“please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh i could recognize anywhere.” / 🔫
Sometimes, he stood at her place of rest and pondered their past, a life he could no longer return to –– a love he lost. HE HAD LOST HER , KILLED HER : HIS EVERYTHING. Padmé only existed in the depths of the Sith Lord’s mind now. Her beautiful face was a fading memory ; he clung to the sound of her voice by recollecting the conversations they had together, during happier times. He can almost feel her soft, gentle hand touching his face, their laughter chiming through the room as they could momentarily let their guard down and could be in love around each other. It was a luxury for them.
‘ Please don’t become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere. ’ It was an innocent plea from his love; one that showcased how dearly they needed each other. The idea of becoming a stranger to Padmé was preposterous to Anakin; he could never dream of being away from her. He still remembers his response ever - so - clearly. He had leaned into her touch, staring into her eyes.
❛ ––– I will never be a stranger to you, my love. ❜ And he had meant it, wholly.
( Oh Padmé. Dear Padmé. It is such a big galaxy. Was there nobody else you could fall in love with? ) –––––––– ( Look what I have become, my love. )
Now, he could no longer laugh. He could no longer cry. He could no longer feel. His hands would never feel her warmth again. HIS BLOOD RAN COLD. A machine forced his heart to beat –– forced him to breathe. He didn’t want this. He wanted her. Everything he was now, was a charred, unrecognizable shell of the dragon he had brought forth to save her. All he wanted to do was to SAVE HER from his nightmare –– to assure that they could be together: Anakin and Padmé, with their child –– forever.
And in doing so, he had lost her, and he had lost himself. ( I will never be a stranger to you, my love. ) Oh, but he had BROKEN that promise on Mustafar, when she desperately tried to call him back to her, back to the life they had. She stared into the eyes of a man she could no longer recognize. And now, as he –– VADER –– stands at her grave, he saw glimpses of himself in the wet stone that guarded her tomb from the elements.
AND HE NO LONGER RECOGNIZED HIMSELF. He no longer was the man she once loved. He no longer had the face she once held. He no longer had the heart she once knew.
( Oh Padmé, my darling, dearest, DEAD. What has become of us? )