Author's Note: Okay. So. Writing action is hard. I'm still studying up on my Star Wars terminology and technology, so if I am vague (or straight up incorrect) about anything, I apologize and welcome corrections! We're all just here for fun any way, so hopefully it isn't that egregious. (Let's face it, this is all me self-indulging and you guys are here to watch. That's fanfiction for ya.)


Padme knew Obi-Wan was going to be on this mission, but she could not have been prepared for what happened to her to see him again. Everything inside of her seemed to jolt to life, a clarity bursting into her mind that she had not felt in months. She wanted to throw her arms around him, to pull him in close and never let go—or never let him let go of her. What really stunned her was how he changed his appearance.

His hair was short, just as it was when she dreamt of him. Was it even a dream at all?

For the first time since before her secret marriage she was alone with the two Jedi, the secrets rife between them. It made the room feel so full it was hard to breathe. She couldn't suppress her anxiety, which she knew the two Jedi could sense. Fortunately, she had the mission as an excuse for her nerves. Anakin never had to know that she and Obi-Wan had spent nights together, or that she still had feelings for him. Obi-Wan didn't have to know that she was married to Anakin, or that she regretted it every day.

And now all three of them were stuck together in this ship for who knew how long, until it was safe to fly. She escaped to the aft compartment where she stretched out on a cot, lying on her side and facing the wall. It had already been a long day spent on the comm with Ubo Nor and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine regarding the negotiations, she was tired and knew she needed to be rested and fresh for when they reached Q'oor. It made sense to rest. And it was also a good excuse to escape.

When she closed her eyes, she wasn't alone. Arms encircled her, pulling her deeper into sleep, but coaxing her to rest, making her feel safe and happy. It was Obi-Wan, she didn't have to ask or look. She whispered his name—begged. She missed him and everything in her was pulling him to her.

"Padme…" She felt his voice in her.

There was no up or down here. They melded together, filled each other and warmed each other. A part of her knew it was just a dream, none of it was real, but she surrendered to it. All she wanted was him. She wanted all of him. Only then did she feel like herself and everything made sense again.

"Don't let go of me, Obi-Wan…" she pleaded. "Don't let me slip away again…"

It was like she had been falling for years and only now landed in the safety net.

"Don't be afraid, Padme…" his voice was soothing, and its surety almost convinced her. "I'm here."

He was all around her, or maybe she was all around him. It excited her, electrified her, even though there was no physicality that she could identify. He burned through her whole being, caressing her down to her soul. When she trembled with pleasure, she felt the same in him. It was coiling deep inside, and she pulsed with desire that enveloped her. She was close, so close—

"Padme!"

A voice broke in and she lurched into wakefulness, breathless and hot to the touch. Anakin was leaning over her, his hands on her shoulders. She was still lying on her cot on the ship.

"Shh… It's okay…." He was whispering and he looked panicked.

She was shaking, her body reacting to the vivid dream, throbbing and sensitive. The last thing she wanted right now was his touch, let alone his eyes on her. But he was so concerned.

"Was it a nightmare?" he asked quietly. "You were making noise, but I didn't sense any—"

"I'm fine…" she had to lick her lips. "It wasn't a nightmare…"

He breathed out with relief and glanced over his shoulder. No one was near but Artoo, and Anakin stole a kiss. She let him kiss her, afraid to pull away. At the very least, it reassured her that he couldn't read her mind, though the guilt was nauseating.

He cradled her face, the leather of his gloved durasteel hand a little rough. "It's okay, you can admit you were dreaming about me…" He said with a playful smirk.

Her cheeks were burning, unintentional confirmation to him. She smiled a little, nervously, but admitted nothing.

"I always dream about you, too…" He said and kissed her again, this time a little longer with need, and she gripped the front of his tabard. The longer he kissed her, the more she forgot the dream. She was slipping…

"You might want to strap in," he said suddenly and moved away, disappearing back towards the cockpit.

"What? Anakin!" She had to shake herself out the sudden stupor that came over her and she clamored off the cot to follow.


The last thing he expected when he fell asleep was to be plunged into a sexually charged, incorporeal embrace with Padme.

Again.

In his dreams, that was when he often lost control. It was intense, almost desperate, and ended suddenly when she was pulled away.

He woke with a small grunt, painfully hard and pulsing all over. By some miracle, the pilot seat was empty and Anakin wasn't there. If his former padawan ever caught him with an erection on a mission, he would never hear the end of it. And if Anakin knew it had to do with Padme, it would be much less amusing for all of them.

He dropped his feet from where they were rested on the console, an arm across his lap, eyes closing to will away the rush of blood that had so suddenly gone to his groin. Oh, this was humiliating.

He was preoccupied by that dream for other reasons, though. She spoke this time, and the words echoed softly in his mind still.

Don't let go. Don't let me slip away.

It sounded like a cry for help.

"You're awake…." Anakin dropped back into the pilot sleep. "Good. Because we're about to move."

He kept his arm on his lap, to conceal everything as he looked out the window to the asteroid-filled space around them. There were still droid patrol ships drifting around.

"It looks like there are more of them, Anakin…" he said ominously.

Anakin was starting up the engines, and that was more than enough to return the blood to the rest of Obi-Wan's body.

"It's dangerous enough as it is to fly through an asteroid field, let alone one full of droid starfighters!" Obi-Wan was strapping in and readying the guns.

Padme was back in her seat and also buckling in, her cheeks red. Obi-Wan made the mistake of looking back at her, their eyes meeting for just an instant and he knew. She had the same dream.

"I got a plan," said Anakin. "All I need to do is keep these asteroids between us and the droids. Think about it, Master… They didn't even notice us dropping out of hyperspace. If their sensors are that limited, they'll need visuals on us to know we're even here, and with all these rocks, they won't know the difference."

Anakin was a masterful pilot. If anyone could manage that sort of feat without getting smashed between two drifting asteroids, it would be him.

"This is a bad idea…"

"Trust me."

He couldn't even count how many times he had heard Anakin say that… But he couldn't deny that they were alive for this long because he had trusted his former padawan. The engines were on, but they were still idle. Anakin's grip was firm but relaxed on the yoke, his eyes keenly looking out the window. He was reaching out, sensing with the Force, and Obi-Wan did the same.

The droid fighter closest to them was slowly flying away at a leisurely, cautious pace to navigate the erratic field of rocks. An asteroid that was three times the size of their own ship came drifting by and Anakin fired the jets, but only for a matter of seconds. They lifted off out of the crater, with just enough momentum to match the speed of the drifting asteroid. If they began to pick up speed, Anakin sparked the forward thrusters to slow them down. So far, they were still undetected.

The corner of Anakin's mouth was pulling into a self-satisfied smirk. "See? Just like Bahgnasis."

"This isn't really comparable…"

"Bahgnasis?" Padme asked, her breath short, her hands gripping her chair tightly.

"A mission we were on a couple years ago," said Anakin.

"It's not a terribly interesting story…" Obi-Wan cut in, tearing his eyes from the asteroid field just long enough to cast a glance towards Anakin.

"We had to sneak past some raiders who had stolen a herd of kolbytes and we hid behind the animals… Just like this. They're big, but very low to the ground."

The memory made Obi-Wan tug at his tunic, his brow furrowed. "We ended up so caked in mug we could hardly move."

Anakin chuckled. "We learned that Bahgnassian clay takes literal hours to wash off. We had to soak for half a standard day to get it off. Obi-Wan had so much of it in his beard, and he still refused to shave it off…"

"I told you it wasn't necessary to…" It had taken years of growing and grooming, and Obi-Wan was obstinate that it had nothing to do with vanity.

Now Padme was giggling too. It was hard to stay grumpy about it when he heard her laugh.

"Anyway, this is nothing like Bahgnasis, and—Anakin!"

"I got it."

Another droid fighter was closing in, but at a slow pace. It didn't know they were there, but it would see them at any moment. There were no other craters to dive into, and no other rocks between them to hide behind. At least not at that moment. There was one of a decent size drifting their way, and Obi-Wan and Anakin saw it at the same time.

"That one?" Anakin nodded to it.

"That one."

The thing about rocks floating in the vacuum of space is that they do not require much to move in one direction or the other. Just a little push. Anakin and Obi-Wan both raised one hand, the Force moving through them and to the rock in front of them. Just a little combined energy from them both, and the rock's trajectory shifted. Granted, that little bit of spent Force energy took some effort from Obi-Wan, or any other Jedi for that matter, when it was like breathing for Anakin. The rock's shift in direction wasn't drastic, not in a way that would draw attention, but enough to put it between them and the droid starfighter that had appeared.

"We're not that far from the edge of the field…" Obi-Wan was looking at the nav computer.

"Won't they see us then?" Padme pointed out.

"As soon as we're out of these asteroids I can shake them." Anakin replied without a beat.

"Droids lack the intuition for long pursuits," said Obi-Wan.

"Well… Battle droids, perhaps," C3PO said quietly. "I myself am programmed to be quite intuitive, if I do say so myself."

They all ignored him.

"It's clearing up," Anakin announced. His fingers flipped a row of switches, opening up the vents and preparing to fire on full thrusters.

Obi-Wan was ready at the guns.

As the asteroid field thinned out before them and they could see open space, they could also see the droid fighter that was screaming directly towards them, head on. It fired, rocking the ship violently and strangling them in their straps. Obi-Wan fired and the fighter exploded into a burst of flame and debris.

"That wasn't so bad," Obi-Wan smiled a little, relieved.

Of course, he always cursed himself with saying that. The ship jolted again and the sensors lit up with fighters on their tail. Anakin fired all engines, hurling them away from the swarm that was coming after them, flying in zig zags and spins to make them a more difficult target.

"Does this ship have other guns?" Padme was beginning to unstrap herself, ready to fight.

"No. Not needed." Anakin's hands flew over the controls. "Just hang on."

The ship turned at a 90 degree angle upward in relation to their pursuers and over the tight cluster of droid fighters. They tracked and followed. He was flying back towards the asteroid field.

"Now what are you doing?" Obi-Wan asked, sick of the sight of rocks.

Anakin didn't reply. He was far too deep in concentration. He slowed the ship down, and they were getting rattled around from the droid blasters that skimmed the hull or hit them directly. Then, there was a massive jolt that would have thrown them all if they weren't buckled in—though there was a clatter of metal as Threepio tipped out of his seat with a scream.

"We're hit," Obi-Wan announced.

"Oh, thanks, couldn't tell."

"Whatever you're doing, Anakin, now is the time to do it…"

"Almost…."

They were still being barraged by blasts and Obi-Wan watched the sensor as the swarm drew closer and closer to them. Anakin was flying them at another massive rock. That was when he knew what his friend was planning and Ob-Wan couldn't help a smile.

"That one?" asked Obi-Wan.

"That one," Anakin grinned.

Their ship swept under it, and together they gave the rock a mighty push with the Force. This was bigger than the last, and it took far more effort than before. But it was enough. The asteroid flew down into their wake so suddenly, the droids did not have the time or the room to evade. They pelted into it in small, rapid puffs of fire. Anakin snapped the ship back around, narrowly missing other asteroids in the area, and Obi-Wan destroyed the stragglers in a spray of blaster fire.

They flew out of the field and to freedom. Next stop: Q'oor.