Theirs was a love that trascended time, space, reality, and even the ugliness of cold blooded war. For them, what felt like the end was a new beginning. One, HE would give them through sacrifice. It was the only way they could be together.
They might have made love before he left, but there was no time and they didn't need to anyway. There were no words before he left. They didn't need that either.
He simply left her on the veranda. Had he stayed too long, he might not have left at all. They had already said all that needed to be said.
As he flew to the Jedi Temple, he recalled a conversation they had in his ship. Padme had laid her head on his shoulder. She wept, and demanded he return soon.
He was back already, he told her. All she needed to do was close her eyes. One must see the darkness to know when there is light.
She then demanded he return in one piece.
Already done, he answered.
Their love...was destiny.
To linger further, would have deepened their grief.
Anakin arrived at the Jedi Temple and was apprised of his mission. To his surprise, he wasn't to go on a mission with his Master. Instead, he was sent to Jalane, to spy on a Separatist holdout. The tour lasted several months and was spent underground with a tribe of furry creatures...the Chatatchi - a strange species with glowing green eyes and short legs.
There on Jalane, he lived as they lived, slept as they slept, ate as they ate... meals which consisted of slimy green bugs the size of a foot. Insects who gladly sacrificed themselves for the good of the ecosystem and planet. A circle of life, Chatatchi being the highest of their order. There, he remained for six long months.
At night, Anakin laid in his bunker and dreamed of Padme. Just as he had dreamed of her when he was a little boy. And when he wasn't thinking about her comforting arms, the warmth of their bed, her gentle smile, or wise words... he thought of Obi Wan. He hadn't seen him since the day he last saw Padme. The two most important people in his life - and somehow, he managed to survive. How he managed was beyond his knowledge.
But even as he thought fondly of his master, he couldn't resist the jealousy that crept into his heart. How oddly suspicious it was that Obi Wan Kenobi seemed to get all of the exciting missions while he was there, watching the Separatists, spying from a mound of dirt like a coward as they built manufacturing plants capable of mass producing droids and other weaponry that would further endanger the Republic. How many times had he begged the Council to let him lead an attack against the plant? To let him destroy it brick by brick? Now was not the time, they answered. And when it was, it was not he, that invaded and destroyed the Separatists, but Obi Wan Kenobi - now GENERAL KENOBI, his Master.
With the Separatists finally out of the way on Jalane, Anakin returned to Coruscant. To brief the masters on the assignment... who had he seen on Jalane? Who were they talking to? "Rest" they told him. He was going to need it. Three days was more than enough time to recover. Never mind the fact that he hadn't seen the sun in ages... for his missions allowed him to leave bunker, but only at night. Never mind that his skin had gone deathly pale, and that his eyes had almost taken a greenish color, having spent the past few months eating the little green bugs that the Chatatchi gave him.
If there was any consolation at all, it was seeing Padme again. Though, there was little rush to get to their apartment like before. If it was one thing the mission had taught him, it was patience. Padme would not be there til much later anyway, he determined. The day would be spent with the Senate, writing bills and doing what politicians do.
He pulled his cloak to his head and entered the apartment. Threepio was there to greet him - with a clattering of noise and exhuberance. More than that, the droid seemed happy to see the little Astromech, R2-D2. who had disengaged from the starfighter.
When all the happy greetings were done, the first order of business was to have Threepio send the servants away. For it was still early in the day and Anakin couldn't take the risk of anyone seeing him there.There were too many gossip mongers on Coruscant.
Threepio did as instructed, happy to be in charge of humans ... for a change. "Senator Amidala has sent a message. Alien and human servants alike, must leave at once!" he said, with a clap of his hands.
When the task had been cared for, Anakin, grateful to have the apartment to himself, took a shower. When was the last time he had one of those? He went into the fresher and washed six months of grime and dirt from his body. When he was done, he went into the bedroom. He decided, the second order of business was a nap. And right there on top of Padme's soft blue bed, was a fresh change of clothes. Jedi Clothes. Clothes he had ever seen before.
Anakin blinked.
"Please, Master Skywalker! I believe my internal components may have defaulted to self-destruct, please do, find something to wear."
Surprised to see the stark naked Jedi out of the fresher, Threepio covered his eyes. Anakin laughed heartily at the protocol droid as he stumbled blindly out of the room, almost as quickly as he had entered.
Anakin wrapped a towel around his waist and stared at the clothes again. They didn't belong to him. The laughter he felt only moments earlier suddenly dissipated. He sat on the bed, a storm brewing in his heart, and waited for Padme.
The past few months were the loneliest months of her life. It had been a little more than a half year since her husband last held her in his arms. More than a half year since he promised to come back in one piece. What happened? Six months, still no husband? Not even letter... or whisper that he was still alive.
He promised to come back, she thought. Anakin always kept his promises. He was only ten years old when he promised to marry her one day. And as sure as dawn, ten years later, they were husband and wife. Who was she, to be of so little faith?
She missed him. And nothing made her happy anymore. There was a time when work was all the reason she needed, to rise in the morning.
Not anymore. Not since Anakin.
The path to misery, is in the arms of Jedi, her grandmother told her.
"How do you know, nana?" Padme had asked her.
"I walked down that road once. It was a dead end," the old woman griped.
Knowing this, Padme resisted Anakin at first. But unlike her grandmother, she had no regrets. Their ending, would be a happy one. She deserved an happily ever after.
Padme walked to 500 Republica from the Senate offices at the end of the day. Another lonesome night to contend with. Another lonely night, hoping, wishing, and dreaming that Anakin would be there waiting for her.
She took the elevator to the top floor, and opened the door. Everything was the same. It was always the same. Everything in its place... meals already prepared. The apartment still dark.
Padme was in no mood to eat. She slipped out of her Senatorial robe and walked to the bedroom. Where were the droids? She wondered. Threepio was always the first to greet her. He was an unusually chatty little droid. Threepio was good company. Especially in her darkest hours, especially when she was at her loneliest.
Padme reached into the darkness. Her hand felt something warm, like flesh, where the light switch should be. But this was no light switch, it was a hand.
Then she felt another. It pulled her into an embrace. This one, was mechanical. She didn't need any light to know that it was her husband who held her. Anymore than he needed light, to find her lips in the darkness. She found herself against the wall - wanting of air, their passion - suffocating. His groin pressed against her, grinding. He whirled her around, pushed her on the bed, then collapsed on top of her - the weight of his body heavy. The weight of his mechanical arm, even heavier. His body was all muscle...
Strange, for someone so slight.
She kissed him, pulled him closer, pulled him into her...and gave him her neck, her body, and soul.
Anakin didn't care about the clothes. He didn't need them.