Obi-Wan can't help but smirk at her comment. "Well, can't say it doesn't have fine taste."
Easily grabbing the boot out of mid-air, Obi-Wan hops slightly to get it on, the supple leather easily sliding over his foot and ankle before settling and conforming to his foot. It's one of a few pairs of personal shoes he owns, not meant to be worn on missions, and is quite good quality. He has a laissez-faire attitude with most of his possessions - save his lightsaber - but if given the opportunity and choice, he tends to gravitate toward creature comforts. He so often has to do without them, he likes to enjoy nice things when he gets the chance, without expecting them all the time.
Fully dressed now (save for his wayward belt), he looks to Padmé, hands settling easily on his hips. "Shall I try my hand at making lunch? I'm much better at simple fare that requires little preparation, and can be eaten with your hands."
For Padmé, she's so used to fine thing that she doesn't notice the difference in the quality of leather just yet. She will, though, as soon as she gets a good look at the type of garments he wears for regular Jedi duties. Very little slips by her notice, even if there's no outward indication that she's paid something any attention at all.
Glancing over her shoulder as she rifles through the wardrobe where she'd unpacked her things the day before, she nods at the suggestion. "That would be nice, thank you. I'm just going to dress and do my hair, it shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes. I can meet you downstairs?"
Obi-Wan glances down at his own attire, and can't quite hold back the self-deprecating smirk. It's one of many things he's aware people - especially women, it seems - take care and time to do, but he's never understood what precisely is done that requires so much time and effort. And why it's worth it, when it's just the two of them. Some other time, he'll laze around and just enjoy watching her get dressed, and see precisely what it is she does.
For now, Obi-Wan nods, moving over to press a kiss to her lips, brushing a hand over her unbound hair. "I'll see what I can manage."
Heading to the kitchen, Obi-Wan begins taking stock of the food that's available - quite a lot, and most of it fresh. He collects fruits, some cheese that he cuts into cubes, meat that he leaves to eat by itself or with the cheese, a cracker he hasn't encountered before, but it's dense and, after trying it with a bit of cheese, adds it to the group. He also makes simple sandwiches, cutting them in half for easier handling. Everything is bundled together in food-cloths... And then he realizes he has no idea how they'll transport it. Padmé specifically mentioned picnic, so he assumes there's a basket around somewhere, but he'd rather wait for her, rather than go rummaging around, hoping to find it.
It's taken him long enough to gather the food, she should be almost ready, so Obi-Wan leans against the counter, content to wait.
Some days, she envies those like the Jedi who essentially wear a uniform most of the time. She can certainly appreciate how easy it makes it for her handmaidens, when they have their own 'uniforms' they all wear. But then she remembers the influence an outfit can have on a meeting, the confidence it can give her when addressing the Senate, the way it can make her feel. Truthfully, she'd even grown to enjoy the elaborate costumes she'd worn as queen, though she didn't miss the equally elaborate headdresses.
She accepts that sweet kiss with a smile and watches him go with a lingering gaze before returning her attention to the task at hand. After cleaning herself up a bit in the fresher, she changes into a pair of leggings and a tunic-length dress, the leggings a light brown and the dress a deep blue with subtle shifts in the color like the movement of water on a lake's surface. The three-quarter sleeves aren't tight but nor are they loose, and she pulls on her own pair of fine boots to match his -- though, hers are much shorter. Her hair is pulled up into a relatively simple long tail; she only adds around six braids to give it definition and height, the braids wrapped around the rest of her hair and then left to hang and frame the gently curling dark brown waves.
Heading downstairs, there's an almost bounce in her step as she enters the kitchen, a lightness buoying her especially as she catches sight of Obi-Wan there waiting for her. She's right on time, so he can't have been waiting long, but even if he had, he seems so happy to be there. So content with his life and present circumstance that it warms her heart and just swells the affection she already feels toward him.
The smile that blooms on his face when he sees her is wholly out of Obi-Wan's control. It's not the outfit - which is beautiful while still being simple in style - but just Padmé, looking happy and comfortable.
Glancing at the counter, he nods. "Everything except a container to put it all in. I wasn't sure where to even start looking, so thought I'd leave that task to you."
She loves seeing him smile. It really does change his entire being with the way it lights him up. Hopefully she can make it so he smiles like that every day for the rest of their life together.
"I think I can manage that," she pronounces confidently before walking over to a large side cupboard and opening one of the doors to extract a large leather satchel designed for just such a purpose. Setting it on the counter for him, she picks up the blanket she'd used that morning and gives it just a little shake before folding it up to take along with them as well.
If he'd realized it would be that easy to find, Obi-Wan would have gone snooping earlier. Ah, well. Gathering up the food, he places it and some drinks in the satchel, picking it up and offering Padmé his arm.
"Well, m'lady. Lunch awaits. You said you had a place in mind, so I'll let you lead the way."
"Follow me, then," she responds with a bright smile, slipping her hand around his arm to lead them out that back door and down the steps carved from stone. Instead of taking the path down to the beach, though, they turn the opposite way to head up the mountain. "I hope you don't mind a little hike, my dear Jedi."
"I enjoy hiking quite a bit, actually," he reveals. "Much like flying, it's the mortal peril that makes me tend to avoid it."
They've had conversations in the past, but Obi-Wan is trying to open up about himself more, let Padmé see more of himself than most people he associates with. Despite the physical intimacy they've shared, accepting and revealing his feelings to her has brought home the fact that Obi-Wan keeps himself apart from others. That's how he was taught, how he was raised, but he doesn't want Padmé to ever wonder. He doesn't just want her love, or her body - he wants her companionship.
Every tiny detail he reveals to her is one she instantly memorizes, adding it to the picture of this incredible man that's becoming ever clearer. Padmé herself is generally an open person, though she's always controlled and measured in her words and actions around those with whom she doesn't have personal ties. Obi-Wan has always firmly fallen into the category of people who get to see more of who she really is, and now he's moved even further into that inner circle.
"Well, I assure you there will be no mortal peril involved with this hike," she teases him gently, giving his arm a little affectionate squeeze to convey that she really isn't making fun of him. "I've been on this path dozens of times."
"Don't make promises, my dear," he teases back, the term of endearment slipping out without thought. "Between my tendency to stumble into trouble, and your utter insistence on rooting it out..."
He can't hold in his grin, and reaches over to raise Padmé's hand from his arm to kiss the back, before replacing it on his arm with a pat.
She tries so hard to wear an expression bordering shocked outrage, her jaw dropping for comical effect-- But it lasts all of three seconds before she's grinning back at him and laughing brightly.
"I can't even pretend to take offense at that, it's so perfectly true." She readily admits that she has a habit of searching out trouble in her pursuit of what is right.
"I'm aware it's perfectly true," he tells her with feigned innocence. "I'm also resigned to the fact that in five years' time, I will probably be completely white-haired, between your penchant for trouble and Anakin's similar insistence on finding it. I seem to be the only sensible person left in this little group."
"I'm not sure I agree with the idea of you being the sensible one of the group," she refutes with a charmed smile, withdrawing her hand from his arm as the path begins to narrow. "But I think you'll look quite handsome still with white hair." That smile is just a bit cheeky as she turns and continues leading him, frequently looking back to make sure he's not having any trouble as the incline gets steeper.
Obi-Wan's eyes widen in surprised delight at her sauciness, following Padmé easily even as the path becomes more rustic and steep.
"Well, that's fortunate," he says a few moments later, drawing near to her shoulder, "because I will most assuredly go white long before you." Age has never bothered him in companions before - and it doesn't now either, Jedi have naturally long lives thanks to their strong connection to the Force - but every now and then he is reminded that Padmé is over a decade younger than him. She's mature, and compared to Anakin, only 5 years her junior, she might as well be middle-aged. Being long-lived doesn't mean he won't continue to look his age. For all he knows, he'll end up looking like Master Yoda.
Edited (omg random tense change) 2018-09-12 05:08 (UTC)
Age has never been the slightest concern for Padmé, who has spent her life surrounded by those much older than she. While child leaders were quite commonplace on Naboo, the same could not be said for other parts of the galaxy, and she had always worked quite closely with her advisers and later with other senators. There are many times when she forgets just how young she really is, truthfully.
"With my chosen career, nothing is certain," she points out, intending for the comment to allude to the stress of the political sphere. Though, in retrospect and considering the catalyst for their marriage... Well. Hopefully he won't interpret it thus.
Obi-Wan understands what she meant by the comment, but also hears the other meaning: her chosen field is dangerous, her life could be cut short. He responds to both when he replies, "The same can be said for the Jedi. We'll just have to take care of each other, it seems."
Because they're having a pleasant conversation, Obi-Wan lets the worry of peril and death slide past him; worrying now will do nothing but ruin a perfectly good day, as there's nothing he can concretely plan for. Instead, he continues to follow Padmé, until they reach a break in the foliage, entering a clearing that sits atop an outcropping overlooking the water. Glancing to the side, he can see the manor, large and majestic.
Taking care of each other sounds so... wonderful. When the idea of a bodyguard through marriage had first been proposed to her, she'd been staunchly against it, not wanting to put another person so thoroughly in harm's way for her own sake alone. Really, she'd accepted the arrangement only after that last attack, and under the strict condition that she have final say on her guard. And now look at them. She would never have guessed the turns her life would take even a week ago.
"I used to come up here to practice my speeches," she confides as she steps closer to the edge, though still a safe distance from the drop. "I'd recite them over and over until I was completely comfortable with every word. It was the middle of the night before I reached that point with my coronation address, and I had to make my way back down in the dark."
Listening to her story, Obi-Wan is both charmed and resigned. It's not as if she could have stayed here until morning, when it would have been safer to travel back down the path, but if ever there was an anecdote that so thoroughly expressed her disregard for her own safety...
"Of course you did," he comments, moving to stand next to her for a moment and take in the view, opening his senses to feel the life surrounding them.
"I'm going to miss this, when we return to Coruscant," he confides. "I always feel that way, when I return from a mission in the wilderness. But it's usually tempered by the fact that in said wilderness, I've been fighting for my life. This... the Temple Meditation gardens won't be the same."
"We'll come back as often as we can," she promises him, slipping her arm around his waist and leaning in against him. Perhaps one day they'd even be able to bring Anakin here, once he was older and they had all settled into their new roles. "I used to stay with my family when I was in Theed, but we can find a home of our own for when I need to be here. Something on the outskirts of the city might offer you a similar experience, especially near one of the waterfalls."
Obi-Wan's inclination is to feel uncomfortable, discussing buying a house, before he remembers that, as a married couple, buying a house is a completely natural, even expected thing to do. Still... "It sounds lovely. But I don't want to you to put yourself out, just for a small bit of my comfort."
Speaking of her family... "You know, I met your parents and sister at the ceremony, but we didn't get much chance to converse. What do they think of this development?"
She's glad that he doesn't protest the idea of the house too strongly - she's not prepared for their first argument. The both of them are stubborn, she's learned at least that much over the years, and she has no doubt that when they do have that first argument, it will be something of legend.
"They were a little unsure of it, at first," she admits. "But they often bring up the Trade Federation's invasion whenever my career comes up in conversation. They were so worried for me, and so relieved when my term as queen finished, but they've started to realize that the Senate can be just as dangerous. If anything now, they're grateful that it's you of all people."
The worry her family feels is understandable, but he's surprised at the last thing she says. "Me? Why?" He would assume because he's a Jedi, but it's clear from the way Padmé says it that it's not just a Jedi in general, but him specifically that they're grateful to. As far as he's aware, the only way they would know of him would be after the blockade; but even then, he had been a Padawan, not the leader, and Padmé herself had solved the blockade, while he and Qui-Gon... while they had been fighting their own battle.
She leans back enough to look up at him, her expression open and unguarded, affection etched across every line of her face. "Because I know you," she explains, though she feels as though it should have been rather a bit obvious. "And because I trust you."
Because her family is well aware that even having a team of bodyguards surrounding her at all times would amount to nothing if she didn't trust them. Having one man by her side who she already considered a friend? Well, they did hope that it would lead her to being perhaps a little less reckless with her own safety. (She didn't feel it necessary to destroy that illusion for them just yet.)
"Hmmm," he hums, leaning forward to kiss her. "Trusting me and listening to me are two very different things, my lady," he murmurs. "Is your family aware of that?"
Drawing the blanket from her arm, he shakes it out before placing it down, close enough to the cliff edge to still be able to appreciate the spectacular view, but far enough back so as not to feel as if they're in imminent danger of toppling over.
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Easily grabbing the boot out of mid-air, Obi-Wan hops slightly to get it on, the supple leather easily sliding over his foot and ankle before settling and conforming to his foot. It's one of a few pairs of personal shoes he owns, not meant to be worn on missions, and is quite good quality. He has a laissez-faire attitude with most of his possessions - save his lightsaber - but if given the opportunity and choice, he tends to gravitate toward creature comforts. He so often has to do without them, he likes to enjoy nice things when he gets the chance, without expecting them all the time.
Fully dressed now (save for his wayward belt), he looks to Padmé, hands settling easily on his hips. "Shall I try my hand at making lunch? I'm much better at simple fare that requires little preparation, and can be eaten with your hands."
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Glancing over her shoulder as she rifles through the wardrobe where she'd unpacked her things the day before, she nods at the suggestion. "That would be nice, thank you. I'm just going to dress and do my hair, it shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes. I can meet you downstairs?"
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For now, Obi-Wan nods, moving over to press a kiss to her lips, brushing a hand over her unbound hair. "I'll see what I can manage."
Heading to the kitchen, Obi-Wan begins taking stock of the food that's available - quite a lot, and most of it fresh. He collects fruits, some cheese that he cuts into cubes, meat that he leaves to eat by itself or with the cheese, a cracker he hasn't encountered before, but it's dense and, after trying it with a bit of cheese, adds it to the group. He also makes simple sandwiches, cutting them in half for easier handling. Everything is bundled together in food-cloths... And then he realizes he has no idea how they'll transport it. Padmé specifically mentioned picnic, so he assumes there's a basket around somewhere, but he'd rather wait for her, rather than go rummaging around, hoping to find it.
It's taken him long enough to gather the food, she should be almost ready, so Obi-Wan leans against the counter, content to wait.
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She accepts that sweet kiss with a smile and watches him go with a lingering gaze before returning her attention to the task at hand. After cleaning herself up a bit in the fresher, she changes into a pair of leggings and a tunic-length dress, the leggings a light brown and the dress a deep blue with subtle shifts in the color like the movement of water on a lake's surface. The three-quarter sleeves aren't tight but nor are they loose, and she pulls on her own pair of fine boots to match his -- though, hers are much shorter. Her hair is pulled up into a relatively simple long tail; she only adds around six braids to give it definition and height, the braids wrapped around the rest of her hair and then left to hang and frame the gently curling dark brown waves.
Heading downstairs, there's an almost bounce in her step as she enters the kitchen, a lightness buoying her especially as she catches sight of Obi-Wan there waiting for her. She's right on time, so he can't have been waiting long, but even if he had, he seems so happy to be there. So content with his life and present circumstance that it warms her heart and just swells the affection she already feels toward him.
"Did you find everything you need?"
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Glancing at the counter, he nods. "Everything except a container to put it all in. I wasn't sure where to even start looking, so thought I'd leave that task to you."
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"I think I can manage that," she pronounces confidently before walking over to a large side cupboard and opening one of the doors to extract a large leather satchel designed for just such a purpose. Setting it on the counter for him, she picks up the blanket she'd used that morning and gives it just a little shake before folding it up to take along with them as well.
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"Well, m'lady. Lunch awaits. You said you had a place in mind, so I'll let you lead the way."
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They've had conversations in the past, but Obi-Wan is trying to open up about himself more, let Padmé see more of himself than most people he associates with. Despite the physical intimacy they've shared, accepting and revealing his feelings to her has brought home the fact that Obi-Wan keeps himself apart from others. That's how he was taught, how he was raised, but he doesn't want Padmé to ever wonder. He doesn't just want her love, or her body - he wants her companionship.
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"Well, I assure you there will be no mortal peril involved with this hike," she teases him gently, giving his arm a little affectionate squeeze to convey that she really isn't making fun of him. "I've been on this path dozens of times."
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He can't hold in his grin, and reaches over to raise Padmé's hand from his arm to kiss the back, before replacing it on his arm with a pat.
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"I can't even pretend to take offense at that, it's so perfectly true." She readily admits that she has a habit of searching out trouble in her pursuit of what is right.
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"Well, that's fortunate," he says a few moments later, drawing near to her shoulder, "because I will most assuredly go white long before you." Age has never bothered him in companions before - and it doesn't now either, Jedi have naturally long lives thanks to their strong connection to the Force - but every now and then he is reminded that Padmé is over a decade younger than him. She's mature, and compared to Anakin, only 5 years her junior, she might as well be middle-aged. Being long-lived doesn't mean he won't continue to look his age. For all he knows, he'll end up looking like Master Yoda.
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"With my chosen career, nothing is certain," she points out, intending for the comment to allude to the stress of the political sphere. Though, in retrospect and considering the catalyst for their marriage... Well. Hopefully he won't interpret it thus.
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Because they're having a pleasant conversation, Obi-Wan lets the worry of peril and death slide past him; worrying now will do nothing but ruin a perfectly good day, as there's nothing he can concretely plan for. Instead, he continues to follow Padmé, until they reach a break in the foliage, entering a clearing that sits atop an outcropping overlooking the water. Glancing to the side, he can see the manor, large and majestic.
"Well. I can see why you enjoy this spot."
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"I used to come up here to practice my speeches," she confides as she steps closer to the edge, though still a safe distance from the drop. "I'd recite them over and over until I was completely comfortable with every word. It was the middle of the night before I reached that point with my coronation address, and I had to make my way back down in the dark."
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"Of course you did," he comments, moving to stand next to her for a moment and take in the view, opening his senses to feel the life surrounding them.
"I'm going to miss this, when we return to Coruscant," he confides. "I always feel that way, when I return from a mission in the wilderness. But it's usually tempered by the fact that in said wilderness, I've been fighting for my life. This... the Temple Meditation gardens won't be the same."
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Speaking of her family... "You know, I met your parents and sister at the ceremony, but we didn't get much chance to converse. What do they think of this development?"
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"They were a little unsure of it, at first," she admits. "But they often bring up the Trade Federation's invasion whenever my career comes up in conversation. They were so worried for me, and so relieved when my term as queen finished, but they've started to realize that the Senate can be just as dangerous. If anything now, they're grateful that it's you of all people."
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Because her family is well aware that even having a team of bodyguards surrounding her at all times would amount to nothing if she didn't trust them. Having one man by her side who she already considered a friend? Well, they did hope that it would lead her to being perhaps a little less reckless with her own safety. (She didn't feel it necessary to destroy that illusion for them just yet.)
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Drawing the blanket from her arm, he shakes it out before placing it down, close enough to the cliff edge to still be able to appreciate the spectacular view, but far enough back so as not to feel as if they're in imminent danger of toppling over.
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