Short chapter, but I really needed to get this chapter out since I have such plans for the future that I don't think I can spend too much more time with all the fluff. Sorry again for the LONG delay on this and all my other stories! Winter has just not been my season unfortunately.

Next chapter will be longer! Promise! And updates for my other stories are coming... eventually.

Happy reading!

Chapter 7

"Oh my God! You look so beautiful!" Sola gushed when Padme emerged from the dressing room dressed in a ballgown wedding dress.

"Are you going to say that for every dress?" She asked with a raised brow. Her eyes found her reflection in the full-length tri-mirror behind her. Of the six dresses, she had tried on this one was her least favorite. The way the gown fanned out from her waist down was too wide and the patterns stitched into the crisp white of the bust and down the side looked too rough compared to the rest of the dress. It was a beautiful dress, but it wasn't her dress. "I look like a cupcake." She said and watched as Ahsoka, Satine and Mina all nodded their heads in agreement.

"You just don't look very comfortable," Mina said.

"And if I remember correctly, I think that was the dress she suggested you try," Satine added, gesturing to the assistant who was helping in the selection process.

"It just doesn't look like you," Ahsoka added. Of the people Padme invited to help her pick the dress, Ahsoka was probably the one who knew Anakin the best. She already knows he doesn't really care what dress she wears- she could wear a white garbage bag and he'd still think she was beautiful. But, she wanted a wedding and she wanted all the classic bells and whistles that went with it and in theory just hearing what Anakin would probably tell her would make the process much easier. "Try the dresses you like," Ahsoka said as she stood and walked over to the small rack that held the three other dresses they had selected to try on. She scanned the rack and pulled out one and held it up for her to see, "I think this was the one you picked, right?" She asked. Padme could make out the lace on the dress and nodded her head. "The other two were picked by me and Satine. So just try this one," She said, handing the dress to the assistant.

Padme sighed and smiled at the young girl before turning and returning to the dressing room eager to get out of the current dress. The assistant silently helped her out of the dress, releasing the clamps and letting the large dress pool at her feet. She hadn't thought wedding dress shopping would be so difficult. Padme remembered Sola's wedding and how smoothly the entire planning phase had gone. She even had the perfect dress on the first try and only had to try others on simply because they had paid for the time. She never really understood why her sister had it so easy. Maybe it was because while she had been playing doctor with a small toy doctor's bag, her sister had been planning her wedding and the family life she wanted. Or maybe it was simply because her sister had always been drawn to big events and just thrived in this arena. Either way, she was growing tired of trying on dresses. They all had their good parts and bad, but she was only comfortable in maybe two.

The assistant laid the new dress out and helped her step into it. She hated that there wasn't a mirror in the dressing room. It made it impossible for her to simply stop the assistant and say no the moment she started to not like it. But, she supposed that was the point. She hoped this would be the last dress she would need to try. Looking ahead, three months was not that far away. And with her work schedule so complicated, and Farr going to a neurology conference next month, it meant her schedule would be even more erratic. How was she supposed to find a dress when time seemed to be against her? She didn't even have bridesmaid dresses. Padme shook her head. It was so much easier when they eloped the first time. With the final clamp in place, Padme took a breath, hoping this was the one and that she could just be done with it.

Stepping outside, she had expected Sola to say "you look beautiful," or something along those lines. Instead, all four of them gasped and said nothing. It was ugly. She just knew it. Now she had to find more time to look for dresses and schedule and-

"Wow…" Her breath catches when she sees herself in the mirrors. This was the dress.

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With a cold beer in one hand and the latest copy of Motor Weekly in his hand, Anakin smiled as he relaxed further into the couch. It wasn't often he was home alone with nothing of importance to do. Even when their days off were different, it meant groceries, housework, or errands neither of them has time during normal hours to do. And since this was the first time in weeks- if not months- that he was afforded such a luxury, he meant to enjoy every moment he had. And for him, that meant to catch up on non-work related reading which he normally has to reserve just before bed and often is either forgotten due to exhaustion or because no one in their right mind could possibly resist the sensual charm of Padme Amidala.

Sifting through the magazine, he looked for the article on classic cars featured on the cover.

The article featured a picture set of a refurbished classic 1955 Thunderbird. The pictures showed the car when it was found in an old garage covered in rust with the original 292 v8 engine in less than optimal condition and slowly showed the progression of the restoration. It was an amazing transformation. Where most people would see a pile of junk not worth saving, someone had the foresight to see a way to bring that beautiful machine back to life. The smile on his face widened as he read about the amount of work that went into the restoration.

Padme had once remarked that he looked at a car magazine the same way a kid looks at candy in a candy store. He had laughed, but his fascination with cars, engines and grease did border on obsession since he was always thinking of new pet projects for his bike or Padme's car- which he had to swear never to touch unless it was broken.

The door to the apartment opened with a click as Padme unlocked the door and entered stifling a yawn as she did so. "Busy day?" He asked, leaning his head back so he could see her, albeit upside-down.

"Yeah," She said, throwing her bag onto the kitchen counter. Anakin made to sit up to give her room to sit but she stopped him, climbing on top of him to halt his movement, coming to rest with her chin resting on her hands folded on his chest. "But it was productive," She said, biting her lower lip slightly.

Anakin smiled and closed the magazine, giving her his full attention. "Did you find a dress?" He asked, his finger twining around a lock of her brown hair that fell in her face. She nodded but her gaze dropped, making him furrow his brow. "What is it?" He asked.

"It's just…" She paused as she processed what she was going to say, "We're getting married."

"Having second thoughts?" He asked, his voice softened as he tried to give an air of calm despite how his mind raced with worst-case scenarios.

Padme shook her head, "No, never," She said, cupping his cheek in her hand. "I love you, there is no question that marrying you is right," She said, knowing exactly what he needed to hear.

"Then what is it?"

She took a moment to collect her words before she spoke, "Getting the dress… it just makes it real," She started. "We're really doing this, starting our life together," Her hands found their way into his hair, her fingers playing with the longer hair resting at the base of his neck.

"Yeah…" He said as he moved his hand to cup the back of her neck. "A little surreal isn't it? I still can't believe you said yes."

"Did you actually think I was going to say no?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You could have," He said with a shrug. "Everyone said you would say yes, but on the off chance you didn't, I had to have a plan for a smooth recovery."

"Really?" She asked skeptically.

A smug smile formed on his face, "Oh yes, I was prepared. Bartender had a large bottle of scotch ready for us that was bound to make us forget the day entirely."

Padme laughed lightly and slid her right hand back up to the base of his neck. She knew he was making it up but sometimes it was nice to play into his fantasies. "Shame I didn't say no then," She said.

"I'm glad you didn't," He said and Padme leaned up and pressed her lips to his softly before resting her head against his chest, letting the beat of his heart lull her.

The rest of the night went by peacefully with Anakin reading through his car magazine and her recounting the other things she had done that day. It was such an ordinary thing and it was nothing special, but there was something about ordinary that just made it feel like their lives were exactly as they should be. That all the struggles, all the problems in their lives were finally over.