"You will not be running off again like that!" Obi-Wan was saying through the door to the dressing room. Anakin was currently trying on some suits for that night's Gala, and since Obi-Wan had also been invited, Anakin had dragged him along thinking that he was being helpful. Apparently, Obi-Wan was very upset that Anakin had taken his truck the night before and left Obi-Wan and Satine to give their statements to the police by themselves. The police had evidently given them both rides home, and Obi-Wan was not happy. "Do you know how embarrassing it was to have Satine get taken home in a police car like some delinquent teenager?!"
Anakin sighed as he finished putting on the pants of a dark blue suit. "No, I don't know, but I'm sorry anyway. I wasn't thinking. Now can we drop this subject?"
"Not until you promise not to run off like that again—especially in my truck!" It had been a while since Anakin had heard Obi-Wan this angry, but Anakin supposed that had he been in Obi-Wan's place, he would have been upset too. "You have to learn to face your fear, and running off with Padme to who knows where is not doing that! Do you want a repeat of last time?!"
"No," Anakin ground out through clenched teeth. He took a deep breath, willing himself to remain calm. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I won't do it again. I promise. Even if I'm going completely insane, I won't run off…and if I do, I'll use my own motorcycle to do it."
For a moment, Obi-Wan was silent, but eventually he sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" he asked.
"You could lock him in a dark basement and throw away the key." Mindy's voice suggested helpfully from outside the fitting room.
He'd also brought Mindy along…not because he wanted to, but because she insisted that he wouldn't pick the right suit, as if he hadn't picked his own outfits for the majority of his life.
Actually, most of his life had been spent in the same suit, so perhaps she had a point. He wasn't going to admit that, however.
"No," Obi-Wan answered. "To be honest, Anakin pulls stunts like that a lot. Are you finished getting dressed, Anakin?"
"Done." He pulled on the coat and stepped out. He had to admit, Obi-Wan looked good in his black textured suit and white dress shirt and matching dress pants. In fact, Anakin was certain that if Obi-Wan wore things like that all the time, he would probably get a job as one of those models Mindy was always looking at.
"I need to see them, come out of there." Mindy called.
"Why did you bring her again?" Obi-Wan asked, and he could see that Obi-Wan was losing patience with Mindy's constant chattering. Honestly, it was a miracle Anakin wasn't more annoyed. Maybe he was just getting used to hearing her voice.
"She would have followed me anyway had I tried to ditch her." Anakin said honestly before they stepped out of the fitting room.
Mindy was lounging on a plush chair in the waiting area of the fitting rooms, her cell phone in her hand. She peered at them closely when they stepped out, putting her phone down. "Well. I'm going to certainly vote yes on the suit for Ben. Anakin…" she frowned. "Well, you look really good in it, and you should totally buy it, but Padme's dress is blue and you two will just be the blue twins at the party and that's dumb. You're a couple, not twins."
Anakin's throat tightened at the mention of twins, thinking of his own children he had left behind. He didn't say anything about them though—he doubted Mindy would want to hear about them. "I'm only going to get one suit."
"Then try on the other one." Mindy ordered. "Bengie, wait with me here."
"Bengie?" Obi-Wan echoed in annoyance, but he sat down beside her anyway. "Please hurry up, Anakin. I want this trip to end."
Anakin grinned. "Patience. You're supposed to be good at that, aren't you?"
"Not when you ditched me at a blown up ice skating rink," Obi-Wan grumbled.
Anakin rolled his eyes and went to go change into the other suit. Even if Obi-Wan was in a rare bad mood, he was right: they needed to get done with their suit shopping as soon as possible. Padme had invited them last minute to the Gala a few days ago, and what with the explosion at the ice rink yesterday and school during the week, Anakin hadn't exactly had a chance to find something suitable to wear. Because it was also a promotional/charity function for Padme's parents, Anakin didn't want to go dressed like a scruffy-looking Nerf-herder.
Anakin finished putting the suit on—a simple black suit with a white shirt and black tie. He turned himself around in the mirror, trying to imagine what he would say if someone wearing this was dating his daughter. Again, he hated the thought of Leia dating anyone before he'd ever really gotten a chance to know her, but he supposed that as a father, he would try to keep an open mind if her date were wearing this.
With that thought in mind, he left the fitting room to show Mindy.
Mindy was talking about her dress to Obi-Wan (Obi-Wan, to his credit, was doing his best to look interested, but even the Negotiator couldn't quite pull it off), but when Anakin stepped into the waiting room, she cut off and looked him over. "Much better. That will compliment her outfit much, much better." She grinned. "You're going to especially love her dress. You might fall in love with her all over again."
"I've already done that." Anakin answered honestly. "So this is what I'm going to get then."
"Yup." She paused. "Say. If Jedi don't usually date, do you two know how to dance?"
To his surprise, Obi-Wan replied, "I do actually." When Anakin looked at him questioningly, he added, "I had to learn the basics for an assignment once."
"That makes you know one thing about romance that I don't know anything about." Anakin said with a laugh. "I don't know very much about dancing."
A almost feral smile crossed Mindy's face. "Well, if you want to impress Mr. and Mrs. Amidala, you gotta learn how to dance."
Obi-Wan frowned. "How does Anakin being a good dancer impress Padme's parents? They aren't going to dance with him."
"It just does, okay?" Mindy replied, "Besides, Padme would probably be impressed too."
"I think that's the real issue here," Obi-Wan muttered.
Mindy stood, ignoring Obi-Wan. "So. I'm going to teach you." She glanced at Obi-Wan. "What do you call your Jedi apprentices?"
"Padawan?"
Mindy turned her full attention back on Anakin. "Let me teach you how to dance, padawan."
Anakin really didn't want Mindy teaching him anything. He could put up with Obi-Wan, but Mindy…well, he didn't want to know what her idea of being a teacher entailed. "I think I'll be okay," He started to say, but Mindy interrupted.
"No. I'm not going to be associated with someone who doesn't know what he's doing. This is a super fancy party. If you aren't fancy, you're a lame loser of dumbness." Anakin looked at her incredulously—seriously, he thought, if I were still Darth Vader, she would have been dead before she finished that sentence. He certainly had come very far in the time he had been here, because even though he still couldn't believe she had the guts to call him that knowing who he was and what he'd done, he didn't have any urges to Force choke her.
Not that he could right now anyway.
"Fine, but only one short lesson. We don't have all day, you know." Anakin agreed.
"Okay!" She put her hands on her hips. "Now. First things first, you have to ask me to dance."
"But you already know we're going to." Anakin said dryly.
"So does Padme. I mean you aren't going to a Gala without asking her to dance. Talk about worst date EVER otherwise." She rolled her eyes. "If it will make it easier, just pretend that I'm Padme."
Mindy was nothing like Padme, but Anakin did as she asked anyway. "Okay," he began, stepping forward, holding out a hand. "Padme, will you like to dance?"
Mindy widened her eyes and put a hand to her chest, flipping her hair dramatically. "Who, me?" she asked in a high pitched voice.
Anakin dropped his hand. "That is not how Padme talks." Anakin said as Obi-Wan began to laugh at Anakin's expression.
"It so is how I talk," Mindy continued in that same high-pitched voice, "Now let's dance, alien boy!"
"You are the worst Padme ever." Obi-Wan said between laughs, agreeing with Anakin. Although Anakin made a face, he nevertheless took Mindy's hand and pulled her to him.
"Oh Anakin!" Mindy dramatically said in that stupid voice, "Sweep me off of my feet like a sexy Disney prince!" this only caused Obi-Wan to laugh harder and Anakin sighed, trying to maintain his annoyance.
"Now what, Mindy?" He asked through clenched teeth.
"My name is Padme!" Mindy sang. "Okay, now what you do is…" She proceeded to give Anakin pointers, having him walk through the steps as they went. Even though Mindy was completely ridiculous, her pointers on actual dancing was actually rather helpful. Anakin wasn't going to admit that. He knew that Mindy would never drop it if he did.
Eventually, Mindy stepped away, nodding in approval. "You'll get by tonight. Just don't forget between now and then."
"A Jedi never forgets." Anakin replied.
"No, I'm pretty sure the phrase is "an elephant never forgets."" She said, rolling her eyes.
"I don't even know what that is." He looked at Obi-Wan. "We should get dressed and buy these things before any other lessons are offered."
"I agree." Obi-Wan stood and followed Anakin into the dressing room, ignoring Mindy's protests.
As they changed, Obi-Wan said, "Anakin?"
"Yeah?" He asked, pulling his shirt back on.
There was a pause. "I need to ask you a very serious question."
"Okay," now Anakin was cautious, trying to remember anything else he'd done to possibly upset Obi-Wan in some way. Obi-Wan didn't sound mad though—he sounded embarrassed. He finished dressing and stepped out of the dressing room, the suit he was purchasing slung over his arm.
"How…how do you, ah…kiss someone?"
Well, that was not the question Anakin had ever been expected to be asked by Obi-Wan. Anakin could feel his own face heat up, and he didn't know whether to completely ignore the question or start laughing. It felt…strange to give his father-figure kissing advice. "Um. I thought based on your…distance last night…I thought that you were still too new in your relationship to start kissing her."
"Do you think so?" Obi-Wan opened the door, also holding his suit in his arms. Anakin took one look at Obi-Wan's face and saw the worry in his face. He really was worried about this.
Anakin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe. I don't know. It really depends on the relationship. Either way, you should know for when the time is right." Anakin's thoughts raced as he tried to think of a way to explain kissing to his friend. Kissing had always been…natural to Anakin. The first time he had kissed Padme, it had felt so natural, so right, as if he were born to be with her. Obi-Wan was charming, and even Anakin could see that he would be good looking to most women, but he was not a natural romantic. It didn't help that he had spent his whole life as a Jedi who strictly followed the rules…at least when it came to dating.
"First of all," Anakin began slowly, choosing his words with care, "Don't kiss her in a crowd—at least the first time. It should be special. That doesn't mean you have to be a perfect kisser the first time either. It's the meaning behind the kiss that really counts…although don't kiss her like a dead fish either."
"A what?" Obi-Wan frowned.
"When you kiss her, but you just awkwardly keep still while your lips are locked." Anakin clarified.
"Oh."
"Just….try to set the mood. Compliment her. Tell her that she's the most beautiful girl in the world, or say something more original but still just as sweet. Women like that sort of thing." Anakin continued.
"But what if she doesn't want to kiss you?" Obi-Wan asked.
Anakin rolled his eyes. "Trust me. Satine is totally into you. It's you who is acting like you aren't into her."
"I am?" Obi-Wan asked, legitimately surprised.
How could he not tell? How was he that oblivious? It wasn't like Obi-Wan hadn't seen romantic relationships before. Perhaps he hadn't really thought about them as much as Anakin had before he reunited with Padme. "You had a lot of physical distance between you two last night. Anytime she would try to get closer, you pulled away. You upgraded to holding hands at one point, but anyone leading a scared child can do that. Hold her hand. Play with her hair. Compliment her. Find reasons to touch her lightly on the hand or the arm. Find reasons to get closer to her, not away from her."
Obi-Wan sighed. "I suppose it's a miracle that she's still going with me to this dance tonight."
"To be honest, I was surprised when you said you were still going." Anakin said. "If you're really worried that Satine won't want to kiss you, try out a small kiss first—maybe on the cheek or the back of her hand. If she doesn't seem upset, then later try to actually kiss her."
"Yes, but how do I go about achieving that?"
Anakin couldn't help but start to laugh. "It's a kiss, it isn't a mission. Stop treating it like a mission and when the timing is right, just…look into her eyes, lean forward, and right before you kiss her, pause and if she doesn't move away, just gently kiss her."
Obi-Wan eyed Anakin, thinking it through. "That's how you kissed Padme for the first time?"
Anakin blushed, remembering the conversation he was having with her right before he kissed her. "Well, I was talking to her about how much I hated sand right before I did it. I wouldn't recommend doing something like that."
"Wow." Obi-Wan snorted, but a grin was forming on his face. "Sand. So romantic, Anakin."
"It worked, didn't it?" Anakin retorted, but he was smiling too. "Just…try not to over think it, okay?" He motioned to the suits in their arms. "Right now we need to buy these and worry about getting ready for this thing." Obi-Wan nodded in agreement and followed Anakin out of the dressing room.
Anakin fiddled with his tie as he waited patiently for Padme, Satine, and Mindy to be finished getting ready. Obi-Wan sat on the couch, already looking completely relaxed as if going to super important Galas were a daily occurrence for him. To Anakin, this was his chance to make a good impression on Padme's parents, not as her bodyguard, but as her significant other.
"The more you play with that tie," Obi-Wan said, interrupting Anakin's frazzled mind, "The more you're going to mess it up. Stop worrying. Out of the two of us, you're the best prepared for this sort of thing."
"You seem rather calm for someone who is inexperienced at this," Anakin retorted, but he stopped playing with his tie.
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "A Jedi clears his mind, and trusts that the Force will be with him. Remember, Anakin, if you're ever going to fully recover your abilities, you must find your inner peace and learn to let go."
This again. Lately at their lessons, Obi-Wan had been grilling Anakin harder to find his inner peace, but although Anakin could achieve a relatively calm state, it wasn't the inner peace that a Jedi was supposed to achieve. Anakin was beginning to wonder if he would ever regain his abilities in full.
"Speaking of which," Obi-Wan continued, "Ahsoka wants to meet again to talk about restoring the Order. She said she texted you about it, and you haven't responded." Anakin could hear the unspoken question in Obi-Wan's voice, and although the constant pressing for information was quite annoying, Anakin also couldn't help but feel touched that his Master would care enough to voice his concerns.
Knowing that Obi-Wan wasn't going to stop until Anakin told him the truth, Anakin sighed. "I already expressed some concerns about this plan last time, but it isn't for just those reasons why I'm hesitant." Anakin looked out the window at Jedi playing with one of his squeaky toys in the backyard. "I've been a soldier almost my entire life. Even now, I'm constantly worried about Padme's safety. When I think about rebuilding the Order again, I think about all of the dangers that entails and," He shrugged, "I'm not the same man anymore, Obi-Wan. I want to have a life of peace. I want to eventually raise a family. I want the life I missed out on because of my stupid decisions all those years ago. I don't want to be a good soldier and lead a new Jedi Order."
"I can understand that," Obi-Wan agreed, but of course he couldn't just leave it at that. "However, in our galaxy, you were the Chosen One. You brought balance to the Force. What if you weren't just meant to bring balance there? What if you were meant to bring balance to the Force here, and because of the way this world works, this world's Anakin was never going to be able to do that, so the Force sent you here?"
Anakin had not considered that before, and thinking about it now, he had a sinking feeling that there may be some truth to the theory. He did not like that one bit. The Chosen One title had brought so much grief to his life, and he didn't want it to bring that grief to his life again here. "I don't know," He said, "And I really don't want to know right now. Could we talk about something else?"
Obi-Wan was silent for a long moment. "Okay." He finally said, but he didn't say anything else. The two men waited in the living room in silence for a good five minutes, both of them unable to think of anything to say to each other when clearly both of them wanted different things.
"Wow. I feel like I walked into a wall of gloom and doom." Both men turned at the sound of Mindy's voice. She stood there with her short hair twisted into curls, wearing a rather form-fitting black, one-sleeved dress that spread out right above the knees, leaving a train of black fabric behind her.
"You look lovely, Mindy." Obi-Wan commented politely.
Mindy rolled her eyes. "Thanks. I'm the best third wheel to ever walk this planet." Anakin wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but he decided that he didn't feel like sitting through one of Mindy's 'explanations.'
"Are the other girls…" Anakin began to ask instead, but he was cut off by Satine entering into the room.
Even Anakin had to admit that Satine lit up the room. She wore a beautiful, full-skirted teal dress with white lace etched into the bodice (he ONLY knew what that was because Padme had once told him what it was when he'd brought her the wrong dress and she'd explained how the pattern was different in the bodice and that's how he could tell what the right dress was) and the edges of the dress. She looked like the duchess she was back in their world, and Anakin could tell that Obi-Wan thought the same thing. He stepped forward, offered his hand to her, and smiled. It wasn't the smile he used to purposefully charm people into listening to what he had to say. It was a genuine, happy smile, and Anakin was proud to see that Obi-Wan was truly happy for once. "You are beautiful." Obi-Wan told Satine, and Anakin watched as Satine blushed a little.
"Thank you," She said, "You look very good yourself."
There might have been more to that conversation, but Anakin stopped paying attention, for in walked in Padme, and his world froze.
Beautiful was too insignificant of a word to describe her. Stunning? Bewitching? Exquisite? Anakin wasn't sure there was a word that could describe her. She was perfection. Her dark hair had two braids that looped around to a curly, twisted, knotted bun at the back of her neck. Around her throat was a simple rose gold diamond pendant, glittering in the light of the living room.
But the dress…Padme had always had a great sense of fashion. Force, she could walk around in a sack and he still would have thought she looked beautiful. But this dress…it was by far his favorite, and he normally didn't care for things like that. It was a midnight blue, sleeveless ball gown, with silver sequins that covered her bodice and gradually dispersed as they went down the skirt. It was like a galaxy of stars had been captured on her dress, and as she moved towards him, the sequins moved with the skirt in such a way that it reminded him of traveling through space and watching the stars go past him.
It took his breath away.
"Padme," He finally said when she approached, "You're…you're…" He couldn't finish. How could he express what she was? It was impossible. "Perfection." He settled with that.
Padme blushed, but she smiled brightly at the compliment. "Thank you." She said, taking his hand in hers. "You look really, really handsome as well."
Anakin was so busy soaking in the moment that he almost didn't hear the compliment. "Thanks," He whispered, and he couldn't stop himself from leaning forward and kissing her.
Every one of her kisses were precious to him. They always had been, but even more so since he'd been reunited with her. This time, it was like an electrical current had passed between them, and he suddenly didn't want to leave the house at all. He didn't want to share her with anyone else. Not tonight.
"Come on you two," Mindy snapped them out of their moment, and for a second Anakin had to control a flash of intense annoyance. "We need to get going. The limo is here."
Padme laughed a little and leaned up so that her mouth was against his ear. "Later."
No, not later, he wanted to say, now. But he had waited for years to be with her again. He could wait a little longer.
"Padme, you look beautiful!" her mother said as soon as they arrived at the gala.
"Thank you mother," She replied and let go of Anakin's hand to give her mother a hug. Her parents had seemed to settle down a little since the Finn incident, but she could still see the worry in their eyes whenever they looked at her. She had yet to tell them about the ice skating rink incident the night before. She would, but not now when they looked so relaxed and ready for a lovely evening.
"Hello Mrs. Amidala," Mindy greeted when Padme had pulled away from her mother. "The venue is perfect."
"Yes, it was quite a miracle that we were able to procure it." Her mother replied with a smile.
Padme had to agree, the venue was gorgeous. They had rented an old hotel's ballroom for the event, and it had high ceilings with oak beams crisscrossing the ceiling. At the far end, large open windows looked out to the beach. Tables had been set up around the edges of the room, decorated with white table cloths and simple yellow flowers. Gold chandeliers hung above them, giving a soft, romantic glow to the room.
Her parents had used this venue before, and it had always been Padme's favorite. Perhaps, she thought, glancing at Anakin, if things went well…
"Your table is next to Sola's," Her mother said, interrupting Padme's train of thought, and Padme paid attention as her mother pointed out the correct table. "Please, make yourselves comfortable, and remember that all proceeds go to the I Have a Dream Foundation." With that being said, her ever perfect hostess mother turned her attention to the next guests.
"The what foundation?" Anakin asked as Padme followed Ben, Satine, and Mindy to their table. Padme couldn't help but notice that Ben was now actively making an effort to be near Satine—he hadn't dropped her hand since they'd gotten into the limo.
"It's a foundation that helps students from low-income families attend college and stay out of trouble." Padme replied, "My parents are big supporters of education, so they often donate to that particular charity."
Anakin was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. "It's a noble cause," he finally replied, "and one that I wish I had supported in the past."
Padme frowned, wondering what that was supposed to mean, but by then they had reached the table and her sister was there, wearing a gorgeous red evening dress with a silver belt and silver sequined spaghetti strap sleeves. When she spotted Padme, she smiled and stood, throwing her arms around her sister's shoulders. "Oh Padme, that really is the perfect dress for you. I'm so glad we found it."
"All thanks to you, sis." Padme responded with a smile before she pulled away and bent down to give Darred, her sister's husband, a hug. "Jeez, Darred, I'm trying to give you a hug and you don't even bother to get out of your seat," She teased.
Darred laughed, kissing Padme's cheek. "I've given you plenty of proper hugs in the past. Right now, I would like to eat, if you don't mind. I had to run the girls around town all day." He frowned when he saw Anakin. "And who is this?"
Padme straightened up and took Anakin's hand again. "Darred, this is Anakin, my boyfriend. Anakin, this is Darred, my sister's husband."
Anakin seemed relatively calm and relaxed as he stuck his hand out to Darred. "It's nice to meet you," Anakin said, but he seemed like he was saying it to someone he had already met before.
Darred took his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you as well, Anakin. I hope you're taking care of my little sister-in-law."
"Darred!" Padme chided, and she could feel her face turning bright red.
Anakin just laughed. "I assure you, Padme is in safe hands."
Men, Padme thought before she sat down at her correct table and ordered her food. Anakin sat next to her, but continued to chatter with Darred about various things. Anakin spoke to him as if he and Darred had been friends for years, not like he had just met him. It was strange, but Padme found that she sort of liked it. If Anakin was well liked by her family, after all…
The food arrived, and Anakin took a break from discussing mechanics with Darred to start eating. "I like your brother-in-law," He said to her.
Padme smiled and reached under the table, squeezing his knee playfully. "I can tell. Maybe you two can have a playdate later."
"Ha-ha," Anakin sarcastically said, but she could see that the corners of his mouth had turned up into a smile. With his free hand, he took her hand in his underneath the table, and she intertwined her fingers with his.
As they finished up their dinner, Mindy suddenly stood. "I'll be right back," she announced, and she shot Anakin a strange look that made him sigh and roll his eyes. Padme watched in curiosity as Mindy headed towards the DJ that was currently playing fancy classical music fit for a ballroom.
"What is she doing?" Padme asked.
"Nothing of importance," Anakin grumbled before he let go of her hand and suddenly stood. "Padme?" She looked up into his gorgeous blue eyes. He took a deep breath, and she could see the nervousness in his face. "Would you like to dance with me?"
She heard her sister squeal softly, something that normally would have been rather embarrassing, but at that moment all she cared about was Anakin and his outstretched hand, offering something that she didn't know until that moment that she wanted. She'd danced with dates at formal dances before, but for some reason, the idea of dancing with Anakin made her heart rush and her breathing stagger.
Oh yeah, she really wanted to dance with him.
"I would love to," is what she said, taking his outstretched hand. He seemed to relax a little, but she could still see that he was nervous. Was he nervous because of her? Or was it his skills in dancing that he was worried about? She didn't care if he was the worst dancer in the world, as long as she got to be close to him.
He led her out into the middle of the room. So far, only a few other couples were dancing. He stopped and pulled her into his arms, one hand around her waist, the other intertwined with her hand. They stood so close, there was barely any space between them. It was suddenly very hard to breathe.
Suddenly the song changed, and a familiar song that Padme had listened to on Mindy's playlist various times throughout the years began to play over the speakers.
I think I want you more than want
And know I need you more than need
I wanna hold you more than hold
When you stood in front of me
"I guess we know what Mindy was up to," Padme breathed.
Anakin smiled and he began to dance with her, surprisingly well for someone who looked so nervous. He leaned forward so that his mouth was next to her ear. "Tonight, all I care about is you."
Her heart melted.
Well I've seen you in jeans with no make-up on
And I've stood there in awe as your date for the prom
I'm blessed as a man to have seen you white
But I've never seen anything quite like you tonight
This was right. As Anakin spun her around the room, seemingly effortlessly, Padme was struck by the overwhelming feeling that this moment, being in his arms, was where she belonged.
When it's right it's more than right
Cause you feel it more than feel
I could take this moment now
Right into the grave with me
But it was more than a feeling of rightness, Padme realized as Anakin spun her and the skirt of her dress twisted elegantly around her. She felt like…she felt like she truly knew him, as if she had always known him, and her whole life had been…not meaningless. She wouldn't go that far. She had done quite a few meaningful things, and she loved who she was as a person. But she felt like deep down, she had always been missing someone, and now he was here, holding her, and she couldn't go back.
In your eyes oh in your eyes
In our hearts yeah in our hearts
Sometimes words just ain't enough
For this love that's more than love
"Anakin?" She whispered as he pulled her closer.
"Yeah?" He whispered breathlessly back.
Well I've seen you in jeans with no make-up on
And I've stood there in awe as your date for the prom
I'm blessed as a man to have seen you in white
But I've never seen anything quite like you tonight
No, I've never seen anything quite like you tonight.
The song drew to a close, and they stopped, staring into each other's eyes as another classical song came over the stereo. Other couples were dancing, and from the corner of her eye she could see Ben and Satine also dancing so elegantly that it looked like they were professional dancers.
"Padme?" Anakin asked, "You're trembling."
"I know," she whispered, "It's just…" She met his eyes, and she realized that those eyes had the power to trap her forever. "I love you, Anakin."
It was rather soon. They had only been dating for little over a week. But Anakin didn't seem uncomfortable or even surprised. Instead, he smiled wide and kissed her. It wasn't a deep kiss, but she could feel the need, the hunger behind it, and it made her knees buckle. "I love you too, Padme," he whispered against her lips, "More than you know."
Okay. Now she kissed him with the same need and hunger for more.
Anakin cut it off short, however, much to her dismay. "We can't," he reminded her with a smile, "Not in front of your parents and the rest of their political friends."
Screw them, she wanted to say, but she bit her lip and refrained from doing so. Instead, she pulled away and took his hands, pulling him away from the dance floor and towards the doors. "Then let's go," she said.
"What?" Anakin laughed, "We've been here for little over an hour."
She knew that. Normally, she stayed and was the perfect daughter. It was usually Sola and Darred that left early, not Padme. But she couldn't wait any longer. She wanted Anakin, completely. She wanted him to be hers. She wanted to be his. But more importantly, something in her told her that what she was about to do was the right thing to do. It was strange, but she felt like she was already his, and it had been much too long since they had expressed that.
It was a ridiculous feeling. She didn't care. Not at that moment.
"We've given them the money like we were supposed to," she said, "We danced and made ourselves known to everyone. Now let's go home."
She could see hesitation on Anakin's part, warring with the need that she could also see in his eyes. After a moment, need won out, and he no longer resisted her pulls and followed her out of the ballroom to go find a cab home.
FINALLY. The dance scene at the gala was the scene that inspired this whole story. I'm super happy to have finally written it.
The song I used for that scene is "Never seen anything quite like you" by the Script. I was listening to it one day while I was running and I was angsting how things ended up between Padme and Anakin at the same time, and that song came on and I was like, wouldn't this be a great song for them to dance to? And then I thought more about the story and...here we are. I'm SO happy I finally get to share this scene!
Also, if this was a Disney musical, and they were randomly singing, I would probably pick "I See the Light" from Tangled. The girl part is TOTALLY perfect for Padme in this moment, and the guy part is ALSO SUPER PERFECT. But that song wouldn't have worked for a dance sequence, and Mindy wouldn't have that one on her playlist, so I picked the other one.
I also have a pintrest page for this story, and I have pictures of everything I described on it. Idk if fanfic will let me post those pics on my page, so I might put those pics into a blog format and post that instead. Idk, Fanfic rules have changed since I last was on here. You could just post pictures to your author page. I'll fiddle around with it when I have time, but if I get enough requests, I may make time.
Anyhow, review! I'm going to try to have the next chapter done by Christmas as a present to all of you...although the next chapter is FULL of ridiculous feels so...we'll see.
Love,
Sarah
