Disclaimer: This story includes excerpts of the movie Star Wars. The characters and idea of Star Wars is property of George Lucas. I'm borrowing the characters as respectfully as possible, simply to entertain myself and anyone willing to read this fanfiction.
AN; I almost wrote this entire thing today, and I'm so exited and proud of it that I didn't want to keep it from you any longer then necessary. Be warned though, not beta'ed, so mistakes can be present. I wrote this to relieve the Ani-Ami tension and get back to the Obidala I intend this to be. I hope everybody can be convinced by these two chapters. I wrote them straight from my mind and heart, and decided not to let it lie for a while and look at it critically again. Hopefully I haven't made some strange, unexplainable and inplausible turns. Enjoy, I know I did. X, Mu-san

Peace of Heart

Revelations part 1

Padme took one last look at herself in the mirror. She had changed out of her black dress and put on one of her white silk nightgowns. Over it she wore her favourite dark brown morning gown. She had let her hair out of the long braid she had done for dinner and simply tied it back with a satin band. Almost all of her make-up was gone, only a little foundation to hide the weariness under her eyes. She would not let Obi-wan see the effect his apprentice had on her this evening. In fact, she was determined to spend the rest of the evening solely with Obi-wan and not mention anything about Anakin. She needed to forget out him, even if it could only be for tonight.

Approving of her look she walked out of her room and headed towards the main hall of the mansion. Just outside Obi-wan would be arriving soon and she wanted to meet him in person. She was about to sit down on one of the small benches on the side of the hall when her left hand was captured from behind. A cold shock went through her at the sudden unexpected touch and she felt her shoulders tense. Quickly she turned her head to see who had stopped her. When her eyes met Anakin's blue ones she swallowed a little painfully.

"Anakin…"

Again the look in his eyes was a mixture of several emotions and she found it hard to read.

"Padme, please. I just want to apologize for my outburst earlier. You were right, I misbehaved and for that I am sorry. I didn't mean to speak out like that."

His apology was something she would gladly accept, but a nagging feeling of doubt was still lingering in her mind.

"Apology accepted," she said in the straightest voice she could manage.

He smiled. "Thank you."

Her natural response was to smile as well but found herself incapable of doing so when she noticed he was still holding her hand. And as before his hands were still cold. She pried her hand out of his and silently sighed with relief as she put it into one of the pockets of her robe. Even though his hand had only held hers for a short moment her fingers felt cold and she welcomed the warmth of her robe. She sat down on the bench feeling the slightly chilly cushion under her.

"I'm glad you can forgive me."

Anakin kept standing next to her. She knew she could not send him away as he of course was here to greet his master, but a part of her wished she could. Selfish maybe, but she wanted to have Obi-wan to herself this night. Her naughty side grinned at her phrasing, but swiftly locked it up in one of the iron cages her mind was holding right now. A minute passed in silence before she was surprised by Anakin's voice.

"Have you ever been in love?"

She felt her cheeks warm up and she decidedly kept looking straight at the exit instead of his face. She swallowed again.

"I thought we already talked about this."

Anakin made a strange sound, something between a huff and a scold, but very quietly. "No, that was about your first kiss."

"Well, even if I was a little young, I did love him…"

She wasn't really uncomfortable with sharing that particular bit of information. And to her it was true, although she did grow out of it quickly afterwards. But she had loved Paulo.

"But did you love him so much that you couldn't bear to be away from him, that you could see him in your dreams?"

Her body tensed up again when she realized the direction he was pulling this conversation into. No, no, no, not again, she thought. Frantically she sought a way out.

"Maybe"

"I think that love is one of the greatest things in the universe, besides the Force. And it can overcome all obstacles…"

Padme focused her gaze more intensely on the doors, resisting Anakin's silent pleas for her to respond to his words. Funny enough, she was agreeing with him. But to her love was the greatest force in the galaxy, not the Force. She might be a bit biased, being a non Force sensitive and all, but it was the truth to her.

She jumped out of her skin and off the bench when his cold hand made contact with the exposed skin of her neck. Immediately her head snapped around and she made eye contact with Anakin. He was standing there, a somewhat pained expression in his eyes and his hand still hovering in the air.

"Anakin, don't!" she breathed.

He took a step forward and straight away she felt the air thicken with his emotions again. It felt…suffocating. She took half a step backwards.

"Padme, please, listen to me…"

"No, Anakin. I have said everything I needed to, this conversation is over."

Slowly he dropped his hand but his eyes were still searching hers. She doubled her focus and glared at him, hoping he could take the hint this time. To her great relief he sighed, turned around and walked away. When he turned around a corner and she couldn't see him anymore she sank back down on the bench. She placed a hand on her chest over her heart as she tried to control her sudden short breathing. Just like after their last 'discussion' she felt exhausted. She had a small urge to start crying but swiftly squelched it. There was no way she would shed tears over this, over him. She would not allow him to rock her composure so much she would turn into a weak little woman.

She jumped again when she heard the noise of a boat outside. Her heart, already beating a slightly elevated beat, started beating madly all of a sudden. Her throat constricted and she sucked in a deep breath. Without realizing it she stood up and was moving towards the door. The hall suddenly seemed like miles long and her feet felt like lead. She saw the door open and a very familiar brown cloak appeared. She increased her pace. He threw back the hood of his robe and he gently turned his head in her direction. Even from a distance she could see a twinkle emerging in his eyes. She broke into a run.

"Milady, I'm glad—"

She effectively stopped his words as she flung herself into his arms. She immediately buried her face into his shoulder and grabbed his neck firmly with both her arms. Due to her momentum he stumbled back a step but he managed to keep his balance and them upright. Under his robes she could feel his muscles briefly flex to manage this feat and fleetingly she was impressed by his hidden physical strength. Almost casually she also noticed his robes were damp and cold. Had it been raining outside? She honestly couldn't remember.

He held her close for a moment before gently laying his hands on her waist and push her back a little. "Padme, are you alright? Is something wrong?"

She smiled a weak but completely honest smile at him. "No, everything is fine now."

- ∞ -

'Force she feels and smells good.'

Obi-wan had been stunned for a split second when a certain senator had flung herself at him, but he had quickly recovered thanks to his life long training. And now they were steady and balanced he allowed his senses to completely take in the woman he had been worried about. Already he was forming questions as to why she had practically tried to floor him just now, but they could wait. For now he was glad to find her alive and well. Not to mention wrapped in his arms again. He would not admit it to her, but it felt very good to him. Dangerously good even…

He gently pushed her away and looked at her face. She was wearing almost no make-up and he could see her natural beauty, giving her a soft glow in his opinion. He could also see the dark lines under her eyes even though she had expertly covered them up. It increased his concern and he knew something was wrong. Question was if she was willing to tell him.

"Padme, are you alright? Is something wrong?"

She locked gazes with him and his heart grew light when he saw a spark of life in her eyes. Her warm, rich brown eyes softly melted his initial worries. "No, everything is fine now."

Obi-wan took another moment to search her eyes for any dishonesty. He didn't use the Force for this, as he had promised her so many years ago. But he found he didn't have to at all. Her eyes seemed like emotional datapads to him, ones he could easily read. Right now she was feeling overjoyed he was here, something that caused his insides to briefly jump in joy, but there was an underlying pain. Obi-wan slid his right arm under her left and with a soft pull they started walking down the hall. He would find out what she was feeling the moment she would decide to share it with him. Besides, he smelled a delicious odor coming from what he assumed was the direction to the kitchen. The food on Kamino had been unsatisfactory to say the least and he was famished.

- ∞ -

She watched with amusement as Obi-wan literally devoured his plate. She could remember Qui-gon making an offhand remark about Obi-wan's hunger when they were on Tatooine, but seeing it in person made her smile. Between bites he finally managed to look up and see her. He swallowed.

"What?"

Her smile grew a little wider. "Nothing"

He looked confused for a split second before her shrugged and went back to his food. She was more then happy to sit and watch him while he ate. There was no need for conversation now, that would come later. Padme was still indecisive about telling Obi-wan what had happened between her and Anakin. On the one hand he deserved to know, but on the other hand she didn't want to cause more tension between master and apprentice. Besides, it was her problem and her responsibility to take care of it, not Obi-wan's.

When he finished he sat back and sighed happily. "That really hit the spot."

She stood up from her chair and walked over to him. Grabbing his arm she pulled him up and away, leading him to the sitting room. But when they entered the room she froze and Obi-wan lightly bumped into her. She cursed internally for not thinking of this earlier.

"Padme? What's wrong?"

She turned on her heels and put her hands on his chest. With a fake smile she started pushing back. "I…I just forgot, I eh…this room is…going to be cleaned now. Jalné has really strange cleaning habits."

Obi-wan gave her a strange look. "O...kaay. So where can we sit?"

- ∞ -