"Don't just sit there Anakin! Go after her!"
Anakin drew assurance from Padme's strong gaze and jumped up from the table in pursuit of his date.
"What's going on?"
Padme shook her head again at Obi-Wan. Amazing. And Jedi were supposed to be so perceptive.
"I"m not sure." Padme had her suspicions but she decided to keep them to herself, for now. "But you were of little help!" She grinned at the surprised look on his face. "First you bored her completely, talking about the latest Jedi gossip and then stuffed your face the rest of the time."
"I said something."
"You said one sentence. How are we going to get them together if you don't help out?"
"Darling. It will take care of itself." He placed a gentle kiss to her lips and grasped her hand firmly.
"Like it did with us?"
"That was different."
She could see the twinkle forming in his eyes. "How so?"
"You were the one chasing me."
His teasing grin was suddenly struck with a well thrown dinner napkin.
"Stupid!" Dorme muttered as she quickly headed for the exit ramp in order to flag down a transport ship to take her back to their apartment.
"Dorme!"
She heard Anakin call her name just as the first raindrops began to fall.
"What do you want!"
"I don't know what to say."
"There's nothing you can say, Anakin. Why don't you just go do one of your 'meditation exercises' now!" She turned from him in an attempt to hail a transport once more.
"Dorme, wait." He grasped her arm and gently pulled her around to face him.
"Don't touch me." She hissed at him and he immediately withdrew his grasp. "How could I have been so stupid!" The rain was falling harder now.
"Dorme, please. I need you."
"You don't deserve me."
"I know that."
She tried to hide her surprise at his answer and then he continued.
"You have to let me try. I've already changed. My meditations are now just that. Real meditations. I'm sorry you saw me in that place, with that girl. But I'm not like that any more Dorme. I swear to you. Please let me prove it to you." He had been approaching her and was now a mere inches from her face.
Dorme backed away in response. "I don't think there's anything you can do, Anakin." As she looked at him, all she could see was the vision of him in that bed with that girl. "I'm sorry Anakin."
He watched Dorme back away and turn and enter the transport ship that had just arrived. As the ship moved away from the platform, Anakin's hand came up to rub his chest through the material of his Jedi tunic, in an attempt to ease the sudden ache that he felt there.
