Decoy (Rex)

6: The man

Tw: Sexual content.

Ranov'la woke in her bed, and stared into the darkness.

What happened?

She slipped her robe on and wandered onto the balcony, gazing at the night sky. She sighed and leaned against the railing, watching the speeders below.

She absentmindedly rubbed at the tattoo on her wrist, letting the wind blow through her hair.

She heard a door open.

Ranov'la looked over her shoulder, but saw no one.

She left the balcony and pattered inside wrapping her robe around herself.

There was a figure in the shadows.

Her breath hitched, but she pretended she didn't notice them. She made her way to the kitchen, wondering why there weren't any blasters around.

She grabbed a kitchen knife and threw it at the figure.

It stopped in midair, and they stepped into the moonlight.

"Padmé? I was going to surprise you," he said, giving her a dazzling smile, ruffling his hair with a cybernetic hand.

"Oh, right," Ranov'la smiled, though her heart was pounding. "You just surprised me."

"When did you learn how to do this?" The stranger asked, pointing at the knife that was still floating in the air.

"Picked it up somewhere," Ranov'la shrugged.

The stranger tilted his head. "You'll have to teach me that sometime."

Who was he?

Did Padmé know him?

He stepped closer and traced his finger along her jaw, smirking at her. "Sorry I haven't shown up yet, it's been busy."

"Oh, I bet," Ranov'la said, debating whether she should kill him.

He pressed a kiss to her fingers before trailing open mouthed kisses up her arm. Ranov'la promised herself she'd wash after this.

Would she have to have sex with this man?

"What's wrong?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "You're acting strange."

"Oh, I've just been thinking," Ranov'la lied.

"About?" He wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressing into her.

"T-there's a bill that might pass, but I really don't want it to," Ranov'la fibbed.

He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. "Anything I can do?"

"No," Ranov'la shook her head. "Nothing you can do."

"Alright," the man shrugged, gently squeezing her waist.

"What kept you busy?" Ranov'la asked, hoping to learn a little bit about him.

"I don't want to talk about it," he grumbled.

Dammit.

"Are you sure? Maybe I can help you with it?" Ranov'la said as he put his hands on her chest.

"No, I can handle it," he told her. 

"I'm tired," Ranov'la whispered, pressing her lips to his cheek. "Do you mind if I turn in?"

"Of course not," he told her 

"Um, I met someone," Ranov'la hesitantly said. 

Rex hummed. "Who was it?"

"I don't know," Ranov'la admitted. "But I could describe him?"

"Give it a try," Rex encouraged.

"He had brown hair, could stop something with his mind, and had a cybernetic hand," Ranov'la told him.

Rex cursed. "I forgot to tell you about him didn't I? Did he make you do anything?"

Ranov'la rolled her lip into her mouth. "We didn't have sex."

Rex let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry I forgot to warn you he would be coming, didn't I?"

"But," Ranov'la continued, making Rex's stomach sink, "we did partake in some other activities. I didn't know what to do so I let him touch me."

Red put his face into his hands.

"I don't like being touched without permission," Ranov'la bitterly said. "But I couldn't say no without him getting suspicious. Who is he?"

"He's Anakin Skywalker, Senator Amidala's husband and my general," Rex told her. "I didn't think he'd just show up in the middle of the night."

"Well he did," Ranov'la sighed.

"Are you okay?" He worriedly asked.

"I'll be fine," Ranov'la replied, rubbing her eyes. "Just try to distract him next time he wants to have sex with his wife? I don't want to have to kill him."

"I'll try," Rex promised.

"What happened in the conference room?" Ranov'la questioned. "I don't remember what happened."

"Someone tried to kill Senator Amidala. The only evidence I found on the device was the letter 'P'," Rex explained.

Ranov'la slowly nodded. "I see."

"Why do you say it like that? Do you know who placed it in the conference room?" Rex asked.

"No," Ranov'la softly said. "No, I don't."

Rex stared at her suspiciously. "Are you not telling me something."

Ranov'la shook her head. "No."

Rex stepped forward, narrowing his eyes. "Ranov'la, are you lying?"

Ranov'la swallowed. "No."

He took another step forward. "Ranov'la, if someone tried to kill you, you need to tell me what you know."

"I'm not lying!" Ranov'la angrily said, putting her hands on her hips..

Their chests brushed together as they stared at each other, seeing who would break eye contact first.

Rex looked away, stepping away. "If you say so."

He shook his head and stormed off, Ranov'la watching him go.

"I'm lying," Ranov'la softly said to his retreating form. "And I want to stop."