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There weren’t many things that stuck out as weird on the streets of Coruscant, but if there was one, it would definitely have to be a Padawan sneaking into the senate building after dark.
Why a Padawan would want to be inside the senate building of all places was a muster enough, you’d think they spent enough time with official business for people so young, but beyond that, there was the simple and commonly known fact that Padawan’s were not supposed to be out alone at night, not unless they were on official Jedi business.
And it was very, very clear from the giant grin plastered on Anakin’s face that he was in fact not on official Jedi business. His shoes slapped against the pavement stairs much too loudly for how unseen he’d continuously promised his lover to keep himself, but he was really much too excited to move any slower.
He practically burst through the back door, hoping the carpeted floors would keep his running quiet to any who may still lurk in the senate building. Anakin much preferred meeting Padmé in her own apartment, but with no speeder available to him in the moment, and a promise to both Padmé, Obi Wan, and the council that he wouldn’t steal one after an incident a few moon cycles prior, they didn’t have much of a choice when it came to their meeting spots.
For as great of a pilot Anakin was, it seemed he’d traded his running abilities for the skill. Only moments of dashing through the hall had somehow led him to trip over himself, crashing to the floor with a thud.
“Skywalker, what on earth are you doing here?” A familiar voice made Anakin's face scrunch up in dread. Above him, Master Windu looked down on him with the most disapproving stare Anakin had ever seen the man muster. That was quite a feat.
“Looking for my own master, master,” Anakin lied, tripping over his words with a shaky voice as he pushed himself off the ground and dusted off his robes with his hands.
“There’s a gala happening downstairs, Anakin,” Master Windu informed him, crossing his arms over his chest and looking the suspicious Padawan up and down. Anakin did his best not to groan at the tidbit of information. Would Padmé be too busy to see him?
“Would Obi Wan be there?” He inquired, trying to get more information out of the man.
“Yes, I think I saw him talking with Senator Amidala and Senator Organa,” Master Windu recalled, but didn’t let Anakin go just yet. “If you must, I’ll allow you to go speak to him, but I suggest you make your way back to the temple as soon as possible.”
“Thank you, Master Windu,” Anakin could hug the man, he was so grateful, but knowing that would be death wish, he only bowed and sprinted off down the hall again, leaving Mace to hope the boy wouldn’t get himself into too much trouble, as he always seemed to do.
—
Anakin boarded the turbolift and slammed the button of the floor he wanted as if more force would make it go faster. He bounced on the balls of his feet anxiously as he watched the floors outside the glass tube pass by in a blur.
It was only a few minutes before the doors reopened, revealing another dark hall like he’d just been in. This one, though, had two large doors that stood directly across from the turbolift, light and noise seeping out from under their grand frames.
He could hear talking and music and laughter, and it seemed that Anakin had underestimated what Master Windu meant by a “gala”. To be fair, Anakin hadn’t been to many galas, or any at all, actually, but he still felt a bit dumb for not assuming the size.
He peaked past the door, and, surely enough, there was Padmé, chatting happily with a few of her senator friends and Anakin’s very own master. To be fair, Padmé hadn’t exactly know of Anakin’s plans to meet her, but he hadn’t known of the gala, either. He had her schedule very well memorized, but he still mentally scolded himself for thinking either of their busy routines would allow for something as spontaneous as a surprise visit.
Still, it would be awfully suspicious if Obi Wan heard of Anakin roaming the senate building at such an hour with the excuse of finding him, and so he’d have to pick up himself up from his defeat and make his way to his master now. He slid through the large door, the loud creaking sound of the movement thankfully being covered by the noise of the party, and make his way to his master, his brain racing with a good excuse.
“Anakin?” Padmé noticed the padawan first, and turned to him with quite a surprised expression that furrowed her eyebrows up. With a glance at his freshly washed robes and newly re-done braid, she gave him a bit of a teasing smile that made him blush.
“Oh, this is a surprise,” Obi Wan said as he turned to Anakin with an equally if not more confused face as Padmé, though his expression mixed with some kind of disappointment that seemed ever-present in the presence of the aforementioned senator.
“I’m sorry, master, I had an urgent problem,” Anakin began with a bowed head, doing his best to keep his eyes off of his wife, who was doing her best not to laugh at him and looking absolutely gorgeous doing so.
“What is it then?” Obi Wan prodded when Anakin didn’t immediately continue.
For a moment, Anakin hesitated, not even sure what he could possibly come up with on the spot, before he said, “A mynock- my mynock. Sorry, master, I know the policy on no pets but the little guy was just so cute-“
“Cute? Anakin, mynocks are electricity parasites!” Obi Wan whisper-yelled to his padawan, doing his best not to make a scene in front of almost the entire senate. “What exactly is the emergency?”
“Well, it got loose—“
“There’s a mynock loose in the jedi temple?!?” All sense of discretion left Obi Wan now, as he quite openly screamed at his padawan. Behind him, Bail looked beyond concerned, while Padmé was still holding back a snicker, knowing Anakin too well to be surprised, and probably having a hint at the lie from the way he returned the grin.
“I’m going back to the temple,” Obi Wan announced, thankfully looking away from his padawan now, as Anakin could barely hold back his amusement.
“Should I come, master?” Anakin asked in the most innocent voice he could muster, but Obi Wan didn’t even turn back to address him, already heading out the door.
“No, no, Anakin,” He said as he practically ran out. “Go to the store and buy some Mynock treats, bring them to me by dawn, that’s when it’ll fly out for the morning. And no matter what, don’t tell the council of this!”
With that, Obi Wan was gone, leaving Anakin surrounded by a dozen or so curious senators, all staring at him and wondering what he could’ve possibly done now. Quite a few had bets on when the padawan would finally kill his master just from high blood pressure.
—
Anakin soon excused himself out of the ballroom, doing his best not to feel disappointed as he was forced to leave his wife behind. He felt a bit childish at that, as he often did when it came to his emotions, and something in him was ashamed to be acting more like a teenager who wasn’t permitted to see his girlfriend than a married man who respected the boundaries he knew he and Padmé would have when he agreed to marry her.
To be fair though, Anakin was a teenager, still nineteen with a few months to go before he’d be twenty, and Padmé was also fairly young, a fact that only became obvious in their shared privacy.
How Padmé kept up the image of such maturity in public was a wonder to him, but he supposed she’d been doing it since she could even grasp the concept of her own impression on others, which had been much earlier for her than himself or any other child for that matter. Anakin, despite being equally as burdened by responsibility as his wife, had never let it take away his childlike attitude, and, though it took some uncovering by Anakin himself to prove it, he could happily say Padmé hadn’t really either. She only pretended to be so put together.
Out in the hall, Anakin sighed to himself, slumping against a large pillar. He wasn’t quite sure how he’d explain the lack of Mylock damage at the temple to Obi Wan, but he supposed he could say it just flew away. A couple of large power couplings could be seen in the distance outside his bedroom window, and it wouldn’t be too far of a jump to say that the Mynock, being an energy parasite, would be attracted to them and get injured in the traffic during its journey. Yes, that would do just fine, he even thought he could muster up a few tears thinking about some poor Mynock being killed in its quest for food.
“Hey,” A voice fluttering against his ear interrupted his thoughts of the Mylock, and when he turned back to address it he found himself nose to nose with Padmé. She laughed at this, backing away a little bit to better see his face. “You didn’t really come down to discuss a Mynock incident, did you?”
“No, of course not,” Anakin chuckled, noting the way she tilted her head at him as she asked the question. “If a Mynock got loose I’d deal with it myself. But that would never happen; I’m a great pet owner.”
“Maybe, but you’re still not supposed to have pets in the jedi temple,” She scolded him jokingly, and he rolled his eyes. “Did you miss that day in your padawan training? It’s starting to seem like I know more about your profession than you.”
“When have I ever followed rules?” Anakin said as he quirked his lips up into a smirk, and before he knew it he was being dragged by the collar of his robes and down the hall towards Padmé’s office.
They stumbled into her office together, Padmé easily backing her husband against a wall as he used the force to shut the door behind them. Anakin, on occasion, would try and take the lead in meetings such as these, but he found it easier to simply relish in her touch and do as she said. He knew he would always be happiest doing whatever made her happy.
She kissed all over his face, standing on the tips of her toes to do so, and he laughed happily with every breath of air she provided. Anakin loved nothing more than feeling the grin on her lips pressed against his own, and her small, delicate fingers running through his hair. He put his own hands on her waist and pulled her towards him so they were flush against each other, holding one another in each other’s arms.
“I missed you,” Anakin spoke against her lips, quiet and out of breath. “I missed you so, so much, Padmé. It’s so hard to be without you.”
“I know, my love,” Padmé agreed, laying her face in the crook of his neck. “One day soon, we’ll be together permanently. No more going away, leaving each other lonely. After you’re knighted it’ll all be alright, like you promised.”
Anakin just nodded, swallowing down his anxiety. He desperately hoped she would be right, but the both of them couldn’t deny as the severity of the brewing war increased, and his responsibility to the order became more and more vital. Even if he did leave, Padmé couldn’t, and he’d be forced to stay on Coruscant, constantly being the victim of silent judging from those who knew he could be making such a difference out in the battlefield, instead of by his wife’s side, looking pretty like she always liked to joke.
Both of them knew, too, that Anakin wanted to help people too much for either of their worries to ever be fully sedated. For even if he did leave the order, he would always be a Jedi, and there would always be people in need of peace and balance.
They were doomed no matter how they spun it, but some outcomes were better than others. Anakin thought back to a legend his mother had told him in his youth, that a wish on a kiss was bound to be more effective.
He pressed his lips to Padmé’s once again.
“Everything will be alright, angel, I promise.”