Chapter Text
“Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi!?” Dormé raised her eyebrows at the woman across the dining table as she quickly devoured her tuber and orange root soup with a side of greens. “The Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi?!” The woman nearly squealed at the Senator’s surprising news.
Her staff had her food prepared and were sitting in the dining room waiting for her by the time she had returned. They were supposed to have a meeting over security for the evening, however she broke the news that Obi-Wan Kenobi would be accompanying her for the evening and how this came to be. Each person took the news differently, however her handmaidens were very excited about this.
The Senator placed her eating utensil next to her bowl, “Yes, Dormé…” She responded to her questions with a sense of seriousness in her voice, the type of flat, regal, yet diplomatic tone she would use if she was addressing the Senate.
“You are not as excited about this as you should be, milady…” Eirtaé commented with a look confusion in her facial expressions. The rest of her handmaidens observed her with curiosity in their eyes.
She knew that her former handmaidens had passed on all the information about her new ones. They told them all that they needed to know, such as – her preferred blaster, her morning routine of two hot cups of caf, reading the holonews, taking a warm bath, and nibbling on fruits and pastries, which perfumes and aromatic oils irritated her skin, where she fancied hiding weapons around her living quarters in the event there are intruders or unwanted guests, how she desires to study diplomatic issues both, in the morning before going to her office and late in the evenings after emergency sessions are called, and this also included… gossip.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was a hot commodity when he tagged along with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn on the mission to save Naboo from the wrath of the Trade Federation. In fact, the moment they saw him they all gushed about it, but when they saw that their Queen would blush any time he was mentioned, it was something they could not necessarily forget. Hence… the excitement beaming from the women around her, they had been waiting years for this to happen.
What Padmé did not want to admit was the fact that she was very excited to see him later that evening, but there was still much to be done.
Taking another bite of her meal, she quickly thought of a reasonable response to overlook her childhood crush. “He is an old friend who happened to save me from going to this event with Senator Rush Clovis…”
Dormé was engrossed in her holopad, obviously scrolling through something she thought was more important than what the Senator had just stated. She turned the pad toward her to reveal a photo of him. “So not only is he dashingly handsome and the first Jedi to defeat a Sith Lord in a millennia, but he saved you from enduring a long evening with Senator Clovis… He clearly is a basket full of meilooruns!”
“More like an entire shipping crate full…” Eirtaé whispered under her breath with blush covering her face. Captain Typho rolled his eyes from their banter, gossip and giggles. The Senator quickly grabbed her comlink beside her table setting and quickly input her coordinates and the time to send to Kenobi. Although her handmaidens were the best Naboo had to offer, they were also young women who had lives outside of self-defense, protection, and following orders, which was why she did not stop them from laughing and being themselves. They deserved to laugh and joke with her and each other, for her staff were not her servants, but her family and she treated them as such.
Padmé pushed her plate back and crossed her arms, her headdress off, revealing her thick, dark curls and out of her heavy dress and in her silk lounge wear. “This is exactly why I do not need any precautionary protection for this evening. Master Kenobi is able to accompany me, so having a few handmaidens and Captain Typho drive us wastes resources when you all are finally able to take an evening off to rest.”
Captain Typho sighed as he stood from his place at the table after their meeting, “I have not had an evening to myself in a while…”
“Exactly, so please, all of you, rest this evening.” The woman seriously eyed every single person in the room, meeting their own with a genuine smile as she continued, “Due to all the tensions with other planetary systems and other complications with the Trade Federation, we have spent many late nights studying for movements on the floor, not to mention other side projects with my committees… You all have gone above and beyond with your jobs, and for that I am so very grateful. So please, I insist that all of you spend your evening the way you wish and do not wait up for me.”
Every person nodded their heads in response to her order with a sense of approval on their facial expressions. It felt like a weight was lifted on her shoulders and she released a sigh of relief because of their unanimous agreement, “Lovely! Before I let you all go, I need to undergo preparations for the evening… Dormé, do we have my dark blue gown ready?”
All the handmaidens glanced at one another with hesitation in their expressions. But all of their eyes landed on Dormé, who eventually turned to the Senator with a childish grin and a scared chuckle ringing in the air. Gulping, she was a bit nervous. “Well, speaking on behalf of all the handmaidens (including myself), we think that the dark blue gown is inappropriate for the occasion…”
This event was of no importance to Senator Amidala on a career and political stance; she was merely attending for the sake of supporting her committee and her colleagues in the process. Padmé narrowed her eyes at the women around her as Captain Typho quietly and quickly snuck out of the room to avoid the Senator’s possible wrath. Scrunching her eyebrows in concern, her eyes clenched even more. “…. Dormé…. What are you talking about? We planned my ensemble for this evening over three weeks ago! Eirtaé confirmed it this morning…”
The Senator turned to look at Eirtaé, who shyly and embarrassingly looked down into her lap. But Dormé’s voice interrupted Padmé’s glance.
“I know but…” While you were telling the story about how Obi-Wan told you he would accompany you and explained the backstory of how you met, we had already heard about how you were in love with him when you were Queen of Naboo…. So knowing your measurements and that there are always folks on standby… I-“
Out of thin air, the door rang abruptly on the other side of the apartment.
Padmé Amidala, looked past the woman and to the door and back at her. “You didn’t…”
Her best friend smiled at her nervously, truly hoping that she would not get upset… “When you were enthralled in the story, I flashed the holopad to all the girls and they love it!”
The former Queen of Naboo stood from her chair, taking a deep breath to maintain her sanity. “I truly do not have the time and patience for this after this hellish week we have had…” The woman did not necessarily agree, but knew she did not really have a choice and was in no mood to argue. “We have a lot of work to do.”
The handmaidens forbade Padmé from looking at her reflection in the mirror as the tailors altered red, silky fabric to perfectly mold her petite figure. The dress, from her perspective, looked timeless, as it hugged her, all of her, and the curves she had, then opened so she would be able to walk, yet the silk could drag on the floor behind her. At her chest, the fabric held her so tightly, she did not know how her breasts could possibly breathe between the deep ‘V’ that revealed a significant amount of cleavage. At the time, this was the only thing scandalous about the dress, until she heard and felt something being cut from her feet and up her right leg to her thigh. Before she could stop them, she realized that it was already too late.
The Senator glared at Dormé who merely shrugged her shoulders with a promiscuous smile with a wink.
“Dormé, if there are holonews articles about this tomorrow morning, you are going to receive a lecture that you will never forget tomorrow morning.” The Senator glared at her friend who was watching her, the handmaidens, and the tailors surrounding her on the platform as they did her hair and makeup at the same time to save the stressfulness of rushing to be on time the process.
She did not know what her makeup looked like. However, the only thing she did know was the fact that there was not going to be a headdress on her head for the first time in what seemed like months. Her hair was all natural as they air dried it, pinning specific pieces into place to tame the voluptuous and wild curls. Lastly, they pinned little red Nabooian rose buds in her curls that she knew purposefully would give her the handmaidens’ intentional sexy look.
After an hour and a half passed, almost everything was completed except for her lipstick, which she observed was a dark maroon before Dormé covered her lips perfectly and quickly contoured them with a smaller brush before she stepped back with the rest of her team to admire the Senator with enormous grins on their faces. Some of them released sighs of surprise while some attempted to suppress their squeals. The woman felt her cheeks grow hot as the girls scampered behind her to lift the tail of her dress in order for her to turn around and face the large mirror facing her back.
Padmé looked down at the floor as others held her arms to carefully spin around for her to look up to stare into her reflection. Her eyes widened and she gasped when she saw the dark chocolate eye makeup making her eyes larger than they have ever been, the contour on her already sharp cheekbones, light blush on her cheeks, and her dress was… scandalous at best…
“Holy…!” Captain Typho walked in the room to see his Senator staring dumbfounded in the mirror. “Senator, is that you?”
She shook her head in disbelief and she shrugged her shoulders, “I honestly do not know… All I know is that after all of these years of perfecting my image, this very look could jeopardize all these years of effort.”
“Nonsense!” Dormé profusely shook her head in disagreement as she helped the woman down the platform to help with her shoes. “You will be the talk of the galaxy for all of the right reasons, milady.”
“But -.” She tried to argue against it, still seeing the gown she would have worn laying on her bed, “It’s not too late to change our minds.”
But the doorbell coincidentally rang the moment she finished voicing her suggestion.
It was too late.
Dormé quickly shut Padmé’s bedroom door to finish the logistics of her attire. Standing in her bedroom, her handmaidens where surrounding her to complete the final touches. This entailed her classic silver blaster strapped to her left leg, away from the dress slit, the pins in her hair doubled as micro throwing knives and lock pickers, her comlink was hidden under her ivory-colored gloves that went up past her elbows. But the rest of her torso was almost all skin and when she looked back, she realized that her back was completely bare, causing mountains to erupt on her skin.
Oh, she knew that Bail and Mon would give her hell for this for a very long time. They always liked staying under the radar, however it seemed like it would not be the case for this evening and she knew exactly why.
A couple more minutes of powder and placing her hair in the right places passed and the Captain entered the room with a smirk on his face, “We cannot keep Master Kenobi waiting much longer…”
“You too?” Padmé asked the Captain with a sense of betrayal in her voice.
He smiled before she shook her head and groaned, walking straight past him as the rest of her staff watched her leave in a fit. Yet the annoyance in her face completely faded the moment she appeared in the doorway to see the Master sitting on her couch, his longer hair lightly gelled back, but a few strands fell over his forehead, and his beard was a bit more tidied. His robes, however, were a dark grey, still in the same style a Jedi would wear, however the darkness of his fabric brought out his ocean blue eyes, causing her to blink multiple times before coming to her senses.
But, let’s be real here… She was the talk of the entire galaxy! A Senator in a red, skin tight dress, with luscious curls and makeup that perfectly complimented her face when she was known to often cover herself in heavy headdresses and gowns. This was completely the opposite of how people knew her. Maybe she spent years being someone that she was not, and maybe, just maybe, for the first time in years, she truly felt like herself.
Obi-Wan could not keep his eyes off of her. She was one of the most stunning being he had ever laid eyes on (except for Satine, but she was not on his mind at the moment). Although she was showing much skin and was flattering the lines of her body, she still was able to pay homage to her home planet with the roses of Naboo in her hair, were they walked in the gardens of Theed in the palace years ago, where he convinced her to host festivities to honor the liberation of her planet. But one thing he remembered specifically was the sweet, floral aroma of the roses and that they were nothing he had ever experienced before. He knew that the Senator had grown to be beautiful and even more wise, but… seeing her like this, however, he was almost completely stunned beyond words.
The woman grinned at him as she walked towards him in the living area, only to stop.
“You look lovely, Senator Amidala.” He walked over to her to embrace her, feeling her arms wrap around him, only to breathe in the aromas of the garden he meditated in eight years ago… Releasing her he grabbed her hands as he continued to speak. “You will be quite the talk of the evening, perhaps the entire week…”
The woman rolled her eyes, “If you think this was my idea, it was not.” She took a deep breath as he released her hands. “Would you like something to drink? I have Rodian spice liquor, it’s my Uncle Ono’s favorite. He is a family friend and also happens to be the Senator of Rodia.”
Suddenly he heard whispers and thuds on the door leading to Padmé’s room. Obi-Wan raised his eyebrow suspiciously, knowing that her staff were probably listening through the door. He knew that she had an innocent crush on him all of those years ago, even Qui-Gon did, but Kenobi quickly diverted the topic elsewhere. “Well, it seems that you are more parched than me, Senator…”
The woman smirked, “I need something to hold me over this evening… Especially with the conversations I will be having after the weekend is over.” She quickly turned around and paced toward the kitchen doorway that was hidden behind green foliage that were splattered with pastel efflorescence. It was then when Obi-Wan saw her bare back nestled behind her mountains of curls where he found himself completely enthralled by her appearance. But she stopped walking away and turned towards him with the crook of her neck, “You coming, Jedi?”
Obi-Wan did his very best to not blush, “Of course, Senator.”
He followed her to the kitchen where he found her searching in a giant cupboard full of an entire bar’s worth of liquor alone. Standing at the tips of her toes, she searched for the bottle only to notice that it was sitting in the back of the top shelf. Attempting to reach, he saw that she could not and he quickly stood behind her to retrieve the bottle himself. Trying to stay respectful, his torso barely grazed her back for only a fraction of a second, but during this small instant she found her knees turning into mashed tubers and she found it quite difficult to stand.
The Jedi held the bottle, twirling it in his hands back and forth as she looked back at him, noticing his sly smirk and the curve of his single lifted eyebrow as he internally felt as if he had the high ground for that instant.
“Thank you, Obi-Wan.” She smiled before turning to close the cupboard, and opening yet another to find two shot glasses.
“I don’t think it’s necessary…”
The Senator walked towards him, almost glaring but never taking her eyes off of him as she stood next to him and placed the crystal on the countertops. “I do not know if you know this, Obi-Wan. However…” She snuck the bottle from his hands quite coyly, as he focused on her demeanor. But she continued to speak as she opened the bottle and began to pout each glass to the brim. “You will come to realize after attending these events as a Senator for four years, these functions can get… quite dull rather quickly. So as your date this evening, I want to ensure that you have a pleasurable experience.”
Padmé took two of the shots in her hand and handed him one, which he took quite reluctantly. “But, I –”
“I am not going to pressure you, Obi-Wan, but do realize that I am quite confident that you have not had plenty of evenings to yourself in the last eight years.”
He sighed. This was true. Taking on a Padawan was a daunting task to say the least. He cared for that boy as if he was his own, almost as if he was his older brother, but he could count the nights he spent out on his own over the past eight years with a single hand, if he did not count getting intoxicated alone in his room once every score of rotations… Sometimes he had Aayla and Kit join him, sometimes Quinlan, but oftentimes he felt like the third wheel.
“You’re right, Senator.”
She lifted her eyebrows, “I never thought I would hear those three words coming from you, Obi-Wan.” She laughed melodically before she clanked her glass against his and they both tilted their heads back, allowing the spices of the alcohol to fill their mouths and quickly fall to the back of their throats. Amidala knew that Kenobi did not particularly like politicians, nor did he trust them.
But the woman sat back up before he could, only to take him by surprise as his eyes opened quite wide. “But next time you tell me those three words, call me Padmé. You have not said my first name since you arrived.”
“I was only trying to be respectful…” He reasoned with her as she refilled her glass and then his, causing him to trail away from his words and into his thoughts, feeling the spicy liquor warm his stomach.
She threw the glass back once again before slapping it on the counter, “I know. As a token of my respect towards you, I trust you enough to inform you that I am never like this before political events such as this. In fact, knowing how much you would rather not interact with politicians and that I have to interact with the man I’ve been avoiding for years, I found doing this before we arrived to the event would prove to be beneficial for both of us.”
The Jedi threw his glass filled with the bitter and spicy alcohol past his lips, immediately allowing it to go directly towards the back of his throat before he did the same with his glass. Releasing a satisfying sigh, he took a deep breath before talking. “Sounds like we have the same priorities… Padmé.”
She grinned before she took another swig from the bottle and handed it towards him, holding the cap in her hand, which gave him the indication that it was nearly time to go. Obi-Wan took it from her and took a gulp as well, listening to shuffling footsteps and the beeping of the door followed by joyous whispers and chuckles intermingling with each other. The Senator rolled her eyes as he handed it back to her, the dark, ember liquid sloshing as she turned toward the cupboard. But something within Obi-Wan wanted to impress her…
“If you would allow me…” He interjected, lifting his hand to use the Force and guide the bottle out of her hand and he used the other to open the cupboard and place it on the top shelf.
The woman watched him in awe, never truly seeing what the Jedi could do beyond political and diplomatic guidance, partaking in questionable deals with Toydarians, and also using their lightsabers. Needless to say, the wide ‘o’ from her mouth gave him the indication that she was most definitely impressed beyond words, because there was a pronounced silence that soon followed.
“I know it has been over eight years, but the way you Jedi are able to do such things is so remarkable to me…” She grinned before taking a deep breath, changing the subject. Moving her silk, ivory colored glove down her arm, she checked her comlink. They were already late, and if they kept it up, they probably would not even leave her apartment. “The event started about five minutes ago… I- I lost track of time!”
He shook his head, “Nonsense… I am also at fault as well. We were only catching up after years of being on different worlds and achieving different missions and also being in silence without worrying about other sentients. Plus, there are other politicians who would have consumed more beverages than we have, thus allowing us to have the upper hand in social situations.”
The woman narrowed her eyes at him. “You’ve been at one of these before, haven’t you?” She asked as she brushed past him, turning out the lights before heading toward the front door to find the apartment completely silent and empty, no trace that any of her staff had been there.
He saw her at one of these events just a year ago, in the distance where she could not have possibly seen him… She seemed much different then, but somehow grew even more beautiful. “Unfortunately…”
Beeping out of the apartment and securing all possible ways to enter, they turned on their heels and made their way to the landing pad outside of her apartment. When they arrived to his speeder adorned with the Jedi Order emblem, she turned to the man in the driving seat and said, “Next time you come visit me, be sure you use the landing pad off of my veranda, okay?”
The man already found himself snickering from his eventual response, “Yes… milady…”
Padmé glared at him to the point where he saw the intense satin red of her lovely dress, the shadows of her makeup and the darkness in her eyes, he could have sworn that she was a Sith Lord for a brief moment, and he found it rather exhilarating, like a breath of fresh air. But her eyes softened, and she inevitably found herself laughing, knowing his sarcastic humor and also relishing his Coruscanti accent that lusciously melted off of his tongue.
And they drove quite quickly through the endless throngs of traffic consisting of confusing invisible lanes she never understood, because she never followed them. Neither did the Jedi, which was why Obi-Wan was drifting back and forth to find the quickest way to arrive. The lounge was in one of the larger towers in the fine arts district only a couple of kilometers away, and before they knew it they had arrived and Padmé’s hair was more wild than ever, making her even more tempting, if possible. Parking the speeder, Obi-Wan quickly hopped out first to help Padmé out of the car and assist her with the dress. Bending down, he tried his best not to eye the cleavage on her chest, but couldn’t help it as he focused on the train of fabric that would follow them.
Padmé stood for a second and watched him stand up, but quickly turned away as his posture was restored. Extending his arm toward her, she took it and they walked together towards the sultry jazz music that echoed off of the landing pad. They both found themselves holding their breaths as they walked closer and closer to the rooftop venue, because even though they were going as friends they wondered what others would think, not that it necessarily mattered. Well, in a way it did, because despite the fact that Padmé’s colleagues and the Jedi Order knew nothing of their relationship beyond the fact that they were old friends due to a previous crisis, they both knew that there was truly something deeper than they ever dared to acknowledge in that moment – their heart beats were anxiously pounding, their knees felt numb, yet they looked surprisingly serene and calm.
Voices of the attendees came closer and closer, which they eventually became a subtle roar over the enthralling blares of brass instruments. However, the beast of socialization and heated political debates was silenced the moment they arrived in the doorway to find almost every set(s – yes, we sometimes forget there are other sentients that are not humanoid) of eyes watching them for a multitude of reasons. Let us start shall we?
First, there was the highly esteemed Senator Amidala who was the Former Queen of Naboo. She was always well acknowledged by plenty of Senators, due to the fact that despite her progressiveness, she always genuinely listened to multiple sides of each topic and did her best to understand and respect the Senators (well, most of them, but they don’t need to know that). Even with her natural beauty, it was cloaked with her headdress and thick and sophisticated gowns that often acted as a distraction to give the impression that she meant business. For the first time, her colleagues, the media, and other esteemed members of the prestigious and elite society were finally able to take a glimpse behind the veil she had shrouded herself with after all of these years of politics. They saw her as the passionate, workaholic, loyalist Senator. Yet one of the most successful Queens in the history of her planet and one of the most successful Senators was also human, and they had never had the opportunity to see her in this light before – her skin visible, headdressless, relaxed.
But her arm was in that of a man, not just any man, but a Jedi, the first and only Jedi to defeat a Sith Lord in a millennia who had an omnipresent smirk on his face because one of the most beautiful beings in the universe was holding his arm when everyone in the galaxy was well aware that Jedi were not allowed to form attachments. But his dark robes hugged his body, revealing his broad shoulders and firm chest, contrasting that of the figure next to him. The colors they wore unintentionally complimented each other. If they were total strangers to the crowd that continued watching them a long moment later, they could have seen them as bounty hunters or even Sith lords as they descended down the stairs and into the rooftop venue.
After a few more seconds passed, the attendees continued back into their conversations and arguments as the smooth jazz music continued from the band. The club was beautiful, with a lovely theme of greenery and what seemed like a myriad of assorted colorful blossoms sprinkled around the walls and sculptures of life that contrasted the dull and smoggy city that engulfed the entire planet they were on. When they both found themselves taking deep breaths, they found the air they were breathing to be much lighter, cleaner, crisper, and it smelled… sweet. They somehow managed to control the climate of the space that allowed these lovely flowers buds to bloom as the lights from the speeders and ships from the outside blurrily passed by.
Suddenly what seemed like a reporter had the intention to walk up to the Senator, and Obi-Wan instinctively grabber her waist to pull her away, turning towards the reporter and their accompanying droid to whisper, “You don’t need to speak with or about Senator Amidala this evening. You will tell the other reporters to do the same…”
“I will do not need to speak with or about Senator Amidala this evening and I will tell the other reporters to do the same…” They blankly responded, turning away from them and walking away in the distance.
Padmé raised her eyebrow at the man as they walked up to the bar to retrieve a drink, noting that Senators Bail Organa and Mon Mothma were conversing with one another in the distance with cocktails in their hands. Obi-Wan shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to whisper in her ear, his husky breath causing a shiver to trickle down her spine, “I mean… who wouldn’t want to speak with someone as beautiful as you… Padmé….” Her name dripped off his tongue like Mandalorian caramel as his spiced liquor breath tickled her neck causing her to catch her own as he turned away to order their drinks, causing her to question her being here in this outfit and this particular situation.
Did he really mean what he just said to her?
Well… there was only one way to find out.
After a few minutes passed, their drinks were in their hands and Obi-Wan, being the lovely Jedi he is, insisted that the drinks were safe for her to consume, stating that his eyes never left their wine glasses and the bartenders as they poured the deep red liquid that now glowed in their cups, the color almost matching the woman’s dress. Descending into what looked like endless gardens of flowers and roses, they both exchanged pleasantries with other Senators, diplomats, and political advisors alike, all of them laughing and/or smiling quite nervously when the duo answered their questions of how they grew to be friends because of the demise of her planet when she was a Queen.
They would both chuckle together when they were finished speaking with each person, which led to more drinks being served during conversations, and they were already on their fourth glass of red wine. Obi-Wan was mystifyingly surprised at how much the Senator was able to hold down her alcoholic beverages so well, because the only thing that had changed was how relaxed she was. Other than that, her stoic composure and her knowledgeable vocabulary were still perfectly intact. Physically, she was the same, but one thing that the Jedi noticed after an hour or so of conversations was the strong scent of Nabooian roses, which were not present at the venue, which meant the aroma was stemming from the flower buds in her hair – for they were no longer little baubles, but they too had blossomed into beautiful little roses sprawled all throughout her caf-colored voluminous curls.
As the duration of the evening passed, Obi-Wan found her standing closer and closer to him, sometimes brushing his arm or shoulder with her hand as she spoke with her colleagues as they made their way through the maze of people. After another half hour, they were finally with Senators Organa and Mothma who had a lack of enthusiasm on their faces when they walked up to them.
“Senator Amidala… Master Kenobi…” Bail Organa greeted them as he downed the rest of his drink, glancing at Mon Mothma in the side of his periphery before meeting Padmé’s eyes. He stepped up to her and spoke to her quietly under his breath, trying his best to keep his voice low enough that it would not be audible to others around them, “Can I speak to you privately?”
Padmé grinned, looking up to see Clovis glaring at her from the distance before meeting Bail’s eyes, “Of course, Bail.” She followed the man, leaving Obi-Wan with Mon Mothma and her staff, both of them sipping their drinks quietly.
Obi-Wan watched as her hourglass figure walked away into the walls of bushes with her glass in her hand, the red dress trailing behind her.
When Bail found a place where he knew other folks were not eavesdropping or listening, he finally stopped and turned around, almost glaring at the woman he led here in the first place. “What are you doing?” He finally asked after taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.
Padmé shook her head, confused as to why his tone was so condescending, “I am sorry, I do not understand.”
“As one of your closest friends and colleagues, I’m asking… What in the gods are you doing?” He scrunched his eyebrows, waiting for an answer.
Padmé sighed, eyeing her wine before looking up at him, “Senator Clovis has been stalking me all week and was trying to ask me as a date to this event and Master Kenobi happened to be there when he was trying to ask me to accompany him, which I consider crossing the line of professionalism, do you not agree?”
Bail placed his empty glass on a ledge, “All the drinks, the dress, the way you and Master Kenobi have been eying each other, don’t you think it’s rather impulsive and completely unlike you?” He asked here sincerely with a genuine display of concern on his face.
Padmé took yet another deep breath as she looked down at her drink and up at him, “Bail… I would rather accompany Senator Orn Free Taa to this event than Senator Clovis, if that gives you any indication of my opinion of Clovis on a personal level. As for the dress, my handmaidens selected this ensemble down to the lipstick color for the evening, and although I did not agree to wear it just a few hours ago, I have grown to admire it. In fact, I feel like myself for the first time since I was eight years old. For the first time in sixteen years, it took wearing a beautiful and revealing dress and seeing my old Jedi friend for me to realize that I should prioritize myself…” She trailed off before looking down at her drink, not realizing that Obi-Wan was listening on the other side of the walls of bushes, somehow getting out of conversation with Mon Mothma and other Senators by excusing himself to the refresher. “I have dedicated myself to politics for the rest of my life, Bail. And despite the exhaustion, the incessant attempts on my life, and men thinking their voices and opinions are more worthy than my own, I still love it. I love what I do. I love working with both you and Senator Mothma. I consider both of you my second family, and we spent four years tirelessly and meticulously perfecting my image, and for that I am so very grateful. But if you were really my friend, wouldn’t you trust me and my judgement? Isn’t the point of throwing this event to distract our constituents and citizens of this planet from the real issues at-hand? That as of today up to one hundred planet systems left the Galactic Republic? So, if there are others that speak of me looking, in the words another told me, ‘beautiful’ in this dress to detract from these issues to have more time to understand why good people like Mina Bonteri left, then let us have it.”
“Padmé, I –“ He looked down again, “I am sorry… I didn’t mean to… This was not my intention. I am just concerned and if you are truly happy, then there is no opposition. But I am asking you to be careful. Scandals are almost unforgettable and they have taken my close friends down. I don’t ever want to see you get hurt.”
Padmé smiled at him, stepping closer to meet his eyes. “Bail, I won’t ever let a Jedi hurt me, ever.”
He chuckled, “It is easier said than done…” He lifted his eyebrows before smiling once again. Now he was her friend again, and speaking to her in a whisper so quiet, even Obi-Wan could not hear decipher his words, “One night stands do not violate the Jedi code, right?”
The woman glared at her friend in a way he had never truly seen! He could have sworn he met eyes with a ghost and he laughed just so she would not be glaring into his soul anymore, “Bail Organa, if I told Breha the promiscuous jokes you have spoken to me, she would not be very pleased…”
He merely smirked in response, “She would find it admirable.” Another light laugh filled the air as he began to walk away, leaving her in silence as the jazz music continued to ring in the air. “There is a reason why our marriage works, Amidala.” The respectable man bellowed in laughter yet again at his remark and reference before he paced away. “See you Monday.”
The woman waved as he paced away, and then downed the rest of her wine in three huge gulps, the alcohol finally hitting her as she took a deep breath and realized her façade of being the intelligent, acclaimed, yet still young Senator had dissipated and that she needed another drink. Hearing footsteps, she inhaled more of the sweet, cool, flowery air to prepare an exhausting smile, only realizing that her cheeks hurt miserably from the amount of time she had been grinning ear to ear.
Rush Clovis came into view with two drinks in his hand, “Did your Padawan have a rather sweet excuse of Jedi business to tend to?” He asked, as if he was being clever, walking up to her in attempt to offer her a drink.
Little did he know, the very Jedi he had just insulted was right behind him, “You should realize, dear Senator, that people are always listening, no matter where you go…” Obi-Wan walked around him with two glasses of red wine in his hands, filled to the brim, just the way they both liked it, causing Padmé’s face to light up. “Any sane Senator would know this… but it seems that, in the process of nepotism, you have not quite learned what it truly means to be a diplomat.”
“I- I-“ Clovis stuttered, obviously drunk, for he could not keep his balance. But Obi-Wan marched to Padmé’s side, handing her the wine and placing his now free hand around her waist and pulling her close to him to the point where the sides of their hot bodies were pressed to each other.
“Oh, Senator, you do not need to say anything more. Perhaps you should return home and go to bed,” the clever Jedi retorted as he look his leave with the lovely woman by his side.
He rolled his eyes as they walked further into the depths of the gardens, the music growing further and further with each of their steps, “What in the blazers were you doing alone? And why did Bail have the need to leave you secluded by yourself?” He asked with anger and perturbation etched into the dark oceans swimming in his eyes.
Padmé blinked and took yet another big gulp before speaking, “Bail was talking to me about how I am being rather foolish…” She trailed off, the numbness of the alcohol making her feel more content as she gazed at the handsome man in front of her.
Obi-Wan was able to notice the harsh redness of the blush on her flushed cheeks as she adverted his gaze. He, too, took a sip of his red wine as he thought of a response, “And… why is that?”
“I mean…” She trailed off, walking deeper into the endless flowers that were somehow able to bloom despite the lack of sunlight. “Look at me Obi-Wan! A Senator in a scandalous dress accompanied with a Jedi? It’s going to be in all of the holonews sites by tomorrow morning!”
Obi-Wan walked closer to her, the heels of his boots quietly clicking against the concrete floor. The jazz was slower and smoother now, and the twinkling lights on the plants and flowers caused her dark-toned skin to glow as her lips curled. He, too, was feeling the effects of the alcohol as the numbness slowly took over his body, for he took two shots of Alderaanian vodka before finding her to calm his nerves. The woman glanced him up and down cautiously, awaiting his response when the Jedi was still trying to find his words, the shadows of the night sharpening the features of his face, his jawline, his eyes, his beard… his thick and tempting lips.
And he still walked towards her, the wine in his glass swirling as his deep blue eyes never left the darkness of her brown ones, as if he was on a mission, he pulled her close in his arm, the light still illuminating her face, making her, if possible, even more gorgeous than he could have ever possibly imagined. “And you say that like it’s a bad thing, Senator?” He asked her seriously with what looked like an entire galaxy in his eyes.
“I mean…” She trailed off yet again, feeling his body on hers, making her legs shake, as if she could not feel her weight under them. And suddenly she was completely lost in her thoughts of the sexy man, no Jedi, holding her in his arms. She was completely infatuated, stranded in the numbness of the parts of her body that were touching him even under her dress, the fragrance of earthy soap and the formal leather over his dark robes, the almost dilated pupils in his eyes. “After years of perfecting my image and proving myself to misogynist and ignorant sentients and Senators, it could be…”
“What do they know?” He harshly whispered to her. “You, my dear, have endured more hardships than ninety-nine percent of all the Senators that sit in the very hall in which you conduct your votes. They have never experienced ruling a planet that was illegally invaded, having to make the choice of whether to stay or leave to fight for their people, to plead to the entire Senate as just a teenager, and yet… you humbled yourself down to your knees to plead for help. You would never take no for an answer and you would never let anyone tell you otherwise… Which is rather admirable, inspiring, and for that they are casting their insecurities on you because they could never be you… And that will never change.”
“I- I- It’s more complicated than you think, Obi-Wan. There is a hierarchy, inter-politics of our politics, perceptions you could never understand…” She shook her head and looked into his eyes, her voice transitioning to that of the woman that would sweep the floor with her speeches, the voice of a politician.
He bit his lip and proceeded to brush her simmering cheek with his rough fingers, calloused from years of using his lightsaber and training, “You think I don’t know?” He whispered to her, his husky voice merely tempting her more and more to the point where she did not know if she had any self-control. “Because, my darling, I do. I have the galaxy’s most stunning Senator in my arms when I am not supposed to have attachments… How do you think that would make me look?” He genuinely asked her, grasping a thick, dark curl between his index finger and his thumb, feeling the smoothness of her hair on his fingers.
“You don’t really mean that,” the woman nervously smiled, shaking her head as she purposefully avoided his gaze, “Jedi can have flings…” She also bit her lips, hoping for her body to feel something, but her entire body was drifting in the clouds, and Obi-Wan was her sunlight and they were embracing one another as they co-existed, because in the end, they were meant to be together in the endless depths of the sky, a canvas that was constantly painted and repainted to included them in it.
Kenobi placed his hand deep into her curls to grasp the blossomed rose into her hair to bring it in her view… “Do you see this rose, Padmé?” He pulled her closer as her breaths were shallow and shaky, as she was trying to hold it together, but the dams she had constructed were quickly breaking and the torments of flooding waters were quickly overflowing.
“Y- yes.” She whispered under her breath, but loud enough to hear over the jazz and the dwindling voices in the difference. In fact, this was the climax of the party, where there would be the most guests attending during this moment.
He toyed with the petals with his thumb, circling the petals so intimately that Padmé did her best to catch her breath because she envisioned… well… Obi-Wan watched her as he did this almost as if he was teasing her… “This rose has been like you throughout the duration of the afternoon and evening…” He whispered to her, “You were so reserved and protected yourself like the buds once were, but now… you’ve blossomed into something so lovely, so tempting, so fragrant, so intoxicating.”
She did not know what to say in this instance, for what was there to say to those words? Absolutely nothing.
“And you worry about these reporters when you are just a bud, waiting to blossom because you have been protecting yourself after all of these years. Sixteen is it?” She narrowed her eyes at him, knowing that he was listening to her conversation earlier. “I may have had time to get two shots, but I was still protecting you, Padmé… and now… you don’t want to fall into another slumber again, do you?”
She shook her head as he placed the flower back into her hear, “No.” She breathed, trying to absorb as much of him as she possibly could. “But I cannot afford to wake up tomorrow morning to another article defaming my character…” She shook her head, scrunching her eyebrows and curling her lips as Obi-Wan downed his glass and finished hers. “Not again, Obi-Wan… I can’t.”
He used the Force to move the glasses to a ledge behind them as she spoke before he held her with both of his arms. There was nothing spoken for a moment, but they looked into each other’s eyes and this was truly the first time where she admitted to herself that she wanted him, really wanted him, to the point to where she felt throbbing between her legs. And Obi-Wan saw that she wanted him, and grabbed her hand and placed it to the firmness between his legs that was most definitely not his lightsaber, almost causing her to flinch, but he made sure to keep his hand there, just to reiterate the fact that he was not going anywhere for the time being.
Her whole body was trembling, not from fear per se, but anticipation, anticipation of the unknown, of what could be.
“Obi-Wan…” She shakily bellowed his name as the tone of her voice intertwined with the music.
The man smirked at her, and she was close enough to see the dimples hiding under his copper beard. “You say that you’re worried about what the reporters and critics will say…” The woman nodded her head as he released her hand to hold her with both of his once again. He took a deep breath knowing that he could possibly regret this, but he had missed the opportunity with Satine and he would not let such a thing happen ever again. Ever. But the man smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth as the smile reached the myriad of stars in his eyes, captivating the goddess in front of him. “Then I say we give them something good to write about.”
Before Padmé was able to respond, his firm, luscious lips pressed against hers feverishly to the point where she could not even comprehend whether this was reality or a wonderful dream. But she pressed her palms to his face as their lips started to dance with each other, and her fingers finally found a way to his hair and she gripped the thick strands so tightly that he relished the pain, because he knew that she was holding him close. And he walked, guiding her in the shadows and wondering if there were others nearby, but they all wanted to be near the bar, so he pressed her to a pillar just a couple of yards away, and their bodies were glued together between all the kisses.
The both smiled from each other’s touch as they parted their lips to taste their sweet breaths, and Obi-Wan let himself in to taste her as she continued to toy with his hair, for there was almost no going back.
She felt his hardness against her lower belly, which almost caused her to moan under his hot lips, but he suddenly left them, kissing the side of her lips to her cheekbones, her jaw, then he lightly nibbled her ear before making his way to her neck where he nuzzled himself downwards. With his left free hand, he moved it down the slit in her dress to touch her thigh, only to move his fingers under smooth fabric and toward her inner thighs as he stroked her soft skin, causing her to shiver under his delicate touch. Her breaths were labored, harsh, but pleasured as he continued to suck on her neck as he moved his fingers past her underwear.
The woman instinctively broadened the stance of her legs as she stood, giving Obi-Wan the vast realization that she had done this before, causing him to growl has his fingers prowled closer and closer.
And then he kissed her again, not moving his hand, ravishing her mouth with his tongue before he briefly pulled away to gaze into her widened pupils, “Do you want to know what it feels like?” He asked her with a gruff in the back of his throat, yet his voice was somehow still in a whisper, his Coruscanti accent making her grow weaker and weaker.
“Please,” Padmé strongly emphasized the word like she was begging before he nuzzled himself into her neck again, wanting to find the perfect patch of skin that would make her quiver as the fingers from his left hand toyed with her undergarments.
And when he finally found it, he immediately found the sensitive spot of her clitoris, making her release a repressed cry into his neck, but then he realized that this shouldn’t happen here as he messaged her. He quickly kissed up her neck and ear as he removed his hand, whispering in her ear, “Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked sincerely, his voice calm, firm, and serious.
Padmé took a deep breath as she watched him, biting her lip as her legs continued to shake. The scandalous and forbidden kisses had sobered them up enough to where they knew what they wanted.
“… Because once we start, my darling… I cannot stop.” He caressed her face that was barely visible in the shadows, for they were still alone and he felt it.
The woman looked down for a brief moment then back up to meet the raging surges of waves that were crashing in his eyes as hers resembled fresh, boiling caf that he’d drink in the morning, the aroma of the roasted beans intoxicating, just like her.
They had a lot to drink this evening, but somehow… By the gods they were still parched, like a desert in the middle of the harshest drought, and they desperately desired to be quenched.
Padmé finally stood, tall and completely serious. She revealed the very same smile she gave him when she ran into him in the Senate corridors just a few hours earlier.
And finally, after staring into her eyes, she nodded her head, “Let’s go.”
Obi-Wan had never driven a speeder so foolishly and scarily in his entire life. In fact, it would rival Anakin’s skills when they would chase Padmé’s attempted killer just two years later…