Remember What We Were

Fourteen

The day continued to play out in Anakin's favor. Six times, he managed to Force push Palo just hard enough to knock him off his feet.

"Watch out Palo, the floor is slippery."

"Careful Palo, wouldn't want you to fall again..."

"The hand rail is here for a reason, Palo."

It was all good fun for Anakin, watching Palo slip, trip, and fall all over the museum, as the short tempered artist grew more and more suspicious, Anakin backed down. A twing of guilt struck him but was soon forgotten when they finally reached Palo's own art exhibit.

"Every piece of art I've created was to display the passions in me that burn for my one true love, Padme," Palo said with emphasized expression. Anakin burned with anger as Padme turned pink. "That's very sweet Palo..." she replied softly. A sickening sweet, Anakin thought.

But Anakin had to admit; Palo was an exceptional artist to say the least. His Naboo landscapes were almost as magnificent as the real ones and that only made Anakin more and more envious. Palo turned to flash a superior smirk. "Impressed, my Jedi friend?" Anakin wanted to tear the paintings to shreads, but instead, smiled bitterly. "Impressive indeed." The words left a bad taste in his mouth.

That's when he spotted it; the refreshment bar. A modest establishment connected to the museum supplying guests with beverages or light meals. Anakin's eyes sparkled with devious intention...

"Palo," Anakin said suddenly, "Your throat must be dry after all this talking. Why don't I go get us all some drinks?" Palo waved him off, more interested in admiring his own paintings. Anakin hurried over to the counter and purchased three brewing cups of shuura tea. The steaming amber liquid smelled delectable and Anakin nearly regretted his plan to waste one if the brimming cups.

All for a good reason, he assured himself as he returned to where Palo and Padme stood, still basking in the "incomparable" glory of Palo's well credited masterpieces. "What took so long?" Palo nagged. After handing off a cup to Padme, Anakin turned politely to Palo with an artificial smile. Accepting the hot beverage, Palo raised his eyebrows skeptically, as if suspecting the cup to be poisoned.

Anakin held out his own drink. "To peace," he said, thoughtfully looking to Padme. "May it one day be restored to our galaxy..." Padme nodded in response. "To peace..." Without repeating Anakin's toast, Palo brought the scalding tea to his lips and-

With his own cup at his chin, Anakin nudged Palo's refreshment with the Force. The burning shuura tea poured down Palo's shirt which had yet to dry since his first encounter with fluids that day. Palo shrieked and the cup crashed to the floor with a scream of it's own. Anakin's blue eyes flickered ever so slightly at the pleasure of his scheme going so well.

Palo coughed out the tea that had made it to his mouth as he turned every shade of red until he settled on a bright crimson hue. His shirt dripped with hot tea as Anakin sipped his own drink with care. Whoops.

Padme came to Palo's side to attend to his mess but he stood like a simmering stone. Maybe, Anakin wondered, the tea would boil if it remained on Palo any longer.

Glaring furiously at Anakin, Palo straightened out his stained tunic. "If you'll excuse me, I think I will go to the refresher now." With a faint scoff, he stormed away to clean up. Anakin watched him go and then turned to Padme calmly. "Enjoying the tea, M'lady?"

Padme only smirked his way. "Your show, more than the tea."

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With Palo in the refresher, Anakin figured he would have a fair amount of time alone with Padme. They sat down on a wide marble bench beside Palo's exhibit as the museum crowd gradually thinned.

"Palo's work sure is something," Anakin remarked, finishing off the tea which he found to have had served a better entertainment purpose than for drinking. Padme smiled with a mix of amusement and resentment in her eyes. "You didn't have to do all of those things to Palo, you know?" she asked, regarding all of his stunts. Anakin smiled down at her. "I did if I wanted to be alone with you."

Sensing unease, Anakin changed the subject. He nodded toward a painting of the mountainside, hanging on the wall in a golden frame. "His work though. He's really dedicated to it." That happened to be the one thing he found in favor of Palo. The man was gifted. Padme looked down at her cup of tea. "Dedicated, yeah," she agreed with indignation intertwined in her voice. Anakin looked curiously at her. "Are you okay?" he asked, noting her sudden melancholy. Padme looked up at him again, her eyes baring something near disappointment. "Yeah. I guess he appreciates the arts more than I do."

Anakin shifted an inch closer to her. He took in the sweet scent of her perfume as he gazed into her hypnotic brown eyes. "Is that why you two didn't..." he trailed, unsure if it was the right question to ask. Padme shrugged. "I still don't remember what happened between us. He seemed glad to see me at first, but now..." Her eyes fell again to the swirling tea in her cup.

"But now, you aren't sure how you feel?" Anakin finished for her. He felt his palms growing warm. This was his chance to remind Padme what she had told him. To remind her that Palo wasn't as sweet as he let on-

No. That wasn't fair. Anakin knew that driving her away from Palo wouldn't make his own relationship any more realistic. He wanted her to fall in love with him the way she had before; unforced.

So Anakin held his tongue. And it turned out to be for the best, as Palo was already approaching them. The stain on his shirt was all they needed, to know that it was no use trying to remove it. And Palo's contorted features were all they needed to know that it was time to head home.

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Hello my wonderful readers! So glad I could get another chapter up quickly. I hope I'll have more time this week to right more! Hope you're enjoying the book! Make sure to leave some comments, cuz you know I love them! XD Hope everyone is having a great summer! Well, until next time, may the Force be with you!