Two months later...
Anakin was very nervous. He was going to Courasant to attend some senate meetings and private lunches with the chancellor. The republic was in real danger, and it was crutial to the galaxy that Anakin went there to come up with solutions for the main problems affecting the people.
But that wasn't the reason why he was nervous. He was nervous about meeting Padmé again after all the time that had gone by. They haven't talked to each other since she returned to Naboo to get some things she had left over. Well, they never really talked. He just watched her while she looked for her things. He still didn't know what was happening with them, especially with her. ever since Obi Wan had visited to talk to her, she was different. A bad kind of different.
To Anakin, the trip form Naboo to Courasant took an eternity. He was so sad, because he really missed Padmé. He really loved her, and her attitude was hurting him deeply. Millions of 'what-ifs' came to his mind as he headed to Courasant, like:
What if I see her? What if she doesn't want to talk to me? What if she's still mad at me? What if I don't get to see her at all?
This last what-if made him lower his head. He wanted to see her, even if she didn't talk to him. he missed her so much.
*
"I hope that you find your chambers suitable, Senator Skywalker", the guard said. anakin dropped his bag on the bed and nodded. "Do you need anything else?". Anakin shook his head and sat heavily on the bed. The guard noticed that something happened and grew curious and concerned. "Sir, are you alright?"
"I don't know what alright means anymore", Anakin replied in a worn out voice. The guard stared at him as if he remembered him from somewhere else.
"Say... aren't you the senator that the Jedi Kenobi protected?", he asked. Anakin lifted his head and nodded. The guard shook his head in dispise. "That damn Jedi...".
Anakin lifted his head from his hands and frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the word is that he's secretly involved with the soth".
"You mean the sith", Anakin corrected. Afterwards, he was shocked at this new information. "You mean Kenobi, Obi Wan Kenobi?" The guard nodded and sat down in front of the senator.
"I heard from a guard at the temple that master Kenobi sneakes out every night and returns to the temple at dawn". Anakin sighed in frustration.
"But that doesn't mean anything, he could've gone anywhere. Courasant is a big city...". The guard raised his brows trying to change Anakin's mind.
"Well, maybe, but this guard assured me that Kenobi had changed a lot since he started to sneak out. He has a terrible temper now, and for what I know about him, he's always been very calmed and relaxed".
There was a brief silence, when suddenly, something inside Anakin's mind clicked.
"That's why he was so rude!", he said almost yelling. The guard backed off a little afraid of the senator's reaction and stood up. Anakin smiled and followed the guard. He gave him a tight hug in apreciation for the news he had told him. The guard was very uncomfortable, and Anakin noticed this, so he let him go.
"Uh, I... have to go", he said in a shaky voice. Anakin laughed.
"Don't worry, I'm married", the senator replied placing his hand on the guard's shoulder. The guard smiled in relief and raised his brows.
"Really, to whom?", he asked excited. Anakin smiled and shook his head.
"I think that we've shared enpugh for one first encounter, my friend". The guard blushed very embarrassed. "It's alright, don't worry".
*
Anakin rushed through the halls of the Jedi temple. Each person he passed thought he was crazy, but he didn't care. He just wanted to find Padmé. And there she was. Walking to his direction and with her eyes fixed on the floor. Anakin stopped and leaned against a column, so that if she saw him she wouldn't turn away. Her steps were sounding nearer by every second that went by. Anakin's heart was in his throat, he was so nervous. He looked at both ways of the hall. It was empty. Finally, Padmé passed by the column Anakin was leaning on. He waited until she was a few more steps away.
"Hello, Padmé", he said softly. Padmé stopped walking and raised her head. After a couple of seconds she turned around and faced Anakin.
"What are you doing here?", she asked disgusted. Her tone really hurt Anakin, but he decided to let that go. The main thing in his mind was to talk to her.
"I needed to talk to you. Why did you leave me, Padmé? We are married, you just can't leave me like that with no explanation".
"First of all, we are not married..."
"What?", Anakin interrupted. "What are you talking about? Of course we are married!". Anakin didn't understand a thing Padmé was saying.
"Oh, really? You knew that our marriage would never work because I'm a Padawan learner and you are a senator, so you just made me believe that we were married. You were very smart, I have to give that to you..."
"Padmé, I have no idea of what you're talking about! Did Obi Wan tell you that?", Anakin asked suspicious.
"Leave my master out of this!", she warned.
"Padmé, please, listen to me! You've been brainwashed, Obi Wan lied! We ARE married, I can show you the Naboo records in the computer if you want!", Anakin said desperate.
"Anakin, you are a polititian. You could've easily changed the records in the data base, I'm not stupid", Padmé said upset. Anakin was really disappointed.
"Well, if you think that I would do that, you don't know me at all".
"Maybe you are right, I don't know you. I thought you were different", Padmé said in a much softer tone than the ones she had used before. "I had so many things that I wanted to tell you, to share with you, that would make a big difference in our lives". Anakin freaked out for a minute.
"Padmé, are you... pregnant?", he asked half excited half scared. Padmé frowned.
"No, I'm not pregnant! Even if I were, I wouldn't tell you. After all, you don't want to have children with me, you left that clear the day we talked about it".
Anakin couldn't believe it. He just nodded and walked away, defeated. After a couple of steps, he turned around and faced her.
"If you were pregnant I'd have the right to know. For your information, we are still married. And...", he paused. Padmé raised a brow, expectant.
"What'?"
"I... I still love you, Padmé. You are my wife, and you'll be forever". There was a deep silence, during the which Padmé lowered her head, not knowing what to say. "And that holyman that married us also married my sister and my cousin, so if we are not married, then they aren't married either". After saying that, he turned around and walked away.
Now Padmé was the confused one. If what Anakin was saying was the truth, that meant that her master had lied to her. But... why? She decided to go and find out by herself who was telling the truth.
*
Padmé entered the Courasant intergalactic record center that very same afternoon. She headed towards the Naboo section and sat down in front of one of the computers, tiped Anakin's name and waited.
Name: Skywalker, Anakin
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Occupation: Member of the galactic senate.
Status: Married
Padmé was, to say the least, shocked. She was about to faint when an old lady tapped her shoulder.
"Are you alright, miss?", the old lady asked concerned. It took Padmé a couple of seconds to proces the information before she answered.
"Yes, yes... I have to go", she replied standing up and leaving the building.
*
Padmé headed towards the senatorial building to find Anakin. She wanted to find him first and talk. She had a lot to things to say to him. well, more like a lot of things to appologize for.
How she had missed him. Every day she remembered her days in Naboo with it's ups and downs. But no matter if there were bad things, she missed Anakin anyway. After all, he was her husband, by the law or not by the law. He never stopped being hers.
Padmé longed to be held in his arms once again. Maybe that was what she missed the most of her time with Anakin. The feeling of his heartbeat against her ear always made her feel safe, even though she was the one supposed to protect him.
But what if he didn't want to take her back? After all, she HAD been pretty rude with him earlier. But he also wanted to make things better between them, otherwise he wouldn't've gone to the temple that afternoon.
The door to his chambers was at sight. Each step Padmé took seemed so heavy and slow. The sound of her feet against the floor echoed in her ears and stayed in her mind tormenting her. This was by far the hardest thing she had ever done. Going to her husband and appologize for misjudging him. finally, she reached the door. There were a couple of armed guards outside, and when they saw Padmé, they stood in front of the door.
"The access to this chambers is denied, miss", one of the guards said in a deep voice. Padmé opened her cloak and showed the guards her Jedi robes. The guards looked at each other for a couple of seconds until one of them motioned with his head for her to go inside.
"Thank you", Padmé said softly.
"You are welcome, miss", the other guard answered. Padmé smiled when she realized that the had called her 'miss'. She diled the code that the building manager had given her earlier and entered Anakin's chambers.
Anakin was standing in front of the window, watching the Courasant traffic. Most likely, he was remembering his days in Naboo, thinking that there were no traffic jams like the ones there were in Courasant. Padmé hanged her cloak on the hanger next to the door and fixed her robes.
"Hi", Padmé greeted so that he knew that she was there with him. Anakin turned around and opened his eyes widely. They stared at each other for a while until Anakin took a deep breath, trying to stay calmed.
"Hi", he answered more nervous than confused. "What, uh... what are you doing here? I thought that you didn't want to see me again". Anakin couldn't believe that he had just said that. Padmé lowered her head and nodded.
"I know, I was wrong". Anakin raised his head in a split second.
"What?", he asked in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, I judged you without listening to you before. I shouldn't have done that, Ani. Could you please forgive me?", Padmé said almost pleading.
To her plead followed a deep silence, broken by Anakin's smile. Padmé smiled back. There was nothing left to be said. They just rushed to each other and wrapped in a fierce embrace.
*
"I missed you", Padmé said tightening her arm around Anakin. Anakin kissed her temple and smiled.
"I missed you too. I was so misserable during this couple of months", Anakin said almost complaining. Padmé smiled and softly punched his chest.
"I had forgotten how you are always complaining about everything", she said laughing. Anakin laughed too and brought her even closer to him. His expression torn serious.
"Padmé..."
"Yes, Ani?", she asked cuddling against him.
"I think we should talk about Obi Wan and how he lied to us". Padmé sighed heavily and stared at the ceiling. "Why do you think he did it? He's never been like that, at least not that I remember...".
"Yes, I know what you mean".
"We haven't done anything to him", Anakin added confused. Padmé leaned on her elbow so that she could make eye contact with her husband.
"Ani, how do you think that my master's reputation will be if his own Padawan got married? My actions don't make him look as a very good Jedi. Everyone must be disappointed at him, because they've always got great expectations on my training. They all counted on Obi Wan's good guidance, because I'm the 'chosen one' and all...", Padmé explained.
"I think you're right, but was that enough reason to split us up? I thought Jedi couldn't be proud, in a bad way".
"Well, everyone falls in a determined time in their lives. Look at me, I'm a Padawan and I'm married. I also have this thing with my temper that I can't control, and I'm still a Jedi. Maybe my master couldn't control himself either".
"I don't know... I think that there's more into it than we think. I heard that Obi Wan was involved with the sith". Anakin expected Padmé to freak out or at least some surprise from her, but she just looked down.
"I know, I heard that rumor too. The council is following each of his footsteps to see what he's up to. He has no permission to leave the temple until new order".
Anakin was really shocked. He would've never expected master Kenobi to be like that, so mean and owner of such dark feelings. He started to remember all the important encounters he had had with Obi Wan, from the battle of Naboo until that day he came to his house and almost took Padmé away from his side forever.
Then, he started to remember all the new things he had experienced with Padmé. Their marriage, there new found friendship, their muttual support and respect, their disagreements. Suddenly, something came to his mind.
"Padmé, about something I asked you today..."
"What?"
"Are you pregnant?", he asked a little afraid of her answer. Not because he didn't want any children, but because he didn't know how his reaction would be if he was to become a father.
Padmé smiled against his chest and shook her head. "No, I'm not pregnant". She raised her head to look at him. "Why? Would you freak out if I told you I was preganant?", she asked, a little smile played on her lips.
"Um... no, not at all", Anakin answered a little nervous. Padmé laughed on his face, not caring if he would feel offended. "Hey, I mean it!"
"Right...", she added resting her head on his chest once again. "You would totally freak out, knowing your special personality..."
"What do you mean by 'special personality', Padmé?", Anakin asked offended.
"Oh, you know... you are always worried about something, always omplaining for little things, always aware of every little detail... but don't worry, I like that in you", she assured him.
"Oh, I think I feel better now...", he said sarcastically. Padmé started to laugh at his childish attitude and he soon joined her contagious giggles, adding his own laughter. When they stopped, they remained serious.
"Will you talk to Obi Wan?", Anakin asked. Padmé sighed and shook her head.
"I don't know... I think that I'll better wait a while before doing anything to confront him", she said in a hopeless tone. Anakin nodded and kissed her temple.
"I agree". They stayed in silence for what seemed eternity.
They were both enjoying each other's company, both secretly wondering how much it was going to last. They had waited too long to be like this again, and they were intrigued by the fact that their life together had such an uncertain future. How many obstacles would they have to go through together until they would finally reach happyness? This was just the beggining.
"Padmé..."
"Yes, Ani?"
"Can you stay over for tonight?", he pleaded in a soft childish tone. Padmé sighed heavily and held Anakin even closer.
"I don't think so, Anakin. The council has been keeping an eye on me too. They haven't talked to me since I came back, not even to ask me about our marriage, and I don't think that they'll like it if I spend the night out of the temple".
"Why? What could happen that hasn't happened already?", Anakin asked waving his hands, bringing atention to their situation. Padmé smiled mischievously and kissed Anakin deeply. She pulled away and noticed that Anakin was almost breathless. She smiled to herself and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You are so funny, Anakin..."
"Why? Because I want to spent the night with my wife?", he asked amused. Padmé laughed and kissed his cheek.
"No, because you act so childish when things don't go your way", she corrected. Anakin hugged her tightly and rolled her over so that he was on top of her.
"I know you want to stay...", he said while he kissed her neck. Padmé wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled.
"I do, but I can't...". she grabbed Anakin's face and kissed him. Then she broke the kiss and pushed Anakin a side. "Now get off", she said in what sounded a bossy tone. Anakin smiled and rolled to the other side of the bed against his own will. He watched Padmé as she got dressed and sighed.
"Will you come tomorrow?", he asked. Padmé finished wrapping her cloak around her and sat next to Anakin.
"I'll try, but I can't promise you anything. I might have my trials next week, so I must train", she explained.
"Your trials? Why didn't you tell me?", Anakin asked excited. Padmé smiled and kissed his forehead.
"We didn't have time to talk". Anakin smiled at her and hugged her. After a while, they kissed and Padmé left.
Once outside the senatorial building, Padmé was getting in her speeder when a hand grabbed her arm. She turned around and for her surprise, she saw supreme Chancellor Palpatine.
"Chancellor, I'm surprised to see you", she said a little nervous.
"Oh, I'm sorry if I scared you". Padmé shook her head and smiled.
"No, not at all. Tell me, how may I help you?", she asked. Palpatine released her arm and brought his hands to his back.
"I want to talk to you".