"I'm leaving the Jedi order."
Seeing Padme's long lashes batting in astonishment at him, Anakin realized his statement needed a little precision. "Relax, I'm not going to leave now, not when we're still in the middle of the war." he chuckled, amused by his friend's reaction.
"So you've finally made up your mind about it then?" she asked, a gentle smile on her lips.
Nodding, Anakin allowed a relaxed sigh to slip past his lips and leaned back in the comfortable purple sofa of Padme's quarters.
"Once the war is over, I want to take Obi-Wan and leave. I want to find a place where we could make a home of our own and live the rest of our lives together. Who knows we might go on Naboo, nice green areas, water, and no sand. " he said, winking at her.
Anakin felt the tease come before the brunette even opened her mouth.
"Aw, Ani, being in love makes you so soft." she chuckled, playfully poking him in the ribs.
Snorting, he then tickled her in revenge, enjoying how the sound of their laughter resonated in the room. Padme had a knack for helping him relax, it felt so easy to fall back into being carefree, even if it was only for a few stolen moments.
"But more seriously, Ani, I'm really happy you both found-" staring at the shift in his expression, Padme stopped, tilting her head on the side. "What is it?"
Nervously rubbing the back of his neck, Anakin felt a little silly. "I sort of haven't talked to him about it yet?"
The way Padme's finely brushed eyebrows rose up was almost comical but the young Jedi felt too embarrassed to laugh about it.
"What do you mean you haven't talked to him about it? Ani, if you want Obi-Wan to leave the Jedi and build a home with you, you need to talk to him."
Grunting in frustration Anakin hid his face in his hands. "I know, Padme, I know and I did try, several times… but I always backed down at the last moment." He paused. "What am I supposed to say? Hey, honey, do you want to drop the Order who have been what you have known and worked for most of your life to go live a boring life with me, the kid you spent years on trying to make a good Jedi?"
Gently uncovering his face, Padme took hold of his hands in a warm and steady grip. Anakin could feel her determined brown gaze on him and reluctantly turned to face her.
"Ani, you're not his Padawan anymore, you're both adults and if Obi-Wan doesn't want to leave the Jedi, yes, you're going to need to find a compromise but you will find a way to make it work. And how can you know if you don't ask him?"
Exhaling, she took a tone softer than before and offered him a smile. "There are very few things I'm certain of in lately, the war makes you question a lot of things. But, Ani, if there is one thing I can tell you without the shadow of a doubt, it's that Obi-Wan loves you. So give it a shot, you both deserve to be happy."
She then made him swear that he would talk to Obi-Wan when the redhead came back to the Temple, and once she managed to coax the promise out of him, laid back against the purple sofa, quite pleased with herself.
The food Padme had ordered for them arrived a little while after and, she studied her friend as they ate, a nostalgic smile to tugging at her lips. Her little Ani had changed so much.
She realized Anakin must have noticed her staring when he quirked an eyebrow in her direction, curiosity shining his blue eyes.
"What? Is there something on my face?" he worried and Padme chuckled.
"No, Ani, I was just thinking how much you changed since we met. You're all grown up now, soon you and your man will get off this planet for good and get married." she teased with a playful wink.
He chuckled and was about to speak when his comm beeped. Grasping the device, he groaned, annoyed that he couldn't spend some time with his friend in peace.
His irritation immediately turned to worry when he saw who sent him the message.
Hastily opening it, he read it, eyes roaming over the words several times without processing the information.
Vaguely aware that Padme anxiously called his name he didn't resist when she took the comm out of his hand to see what could have triggered his reaction. A gasp escaped her as she read and the noise pushed him back in motion.
Retrieving his comm from Padme's hands, he noticed how his hands trembled and forced himself to get a grip. He could wonder if the universe hated him on the way there.
Reassurances stumbled out of Padme's lips but as much as Anakin appreciated his friend's effort to keep him grounded, he knew they held no truth. The center of his world had been taken away from him, nothing would be right until he found him.
Brushing his lips against Padme's forehead, he then left her quarters, heart pounding in his chest.
Barking orders through his comm device the moment the door closed behind him, he hurriedly made his way to the hangar, paying no mind to the fact people all but ran out of his path.
Rex and the rest of the 501st were ready when he arrived and he thanked the Force for his unit. Updating his troopers, he saw the way tension rose in the ranks when he shared Cody's message with them. He saw their gritted teeth, their clenched fits and knowing the whole 501st was as eager to go rescue the copper-haired General somehow lifted some of the stress of his shoulders.
The shuttles took off a few minutes later and as they lifted in the air, Anakin reached for the pendant that hung low on his chest. Gently taking it out of where it lay hidden under his tunic and let his flesh hand stroke against the familiar inscription engraved the inside of the ring, praying he would find his way to the man destined to wear this jewel.