A/N: Thank you for all the positive reviews so far! Thought I'd put a notice here that there is smut in this chapter.

Vader was gone for two long months. When he returns in his shuttle, Padmé is waiting for him on the platform. Even from afar, she can tell that he is surprised to see her there; they hadn't exactly left things on good terms.

She wears a black cloak around her body and her hair is tied back in an intricate, braided knot. Padmé's arms are folded across her chest to warm herself from the cool Coruscant air. She watches as her husband's cape billows behind him when he walks, how his hair is ruffled by the wind.

He stops when he reaches her.

"I didn't expect you to be here," he says. His voice is strained. There is something in his face, perhaps exasperation, though she can tell that whatever his negative emotions are, they are not directed at her.

"I wanted to see you," Padmé admits. They begin to walk and talk, heading inside the Senate Office Building from the platform.

"I thought you didn't approve of what I was doing while I was away," he states it not like a jab, but simply as if it is nothing more than a fact.

He is right, of course. She does not approve, not at all. But Padmé doesn't have it in her to argue with him again. She is still convinced that there is hope for him; Palpatine cannot have taken him from her fully. Not yet.

If she can just keep him holding onto his humanity, there is a chance for him—for them.

Padmé lets out a soft sigh. "We don't need to discuss it right now," she says. The last thing she wants to talk about is the fact that her husband is spearheading the Jedi Purge. Padmé had been hoping for a more pleasant conversation. She is ashamed to admit that after everything he has done, she still wants to be in his presence.

She missed him.

Padmé stops in her tracks, causing Vader to halt as well. She turns to him and gingerly places her hands on his biceps, similarly to what she had done on Mustafar when she pleaded with him. She is looking up at him, and watches as his tense features softened.

"I'm not over what you've done," she tells him. Her tone is not stern, but rather very gentle. "I don't think I'm ever going to be okay with any of this. But… I love you. I missed you a lot while you were gone."

They have been apart for so long. Before the fall of the Republic, Anakin was gone for five months before she saw him again. Palpatine's kidnapping was what brought him back to Coruscant, otherwise she suspects he would have been gone much longer.

Vader seems almost wary as he regards her. She expects him to return her touch, but he doesn't, nor does he pull away from her.

He just lets her hold him.

"I missed you, too," he tells her.

Padmé moves her hands up to his face and pulls him into a soft kiss. As she does, he finally returns her embrace, placing his arms around her.

Heat begins pool at her groin as she draws closer to him, pressing her body against his, their lips still locked. The reasonable part of her knows that her desire for him is wrong, that she should be disgusted by him, but she isn't. Padmé still finds his touch intoxicating, still yearns to feel him inside of her again.

It is strangely easy to forget that he is killer as she kisses him. In that moment, they are just husband and wife, not senator and Sith lord, and everything feels as it once did. For just a fleeting moment, it is as if the Empire never existed.

She snaps out of her daze as Vader pulls away, still embracing her. His gaze flickers to the side.

"Padmé," he says quietly, "everyone is staring at us."

She blinks and looks around; she had been so focused on Vader that she forgot that there are several Stormtroopers and officers present on the platform.

Blush flames in her cheeks. Despite the chagrin that rushes through her, she finds that it is nice to not have to hide their marriage anymore. Of course, it isn't worth the fall of the Republic, but…

Padmé clears her throat. "Perhaps… later, you could come by… after I put the twins to sleep," she suggests.

Knowing exactly what she is implying, Vader regards her with surprise, though it quickly fades from his expression. She wonders if this is all unexpected to him.

"Tonight," Vader replies with a nod.

—✥—

It is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Padmé can't help herself. As she watches Vader exit his glistening black ship, his cape billowing against the midnight skyline, she feels a sharp pang of desire. He has hardly touched her in around seven or eight months; their reunion after their five months apart was cut short by Vader's turn to the Dark Side and his new duties as a Sith. They had only had sex once during that time, while Padmé was pregnant.

As he approaches, she begins to question herself. Is she really about to go down this path? Will he see her affection as validating everything he has done?

Padmé shakes off these inner thoughts. She needs to maintain her relationship with Vader if she is to keep the light within him from dying. As long as he loves her, the Emperor will never fully have him. If she abandons him, she fears that he may fall even deeper into the Dark Side, which would doom the galaxy forever.

She is dressed in a pink silk nightgown, with straps made of delicate pearls. Padmé is wearing no bra underneath, only thin lace underwear. Her hair is worn down in its natural curls, which are flowing across her shoulders and back. As usual, she is wearing the japor snippet necklace. She makes a point of doing this, to remind Vader of who he is, of the young boy who had given it to her all those years ago.

Padmé runs to meet him, throwing her arms around him once they reach each other. Vader picks her up and twirls her around, as he had done behind the pillar of the Senate building after he returned from his mission to rescue Palpatine.

As soon as Vader sets her back down, Padmé kisses him deeply. He immediately reciprocates, his tongue brushing against hers, his hands moving down to her hips. Her desire is quick to flare up in response to his touch; the heat starts in her groin and is slowly spreading all the way to her fingertips.

Padmé reaches up and unclasps Vader's cape, but as she does, he breaks their kiss. Their faces are only an inch apart, but Padmé already longs to be closer to him.

Dread begins to fill her stomach as he removes his hands from her hips, placing them on her shoulders instead.

"Padmé… you don't have to do this," he tells her quietly.

She meets his gaze and sees that his eyes are regretful—but for what, she doesn't know.

"What?" she says in confusion, her brows slightly furrowing.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to sleep with me," Vader clarifies, more bluntly this time.

"I want to," Padmé replies. She caresses her husband's cheek with her hand, and smiles softly as he instinctively leans into her touch. "What makes you think otherwise?"

"You're afraid," he says. "I can sense it."

"Yes, but not of you," she shakes her head. "I'm afraid of losing you."

I'm afraid of losing you completely to the Dark Side is what she wants to say, but thinks it best not to bring up his new allegiance.

But it is as if Padmé's words mean nothing; Vader still appears unconvinced.

"I don't deserve you," he is practically whispering.

Padmé knows he must be referencing what happened on Mustafar. She takes some solace in the fact that he still feels emotions beyond rage and hatred, even though they are still negative. At least there is still hope for him.

She kisses him on the cheek. "I love you," she reminds him. "All I want right now is to be with you. I just want to be together, like how we used to be before you were sent off to fight for five months."

Padmé does not want to think about Mustafar. She has avoided thinking about it in the two months that he was gone, and now she is trying to push those resurfacing memories out of her head.

Vader lets out a deep sigh. He removes himself from her completely and turns to face the Coruscant skyline, his cape still in a pile on the ground behind him.

There is a long period of silence as Vader contemplates, his gaze falling upon the ruined Jedi Temple in the distance.

"I hate myself for what I did to you," he finally admitts.

"You made a mistake," Padmé tries to reason. "No one is beyond forgiveness." Except maybe Palpatine, she thinks to herself.

"You want things to be the same," Vader states dryly. "They will never be the same."

"Anakin…" she realizes as soon as she speaks his name that she used to wrong one. Padmé sees his shoulders tense immediately.

"I am not your Jedi hero anymore," his tone is harsh now, but not sharp enough to deter Padmé. "I am a Sith Lord. You still see Anakin when you look at me—that is what you want, your Jedi lover."

She is frowning deeply now. His words are knives twisting in her heart, but she pushes past the pain. She knows that Vader is right, but Padmé doesn't truly believe that Anakin and Vader are different people.

Padmé closes the distance he has put between them and places a soft hand on his shoulder, prompting him to turn and face her. She feels another pang of desire as she sees his handsome face again. No matter how many times she has seen him, she still finds him to be breathtaking, with his striking beauty, soft curls of brown hair and crystal blue eyes.

"I want my husband," she tells him. "I want you."

When he is silent, she asks, "Do you not feel the same way anymore?"

"No, of course I do," Vader replies.

Padmé cups his face with her hands and kisses him. Her heart flutters as he gingerly returns her affection.

Until now, he has not been timid with her since their wedding night, but Padmé knows how to break him out of his shell. She pulls away from him, causing him to look at her curiously. Then, Padmé pulls down the straps of her nightgown and lets the clothing drop to the floor, leaving her only in her underwear.

Coupled with her building arousal and the cold Coruscant air, her nipples begin to harden.

If Vader has been reigning his desire in, all of his composure has completely fallen away now. Now that Padmé's breasts are exposed, she can see the hunger in Vader's eyes as he marvels at the soft curves of her body and the roundness of her tits, which are noticeably larger now due to breastfeeding.

No longer able to resist, Vader advances on her, not hesitating to touch her. He runs his hands along the curves of her hips, then up to her breasts. Padmé sees a smirk curve his lips as he gives them a squeeze, clearly appreciating their enlargement since they last slept together.

He pinches at her nipples with both of his hands, eliciting a soft moan from Padmé, encouraging him. Vader continues his ministrations, adding more pressure and then softening his grip over and over again, just as Padmé likes for him to do. Pleasure jolts through her just from this, causing her to become warm and wet between her legs.

Vader then pulls her into a deep kiss and picks her up. Padmé fastens her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck to hold onto him, though he has her in a tight grip with his arms around her waist.

He is still kissing her as he carries her to their bedroom, his fingers digging into her skin in his excitement. Pressed against him so closely, Padmé can feel the bulge in his pants, which only deepens her need for him. She is hoping not to spend too much time on foreplay; she wants him here and now.

Once they reach the bed, Vader lays her down across it, keeping her legs dangling off the edge. He pulls her underwear off, exposing her completely.

A soft sigh of desire escapes his lips as he takes in his wife's naked form. She loves it when he looks at her like this; he always seems so amazed every time he saw her nude, as if he still can't believe how beautiful she is, and that she is his.

Vader forces her legs apart to give himself a better view. With his flesh hand, Vader gently strokes between Padmé's legs, his finger edging near her clit but not quite touching. She lets out a little moan in anticipation, and finds herself frustrated when he doesn't immediately start rubbing her.

Anakin had always enjoyed teasing her—at least that didn't change. Padmé decides not to complain and let him have his fun, despite the fact that she is aching to have him inside of her already.

"Which hand do you want tonight?" he asks, looking up to meet her eyes. As he speaks, he is still playing with her, his fingers now rubbing along her slit. She is growing wetter—and more impatient—by the moment.

"I'm okay with both, but if I had to choose…" Padmé smiles mischievously. "Prosthetic."

She had been unsure of his metal hand at first, but once they experimented with it, she almost always asked to be touched with it. Padmé prefers it to be gloved, as it is now.

Vader immediately obliges, switching hands. At last, he makes direct contact with Padmé's clit, causing her to cry out. Vader knows her body so well; he rubs at her in circular motions, perfect and practiced. He is still touching her so gently as he has been this entire time. She finds it to be odd, as he is usually much more passionate and sometimes even rough in bed.

He is still restraining himself, she realizes. He is still touching her as if she is made of glass and may shatter at any moment.

"You can let go of your restraint," she says between deep breaths, "you don't need to be gentle. You know I like it rough."

Vader says nothing, but his quickened pace is response enough. He strokes her clit harder and with more vigor now; Padmé can't help but let out a moan of sheer pleasure. All of the sexual tension that has been building within her for the past months is finally being released—it feels liberating to be satisfied like this.

He moves his flesh hand up to her tits, taking turns playing with each one as he continues pleasuring her clit. Padmé's mind has gone blank, unable to handle this sensory overload, and her moans have become even less controlled and more ragged than before.

She can feel her orgasm coming on. Just a little more, and she could—

But then he suddenly stops and withdraws from her. Padmé mewls in frustration, knowing he is going to tease her more before letting her finish. She hopes Vader will be merciful; she can't take this torture for very long.

"No," she groans. "Please, don't stop."

Vader is silent, choosing to respond with actions rather than words. He drops to his knees, lowering himself so his head is between Padmé's legs.

Her heart flutters with excitement, knowing where this is going.

Spreading her lips with his fingers, he flicks his tongue across her clit. After a few seconds of this, Vader switches to long strokes across her vulva, starting at her entrance and ending where her lips began. All the while, he uses the Force to stimulate Padmé's tits, as she feels invisible hands caressing her and rubbing her nipples. White-hot pleasure rolls through her in waves; every time Vader's tongue makes contact with her, he is rewarded with a moan.

Vader returns his focus to her clit, and at the same time he pushes one prosthetic finger inside of her. He can't physically feel her wetness this way, but he knows she is sopping by the way his gloved finger glistens as he moves it in and out of her. Once he feels she is ready, he slips another finger in her for extra width. As soon as he does this, Vader immediately locates Padmé's G-spot and rubs against it, sending pulsing sensations through her groin.

"Oh Force," the words come out without her even thinking about it, though they sound slightly like a whimper.

This is all getting too much for her. Her body is quite literally burning with desire, as a bead of sweat is dripping down her temple.

Just as Vader is about to finish her off, Padmé makes a mistake that would cost her.

"Anakin," she cries out as his tongue brushed against her sensitive clit. "Ani…"

And then once again, he suddenly stops, leaving Padmé cold and empty. She gasps as he withdraws from her and slowly pulls his fingers out. She hates this, being left in suspense when he knows how much she needs him.

This time, Padmé is so desperate to come that a tear of frustration streaks down her cheek, which no doubt Vader sees despite the dim light of the bedroom.

"No," he tells her. She looks down at him to see that although he is still on his knees, he is sitting upright to meet her gaze. His hands are resting on her thighs, the middle and index fingers of his glove dripping.

"I want you to say my name," Vader says. "My real name."

For a moment, Padmé is puzzled, but then she realizes. He wants her to call him Vader, not Anakin.

Padmé's refusal is silent, but a refusal nonetheless. She looks away from him, staring at one of the pillows next to her instead of at him. She has enough dignity at the moment not to succumb to his request and to keep herself from begging him to finish her.

But as Vader brings his hand back down between her legs, his thumb brushing her clit just enough to stimulate her while keeping her from orgasming, she immediately regrets her decision.

She tries so hard not to react, but her body betrays her. Padmé is unable to stop herself from bucking her hips in response to Vader's touch.

Padmé feels her resolve crumbling, but she holds her ground.

"Say it," his request becomes a demand.

Padmé says nothing once more, instead moving her hand down between her legs to do it herself. But as she does, Vader snatches her wrist and holds it in place.

"There's only one way you're getting out of this," Vader admonishes. "Just say it, Padmé, and you'll get what you want."

"No," she practically gasps out the word. "I won't call you by your Sith name."

He forcefully places her wrist down at her side and holds both of her arms down, and then the rest of her body, with the Force. It feels as if she is being restrained by ropes or chains, but it is by Vader's will alone that she is rendered immobile.

Her punishment is even crueler than it was last time; rather than using his finger, Vader licks at her once more, flicking her clit a few times with the tip of his tongue. Padmé can't help but cry out in response, another hot tear leaking from her eyes. This is becoming unbearable—sooner or later, she will break.

Still, her rebellion does not falter yet.

"Anakin," she calls the wrong name again in protest. "Anaki—"

Again, Vader punishes her with another flick of his tongue, and Anakin's name is cut off by Padmé's gasp. He uses more pressure this time, but it is still just barely not enough to allow Padmé to reach the orgasm she so desperately desires.

"Padmé," he says. For a hopeful moment, she thinks he is returning her call for his old self, but then his demand comes again. "Just say the name. It would be so much less painful than this." As if to demonstrate his point further, he gently rubs a finger across her slit, circling its tip around her entrance. Padmé is unable to stop a whimper from escaping her lips.

"No," she pants. "You'll always—always be Anakin to me."

He is irritated now. In his vexation, he parts her lips and presses two fingers into her, too hard and too fast. Padmé gasps at the twinge of pain at his sudden entry. Her discomfort quickly fades, though. Just for a second, he rubs her G-spot, sending a jolt of unbearable pleasure through her body. Padmé wants to yell or scream, but softens it down to only a desperate little cry, not wanting to wake up the twins, who are sound asleep upstairs.

"Please," she is begging now, her strength crumbling to nothing. "Please!"

Vader withdraws his fingers, but continues to touch her with broad strokes across her lips.

"You know what to do," he tells her. "Although I'm enjoying listening to you beg, it won't help you."

Padmé shuts her eyes briefly. She can feel the wetness of tears on her lashes. The way he is talking to her is just turning her on even more. She loves when he is dominant in bed, and his voice sounds so deep, yet so soft like velvet…

She can't hold out anymore. Vader is not going to let up, and she needs to finish. She needs him, and there is only one way out of this.

Padmé lets go of her pride. It dissipates like mist and she suddenly feels so free.

"Vader," she finally obliges him. "Vader…"

Her cheeks are flaming with shame, but her chagrin is worth it.

Satisfied, Vader lowers his head back down. His tongue laps at her with quick, brisk motions, focusing on her clit as he re-enters her with his prosthetic fingers, pressing firmly against her G-spot as he works himself into her.

That's it, that is what finally pushes her over the edge she has been teetering along for several minutes now. She tightens around him as she comes, her moans soft but unbridled, uncontrolled. Her juices trickle down Vader's hand; his fingers have gone still inside of her.

Padmé doesn't meant to, but she cries out for him again as she finishes. "Vader…" she whimpers.

His Sith name feels wrong on her lips but in that moment, she no longer cares. She is too preoccupied with her orgasm to care.

He stands up and removes his hands from her, his fingers slowly sliding out. She already can't wait for him to fill her again.

With the back of his clean, flesh hand, he reaches for her face, wiping away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks.

His hand drops back down to his side, bringing his prosthetic one up in exchange. As his wet, gloved fingers brush against Padmé's lips, he drawls, "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

She doesn't answer. She just sucks his fingers clean, savoring the taste of leather mixed with her own, which she supposes he can take as a yes.

Even in the wake of her orgasm, Padmé is still burning with need. This is only the beginning; Vader is still fully dressed, save for his cape, which is still on the floor of the veranda.

But luckily, Vader is quick to move on once he satisfied his wife. He is now undoing his fitted black shirt. Padmé watches intently as he removes it, dropping it to the floor to reveal the toned muscles of his chest and biceps. She stares at him in awe; he is even more muscular than she remembers, especially concerning his abdominal muscles, which have gained definition.

Padmé raises a hand and brushes it against his stomach, each finger caressing the hardness of his muscles and the grooves between them. She is certain that she is with the most beautiful man in the galaxy…

This belief is only reiterated to her as Vader undresses himself completely, revealing his impressive length. He is already fully erect and there are even a few drops of pre-cum that has gathered at the tip.

Her nerves are humming with anticipation. She has only just come down from her first high, but she already wants more.

Knowing she is ready for him, Vader presses into her, very slowly at first. Since it has been a while, he is careful not to stretch her all at once, as she needs time to adjust. The first half of him slides in rather easily due to the fact that Padmé is still sopping wet, but is then met with some resistance.

She makes a soft little noise as he continues to press deeper. He is only halfway in and she already feels so full; she has almost forgotten how thick he is, how wide he always stretches her. Vader is being careful not to hurt her as he eases himself in. He grabs onto her hips to hold her still, as she has begun to shift in the bed in anticipation, and for the first time that night, he sighs with pleasure as he completely fills her.

Padmé closes her eyes, entering a complete state of bliss, as she feels her husband bottom out inside of her. When she opens them, his grip on her hips has tightened, and he is beginning to roughly pound into her. He is pressing right into her G-spot as he drives into her; he almost entirely pulls out of her and then slams all the way back in, which has Padmé between panting and moaning. He is thrusting into her with such force that her sizable tits are bouncing up and down, a sight he is clearly enjoying.

"An—Vader," Padmé groans. She almost said the wrong name again, but not wanting her needs to be denied, she quickly corrects herself.

Vader seems pleased by that. He rewards her with an even harder thrust. Pleasure shoots through her body and she cries out for him once more. Wanting to hear more from her, he uses the Force again to pleasure her nipples, alternating from circular motions to light pinching.

"Vader," Padmé moans again in response to the new sensation. She is overly sensitive now with everything that Vader has done to her; she is easily overwhelmed by the double assault on her body.

Part of her still feels ashamed for wanting him as badly as she does. No matter how cruel he is, how callous he may have become, her body still sings for him—it always will. Her shame is being burned away by the pleasure pulsing through her, and she quickly forgets all about it, losing herself once more in the moment.

As if stimulating her G-spot and nipples isn't enough, Vader manipulates the Force once again to come down on Padmé's clit. Her legs begin to tremble as she lets out more cries, which sound somewhere between a moan and a scream. Each time she calls out his Sith name, he finds a new way to reward her, hoping to condition her to do it outside of the bedroom.

He moves his hands from her hips and onto her thighs, bringing her legs up and out, holding them so they are spread even wider, allowing him to reach even further into her depths. With this added depth, he can reach all the way to the end of her passage; sometimes, when he slams into her especially hard, she can momentarily feel the impact of his balls against her.

Padmé can already feel that she is about to finish again. Her legs start to tremble; she grabs onto Vader's wrists to steady herself. He looks up at her, meeting her eyes. His pace quickens even more, signaling that he too was close.

She is much quieter this time, her moans muted and soft, as she comes again. Pleasure ripples through her as she tightens around Vader, who is still thrusting hard and fast inside of her. Her grip on his wrists strengthen momentarily, but once she is spent, she releases him completely, her hands falling back down to her sides.

Seeing Padmé come undone a second time finally renders Vader unable to hold back anymore. He spills himself into her, holding her hips flush against his own so that he is as deep inside of her as possible. She feels almost unbearably full, but she is enjoying the sensation of having him buried in her like this.

"Padmé…" he calls her name softly as he comes, just as he used to before his turn to the Dark Side, when he was still her brave Jedi hero.

She lets out a sigh as he slowly pulls out of her once he is done. Her body is heavy with exhaustion, and she can already feel the soreness from their coupling. Padmé turns her body so that she is now lying vertically on the bed, her head against a pillow.

"Stay with me," she says to Vader.

He responds by climbing into bed next to her. She moves closer to him and he puts an arm around her, pushing her to him so that her chest is against his.

Vader plants a kiss on her cheek and runs his hand through her dark curls of hair. "I love you," he tells her.

She is looking into his eyes now. "I love you, too," she practically whispers, nuzzling her face into his chest.

—✥—

The man she shares a bed with is not Anakin Skywalker. It is Darth Vader.

But Padmé is comforted by the illusion that it is Anakin. He is warm like Anakin. He sounds like him, tastes like him, feels like him. It is the same body, same soul, but something deep within him has changed.

She is in the arms of a monster. She knows this. It does not fully register in her mind but it is there in the back of her consciousness.

Padmé falls asleep with his arms around her, and wakes up in the same position. Vader is still sound asleep when she opens her eyes. He looks so peaceful as he sleeps, his features no longer hardened with austerity or twisted with anger. He looks exactly as he did when he was still Anakin Skywalker.

His eyes flutter open not long after Padmé wakes up. He lets out a tired sigh and brushes a hand along her cheek, still keeping one arm encircled around her body.

She almost calls out his nickname, almost calls him Ani, but she catches herself before she even opens her mouth. She doesn't want to ruin the moment by irritating him.

Instead, she avoids using a name at all. "When you're on Coruscant… can you keep staying here with me?"

"Of course," he replies. "This is home."

She smiles. In moments like these, it is so easy to forget everything that has happened. She wants to forget so badly, but she can't. Vader's dark deeds will eventually tug at the back of her mind again.

But not now, at least.

Padmé leans in and kissed him. "We should go check on the twins," she says. "They're probably awake now."