AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much for the enthusiastic responses! I guess I'm not the only one who needed more Obidala. This chapter is where the story gets a little steamier, though here on Fanfiction, it's kept SFW. If you want a little more spice in your latte, you can check out the uncensored version over on AO3, same title, same author name.

Two years later, she saw him again.

There was a coup on the planet Saskien where the Regent overthrew his father so that the planet could join in the spreading separatist movement in the galaxy. Though the regent, Yook Gibodehan, had his followers in his ideology for their world to leave the Galactic Republic, that did not mean that all of the citizens of the planet agreed. There were clashes in every province, and the price was innocents caught in the middle.

A group of thousands of refugees were driven into the mountains, the Canubi Heights. There was an anti-separatist province just on the other side of the mountain range, but the refugees had been forced to travel on foot and became trapped in the snow without enough supplies to make it through.

The refugees were only just able to send out a call for help. There was no word from the Jedi whether or no they could help. The order of knights were stretched thin throughout the galaxy as it was trying to maintain the peace, and the senate was stymied in debates on whether or not it would be an act of war to provide assistance to one side or the other. While they debated, Senator Padme secretly left Coruscant with a small ship filled with supplies.

She took only a couple of people from her staff to help, those she trusted the most: Dorme and Corde. Try as they may to talk her out of this clandestine and possibly illegal (Senate was still debating that), they were still by her side to render aid. Even they could not deny that these refugees were families, with children, who had no say in the conflict but suffered the most. Padme knew she could be of the most use out here and not in the council.

They flew directly to the refugee encampment and unloaded crate after crate of food, clothes, generators, even a handful of droids that could help carry their things. These items were manufactured in one place, but this one place distributed to countless aid programs throughout the galaxy. It would take time to track it back to Naboo, or even Senator Amidala.

The mountain range was far too uneven and there was no place for her ship to land, so she managed to convince her two handmaidens to take the ship and wait for her to call and come get her. Padme would not take no for an answer when she asked to stay with the refugees. Dorme especially was not happy, it made her job as handmaiden and protector impossible, but she could not argue against the worsening weather and the potential crashing of their ship. So she left the senator alone, but assured her she would be close in orbit waiting for her call. And stressing every moment.

The snow was falling so heavily, the flakes the size of a human's thumb, and they were getting deeper and deeper in it by the hour. Padme was wearing her warmest attire, a fur-line hood, boots up to her thighs, gloves to her elbows, a heavy white cloak that wrapped around her twice, and layer upon layer of thermal fabrics, a mask and snow goggles. A blaster on her thigh.

Hours were spent erecting the encampment, the children sent into the shelters as they were put up. Padme couldn't feel her fingers or toes, but that didn't stop her. She was helping a Saskien woman pull a sled of belongings to one of the tents when there was a shout from the trees, just barely audible over the howl of the storm.

"Droids!" a man called, clamoring through the deep snow and waving his rifle.

He had gone out with three others to patrol and was returning alone. Right behind him there came a handful of battle droids—Federation droids to be exact, and rolling up alongside them in a spray of powder were destroyers. They were not supposed to be on this planet. This meant the Trade Federation was getting involved.

"Take cover!" she shouted to the woman, who immediately complied.

Padme drew her blaster and fired at the destroyers, but their shields protected them. So she aimed at the droids who walked slowly along, firing at everyone along the way. The scout who raised the alarm was shot dead in the snow, others immediately meeting the same fate.

The encampment was getting shot to pieces, people were getting killed, and Padme herself was pinned down behind a crate, droids blasting from all sides, one in particular pounding into the crate she was ducked behind.

Then it stopped. Then another stopped. Then another.

"Jedi!" She heard a droid scream. "Kill the Jedi!"

"Roger, roger!"

All the droid fire turned and Padme dared to poke her head out. Sure enough, in the mist of the snow storm, there was the tell tale bar of blue light swiping and spinning, the beam hazed by the snow. It would have been more mesmerizing if she wasn't in fight or flight. The droids had their back to her now, so she fired at them. She was able to take out some of the battle droids, and within moments there was silence and smoke.

While the refugees stayed behind cover, she emerged and hurried towards their Jedi rescuers. It was difficult to be graceful with the snow to her knees or frozen limbs, but she didn't care.

"Well, you're not a Saskien…" said the Jedi, masked in snow gear of a deep blue snow jacket with fur-lined hood and goggles covering the upper parts of their face.

"No, I'm not…" she had to shout through her own face mask and the weather. "I came to render aid… Thank you for helping us! We can talk in here…" she gestured to one of the compounds and they followed her inside.

It was infinitely warmer, thanks to the heating generators, and much, much quieter. She shook off some of the snow and stepped far enough inside of the small structure to allow enough space for two bodies, though these structures could comfortably hold up to 4. Seeing those battle droids had ignited an old fear and rage in her. Viceroy Nute Gunray had been nothing but a menace to her in her life, always appearing and endangering her life and others. She was sick of him.

She re-holstered her blaster, not daring to set it far away from herself in case if more droids appeared. She then pushed back her hood and removed her goggles then the face mask.

"What is the Trade Federation doing here?" She didn't hide her anger and confusion.

"Senator Amidala!"

That voice was familiar. The Jedi removed his hood and goggles. It was Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Obi-Wan!" she stared. His beard was fuller than when she saw him last.

He was frowning as he moved nearer. "Padme, you are not supposed to be here any more than the Trade Federation is!"

"And what are you doing here?"

"I was sent to answer the distress call from these refugees when I encountered a Trade Federation vessel orbiting the planet… They came to assist the Regent to support the separatists."

There were flashes of eight years ago, on her homeworld, when they were invaded by this droid army with no one there to help. No one but two Jedi and a child. Her breath caught at the memory and the fear of seeing it happen again the Saskien.

"And the Jedi only sent you?"

"I was all that was available. My apprentice is not ready for such a critical mission and all other masters are in other parts of the galaxy…"

She was shaking her head in disgust. "And once again they forget about the worlds on the outer rim…"

Just like Naboo.

"But there are others coming," he reassured gently. "I've sent a message about the Trade Federation's presence here and they will be forced to send reinforcements. They will be here soon."

That eased her fears for these people, but that did not quell her anger towards the useless council or the brazen Federation.

"In the meantime, you need to leave immediately, Senator."

"I'm staying to help."

"There is no other present danger and I will be here for them."

"I don't have a ship," she said with finality.

"You what?"

"I don't have a ship. I told them I would call when I was ready to go, and I'm not ready to go, Master Kenobi. I'm needed here."

His lips parted in disbelief. "You are mad! You're needed in the senate—alive. Politicians are supposed to delegate to other people, not do it themselves."

"I couldn't wait that long. I'll be fine, you can leave." She assumed that was the final word and she moved to put her mask back on, to go back out into the elements.

But a gloved hand gently touched her arm, stopping her. "Reinforcements will be here at any moment. When they arrive, will you leave then?"

Her immediate response would have been a no, but she recognized that he was compromising with her, that he knew her well enough to know that she would not walk away without certainty the situation was taken care of.

"Fine," she said.

But she wasn't going to wait in the warmth and comfort of this compound. She put her mask, goggles, and hood back on to go back out and help the people who had just been attacked. Obi-Wan was right with her, helping them rebuild their shelters. He was speaking with the men and women who had weapons, to fill them in on the situation. The droids that they had just destroyed were scouts only, they did not have a chance to report the whereabouts of the encampment to their superiors.

It was less than an hour when a troop of support came in the form of Saskiens accompanied by three other Jedi. The Saskiens were allies of the refugees, anti-separtists, and they had even more weapons and supplies with them. Padme finally felt content that these displaced people would be safe, that they had a good chance of making through the storm and over the mountain range to freedom.

She stepped into the warmth and shelter of the compound again to send a message to her handmaidens, but a cold blast of wind as the curtain was pulled aside alerted her that someone else entered. Obi-Wan was brushing off the snow.

"Senator, wait… I think it would be best if you told your staff that you will rendezvous with them back on Coruscant. It would be best if the Saskien government or the Trade Federation didn't see a Naboo ship bringing aid to refugees… It could cause a great deal of trouble for you and your queen."

"Are there that many ships around the planet?" There were so few orbiting the planet that it was easy for them to fly in.

"There are more and more by the hour…" he said simply.

"Very well…" she had to concede. He was right, after all. Turning on the hologram, she recorded her message, making sure that it was well encoded. "Dorme, we will follow code 92-blue…" She kept it simple and grabbed her communicator and looked expectantly to him. "I can only assume you will be taking me back to Coruscant."

He nodded and gestured to the door.

Bundling up again, making sure her features were well concealed, she trekked out into the deep snow with him. He led her out into the trees. The wind was blowing so violently that the eddies of massive snowflakes whipped horizontally through the air, the depth of the snow making every step a struggle.

Obi-Wan had an arm at her waist, the other holding her arm, keeping her upright so that she did not fall over. Losing one's balance in such a storm made it difficult to get back up. Eventually they reached a clear plateau of the planet where a Delta-7 starfighter stood, snowbanks built up around it. The cylindrical head of an astromech droid swiveled to look at them from atop the ship, a red light flickering at them, and she could just make out the beeps of a greeting.

"R-4! The cockpit!" Obi-Wan shouted over the howling of the wind.

The top of the fighter lifted open and he helped her to climb up the side to get inside. Once she was on top, she was able to see the interior of the cockpit. There was only one seat, with no space behind it. She looked to the Jedi, whose beard was crystallized in snow and ice.

"There's no room!" she shouted to be heard.

"There's room!" he shouted as he climbed up beside her. A gloved hand swept at the cockpit. "There is just one seat, that's all!"

This wasn't the first time she had heard him use semantics to be sassy, but she knew she had to trust him. It was cold, there were Trade Federation droids, and she needed to get as far away from the planet as possible. He climbed in first, dropping into the seat and reaching out his hands to her, indicating that she climb in. Onto his lap. She hesitated as she looked at the small space.

A sound carried on the wind, distinctly droid sounds.

"Roger, roger.."

They were getting close. She didn't know if they were detected, and she wasn't going to stay to find out. She lowered herself into the cockpit, landing awkwardly across his thighs. In order to fit, she had to raise her knees, an arm over his shoulder and behind him so that it wasn't in the way of the ship's controls. The canopy of the fighter lowered and sealed closed, immediately blocking out the deafening sounds of the storm. It was impossible to see through the frosted glass.

His hands were already moving, hitting buttons and igniting the engines of the vessel.

"How can you see?"

"I seem to recall that space is always up…" he said easily, fingers flipping the toggle switches. He paused to pull the hood from his head, followed by the goggles, freeing his face and head from all coverings. His beard was still full of ice, his nose a little red from the cold.

"That's not funny…" she grunted a little as she too tried to get the coverings off her head. The small space made it warm up fast and breathing was difficult. The mask and goggles were tossed behind the pilot chair. That was all the space it had behind it anyway.

"Trust me, Senator…" the ship vibrated and began to lift off, R-4's beeps and boops coming through the speaker. Obi-Wan reached under her bent knees to retrieve the head piece, his arm brushing beneath her thighs. It was a pity she was too numb from the cold.

He pulled the head piece on and adjusted the microphone at the edge of his mouth. R-4 was still beeping and booping repetitively. "Calm yourself, R-4, we will make it out just fine… Just keep us from freezing over and we will have smooth flying…"

There was a squawk from the droid and Obi-Wan sighed heavily. She didn't often see annoyance on the Jedi's face, and it almost made her smile. They were flying but the windows were still so fogged and frosted it was impossible to tell where.

There was a crease between his brows. He was concentrating. She watched, fascinated, sure she could feel that deep thrum of the Force as he tapped into that intuition. When the windows cleared, there was nothing around them but space. A low whistle of relief sounded from the droid and Obi-Wan let out a breath.

"Flying is bad enough without droids having anxiety over it as well…" Obi-Wan grumbled, his hands moving along the controls again.

"If I didn't know any better, Master Kenobi, I would think you were the one with anxiety…"

"A Jedi does not allow himself to be anxious."

That was complete nonsense.

The frost was finally leaving her body, the warmth of the cockpit making her much more comfortable. Except for the snow that had entered with them was quickly melting, and the close confines of their bodies was raising the temperature exponentially. It didn't help that she had never been this close in proximity to the Jedi who made her heart beat a little faster.

Her cheeks were burning hot, but she retained her regal composure. That was one thing she had taken away from her time as a queen, if nothing else. Dignity always, even when sitting in the lap of a handsome Jedi.

"We will be at Coruscant in an hour, milady…" he spoke softly, calmly. There was no need to speak any louder than that in such a small space. "I think it is safe to say we made it out of there undetected. Another lucky escape."

"You talk about it as if you had nothing to do with it."

"Modesty forbids…" But that little smirk told her he was not as modest as he pretended to be.

Space was open to them now, the planet out of sight, and no other vessel visible. As they flew, R4 continued trilling, and a hyperspace transport ring became visible. Obi-Wan flew the ship slowly into the ring, docking into it. The clamps rang through the ship as they gripped on, and in moments they were in hyperdrive, the stars blurring and stretching before them.

"Thank you," she said in the silence, looking to him. "Maybe it's part of your duty as a Jedi, but you didn't have to go through all that trouble to help me. But I'm grateful you did."

He kept one arm behind her to hold onto the throttle, her back supported by his forearm, but he relaxed the other arm now that they were cruising in lightspeed.

"You're welcome," he said it so easily, as one might when holding a door open for someone.

Being this close to him, she was reminded how handsome he was, how human he was through that sage Jedi exterior. There were lines around his eyes, imperfections in his beard. Her heart was hammering, and when his eyes met hers, she knew that he knew. There was a flash of color in his cheeks.

His eyes tore away to look out the window, even though there was nothing to see. "The senate will have much to discuss regarding the Federation's presence on Saskiel…"

He trailed off, as if hoping she could pick up the conversation. Ordinarily she would, she had some strong opinions about the Federation, but she didn't care what was outside of this tiny, cramped cockpit where she was safe in the arms of her friend.

She felt such desire for him at this moment, but she felt a greater fear for their friendship, the way his hair was damp from the melted snow, the longer strands curling on his forehead, how blue his eyes were. She wasn't feeling very diplomatic at the moment.

"Obi-Wan…" she said softly, her heart hammering in her chest.

"Padme," he responded neutrally, but the fact that he used her name made her shiver.

She didn't know what she wanted to say to him, but she felt like she was going to burst with it. So she said nothing, and instead, her hand settled at the back of his neck and she dared to rake her fingers through the strands of hair on the back of his neck.

His breath caught in a way she never heard from a Jedi, and that was when she knew without a doubt that he felt it too. Whatever it was.

He closed his eyes, but not contentedly. He was frowning again, that same concentration as if he was willing her hand away. Obviously if he truly wanted to use the Force to get her off, he would, but she took it as hint enough to at least refrain from petting him.

"Obi-Wan…" She said his name again, this time more urgently with the hope of drawing his attention to her. "I want you."

His eyes widened ever so slightly, and she saw what she thought was panic flicker in there, for just the briefest moment, before it was quelled again. But she didn't feel as guilty as she thought she would for saying it, it was out there now, the truth of it made as real to her as to him.

"I'm… aware…" he swallowed hard.

"Should I give up on it? Are Jedi even allowed to desire someone?"

The subject was a touchy one, and to his credit, he remained as composed as ever. "It depends entirely on the context of the, ah, desire…"

She blinked, trying to understand. "Context?"

"Physical desire, as an exercise or recreation does not in itself violate the Jedi Code… It is when feelings become involved that a Jedi will become compromised, unbalanced, distracted from his duty and the Force… Falling in love is against the code. Forming attachments."

"Is it against the code that we are friends?"

"No," he smiled warmly. "Friendship is crucial to Jedi. Anything deeper than that is a danger."

"Then…" she licked her lips, unconsciously looking at his, framed by the perfectly trimmed beard. "Then it wouldn't violate the Jedi code if two friends happened to desire one another… would it…? No attachment…"

"Oh…" he exhaled a shaky breath. "If there is no attachment… then no I suppose not…"

"You're not attached to me are you?" There was only one answer that she wanted to hear out of him.

"Not in the least." He was leaning closer towards her and that was all the cue she needed.

She took his face in her hands and brought her mouth to his, his mustache tickling her face, but his lips alarmingly soft and warm. She felt his arm close around her waist, holding her even closer than she already was, his other arm curling under her knees, secure and comfortable.

Tongues met, the kiss deepening, becoming more hungry, and perhaps more urgent on her part. She wasn't above a little recklessness, and now that she had reassurance that no codes were being violated, she was bolder than ever.

The simple sound of him inhaling sharply through his nose excited her in a way she wouldn't have anticipated, she wanted to know what it felt like to have the Force inside her. His own kiss was getting more urgent and she could feel herself being consumed.

She reached for the hand that held her legs, guiding it between them, separated by layers of clothes. Breathing became more labored, the kiss sloppier, the window fogging.

There was hardly any room in the cockpit of this Delta-7, but she was determined to make due. With some agility, and a little clumsiness, she squeezed and contorted until she had a leg on each side of him, straddling his lap, face to face. His hands were on her hips, her arms around his neck, mouths mashing again and this time he let out a noise that sounded like a very pleased hum, maybe even surprise. She wanted to get more of that sound from him.

While her brain was trying to wrap around the conundrum of how they could get their clothes off in so small a space, she didn't hear the frantic beeps of R-4.

The ship dropped suddenly out of lightspeed, and the view before them was filled with the glimmering surface of Coruscant.

"REEEEEEEE." R-4 was screaming at them now to get their attention.

The kiss was abruptly broken and she had to twist her neck to look over her shoulder. As if they suddenly had an audience, Padme gasped and frantically tried to get out of her improper straddle on the Jedi. Her boots thudded into the cockpit glass, her knee almost knocking Obi-Wan in the chin if he hadn't leaned back. To his credit he wasn't annoyed with her, but her movement on his rather sensitive lap did get a pained grunt from him. She was balancing across his thighs again, and arm slung around his shoulders to hold herself upright as he took the controls and flew them towards the planet.

Fortunately, R-4 was able to ensure that they didn't fly into any other ships or freights in the process. They were both breathless now. He seemed to be putting all of his focus into maneuvering the ship into the atmosphere of Coruscant with permission from the sector that they were approaching, she was touching at her hair, which was a mess from the moment that they left Saskiel anyway, but now she felt there was some shame in it.

"I will take you directly to your home, Senator…" he said professionally, as if nothing had happened.

"Alright…" she breathed with resignation, her muddled brain thinking for a moment that he was going fly her home and carry her to bed.

"Then I must return to the Jedi temple."

Her heart sank a little, but she understood.

"Of course… You've risked enough by helping me."

"There cannot be any indication that you were ever on Saskiel," he elaborated a little more firmly. "I will make my report to Master Yoda and he will understand the need for discretion regarding your presence on the planet…"

"I don't want Master Yoda to be burdened with keeping political secrets," she said sternly.

"I cannot lie to members of the council," he said so smoothly, she had to agree. "You can trust Master Yoda."

She had heard so many things about the great Jedi Master, she had seen him at the Senate Councils, but she had never spoken to him. It was an intimidating thought, and fear iced through her that Yoda would know about her and Obi-Wan's shared desire. Jedi's had those sorts of telepathic tendencies, she heard.

His arm tightened around her, warm and secure. "Everything will be alright, Padme…"

Clearly he had sensed her fear, but the sound of her name on his lips was enough comfort.

He pulled up his ship beside her apartment, aligned with the landing platform, the cockpit hatch lifting open. The cool air of the city planet immediately washed over them, the sunlight warm as it touched her skin. Only a matter of hours ago they were freezing on Saskiel.

With his help, she stepped out of the ship and onto solid ground. He handed her the discarded gloves and mask that she had tossed into the cockpit, making sure all of her things were accounted for. He stood in the cockpit to give her a bow, that twinkle in his eye, and a smirk, as if nothing had happened between them and he was still her charming friend.

"Goodbye, Senator…" He dropped back into his seat and was adjusting to fly away.

This was all confusing. Was he just going to leave her now, and not see her for another two years? Should she ask to see him again? No, she had no right. She had places to be, he had his own duty as a Jedi. She was already responsible in him acting improperly. Anything further and he could be removed from the Jedi Order.

"Master Kenobi," she gave a cordial nod, speaking as a senator, since he called her such. She was grateful for it, he grounded her again.

Before she knew it he was flying off in his Delta-7.