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Anakin Skywalker was used to stumbling out of his wife’s apartment at 3:00 AM. Whenever he was back on Coruscant, he would spend some time at the Temple so nobody would be too suspicious, but then he would sneak away to the Naboo Senatorial Apartment Complex. He would eat dinner with Padmé and then make love together. Too soon each night, Anakin would realize it was late and he had to get back back to the Temple. They would kiss each other goodnight before Anakin slipped out to the landing platform and flew himself away from his home.
The landing platform was technically shared by all of Naboo’s Senate delegation, so Anakin knew he should be cautious, but after years of sneaking around without anybody noticing, his guard was down. None of the Naboo representatives were nocturnal, and not once had anybody else been using the platform at 3:00 AM. It was always empty.
Until now.
Anakin cursed under his breath when he noticed the robed figure striding across the platform towards him. Whoever it was had yet to notice Anakin, but whenever they did, they were sure to recognize the Hero with No Fear and be suspicious. Anakin knew he wasn’t the perfect picture of innocence, given that his tunics were askew and remnants of Padmé’s lipstick clung to his cheek. It’ll be okay, he told himself. I can just mind-trick the guy into forgetting I was ever here. No big deal! But his breath quickened anyway.
He pulled his hood more tightly over his head as he tried to shuffle as quickly as he could towards his ship without the other person noticing. Anakin had almost reached the ship when all of a sudden, he felt a spark of surprise and an all-too-familiar probing in the Force. Chills ran down his spine when he realized who it was. No, it couldn’t be—
“Good morning, Knight Skywalker,” Mace Windu said, his voice unwavering and his face professional as always. Kriff. Of all the people to find him, why did it have to be Windu? He would find out about Padmé and their marriage and Anakin would be kicked out of the Order and his life would over and—
He heard Obi-Wan’s voice in his head saying, Take a deep breath, Anakin. He knew he was projecting fear like crazy in the Force, and called upon his old lessons to wrap it all up in his shields. Jedi are not afraid. Nothing had happened yet. Maybe he could still get out of this conversation without any trouble.
“Uhh, greetings, Master Windu,” he said after too long of a pause. They stared at each other, neither one willing to make the next move. Ships flew past the apartment against a backdrop of the inky Coruscanti sky. Anakin felt the breeze against his neck more than ever. “So, if everything’s alright, I’m just gonna head back to the Temple—”
“What were you doing at the Naboo Senatorial Apartment Complex, Skywalker?” Windu stared at Anakin, his gaze as judgmental as ever.
Anakin ran his hand through his hair and begged the Force to strike him dead right there. “Oh, I was just stopping by Pad—I mean, Senator Amidala’s apartment to file our report about that mess with the Banking Clan from last month.”
He held his breath as Windu stared at him and prayed that he wouldn’t question him any further. Luckily, Windu just nodded and started to turn away. That was when Anakin noticed the incriminating evidence: a crease in Windu’s cloak. A crease! Windu’s surprise at Anakin’s presence and the quick end to the conversation meant that he hadn’t come just to expose a love affair.
Anakin’s suspicions grew, and before Windu could get away, Anakin called out to him. “Master Windu, what were you doing here tonight?”
Windu froze before slowly turning back around to face Anakin. His eye twitched, and Anakin gulped. “I do not see how this is any of your business, Skywalker, but I was merely visiting Representative Binks to retrieve his report on our mission to Bardotta last week.”
It took all of Anakin’s self-control to stop his jaw from dropping when he recognized the similarity of their excuses. Mace Windu was married to Jar Jar Binks?! It was a concept that had only ever been entertained in the trashiest of the gossip rags that Anakin always stole from Ahsoka. It was such a ridiculous concept that of course nobody believed it, but perhaps that was what made the ruse so easy.
He had always thought that Windu hated him, and had naturally assumed that if he ever found out about Anakin’s secret marriage, he would expel Anakin from the Order. However, not only was he not throwing Anakin out, he apparently understood Anakin’s situation.
“Hey, Master, if you ever want to talk about—”
Windu glared at him. “I do not know what you are insinuating, but my relationship with Representative Binks is entirely professional. I most certainly do not want to talk about it, and this conversation never happened.”
Anakin winced as he felt the attempted mind trick skitter past his shields. Obviously, he would never forget such a planet-shattering revelation, but perhaps it would be better to let Windu think that it had worked in his desperation.
“Good night, Master Windu. May the Force be with you,” Anakin said with a bow deeper than usual. It felt strange to actually respect Windu for once while performing the action.
Windu exhaled almost imperceptibly. “May the Force be with you, Knight Skywalker,” he said with a bow, before walking away at a brisk pace, which for Windu meant that he was practically sprinting.
As Windu’s ship lifted away from the platform, Anakin stood there, contemplating their meeting. His marriage brought him joy and love away from the pain of the Clone Wars. But he had always felt so lonely, having to hide his relationship from everyone he knew. He had always wished he could just be open about his love for Padmé, but knew that nobody would understand.
But now… If Windu, the Master of the kriffing Order was married as well, maybe the Jedi wouldn’t react too badly to Anakin’s secret. Relief flooded through him as he realized that maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay. And maybe he could confide in Obi-Wan about those really weird nightmares he’d been having of Padmé dying in childbirth…