Starlight lit the Hedsard gardens Padme and Anakin raced through in perfect silence. The Prince kept one hand in hers, dragging her along behind him as her far shorter legs struggled to keep pace. She wished more than anything for a pair of her boots, flat, comfortable and offering more of a grip on the slippery grass than the decorative heels she wore. They were, after all, made for dancing, walking carefully on smooth surfaces and to be admired, not running for her life! But Padme bit her lip against any complaints, there wasn't anything she or Anakin could do about it, though the temptation to slip her shoes off grew greater with every step they took.

The moment Anakin had landed gracefully on his feet against the grass, as if leaping out of a window while carrying her has been nothing, Padme had been too shocked to do anything more than chase after the Prince as he dragged her through the trees. Had their absences been noticed yet, she wondered? Were they launching a search party already? How could they hide if trackers were sent out after them?

A step or two ahead of her, Anakin led her around tree bends and over soft bushes, their frantic footsteps were the only sounds of the night. They ran until the burning in her chest felt so deep that she would never pull a full breath into her body ever again. Padme wheezed as Anakin skidded to a sudden stop and narrowed his eyes at a shape in the darkness ahead. "This will do! C'mon!"

Without releasing her hand, he walked leisurely toward what appeared to be a disused gardening shed. The singular window was cracked and filthy and the creaky, ill-fitting door hung precariously upon rusting hinges. The darkness inside was absolute she noted as Anakin carefully tugged the door open and allowed Padme to step inside. Gods, she hoped there weren't insects in here…

Once the rickety door squealed closed behind them, the moon and stars shone dimly through the dirt and dust coating the little window. Having been built for the use of small droids, the space was a tight squeeze for both their bodies to force themselves into. Her back pushed into the wall by the window and though Anakin did his best to lean away, they could not help but press against one another awkwardly.

"I, uh…" He cleared his throat uncomfortably, "I didn't realise just how small – "

"It's fine," she nodded shallowly, "I'm glad of the shelter actually, it's freezing out there."

"Damn," he carefully laid a gloved palm on the wooden wall near Padme's head as he tried to slot his long limbs into a more comfortable stance, "I should have thought about that. I'm so sorry, Padme. Are you cold now? I can probably – "

Shaking her head, the Senator knew the gooseflesh dotting her skin had nothing to do with the night air any longer, though Anakin didn't need to know that. "I'm fine, don't worry about it. I wouldn't expect you to think of such small comforts while planning an escape anyway." The Prince gave a short scoff, rolling his eyes as if she had said something silly. Padme narrowed her eyes as he seemed to battle with himself, she watched his jaw tense and un-tense as he avoided her eye. "What?" She prompted him, "what is it?"

Whatever he had thought about telling her died in the slight space between them as Anakin plucked a comm link out of his pocket and laid it on the few inches of rotting wood making up a window pane. "We shouldn't be here for too long, my lady," a tinge of formality crept into his voice, "Vader will send out a signal telling us when we need to return."

"And until then?" She murmured. Anakin's heavy gaze met hers, thrilling and frightening in equal parts. This confusing, exciting, dangerous and protective man she had unwittingly bound her heart to so thoroughly was a puzzle she could not seem to solve. So much lingered between them, a tidal wave of emotions Padme didn't know how to put into words or actions. Where did they stand? Did he feel anything for her? Her heart sang yes, he had attacked Varlo in her name, he broke into her room to rescue her, he always made the time to see her in the Senate and truly took her advice and suggestions into consideration. But did all of that mean he longed for her? That he burned for her as badly Padme did for him? She needed the truth. She had to know her place in his heart to cull her fantasy of him forever if there could be no future.

"We just have to wait it out, I suppose…"

They were quiet for a few moments as she gathered her thoughts, devising the best way to ask her questions without scaring him away. Anakin already seemed so reluctant to allow himself close to her, he shut himself off the moment there seemed to be hope for them or her questions cut too deeply. Eventually, just as she steeled herself to ask, he cleared his throat once more, drawing the Senator's attention upwards to the man towering over her small frame.

"Look, I uh… Padme, I am so sorry for tonight…" Anakin laid his free hand over her shoulder, giving her flesh a tender squeeze. "I know that I frightened you and, well, you saw a side of me not many have. I'm not proud of it. I just want you to know that I would never hurt you. Not ever."

"Anakin," without thinking about too much, she reached up to lay a trembling hand over his chest and through all the layers of the guard's stolen clothing he wore, Padme felt the furious pounding of his heart against her palm. He had scared her before, she couldn't deny it though she wished that she could. What had happened in that room shook her to her very core. She had never seen such brutal violence being carried out and so eagerly too, but she knew Anakin. He was a good person. "I know that. I do, and I know as… horrible as that was, you saved me back there."

"That's not true," he shook his head, "You saved yourself before I even got there. I just stormed in after the fact and made everything worse…" He worked a muscle in his cheek tensely as his gaze dropped away to study his boots. "I wanted to kill him for hurting you, Padme."

"But you didn't," she shifted just a little closer, desperate to reveal the truth and clear his conscience of everything people had accused him of tonight. "Varlo was stabbed to death, Anakin, it wasn't you."

Gloved fingers began to trail up and down her arm softly, so gently that she wondered if he even realised he was doing it at all. "I know that," he said, "Vader told me... but I wanted to be the one to kill him and I could have. If you hadn't pulled me off, I would've." Anakin whispered guiltily, lifting his eyes to her own once more. "I wanted to make him suffer."

Padme's second hand joined the first on Anakin's chest, laying on the cool plastifiber vest. Their eyes did not break away from one another. "I know… and I understand… The galaxy is undoubtedly a better place without him in it but the look on your face, Anakin…" Her throat choked closed suddenly as the monstrous expression he'd worn flashed before her eyes again. He had delighted in every scream and cry Varlo gave, thriving upon the violence as he delivered each blow more brutal than the last without hesitation. "I've never seen anyone look like that before. It was as if you were enjoying it."

After a moment of quiet, he sighed tiredly. "I'm going to be honest with you, I did enjoy it." His shoulders slumped slightly as if a terrible, shadowy weight had lifted with the dark confession. "But it's not exactly what you think it is. I'm a soldier, Padme. I will do whatever it takes to fulfil my duty. If it's getting Vader results on the battlefield, I'll do anything to accomplish his vision. It's my duty to protect the people I care about and if someone hurts them, then I'll make sure they pay for it."

"But I'd already gotten myself out," she breathed, "you didn't need to go in there."

"What I'm about to tell you, nobody outside of my brother and I know, okay?" Anakin's eyes bore pleadingly into hers, willing her to keep whatever secret he was about to speak guarded behind closed lips. Padme nodded at him encouragingly. Nobody would ever know what he said tonight. She would gladly take his secret to her grave. "There's a… darkness in my family. It comes from our powers. There is the light side of the force and the dark. Our father embraced the dark wholly and demanded Vader and I do the same. If we resisted or failed to allow it to truly embody us and seep into our hearts, we would be punished. Severely. That seed, that demon he put inside of me woke up tonight. I couldn't stop it. I didn't want to stop it. I wanted it to help me make Hedsard pay for what he'd done to you tenfold."

Her mind reeled as it tried to fully comprehend what he said. Little was truly known about the mysterious magical powers the royal family possessed and many believed them to be lies created by Emperors of the past to frighten any would-be contenders to the throne, but Padme had seen Anakin's powers. He had shown her this evening with the glass and then knocking out the guards. She tried to understand the concept of lightness and dark within such power but without proper knowledge, it was impossible. What she did know was Anakin wasn't a liar, he would never make something like this up to avoid repercussions for his actions. He was too honourable for such a thing.

"Your powers made you act that way?"

"No," he shook his head, "I wanted to do it… my powers only encouraged it. Emboldened me. It's as if poison is flowing through my blood, taking away everything that makes me who I am. The dark side of the force unleashes your anger, your passion… your hate. It's difficult to explain, and I know this can't make much sense to you… It's like… like a glaze that comes over your mind once you accept it. It washes away everything that would hold you back. I allowed it because I wanted to hurt him. He deserved to feel fear like he made you feel. I wanted him to fear for his life and the darkness inside of me made it happen." Anakin hung his head shamefully, "I'm sorry that I put you through that. I was a monster."

"You're not a monster, Anakin," Padme shook her head, "Varlo was a monster. You wanted to protect me, I know that. What I don't know is why?" There, it was done now. The question lingered in the air between the Prince and Senator heavily. It was long past time to lay their cards on the table and be open with each other. "Why, Anakin?"

With a huff, he glanced up at the rotting wooden ceiling above their heads for a moment as if he were trying to formulate an answer inside his head as if someone might whisper helpful words through the tiny holes that had formed there. "Because…" Anakin gave a shallow, frustrated sigh, "because you are in my very soul. You haunt my dreams and my every waking thought. I've never… there isn't anyone as giving or as driven to do good as you and that's – you have no idea how rare that is in this galaxy. And he wanted to hurt you… he wanted to do something so unspeakable…" His face was mere inches from hers now and Padme felt her breath quicken with every word that tumbled out of his mouth. "That's why I wanted to hurt him. For lifting his filthy hands to you, he lost the privilege of breathing as far as I was concerned."

She swallowed as Anakin's impassioned words stuttered to a stop and he watched her, his expression pained as she thrilled and shrank from his confession at the same time. It was everything Padme had ever wished to hear him say. He cared about her, she held a special place in his heart, just like she had always dreamed of. It didn't feel real after the nightmare they had endured this evening and yet her heart sang in celebration, drawing a nervous, breathless smile over the Senator's mouth.

Carefully, one palm lifted from where it rested on the Anakin's heaving chest and placed itself over his warm cheek. She wished the galaxy knew the torment its Princes had endured at the hands of the Emperor – their own father. Sidious had twisted Anakin's mind until he truly thought of himself as a beastly miscreation. That his value rested in whatever violence he wrought or battles he won… Padme wished he could see himself the way she did. She wished more than anything that she could make him understand his father's influence wasn't a taint forever marring his soul, no, he wasn't bound to the wrongdoings of the Emperor. He was his own person, a grown man whose path was his own to choose.

Padme stroked her thumb across his cheekbone and trailed her fingers along his skin so softly, Anakin's eyes dropped closed and he exhaled deeply, savouring her touch as her other hand did the same. She was touching him! How surreal… "I've wanted to hear you say these things to me for a long time," the confession came as a gentle whisper in the small expanse of air between their faces. "I was beginning to think that you never would."

With a grumbling moan and his eyes still closed, Anakin turned and kissed the back of her wrist and shook his head. "I've been a force-damned fool." Padme smiled as he nuzzled closer against her palm and pressed his lips to it in a second, sweetly fleeting kiss. Gods, she had always thought that he was incredibly handsome but here, so close to her in the darkness, Anakin was beautiful. The sunshine of his hair, the natural tan of his skin, the blazing intensity in his gaze as his eyes opened to look at her once more.

"I think that we've both been too afraid, for one reason or another, to admit what's in our hearts." Padme's arms slivered around his neck and she felt the slight weight of his gloved hands on the subtle curve of her hips. Deep inside her chest, her heart felt ready to leap up through her throat! Could this really be happening? She was deathly afraid to wake up back in her little prison bedroom to find this had all been a beautiful dream her imagination had conjured up. The very thought pushed her closer to Anakin's body, revelling in the firm pressure of him against her, of the heat he radiated, the warmness of his touch. Real, real, real!

The Prince pressed his forehead against hers, dragging the tip of his nose along her own for a moment. "I don't want to hurt you, Padme… there is… there is so much you still don't know." Padme felt his fingers tighten on her hips worriedly, "I don't want you to regret this."

She laughed breathlessly and shook her head slightly, trying to avoid pulling away from any inch of him. "You swore that you would never hurt me… I believe you."

"Force help me," he whispered and closed the minuscule space between them.

At first, Anakin kissed her gently, only a soft, teasing brush of his lips against hers but that alone had every nerve inside Padme's body reeling beyond what she had ever imagined possible. He was being delicate with her, every kiss light, chaste and hesitant. It was a kindness, a sweet gesture of holding back on her account and any other time, she might have loved it.

But not tonight.

The next time Anakin kissed her, Padme grazed her teeth on his bottom lip. He grunted in surprise as she bit down gently and then let her tongue stroke lightly against the seam of his closed mouth. To feel him shudder in her arms because of her kiss was everything and more. The greatest thrill she had ever known. "H – hey," he kissed her again, "we need to be careful," another kiss, "… can't miss… signal…"

So caught up in the overwhelming delight of the moment, Padme let his words in one ear and right out of the other. She wasn't looking for any distractions right now. This moment felt deliciously tender, fleeting and yet eternal. If something sought to shatter it, the Senator would block it out entirely. "Stop talking," she purred and kissed him again. This time, Anakin's mouth opened and her tongue mated wetly with his, the feeling of it tugging a quiet groan from the pit of her throat. One gloved hand came up to fist tightly in her mused hair, forcing her head to tilt backwards just enough for the Prince's mouth to devour her.

He forced her further against the wall, his free hand trailing down Padme's body until he discovered her knee through the tear of her dress, hiking her leg up and around his body. She needed no further encouragement, throwing her weight onto Anakin's body and crossing her ankles above his backside. Right away his other hand abandoned her hair and cupped her thigh, holding her securely against the wall as their mouths made aggressive love.

"Wait, wait," Anakin dragged his lips from hers suddenly, his breathing coming in harsh, ragged pants. "We shouldn't… I mean, are you okay? Is this alright? You went through hell back there, I don't – "

Padme blinked in confusion before the meaning of his words became clear to her lust-fogged mind. Was he afraid that his touch or his wonderful, incredible, phenomenal kiss triggered the ghost of Varlo Hedsard across her skin? Impossible! He was the only man she desired to touch her. This moment was all she had wanted for years. Varlo would not ruin it.

"I want you," she moaned, "I want you so badly, Anakin. Nothing else matters."

They kissed again and again until Padme was sure her lips had to be bruising from the contact and she loved every second of it. She gasped when Anakin broke away to kiss a blazing trail of worship along the column of her neck and nipped carefully at the small mole she had above her pulse point. It was bliss! It was heaven! How had she ever lived so long without this in her life?

She wanted nothing more than to tear off his clothes and explore every glorious inch of his hard body. Against her core, Padme felt him, hard and throbbing with want and she arched against him, desperately seeking friction to ease the building ache between her legs. Anakin groaned and chased her lips once more, making her gasp into his mouth when his tongue thrust lewdly against hers. He rocked against her, thrusting his stiff erection against her through the flimsy barrier of her underwear.

"You're an angel," Anakin panted into her neck, "you're everything I've ever wanted."

"Oh," Padme's head fell backwards as the hard pressure of his cock rubbed just right over her clit, sending sparks of pleasure shuddering through the Senator's body. It was all she could do to thread her fingers through his golden curls as their bodies rut desperately against one another. Suddenly, a tingling sensation came over her thighs, a phantom hold, as Anakin's actual hands slid up the length of her body, curving around her waist and upwards to cup the swell of her breasts through her dress.

She was breathless, alive and ecstatic to be here experiencing this with him, even in this tiny, squalid shed. His lips were hot on her neck once again and she shuddered against him. More, she wanted to beg him, more… I need more… Padme fisted his hair tightly as Anakin's fingers dipped into the crossover neckline of her dress and dragged it down, along with her bra, exposing inch after inch of her skin until her breasts were freed into the cool night air. The Prince delivered a searing line of fiery kisses leading to her stiff nipple which he suckled into his mouth with firm, intensely pleasurable pressure.

"Yes," she gasped, holding his head against her breast. "Oh, Anakin, yes!"

He released her nipple with a wet pop and buried his face in the crook of her neck, lavishing her skin there with meticulous adoration as he panted desperately. "Padme… I – I can't… force, I need you so bad."

Were they truly going to do this? Padme's heart thundered ears as her mind tried to catch up to the throb of lust that heated every inch of her flushed body. Gods, she wanted it! It felt as like if he wasn't inside her soon, she might die. She had never felt such absolute passion with a lover before, her flings and dates of the past had been nice at best but she had never felt such utter desperation for a man before Anakin. Maybe it was a bad idea, they were hardly in their right minds but the Senator decided to throw caution to the wind for once. In the hell that had been tonight, they deserved something good.

"Yes," Padme gasped her consent, "Yes, yes, I need you! I need you inside me – "

Bzzzz.

Bzzzz.

"Anakin? Anakin, are you there?" The hazy, distant voice of Prince Vader burst through the commlink by the window, startling both of them apart with ragged gasps of surprise. Anakin buried his face between Padme's breasts with a long, deeply frustrated groan which was muffled by her flesh as he blindly reached for the communication device.

"I'm here. We're here. What's happening?"

"Glad to hear it," Vader's voice bled into the tense air, "I have good news. It seems we were slightly incorrect in our prior findings… There was a witness to Varlo Hedsard's murder."