angstpril day 9
prompt: “I wish we had more time.”
ao3
Anakin rushes into her apartment with so much force she's afraid he'll crash into a wall.
His gaze is wild and skittish, and he's shaking uncontrollably. When he looks up to meet her eyes, she sees that his own are wide and bloodshot.
"Padme." he says, straightening up somewhat.
"Anakin," she says in a cautious response. "What's happening?"
"Uh," he glances at the Temple, then back at the apartment, then at the door which he hurriedly shoves closed. "We're clear, right?"
He must really be desperate. He knows this apartment is swept for bugs nearly on the hour.
"Of course."
"The Chancellor is the Sith Lord." He sinks into a couch and keeps his gaze on the floor. "He's the Sith Lord, and he just killed all of the Council members that went to arrest him without so much as breaking a sweat."
Padme drops the comb. "What?" she says numbly.
"I ran before he could see me. I don't know if he sensed me or not."
"He's the Sith Lord?" If she had a bit less control, she would have shrieked. "The Chancellor? Sheev Palpatine?"
"Yes."
"And he killed—he killed Jedi. With a lightsaber, presumably."
"Yes."
"He declared himself Emperor. In a Senate session just now. He's the Sith Lord." She whips back around to look at him. "Where were you when he was declaring himself Emperor?"
"In the vents."
"Of course you were in the vents—he said he had a plan. To eliminate the remaining 'traitorous' Jedi."
Anakin's face, if possible, grows even paler. "He did?"
"Do you know anything about it?"
"The clones—Fives—he said they had control chips."
"Anakin, what are you going to do?" She already knows what she has to do. She, Bail, and Mon have already made their plans. It'll have to come to a Rebellion after all. She'll have to get their child out of here and somewhere safe once they're born—Naboo might be too obvious. Alderaan, maybe?
"I can—convince him," Anakin says desperately. "I'll convince him that I've joined him. That's what he wants, anyways. I'll warn the other Jedi and get them out. And when the time is right, I'll kill him and we'll never have to worry about this again."
"Anakin, he's already set everything up in stone. Even if the Emperor dies, the Empire won't die with it. He's already divided up the galaxy amongst the Moffs—he'll just become a martyr. He'll never really die." She wishes everything could be solved by killing one man. It'd make everyone's life much easier. But while they have foundations in place for the Rebellion, there's nothing there yet for what comes after. They'll have to build it from the ground up.
"Then—then I'll feed information. You and the Senators still have the alliance, right? We'll tear it down from the inside, and then we'll kill him."
She watches him closely with a pang. This might be the last time they see each other in a long, long time. "What if he doesn't believe you, then?" she says evenly. "What if he decides to kill you?"
Anakin laughs half hysterically. "Martyr me, then. I don't know. But I have to try."
Something deep within her aches. "You have to leave now, don't you." It's not a question. She already knows.
He pulls her close. "I wish we had more time."
She knows. She wishes the same.
But the galaxy is no place for such wishes anymore.
