jubilance.
The normally passive grazers gave a snort and took up the chase, with Anakin running in circles and then off over the hill.
Padme sat back and considered this moment, this day, and her companion. What was happening here? She couldn't dismiss the pangs of guilt that she was out here playing without purpose, while others worked hard to carry on the fight against the Military Creation Act, or while Obi-Wan Kenobi scoured the galaxy in search of those who would see her dead.
She should be out there, somewhere, doing something…
Her thoughts fell away in another burst of incredulous laughter as Anakin and the shaak came by once more, this time with the Jedi riding the beast, one hand clenched on a fold of its flesh, the other high and waving behind him for balance. What made it all the more ridiculous was that Anakin was riding backward, facing the shaak's tail!
'Anakin!' she cried in amazement. A bit of trepidation crept into her voice as she repeated the call, for the shaak had broken into a full gallop, and Anakin was trying to stand up on its back. He almost made it, but then the lumbering creature bucked and he flew away, tumbling to the ground.
Padme howled with laughter, clutching her stomach.
But Anakin lay very still.
She stopped and stared at him, suddenly frightened. She scrambled up, thinking her whole world had just crashed down around her, and rushed to his side. 'Annie! Annie! Are you all right?'
Gently, Padme turned him over. He seemed serene and still. And then his face twisted into a perfectly stupid expression and he burst out laughing.
'Oh!' Padme cried, and she punched out at him. He caught her hand and pulled her in close, and she willingly crashed onto him, wrestling with fury.
Anakin finally managed to roll her over and pin her, and Padme stopped struggling, suddenly aware of the closeness. She looked into his eyes and felt the press of his body upon hers.
Anakin blushed and let go, rolling away, but then he stood up and very seriously reached his hand out to her.
All self-consciousness was gone now from Padme. She looked hard into Anakin's blue eyes, finally and silently admitting the truth. She took his hand and followed him to the shaak, which was grazing contentedly once more.
Anakin climbed onto its back and pulled Padme up behind him, and they rode off across the meadow, with Padme's arms about his waist, her body pressed up against his, a swirl of emotions and questions spinning about in her mind.
Padme jumped at the sound of the knock on the door. She knew who it was, and knew she was safe-from everything but her own feelings. The afternoon at the meadow replayed in her thoughts, particularly the ride on the shaak, when Anakin had taken her back to the lodge. For the minutes of that ride, Padme had not hidden behind a mask of denial, or behind anything else. Sitting behind Anakin, her arms about his waist, her head resting on the back of his shoulder, she had felt safe and secure, perfectly content and…
She had to take a deep breath to keep her hand from trembling as she reached up for the doorknob.
She pulled the door back, and could see nothing but the tall and lean silhouette, backlit by the setting sun.
Anakin shifted just a bit, blocking the rosy glow enough so that Padm could see his smile. He started to move in, but she held her ground. It wasn't a conscious decision; she was simply entranced, for it seemed to her as if the sun was setting behind Anakin's shoulders and not behind the horizon, as if he was big enough to dismiss the day. Orange flames danced about his silhouette, dulling the distinction between Anakin and eternity. Padme had to consciously remember to breathe. She stepped back and Anakin sauntered in, apparently oblivious to the wondrous moment she had just experienced. He was grinning mischievously, and for some reason she felt embarrassed. She wondered for a moment if she should have chosen a different outfit, for the evening dress she was wearing was black and off the shoulder, showing quite a bit of flesh. She wore a black choker, as well, with a line of sheer fabric running down over the front of the dress, barely concealing her cleavage.
She moved to close the door, but paused and looked back over the lake, at the rose-colored tint filtering across the shimmering water. When she turned back, Anakin was already standing by the table, looking over the bowl of fruit and the settings Padme had put out. She watched him glance up at one of the floating light globes, its glow growing as the sunlight began to diminish outside. He playfully poked at it, seemingly oblivious that she, or anyone else, was watching him, and his smile nearly reached his ears as the globe bounced away from his touch, elongating the soft sphere of light.
The next few moments of just watching Anakin were quite pleasant for Padme, but the next few after that, when he started looking back at her, his expression alternately playful and intense, proved more than a bit uncomfortable.
Soon enough, though, the pair had settled in at the table, seated across from each other. Two of the resort waitresses, Nandi and Teckla, served them their meal, while Anakin began recounting some of the adventures he had known over the last ten years, training and flying with Obi-Wan.
Padme listened attentively, captivated by Anakin's flair for storytelling. She wanted to do more, though. She wanted to talk about what had happened out at the meadow, to try to make some sense of it with Anakin, to share with him the solution as they had shared the out-of-bounds emotions and moments. But she could not begin, and so she just allowed him to ramble on, contenting herself with enjoying his tales.
Dessert was Padme's favorite, yellow-and-cream-colored shuura fruit, juicy and sweet. She grinned as Nandi put a bowl before her.
'And when I went to them, we went into…' Anakin paused, drawing Padme's full attention, a wry smile on his face. 'Aggressive negotiations,' he finished, and then he thanked Teckla as she placed some dessert fruit before him.
'Aggressive negotiations? What's that?'
'Uh, well, negotiations with a lightsaber,' the Padawan said, still grinning wryly.
