Boundless as the Sea

Chapter Five

Padmé sat on the sofa, constantly looking at the ticking clock on the far wall. It was late, and she was angry. How could Anakin do this to her? He was the one who made her promise to be home for dinner. Him. Well, here she was, hungry and lonely. She had had to rush out of the Senate building, straight into heavy traffic. But she was here. And on time. Like she had promised.

'Just wait till he gets here. Oh, I will make sure that this is a mistake he does not forget. What am I saying? He is a military general! It's not like he's just goofing around while I sit here. I'm a terrible wife. I need to be more supportive and understanding.'

Just then there was a knock on the door. Padmé ran to the door, not remembering that Anakin had a key and could let himself in. She opened the door with open arms and her face in a wide grin.

Ahsoka stood at the door.

"Expecting someone, Senator?"

Padmé felt herself blush, hoping it wasn't too noticeable. "Um, no Ahsoka, I'm not expecting anyone. I just had a feeling that it was you and...I'm just so happy to see you!" Padmé hugged Ahsoka.

"Right..." Ahsoka walked in. "Senator Amidala-"

"Ahsoka, enough with the formality. I told you to call me Padmé. Please."

"Ok, um, Padmé, I guess you're wondering why I'm here. Well, it's because I wanted to talk to you about my master."

"An- Master Skywalker? What about him? Why talk to me?" Padmé silently scolded herself for losing her composure.

"Well, you two seem awfully close. Master told me that you two met a long time ago, at around the same time that he met Master Kenobi."

"Yes, I guess you could say that General Skywalker and I are good friends. What is it Ahsoka?"

"It's just, well, Master seems really distracted lately. Like today, while we were training, he just seemed like he was in another place the whole time. And then he sped out of there like there was no tomorrow! Does...does he not want to train me anymore?"

"What? No, Ahsoka, of course not. Anakin absolutely loves you!" said Padmé with a reassuring tone.

"He what?" said Ahsoka with a questioning look.

'Oh, right. I have to be careful with the "l" word around Jedi.' Nothing. Look, I'm sure your master is just...tired."

"Tired?" asked Ahsoka with a look that said she was not convinced.

"Of course! I heard from some of the other senators that he just got back from a long mission, right?"

"Yes. But he told me that it was uneventful. How could he be tired? I just don't know, Padmé. I really think something's on his mind, and I wanna know what it is. It's like he longs to be somewhere else. But where? Do you know?" asked Ahsoka.

"Well, if you don't know, I certainly don't. But I'm sure he'll be back to normal very soon. Who knows what goes through that mind of his?" They shared a laugh. "Now I'm sorry to do this, but I really need to look over this new bill for the Senate. It was wonderful seeing you, and I'll see you again soon, alright?"

"Of course, Senator- I mean, Padmé. Thank you so much. Goodnight," Ahsoka said with a grin. She then proceeded to walk out the door and down the hall.

                                                                               ♦️

Not five minutes after Ahsoka left, Anakin walked through the door, running his hand through his hair like he always did when he felt guilty.

When he saw Padmé, she was sitting on the sofa looking at a holopad, fully dressed for bed. Her hair was like a waterfall cascading down her back. She wore a silver, silk nightgown that flowed gracefully with her every movement. She was an image of grace and beauty.

"Padmé."

When she heard his voice, she got up and walked to him, her face showing no emotion.

"Padmé, I'm so sorry I'm late. You have no idea how hard it was to finally get out of the temple. When I was finally finished with Ahsoka's sparring lesson, I ran into Obi-Wan and he lectured me for about an hour about tardiness and responsibility and all. It appears that I can't be "properly on time" for anything. Then I ran into traffic on the way home, and then I was in a long line buying these." He drew a beautiful bouquet of flowers from behind his back. "Again, I'm so sorry. I know that I'm the one who made you promise to be on time, and I screwed everything up. Please forgive me."

Padmé had still not said anything since he had arrived. "Padmé, please say something."

It was then that she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him gently. He kissed her back, hesitant at first, but soon deepening it. For several seconds, it was just the two of them. Nothing else mattered.

"I forgive you, Anakin. I'll admit, I was mad at first, but then I realized that you're not just goofing around out there. You're doing your duty to the Republic, and for that, I am eternally grateful. As long as this war goes on, we won't be able to see each other very much. But maybe it's better that way. I think that it teaches us to not take this marriage for granted. And I love getting to see you, Ani."

Anakin stared at her with a mixture of love and admiration. "Did you practice that?"

Padmé giggled. "Maybe. How did I do?"

"Excellent, Milady. A speech worthy of beautiful flowers." He handed her the bouquet, which she took gratefully and placed in a vase. Then they embraced each other lovingly.

"Oh, by the way," said Anakin with Padmé still in his arms. "I saw Ahsoka on my way here. She was coming out of the building and I had to hide. Was she here?"

"Yes, she stopped by to talk about, well you, as a matter of fact. She thinks you've grown tired of her and that you don't want her as your Padawan anymore."

"What? That's crazy! What did you tell her?"

"Truthfully, I don't think that I was very much help. I told her that you were probably just tired and that you'd be back to normal soon. I think that the cause of the misunderstanding might be...our secret." said Padmé in a serious tone.

"Our secret? What makes you think that? Ahsoka doesn't even know about us."

"No, but she's getting suspicious, Anakin. Apparently you've been very distracted lately, and you seem like you want to be somewhere else. Now, unless you're seeing another woman, I believe that this," She gestured around her at her apartment, "might be the source of your so-called distraction. Am I correct?"

Anakin sighed. "Yes, as usual, you're correct. I don't know, Padmé, some days, I can't get you out of my mind. I'll talk to Ahsoka tomorrow. You drive me crazy, you know that?" said Anakin with a smirk.

"Sorry, Love, I guess I just have that impression on everyone," she teased.

Anakin playfully rolled his eyes. "I was trying to be romantic. I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Still up for a late dinner?" he asked with hopeful eyes.

"That sounds lovely," said Padmé as she took her husband's outstretched arm and followed him into the kitchen.