"Padmé, open this door!" Anakin yelled while he wriggled the door handle roughly.
"No!" Padmé yelled. The sound was muffled slightly behind the closed door, but Anakin could still hear her.
"Padmé!" Anakin growled. He did not understand why she had made this a big deal. They had not had an argument since before they were married and he was beginning to remember how much he hated fighting with her.
"Go away!"
"Padmé, we sleep in the same bedroom." Anakin said with exasperation.
"Not tonight, we don't."
Anakin's eyes widened in shock at this statement and his anger grew. Then he glowered at the door that was blocking his entry to the bedchamber. He shook the door handle one more time before raising his right hand to wave in front of it. However, he was stopped from his action when Padmé yelled, "If you use the Force to unlock this door, you will regret it!"
Anakin dropped his hand and growled in frustration. He was just about to yell at her again when he heard a sound coming from behind the door. It was a soft weeping sound that made his heart shatter. His angel was upset and all he had done was yell at her. Approaching the door again he softened his tone as he called out, "Padmé."
"Go away!" She yelled once more before starting to cry again.
"Padmé, please. We need to talk." Anakin pleaded.
There was no sound except for Padmé's continued weeping.
"I am sorry I yelled, please let me in." Anakin pleaded again, but to no avail. Padmé would not unlock the door. Anakin sighed resignedly as he gazed forlornly at the door. "Look, I'm going around the other side of the house. I'll be downstairs in the main sitting room if you need me." Anakin stated. Just before he turned to climb down the balcony, he said, "I love you, my angel."
Sidious's Force presence felt great contentment at the anger and hurt that Anakin and Padmé were projecting towards one another. He had not done anything to them yet and they were causing each other pain on their own. He chuckled merrily as he watched the normally calm and levelheaded Senator lose her temper over something rather trivial.
Sidious found it highly amusing that the two of them could get so upset over a simple conversation when soon they would face even greater heartache. The young couple was unaware of it, but they had started the process for Sidious to put his plan into motion.
Feeling that the fight was over and the anguish would soon end, Sidious left his vigil of the young couple. In a few days they would return to Coruscant, and he would be sure that he was ready for them.
"Master Anakin, what... what are you doing here? I thought you were upstairs with Miss Padmé?" C3P0 stated as he opened the front door to let Anakin back into the house.
Anakin glanced over the shoulder of the golden droid and up the stairs that led to the room Padmé had locked herself into. He used the Force to check on her and although she seemed safe, he could feel her sorrow. Anakin's heart constricted because he had hurt his angel once again. He had not meant to, but apparently he should have been more careful with what he said. Ignoring C3P0, Anakin sidestepped into the sitting room and collapsed on a nearby sofa holding his head in his hands.
"Oh dear, is something wrong Master Anakin?" C3P0 called to him.
Anakin just shook his head and lifted it to look at the protocol droid, "No 3P0, Padmé just needs some time alone."
"Oh, well is there anything that you need?"
"No, I'm fine." Anakin said in a soft and sorrowful tone. Then wanting to be alone himself he stated, "Why don't you find R2 and the two of you can shutdown for the evening. You both have had a busy day. Tell him that I said thank you to both of you for all your hard work." Anakin then turned away from the droid and spread himself across the sofa so that he could lie down and think of a way to apologize to Padmé.
"Thank you, Master Anakin, I will tell him. Good night." The golden droid called back and then left for another part of the house.
A few hours later, clad in a blue shimmersilk nightgown, Padmé emerged from the bedroom and quietly made her way down the stairs. Her eyes were red and swollen and lingering tears shone on her face from the moonlight that was shining into the windows of the retreat.
Now that she had been alone for a while, she knew that she had been wrong and harsh to Anakin. He had only been making a suggestion and she had yelled at him for no reason. Worst of all she had locked him out of their room even after she had heard the sorrowful pleading tone he had taken with her. She had hurt him, and she feared how he would feel about her now.
When Padmé reached the bottom of the stairs she peered into the sitting room to look for Anakin. Her heart sank when she did not see him immediately. However, her fears were laid to rest when she walked into the room and noticed that he was lying on the sofa, asleep. He had pulled off his gauzy shirt and laid it on the floor beside the sofa.
Padmé frowned that she had made him sleep on the uncomfortable sofa. It was too small for him to completely stretch out and his feet were hanging off the end of one of the armrests. He also had his left arm resting over his eyes to shield them from the moonlight that was entering the room from a large window in front of him.
Not wanting to startle him, Padmé softly padded over to him and knelt down on the floor beside the sofa. She gently placed her left hand on Anakin's bare chest that was steadily rising and falling with his breathing before softly calling, "Anakin."
"Hmmm." Anakin mumbled half asleep.
"Anakin, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I do not know what I was thinking." Padmé said before she began to weep again her hand trailing down Anakin's chest and abdomen before she withdrew it to her side.
Anakin woke up to see Padmé on the floor beside him and saw the tears running down her beautiful face. He sat up slightly as he gently lifted Padmé's chin with his left hand. He smiled down at her and brushed away her tears with his thumb before speaking, "Shh, my love. It is all right. I am sorry I offended you."
"No." Padmé stated. "You did nothing wrong, you are right. I probably should resign."
Anakin pulled Padmé up onto the couch so that she was seated next to him and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Padmé hid her face in his chest, as he said, "No you don't. I know this is important to you. I can stop being a Jedi just as easily and take care of our child."
"No!" Padmé said her head shooting up so that she could look Anakin in the eyes. "The Republic needs you. I cannot ask you to give that up."
Anakin sighed as he gazed down at Padmé; it pained him that her chocolate eyes were red and swollen. He noticed she was getting a little teary eyed again and spoke soothingly to calm her down. "We will think of something, my love. We still have time. Don't cry."
At this, Padmé pressed her lips fiercely against Anakin's. She pulled back for a second to murmur, "I'm sorry," before crashing her mouth against his and probing it with her tongue. Anakin obliged her and opened his mouth so that their tongues could meld together in a passionate kiss.
"I love you." Anakin said breathlessly as he pulled away from the kiss. He was trailing the fingers of his left hand through Padmé's hair.
"I love you too." Padmé said running her fingers over Anakin's pectorals. "Come upstairs with me."
Without saying a word, Anakin gathered Padmé into his arms and carried her upstairs to their bedroom.
