Authors Notes: So, This chapter gets a teeny bit political. A certain political topic is brought up. However, it was important for the overall story. There is no need to give a response in the comments whether you agree with the characters or not.
I debated with myself for a while if I was going to use this in the story. I did a lot of research as I delved into the topic for the plot. I'm glad that I did regardless. However, after my internal debate and research, where I also cross checked the different methods etc, I ultimately decided to go with the rout that I did. It serves the overall story, trust me.
Chapter 3: Friendship, Impacted
Anakin had a splitting headache. The insistent buzzing by his head didn't help. Growling in agitation, he groped for his phone and hit accept for the incoming facetime without realizing it.
"Skyguy!"
Anakin cursed the day he gained a little sister. Outwardly he groaned as he pulled himself out of bed. Somewhere in the darkness he heard Padme's annoyed moan from the noise. He completely missed the second, untouched, bed as he fumbled in the dark hotel room to move into the bathroom. "Why are you calling so damn early?" he demanded.
"First, it's after eleven where you are and second, you're facetiming me idiot," Ahsoka snarked.
Anakin glanced down at his phone and scoffed. "I didn't see that.."
Ahsoka squinted at him. "Are you hung over?" she asked.
"Not so loud," he snipped, closing the bathroom door and groping for the lightswitch. "And yeah, I think I am," he admitted. "Tequila and beer, not the best combination."
"I hope Padme's driving," Ahsoka deadpanned.
"Last I remember, she wasn't any better," Anakin grumbled. He didn't need to mention to his sister that no one ever drove his car but him.
"No wonder you're just waking up…" Ahsoka sniggered. His sister took entirely too much joy in his misery sometimes.
Anakin moved to set his phone on the bathroom counter as he moved to grab an ibuprofen, only to fumble his hold on the phone and drop it on the floor with a curse.
Ahsoka shrieked, "Oh my god, my eyes!"
"What the fuck?" Anakin yelled as he bent to pick up the phone, a hand reaching to rub his forehead.
"Why are you naked?" Ahsoka demanded harshly.
"What?" Anakin asked dumbly.
"I just saw your… your…" Ahsoka gagged. "You asshole! You just flashed me your dick!"
Hangover notwithstanding, Anakin was wide awake now and panicking. "What the fuck?" he cried once again, finally noticing that he was naked. Flashes of memory from the night before came flooding back, exacerbating his panic.
"I'm telling Obi-Wan!" Ahsoka threatened.
"Fuck!" Anakin yelled.
"That's right, you're fucked…"
"Ahsoka, I'm gonna have to call you back," Anakin said, ignoring his sister's wrath and hanging up his phone. Glancing at himself through the mirror, he swore again. Other than the hangover and his nakedness, neither necessarily indicated that he spent the night having sex, just the possibility that he fell asleep naked after binging. However, there were other signs, most notably the marks. There were a number of distinct bruises and scratches adorning his body in very telling locations.
As he hurried out of the bathroom, he hit one of the lightswitches to confirm what his brain was telling him. "Fuck!" he yelled, scooping up his jeans from the night before and hurriedly pulled them on.
Padme stirred at his dramatics. "Will you shut up and let me sleep?" she cried, turning over and throwing a pillow over her head.
"It's past eleven," Anakin blurted, trying to look anywhere but the bed where a very naked Padme lay tangled in the sheets he had also been sleeping in.
"What?" Padme cried, sitting up and Anakin had to quickly turn away to avert looking at her very naked breast and trying to forget the attention he had given them last night. Padme must have realized that she was naked as she gasped and pulled the sheets over herself. "We didn't…"
"I'm pretty sure we did…" Anakin replied.
"No, no nononononono," Padme shook her head and moaned.
"Please don't do that…" Anakin shifted uncomfortably, he refused to let himself get turned on by this.
Incensed, Padme threw a pillow at him. "Asshole!" she snapped.
Anakin glared. "How am I an asshole?" he demanded.
Padme gathered the sheet around herself as she grabbed some clothes. "Well what else do you call a guy who takes advantage of a drunk woman just to have sex!" she snapped as she slipped into the bathroom.
Anakin spluttered. "What the fuck? I didn't take advantage of you! I was drunk! Had I been sober this wouldn't be happening."
Padme emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed. "Please tell me that you at least used a condom."
Anakin fell back against the dresser and ran a hand through his hair. "I… I don't remember. Fuck." he pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. "Whether I did or didn't, aren't you on the pill?"
Padme had been about to run a brush through her hair when she froze and turned away from the mirror to stare at him. "Anakin, I haven't been on the pill since college," she informed him.
Anakin stared at her dumbfounded. "What?" he cried. "So what are you saying, you rely on the guy to…" he shook his head incredulously. "That's… Padme, you can't do that , a lot of guys don't bother to think about…" He was cut off by a mini hotel mouthwash bottle hitting him.
"I didn't say that, Jackass!" she snapped. "I've been using an IUD."
Anakin sagged in relief. "That's…good…"
"Which I had to temporarily remove for health reasons a month ago. I was scheduled to have it replaced next week."
Quickly thinking through his options, Anakin said, "What about plan B?"
"We can try, but think about where we are and the current political climate," Padme told him. Anakin swore. While he didn't particularly like politics, he was aware enough to know just how much of pickle they were in.
He furrowed his brow as he thought back on every single one of his mother's rants and lectures about the subject ever since that Supreme Court ruling. Being a nurse with two single adult children had set Shmi Skywalker-Lars on edge enough to constantly nag her children about being aware of the situation.
Missouri was one of those states that had strict bans on abortion and there was enough crazy and panicked responses to make access to certain things less of a guarantee than it had been in years previous.
The reminder was enough to rattle him and spur him into action as he searched the area around the beds.
"What are you doing?" Padme demanded.
"Looking for evidence of a used condom," he informed her, not pausing in his hunt. He got down on his hands and knees to search underneath the furniture.
Padme groaned. "I cannot believe this is happening," she said.
Anakin poked his head up to glare at her from over the bed. "Well who decided to have sex when they know they're between birth control methods, only mentioning the fact afterwards?" he snapped at her.
"Excuse me?" Padme hissed. "Are you seriously blaming me for this disaster?"
Anakin scoffed as he tossed about the rumpled bed covers. "Well, it's not like I planned this," he threw back at her.
Padme crossed her arms as she glared at him. "Find that condom yet?" she threw back sarcastically.
Anakin stood up. "This isn't funny," he growled.
Padme glowered. "This is far from being even remotely funny!"
Running a hand through his hair in defeat, he huffed. "No sign of either a condom or a wrapper," he informed her.
Padme blanched. "Oh God," she bemoaned.
Fresh pockets of memory from the night before hit him as Anakin sat down with his back to her. "You said that a lot last night," he pointed out with his head in his hands.
Padme covered her mouth with her hand and gagged. "I'm going to be sick," she said and ran back into the bathroom. "Ugg, I need a shower!"
As the sound of running water filtered through the closed bathroom door, Anakin's phone pinged. Resignedly, he grabbed it, finding a message from Rex.
Rex : Still say that she's not your girl?
Attached to the text message was a video file. With apprehension, Anakin tapped to view. It was a video of him and Padme sitting at the bar, taking shots before Padme initiated the first kiss, followed up with her immediately climbing up onto his lap to make out.
Well that was one mystery solved. It still didn't help the mess he found himself in this time.
Anakin looked up from his phone when Padme slid back into the car with a frustrated huff. He took note of the lack of any purchase. "You didn't get it?" he asked.
"They didn't have it," Padme said flatly.
"Were they out…?"
Padme threw him an angry look. "No, they refuse to carry it out of moral righteousness," she informed him with disdain.
Anakin cursed. "Okay next pharmacy," he said, pulling up his google maps on his phone.
"You don't get it, ever since that Supreme Court ruling, pro-lifers have taken carte blanche to do whatever they want with other people's bodily decisions!"
Anakin groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do we have to talk about politics?"
Padme glowered at him "This subject doesn't just affect women, you know!" she stated pointedly.
Anakin shot her a look. "I'm aware," he stated flatly. "You think I haven't been hearing about it enough from my mother already?"
"Well, would you like to go in there and argue with the pharmacist?" Padme demanded testily.
"No thank you. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't, Miss Debate Club Captain," Anakin retorted.
Padme snorted. "There's no arguing logic with ignorance," she stated.
"How effective would Plan B be if you delay taking it?" he asked, reviewing all the pharmacies alongside their route to their next stop before pulling out of the parking lot.
"I think it should be fine as long as we found a pharmacy carrying it by the end of the day," Padme said, also reviewing her phone.
"Are you sure?"
Padme looked up at him as he pulled onto the highway. "We can always call your mom to make sure?" she suggested.
"I am not calling my mom to ask her that," Anakin said stubbornly.
"Why not? She's a nurse, she should know the answer."
"Are you crazy?" Anakin looked over at her incredulously. "If I called her for this, there's going to be questions. She's been lecturing me and Ahsoka about this for years! Besides, she knows that we're traveling together, she's going to know that we had sex and then she'll tell your mom."
Padme blanched at the thought. "You're right. No, we can't risk that," she shook her head.
After lucking out at the fourth pharmacy they tried, Padme sighed. "It says that it's seventy-five to eighty-nine percent effective if I take it within three days after unprotected sex," she informed him as she held up her phone.
Anakin glanced at her. "Did you just google that?" he asked.
"Well, you vetoed consulting your mom," she reminded him.
"I thought the effectiveness was higher," he said, turning back to return to the interstate.
"Plan B is supposed to stop ovulation from occurring, thus preventing pregnancy, so I'd say it's pretty effective," Padme stated. "No form of contraception is foolproof, Anakin."
"I know that!" Anakin snapped.
Padme huffed as she crossed her arms at his tone.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you," he apologized.
"This whole thing is just ridiculous," she complained.
Anakin glanced at her briefly before turning back to the road, bit his lip before he asked, "You weren't… I mean,"
"Ovulating?" Padme finished for him, checking her calendar. "I don't believe so, I'm not sure," she said, trying to remember when her last period had been.
"That doesn't sound promising," he remarked.
Padme rolled her eyes. "It's not an exact science," she informed him and shifted her position in the passenger seat. "It would be easier to track if my cycle was more regular," she muttered.
Anakin reached up with one hand to scratch at his eyebrow. "I think Missouri is a bust. We should be hitting Illinois soon. I'm sure that we'll get lucky once we cross state lines," he suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Padme agreed. "At least Illinois has rational thinkers in governance," she grumbled.
Anakin could only silently agree, to a point . "I'm somewhat surprised it was so hard to find the morning after pill, I thought it was federally protected," he commented.
Padme snorted as she scrolled through her phone. "It is. That doesn't stop the ignorant from thinking they can enforce their moral righteous bullshit on others. Remember that county clerk who became a political headline because she refused to comply with a federal court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?"
Anakin shook his head. "Yeah, I remember," he said.
"Well, it's like that for some people," Padme said as she checked the list of pharmacies on their route. She then reached over to input the locations of those pharmacies into the navigation system.
Anakin glanced at her. "What are you doing?" he demanded.
"Adding in a few stops to your GPS," Padme answered him with a roll of her eyes.
"You're messing with my car's systems," he stated pointedly.
"Anakin, be realistic, you're driving. I think you can make this one exception, especially considering the reason why we've been making all the stops," she told him pointedly.
"I'm beginning to regret ever letting you into my car in the first place," he told her.
They lucked out at the next three pharmacies and Anakin had to listen to Padme rant about people being idiots and panic buying. It turns out that the uncertainty over reproductive rights had inspired a fear of the loss of common birth control methods, so a lot of people have been buying more than they needed.
Anakin was starting to get a stabbing headache and he wished that Padme would just shut up. "Why don't you just start calling ahead before we make a stop?" he suggested.
"Of course this doesn't bother you, It must be oh so nice to be a man," Padme snapped at him.
Anakin's headache was here to stay it seemed. "What does being a man have anything to do with this?" he asked, exasperated.
"Because you're not the one who has to live with the consequences of having unprotected sex. It's not your body that is affected the most. I bet that when you hop from one bed to the next, you don't even think about what comes next. Do you know how incredibly selfish that is?" Padme ranted.
"Wow," Anakin drawled, shaking his head. "Do you realize the regressive shit that you've just spewed?"
"Excuse me?" Padme scoffed.
"You know, it's not a sin to have sex," he told her.
"I didn't say that it was," Padme countered.
"Yet there you sit, judging me for having a sex life," Anakin pointed out.
"It's one thing to have a sex life and something completely different to just go around fucking whatever vagina comes next indiscriminately," Padme countered.
"I have casual sex, so what?" Anakin challenged back with a shrug. "What gives you the moral high ground to judge me?" he demanded.
"Oh I don't know, maybe the risk of you passing on whatever you catch to me!" Padme snapped.
That was uncalled for. "What the fuck are you talking about?" he demanded.
Padme threw him a look. "How often do you forget to wear a condom?" she demanded.
"Never."
"Really," she drawled incredulously. "What about last night?" she challenged.
"Well, obviously there's a first time for everything," Anakin ground out, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. The sign indicating an upcoming truck stop caught his eye.
"When was the last time you got tested?" Padme asked.
"What?" Anakin asked, glancing at her. Was she actually asking that? "I'm clean if that's where you're getting at. I could ask the same from you," he informed her.
"I don't make a habit of having sex with total strangers, Anakin," Padme told him flatly.
"That doesn't mean anything and you know it," Anakin reminded her. "I get tested pretty regularly because I know the risks of having a healthy sex life. Have you ever been tested?"
Padme glared at him. "I'm not that kind of girl, Anakin," she told him coolly. The turnaround he threw at her had hit a personal nerve that she would rather not acknowledge.
"That kind of girl…" he drawled condescending
"Yes, unlike you, I need to have an emotional connection to have sex, preferably while in a relationship," Padme informed him primely.
"And there's the judgment again," Anakin said. "You know, guys can get slut shamed too, right?"
Padme scoffed, choosing not to offer him a rebuttal. If he wanted to play the victim, fine. "How do you know that the Playboy bunny you fucked the other night didn't give you something?" she threw at him, knowing that there was no way for him to know for sure and feeling like she had found her trump card in this argument.
"What Playboy bunny are you talking about?" Anakin demanded incredulously.
"The one you fucked in a public bathroom for twenty minutes in LA."
"Wow," Anakin said slowly, shaking his head. "I knew it. You're jealous!"
Padme scoffed. "I am not jealous!" she snapped. "I am so far from being jealous…"
"Just keep digging your hole, the more defensive you get the more your jealousy shows."
"Oh yes, I'm so jealous," Padme retorted sarcastically. "Excuse me for having enough self worth not to whore myself out to every single guy to pay attention to me."
"Wow, the passive aggressive girl on girl slut shaming…" Anakin snarked. "And you call yourself a feminist…"
"And you're a fucking cocky bastard!" Padme snapped.
"Guilty as charged!" Anakin snapped right back. "I own my shit, Padme, can you say the same?"
"Better than you," she said coolly.
"Really?" Anakin side eyed her. "Could've fooled me. You're pissed at yourself and instead of dealing with whatever the fuck it is that set you off, you're taking your shit out on me." He shifted gears, keeping his eyes forward. "That shit might work with other people and hell, you might be able to cow some spineless asshole, but I'm not going to sit back and just take it."
"You know what pisses me off," Padme glared at him. "You!"
"Me? What the fuck have I ever done to you?" he scoffed.
"It's your fault that we're even in this mess to begin with!"
"Is that right?"
"Maybe if you just kept it in your pants in the first place…"
"Don't go putting the whole blame on me. We were both drunk…"
"If you have to blame alcohol for your behavior then you've got a problem…"
"Now I'm an alcoholic. Man, you'll reach for straws just to avoid admitting that you're jealous…"
"I am not jealous, you smug egotistical pig!"
"I seem to have hit a nerve," Anakin noted smugly.
"I'd like to hit you!" Padme growled.
"Just admit that you've been in a fit of jealousy from the moment you saw me in LA. You're so hyper focused on some woman that I hooked up with in a bar, once, that it has you so wound up you don't know how to handle it."
"I don't have to admit to anything that isn't true," Padme dismissed him.
"No, you'd just prefer to wait until we've got a few drinks in to make a move…"
"In your dreams, Skywalker…"
"... If you'd like to skip the alcohol altogether, I can just pull over right now and you can just climb into my lap…
"Not everything is about sex, Anakin."
"I'm not the one fixated on someone else's sex life," he threw back at her.
"I'm not fixated, I'm disgusted."
"And judgmental."
"I don't care that you have sex. Go, fuck some random strangers, I don't care."
"Then what's your fucking problem?!"
"My problem is that out of all people to fall prey to some centerfold's allure, I never expected it to be you !" Padme exclaimed.
"Really? Come on, I had a stash of Playboys and old Cosmos hidden under my mattress all throughout High School. You'd be hard pressed to find a guy who wasn't attracted to a centerfold, unless he's gay," Anakin countered.
"Ugg!" Padme groaned in distaste. "I honestly don't know what you could possibly find attractive in girls like that…"
"Probably because they're nothing like you ," he retorted spitefully.
Padme threw him a sharp look. That had hurt, more than it should have. "Fuck you," she growled lowly.
"You already did," he reminded her snidely.
Padme wanted to hit him, to scream and yell. She wanted to get away. "Pull the car over, Anakin," she ordered.
"What?" He turned to give her a quick look. "No, we're in the middle of the interstate, there's nowhere to pull over…"
"Pull the fucking car over before I jump out of it!" Padme screamed, reaching for the door handle.
"Fucking hell!" he growled, subtly hitting the child lock as he recalled the sign for the upcoming truck stop. He decided to make a stop there out of necessity so he could diffuse the situation. Once he had pulled into a spot in the parking lot, he cut the engine and turned to her. "Seriously, what is your problem?"
"You are!" Padme snapped, swinging around to slap him a second before moving to get out of the car.
Anakin swore as he rubbed his jaw. "Where are you going?" he asked as he watched her climb out of the car.
"Away from you!" Padme told him scornfully before slamming the car door behind her, storming away.
"Fuck!" Anakin yelled, slamming his hand against the steering wheel.
The truck stop was a standard stop for truck drivers and travelers along the interstate. It had a gas station, a convenience store, a diesel shop, a small diner, a truckers lounge and a set of private bathrooms equipped with a shower. Instead of tracking down where Padme had stormed off to, Anakin felt it was best to give her some space. So instead, he headed into one of the bathrooms to freshen up. Splashing some water on his face from the sink, he let out an aggravated sigh. The day was a complete disaster. Of all people he could have had a drunken one night stand with, it had to be Padme.
Admittedly, he had said a few things he shouldn't have in the car. So did she, but he could have tried not to respond so spitefully. Was he a fool for thinking that he could actually be friends with Padme again, after everything?
"Fuck!" He hissed as he braced himself against the sink, taking a deep breath. "You really fucked up this time," he chastised himself.
Granted, he had no regrets about the night before, except for being drunk off his ass and potentially forgetting to wear a condom. He was insanely attracted to Padme. It came with the territory, considering the feelings he had in High School. He had told himself years ago that he was over it, but apparently he was only lying to himself. A part of him wondered if he was reacting towards her obvious displeasure of the situation or if he still had resentment issues. The hurtful things they had said to each other and done to each other in senior year that led to the breakdown of their friendship was hard to forget. Sooner or later, they would need to address the past if they were to be friends again. That is if their friendship could survive one drunken night.
He really wanted it to though. Even if the previous night was forgotten completely and never repeated. He'd much rather have Padme as his friend than push her away again. He cared too much about her to let her walk out of his life again.
Closing his eyes, he grit his teeth and ran a hand through his hair. His memory of the night before was foggy and fractured, but he remembered enough. He didn't think he could ever forget the taste of her kiss, the feel of her skin against his, the soft sounds she would make…
Staring at his reflection, he tugged at the collar of his t-shirt, exposing the little bruise alongside his collarbone. The teeth marks that she left there were still visible. No, he couldn't ever forget the fact that he had sex with his best friend. He didn't want to forget either. Closing his eyes, he swore as the memories conjured up another problem. Suddenly he found himself grateful to have secluded himself in a private bathroom as his hands moved south. He really needed to get this out of his system before he got back in the car with Padme. It's going to be a long drive back to Philly.
Padme had stormed off, fuming over the fight she had just had with Anakin. It didn't take long for her fuming to turn into tears. It took another twenty minutes for her to calm down enough to realize that she wasn't entirely blameless in the fight. Sure he had hurt her at the end there, but she had pushed and instigated the entire argument. She wanted to apologize for her part and to hopefully clear the air. But when she couldn't immediately find Anakin, she initially panicked until she noticed that his car was still in the parking lot.
Perhaps he was taking some space to cool off as well. So instead, Padme had sat down at the little diner, after buying some food for both herself and Anakin. She decided to try Anakin's suggestion about calling the upcoming pharmacies ahead and was grateful for the suggestion at the end.
It was almost twenty more minutes before she saw Anakin emerge from where the bathrooms were located. Their eyes met apprehensively and she offered a tiny smile. "Hey," she said as he walked over. "I got you something to eat," she told him, indicating the sandwich waiting for him.
"Thanks," he said, taking a seat opposite from her. He glanced at the vintage watch he wore for a second before he picked at the sandwich she picked out for him.
"I'm sorry," Padme said, deciding that she should be the one to initiate the apologies.
"We both said some shit that we shouldn't have," he told her, taking the bottle of water she offered him.
Padme picked at the bag of chips she had open on the table. "I think you might have been right about one thing," she admitted. Anakin looked at her inquisitively. "Not the jealousy thing," she was quick to dismiss before he could bring it up again. She was not about to admit that to him, especially with the way he kept picking at her about it. "I am angry and I have been taking it out on you. I'm sorry."
Anakin sighed, reached over and stole a chip from her bag. "I'm angry too," he admitted.
"Because of something that I said in the car?"
Anakin shook his head. "No. It's what you said this morning back in the hotel room," he answered.
Padme gave him a perplexed look. "What did I say?" she asked.
Anakin leveled her with a hard look. "You accused me of taking advantage of you while drunk," he reminded her.
Padme remembered that now. It was a gut reaction that she didn't mean at the moment. "Oh."
Anakin set his sandwich down, crossing his arms on the table and leaned forward. "It was a shock to wake up to, I know. But what the fuck? Do you really have that low of an opinion of me that you'd think that I would do that? Really?" he asked, keeping his voice low.
Padme flinched at what he said. Stricken by the hidden accusation. "No, I…" She swallowed and met his hard gaze, struck by the intensity in his blue eyes. "Anakin, I think the world of you, of course I don't think you would do something that awful," she implored.
Anakin leaned back and looked down to pick his sandwich back up. "Well you have a funny way of showing it," he pointed out before taking a bite.
Padme felt awful. "I'm sorry," she said again.
"I'm sorry too, I can be an ass at times," he said. Setting his sandwich down in order to take a sip of water, he looked her in the eye. "Look, we were both drunk last night. We had sex, we should be able to talk about this like adults. I'd rather that this," he motioned with his hand, "Thing here between us, didn't affect our friendship."
"I don't want that either," Padme agreed.
"For the record," he reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. Pulling up the video from Rex, he handed it over to Padme. "Rex sent me this earlier."
Padme watched the video, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, watching as she drunkenly initiated everything. "I don't remember this," she breathed.
"The last clear memory I have of last night was trying to dissuade you from doing body shots. You were on a little high after punching that idiot," Anakin informed her, as he continued to eat.
Padme gaped at him. "No…" she breathed, horribly embarrassed.
Anakin smirked. "It was actually pretty funny, seeing the way you get when you're drunk," he teased.
Padme lowered her face into her hands and moaned. "I'm never drinking again," she vowed. Anakin laughed and in retaliation, she threw a chip at him.
Padme tapped her fingers on the counter as she waited for the pharmacist to retrieve a dose of the Plan B- One Step that was kept in stock in the back. Anakin approached from behind and set down a bottle of ibuprofen and something called Stopain. When the pharmacist returned with the Plan B, Anakin pulled out his wallet to pay before she could pull her own wallet from her purse.
"I've got this," he told her, rubbing her arm.
The pharmacist glanced at them as he ran Anakin's credit card. "Thank you for your service," he said, handing the card back, meeting Anakin in the eye.
Padme opened her mouth to ask how he knew, when she noticed that Anakin's dog tags were in plain view. Coupled with his Air Force ball cap, it wasn't a difficult leap to reach.
"Thanks," Anakin said in return, offering the man a two finger salute while Padme gathered their purchases.
Back out in the car, Padme opened up the package, quickly scanning the instructions before she took the pill with a swig of water.
Anakin popped an ibuprofen before ripping open the Stopain box. "Do me a favor," he said, handing over what looked like a roller to her. "Can you run this along my back?" he asked, pulling up the back of his shirt.
"Sure," she said, unscrewing the cap and applying the product along his spine, as indicated. Her fingers brushed over the long, vertical surgical scar. "What happened?" she asked softly.
"I had surgery, it's nothing," Anakin dismissed, tossing the roller she handed him, into the back seat.
If he didn't want to talk about it, she wasn't going to push him. "Okay," she said.
"I don't know about you, but I'm ready for this shit day to be over," Anakin said as he started the car.
"Yeah," Padme agreed, thinking about everything that they've been through since waking up.
They stopped at a Red Roof Inn in Williamsport, Indiana. Once inside the room, Anakin dropped his duffle on the floor by one of the beds. Padme sat down to unstrap her sandals as Anakin walked towards the bathroom.
"You're not going to be long, are you? I'd like to get in there." she asked, remembering how long he took in the bathroom earlier.
Anakin waved dismissively back towards her. "Nah, I already jerked off once today," he said, closing the door behind him.
Padme paused, twisted around to gape at the closed bathroom door behind her. Was he serious or just trying to provoke a reaction out of her? Whichever it was, it worked. "Is that what took you so long in the bathroom earlier?" she asked when he emerged from the bathroom.
"Ah, yes…" he said, sitting down at the edge of his bed, pulling his duffle over and unzipping it.
"So, let me get this straight," Padme said, motioning with her finger in a circular pattern. "We get into this huge fight and your reaction is to masturbate in a bathroom?" she asked incredulously.
Anakin shrugged, pulling out a pair of sweatpants. "Turns out I like being slapped. Think that makes me a masochist?" he quipped sarcastically.
Padme rolled her eyes. "Be serious," she implored.
Anakin sighed and sat up to look her directly in the eye. "Complete honesty?" he asked apprehensively.
Anticipation hit Padme. "Yes," she breathed.
"You're sure? Because once it's out in the open, we can't pretend it isn't," he cautioned.
Padme wanted to know despite the possible misgivings. It's not that bad, is it? "I'm sure," she confirmed and braced herself for whatever he was going to reveal.
"The truth is," Anakin began, drawing a breath. "I haven't been able to get last night out of my mind."
"By last night you mean, you and I…?" Padme asked.
"Had sex, yes," he confirmed.
Padme bit her lip and glanced down to her feet for a moment. "I thought you said you didn't remember.."
"It's foggy and hits in bits and pieces, but yeah, I remember fragments."
"And what, it turns you on?" Padme asked.
"If this is bothering you…"
Startled, Padme looked up sharply to meet his uncertain gaze. "That's not… I'm just surprised, that's all," she told him.
"You wanted honesty," he reminded her.
"I know," Padme assured him. "I guess, I wasn't expecting this to be it," she admitted. "I suppose that I don't really blame you."
"You don't?" he raised a skeptical eyebrow.
Padme shook her head. "I think, if I could remember … it , that I would struggle not to focus on, well you know," she told him.
Anakin exhaled a breath through his teeth, looking to the side. Standing, he gestured with his sweatpants. "I'm going to change," he said, heading back into the bathroom.
Padme took the opportunity to change into a pair of pajama shorts and tank set. She was sitting down, thinking about his confession when he returned, wearing only the pair of sweatpants, the band sitting low on his hips. Padme bit her lip, watching him move about the room. "Was it good?" she asked.
"What?" Anakin asked, turning to glance at her.
"The sex. Was it good?" she asked.
Anakin sat down on the edge of his bed, facing her. "Yeah, From what I've been able to remember. It was good." he answered.
"I can't remember good sex, it's been so long," Padme lamented.
"How long?" Anakin asked, genuinely curious.
"Ten Months," Padme disclosed.
Anakin leaned back, raising an eyebrow. "That's a long time," he commented.
"It was a bad breakup," Padme explained. "I guess I just needed to be by myself for a while."
"Well," Anakin said, standing to peel back the covers. "I can't say that I know the feeling," he commented, slipping under the covers, setting down to go to bed.
"Needing time to get over a breakup?" Padme enquired, pulling back her own covers.
"Breaking up."
Slipping into bed herself, Padme turned to stare at him in surprise. "Have you not been in a relationship?" she asked.
"Between the Air Force and MIT, I didn't have the time to date," he explained, turning over on his back. "Truthfully, I hadn't even thought about it too much."
"That's a shame," Padme said, reaching over to touch the lightswitch on the lamp. "I think you could make someone pretty happy," she noted as she settled down.
She wasn't sure how long they laid in silence, but Padme's thoughts kept circling over Anakin's little confession. What did it mean that he used the memory of last night to masturbate to? Did he find her attractive? Padme couldn't compete with the types of women like that blonde from the LA bar. And if that was Anakin's type, then why would he fantasize about something they did while intoxicated? It hurt to think that he might not look at her in that way when she couldn't stop thinking about him in that way. It's why what he said in the car during their fight had hurt so much.
Rolling to her side, facing him, she asked, "Anakin?"
"Hmm?" he grunted, indicating that he heard her and was awake.
"If we weren't drunk, would you have wanted to have sex?" she asked quietly.
"What?" Anakin rolled over to face her, pushing himself up to stare at her.
"Would you have wanted to have sex, with me, if it wasn't for the alcohol?" Padme asked again.
It took a moment for him to answer and Padme worried that he was trying to figure out how to gently explaine that he wasn't interested. "Yes," he breathed.
Padme let out a breath of relief.
"Would you?" he asked in return.
Padme was taken aback. Would she have jumped at the chance to have sex with him? Without overthinking how it would affect their friendship? "Yes," she answered, knowing that it was the truth.
Anakin looked at her searchingly, in the dark, before rolling back over in bed, not saying anything more. Padme watched him, comforted by the knowledge that they both would have consented had they been sober the night before. It still presented a nagging problem in her mind. It was incredibly unfair that he could remember pieces of last night where she couldn't conjure anything past punching some jerk. They had sex and she couldn't remember a thing.
"Anakin?"
"What?"
Padme bit her lip, rubbing her thighs together. "Do you want to have sex?" she asked tentatively.
Anakin sat up and turned the light on to face her with a dumbfounded expression. "What?" he asked again.
Padme sat up to face him. "I asked if you wanted to have sex," she reminded him.
A dozen thoughts raced across his mind, as he just stared at her. Swallowing thickly, he met her earnest gaze. "You want to have sex? Now?" he asked.
"It's not like we haven't already, only this time we're sober," Padme explained. "And you just said that you would want to…"
"Padme…" Anakin exhaled, his chest rising and falling as he breathed. "Are you…"
Padme slid out of bed and approached him, his eyes watching her every movement. "Anakin, it's a simple question. Do you want to have sex or not?" she told him.
Anakin held her gaze as she hovered above him, trying to gauge how serious she was. "Yes," he answered.
It was all the answer that she needed. Padme didn't want to think about this, she just wanted to feel. She reached out to comb her finger through his hair, luxuriating in the soft texture. Leaning down, she kissed him. He reached out to place his hands on her hips and Padme let out a little gasp. Anakin deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into her mouth. Padme moaned, he was a good kisser but she needed to feel more. Kneeling on the bed she leaned in closer until she sat, straddling his lap. They continued to make out, getting lost in each other, their hands exploring each other. Needing more, Padme leaned away. They were both breathing heavy as their eyes met.
"Padme?" Anakin prodded, giving her a probing look. There was a hint of doubt in his eyes as he tried to guess what she was thinking. It was as though he expected her to change her mind, any minute.
In one fluid motion, Padme grasped the hem of her tank and pulled it off over her head, bearing herself for him. Anakin gave her one last questioning look for confirmation, his eyes lowering to take her in. When his eyes returned to hers, they had darkened with desire. Pulling her back in, with one hand reaching up to the nape of her neck to tangle in her hair, the other anchoring around her waist, his mouth crashed against hers in a searing kiss that stole her breath.
Anakin held her flush, chest to chest as he twisted, maneuvering their position on the bed as he eased her down with her back pressed against the mattress. Pulling back slightly, his mouth hovering centimeters over hers.
"If you want me to stop, tell me," he told her.
"I don't want you to stop," Padme told him breathlessly, pulling him back in, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Please don't stop," she breathed against his ear.
He leaned in to kiss her again, slow and sensually, cupping her cheek with his hand, drawing circles with his thumb along her cheek, to her ear and back. Padme wound her arms around his shoulders, playing with the ends of his hair along the back of his neck while he trailed the fingers of his other hand along her side, brushing the underside of her arm every so often.
Padme reveled in this kiss and the feel of his weight pressing her firmly into the mattress. Her legs wound around his, trailing her foot up and down his leg. Losing count of how long they stayed like that, Padme wanted more, her body craved more. Moaning into his mouth, she shifted beneath him, using her legs to draw him closer as she ground her hips against his, feeling his arousal through their clothes.
Groaning, Anakin pulled away slightly to look down at her. "Impatient?" he teased with a lazy smile.
Padme didn't appreciate being teased this way and tugged at his hair. "Are we going to have sex or is it your intention to tease me until I fall asleep?" she demanded.
"Oh trust me, there will be no falling asleep out of boredom, just exhaustion," he informed her, leaning down to kiss her, lightly nipping at her bottom lip, kissing the corner of her lips, along her jaw until he reached behind her ear. There, his teeth grazed her skin and he nipped and suckled at the skin. Padme moaned, turning her head to the side to give him better access. Once she was sure that he had left a mark there, she felt him gently nip at her earlobe before he began to trail featherlight kisses along her neck, her collarbone and then to the hollow of her breast.
Padme leaned her head back as she arched back. "I'll believe that when I feel it," she told him, provoking his competitive side.
Her breath hitched when his mouth hovered over one of her breasts, breathing hotly against her nipple. "Don't challenge me, Padme," he warned her.
"Or what, you'll make me pay?" she replied and let out a whimper as he traced around her areola with his tongue in little circles.
As he teased one breast with his tongue, he used fingers to stimulate the same effect on the other, while his free hand trailed along her stomach. He flicked her nipples with both his tongue and fingers simultaneously. Padme gasped as he drew out little teasing stimulation, before he grazed his teeth along her nipple, testing the waters. Satisfied by the sound of her moans, he began to escalate, suckling on her breast while needing the other with his hand. His free hand began to draw circles around her navel, and Padme gasped for breath.
Moving his mouth to the other breast, deftly switching his hand's positions, he continued to draw out every ounce of sensation. Padme cried out as a sudden explosion hit her. How was it that she could orgasm already?
Panting, she braced herself up on her elbows to look down at him. "What was that?" she asked.
"Orgasm number one," He quipped smugly, as he continued to move down her body, leaving a hot tail against her skin with his mouth until he hovered over the band of her pajama shorts. "Tell me to stop and I will," he affirmed, stroking her skin above the waistband.
"Don't stop," Padme panted, slightly annoyed by his need to check. She lifted her hips a fraction as he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her shorts and tugged, removing both her shorts and panties. She was completely bare to his eyes and touch.
Anakin gazed down at her, his eyes taking her in from head to toes. Padme felt a sliver of self consciousness at his gaze. She knew that her body wasn't perfect, her breasts were small and her hips were wide, her stomach wasn't nearly flat enough. While normally, she knew herself to be beautiful, she knew that she wasn't a centerfold either.
Finally, his eyes met hers. "You're beautiful," he affirmed.
Padme let out a breath of relief and eased back down, preparing to become putty in his hands. Kneeling between her legs, he gently stroked his fingers along her calves, under her knees and up along her inner thighs. Padme breathed deeply, in and out, waiting for his next move. "Anakin," she whispered.
"Hmm?" he hummed and shifted his position, lifting one of her legs to hook over his shoulder, kissing her inner thigh.
"Stop teasing me," she requested.
"As you wish," he complied with a lazy grin against her skin.
Padme was about to make a Princess Bride quip in response but all that came out when she opened her mouth was a loud moan. He had dove in while she was distracted and immediately began to stroke along her folds with his tongue. Padme threw her head back against the pillow, reaching behind her to grip the headboard, her other hand finding its way back into his hair as she ground against his mouth, letting out little moans and mewls as he worked her with his tongue. At first he used gentle strokes up and down, teasingly, but then his tongue gravitated to the little nub of nerves that was her clitoris. Just as he had attended to her nipples, he began to nip and suckle until she let out a little shriek. Spurred on, he added a finger into the mix. First, stroking her folds with his finger and he continued to suckle at her clit, then sliding the aforementioned finger inside.
"Oh god," she moaned, arching her back, her eyes closed as her thighs clamped around his head as he upped the pace, adding another finger into the mix. Her body felt taut, like a coiled spring, stretched out, ready to snap back into shape. She ground her hips against his mouth, her mouth fell open as her chest heaved. She was so close to the edge. "Oh, fuck! Yes, that's…" She tumbled over the edge with a scream. Her body thrummed as she babbled incoherently through her second orgasm.
Panting for breath, she opened her eyes to stare up at the ceiling while Anakin climbed back up her body, leaving a trail of open mouthed kisses along her flushed skin. Leaning in to give her a quick searing kiss, he pulled back enough to hold her gaze.
"Do you want me to stop?" he asked.
Coming back down from her high, she frowned. "If you stop now, I'm going to punch you," she warned.
Grinning, he leaned down for another kiss, which Padme returned with enthusiasm, nipping at his lip as he pulled away. Shifting his weight, he reached above her to retrieve his wallet from the nightstand. Leaning back on his knees, he retrieved a foil packet before tossing the wallet aside. Padme sat up. "Anakin," she began.
Their eyes met. "Better safe than sorry," he muttered.
Padme breathed deeply, then reached up to slide her hand up, along the back of his neck, leaning up to kiss him. He cupped her cheek, returning the kiss. Her other hand came to rest against his chest, over his heart. Pulling back slightly, they held each other's gaze, both breathing deeply. His heart was beating fast under her fingertips. Breaking their gaze, her eyes followed her fingertips. Without thinking about it beforehand, she leaned in to press her lips against his skin, over where his heart beat. Anakin's breath hitched, spurring her on to continue.
With a featherlite touch, her fingers trailed along the hard ridges of his muscular chest. Padme followed her fingers with her lips. He was perfect. His skin was soft and tanned, stretched over taut muscle. He felt warm to the touch. Padme hooked her finger around the chain around his neck that contained his dog tags, lightly tracing the little silver rectangles, stamped with his name. She left a delicate kiss to the cool metal before letting it go. Her fingers traced along, down the ridges of his abdomen, about to follow with her mouth when he reached for her chin, pulling her back up so that he could lean in for a gentle kiss.
"Lay back," he softly instructed.
Padme bit her lip as she complied. Anticipation coiled in her belly as she watched him move off the bed to remove his sweatpants. Padme wet her lips as he stood before her, completely naked. He was glorious and huge! After applying the condom, he kneeled back on the bed, climbing over her. Padme wound her arms around his neck as he braced himself on his forearms , leaning down to kiss her. "Are you absolutely sure?" he asked for a final time, his eyes searching hers. "Because I don't think we can try to forget this time."
Fed up with his constant need to ask for her consent, Padme gripped his hair with both hands, by the roots. "Anakin Skywalker, if you don't fuck me right this second, I'm going to kill you and dump your body in the hotel pool," she threatened.
"No need to resort to violence," he muttered, leaning in to kiss her fervently. Padme hooked a leg over his hip, pulling him in closer. She broke the kiss with a gasp as he slid inside her with a groan against her throat. Padme slid her arms up along his back, wrapping her legs around his waist as he sunk his full length deep within. He stilled for a moment, giving her the chance to adjust to his size. Their eyes met in silent communication.
Padme felt something flutter in her chest. This was the closest and most intimate they had ever been with each other. It was not lost on Padme that this man, who was currently balls deep inside her, was the same little boy she used to go streaking with in the back garden as toddlers. He was the same little boy who, with grease stained cheeks, dirt covered hands and ripped clothes, presented her with a rusted lug nut as though he had just found a diamond in the ground. He was the same boy who took apart her remote controlled Barbie car, convinced that he could make it run better. He was the same boy that she grew up with, learning and achieving every milestone with. He was the same boy she had known most of her life, her best friend. So what did this make them now?
"You okay?" he asked.
"Perfect," she affirmed, leaning up to kiss his chin. Feeling restless, she rolled her hips, eliciting a low, throaty groan from him. "I would feel better if you hurried along," she told him.
"Impatient," he chastised but complied with her wishes nonetheless, withdrawing leisurely until only the tip of his cock remained and plunged back inside at a quicker pace.
Padme moaned, meeting each subsequent thrust with a roll of her hips. At first, he set a slow, leisurely pace, building up enough fiction that left her breathless. Anakin nuzzled her neck, along the curve of her shoulder as he increased the pace. Padme's nails dug into his shoulders, closing her eyes as she threw her head back, moaning his name. He moaned against her skin, increasing the tempo as his thrusts became harder and faster. Tension coiled in her body with each increase of pace. Clinging tightly around his torso, Padme's teeth sunk into his shoulder. She was so close. He was not far behind if the increase of his thrusts and the tauntness of his body was any indication.
"Oh, God," she moaned. "Oh, Anakin," she moaned into his ear.
It was enough to tip him over the edge as his thrusts became more frantic. Padme cried out in ecstasy as she fell over the edge, reaching her climax. She could feel him stiffen and pulse as he too reached his own climax, her name falling from his lips as they rode it out together.
Panting heavily, their eyes met before he leaned in for a final, searing kiss. Padme had the distinct impression that he was trying to convey a message he couldn't express with words in that final kiss. He left her completely breathless once he began to pull away.
Padme missed his warmth immediately when he carefully pulled out and left the bed. She watched as he walked into the bathroom, feeling oddly empty. Curling onto her side, Padme pulled the covers up to her chin as she began to realize that what they had just done would leave a permanent impact on their friendship. The fluttering in her chest grew as she realized that this wasn't just sex for her. Did it mean anything to him or was it just sex to him?
The bed dipped behind her, alerting Padme to his return. Anakin slid back into bed behind her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. Padme could feel his chin resting against her shoulder as his arm snaked over to interlock his fingers with hers. It was far too intimate and yet, Padme couldn't bring herself to pull away. Instead, she just snuggled further into his warmth and drifted off to sleep. They'll have to deal with the consequences in the morning.