DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc and 20th Century Fox. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
“ Budgers.”
Padme bent over the table to reach a mug. It had been left just out of her reach for a reason. For the second time that afternoon, the patrons of the bar were playing with her. Not only was she the blunt of their joke due to her height, but also because in her bent position her cleavage was open for all to see. She pulled the mug to her and stood, moving away from the table before the questing hands could find their mark. As she approached the standing bar in the middle of the cantina, her boss shook his head in laughter.
“You attract much attention, girl.” The snout-nosed humanoid guffawed. “You are good for business.”
Padme tilted her head in acknowledgment, loading up her hand tray for her next pass. There was still one more drink to be made and she turned to lean against the cool metal counter to view her surroundings. The interior of the cantina was cool and dark. The earthen floor was packed so tightly that dust did not float upwards. Various tables held lights on them, helping to alleviate the lack of natural lighting. There were patrons there from all corners of the Republic and beyond. The building was packed to its highest rafter. And Padme felt small in the midst of so much.
Her arm was pushed by the bartender to let her know that the last drink was done, and she turned to grab it. She cursed softly as her sleeve caught on the table and pulled her bodice a little lower. Her required shirt was low cut and strung together with thin rope. Its crisp white was outlined by the tight low vest that she wore. The pants that she wore were loose and rode low on her hips. It was not the costume of a queen, nor was it the customary wear for a Jedi Padawan, but it was what was needed. It helped her to fit in, to blend in. Her mind manipulations were not up to the master level as of yet, and she needed the extra help to hide herself in the crowd. Neither Obi-Wan nor Qui-Gon had ever seen her work clothes as she changed at work to avoid the comments. And she preferred to keep it that way.
“Table 27.” The bartender barked, and Padme grimaced and moved off. It was only a matter of time until her shift was up and she could go home. She had had a meeting with one of the freighter pilots that were helping the Jedi to recover those missing earlier that day and now all that remained was to work out her shift.
“There you are, gentlemen, is there anything else that I can get for you?” she asked as she lay the drinks on the table. Her customers were Utilion, a clawed race that lived in the Outer Rim. Four hands reached for the various tumblers. The fifth reached for her, and pulled her onto its owner’s lap.
“I don’t know, pretty.” The voice in her ear was high pitched, almost squeaky. “How much do you charge for a night?”
Padme waved her hands across her chest in front of the man’s eyes with purpose. She waited to see if it would work. As the hands pulled at her hips, she guessed that it had not. “I do not charge for the night, for the hour, or even for the minute.” She stated, calmly. “I am spoken for and I wish to remain that way. Now I must ask that you let me go; it is the end of my shift and I need to leave.”
“That is right, you need to leave for my room.” The Utilion laughed as she squirmed out of his hands and stood, pulling her shirt back around her. As she moved off quickly, he followed her with a laugh. “Maybe later, sweet.”
Padme returned to the bar with a sigh and shook her head with a smile. It was the same every day.
“Padme!”
Startled out of her routine, the girl looked to the door to see a familiar female figure outlined against the door. Shmi stood in the light, searching for her younger friend. Padme could feel the worry coming off of the woman in droves and noticed the little girl that the woman had by the hand, and the one that she was carrying. “By the Gods!” Padme called, running to the door, leaving her boss to call after her.
When she reached Shmi, the older woman had tears in her eyes. “Yorinda…”
Padme hung her head and turned back to her boss to explain that she needed the rest of the day off. Although the man was not happy, the sight of Padme with a crying woman and two small children helped decide the matter for him. He let her go with little fanfare. As she returned to Shmi’s side, she reached out to take one of the children from her friend. Once they walked outside, the younger woman asked for details.
Shmi controlled herself as best as she could. Her hands shook, though, no matter how much energy that she exuded to maintain her composure. “Yorinda has passed. It occurred two hours ago. And the children, well, I could not leave them.” Yorinda had been a friend of hers for years. Shmi had told the woman just the season before that she was crazy to have taken the two young children at her age. And now, the responsibility for the children had fallen to her by default.
“I thought something had gone wrong; I could feel it.” Padme’s voice was low and calm both of the children and for Shmi. “And as for the children, I think you did the right thing. We are all that they might possibly have in the galaxy and we should not turn our backs on them.” The young queen tilted back the face of the toddler that she held with a grimace. The child, a girl, was covered head to toe in dirt. Her dark hair was matted and knotted, hanging long. Eyes between a hazel and a brown looked to her with calm acceptance and Padme thanked the Gods that the children were used to her and Shmi. “We should get them home and clean them at the very least. What has been done for Yorinda?”
“A fire will be constructed tonight.” Shmi drew a deep breath and pressed on. “It is the way of her people. One is burned upon death.” She bent and picked up the child that walked along side of her. “We should concentrate on the living.”
“Agreed.”
“What do you think that the master will say?” Shmi knew that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were home as the heat of the day had hit high peak and work was impossible. She had not stopped at the house since the occurrences of the last few hours.
“Whatever he pleases more than likely.” Padme grimaced as the girl bumped her hip. “But he will see that there is nothing that we can do except this.”
Padme crossed the threshold of the house with a grimace, wiping sweat from her brow. The child had fallen asleep during the walk and weighed heavily on her arm. But, Padme thought, it was a pleasant heaviness. The kitchen area was empty and she knew that the men were out the back, more than likely working on the speeder that they had purchased earlier that week. It had been in poor condition, but the transportation was needed in order for Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon to make the needed trips into the desert. It had amazed her that the both of them knew parts and how to fix various vehicles. She nodded to the door and looked to Shmi with a slight smile. “Do you wish to draw straws to see which one of us tells them?”
Shmi laughed lightly, the first of the afternoon. “I think that I shall. Should I worry more about Qui-Gon or Ben?”
“Ben. Most definitely Ben. Master will school his reactions more so than Ben.” Padme set down her child and reached for the other to free up Shmi’s arms. “I will start a cleaning solution for them.”
“The pail is under the storage bin.” Shmi called as she walked through the other door out into the joint courtyard that existed behind the houses.
Padme smiled at the two children as they sat on the table in front of her. They were twins, both possessing those strange eyes and a head full of mopped hair. Their gazes were wide and open, accepting her for herself. She reached out a small hand to cup both of their faces. “Let’s get you cleaned up, shall we? Who wants to go first?”
Both twins pointed to each other, eliciting a laugh from the queen. She reached for the nearest twin and put her down into the pail that she had retrieved. It was a large metal container that was used for washing purposes for the household. A cleaning solution was made without water and placed in its interior. She began to ladle the solution over the child to wet her hair and began to untangle it. She worked her hands through the mass of tangles, giggling as the child reached to splash her with some of the contents. With a practiced hand, the girl sponged the rest of the child ’s body. When she went to rinse Ablie, she felt the familiar presence of her master in the room and turned.
Qui-Gon had been resting against the doorjamb of the house, his arms crossed over his chest. He had closed his senses off so that she would not feel his presence and had observed her as best as he could. His eyes trailed from the top of her braids, wound on her head to the bottom of her low-slung pants. When he did allow his presence to be felt, his Padawan latched onto it immediately and turned to look at him. It was at that point that his breathing stopped. Padme was clad in one of the most revealing shirts that he had ever seen; most of her skin on her upper half was visible. What was not visible was outlined by the tight leather vest that she wore. It accentuated her breasts and hips. His charge remained where she was, gazing back at him as the child next to her splashed her sister. “I hear that you and Shmi have adopted children, Padme.” He spoke in a rough voice.
“I suppose that is the closest word to the action, Master.” Padme spoke returning her attention to the child in the pail.
He moved closer, walking across the floor to grab a towel from the pile by the ladder. He reached out to ease the small child from the pail and wrapped it in the soft material. His own shirt had been removed when he and Ben had begun work on the speeder. Padme lifted the other child and eased it into the pail. She began to work again as the Jedi Master toweled the little tike. “It is not the best of times for this, Padawan.”
The woman nodded. “I know that, Master. But Shmi and I are all that they have in life right now. I cannot leave them to an unknown fate.”
“But their fate with us might be worse.” The Jedi sat down on the chair, placing the wrapped child in front of him on the table. “Our existence is questionable, Padme. We cannot guarantee our survival…”
“They would die in short order, Master.” She turned to look at Qui-Gon as she ladled off the child’s head. “I can guarantee longer than that. You must see that.”
Qui-Gon moved behind Padme as she let the child splash in the pail. “I see that you are already attached. How will you complete your training while responsible for these two children?”
“It will be done, Master, I promise you.” She leaned to stroke the child’s head. “There has been little in life that I have been able to protect. As queen, everyone assumed that I needed protecting. I was responsible for decisions and actions, but always for the masses and rarely for the individual. I can do something for these children; we can.” She sighed as she felt the man’s arms snake around her midriff and pull her back against his chest. His head fit easily on top of hers and he did so with a heavy sigh. The closeness startled Padme, but it felt right, so she allowed the embrace. “Qui-Gon, we can help them.”
“I realize that.” He rumbled, turning his face down to brush the top of her head. “I know that. I just wonder at the amount of responsibility you are taking on your shoulders. We will all help you, but I feel that you think that this is your responsibility.”
She sighed, moving her hands down to his and holding them. “Let me at least have someone to love and love me in return, Qui-Gon.”
His throat closed off in emotional pain that his Padawan felt and grimaced. He had decided not to tell the woman about his ‘affliction’, as Obi-Wan had started calling it, just as of yet. The deepness of her voice opened his spiritual eyes to the depth of feeling that she had within her. The wistful tone of the sentence swayed his intentions. There would be no harm in at least telling her, he thought to himself. “You already have that, little one.” He breathed, ruffling her hair. His voice deepened as he dipped his head lower to kiss her neck. Padme leaned backwards, her head falling onto his upper chest in a sigh. His lips lingered for a moment, before he lifted his head to gaze down at her. Her eyes were closed and opened suddenly as she turned to face him.
“Master?”
“Qui-Gon, dear. Gods forbid that you should call me that when we are not training.” His eyes were soft in the afternoon light. He tilted her face back to look her in the eyes. “First, lets discuss these children. I know that this is currently the only answer for the dilemma. I see no problem with keeping them here so long as you share the responsibility with the rest of us.” He sifted his gaze to the children that were playing now with each other. “You have found my soft spot, Padme. Children are very dear to my heart. And they are so young.”
“Exactly. We need to protect them.” Padme breathed, resting back against his arms. Her frown brought a smile to the Jedi’s face.
“And we will, even if it brings the wrath of Yoda down on us. We do what we must.” He nodded seeing her smile. “I cannot say no to you.”
“That is not the whole truth; you say no on a daily basis, Qui-Gon. Most of the time it is when we are training.” Padme sighed feeling his large hands move to rub her neck. “Why are you touching me like this?”
“You don’t like it?” Qui-Gon smiled lightly as the girl opened her mouth to sigh and not answer him. “Do you wear this outfit every day?”
"Yes, it is required.” Padme squirmed as his hands began to make sweeping movements down her back. “I like this.”
Qui-Gon moved his hands down to her hips to pull her against him with a gentle movement. He sighed as her wet hands landed on his chest with affection. “And you do not tell the truth, either, young one. You already have someone to care about that cares for you in return. Someone who cares about you very much.” His head tilted until his lips were a mere centimeter away. “Even though it is against most of his training, he cares for you passionately.”
“Of whom do you speak, Jedi.” Padme whispered. “Ben?”
“Imp.” Qui-Gon leaned his head further, capturing her lips in a gentle prodding kiss. Padme let her head fall back on her shoulders as the man deepened the kiss. For all the strangeness of the situation, she felt at peace; impassioned but at peace. As his lips slanted over hers at a leisurely pace, she let her lips fall open to admit his tongue. It caressed hers with care and exited to smooth over her lower lip.
Padme opened her eyes slowly as she felt Qui-Gon’s hand caress her cheek. Her master’s eyes were gentle and dark, gazing at her with some depth. He continued to stroke her cheek and sighed, “Ben told me that you are worried because I have not opened myself to you. Now you know why, Padawan. I could not let you see this emotion, this passion for you.”
Padme’s hand buried into Qui-Gon’s hair with gentleness, massaging his scalp. She sighed in thankfulness to Shmi and her insight. “Shmi told me that you were attracted to me in a position other then my master. I did not believe her.”
“And why not, Padme?”
“I am you Padawan, you student.” She sighed as he closed his eyes and rested his head against his shoulders in abandon with her caresses.
“You are a woman and I am a man. That, in and of itself, is enough to cause attraction. It is like light and darkness. It matters not if you are my student, my friend, my charge or my…well, lets just say that it is enough to create a static energy.”
“There is no sin in this feeling, Qui-Gon, it is natural, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Very natural. Just forbidden for me, that is all.” Qui-Gon lifted the woman to sit on the table next to the child. “There, we both would have received a cramp in our necks had we continued that way.”
“The passion is not forbidden, Master.” Padme pulled his head until their lips met again with less restraint. “It is children that are. I think that the council would allow you to feel. You are not the sort of man that should be alone; you have too much of a capacity for caring in you not to exhibit it.”
“This is why I care for you, Padme.” Qui-Gon laughed as the child in the pail splashed the back of his legs. “Wise and naïve wrapped in a beautiful package. Do you even know of the things that this entails?”
“I know that I care deeply for you. I know that I dream of you. That is all.” Padme turned her face down, a blush creeping into her face. “These feelings are something that I have no experience with and cannot speak of with knowledge. But I know that I am willing to learn. Will it interfere with training?”
“I pray that it will not.” Qui-Gon sighed, moving between her spread legs to rest. “It will open my mind to you, though. And I will not let you distract me when we are training.” His hand fell to the fastenings on the vest.
She stopped him with a hand and a shake of her head. Her pulse was pounding and there was a rushing in her ears. Her breath was coming in pants, both from her own excitement and from the thoughts that flowed from her master. “The children…”
Qui-Gon hung his head, as he felt one of the mentioned urchins grabbing his pants. “This is not the time, is it, Padawan.”
She shook her head with a sigh. “No.”
Qui-Gon nodded with severity. “We must start our evening meditation and sabre position practice. And I want to see how your mind manipulations are coming along.”
“They need work.” Padme admitted, reaching out a hand to catch the towel as it flew to her. She handed it to her Master with a smile. “Dry her please, I will find clothing for them.”
She slid off of the table with regret and moved into the interior of the house, as Qui-Gon lifted the last child out of the pail with shaky hands.