It was near dawn by the time the couple made their way back up to the palace. Padmé thrilled in the warmth of the hand holding hers and the warmth and smell of the Jedi robe that had been graciously placed about her shoulders. They walked in silence, and one that she discovered she was grateful for. What she wanted to say would probably ruin the entire evening.
Was he leaving in the morning? Would she ever see him again?
He had made it quite clear to Captain Panaka yesterday that he wished for his ship to be ready to leave immediately following the parade earlier that morning. She was actually curious as to why he had chosen to spend the rest of the celebration here, but was secretly hoping that she had been the reason.
He's a Jedi. She reminded herself silently as they walked up the back stairs. What did you expect, a marriage proposal?
She scoffed at her own foolishness as it struck her, that as ridiculous as that sounded, that was exactly what she wanted, and the last thing she expected.
It was either the excitement of the celebration, or what she had eaten earlier, or possibly even the lack of eating anything recently, but something had gone to her head and she discovered she wasn't thinking clearly any more.
But one thing was clear. She didn't want him to leave, and be it the next morning, afternoon, or two days from now, she knew he would.
Obi-Wan's thumb caressed the hand that he held as they walked, his thoughts traced with worry. It had been the most wonderful day of his time spent here by far. Would he ever be able to repeat it? How could he? It had been totally spontaneous. He had made no plans, didn't set out to woo her or win her. It had just…happened. Would it happen again?
He wasn't sure. He would simply have to trust the Force, and spend a whole lot of time in contemplative meditation over the next day or so.
But even if he was never blessed with another day like today, he would carry the memories of this one in his heart forever, no matter where the Force led him, although he sincerely hoped that the Force would decide to lead him back to Padmé.
They approached her private suite and she turned to offer him back his robe.
"Thank you." She said sweetly, meeting his gaze while she yawned, immediately covering her mouth with her hand.
"You're welcome, Padmé." He answered back, enjoying watching her blush, either from the yawn, or the fact that it was the first time he had used her name all evening.
They stared at one another, the silence now approaching awkward until Obi-Wan finally spoke. "Get some rest. I'll see you in a few hours."
A hopeful expression appeared on the young woman's face and she struggled to conceal the excitement in her voice. "Will you?"
"Of course." Obi-Wan stated confidently as if there was no question about it.
Instead of confident though, Padmé was confused. "But," she stammered, "But I thought you told Captain Panaka you wished to leave immediately."
Obi-Wan sighed with understanding. That's right. To him, that conversation seemed like a lifetime ago, but to Padmé, it was only a day.
He could explain, but what was the point? He would just have to do it again tomorrow, and the next day after that.
And another thing he didn't see the point in doing was pretending on saying goodbye.
So, he decided to convince her she would see him again and take comfort in the fact that the news appeared to please her.
"I decided to stay a while, if that's okay with you." He said with another teasing grin, which Padmé reflected back.
"I'll have to check with the queen first."
Obi-Wan laughed softly, satisfied with his explanation and her response and turned to walk away, but was halted by her soft voice.
"Aren't you going to kiss me?"
The surprising request stopped him in his tracks and he spun around slowly to see the longing expression in her eyes. The words, 'Absolutely. I've been dying to all day' dissolved on his tongue, his mind going a complete blank as he eliminated the distance between them, all his thoughtsfocused on the lush pink lips that parted in anticipation before him.
Placing a featherlight touchof lips upon the soft swell of her mouth, he watched as her eyelids fluttered shut. Obi-Wan kept his eyes open. He wasn't about to miss this, and he was also afraid that she would vanish and he would awaken to the sounds of his chronometer alarm blaring and the parade preparations once again occurring outside.
Her small hands were braced on his arms as he cupped her face tenderly, stroking his trembling thumbs along the smooth contours of her cheeks and jaw, his mouth moving gently across hers. Pulling back slightly, he could hear the quiet chatter of her teeth.
"Are you still cold?"
"N..no." She stuttered, her small body shaking against him as she let her head fall heavily against his chest.
He smiled, understanding full well what was wrong with her. His own knees were threatening to collapse themselves.
Obi-Wan wrapped her in a warm and supportive embrace, placing several kisses upon the sweet-smelling crown of her hair. Their bodies rocked back and forth gently together for several moments until he could feel their trembling beginning to decrease. Upon withdrawing from the embrace, he touched again upon her receptive mouth and hesitantly backed away.
"I'll see you later." He reassured her.
"I hope so." Padmé answered back as she stole through her doorway.
Obi-Wan watched as her door slid shut, speaking against its cold, hard surface. "Force, I hope so too."