That night, there was a gathering held in what had once been glamorous hotel lobby. Partying was something the Imperials seemed to enjoy, Padme had found. They celebrated for the sake of celebrating, for the sake of living well for however long life lasted. Whoever Anakin had sent on the daily supply run had procured bottles and bottles of booze from somewhere a little outside of the city. Food in the inner city was beginning to grow scarce with so many survivors nestled so closely together, and sometimes, when she let herself think about it, Padme worried about what might happen when they ran out of stores to pillage.

But tonight wasn't a night for worrying, no, it was to be a night of fun. She pushed all such thoughts out of her mind and watched the Imperials enjoy themselves. Wines, vodkas and whiskeys had been spread out on the reception desk and Aphra lingered behind it, playing the bartender with absolute glee. She laughed while serving people, throwing her head back without care, living in the moment freely and easily. It was strange to see the usually sullen and glaring woman so cheerful for once.

As she watched the other woman, Padme noticed how Aphra's worn, brown leather jacket had been cropped at the shoulders so that she could make out the long, stark black lines of a strange pattern tattooed on her right arm. She hadn't known many people with tattoos in the old world, granted, but she'd never seen anything like it before.

Spotting an opportunity as Kit walked away from Aphra's makeshift bar, Padme steeled herself and approached. Since her arrival, the archaeologist had done nothing but scowl and ignore her for reasons she'd never bothered to find out but she was tired of the one-sided animosity. Maybe after being the only woman amongst such a large group of men for so long, Aphra felt protective or threatened by her presence? Whatever it was, now was her chance to speak with the raven-haired woman. Maybe they could even become friends? It would be nice to have another woman to talk to around here.

Aphra didn't look up as she approached, too busy fidgeting with half-empty bottles and a seemingly endless pile of red, plastic cups. "What can I get you? We have vodka, wine, brandy, whisky and if you ask really nice, I'll pour you a good shot and a nice chaser." Then, the woman's brown eyes flicked up to see Padme and the easy smile died on her lips. "Oh. Hi. You drinking?"

"Everyone else seems to be, so I thought I'd join in," she tried to smile but Aphra remained stony-faced. "What kinds of wine do you have?" If she was going to get through this, Padme definitely needed a drink. A long time ago, in the old world, a glass of wine or two after a long day had been her ritual but those days were gone. To drink was to let one's inhibitions go, after all, and these past few years, she'd needed to keep her wits about her. But safe inside The Empire, she felt safe to indulge again just this once.

"We've got a couple of bottles of red or white, probably nothing compared to what you used to have," the other woman muttered and picked up the two bottles to place them on the desk.

Be nice, Padme reminded herself, you're here to make friends.

"In The Coruscant?" She forced herself to laugh despite how it made her heart ache to talk about her first home in the new world. Padme still missed it terribly. "Oh no. I loved it there but it's a very no-frills kind of life. You Imperials live it up far more than we do."

"You're an Imperial now too," Aphra rolled her eyes, "You'd be smart to remember that."

Truthfully, despite living amongst them for months, she hadn't ever viewed herself as an actual Imperial… Padme had never taken the time to reflect upon what living here meant for her identity. She'd spent so long living as a Rebel, she had friends there who she'd give anything to see again but Aphra was right, she was in The Empire now. And, if she was honest, the quality of life she'd found here was nice. She liked the people she'd met, Rex and Kit especially and Anakin…

She remembered how his lips felt on hers a few hours ago as vividly as though he were here kissing her now.

Padme didn't know how to categorise their… Relationship.

"I suppose you're right…" She nodded, "anyway, I'll have white."

"Right." Aphra nodded and started unscrewing the cork of a pinot grigio brand she didn't recognize, though then again, she wasn't sure she would recognise what she used to drink, it'd been years since she'd seen it, after all. The two women were quiet as the former archaeologist poured a generous serving into the plastic cup and Padme searched her brain for anything they might have in common to fill the quiet until her eyes landed on the woman's intricate tattoo again.

"That's an interesting tattoo," she smiled as Aphra pushed the cup toward her, "I've never seen anything like it."

"Thanks." She nodded, "got it when after my first dig."

"What is it, if you don't mind my asking?" Padme sipped at her wine and let her eyes admire the perfectly straight lines, following the strange pattern where it connected and parted in an almost maze-like structure. It disappeared beneath the capped shoulder of her jacket and curiously, she wondered if her whole arm had been inked?

"Map lines of the dig. Found some cool stuff I want to remember."

This was the most Aphra had talked to her ever and it that alone made Padme smile. The thought of another female friendship like she'd had with Dorme and Sabe back in The Coruscant was wonderful. It would be nice to have someone to confide in, especially after her kiss with Anakin… She'd like to hear what someone else thought! Was she crazy? Should she avoid him? Would it be absolutely insane to do it again?

Taking a large – too large probably – gulp of her wine, Padme allowed herself to feel emboldened by Aphra's receptiveness thus far and lingered by the makeshift bar. "Aren't you joining in tonight?"

The raven-haired woman blinked twice, "… I'm here, aren't I?"

"No," she laughed, "I mean, aren't you going to come join everyone and have a drink?"

"Later." Aphra poured Dooku a cup filled with whisky as he approached the bar. The mysterious older man tipped his head respectfully upon picking it up before wandering off as quickly as he'd come. He was a quiet man, Padme had noticed, kept to himself in the shadowed corners of the hotel. Even in the old world some people just weren't sociable and in the new one, well, the survivors had seen too much. Once he was gone, the other woman's gaze returned to Padme, "Anakin asked me to mind the booze supplies. We don't need to be drank dry in one night."

Ah. Now that made sense. Aphra was Anakin's second in command, the person he seemed to trust the most with that thing he kept downstairs. The woman hung on his every word and look, she'd noticed it before in that convenience store with Bail, but there was no need to point out the woman's feelings, Padme decided, especially if she wanted to start a friendship. "It must be nice being his second in command. He clearly trusts you a lot."

"I don't know," Aphra's gaze was cold as she regarded Padme with narrowed eyes, "he's made it pretty clear that I'm replaceable."

The implication hung heavily between the two women and she stole another gulp of her wine.

"I don't think that's true." Padme said at last, "from what I've seen – "

"Look, Princess," Aphra rolled her eyes, "let's just be clear about something. He might have his fun with you for a while – you're new and giving him a chase, I'm sure that's exciting for men but eventually, he'll get tired and you'll be out on the streets running back to your scummy Rebel friends."

Taken aback, Padme's mind reeled. Where had that come from? "Excuse me, what exactly is your problem with me? I haven't done anything to you."

At that, Aphra rolled her eyes and unscrewed the top of the whisky she'd just served Dooku, taking a generous swig from the bottle. "You're taking what's rightfully mine, Princess. I just want you to understand that sooner or later, he'll come to his senses and throw you the hell out of here."

This was ridiculous. Padme wasn't going to just sit here and argue over a man of all things! Especially one her feelings were so torn on. It was the least of her worries these days and the same should have been true for Aphra too. "You're in love with him," she said calmly, "that's obvious, but I – "

She scoffed and shook her head, anger swirling in her dark eyes, "you think you're so smart, don't you?"

Just as Padme opened her mouth, another voice rang out and pulled both women's attention to the left, "Aphra, put away the claws!" A jovial, rumbling laugh followed the thick, New Zealand accent as Rex approached the bar. It was nice to see an actual friendly face right now, she thought with a growing smile despite her upset with the other woman. "Thought you were above that kind of bitching?"

"I wasn't bitching," she sneered, "I was just – "

"Being a bitch," Rex leant his tanned forearm on the desk, "now lay off. This is supposed to be a fun night, we don't need that attitude of yours ruining things."

"I was only telling the truth, Rex!" Aphra spat, "she – "

The usual warmth which radiated out of the New Zealander vanished as his face hardened dangerously, looking at the archaeologist the way he eyed up a creature he intended to slaughter. "I suggest you close that mouth of yours unless you want the boss to hear about all this."

Downstairs, a howling shriek resounded through the lobby from Anakin's pet beast. No one around paid the sound any mind and Padme wondered if they were all just used to the idea of living above one of them. She could never be so settled knowing it was down there… Even now, it's scream brought cold shivers of fear creeping through her body. Aphra tore her eyes from Rex's harsh glare and glanced toward the revolving door which led to the creature's basement. "I… I should go check on it."

"That's a good idea, lass," he nodded.

The archaeologist shot both Padme and Rex a glare as she slipped out from behind the reception desk and made her way to the revolving door. Only when she vanished behind it did the tension leave her body. Well, so much for being friends… Despite how cruel Aphra had been, she truly mourned the lost opportunity. It made her miss her Rebel friends even more.

"I'm sorry about her," Rex said with a sigh, running his hand through his cropped black hair, "she isn't always so unfriendly."

Padme found that difficult to believe. "She hates me."

"Nobody is liked by everyone," he shrugged, leaning over the bar to snatch an unopened bottle of vodka and the bottle of wine Aphra poured her drink from, "this what you're drinking?"

"Yes, why?"

Suddenly all the warmth returned to Rex's face as he smiled cheekily, "because we're going to play a game and you're comin' to join in. About time you integrated, I think." He tipped his head in invitation and after the utter disaster that was her attempt at making friends with Aphra, she was happy to follow. If nothing else, the other woman had been right about one thing, if she was going to keep living here then it was time Padme became a real Imperial.

Rex led her through the lobby to a stylish black booth and a built-in red-topped table where Kit and Anakin sat, laughing at something she couldn't hear above the murmur of conversation in the room. The moment she saw him her stomach flipped. She'd been avoiding him since they got back from their walk and, surprisingly, he'd let her. He'd obviously showered and changed his clothes, now wearing a long-sleeved black sweater and dark blue jeans. He looked good, she admitted to herself, black was his colour.

When Padme and Rex reached the booth, he carefully deposited the alcohol onto the table and she dropped the small pile of plastic cups she'd grabbed. Anakin's gaze lifted to her slowly, trailing his way along the black jeans and white t-shirt she'd thrown on after showering and when his eyes finally found hers, his gaze was searing.

"Joining the game, Naberrie?" He asked with a curious quirk of his eyebrow. Kit seemed surprised too which Padme reluctantly understood. She joined in the duties of housekeeping around the hotel but she'd mostly kept to herself since moving into The Empire. Well, that was all behind her now. She wanted to assimilate – to live, as Anakin had put it once. She was here to stay so it was long past time that she enjoyed herself like everyone else.

"What're we playing?" She asked, sliding into the booth beside Kit which seemed to disappoint Anakin for a moment before he controlled his expression into his usual smug smile. Reaching for a new plastic cup, Padme unscrewed the wine and poured a slightly smaller helping than Aphra had earlier. She wanted to have fun not get wasted, after all.

"A good ol' round of 'Never Have I Ever'!" Rex threw himself into the booth beside Anakin and reached for the vodka. "Nothing gets the buzz going like downing a drink with a laugh or two."

Anakin sniggered and shook his head, "it was Kit's idea."

"Hey! You brought up the last time we played it… It inspired me." Kit shrugged his loose dreadlocks over his shoulder and grinned, "I want to see if we can make Rex throw up again."

Padme winced at the mental image of the burly New Zealander in that condition, she hadn't seen someone consume too much alcohol since she first started college and it hadn't been a pretty sight. "You thew up?" She couldn't help a small bubble of laughter slipping past her lips and quickly hid it beneath a sip of her wine.

"That'll happen when these two assholes only asked targeted questions." Rex laughed easily, "but it's you guys' turn now!"

"Or," a sly smile spread across Kit's happy face as he slowly pointed toward her, "we can gang up on Padme here and see how she handles her drink! It can be your official Imperial initiation!"

Anakin laughed and leant forward, tipping his head, "now that, I'd be interested in."

She glared at him which only brightened his smile, "oh, no, no! I'll play along but you'll all be disappointed. I'm actually very boring…"

Rex busied himself pouring his, Anakin's and Kit's red plastic cups almost to the brim with vodka. The sight alone was enough to make her head swim a little. That wasn't going to end well…

She looked up and caught Anakin's heated gaze as it flicked between her eyes and lips. Suddenly, Padme could feel the ghost touch of his hands on her body and the sensation of his kiss on her lips... On her neck… She flushed, feeling colour bloom in her cheeks and cursed herself, dragging her eyes downward to the table instead. Get a grip, Padme! She thought with a mental glare at herself. One kiss and she was acting like a complete idiot!

"Believe me," Anakin's voice brought the former Rebel's unwilling eyes back to the Imperial leader, "you're anything but boring, Naberrie." He winked, that know-all smug smirk of his still plastered to his face. The audacity, she rolled her eyes at him and dropped her gaze down to her drink.

"Alright, as usual, the rules are simple. We'll all take a turn saying something, if you've done it, drink. Okay? I'll get this started," Rex picked up his drink, sloshing some of the vodka over the cup's rim, onto his knuckles and the tabletop. "Never have I ever… Shoplifted?"

"Are you kidding?" Anakin barked a laugh, "every supply run is technically shoplifting."

"Exactly," Rex sniggered, "so drink."

If he aimed to get everyone drunk, Padme applauded his strategy as she brought her wine to her lips and took a sip. In her old life, if she had thought of herself doing something like shoplifting, she probably would have thrown back her head and laughed until she cried! Her? Never. How times could change...

"Seriously, Rex," Kit shook his head, "where are your manners? It should have been ladies first." He gestured toward Padme as she brought her cup back down to the table. "Please don't judge all us Imperials on the manners of this big idiot. You can go ahead of me."

All three men's eyes fell on her and her mind raced to come up with something quickly, it'd been years since she played this game and she was rusty! What could she ask that they might all have in common? Never have I ever killed a monster? No, that was stupid. This was taking too long… Uh… Oh! "Never have I ever been arrested?"

It was a stupid suggestion, surely no one here had ever been stupid enough to –

Anakin and Kit brought their drinks to their lips and Padme's eyebrows shot to her hairline

"You two were arrested?" She gawked at Kit and Anakin who shared a secretive snigger. "What did you do?"

"Bachelor party." Kit's bright green eyes lit up with obvious nostalgia for the simpler life before the end of the world and it made her smile sadly, while people had survived, they'd all lost so much… "I was blackout wasted… Or so they tell me…" He laughed and shook his head, "don't ask me how it happened, I don't remember. All I know is there was a dare and I was picked up by the cops for running down the street naked and singing the National Anthem at the top of my lungs."

"Oh my god!" Padme slapped her palm over her mouth, "you're kidding?!"

"I wish," Kit sagged in his seat with a groan, "I was almost thrown out of med school for it… Fun memory though."

"What about you?" She turned her eyes to Anakin and raised an eyebrow, "what'd you do?"

Somehow, Padme couldn't picture the Imperial leader running down the streets of New York without his clothes on. Manipulating someone else into doing it? Absolutely.

"My story isn't as fun as Kit's," he winced and looked down at his drink. There was no smugness or laughter on his face now, he looked almost… Sad. Anakin had been a troublemaker when they were in school, a real bully sometimes but even as she searched her memories of him, there was no behaviour bad enough that she could see police getting involved. So what had happened? Curiosity burned within Padme but the more rational side of her saw the obvious pain on his face, whatever he'd done still troubled him.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," on instinct, she reached across the table and settled her palm over his, just for a moment but it was enough to jerk his eyes up to hers, surprise flashing deep in his blue hues.

"Yeah, mate," Rex nodded when Padme retracted her hand, "we'll move on. Kit? You got a question?"

"Oh? Uh, yeah!" The former medical student jolted, "okay – never have I ever… Had a one night stand?"

Well, she wasn't expecting to get into those sorts of questions so quickly but the lingering tension of Anakin's confession was swept away with one howl of excitement from Rex. "Oh come on, mate!" He laughed loudly and took a long swig of vodka, "who the hell has never had a one night stand?"

Neither Anakin or Padme drank but thankfully, neither Kit or Rex seemed to notice. Blue eyes met brown across the table but she quickly looked across the lobby to see everyone else enjoying themselves instead. Not that she had ever taken the time to think about his sex life but that surprised her… He was certainly charming when he wanted to be and even she could admit he was very handsome… Maybe she'd just assumed there'd been at least one encounter between Anakin and Aphra… Then again, the question was about one-night stands, maybe there was something more between them?

Maybe that was why Aphra hated her so much?

"Alright, alright," Anakin drummed his fingers on the table, "my turn… Never have I ever… Had a bathroom accident… In public..." Mirth brought a knowing light to his eyes as humiliation swelled up inside Padme's chest… No, no, no! How did he even remember that? Oh god… She hadn't expected him to target her like that!

"I hate you," she muttered and brought her cup to her lips unwillingly. Oh, she could kill him for this! Anakin seemed unfazed by the loathing in Padme's eyes as Rex and Kit spluttered laughter into their drinks.

"You pissed yourself?" the New Zealander chortled, "and here I thought you used to be someone fancy!"

"Hey!" She rolled her eyes, "I was like ten years old!" Admittedly, still far too old to have accidents in school but it wasn't even really her fault! "You," Padme pointed across the table and into Anakin's face, "it was your fault! You were the one who spread that story about the scary nun hiding in the school bathrooms!"

Kit glanced between them, a furrow between his brows, "you two knew each other…Before…?"

"We went to school together," Anakin leant back against the worn leather backing of the booth, "she was terrified of me."

"Please," she rolled her eyes and drained the remainder of the wine, relishing the slight burn in her throat. Had she been scared of Anakin all those years ago? Well, yes, maybe she had been. He had been a troublemaker, loud, brash and often absolutely cruel. Padme certainly hadn't liked the bully boy, but then, there probably weren't many people who had… She'd been frightened of catching his attention more than necessary lest he set his troublesome sights onto antagonising her.

Truthfully, however, Padme's real fear of Anakin had come much later

, after her world ended. As a Rebel, she'd been afraid of what he'd do to her friends with his Imperial gang, terrified that he'd set his pet loose and laugh while it devoured everyone inside The Coruscant, staining the old wooden floor and carpets with their blood. And he was capable of it, Padme had seen it in his eyes the day Anakin brought her to The Empire, the desire, the lust for power… It consumed him more than the will to survive or to find peace. People were ruined in the birth of this world, she'd seen it herself, but not Anakin. His soul was born blackened and tarred, he was a creature of chaos long before the world died.

Did she still fear him? Padme lifted her heavy gaze from the table to watch as Rex laughed at something Anakin said and the world around her seemed to flicker slightly… They could have been friends catching up in a bar downtown, watching football and cracking jokes. Here inside the crumbling walls of his Empire, Anakin was light and peaceful, she saw nothing of the cutthroat and malevolent Imperial he portrayed outside. He was just a man… Just Anakin enjoying another day of survival while the calm lasted.

How could Padme be afraid of that?

The game went on for several laughter inducing rounds until somehow, Anakin, Kit and Rex managed to drain two large cups of vodka, the latter two becoming slightly worse for wear as the questions went on. Eventually, Padme made an excuse and escaped the booth despite slurred protests and hearty laughter. She'd had enough Imperial celebration for one night.

The climb to the Presidential suite was still as daunting as the first time she had made the climb with Anakin, and Padme's legs burned uncomfortably by the time she reached the doorway. She'd hoped that particular aspect of living in The Empire would have eased slightly by now, it wasn't a great feeling to be slightly winded every time you entered your room, after all.

It was late, midnight had long since passed over the New York skyline leaving the once iconic buildings cast in deep darkness for as far as Padme could see as she yawned and kicked off her boots before heading to the bedroom area of the suite. Part of her wished she was the kind of person who could stay downstairs with the others and celebrate until dawn but the truth was, even in the old world, she was a homebody. She enjoyed going out but she also enjoyed her peace and with the growing state she'd left Rex and Kit in down there, something told here there wouldn't be much peace tonight.

Fighting another yawn, she shimmied out of her jeans and laid them across the foot of the bed as thunderous footsteps burst into the room. At once, her fingers twitched for her guns – there was one in the bedside drawer beside her – or the knife she'd hidden beneath her pillow. Padme's entire body coiled tightly, stiff, tense and ready to attack should the need arise when, a moment later, Anakin stormed through the open doorway.

"Jesus!" She cried with a breathless laugh, the tension dissipating at once, "you scared me. What're you doing up here? I thought you'd be downstairs until – "

"I haven't stopped…" He shook his head and drew closer, gaze burning into hers, "All day I've been…" As the self-appointed leader of the Imperials stuttered and fumbled over his words, Padme glanced down at her pants and cringed. He couldn't have stalked into the room when she was fully dressed? Standing in front of the man who'd threatened her friends to get her here, her former bully, the Imperial who terrorised Rebels and weaponised a beast in a t-shirt and her underwear was an experience – in either world – she never thought she'd have. "Look, I – fuck it."

Anakin crossed the small space and his lips fell on hers without a moment of hesitation, as if he'd been burning to do this again since that moment in the garage earlier. Padme stiffened again, heart racing, and felt her mind spin… The earlier kiss had been mutual and encouraged by the fire of adrenaline after killing a small horde of beasts, it hadn't been something romantic or – or anything at all really… Had it?

Whatever it had been before, this was… Nice. His touch, his hands on her hips scorched her skin though something deep inside her yelled, protested and recoiled with screams of, wrong, wrong, wrong! This was wrong! She didn't want to listen. Maybe it was the wine or maybe this moment was her true initiation into the Imperials but Padme didn't want to think tonight… She wanted to feel, to experience his fire and feel consumed.

Life was for the living and she wanted to feel alive.

They fell onto the bed as her fingers threaded through Anakin's golden curls, pausing to tug harshly when he bit her lower lip and she delighted in his responding grunt. He parted their swollen lips and left them both panting to look down at her and a cold shiver trickled along Padme's spine. She had never quite seen that particular look in his eye before, the gleam of his azure gaze was always dark, intense and dangerous… But tonight he was tender and utterly possessive. It frightened her, truthfully, but she wanted this. For once in her life, she was willingly leaping into the unknown.

Slowly, he began kissing her throat but despite the tenderness in his gaze a moment ago there was nothing soft in Anakin's kisses, his passion burned brightly and something within her worried she'd be forever marked by it, altered, claimed…

Her fingers wandered up and down his broad back, feeling the ripple of his muscles beneath his flesh as he moved. He was so warm. Fire incarnate. Born for chaos. The only man alive who thrived in the new world. It was kill or be killed and Anakin was happy to pull the trigger. Padme grasped his shirt and tugged it up and over his head, dropping it on the carpeted floor to be forgotten.

His teeth grazed a sensitive spot somewhere between her neck and throat, sending a violent shudder across her flesh and a sudden pool of heat between her legs. It was tingly and unfamiliar and she needed to keep feeling that way. "Anakin," Padme breathed out his name in breathless encouragement and felt his body tense in her arms at the sound. Blinking her eyes open, his breath was warm on her mouth, his face hovering close to hers and on instinct, she tried to lean up and catch his lips but he was too heavy for her to move.

"Say it again," he murmured lowly, voice huskier than usual, his expression unreadable.

"Say what?" She shook her head, lost. Sliding her hand around his shoulder and neck, she brushed his hanging hair out of his face as tenderly as she could muster in the heat of the moment. "What are you talking about?"

"My name," Anakin practically growled, eyes black with want as he snatched her wrist and pinned it to the bed, "say it…"

Since her arrival at The Empire, it had been easy to forget just how terrifying Anakin Skywalker could be, he'd shown her a different side to himself, a casual, relaxed, and at times even sweet side, but tonight was not one of those times. He was fierce and demanding, his touch was rough and volatile and though it didn't quite hurt, there was something beyond passion hidden beneath which revealed itself in the way he spoke, the way he looked at her…

Padme wasn't sure if he was going to kiss her or kill her.

"Anakin…" She whispered, mouth dry, "Anakin…"

Suddenly, his mouth was on hers somehow more intensely than before, their tongues mingling as his hand moved over her chest, her stomach and down, down to brush between her legs over the thin, soft cotton of her panties and Padme's eyes snapped open, breath catching in her throat. She'd had boyfriends before, dates and crushes but their kissing had never been anything like this. She was still in college when the world changed – relationships hadn't been a priority then, it'd been all about achieving her degrees and earning prestigious internships for the experience. There were only so many hours in the day, after all… She had always put serious dating on the backburner, for after graduation.

"Say it again," Anakin demanded in a whisper and then bit the little mole where her neck met her shoulder. "Don't stop saying it." His wandering fingers brushed against her swollen, needy clit and she closed her eyes again, voice dying in her throat as he deliberately rubbed a small, careful circle against the sensitive bundle of nerves.

He did it again and Padme arched he hips up to meet his touch, whining his name. "Anakin…"

What small measure of control Anakin wielded, he lost, and he grasped at the thin – damp – material of her panties, giving a sharp tug and tearing them off her body, ripping the seams with an audible shredding sound. She had no time to think about it or about being the most naked she'd ever been with a man because his mouth was everywhere, on her lips, her ear, her neck, her throat and his breath was hot and heavy against her skin as something strained firmly against her thigh – he was hard, she realised with a blush.

Anakin pushed two fingers inside Padme as far as he could and circled her clit with his thumb, making her gasp and undulate beneath his touch, gasping and moaning while adjusting to the sensation. He pulled his fingers out slightly and carefully pushed them back into place again and again and again, building a slow and steady rhythm which left her gasping for more between breaths. It felt amazing… So, so good… She grasped his hair again, tugging the soft strands in her fingers for leverage and guided his head back up to take his lips.

If this was how it could be then why wasn't everyone doing this? Maybe they were and she just hadn't noticed…

Pulling her face back, Padme kept her forehead pressed against Anakin's and drank in his blue eyes, angular nose and plush lips… He really had grown up into a handsome man, hadn't he? There were almost no traces of the lanky teenaged boy she'd once known, no, he was a man now… Had she changed that much across the years? She didn't particularly think so.

Suddenly, Padme threw back her head as the pleasure grew and the walls of her sex tightened impossibly around his thrusting fingers. It became incredible and it was all she could do to remember to breathe through it. Anakin's thumb rubbed her clit faster, harder, amplifying everything she felt tenfold. She fisted his hair tighter as he quickened the pace of his fingers inside of her, increasing the pressure and slowly, every inch of her body began to tense.

"An- oh!" She gasped, "ah! Ohmygod…"

With one final, hard push of Anakin's fingers, Padme's entire body stiffened and the pleasure crested. She held her breath as the waves of pleasure crashed through her body emanating from her sex. Her head swam, able to focus only on the sharp peak of absolute bliss he sent through her, the inner muscles of her core clamping desperately around his fingers.

Her body shook and trembled and then, a moment later, the sharp edge began to fade taking every ounce of tension and feeling with it, leaving Padme loose, pliant and sleepy.

Wow…

That had… Happened…

Padme's mind reeled in the aftermath of pleasure and found herself caught somewhere between lust and shame. Without the distraction of pleasure, bring naked save for her t-shirt beneath a man she once hated made vulnerability creep into her consciousness as Anakin withdrew his fingers from her body. After a moment, he rolled off her body with a ragged sigh, running a hand through his mused hair.

Taking a deep breath, Padme steeled herself, after all, this encounter wasn't over yet. What she'd been given, she had to give back… Turnabout was fair play, yes? Honestly, she had no real idea what to do but she wanted to try anyway. The thought of touching him like that made her flush and heat grow between her legs all over again. It was as far as they could go physically… After all, sex risked pregnancy and access to birth control was scarce at best. It was too dangerous. To get pregnant all but guaranteed death for a woman in this world… No medical care, no midwives, limited mobility… All that meant death.

Bringing a child into this cruel world was selfish, it was stupid and Padme couldn't take the risk. She wouldn't.

Which left them with limited options to progress matters here.

Forcing herself to take one last calming breath, she pushed away her overactive brain and nervousness and focussed on the remaining embers of her lust. She straddled his waist and slid her palms down his warm skin, from his shoulder and along the length of his chest until they met the coarse, worn denim of his dark jeans. "Padme," his voice was rough and deep, "you don't – I don't – "

Ignoring him, her fingers moved straight to the tarnished button and zipper of his pants, tugging them loose and down so it was easy to push the denim and soft material of his boxers down enough to free Anakin's straining erection. She could do this, she could do this…

She wrapped her hand around his cock and Anakin groaned, arching into the touch desperately. Padme tried to recall the more erotic moments from books she'd enjoyed in the past and giggling conversations she'd had with her friends about their experiences… But her memories were muddled and vague so she decided that much like everything else in the new world, she would learn from experience.

Her thumb swiping across the tip of his cock made Anakin whine, a sound that she would never imagined he was capable of before, and it was so endearing that Padme couldn't help but lean forward and kiss the spot beneath his earlobe, feeling his pulse race excitedly. Slowly, experimentally, she began to move her hand up and down the velvety skin of his length, noting the contrast between the hard flesh and the softness of it.

She needed to do more if she wanted to bring Anakin to the same heights of pleasure he gave her… So, she shuffled down his body until she found herself eye level with his cock… That was certainly new… He leaned up on his elbows, watching her curiously as her tongue darted out to wet her lips. She would have been lying if she said she knew exactly what to do, what little knowledge she did have came from steamy romance novels and drunken titbits from her friends. So, when she hollowed out her cheeks and took him into her mouth, Padme was improvising.

Anakin seemed to have no complaints about her lack of experience, however, as he moaned, hips bucking as she moved her head up and down his shaft. Glancing up at him, Padme's eyebrows rose to see how loose he seemed, head thrown back and mouth slackened… To see the infamous Imperial leader so pliant was a little jarring but she enjoyed unearthing yet another new side to this man.

She focussed on using both her mouth and tongue at once which left Anakin hissing her name, grasping at the bedsheet and rutting his hips upwards to meet her mouth. The sudden movement made her gag but she forced a harsh breath through her nose and ran her fingers over his hips in a silent warning.

"Shit," he gasped, "sorry – sorry, I… Fuck, I'm gonna – "

It was all the warning Padme received before Anakin's head fell back with a long, pleasured groan and a burst of bitter, wet, warmth filled her mouth. While not exactly a pleasant taste, it was far from the worst thing she'd ever sampled, definitely worth enduring to give him a taste of the pleasure that he had given her.

Silence fell over the bedroom broken only by Anakin's breathless pants as he began to piece himself back together in the aftermath of what happened. Padme glanced around the room as he sat up and began unlacing his boots. What happened now? Was this a one-time thing? Her mind reeled with questions and scenarios and half-baked things to say now the heat between them had faded.

He shucked off his jeans and adjusted his underwear before falling back onto the bed with a long, tired sigh. "Stop thinking."

Blinking, Padme frowned, feeling jolted. "What – what do you mean?"

"You look like you're about to send yourself into a spiral. Don't do it. This was… It was for us. That's all there is to it, okay?" Anakin pushed back the thick, warm blanket and held out his hand, an offering, though of what Padme wasn't exactly sure… Peace? Maybe. Himself? She wasn't sure what to think about that. Although, Anakin was right about something – the admission, despite everything, was bitter to admit – she was thinking about it too much.

Whatever this is, let yourself have it. Just for tonight.

Nodding silently, Padme laced her fingers through his and climbed between the sheets to be embraced into the warmth of Anakin's body, the events of today finally taking their toll as she laid her head on his chest. Yes, she could have this moment under the cover of night, up here at the top of the world in The Empire. Just Padme and Anakin, not the Imperial leader and the Rebel deserter… When they were normal people in a normal bed pretending for a moment to exist in a world not overrun by monsters, laying in his arms didn't seem so terrible…

As her eyes began to drift closed, lulled by the beat of Anakin's heart, Padme decided it was actually just a little bit wonderful.

A/N: The next chapter is a doozy! Prepare yourself.