Work Text:
Anakin Skywalker did not handle boredom well. For him, being a Jedi was about the thrill and adventures that arose from traveling the galaxy and fighting enemies with a lightsaber. It was not about holing up on Naboo with a senator while her assassins were still out there. He should be with Obi-Wan tracking Padme’s attackers down. Not playing checkers in a sunlit living room.
Frustrated, he shoved a red piece forward, not thinking about Padme’s position on the board. She wasted no time taking his game piece prisoner. Anakin groaned.
“Plan ahead, Ani. Pay attention to what I’m doing. You need to watch out before you advance.”
“I thought you told me to stop looking at you. It made you uncomfortable.”
“Watch my position on the board,” Padme clarified, modulated voice sharpening on the edge. “Running headfirst into danger is the quickest way to lose.”
Anakin hung his head. Maybe his comment had struck a nerve. She must not like people staring at her because she thought it was a threat.
Returning to Padme’s home planet hadn’t been enough to calm her down. Even though her attackers were star systems away, her mind was politics, politics, politics. All the time, she thought about politics. Anakin had only agreed to try this game with her because he thought it would calm her down.
The feeling in his stomach was back. Anakin had felt it since the moment he and Padme were reunited. Each encounter made the sensation stronger, and nothing Anakin did to address it got him anywhere. Padme didn’t want to hear how beautiful she was. Playing with fruit and the Force had gotten a second’s worth of smile out of her. Now they were playing her game, and all she wanted to do was lecture him.
He tried to take her advice. Anakin studied the layout of the board with new eyes. He was down to five pieces now. Padme still had all eight. Her blue pieces formed a tight advancing formation while Anakin’s forces were scattered. No wonder she’d been picking him off. All she had to do was wait for a red circle to come in range. With no one to protect Anakin’s fighter, she could take him down with ease.
Checkers didn’t care how good of a fighter Anakin was. It didn’t take lightsaber combat into account. All the pieces on the board were useless when faced with capture. They fought together, or they lost alone. Anakin was starting to realize that now.
This turn, he didn’t try to advance on Padme. Instead, he shifted one of his pieces to lie in wait behind another. That way even if Padme got in position, she wouldn’t be able to capture either checker.
She nodded at his decision. “You’re learning.”
His next series of turns were all focused on building up defenses. Anakin never got close to taking a piece from Padme, but she was no longer able to pick his forces off. They moved in circles for what felt like hours.
Anakin was getting bored again, but this time, he had a plan. He let Padme see how frustrated he was getting and deliberately moved a piece into her formation’s gaping maw. When she sprung the trap and took it, he used his backup guy to capture the first of her pieces. “I got you.”
“You got one of my pieces. I have four of yours,” Padme reminded him, her tone hiding a smile. “Don’t get cocky now.”
“This game is harder than I thought it would be,” Anakin confessed. “You’re really smart, Padme.”
She shook her head. “Strategic is the word you’re looking for. Strategy is everything in the Senate. The right move at the wrong time is enough to cost you a lifelong career.”
Her comment caught his attention. “Do you think that’s why people are after you? Did you make the right move at the wrong time?”
Padme sighed. “I don’t know, Ani. I just know the Republic shouldn’t resort to force to keep its members in line.”
“But the Republic worlds are stronger together,” Anakin countered, lifting one of its pieces up from its spot on the board. “It’s like these things. They can’t win anything by themselves. Planets trying to leave the Republic put themselves in danger.”
“Using an army against deserters endangers their people too. We can’t use force to prevent violence.”
“Of course we can. The Jedi do it all the time. Aggressive negotiations, remember?”
She frowned. “I know. A lot of Senators no longer think the Jedi can do that by themselves. They don’t want them acting by themselves. Jedi warriors are commanded by their council, not the Senate. But they also represent the Republic, and…” She trailed off, cheeks reddening. “We’ve talked about this already. It’s no use.”
“You want to get back to our game?” Anakin offered.
“I’m not sure I want to play anymore.” Padme stood from the gaming table. “Sorry I’m not more fun. I have a lot I’m thinking about.”
Anakin cracked a smile, trying to distract Padme. “You can’t quit right as I learn how to play. I could still win, you know.”
Padme looked back at the board, eyebrows raised. “I doubt that.”
“You never know. How can you be sure you’ve beaten me at checkers if you don’t see it through to the end. I know you don’t surrender, Padme.” Anakin started off teasing, but his tone switched to serious as he reached his last words. “Your planet was under invasion as queen. You didn’t surrender then. You got the help you needed, fought back, and won. You can do that here too, Padme.”
“In our game or in the Senate?”
“Both. You’re the sm- most strategic person I know, Padme.” Just saying that brought the fluttering back to Anakin’s stomach. He nearly bent over from the force of it.
Padme considered his words, then sat back down across from him. “Thank you, Ani.” She gave him a muted smile. “Now prepare to lose.”
Anakin did lose at checkers. He learned a lot while he was doing it, though. Never run into a fight alone. Always check on your forces. Don’t let the enemy out of your sight.
Most importantly, never give up. Everyone and everything has a place on the galaxy’s checkerboard. The Force wills it.