"Wonderful," he replies with a quirk of his brow, before nodding to the table they used last evening to eat. "You take this one, and we shall see if I can recreate it for myself, without your expert tutelage to guide me."
He can't resist a playful wink in her direction. "I do enjoy a challenge."
"Just don't burn down the kitchen, please," she teasingly requests before turning to take her seat at the table, wasting no time in spearing a bite with her fork. It tastes exactly as it should, the texture near to perfect, and she beams proudly over at Obi-Wan.
She hopes they can have more moments like these in their life ahead, just spending time together and managing everyday tasks. Wild adventures saving planets were all well and good, but she rather enjoyed the simple things as well.
Turning back to the counter and preparing the next omelet-in-the-making, Obi-Wan gives a self-deprecating smile; she'll be able to hear it, even if she doesn't see it. "That happened one time, and I was still a young Padawan. I assure you, if nothing else, my skill at fire-suppression has become much better."
"Oh, well, that's very good to know," she manages before letting out a vibrant laugh. This is exactly what she'd needed after the rocky start to the morning, and somehow she she has the feeling he'd known that. Whether it was the Force or his own perceptive ways, he's been quite good thus far at picking up on the little things and knowing how to move forward with this. She's grateful for that.
"It's a very useful skill," he assures her with faux-seriousness, moving to the skillet. "Should a fire ever break out - well, I can't stop it entirely, but I can contain it." He pauses for dramatic effect. "Mostly, at any rate. There may be a few scorch marks when everything is said and done, but no lasting damage."
Padmé gives him too much credit; Obi-Wan is only thinking how much he enjoys making her laugh, seeing her happy and cheerful. If that means helping to take her mind off more serious things, he's more than willing to do so, even if it comes at the expense of some of his dignity.
"So long as none of those scorch marks are on you, my dear Jedi, we'll be just fine," she informs him before taking another bite. It wouldn't do to let a good meal grow cold, though she did intend to take her time with it so he'd be able to join her before she finished.
Things have been far too serious in her life as of late, and the respite from that pressure is more than welcome.
"Nothing that can't be wiped off with a liberal application of water and some vigorous scrubbing," he teases.
Carefully folding the egg over when it's time, Obi-Wan is pleased to see he's gotten it... fairly right. It didn't fall apart completely, at least, which is what would've surely happened before Padmé had tutored him. "I daresay, I can add 'omelet-making' to my repertoire of skills, as well."
"It's a very useful skill to have," she emphasizes after chewing her latest bite. "Tea and toast isn't a terrible breakfast by any means, but sometimes you need something with more substance. Especially before vigorous physical activity like hiking up a mountain."
"So long as tea is involved somewhere," he informs her loftily, "I am fine with whatever fare is available."
Omelet created and plated, he moves over to sit with her at the table. "I've found over the years that I don't enjoy having too much food sit in my stomach at the beginning of the day. I'd rather be hungry by lunch-time, than feel sluggish while performing said vigorous physical activities."
"That's good to know," she says with a nod before giving a little half-shrug. All of it, really. She preferred a good cup of caf herself, but it was absolutely no trouble to make sure he was well-supplied with tea.
"I'm the opposite in some ways. I usually try to have a big breakfast because I tend to get so caught up in work that I miss lunch entirely or only have time for a quick bite of something. And during especially busy times, there are days when I don't leave my office until the middle of the night."
"Oh dear," he murmurs, only slightly feigning concern. "Suddenly hostile negotiations sounds like the better of our two occupations."
Well. Former occupation, at any rate. "I'll have to start surreptitiously bringing food to you, nudging you until you eat, just so that I'll leave you alone again. And then dragging you off to bed. Tell me, Senator," he leans forward with an intense look, his voice deepening in seriousness, while a smile plays just along the edges of his mouth. "Are you susceptible to taking bribes?"
She doesn't mention that 'hostile negotiations' tend to be a rather regular occurrence in her line of work as well. He can have that revelation later, when they've returned to Coruscant.
Leaning forward to match his stance, she counters in an equally serious tone, "Not in the slightest. You'll have to come up with another means of negotiating, my dear Jedi." And gods if that doesn't put thoughts into her head that really shouldn't be there.
Obi-Wan cannot keep his mischievous smile contained. Holding eye-contact with her, he can't help but add a flirtatious edge to his teasing. He doesn't want to make Padmé uncomfortable, but he does want to test the waters, a bit. "I assure you, Senator, I'm quite good at negotiations. And, when all else fails, forcibly carrying you to bed is always an option. For your continued health, of course."
That smile might very well be the death of her. If she was uncomfortable, it wasn't for any reason she wanted stopped. "Oh of course," she agrees with a nod and assured smile, a hint of her own flirtation slipping into the words. "Though I'm not entirely certain that's a battle you would win, Obi-Wan. I'm quite strong-willed, you know. Some have even used the word 'feisty' to describe me. Are you quite sure you're equipped for such a challenge?"
His eyes light up at her response. "I assure you, my dear Padmé, when I set my mind to something, I surmount all obstacles until I've achieved my goal. While you may prove to be my most formidable opponent to date, I will persevere." He shifts his jaw slightly, his lips twitching before adding, "They do say that sometimes it's not reaching a goal, but the journey itself that's important."
"I believe that depends entirely on the goal itself," she reasons evenly, "and just how deeply you desire it." Something shifts ever so slightly within her and suddenly it isn't all teasing and playfulness. There's something else there, a questioning, a hint of a thing she thinks they might have been dancing around--
But what if she's wrong? This isn't a thing to be broached with levity, and she refuses to let anything happen that might ruin things between them. But still, she can't help but want to know...
Obi-Wan feels it too, or perhaps picks up on Padmé's shifting emotions; but while he's been teasing with deliberately vague wording, now he's not speaking of their hypothetical scenario at all, but something much more personal. This desire he's held for her is suddenly at the forefront, and it's not just physical attraction or the want to share her bed, but the want to share her life with her, in a way that a bodyguard, even as a husband, wouldn't be allowed.
The smile fades from his face, but he continues to hold her eyes. His voice drops almost to a confessional murmur. "What if... I find I desire it a great deal? More, much more than I expected, or was prepared for?"
Oh gods, what is she doing? What are they doing? Her handmaidens had joked that this might happen, she'd had a crush on Obi-Wan all those years ago, but now--
Straightening her back, everything about her feels stiff and pulled tight, even breathing feeling like an issue as she tries to process what he's saying. What he means by those carefully crafted words. This isn't a teasing joke, this is their life, their future together. This future they've only just started working toward and now they're talking about changing everything.
"I don't know," she admits quietly, a thread of fear and uncertainty winding through her and stripping away any shred of confidence she'd felt before. "If you... This--" Her gaze drops from his to the table, searching for something, anything, and then she stands suddenly. "We don't have any tea. You like tea with your breakfast."
Obi-Wan could feel many things in that instant. Self-consciousness, at having laid himself bare to her, when he's only just come to terms with how he's feeling, himself. Mortification, that she's pulling away, potentially rejecting him, even if it is temporary, while she comes to grips with what he's implying.
In the end, however, he winds up ducking his head to hide a smile, trying very hard not to start laughing - sure that she would think he was laughing at her, which is definitely not the case. No, he's laughing at the situation he's found himself in, and how unprepared both of them are to deal with it.
Obi-Wan stands as well, much more slowly, turning toward her as she moves to, ostensibly, make him some tea. "Padmé..." He waits until she turns toward him, and for a brief moment, just looks at her. "I love you." He says it simply, and clearly with no expectations for her to return the sentiment. "I feel you should know, partly because I'm not sure how well I could hide it from you, if I had to try. And partly, because I never want you to question my actions, or the motives behind them, where they concern you. I want only for you to be happy. And if my feelings make you uncomfortable..." He looks a little uncomfortable himself, but forges on. "Well. We can figure something out. We can annul the marriage and you can find someone else to guard you."
Which is absolutely the last thing he wants, but Obi-Wan is used to sacrificing his own happiness for the sake of peace, and he would never want Padmé to be trapped in a situation that makes her uncomfortable.
She can't be hearing this right. Despite watching him speak, hearing those words, everything is disjointed and jumbled in her mind. He loves-- But how? It takes her by complete surprise, because he'd always been a bit of a flirt but she'd never thought, not really, she'd never expected...
"That is the last thing I want," she assures him rather forcefully, unknowingly echoing his own thoughts. "I want you to be happy too, and I would never ask you for anything you didn't--" Reaching up to press fingers to her lips for a moment, she shakes her head and continues, feeling a bit like a ship at sea being tossed around by the storm of her emotions. "You're sure? You're not just saying this because you think I expect it? Because I don't, this wasn't part of the arrangement and I wouldn't ask it of you. You've already done so much for me, you've changed your entire life--"
She's rambling now, the words coming out frantically as she worries that's what this is. It's a tiny seed of doubt that has spiraled out of control and she wants so desperately for his words to be true that's she's almost terrified of hearing his answer.
Watching her reaction, Obi-Wan relaxes slightly when her first impulse isn't to draw away or rebuff him. The idea she presents, that he might only be feeling this, or at least saying it, out of some obligation to her, brings back his amusement, and he has to press his lips together to keep his smile even partially subdued.
"I can assure you, Padmé, my feelings are my own, and the only influence you've had on them is by being yourself. I think..." his gaze shifts inadvertently as he contemplates, "I think eventually, if we had continued our friendship, I would have come to love you anyway - although I might not have faced my feelings, or felt the need to face them, as this situation we find ourselves in has required of me."
Taking a steadying breath, he takes a few steps towards her, though he maintains a distance between them that he hopes keeps her feeling comfortable-- as comfortable as this conversation allows, anyway. "My entire life is change. Always. This--" he waves a hand between them, "I wasn't expecting this situation, but it was always a possibility, for me. For any Jedi. My feelings are more unexpected, but I would not rid myself of them. Not..." He purses his lips. "Not even for you. And anything I do for you, I do of my own volition, not simply because you ask me and I feel obligated."
The more he explains, the harder it is for her to breathe, some part of her feeling like if she so much as blinks wrong this moment will shatter. This moment where so much promise has been laid before her and all she has to do is reach out and take it...
"I have feelings for you too," she informs him in a hushed voice, her gaze on his chest before slowly moving up to those beautiful eyes. The way he looked at her-- She can't return the confession he'd given her before, but she can be just as honest. "It isn't love, not yet, but... I think it will be. I want it to be."
He'd thought-- he'd hoped, in light of some of their previous interactions, that that was the case. But hearing her say the words fills him with a lightness of heart that he isn't expecting.
He wants her to love him, too. Oh, how he wants it. But he refuses to tell her so, to lay that expectation on her. Just as she was fearing, he doesn't want her to feel obligated into trying to return feelings she doesn't have.
Obi-Wan gives her a slight bow. "I ask for nothing in return, Padmé. If you come to love me..." he smiles at her softly, a little bittersweet. "I would cherish and return it, of course. But as you said: I don't want you to ever feel obligated to me. Your friendship, and your happiness, is all that I want. Now that I've realized my feelings toward you, I don't think I could stop, no matter what happens between us."
She wants to love him so desperately, to have that happiness she'd never really known in any previous relationship. Before, she'd never been friends with her lovers, so there had always been something missing, but with Obi-Wan she felt safe and cared for and comfortable with him from the start. If they were together, she would never have reason to doubt him, nor he her, and they were already supporting each other far better than most traditionally married couples. To add love to their relationship seemed so incredibly natural.
"Do you know what would make me happiest right now?" She offers him a smile of her own and steps closer. "If you would kiss me." It wasn't a demand, or even a request, simply an opportunity she's fairly certain they've both been wishing for.
Crafty, Obi-Wan thinks of her with a smile. He still takes just a moment to look at her, acknowledging the moment for the potential it has, in itself and to change their future.
He reaches up to gently cup her cheek, thinks of saying a half-dozen things and in the same instant discards them all. Instead he simply leans forward and presses his lips to hers. For all that the kiss might be called chaste, it's not short, and what it lacks in physicality, Obi-Wan shows Padmé just how deep his feelings for her are.
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He can't resist a playful wink in her direction. "I do enjoy a challenge."
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She hopes they can have more moments like these in their life ahead, just spending time together and managing everyday tasks. Wild adventures saving planets were all well and good, but she rather enjoyed the simple things as well.
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Padmé gives him too much credit; Obi-Wan is only thinking how much he enjoys making her laugh, seeing her happy and cheerful. If that means helping to take her mind off more serious things, he's more than willing to do so, even if it comes at the expense of some of his dignity.
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Things have been far too serious in her life as of late, and the respite from that pressure is more than welcome.
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Carefully folding the egg over when it's time, Obi-Wan is pleased to see he's gotten it... fairly right. It didn't fall apart completely, at least, which is what would've surely happened before Padmé had tutored him. "I daresay, I can add 'omelet-making' to my repertoire of skills, as well."
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Omelet created and plated, he moves over to sit with her at the table. "I've found over the years that I don't enjoy having too much food sit in my stomach at the beginning of the day. I'd rather be hungry by lunch-time, than feel sluggish while performing said vigorous physical activities."
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"I'm the opposite in some ways. I usually try to have a big breakfast because I tend to get so caught up in work that I miss lunch entirely or only have time for a quick bite of something. And during especially busy times, there are days when I don't leave my office until the middle of the night."
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Well. Former occupation, at any rate. "I'll have to start surreptitiously bringing food to you, nudging you until you eat, just so that I'll leave you alone again. And then dragging you off to bed. Tell me, Senator," he leans forward with an intense look, his voice deepening in seriousness, while a smile plays just along the edges of his mouth. "Are you susceptible to taking bribes?"
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Leaning forward to match his stance, she counters in an equally serious tone, "Not in the slightest. You'll have to come up with another means of negotiating, my dear Jedi." And gods if that doesn't put thoughts into her head that really shouldn't be there.
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But what if she's wrong? This isn't a thing to be broached with levity, and she refuses to let anything happen that might ruin things between them. But still, she can't help but want to know...
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The smile fades from his face, but he continues to hold her eyes. His voice drops almost to a confessional murmur. "What if... I find I desire it a great deal? More, much more than I expected, or was prepared for?"
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Straightening her back, everything about her feels stiff and pulled tight, even breathing feeling like an issue as she tries to process what he's saying. What he means by those carefully crafted words. This isn't a teasing joke, this is their life, their future together. This future they've only just started working toward and now they're talking about changing everything.
"I don't know," she admits quietly, a thread of fear and uncertainty winding through her and stripping away any shred of confidence she'd felt before. "If you... This--" Her gaze drops from his to the table, searching for something, anything, and then she stands suddenly. "We don't have any tea. You like tea with your breakfast."
Stars help her.
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In the end, however, he winds up ducking his head to hide a smile, trying very hard not to start laughing - sure that she would think he was laughing at her, which is definitely not the case. No, he's laughing at the situation he's found himself in, and how unprepared both of them are to deal with it.
Obi-Wan stands as well, much more slowly, turning toward her as she moves to, ostensibly, make him some tea. "Padmé..." He waits until she turns toward him, and for a brief moment, just looks at her. "I love you." He says it simply, and clearly with no expectations for her to return the sentiment. "I feel you should know, partly because I'm not sure how well I could hide it from you, if I had to try. And partly, because I never want you to question my actions, or the motives behind them, where they concern you. I want only for you to be happy. And if my feelings make you uncomfortable..." He looks a little uncomfortable himself, but forges on. "Well. We can figure something out. We can annul the marriage and you can find someone else to guard you."
Which is absolutely the last thing he wants, but Obi-Wan is used to sacrificing his own happiness for the sake of peace, and he would never want Padmé to be trapped in a situation that makes her uncomfortable.
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"That is the last thing I want," she assures him rather forcefully, unknowingly echoing his own thoughts. "I want you to be happy too, and I would never ask you for anything you didn't--" Reaching up to press fingers to her lips for a moment, she shakes her head and continues, feeling a bit like a ship at sea being tossed around by the storm of her emotions. "You're sure? You're not just saying this because you think I expect it? Because I don't, this wasn't part of the arrangement and I wouldn't ask it of you. You've already done so much for me, you've changed your entire life--"
She's rambling now, the words coming out frantically as she worries that's what this is. It's a tiny seed of doubt that has spiraled out of control and she wants so desperately for his words to be true that's she's almost terrified of hearing his answer.
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"I can assure you, Padmé, my feelings are my own, and the only influence you've had on them is by being yourself. I think..." his gaze shifts inadvertently as he contemplates, "I think eventually, if we had continued our friendship, I would have come to love you anyway - although I might not have faced my feelings, or felt the need to face them, as this situation we find ourselves in has required of me."
Taking a steadying breath, he takes a few steps towards her, though he maintains a distance between them that he hopes keeps her feeling comfortable-- as comfortable as this conversation allows, anyway. "My entire life is change. Always. This--" he waves a hand between them, "I wasn't expecting this situation, but it was always a possibility, for me. For any Jedi. My feelings are more unexpected, but I would not rid myself of them. Not..." He purses his lips. "Not even for you. And anything I do for you, I do of my own volition, not simply because you ask me and I feel obligated."
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"I have feelings for you too," she informs him in a hushed voice, her gaze on his chest before slowly moving up to those beautiful eyes. The way he looked at her-- She can't return the confession he'd given her before, but she can be just as honest. "It isn't love, not yet, but... I think it will be. I want it to be."
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He wants her to love him, too. Oh, how he wants it. But he refuses to tell her so, to lay that expectation on her. Just as she was fearing, he doesn't want her to feel obligated into trying to return feelings she doesn't have.
Obi-Wan gives her a slight bow. "I ask for nothing in return, Padmé. If you come to love me..." he smiles at her softly, a little bittersweet. "I would cherish and return it, of course. But as you said: I don't want you to ever feel obligated to me. Your friendship, and your happiness, is all that I want. Now that I've realized my feelings toward you, I don't think I could stop, no matter what happens between us."
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"Do you know what would make me happiest right now?" She offers him a smile of her own and steps closer. "If you would kiss me." It wasn't a demand, or even a request, simply an opportunity she's fairly certain they've both been wishing for.
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He reaches up to gently cup her cheek, thinks of saying a half-dozen things and in the same instant discards them all. Instead he simply leans forward and presses his lips to hers. For all that the kiss might be called chaste, it's not short, and what it lacks in physicality, Obi-Wan shows Padmé just how deep his feelings for her are.
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