"I am very sensible, madam, of the hardship to my fair cousins, and could say much on the subject, but that I am cautious of appearing forward and precipitate. But I can assure the young ladies that I come prepared to admire them. At present I will not say more; but, perhaps, when we are better acquainted—" Mr. Collins to Mr. Bennet, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

Chapter 10: "He's Not My Boyfriend!"

Contrary to the Masters' wishes and hopes, Anakin and Padmé did not speak a single word to each other during their entire trip to Naboo. In fact, for that entire day, Padmé stayed in her cabin while Anakin brooded in the cockpit. When they landed, Padmé strode off the ship with out so much as looking at him, silently demanding that he carry all her luggage.

It wasn't until they were nearing her parent's house that Padmé whipped around and angrily told Anakin, "Please do not do anything to embarrass me and, whatever you do, do not give my family even the slightest impression that we're dating."

Had she not huffed and strode up the lane without him, Padmé would have heard him mumble, "Us, in a relationship? I'd soon as kiss a Wookie."

Her sour mood was only brightened by the appearance of two familiar faces. "Auntie Padmé!" Ryoo and Pooja, her two nieces, screamed. In mere moments, they had flung their small arms about the aunt and kissed her as they all laughed.

Unsure as to what he should do, Anakin nervously stopped and momentarily rested the luggage on the ground, but Padmé pretended to not notice him.

"My, it is good to see you both!" Padmé exclaimed as both girls sent Anakin shy looks. Quickly, she grabbed ahold of their hands and led them up to the elegant house.

"Mother! Auntie Padmé is here!" Ryoo cried out, setting them at such a pace that Anakin, with his heavy burdens, struggled to keep up.

Soon, they reached the interior of the house and, while Padmé took turns hugging the members of her family, Anakin silently waited for her to acknowledge his presence.

"I am so glad you could come see us!" Sola exclaimed as she pulled away from Padmé. Then, her eyes flickered to Anakin and instantly her face lit up even more. "And who is this handsome young fellow you've brought home with you?" she teased, causing Padmé to go a bright red.

Meanwhile, Ruwee was already enthusiastically shaking what he thought was to soon be his son-in-law. Jobal warmly hugged the wide-eyed Anakin while Darred just smiled at the Jedi, his firm hands on his daughter's shoulders.

"This is Master Skywalker," Padmé said through pursed lips, giving Anakin a hard look. It was only then that she realized that her family was oblivious to the animosity between her and her guest.

"It is good to meet you, Master Skywalker," Jobal said warmly, eagerly embracing him again before beaming at Padmé. "It is not often that my daughter brings home a boyfriend to meet."

Though it appeared that he was biting his lip so as to not make a quip about Jobal's comment, Anakin swallowed and instead said, "Please, call me Anakin."

This made Jobal smile even wider as she led him by the arm into the dining room where she sat him down at the table. In a few moments, everyone, including a fuming Padmé, sat around him.

When everyone had become quiet, Ruwee started graces as they all held hands, including the stiff Anakin and Padmé. "Dear Creator," he said slowly, "thank you for the wonderful bounty that has been laid before us and the blessing of having so many love ones near. Thank you for sending a kind and honorable man for my Padmé…"

"Father!" Anakin cried out in shock, even more miffed when Anakin suddenly gripped her hand more tightly.

"And forgive yet another one of her womanly outbursts," he concluded, leaving the room awkwardly silent for a few moments as everyone pondered his words.

Finally, it was Anakin who, while reaching for his goblet to hide the fact that he was grinning, said with a sly look at the embarrassed Padmé, "Is your daughter prone to such… outbursts?"

In an action that she knew she'd regret, Padmé grabbed his real hand and dug her nails into his hard flesh. Much to her horror, he did not do so much as blink, but, with a mischievous look on his face, brushed his thumb against her hand. With a smirk on his face, he allowed her to pull her hands back into her lap.

Ruwee nodded but was soon cut off by Sola.

"So, where did you two meet?" she asked sweetly, obviously approving of the handsome Jedi who sat across from her.

"Actually, she's a pupil of mine and we met…"

"On the first day of classes," she said hastily, only to well remembering their first encounter.

"Oh, how sweet Ruwee," Jobal exclaimed, lovingly squeezing her husband's free hand. "They're even finishing each other's sentences!"

Glowering at their plates, Anakin and Padmé became silent.

"And what do you teach my daughter?" Ruwee asked.

Swallowing his bite of food, Anakin replied, "Piloting."

"My Padmé is an exceptional pilot, is she not?"

"Ah…" Anakin said hesitantly.

"Master Skywalker is such a kind and patient teacher that he has personally requested that I have additional lessons," Padmé lied, an innocent look on her face. She ignored Anakin when he snorted slightly.

"They allow you to be alone with her like that?" Ruwee asked dubiously, obviously not sure if he liked where this was going. "Especially with you two being in a relationship, how do they know that you aren't…"

"Father!" Padmé cried out tersely. "Master Skywalker and I are not in a relationship- as a matter of fact, I am his least favorite pupil." Triumphant, she flashed a quick smile at the startled Anakin.

Everyone gaped at the fidgeting Anakin.

"I think the title of 'least favorite student' belongs to another," Anakin said dryly.

Immediately, all of her family's faces fell as they started to look at him in an unfavorable light. Both Sola and Jobal disappointedly sat back in their seats.

Then, the door chimed.

"Don't answer it," Anakin seemingly blurt out of nowhere, causing everyone to jump in surprise.

Flashing him a sardonic grin, Padmé rushed to the door.

And soon wished she hadn't.

"My dear Padmé," a familiar voice greeted her from within the shadows. "When I heard that you had left the planet, I felt the utmost urgency to see that you had safely arrived." Stepping forward, Palo bowed and attempted to kiss her hand but she quickly pulled it away before he could do so.

Suddenly, she heard familiar laughter from within the dining room.

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The Kitchen, Hours Later

Later that night while it rained, the women gathered in the kitchen for a cup of hot decaf while they gossiped.

"And then Darred…" Sola started to say but stopped because she was giggling to hard.

"That will be enough from you," Jobal reprimanded lightly though she dearly loved seeing her two daughter's laughing together.

Sitting at the table with her robed knees tucked against her chest, Padmé slowly sipped on the contents of her mug.

"Well, you certainly surprised us today, my dear," Jobal said, tucking a loose curl behind Padmé's ear. "First Anakin and now Palo…"

Groaning, Padmé slammed her mug down on the wooden table.

"Shouldn't you be entertaining your guests?" Sola asked her mischievously, only stopping when she realized that Padmé was seriously considering pouring her hot drink on her.

"Palo is still probably complimenting father on the 'fine' curtains we have," Padmé said darkly. "Did you hear how he went on and on about your cooking?"

"At least his comments were more kindly meant than your other companion's," Jobal reminded her though she wrinkled her nose. "I must admit I do not look forward to entertaining them at my dinner table for many more meals."

In the next moment, all three women jumped as the kitchen door burst open to reveal a soaked Anakin. Water rolled off of his clothes and matted hair as he stood there shaking from the cold. His skin was abnormally pale and his blue eyes made a startling contrast to his seemingly haunted form.

"Anakin!" Padmé gasped, jumping to her feet.

In a moment, with the help of her mother and sister, she had pulled away his wet cloak and wrapped him up in a towel.

"Whatever were you doing out there in a night like this?" Sola admonished.

"I… I… had to… see someone," he said through chattering teeth as Padmé hastily rubbed his nearly frozen fingers.

It took all three of them to get Anakin up to the guest room and settled in bed. Seeing as her companions were reluctant to tend to their guest, Padmé sighed and sat down on the bed next to the motionless Anakin.

As she did so, Padmé realized, that despite his being warmed up, Anakin looked sick- not sick physically but at heart.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked quietly.

In response, he only turned his head away from her and closed his eyes, his long eyelashes brushing against his bronzed skin.

Biting her lip, Padmé just sat there for a few moments but, after running out of the room for a few minutes returned and sat back down with a huge wooden box in her hands.

Anakin still refused to look at her.

"This is my memory box," she said softly, more to her herself than to him. Gently, she unlocked it with a golden key that had been strung onto a piece of pink silk. "Childhood memories… a few remembrances from the times I was too busy to enjoy life."

He was awake- that she could tell by the tensing of the muscles in his cheek- and the thought that he was ignoring her angered Padmé.

"I kept everything I wanted to remember in here," she said, fondly smiling down upon the mementoes of her past life. "But sometimes… sometimes doing what is best for another requires us to sacrifice the more pleasant moments and memories of our life."

From within the box, she carefully picked out a few holopics and laid them down on the bed next to him. "You have a greater need for these than I do," she said quietly as she stood up. A little bit of time went by as she sadly watched the suffering man as she clutched the box to her chest.

Seeing that he was not going to move, Padmé lowered the light and crept out of the room, shutting the door behind herself.

Thirty minutes later, the young man rolled over and, shakily turning on the light, feasted on the face of his lost beloved.
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Spoiler for the next chapter: The Devil Wears Combat Boots (While waiting to enter into the ballroom, Padmé makes a horrifying discovery.)

Next to her, Anakin had noticed her distraction and quietly asked, "Are you looking for someone?"

Tightening her jaw, she nevertheless flashed him an overly-friendly smile that even he could probably see through. "I am," Padmé conceded.

"If you are looking for a Mr. Ferus Olin, you won't be finding him here."

While praying that Sabé would remember to talk with Obi-Wan about the secret Ferus had confided in her, Padmé pretended to be uninterested. "Why?"

"He was sent to the Outer Rim yesterday on a mission that I wish I could tell you is important but…"

This time she could not conceal her feelings. "But I just spoke with him yesterday and he assured me he'd be coming…"

Calculating blue eyes looked into her brown ones. "I guess it was unfortunate timing, then. He should have known better than to commit himself to something he might not be able to follow through with," Anakin shrugged, not seeming the slightest bit disappointed by the missing presence.

It was then that the truth hit her. "You intentionally sent him away!"