks and shoes. He chose a pair of dark navy knit dress socks with yellow and green polka dots that his mother had gotten him for Christmas last year and then slipped his feet into his new dark brown wingtip leather oxfords and quickly did up the laces. As he stood back up, he smirked at himself in the full-length mirror. Damn! He looked good, and he knew it.

When Padme had insisted that they wear complementary outfits to the wedding and texted him an accompanying picture of what outfit she wanted to wear, poor Anakin had been dumbfounded. So, like any other distressed, fashion-challenged male would do, he'd sought out his classmate, Aayla Securra, to take him shopping and help him out. The last time he'd worn a suit was for his mother's wedding to Cliegg, but it had been recycled. It was the same black suit he'd worn to his high school Senior Prom, and it had been almost two inches too short at the ankles, as he'd grown quite substantially since he'd been eighteen, and it was a little too tight around his ass and thighs; as he'd also put on quite a bit of muscle after high-school, no longer being that scrawny, lanky teenager he used to be.

But, this suit was different. It fit him properly, was the right length, was slimming in its cut but not tight, and the colour was perfect against his tanned skin tone. Aayla really did well, he thought, smiling at his reflection...incredibly well, in all honesty, and it seemed that Padme had agreed because she'd made no objections about his outfit when he'd first shown it to her, which had to be a good sign. Though, it had amused him immensely when he'd called her and told her that Aayla was the one taking him to Nordstroms on Michigan Avenue in Chicagoto get fitted for a suit, and she'd gotten all pouty and huffy in that adorably jealous way of hers. She'd adamantly denied it, of course, but Anakin could see right through her, and he'd immediately assured her that his friend and classmate was currently head over heels for, and sleeping with, his other friend Kit, and so she had nothing to worry about in that regard with Anakin. He was all Padme's, plain and simple.

Padme returned from the bathroom just as Anakin stepped toward the full length mirror, and he shifted his gaze to look at her reflection and gulped, eyes bulging, at the sight of her. She looked simply radiant. Complete and total perfection. Her hair was straightened, pulled back into an elaborate and elegant twisted knot at the base of her head with some gold jeweled clips securing her hair in place, with artfully styled bangs and wisps framing her angelic features. Her skin was glowing, her regal cheekbones pronounced with some sort of shimmery powder, her chocolate brown eyes somehow darker and eyelashes longer with her expertly applied eyeshadow and mascara, and her lips were painted a dark red to match her dress and nail polish, looking plump and full and lusciously inviting, and Anakin had to suppress the urge to kiss her senseless.

She noticed him staring at her and smirked, eyes twinkling, hand on her cocked hip, dark eyebrows raised. "What?"

Shaking his head, Anakin smiled and ran a hand through his hair. "You're just so beautiful, Padme."

His eyes darkened hungrily, as he noticed that pretty pink blush he loved so much rise in her cheeks. She opened her mouth to protest – as he knew she would because she could never accept a compliment from him. He couldn't understand that. How could she not see what he did? Her failure to acknowledge how truly beautiful she was made him angry sometimes, but he never said anything, for fear of making her upset.

Instead of speaking, however, she just shook her head, closed her mouth, and smiled at him, before bending down to slip on her gold, strappy heels that added four inches to her diminutive height, giving him a generous view of her cleavage as she did so. Anakin watched her fondly as she stood back up and walked back over to join him at the mirror to put on a pair of dangly, gold earrings and a delicate gold chain around her neck and another delicate gold chain bracelet on her wrist. After a few moments of simply watching her, he leaned over and picked up his red accented tie off his desktop, moving up behind her to put on and fix his tie. As they stood there together before the mirror, side by side, dressing themselves in silence – Padme applying a light spritz of perfume to her wrists, cleavage, and neck – Anakin couldn't help but think about their future. About marriage. To was just something so intimately familiar about this moment, almost as if they were husband and wife already. Maybe Ben had been right. What would marriage change about their relationship, other than making it legal? What was the point in rushing ahead? They were already committed to each other. They were young; they had time, right?

Ben.

Suddenly, the previous day's conversation came flooding back to him all at once, slamming into his subconscious relentlessly, and he immediately stiffened, jaw locking. He'd almost forgotten about the dramatic events of the day before up until this point, and it was still too weird, too unbelievable for him to fully comprehend.

Of course, keeping something this big from Padme was killing him. Anakin hated keeping secrets from her. He'd promised there wouldn't be any more between them, that they would be honest with each other from here on out. But, he just couldn't tell her, even though it was practically torture. Ben had made him swear… there were too many risks, too many lives at stake if the knowledge ever came out – his mother's, Ahsoka's, Ben's. Even his own. Maybe even Padme's. And so, he had to remain silent.

Not that it was easy. It wasn't.

When he'd returned home late yesterday afternoon from the bar he'd gone to with Ben, he could tell right away that Padme knew something was wrong. Anakin did his best to act nonchalant and interested, as he listened to her explain about her day, show off all the new things she'd bought (including a lovely wedding gift for Owen and Beru from them both), trying to act like his normal teasing self through dinner and dessert, and then completely lost himself in her when they made love long into the night last night in an attempt to keep his mind off his problems. But, Padme wasn't stupid. She knew him better than he even knew himself, and when she'd asked him if something was bothering him, he'd almost let it slip. It had taken all of his willpower to keep quiet, and instead, he'd drawn her close, pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, mumbled a quiet goodnight, and then released her and rolled over, turning away from her in a pretence of sleep, hoping that she wouldn't ask him again. He knew he'd hurt her feelings though, when she'd sniffled a quiet, "night, Ani," before rolling away from him herself and curling up in a ball, and he'd hated the distance between them, that he'd hurt her like that, but it was the only thing he could do to keep quiet.

Neither of them had slept well, apparently, as evidenced by the overly rumpled bedcovers and the shadows and bags under both their eyes when they got up that morning, and breakfast had been an unusually quiet affair despite the fact Padme had made his favorite, blueberry pancakes, with her not understanding his sudden silence and he staying resolutely focused on the sports section of the newspaper as they ate, refusing to look at her or engage her in conversation. To make matters worse for him, she'd remained annoyingly sceptical after that, constantly peering at him with narrowed eyes, as though trying to figure out what exactly was going on. His mind still in turmoil, his emotions a jumbled mess, and unable to handle her inquisitive expressions constantly thrown his way since they'd woken up, Anakin had taken to avoiding her for the rest of the morning, leaving her to clean up the kitchen by herself and instead choosing to tinker on his project C3PO in the garage before having to get a shower and get ready for the wedding. He just couldn't trust himself not to say something, and it was easier this way, even though he knew it hurt her feelings and only made her convictions that much stronger that something was out of sorts.

"Is something wrong, Ani?" Padme's soft voice interrupted his thoughts, and he glanced beside him in the mirror, to see her watching him in concern, head tilted inquisitively, lips pursed, eyebrows narrowed.

Frowning, Anakin shrugged his shoulders casually, as he finished tying his tie, and turned away from the mirror, raking a hand through his hair. "Nothing. M'fine."

Even though he had his back to her, he knew exactly the expression that was on her face, as she clicked her tongue irritably. "Anakin…"

"Dammit, Padme!" he snapped suddenly, fed up with her constant probing. "Just leave me alone, will you?! I said I'm fine, ok?!"

As soon as he'd finished his outburst, he'd regretted it, squeezing his eyes closed in a grimace, and he was sure she'd start yelling at him for acting out like that. Instead, he was surprised when he felt her slender arms wind around his waist and the soft, firm, comforting weight of her body pressed up against his back. "Ani… don't shut me out, Baby, " she begged him. "Please."

Heaving a sigh, he gently pulled her arms away from his waist, stepped out of her embrace and sat down heavily on the bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his splayed knees, folding his hands together and letting them dangle between his legs. He couldn't look at her, see her beautiful brown eyes wide with worry, or else he'd lose all self-control. So, he opted to stay silent, staring at his clasped hands instead, the short blunt fingernails, the scarred knuckles, the calloused pads of his fingers.

The bed shifted slightly as Padme gently sat down beside him and snuck her hand across to cup his knee, squeezing it affectionately. "Ani, please talk to me. You've been distant with me since you came back from visiting Obi-Wan yesterday," she observed, her voice sweet and yet firm, determined. "Did something bad happen between you two?"

Anakin jerked his knee away from her touch and huffed irritably, exhaling loudly through his nose, his teeth grinding together. But, he didn't say anything. And, he still refused to look at her.

That didn't stop Padme. She reached out again with her tiny hand and gently rubbed his thigh. "You promised you wouldn't keep secrets from me, Anakin," she reminded him, firmly.

He couldn't deny she was right. So, instead, he opted for a half-truth instead. Placing his hand over hers, he rubbed his thumb gently over her knuckles and sighed. "Satine's pregnant."

"Oh! Well...that's...that's wonderful for them!" Padme exclaimed brightly, a pretty smile lighting up her face. "Is that why you've been acting so strange? He asked you to keep it a secret?"

Scowling, Anakin shook his head. "No. He didn't even tell me until I probed him," he sulked. "He's supposed to be my best friend, Padme. And, yet, he keeps something that importantfrom me! It's not fair, y'know."

Of course, it was not Satine's pregnancy that was really affecting Anakin so much, but he decided to go with it. Padme seemed to be buying it anyway, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't angry about that, as well. Ben had only told him of the pregnancy offhandedly, almost as though he wasn't going to even tell him about it at all.

Padme squeezed his fingers tightly. "I'm sure there was a reason he didn't tell you, Ani," she reasoned, trying to be supportive.

Knowing that she was just trying to help, Anakin sighed and finally lifted his head to meet her gaze, giving her his best smile. "Yeah. I know," he admitted and leaned over and pressed a soft kiss between her brows, before standing up and pulling her up with him. "Come on. We'd better get going, or we'll be late, and then I'll never hear the end of it from Mom." He walked over and grabbed his suit jacket off the back of his desk chair, draping it over his arm, then retrieved his wallet and cellphone off his nightstand while Padme grabbed a light golden shoulder wrap and tucked her gold clutch purse under her arm and headed downstairs.

There was so much he still wanted to tell her, wanted to get off his chest, but he knew he couldn't say anything. He'd sworn himself to secrecy. Anakin just hoped that the wedding and the reception would prove enough of a distraction for both of them for the time being.

Padme had offered to drive them in her mother's car, which Anakin appreciated, as she'd insisted that it was his family, and therefore, he should be free to have a good time at the wedding and imbibe a little without having to worry about driving them home afterward. The wedding was to be held in Owen's backyard – a small, simple wedding ceremony with no more than fifty guests. Shmi had been over at the house on a constant basis over the past few weeks to help with decorations, and when they pulled up out front and parked, Anakin had to admit, as he looked at the house, that she'd done a wonderful job. The porch railings were decorated with white ribbon and bouquets of fresh white lilies and tiny baby pink roses. Several guests already milled about outside, holding glasses of champagne and chatting amongst themselves. Light classical music drifted out from inside, giving a sweet, romantic ambiance to the small, quaint stone house.

Anakin took Padme's hand tightly in his, twining their fingers together, as they walked up the front porch steps in search of Shmi and Cliegg, as he didn't really know anyone else that would be here, having only met Owen a few times since their respective parents had married. They found her standing with a woman he vaguely recognised to be Cliegg's mother. When Shmi saw them, her face broke out into a wide smile, and she beckoned them over immediately.

"You look beautiful, Mom," Anakin remarked fondly as he bent down to kiss his mother's cheek, and she blushed under his tender compliment, tossing it aside with a flick of her wrist and a light scoff.

Shmi really did look lovely in her cream knee-length dress adorned with an elegant floral pattern, a navy, short-waisted jacket over her shoulders, and a large, wide brimmed, cream hat with a navy blue ribbon – something very uncommon, but Anakin knew it was because she'd started losing her hair and wanted to cover it up. But, there was no hiding the utterly exhausted expression in her brown eyes, and her face held a sort of gray tinge to it underneath her skin that made Anakin grow sad. As brave as his mother was, the cancer and the chemo was taking it's toll on her. She was so young, though, only forty-two years old, and yet she looked far older than that, as though she was in her late fifties. Anakin hated watching his beloved mother suffer like this and not be able to do anything to help her.

"Thank you, Sweetheart," Shmi said with a soft smile, giving his cheek a gentle pat with her hand. "Don't you look handsome! You've finally got a suit that fits you, and the color is just perfect for you," her eyes trailed up and down his form before flicking over to Padme with a smile. "I guess I have you to thank for that, Dear?"

Beside him, Padme laughed quietly and squeezed Anakin's hand, blinking up at him with twinkling amusement in her dark eyes. "Well, yes, it was partially my idea," she smirked, which made him roll his eyes.

Shmi chuckled and smirked up at her son. "Well, it's certainly paid off. The two of you look absolutely stunning. The perfect couple!"

"A gorgeous couple, indeed," Cliegg's mother nodded in agreement, beaming at them. "I suspect it won't be long until the two of you are tying the knot yourselves, from what I hear!"

Shmi eyed Anakin pointedly with a lift of her brow, a knowing smile on her lips. Beaming himself at the idea of marrying his Angel, Anakin glanced down at Padme affectionately, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, hoping to see her eyes shining with hope. Instead, she stiffened beside him, her grip on his hand growing limp, and a frown of confusion crossed her face before she quickly rearranged her features into a polite smile.

"Oh, I don't think so," she gently shook her head and remarked lightheartedly with that little laugh that meant she was nervous. "Marriage isn't on the cards for us just yet, right, Ani?"

It felt like he'd just been stabbed through the heart with a rusted knife to hear her say that. He flicked his blue eyes down to meets hers, trying desperately to hide the pain that her words had inflicted so that she wouldn't notice and gave a half-hearted laugh himself, accompanied by a weak smile. "No, definitely not yet," he conceded, but his voice was strained like a wounded animal. He could hear it, and from the look in Padme's eyes, she could hear it, too. Anakin tried not to notice the slightly narrowed gaze his mother trained on them both, her eyes flicking back and forth between them in question. To try and ease his mother's concern, he gave her what he hoped was his most encouraging smile.

Feeling his unease in his stiffened posture, Padme squeezed his hand tightly to try and comfort him and mouthed "I love you" in an attempt to ease his worry, and even though it was pointless, Anakin bent his head to kiss her cheek softly. He couldn't be mad at her, because she was right. Padme was always right. He still had three years of college to go, and she had graduation coming up and would then need to find employment. Now, really wasn't the time for them to even think about marriage. Still, it didn't make the pill any easier for him to swallow when marrying Padme was exactly what he wanted most of all.

The ceremony was quaint but intimate, the vows short but sweet, and the newlyweds were surrounded by this aura of love and bliss that brought a smile to Anakin's lips, as he sat in his white folded chair next to Padme amongst the guests, watching the bride and groom, his arm draped lovingly around Padme's shoulders, letting his fingers absently brushing against the soft skin of her left upper arm. Even though he'd only met Owen on a few occasions, he'd never seen his step-brother look so happy in his entire life, as he gazed adoringly upon his new wife. Though a relatively plain girl, Beru was positively glowing, her features lit up from the inside out, giving her a sort of radiant beauty. If that was what marriage did, then Anakin couldn't wait to see how it would affect Padme one day, who was already so painfully beautiful in his eyes. Glancing down at her, he noticed a soft smile on her lips and a sheen of tears in her eyes as she watched the ceremony, and hope rekindled in his chest for them.

Once the ceremony was over and the formal pictures taken (Anakin being glad he'd not cut himself shaving that morning), the newlywed couple took to the floor for their first dance as husband and wife at the small reception, and Padme curled into his side as they watched, clinging tightly to his arm, sliding one hand down to twine her fingers with his.

"They look so happy," she whispered beside him, leaning her head on his arm.

"Yeah," he nodded his head in agreement as he watched his step-brother and new sister-in-law, twirl gracefully across the dancefloor, arms wrapped around each other, foreheads pressed together, staring lovingly into each other's eyes. It was as though nothing else existed but them, as though Anakin was watching a very private moment between the pair, something he shouldn't be witnessing. "They do."

"Maybe…I guess I always thought it was crazy, but I dunno...I mean, looking at them, seeing how happy they are…Well, maybe marrying young isn't so bad after all, y'know? If you've found the right one for you, why wait? If it's meant to be?" Padme mused softly, as she gazed upon the newlyweds dancing. "I mean, if it feels right…?"

Unable to believe what he was hearing but elated nonetheless by it, Anakin looked down at her, to see the sweetest smile on her face as she continued to watch Owen and Beru. His heart soared at her words, and he was unable to stop the enormous grin of delight that broke out on his face.

"Yeah. If it feels right…" he echoed her words quietly, squeezing her hand gently, suddenly filled with an immense sense of hopeful anticipation for their future. Of course, he knew that Padme would want to wait until after she had graduated, but her unexpected change of heart about marrying young brought forth a sudden resurgence of ideas, and he realised clearly in that moment that, with her graduation only two months away now, their future could begin sooner than even he'd hoped for.

Ben was wrong this time. Anakin just knew it. He knew Padme was the one for him. He knew this was right, and his mind immediately began working overtime, planning and preparing, an idea already taking root. He smiled to himself as the idea began to take shape in his thoughts. Of course, he wanted it to be special, to be a surprise. Something wonderful that would bring tears to her eyes when she relayed that moment to her mother and sister, to Dorme and her other friends, to their future children…

And, for the first time in their relationship, Anakin was hopeful.