She slept so soundly that the real world felt like a bad dream. When she awoke in her own bed, the dawn not quite arrived, she was melted into the arms that were around her from behind, her back against his chest, his beard brushing her shoulder. No clothes, only flesh and tangled legs, her hair a bit twisted. She lay awake in wonder, listening to what Obi-Wan Kenobi sounded like fast asleep. For years she had wondered and daydreamed about it, and now she knew. Steady, deep breaths, and once or twice she heard a snore and she smiled. She always knew he was deeply human beneath the Jedi shell.
Carefully, so very carefully, she rolled over in his arms so that she could look at him. His face was half buried in the pillow, his auburn hair standing up and tousled from the long night they spent together. So, this was what it felt like to give into attachments. She was heartbroken when she heard he had left the Jedi Order, but just for this moment, she was selfishly happy that he did.
Light was beginning to pierce through the blinds of her room as the sun rose over the cityscape, and she could more clearly see him. He showed no signs of stirring, the morning was still young and they had nowhere to be for a few hours. So, she snuggled in against him, kissing his collar bone and sighing heavily as she began to doze off again, content… happy… in love….
"Good morning, my lady!"
He woke with a jolt, a hand instinctively stretching out to grab a weapon wasn't there. "In the name of—" He grunted and squinted up with bleary eyes to see a gold human-shaped thing with glowing round eyes. That could be none other than C-3PO. "Oh, it's you…"
Padme had sat up with a loud gasp, holding the blanket to cover her bare chest, her curled hair a spilled mess over her shoulders. Now that she was sitting up, he had a view of her back. It was only now that he realized she had scars, faint but raised lines across her back from the nexu on Geonosis. In his groggy state, he mindlessly laid his hand on her warm back, as if he could smooth away the marks.
C-3PO tilted in the other direction. "Representative Bail Organa is here, my lady… And good morning to you, Master Keno—"
"Quiet, Threepio!" Padme whispered harshly, looking towards the door.
"Oh! I am sorry… Would you like me to ask Senator Organa to return another time…?"
Padme pushed her hair from her face, rubbing at her eyes as she seemed to be shaking off the fog of sleep. Obi-Wan for his part felt quite content to lie there beside her, stroking the softness of her back, the blanket over him, and his body fatigued in the most wonderful way, his auburn hair in all directions.
She looked over her shoulder at him and he couldn't help smiling to her. She looked heavenly in the morning, in a way he never could have imagined, with the circles under her eyes and the confused look of sleep and panic on her face. She was the farthest thing from the trussed up politician most of the world got to see, and she had never looked more luminous to him.
"Obi-Wan…" she said quietly. "Bail and I are meeting with other senators in secret this morning…"
Other senators? In secret? Here he was thinking he was the only one acting with brazen treachery. He finally sat up beside her, the blanket pooling into his lap. He raked his fingers through his own messy hair, pressing it back down with semi-success. The way she was looking at him, he could feel that she wanted him to come with her to meet the senators.
"It would be safest if no one knew I was here…" he whispered, scooting closer to her in the bed. "Not even Organa…"
He nuzzled his forehead against her temple, his lashes brushing her cheek.
Her breathing hitched and she pinched her eyes closed, a tear escaping down her cheek. The dream they shared of being together, seemingly forever, was dashed away this morning and reality was returning with a vengeance.
"Then what will you do?" she asked quietly, her palm touching at his cheek, as if to keep him there against her.
"I will have to sneak out through the back and hope that they hadn't noticed the speeder there…"
"Actually, Master Kenobi…" C-3PO said helpfully. "I have taken it upon myself to move your speeder into the parking hangar where it is safer. I.. do hope that was the right course of action, my lady…"
Obi-Wan pulled away from his nuzzling with Padme and the two of them stared at the droid. "Then sneaking away is out of the question…"
"You can wait here until they're gone…" Padme suggested. She was taking his hand now, as if to pin him in place. "Threepio, please tell Senator Organa I'll be with him shortly. Obi-Wan…. Wait here…" Padme said urgently as she crawled off the mattress, taking the blanket with her and leaving Obi-Wan naked on the bed. "I can keep the meeting short… Please just wait…"
She ran out of sight into the luxurious bathroom where the sound of running water could then be heard. Obi-Wan decided to dress while he waited. After a few minutes, the water stopped running, and he heard the blast of a dryer. She rushed from the bathroom in a silken robe, her hair blown dry and into a voluminous puff that bounced as she vanished into her closet.
He didn't have the benefit of a shower just now, and he moved to a mirror to attempt to tame the mussed hair atop his head, using his fingers to comb it back into its dignified part on the left side of his head. He frowned hard at his reflection, spotting a few unwanted growths in his beard that needed some trimming.
"Maybe one day I can learn your morning routine…"
The melancholic tone of her voice drew his attention and he found her staring at him with a soft smile. She was dressed already in a simple, but elegant gown, her fingers deftly fastening a headdress over her unruly curls and efficiently hiding them. She had even touched on a little make up.
She stole to his side again, her fingers ghosting along his cheek and jaw before she kissed him and pulled away with pain in her eyes. "Please wait here…"
She stepped out of the room and he heard her greet Bail Organa… then there was another voice, one that he was less familiar with but realized belonged to Senator Mon Mothma.
"I apologize for my tardiness…" Padme said to them.
"It is no trouble, Senator…" Mon Mothma said softly.
Though she asked him to wait, he knew with cold clarity that he couldn't. Every moment that he was in her quarters was a danger to her. He needed to get off the planet before anyone realized he was even there. To protect her, he needed to get as far away from her as possible. But in order to leave, he would have to pass through the lobby full of senators, to get to the elevator that would take him to where C-3PO had parked his speeder. Leave it to a droid to make his life more difficult.
Obi-Wan found his helmet, goggles, and mask, fastening them on quickly and strolling right out of the room. The gait he affected was one that he mimicked from the most cocky, fearless person he had ever known—Anakin—and he sauntered right out into the lobby. The three senators sat together on the facing couches, drinks in their hands, their eyes wide as they all looked at him. No one's eyes were as large as Padme's, and she was white as a sheet.
While it wouldn't be breaking news for any senator to have an amore in their apartment, if it was known that Senator Amidala was sleeping with the fugitive General Kenobi, it would go from scandal to treason. And if Bail Organa suspected anything between them, it was better for everyone not to confirm anything to him. Politicians found safety in ignorance.
He put on a demonstration of shrugging on his jacket, to show that he was finishing dressing, and he threw a two-finger salute from his brow to them without a word. They were staring, stunned, and he was almost to the doors when he heard Bail Organa call out:
"Master Kenobi, wait!"
He froze, one foot through the doors. And here Obi-Wan thought his disguise was flawless. Wonderful. He slowly turned and saw Bail walking towards him, a little flustered and apologetic, his hands together.
"I am… truly sorry," he winced with every word. "I understand that you were striving for discretion, and I do not mean to embarrass you… but will you please join us?"
Obi-Wan stared at him, his own face a blank façade of goggles and mask, and he deliberated on pretending not to know what he was talking about, maybe shout at him in Huttese, and be on his way. But he knew Bail wanted him in this fight, and he wanted the same. Padme approached too, wide-eyed and cautious behind Bail. He knew he couldn't flee now.
Obi-Wan sighed heavily and threw up one defeated hand, letting it slap lightly on his thigh. He pulled off the goggles, then the helmet and mask, and Bail visibly let out a breath of relief to see that he had not guessed wrong.
He followed Bail back into the lobby of Padme's apartment where Mon Mothma was still sitting, contentedly sipping at her drink, though there was a twinkle of amusement in her eye. This was embarrassing, and yet strangely liberating. The façade of being a chaste monk of the Jedi Order had been shattered here and now.
Padme, meanwhile, was admirable as always in maintaining her aloof countenance, calm and collected, though her cheeks were a very lovely shade of pink and her eyes seemed to have little flames of rage in them. Perhaps he should have listened to her and stayed put.
"Please, Master Kenobi…" Bail gestured to an empty seat.
"There is no need to call me master any more, Senator…" Obi-Wan sat down, a hand pushing the loose strands of auburn from his eyes. "As you know, I have left the Order…"
"Ah... yes. Apologies. Old habits…" Bail looked between Padme and Mon Mothma, a small smile on his face. "Obi-Wan Kenobi has been one of my greatest contacts…"
"It's a great risk speaking to him," Mon Mothma pointed out, but didn't seem to share in the concern of the sentiment.
"It's dangerous," Padme added as she sat down across from him, seeming to be careful about not sitting too near.
"Well… seeing as he is already here…" Mon Mothma eyed Padme with implication, sipping her drink again.
"Again," Bail cleared his throat. "That is not our business…"
"What we need to be discussing…" Padme said firmly. "…is what is to be done with the information that Obi-Wan has brought us."
"It's proof that the Republic attacked an innocent party. Whether it means that there is corruption behind this or pure negligence, this may be enough to at least give the Chancellor's sycophants pause in voting more power into his hands." Bail said excitedly.
"Best case scenario, it might incentivize a nullification of some of the recent amendments that have taken power from the Senate," added Padme.
"But how could we make certain other senators see it without it tracking back to us? We would be arrested for treason," Mon Mothma said.
"Could the Jedi help?" Padme looked between Obi-Wan and Bail.
Bail glanced to Obi-Wan, but he had difficulty holding his gaze. The former Jedi could feel the twinge of shame before Bail even spoke.
"The fact is… We don't truly know where the corruption ends… I mean no offense to you, Obi-Wan…"
Corruption among the Jedi? Obi-Wan couldn't hide the furrow in his brow. "I can tell you honestly, Senator, that in my time among the Order, the council was increasingly apprehensive about Chancellor Palpatine's control…"
There was more, of course. Count Dooku's revelation to him all those years ago that there was a Sith controlling the Senate was coming back to him. But he didn't dare speak of it. There was no telling where the Sith Lord's influence reached, and he did not dare to tell these Senators something that could tip off the Sith, or put them in danger.
"And then there has been talk of trying to remove the Jedi influence from the senate completely," Padme pointed out.
"How do we know the Jedi wouldn't want the control for themselves?" Mon Mothma drew their attention with her direct speculation. "We simply cannot know."
"Much could have changed since you were a Jedi, Obi-Wan…" Bail said apologetically. "These are troubling times for everyone."
He realized he did not have a leg to stand on in defending the Jedi. Especially with the degree of disillusionment that he suffered when he surrendered his lightsaber. All of this left him rather incredulous.
"The Senate cannot possibly control the Jedi, that would be impossible… The Jedi serve the Republic, their function is alongside the Senate, not beneath them."
"Many see the Jedi as arrogant and above the laws of the Republic…" Mon Mothma said gently, and he knew she did not agree with the sentiment.
"And with Skywalker so close to the Chancellor, we do not dare provoke him or the other Jedi…" Bail sighed. "Particularly since it was the Five-oh-First that destroyed Renoss under his command…"
It was all in the recordings. Somehow, it wasn't until this moment that Obi-Wan truly realized that the data disk was not just damning for the Chancellor, but for Anakin as well. This was an attack on the reputation of the war's poster boy, the hero of the Republic. His apprentice, his friend and brother. He did not intend to drag his former padawan into it, but it there was no avoiding it. Anakin truly was a hero, Obi-Wan never disputed that. But on the moon, Renoss, they both made their choices.
"Then we will not involve the Jedi…" Padme concluded. "Perhaps there is a way to anonymously distribute it to the senators whom we know are the most nonpartisan, whose votes could sway in our favor..."
"But how?" asked Mon Mothma. "Anonymous information is the most easily discredited."
He felt something that unsettled him. The uncertainty that unraveled the air around them became suddenly still and cohesive at one particular point… Around Padme. Whatever she was thinking, she was resolved on it.
"I'll do it," Padme said suddenly. "At the next Senate meeting."
"No." Obi-Wan said before she even finished speaking.
Her brows rose as she looked at him, insulted. "Excuse me?"
"It's political—and very likely literal—suicide, Padme. I cannot allow you to do that."
"Neither can I," Bail added.
But Padme was alarmingly calm about it all. "The senate knows my stance on this war. It's up to me to be the voice for it, to perhaps provide credibility for it. If I do it… I can't be seen conferring with any of you outside of the Senate Building from here on, so that I don't affect your positions."
Obi-Wan's jaw clenched. He didn't like how cavalier she was about making herself a target. But then, she never was afraid of danger if there was just cause for it, and if there was a cause worth taking risks for, it was this. She had already lectured him for the same thing and couldn't quite find it in him to yell at her for it.
By the silence of the other two senators, they too saw that this might have been the easiest, most effective way.
"To say nothing of the fact that if anything were to happen to me after I've shown this to the senate, it would stir speculation of conspiracy and cover up. I'm not afraid to be public about my opposition towards the recent amendments."
Obi-Wan breathed in slowly through his nose as he listened to her, hating every good point that she was making. She leveled her gaze on him, but this time it wasn't challenging or defiant. Her eyes were soft, a silent request of trust.
Did he trust her? With his life.
More than that, he trusted her with the galaxy.
"There must be another alternative…" Bail filled the silence.
Obi-Wan never took his eyes from Padme. He nodded to her, so subtly only she would see, and she knew that he was behind her, the plea of her gaze becoming gratitude.
"Then you must present it to the Senate without any prior warning…" Obi-Wan said calmly. "There cannot be any hint that you are bringing this."
"Agreed," she said fearlessly.
"They will also know that you received the information from me. The implications will be harmful to your reputation…"
"It's no secret that we've been friends all these years, Obi-Wan…" she managed a small smile.
"No… but I have not always been a traitor to the Republic…"
"I've had worse accusations thrown at me. I can handle myself." He knew she was right. Politics were her battlefield, and a battlefield he would never survive.
"And for goodness sake…" Obi-Wan sighed. "Do not tell Jar Jar."
Padme almost smiled. "I'll do what I can to protect him from the consequences…" She then looked to Bail. "Do you have the data disk, Senator?"
Bail Organa's mouth opened, closed, and opened again and he looked to Mon Mothma for help. The latter looked with resignation to him, her face saying it all. She too agreed with the risk. Bail finally sighed with defeat and slipped his hand into his robe. He pulled out the data disk and set it on the table between them.
"I would like it to be known that I am adamantly against this…" said Bail.
Any intention that Obi-Wan had of leaving Coruscant to go into hiding was completely gone. He knew his purpose now. He needed to stay and protect her. She had just taken the fight into her own hands.
Bail Organa and Mon Mothma took their leave and Obi-Wan remained on the couch, elbows on his knees, his hand lightly stroking his beard. This entire matter was hopelessly clouded and convoluted. Any action could spiral into catastrophic consequence. But if nothing was done, the Galactic Republic would continue to quickly mutate into something unrecognizable.
Padme moved close beside him, her fingers gently raking the hair at the nape of his neck in a way that made him shudder.
"I can tell you're unhappy with my decision, Obi-Wan, but it is my decision…"
"I know, Padme…" he managed a faint smile as he turned towards her, setting his hand atop her own. "But there is more to this. There may also be another power at play here."
"What do you mean?" Padme asked slowly.
"When I was captured by Count Dooku on Geonosis, he had told me there was a Sith in control of the Senate. There was nothing to support it, the Jedi had sensed nothing, and I knew he was attempting to manipulate me into joining him… but being here now, back at the Capital, I cannot deny that I feel more of a presence of the Dark Side…"
"You can still sense those things?" she asked. "Even though you're not a Jedi?"
Obi-Wan's brows rose and he wanted to smile at her, but he did not want to insult her. It was such an innocent question from someone who was not well-versed the ways of the Jedi. "The Force exists all around us, regardless of the Jedi. I choose to close myself off from it, but it exists in every corner of the universe, of this very room. There is certainly something dark that is clouding the Force around this world, tendrils of it reaching out throughout the galaxy."
There was a heavy silence, perhaps she was skeptical.
"I am sure the Jedi are more aware of this than I am," he added. "If there is a Sith controlling the senate, they will find him. Because the Sith move in secret and in the dark, you cannot breathe of a word of this to anyone."
"Then why are you telling me?"
"Because if I am going to fight by your side, then there cannot be secrets."
He no longer had the Jedi Order or the Republican Army to give his allegiance to. All he had was Padme Amidala, and he could think of no better flag to fly than hers, for she was the embodiment of everything he believed in.
He placed his lips gently to hers, sealing his oath to her.
