A/N: Sorry it's been forever since I updated! University had been crazy lately and it's been killing me. Hopefully, things will calm down in about a month or so. Until then, enjoy!

Two months passed and a strange sort of peacefulness settled over Padme's life in the Empire hotel. She fell into a comfortable routine that would have made any survivor happy but something niggled in her chest, whispering that this little life wasn't enough. Day after day, she woke a little more restless than the last until no matter what she did or who she talked to, she was bored.

Padme wasn't the same girl she'd been before the world had fallen apart. She was scarred and hardened. Forever changed but for better or for worse the damage was done. She could never enjoy a quiet life again.

Every night Anakin led his chosen hunting party out into the daylight or shadows of night and maybe it was crazy but Padme watched them go enviously. She missed it, going outside on stock runs or patrols… Hell, if she was honest with herself, she missed the thrill of possibly dying every day.

Anyone else might have thought she was insane but it was what Padme was used to. She missed the fighting, the running, the fear… The lack of it was making her twitchy. It was unsettling to feel safe inside the Empire's walls.

Her trips outside with Bail, Dorme, Clovis and Sabe felt like so long ago… She missed it. Missed her old friends.

One day, almost shaking from the boredom of staying indoors, Padme gathered her courage and approached the Imperial leader as he lounged in a corner with Aphra whispering in his ear. If she didn't know any better, she might have believed they were a couple. They were almost always together when he wasn't upstairs in their suite and the dark-haired women was always in his hunting parties.

Honestly, it was a wonder he wanted Padme here at all when he already had a woman hanging on his every word.

Anakin's searing gaze lifted to see her approach and he quirked a curious eyebrow, pulling away from Aphra even as she continued to speak. "What can we do for you, Naberrie?" He seemed surprised to see her and Padme couldn't blame him. Outside of the suite, she never sought him out, never went out of her way to see him around the hotel… The flash of excitement in his blue eyes made her stomach leap and twist uncomfortably.

"Can we speak?" She asked him, glancing uncomfortably at the other woman. The dislike Aphra felt for Padme was obvious and simmering as if her very existence offended her.

"I'm Anakin's number two, y'know." The other woman smirked. "Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of me."

Padme held her gaze for a long moment and considered it. It was hardly a private matter. All she wanted to know was how long he planned to keep her locked away inside. But a small, petty side of her she hadn't known existed until she'd met this woman roared to life. She just couldn't stand the smugness! Fine then… She'd talk.

"Okay… Anakin, I just wanted to ask if you could come to bed early tonight? I thought we could make a special night of it..." She finished with what she hoped was a sensual smile.

Not waiting around to see the expression on Aphra's face, Padme turned on her heel and stormed out toward the hallway. Vaguely, she heard Rex and Kit "oohhh…" behind her in a way that distantly reminded her of the reactions her little nieces had once had when the other was caught doing something wrong. Despite her irritation, it made her smile for a moment as those innocent little faces flashed before her mind.

"Hey!" A voice called out from behind her, making Padme pause by the useless elevators. "Naberrie, wait up!" Anakin rounded the corner wearing a proud smirk. "Well, I don't know a man alive who could resist an offer like that…" He had the audacity to wink at her and she huffed, rolling her eyes.

"You know I wasn't serious, Anakin. I just wanted…"

"What?" He murmured, stepping into Padme's personal space. For once she didn't move back. "What did you want?"

Tipping her head back just enough to meet his keen gaze, she pursed her lips together. "I… I wanted to make Aphra shut up," she admitted quietly. In hindsight, she'd behaved childishly but there was something about the smugness of the other woman that set off Padme's more unfortunate tendencies. "I still can't believe you want her as your second in command. Rex and Kit exist, you know."

Anakin chuckled and trapped one of Padme's loose curls between two fingers, twisting it around them gently. It was rare she let her hair down these days… She didn't need it getting caught in a pair of bloody claws. "Aphra's a good fighter and a better strategist. She's smart too… Not smart enough to see an obvious lie, mind you," he laughed again. "I think you two are a lot alike."

"That's not true." She shook her head. Padme would never be so cold and unwelcoming to someone the way Aphra had been to her. It wasn't in her nature to be cruel. "She's horrible."

"Mm." He hummed, "she's territorial, I'll give you that."

"Territorial?" Padme raised an eyebrow. It had been obvious from their first meeting that the former archaeologist had feelings for the Imperial leader but she hadn't seen anything to suggest it was mutual. Her stomach clenched. Had she missed something all this time? No… If she had, wouldn't it be Aphra in his suite and not her? "Is this your way of telling me you're with her?"

Anakin laughed again and released Padme's hair. "No, I'm not with her. Never have been. Does that make you feel better?"

Smug bastard. "It doesn't make me feel anything at all." She said.

He smiled again but it felt more genuine this time. "Okay," he said and brushed his lips against Padme's cheek, surprising her. He hadn't touched her since she'd first arrived at the Empire and that had been months ago! What was he playing at? He didn't let her question things further, pulling back as if it had never happened. "So, what did you really want to talk to me about?"

She was thrown, mind still reeling and cheek still tingling from the contact. Keeping up with him was the most difficult game of chess Padme had ever played. "Right, yes." She straightened herself up. "I need to know, are you planning on keeping me locked away inside the hotel forever?"

At that, he laughed yet again. "That was the general idea of bringing you here, Naberrie."

"Well, I'm tired of it in here. I'm sick of the sight of the place."

"It's dangerous out there, you could get killed." His eyes darkened as if a shadow passed over his mind at the thought. It was chilling.

"I can handle myself out there, Anakin." She said. "I lived on my own before joining the Rebels, remember? I'm not exactly hopeless."

He made a non-committal noise and narrowed his eyes. "You really want to go out there again?"

"I do." She nodded, "I… I miss it. I know some people are happy just being safe indoors but I'm not one of them. I don't think I ever could be."

She'd swallowed the taste of action and fear in the air too many times for that.

"Fine." He said finally. "Let's go outside."

What?

"Right now?" Padme spluttered. She hadn't expected him to be so agreeable! She'd been preparing for a fight – for shouting and slamming and one of them storming away from the other in a fury… Not this. This was, well, it was easy. When had Anakin Skywalker become easy to deal with?

"Unless you've changed your mind already?" Anakin drawled, but he was already making his way toward the main armoury room. Padme's stomach flipped. Something close to regret panged in her chest. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…?

No. Padme wanted this. She'd been wanting this for weeks. There was no backing out now without giving up the right to ever ask him for the chance again.

Hiding her surprise, she caught up to him as he entered what she suspected had once been an office and let the door close behind her. The room was close to the main exit of the building, easy to access if one was ever in dire need for a weapon. And it was certainly full of them. Guns, knives, swords, axes, every kind of dangerous object Padme could conjure laid piled up across every surface. The Rebels didn't even have half the number of weapons throughout the entire building.

Anakin handed Padme two black guns to strap into the sturdy, brown, leather holsters buckled around her legs and a long, dangerously sharp blade which she tucked beneath the strap looping around her waist. It felt right to be armed again and she realised distantly that she'd missed it. If only the girl she used to be could see her now…

He was armed to the teeth, as usual. Every pocket secured a gun or blade, every strap of his holster held something that promised death to any attacker. He reminded Padme of a warrior, vicious and lethal until their eyes met and he smiled… Then he was Anakin again. Human. Real. Like the young boy she used to know in school all those years ago.

When the Empire's doors opened and the cool air hit her skin, Padme realised just how stagnant she'd felt until now. This, being outside, free without walls, this was freedom. How had she gone so long without it? Her heart raced inside her chest and her skin prickled at every slight sound in the street, but she'd rather stand here in the cold for hours rather than go back into the stale air inside.

It was chilly but not too cold to be outside. They'd both grabbed their coats before leaving and she revelled in the feel of the fresh air around her. The sky was grey but the day was light and the winter sun snuck through the gaps as well as it could. It was nice to see the city from the ground up again, the way she always had before the Empire. Lines and lines of abandoned yellow cabs decorated the streets and they weaved through, walking past ransacked stores and looted banks without blinking. It had taken quite a while for people to realise money was worthless in the new world. You couldn't buy your life from creatures who wanted to tear you limb from limb.

Anakin and Padme walked until the cars and stores faded away into apartment blocks and what had once been a children's playpark. Nature was working fast to take it back. Overgrown plants and grass had begun to climb the jungle gym and benches while ivy wound its way up the legs of the swing set. There was something oddly beautiful about it… Part of her wished they could stop and look a little longer, but lingering would be dangerous.

It didn't take much longer before they ran into two beasts at once. A scaly orange thing with two heads and teeth long enough to tear right through an arm or leg, the other one was black as night, hissing and clicking in warning. They weren't difficult to take care of. Padme aimed a single shot through the orange one's neck while Anakin cut the black beast's head off in one powerful swing. It fell to the sidewalk in a bloody splat and rolled a few meters away.

He grinned but Padme couldn't tear her eyes away from the bodies, panting and exhilarated by the kill. Was it adrenaline? Or was there something deeply wrong with her now? She'd wondered that for a long time but the answer didn't seem worth the effort to find in moments like these.

When their eyes met, she matched his smile without a thought.

After that day, Anakin and Padme ventured outside together almost daily. They were never out for long, always less than an hour or two but it was enough to make her blood sizzle with the thrill. Whenever she took down one of the monsters, he smiled, pride shining in his wild eyes. If one of the beasts dared to come too close to her, Anakin tore it to pieces.

Even after all this time, he was still an enigma to Padme. Every time she thought she was beginning to understand, something would shift and the pieces scattered to look like something else entirely. She didn't understand why he protected her so fiercely, why he wanted her with him in the Empire or how he could switch so easily to playful and almost boyish to something so brutal and savage. The two sides of this man didn't fit. It shouldn't work but here Anakin Skywalker existed anyway, forever a rulebreaker.

One day, two weeks after their first walk outside, they found themselves in what had once been a mechanics garage near the edge of the Imperial's turf. Anakin had been particularly excited at the prospect of raiding the place and finding old pieces of technology when a group of several green, four-eyed beasts burst through the open doorway, snorting furiously. They moaned and wailed to one another, panting and flashing their knife-teeth in anticipation of sinking them into their flesh.

They were fast, charging so suddenly that Padme was almost too panicked to react. The sound of Anakin's bullets firing pulled her back and she unholstered both Glocks and let loose without thinking any more about it. The beasts grunted and howled in agony as bullets flew into their skin without mercy, spilling purple blood onto the concrete floor. She shot until both guns were out of bullets. Most of the monsters were already dead by then but a few had been clever enough to hide until the bullets stopped flying. They roared furiously but Anakin only laughed, as if this fight to the death was just a game they were playing.

She tugged on the hilt of the blade he'd given her, unsheathing it with a hiss and braced herself. If she had a choice, Padme would always choose a gun as her weapon but that didn't mean she was unprepared.

Two creatures lunged for Anakin at once but he evaded in a quick side-step that sent a table crashing against the wall as his hip collided with it. One more beast snuck up behind him, evading his keen eye and peeled back its vile lips, ready to bite.

It was going to kill him!

Padme acted without thinking, running across the room and leaping onto the monster behind him. Its scales were sharp at the edges and sliced her palms open in multiple little cuts but the blasts of pain were nothing compared to the overwhelming need to make sure the beast died. She stabbed its throat again and again, ignoring its shrieks and the warm gush of blood coating her hands and clothes, attacking it over and over until it finally stilled. It was the most brutal she'd ever been for a kill and Padme's hands shook when she stood up again.

For a moment, she didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or cry. She'd never thrown herself at one of them like that before! It had been incredibly stupid and reckless, and she hadn't felt this alive in all her life! Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt full of nervous energy. She wanted to move but didn't know what to do with herself. Her eyes travelled over the beast's corpse before flicking up to meet Anakin's eyes. He'd killed the other two already and she'd caught him watching her. His eyes were dark and something intensely hungry flashed in their depths.

He took a step toward her, sliding his knife back into his belt without bothering to wipe away the blood and Padme felt like her whole body was vibrating. After a second, Anakin opened his mouth, but she didn't let him speak. Two quick steps and her bloody hands took hold of the dark, frayed collar of his coat, tugged him down and kissed him.

She'd evidently surprised him – which was no easy feat – because it took him a few seconds to respond. But then all of a sudden, his large, calloused hands, just as bloody as hers, moved to cup Padme's face and waist tightly. She may have been the one to make the first move between them but Anakin's reaction was strong and eager. He deepened the kiss right away, sweeping his tongue into her mouth and Padme welcomed him, fisting her hand in his hair, urging him closer.

She didn't think. Just felt.

Anakin growled against her lips and walked Padme backwards until her back hit a wall roughly. His body pressed against her – this was fast, faster than she was prepared for – but she was caught up. Intoxicated by him utterly and it was thrilling to just let go. His hands slid from her waist to cup her backside and she moaned helplessly, arching into him as best she could. She wanted to be closer, didn't care about anything in the world other than that feeling as his lips began to work their way down her neck –

A low, feral growl came from outside and Anakin tore himself away instantly, turning his head so quickly she wondered how his neck didn't crack, immediately on alert. Padme tried to catch her breath but it felt impossible. A moment later two small yellow creatures wandered inside the garage.

They killed them easily but there were more coming and the afternoon was slipping into evening. It wasn't safe to be out just the two of them anymore. Anakin grabbed Padme's hand and together they ran back to the warmth and safety of the Empire.

Once they were safely inside and the rush of adrenaline began to fade, shame crashed through Padme heavily. What the hell had she been thinking? She kissed him! Her mind reeled as she washed the blood from her shaking hands, replaying the kiss over and over in her head. It had been so heated and intense… It was wrong. She shouldn't have done it, but it had felt so good... If those creatures hadn't interrupted them, how far would it have gone?

She hadn't wanted to stop and even now, just thinking about the feeling of Anakin's lips on her neck made heat bloom between her legs. Frowning into the cracked, dirty mirror on the wall, Padme looked herself in the eye for a long moment. She had to be honest with herself. Was that… Was a moment like that something she actually wanted? Did she want it with him? With Anakin? She clenched her thighs together as an ache began to form between them.

Maybe she did want it? Would that be so terribly wrong?

Part of her screamed that it was while another whispered promises of pleasure and release.

It was all so complicated and her mind was spinning.

Where did she go from here?

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