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The doors of the Chancellor’s office whispered shut behind him, but the tension clung like smoke in Anakin’s lungs. His footsteps were too quick, too heavy for someone who had just been personally chosen by the Supreme Chancellor. His first command. His first wartime mission. His first goodbye.
He walked beside Obi-Wan in silence, the hum of the high corridors stretching between them like unspoken doubt. At last, Obi-Wan spoke.
“Do you understand what this mission means?”
“I do,” Anakin replied, too quickly.
“I’m not just talking about battle tactics. You’ll be commanding clones. Lives will depend on your decisions.”
“I’ve trained for this. You’ve trained me for this.”
Obi-Wan’s pause said more than his silence. “Just remember, Anakin, victory isn’t measured in speed or style. It’s measured in restraint.”
That stung. Anakin glanced at him, hurt tightening his jaw. “You think I’m not ready.”
“I think this war will test all of us,” Obi-Wan said evenly.
Anakin didn’t answer. “I’ll meet you at the hangar,” he said. “After I collect my robe.”
Obi-Wan nodded slowly. “Don’t be late.”
But Anakin was already turning, already slipping into his own thoughts.
He should be proud. He was proud. And yet - Padmé.
The thought of her was a stone in his chest. His heart knew where it should be. His duty, where it must be. But the war, the real war, began the moment they were asked to separate.
He stepped into a quiet alcove and activated his comm. “Padmé,” he said softly. “Please meet me in your office. I won’t take long. I just… I need to see you.”
He didn’t wait for her reply.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
When Padmé entered, the sound of the door was nearly drowned out by his restless pacing. His broad shoulders tensed beneath simple Jedi robes, and the gold of his mechanical arm caught the low lighting like it was aflame. The dark blonde padawan braid swung gently with each turn. His face was deep in thought - focused, serious - but when he looked up and saw her, something fractured. A smile broke through, tender and haunted.
“I received your message,” she said gently. “The Senate just finished discussing the Banking Clan allegations. We knew something like this might come… but so soon?”
He nodded. “The Chancellor asked for me. He knows I’m the best pilot in the Order.” There was no arrogance in his tone—just conflict. “This is it, Padmé. My first command. I should be grateful.”
“But you’re not,” she said.
“I am.” He stepped forward, gently taking her hands. “I am… but I hate that it means leaving you. We’ve barely had any time. We were just married. Naboo already feels like a lifetime ago.”
She swallowed, her eyes shimmering but steady. “We knew this day would come. The moment the clones were revealed, the moment the war became real… it was only a matter of time.”
“I thought we’d have more of it,” he whispered.
“So did I.”
They stood together, unmoving, as if holding still could stall the rush of war. The violet tones of her off-shoulder dress shimmered beneath the glow of the overhead lights, her pearl headpiece framed her face like a crown of mourning. Two fanned-out sections of hair, accented with violet embellishments, trembled slightly as she drew a breath.
“I don’t want this goodbye,” she said. “I want one more night on Naboo. I want you to be late because you got lost exploring the foothills again. I want to fall asleep beside you with the window open and the lake breeze coming in.”
Anakin smiled, his eyes aching. “I’d give anything for that. But right now, I need to give myself to this. I have to prove I can lead.”
“I hate that we have to do this” she said whispered
His arms were around her before she finished the breath. He kissed her - a deep kiss laden with all the fear and fire they tried not to name. The kind of kiss that might have to last a lifetime. They stayed like that for a moment - shared breath, shared silence, hearts thundering in time. Every inch of him wanted to stay. Every second pulled him further away.
When they pulled apart, Anakin brushed her cheek, his gold fingers warm and careful.
“Keep Threepio with you,” he said. “I don’t know what we’re walking into, and I think he’d be safer here. Besides… he talks too much.”
“Oh my,” came a voice from the hallway. Threepio stepped in delicately, silver plating tarnished and scratched after previous adventures. “I do believe my talents would be wasted on the front lines, Master Anakin. I shall remain at Senator Amidala’s service with utmost dignity and safety. Things will be much more civilised here.”
Anakin chuckled despite himself. “Just don’t annoy her too much.”
Padmé almost laughed. “You’re one to talk.”
He smirks, pulling her in for another kiss. And then another, deeper. Desperate.
Finally, he pulled back, eyes dark with longing. “Will you wait by the window? Just a little longer. I want to see you, just once more, before I leave.”
“I’ll be there,” she whispered.
He turned, the swirl of his cloak catching a flicker of her perfume. His stride was firm, but the grief still weighed on his steps. She stood alone in the office, the silence thunderous around her.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Later, as the Azure thundered into the skies above Coruscant, a single window high in the Senate Office Building was lit. Behind it, Padmé stood, unmoving, her hand raised in farewell. The light caught her pearls like tears.
Out in the air, the Azure floated, Anakin in the cockpit. He looked up and for one breathless second he saw her, by instinct he touched the glass, wishing for another moment.
But it was gone and the stars pulled him away.