In the months to come Anakin and Padmé would meet each other several times. He would report to the council and wait till night fell to sneak into Padmé's quarters. Other times, when she would work late hours in her office, he would make a surprise appearance and they would ravish each other behind closed doors. A couple of times he whisked her away in a 'borrowed' speeder and flew above Coruscant's traffic so they could get lost in their passion for each other under the stars. Then they would retire to her apartment, where she would fulfill fantasies he didn't even know he had by wearing suggestive nightgowns that left him breathless with just the sight of her. She enjoyed doing things like that for him; they were his spoils after battle.

The illicit quality of their affair only added to the excitement it gave them, but it was becoming a little dangerous.

The more they took from each other, the more they wanted.

As time went by their encounters would include other activities besides desperate lovemaking. They were talking more, about anything but the war. They would drink and try to enjoy themselves. Relaxation was brief and far between in such tumultuous times. They would laugh over dinner as they shared silly and sometimes humiliating stories of their past, opening up to one another.

On one of those nights she lay looking at his sleeping form. He seemed older, stronger now. The boy was gone. His shoulders were broader, his lean frame armored by muscles that got more pronounced with every battle. The ponytail and the braid remained but his hair was longer, almost falling into his eyes. He looked so breathtakingly handsome.

She held his new mechanical limb in her hand. The new appendage was silver whereas the old one was gold. This one looked more like a real hand both in dimensions and shape, and yet it didn't matter to her if the hand looked fake or real.

It was becoming increasingly hard to maintain this relationship. Or affair, she still didn't know under which terms to classify what they were doing. Every time he left it took him longer to return. Or at least so it seemed. Her need for him had reached an all-time high to the point where she would find herself crying when he was away. Her job was a good distraction, but coming home to an empty bed with no strong arms to hold her while she slept was taking its toll on her.

She was quieter now, her head of security had pointed out. She would stay away from social situations and politely decline dinner invitations to the Organas' apartment. She didn't want to be around other people. She wanted to go home and sleep and then wake up to go on with her day.

She couldn't decide if being with Anakin was doing her more bad than good. It wasn't until he returned to her that she felt alive again, her soul singing in exhilaration when the young Padawan looked at her with those eyes. Their time together was rare, but it was all they could have. Was it really worth all the pain?

Padmé turned to her side, giving her back to him. She needed to put a stop to this before it got even more out of hand. She needed to make him understand.

She hadn't told him how she felt, of course. It would only encourage him to fight for them to stay together, or as together was the war allowed them to be. And she didn't have the strength to say the words. Once she said them there would be no turning back, she knew it.

Lifting her head, she glanced over her shoulder at the young Jedi sleeping in her bed. Tomorrow she would have to break his heart one more time.

Anakin sat by himself having a very early breakfast. Captain Typho would be arriving in an hour to do his early morning security check and he didn't want him to catch him in Padmé's apartment.

"Padmé? Your breakfast is getting cold," he called out, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, as if they were an old couple. Seconds later Padmé walked into the kitchen, already dressed in her senatorial gown for he day. "Why are you dressed so early?" he asked curiously.

"Long day ahead," was her brief answer as she sat across from him. Her eyes didn't lift to meet his as they did whenever they shared a meal. Something was different.

"What's wrong?" he inquired carefully, trying to sound casual.

"I wanted to talk to you," she started. "I don't think we should continue seeing each other. Not like this."

Anakin's heart sank. She couldn't possibly mean that.

"Why not?" he uttered.

"Because it's doing us no good," she said, finally looking at him.

"Speak for yourself," he said bitterly.

"I'm sure you can find other girls to keep you entertained," she shrugged for emphasis. She wanted him to be mad at her. It worked. His blood boiled when the words left her mouth.

"Is that what you think I'm doing with you?" he asked angrily.

"Don't raise your voice at me," she warned.

"Don't make stupid assumptions," he shot back. Padmé sighed and stood, walking away from the table.

"What's the point of this? We're not – we're not a couple, there's no future in this. What good could come out of what we're doing?" she pressed, feeling a lump in her throat. What was she doing? What was she saying?

"I thought we were just friends, Padmé," he said sarcastically.

"You know what I mean," she sighed.

"I obviously don't," he said, standing and moving closer to her. "Give me one good reason why I should stop seeing you."

"Shouldn't me wanting to end this be reason enough?" she argued, but it was hopeless. He wasn't going to let her off the hook that easily.

"That's not the reason."

"Anakin…"

"Tell me the real reason. Is there someone else?" he almost barked, moving closer to her.

"No," she shook her head.

"Then what? Are you bored with me already?" he pressed as he loomed above her. Padmé was an experienced politician and she wasn't about to be intimidated by Anakin Skywalker.

"Sometimes," she said, her tone firm.

"You could've fooled me," he said darkly and cupped her face, his thumb tracing her cheekbone a bit too forcefully. Padmé turned her face away and shot daggers at him with her eyes.

"I don't want you here anymore, Anakin," she pressed.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked.

"Yes. You're too attached. You think I can't see it?" she continued, her tone softening. A wave of hurt flickered in his eyes and she wanted to forget about her decision and take him in her arms. But she had to do this. It was for his sake. "Anakin, I don't want to hurt you anymore. I can't give you what you want."

"You're right. You obviously can't," he exhaled, stepping back and distracting himself by floating a bowl of fruit with the Force. Padmé sighed.

"I… I can still be your friend," she offered. His eyes met hers sharply and the bowl of fruit crashed against the wall, startling her.

"Go to hell, Padmé," he sentenced, then stormed out of the kitchen. Padmé felt tears welling in her eyes but she didn't allow them to fall.

"Pull yourself together… this was for the best…"

Padmé watched the rich, red liquid filling her glass and raised a finger to signal it was enough. She sipped the sweet wine and tasted it for a moment before swallowing it.

"This is delicious," she noted. Sola sat next to her with her own glass.

"Darred found it somewhere. I'd be willing to brush my teeth with it," she said. Padmé smiled and had another sip, then sighed. "Is something wrong?" Sola asked worriedly.

"Aside from the war and the senate blaming me for it, no," Padmé replied. Sola was very confused.

"Why would they blame you for it?"

"Some senators believe I'm to blame for the clones arriving in Geonosis to fight the separatists," Padmé explained, not giving it much importance. It was a ridiculous line of thinking and she wouldn't grant it another minute of her time.

"I can't believe you work with these people," Sola muttered in disbelief. Padmé laughed softly.

"Neither can I sometimes…" Sola smiled and the two sisters sat in silence for a moment. "Do you remember when you met Darred?" Padmé asked suddenly.

"Of course I do," the elder sibling replied with a smile. Padmé remained silent, urging her to continue. "It was hard to miss him, really. He was the best student in our class and ridiculously smart. I was smitten," she grinned.

"When did you know that… you know, that he was the one?" Padmé asked carefully.

"It's not something I knew right away. We started going out and then we were a couple, and one day I found myself looking at him… and I saw the father of my children," Sola said wistfully.

"You're very lucky to have that," Padmé said earnestly.

"You could have it, too," Sola suggested. Padmé smiled briefly and had another sip of her wine. Sola studied her little sister carefully. "Padmé, did you…? Did you find someone?"

Padmé looked at her sister. She was tempted to tell her the truth, to tell her that she'd fallen in love with Anakin and that part of her just wanted to run away with him and forget about the Jedi and the senate. Keeping her love for him a secret was eating at her insides. To make matters worse, she hadn't heard from Anakin in almost six weeks and she longed to hear news from him. Why couldn't she share how she felt with her dear sister? She would have words of comfort for her.

"No," Padmé finally said in the most unconvincing tone Sola had ever heard.

"Padmé…" Sola insisted softly.

"I can't… I can't talk about it. Please, try to understand," Padmé pleaded. Sola sighed in frustration and poured more wine into her glass.

"Fine."

Sola was curious, but decided not to press the issue. Arguing with Padmé was not among her favorite activities. Instead she decided to let it go. She figured that when Padmé was ready to open up, she would come to her. It was better not to pressure her.

They opened another bottle of wine and talked about other things. Padmé made sure the subject of her private life wasn't brought up again. She didn't want to think about Anakin anymore. She wanted to make the best of her brief stay on Naboo and enjoy her sister's company.