C-3PO was carrying a pan of the vase's broken shards, shuffling contentedly across the lobby to dispose of the pieces, completely unaware of the drama that had unfolded as he chattered quietly to himself about how happy he always is to see the The Maker.

Padme had sunk into one of the curved couches, staring listlessly at the small table in front of her, her back towards the small balcony where Obi-Wan still lingered, silent. Both of them were too deep in thought to speak immediately about what had happened.

She couldn't believe what she witnessed. She wanted to hold onto the denial that Anakin would ever harm his own master. The anger Anakin felt, though frightening, was only natural when considering how much pain he was in. Obi-Wan did not seem surprised by the attack, or perhaps he thought it was deserved. She didn't know which was worse.

And now he was going to leave her again. Her first instinct was to just go with him, wherever it was he was going. Forget about the Senate, the Delegation, or the war. What would happen would happen, was there any difference that she could make?

The real question, the one that kept her anchored to reality, was: Could she live with herself if she didn't try?

His arms came from behind her, wrapping around her shoulders, his beard tickling at her neck where he buried his face.

"You could come with me…." He said quietly, almost desperately. She was not sure she had ever heard him make such a request, something that bordered on a selfish need.

He knew as well as she did that he couldn't stay on Coruscant. They fooled themselves for a little while, living in the delusion of domesticity.

But it wasn't until he asked that she knew she couldn't go either.

"I can't…" she could hardly get the words out, her hand reaching up to rake into his auburn hair. "I need to be at the Senate now, more than ever… The war will be over any day now… Only then can we actually be together."

He was quiet for a moment, a light exhale escaping him against her neck. "I know."

And he still asked. Against his selfless nature. Feeling his arms around her now, and thinking about him walking out the door again, suddenly filled her with panic.

"Obi-Wan…" she turned in his embrace, getting onto her knees on the couch so that she could face him where he stood behind it, her fingers in his collar. "You can go to the Lake House. You can wait for me there, where I know I can find you. No one knows about it and I know you'll be safe."

He looked at her dubiously. "Anakin knows."

"Even if he knew you were there, he wouldn't do anything…" she was confident. "He doesn't want to hurt you, I know he doesn't."

He rubbed at his throat. "Somehow I doubt that."

It surprised her that Obi-Wan seemed to lose all faith in his own apprentice. "He lied to the clones so that you could leave unharmed… He's a good person, Obi-Wan… You should know that better than anyone."

The sardonic expression that was on his face faded into something more grim. "I know him better than he perhaps knows himself. Anakin and I spent every hour of every day together for the first decade of his Jedi training. We were never apart more than a couple of days, when I would have to go on missions that he was too young for, or… when I was with you. There has always been a fury in him that I have tried to teach him to tame. Regardless of my teachings, he is still far too arrogant, ambitious, and vindictive."

She stared as each word came out of his mouth. Everything he was saying about his former apprentice almost sounded… unkind, though she knew it was a cold truth. Then Obi-Wan's frown smoothed away and he sighed.

"He is also fearless, devoted, and was once my dearest friend… No Jedi has ever had a greater heart than Anakin, and… I fear that we broke it. Of course, if there were no pieces of it left, then he would have me in shackles at this moment. You may be right that he won't pursue me to Naboo."

She could hear the doubt in his voice, but she could not lose hope in Anakin. "Then will you wait for me there?"

He smiled. "No matter where or for how long, I will wait for you, Padme."

Relief washed over her. That was all she needed to hear, that he would go to that safe place, where she knew he would be. If there was any small comfort to be had in separation.

"One more thing…" she kneaded at his collar.

"Anything."

"Don't leave yet. Stay with me awhile longer, as if we still have all the time in the universe…"

He took her face gently in both hands, lips meeting softly. They kissed tenderly, the back of the couch between them. The taste of him only reminded her of what it was like to be without him. They could be apart for any length of time, and in their history together, it was always longer than she expected.

Without breaking the kiss, she rose up, sitting on the back of the couch and swinging her legs over to his side. Her skirt was loose enough for her to pull him between her legs, and he merged with her, kissing her more deeply as she made her hunger known in a wanting hum.

She could feel him against her, the same excitement growing in him and less easy to hide. She was aching to have him. He began to pull away, breathing heavily, inching in the direction of the bedroom, but she wrapped her fists firmly into his collar.

"No... here…" she whined. To make her point, she gathered up her skirts over her thighs, her smooth bare legs wrapping around him at the waist…

And right there in the lobby of her apartment, where she had hosted senatorial meetings and secret conspiratorial gatherings, they shared a heated frenzy that erased the world around them for just that moment, leaving them both weak and breathless.

"If that was supposed to help convince me to go… I'm afraid… it did… quite the opposite…"

They laughed together, still floating on the ecstasy they shared, both still panting and weak.

"Oh Padme…" his voice was low at her ear, and she melted at the sound. "When we're apart again and I think of us, like this, I will think it's another dream…"

Another? She suddenly remembered her own dreams from all those years ago, when she was married to Anakin, the dreams that had no meaning, but they felt like this. She always felt that it was really him, not her imagination.

She leaned away with astonishment, enough to see his face. "You had those dreams too?"

His bottom lip stuck out and he blew a strand of sweat-damp hair from his eye. "Me? Well, I think it's very possible that they were your dreams and I just happened to be in them. Besides… Jedi don't have naughty dreams…."

She was grinning at him now, her eyes squinting with pretend accusation. "No one said anything about naughty dreams…"

His grin matched hers and the sight of it sent heat coursing through her all over again. Before he could give some witty retort, she silenced him with another kiss. She was drunk on him at the moment, and she was terrified of feeling sober. She wanted to prolong yet another goodbye.


AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ha ha ha… Well, this chapter ended up rather short because I had to cut things out. Betcha can't imagine why. You can read the whole dirty thing on AO3, as always. ;D