#regaldiplomat.

"    i've    always    wanted    to    have    a    family.    my    mother    couldn't    have    children,    you    know    .    .    .    it    was    a    difficult    enough    affair    with    me.    "    childlike    dreams    of    siblings    running    amok    around    him,    the    fleeting    image    of    a    woman    so    like    padme,    stomach    round    with    babe    and    smile    soft    as    its    aimed    towards    him.    it's    left    unsaid,    however,    that    such    things    were    not    meant    for    him.    he'd    bucked    against    jedi    law    enough,    but    a    family    was    lost    to    him.    he    could    pretend,    here    in    her    apartments,    to    be    a    normal    man.    but    that's    all    it    would    ever    be.    fantasies,    like    children    playing    in    the    sand    at    a    life    they'd    never    know.

barely    restrained    anger    is    set    upon    unsuspecting    weeds,    torn    from    the    ground    at    his    hip    in    favor    of    speaking    the    truth.    what    was    there    to    speak    of?    he    was    a    traitor    to    his    order,    a    broken    little    boy    forever    in    her    eyes!    "    what    is    there    to    speak    of,    padme?    what    would    you    ask    of    me?    "    for    if    you    only    told    him,    he    would    flay    himself    open    at    her    feet    for    even    the    barest    glimpse    of    her    smile.    her    happiness    meant    more    to    him    than    most,    held    aloft    on    a    pedestal,    far    removed    from    the    darkness    and    decay    of    the    world    he'd    come    to    know.

instead,    a    smile    tugs    at    the    corners    of    his    mouth,    words    forgotten    in    favor    of    gathering    her    smaller    form    into    the    cradle    of    his    arms.    the    dark    and    the    light,    tangled    so    intrinsically    together    it    was    impossible    to    tell    where    one    began    and    one    ended.    fine    silks    brushing    against    well-worn    robes.    "    like    you're    the    most    beautiful    woman    i'll    ever    set    eye    on,    senator    amidala.    "    saccharine    sweet    words    drip    from    his    tongue    like    the    honeyed    desserts    he    remembered    stealing    from    the    kitchens    as    a    young    boy,    melting    and    coating    his    mouth    with    their    taste.