Soulmates

By obi's girl

Summary: Padmé realizes earlier on that even though Anakin is her husband, it's her best that's her soulmate.

Padmé fingered the japer snippet around her neck as she sat at her desk, looking over some documents. It had been many months since she'd last heard from Anakin. The last holo he sent her, he assured her that he was all right and that it wouldn't be long until they were reunited. That was five or six months ago but she was still restless. After they married on Naboo, Padmé knew and accepted that this was her life, to be a wife of a Jedi. It still made her worry whenever he left on missions because there was always that chance he might not come back, and then she'd remember that devilish and cocky smile of his and his promise that he would, and she would be all right. But this time felt different.

Obi-Wan was with him too and even though she was friends with him too, she always knew that the Jedi Master would return safely. With him, her relationship was different. Padmé didn't remember when they first started calling each other by their first names, it happened gradually as they became more familiar with each other. Sometimes, she would visit or call him, asking if he could spend some time with her. Padmé supposed that's when it happened.

Somehow, whenever Obi-Wan was around her, she felt calm and at ease. She didn't worry about Anakin and the possible danger he could have been in. She trusted him completely and there was something else…safe…she felt safe with him. One day, as he sat with her in her apartment after lunch, she looked over at him curiously. Obi-Wan smiled back at her, even though his thoughts seemed be else where.

"Um," Padmé said, "Have you heard from Anakin?"

That question wasn't the first thing on her mind but her thoughts then were confusing and she didn't know what to make of them.

"No, I haven't," Obi-Wan replied simply and he smiled at her, as if knowing some secret. "Don't worry m'lady, he'll be home soon." Padmé sighed, still feeling restless. Obi-Wan felt the restless vibes coming from her and cleared his throat. "Is something troubling you, m'lady?" he asked.

Padmé looked at him and smiled. "I worry about him, that's all," she lied.

"I do too," he admitted, "Lately, he's been very restless…I know he cares for you m'lady and you care for him too but it's confusing him. He doesn't know where his loyalties are."

Padmé scowled and wanted to rebuke him but she knew that he was probably right. Jedi weren't supposed to have attachments and she was an attachment.

"I do care for him," she mused and looked into Obi-Wan's eyes. His eyes didn't twinkle and she didn't see the jovial spark she was used to seeing in him. "Do you…do you sometimes think that you were forced to into taking Anakin as your Padawan Learner?"

Obi-Wan frowned and he sighed. "I never blamed Qui-Gon for that but yes, sometimes when I'm really frustrated with Anakin, I am reminded that maybe I was forced into accepting him."

Padmé leaned back on the couch lazily. "I think destiny has had a hand in all of our lives," she said and Obi-Wan looked at her curiously. "Don't you believe in destiny?" she asked.

"I believe that the Force has a plan for all of us, m'lady, so I suppose I do believe in destiny," he said, "Do you believe that you were destined to meet Anakin when we were forced to settle down on Tatoonie?"

Padmé shrugged. "I think if I had stayed on the ship and ordered one of my handmaidens to go out there instead, things would have been very different," she stated, "I trust you Obi-Wan and I believe, we are friends and that there's a connection that binds all of us together."

Obi-Wan scratched his beard and he blushed, causing Padmé to smile. "What? What is it?" she asked.

"I was just remembering something," he said, "Not too long after we met, I felt something, a connection as you said. I didn't know what it was either so I tried to ignore it and now, here we are, decades later and I have to admit, I think at the time, that something I felt…it wasn't love but it was this feeling of discovering your missing half."

Padmé frowned and looked away from him. "But you ignored it then?"

"I did ignore it then because I didn't know how to interpret the feeling," Obi-Wan explained, "I feel a connection to you Padmé but it's not love, it's deeper than love and friendship."

Padmé didn't speak further and they continued to sit in silence.

Padmé stopped fidgeting with her japer snippet and stood up, walking instead to the balcony as she stared at the Jedi Temple in the distance. No matter where she was, Padmé would always feel a connection to Obi-Wan. Anakin knew this and it bothered him. He would never ask his Master about it because Obi-wan didn't know that he was secretly married to Padmé but the connection between Obi-Wan and Padmé, could never be broken. She belonged to him and he to her, and that comforted Padmé knowing that she was his "amaleia" -- his soul mate.

The End