It's common knowledge that Anakin and Padme had to keep their love and their marriage a secret. The Jedi didn't allow attachment, and the Galactic Senate would decidedly frown upon having one of its own married to a Jedi. What Anakin and Padme did not have in their relationship was the ability to shout from the rooftops about their feelings for each other. Still, I truly believe that real love finds a way. But what I wonder about beyond the obstacles they faced is what their brief times together were like? What did they do when the demands of their public personas were permitted to fade to the background and they could just be the true lovers they were? What was their time like when she took a break from the Senate and he was on Jedi ship leave?

Given the oft-criticized banter that we were given between the two in ROTS and the more telling scenes between them in AOTC, I have to think that Anakin and Padme lived their rare moments together for each other and for the love they shared. I'm sure it was much more difficult for the lovers to frolic in the fields together as they did in AOTC on Naboo, yet I have to believe that two people who loved each other so much would still find a huge sense of fun and play even within the confines of their secrecy. Did they like to watch the same programs on TV or the holonet? Did they laugh together at the same jokes, the same stories, the same films? Did they even have films to watch in the world of this movie saga we love? There are so many things about our own everyday lives that we don't actually see in the SW saga, yet we have to assume that some of them exist. Surely it wasn't all galactic politics and rebel battles in the GFFA! Anakin and Padme must have shared a love of a film or listened to the same types of music or playfully adored each other's opposing tastes in intergalactic sports teams!

I have my own image of what Anakin and Padme's private time together must have been like. I imagine flowers and gifts that Anakin managed to sneak for Padme from the worlds he visited in his travels. I imagine love notes. I imagine her own heated stories about her goings on in the Senate. I'm sure they shared their own versions of the same events, viewed from their very different perspectives, and laughed about the connection they shared even from their forced distances from each other. Can't you hear the conversation? "I thought of you, Ani, when that Dug was arrested for cheating in the Boonta Eve Classic." "Oh yeah, Padme! I saw that guy once when I was on the Outer Rim. He was bragging about his plans, and I was hoping you'd get to see him get caught..." They share a knowing laugh...

Were they even able to eat when they were together? Perhaps their shared time was so limited that food was the last thing on their minds. We have seen them share a meal, though not in so many courses, and even that was playful and sweet, Ani showing off his Jedi powers to Padme's delight. Many of their meals were probably that way, just sustenance to get them through while they enjoyed each others' company.

And enjoy each other, I'm sure they did. A love like Anakin and Padme's, lived through the brief moments of their togetherness, fueled a passion in every kiss, every touch, every sigh. Each wished to belong to the other with an unparalleled connection that could only be shared in these beautiful moments. The force that drew these two powers together, the force that, together with the creation of their children, brought balance to the galaxy, could have been nothing less than explosive in every way. It's a passion that they should have been able to declare, should have had the chance to declare. Instead, they had only their goodbyes, gut-wrenching moments that must have ripped their hearts out, except...for the sure knowledge that in whatever way they had, they would still be together. Always.

Truly, the saddest aspect of Anakin and Padme's relationship was that they didn't allow themselves to truly hope. By the time we see them in ROTS, we know what is coming, that the end is near. Even though Padme literally carries the New Hope of the galaxy inside her, Anakin and Padme were both too stubborn to allow themselves to nurture their love as it was meant to be nurtured. How ironic! Passion brought these two together, but they let practicality tear them apart. How different everything would have been if they'd just let their hearts lead. No one knows what the future holds! Anakin and Padme both made the mistake of thinking that they knew best what had to happen, when really, all they needed in their lives was their love, however they had to keep it alive. Somewhere along the way, they forgot that...they forgot to hope.

I will never, ever make that same mistake.