Secretly Normal

Scent

      Anakin had a very distinctive scent that Padmé noticed every time he came home after a long while. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was never the kind of thing she'd imagined her husband smelling like.
      It was some strange combination of cloth, durasteel, leather, and skin; the kind of musky scent that was blatantly a man's. It came from the sweeter scent of the Jedi temple walls, carpet, and lingering soft detergent from the blankets he tossed and turned in; the scent of the sun-warmed leather he wore routinely, the homespun traditional Jedi robes that he often retained the scent of whatever environment he'd been in last.
     It resembled all the soap it had taken him to wash the sweat, blood, dirt, bacta and shrapnel off after a long tour of war; the shampoo -or lack thereof- in his hair and the supposedly "scentless" smell of his deodorant. Not once did he smell of cologne or strongly attractive odors. Once she'd bought him a small bottle for Life Day. He'd worn it once other than that day, but it remained in a small unnoticed pouch in one of her dresser drawers afterwards.
     "If you don't like it, Ani, just tell me. Really, I'd rather get you something you can use instead." She'd said after noticing how he'd continually neglected to remove it.
      He'd hesitated. "I like it. And I'd wear it more often because I think it's a nice thing to wear to your meetings and events, but I don't live a alone, Padmé. I forgot to wash my tunic the other night and the first thing Ahsoka says is, 'Master, you smell...nice."
       It might have been funny if it wasn't so serious. Any other man would have been able to reply with something like, "Thank you. My wife bought it for me." But Padmé could only imagine the eggshells he was treading around his teenage apprentice. She knew the girl wasn't stupid, and any slip between either of the couple was likely to be noticed. Although, in the end he'd insisted on keeping it and now and then she'd catch him opening it to take in its smell.
     Even though Anakin rarely came around, when he left she could always tell he'd been there. His pillow and his entire side of the bed was him. On one occasion he'd left his Jedi cloak in her closet. She had found herself stroking it gently in bringing the sleeve to her face. It was rough material, but very thick and warm. It was him; it was comfort. This was his home, he had been here, and he'd be back soon.
      To Anakin, it was strange to think she enjoyed whatever she called "his scent", like it mattered at all. To him, it smelled like nothing. Unless his sweaty clothes counted after a long hot day, she'd pointed out that it was, in fact, a very different thing. At some point, however, he noticed that it was nearly the same for him about her. Being home was being with her, and his wife always smelled nice. Whether it was her perfume or the lotions she wore. It was always very sweet, sometimes fruity or flowery, other times contained more warm and comforting spices. The soap in her bathroom, the food she cooked, it was all Padmé. It wasn't cold and industrial like the Jedi Temple, it was quite the antithesis and he enjoyed it ardently. It reflected the brightness of her favorite flowers, the warmth of her air freshener, their spotless apartment. Padmé meant living like a normal man for whatever time he could afford to spend with her.
       When he held her in his arms, he breathed her in and she did the same. It was their reassurance that the other person was real and there. When they parted, any reminder of their other half triggered a flood of memories -and most often that reminder came at the expense of something familiar.
       Anakin loves this smell
      Padmé would hate this smell
      This smells like something Anakin would complain about
      This is Padmé's favorite herb

They were each other's favorite thing to breathe in. It meant life, courage, risk, and love. It meant one person needed a sanisteam and the other didn't care. It meant safety.
Their smell meant home.

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Author's note: Forgive my absence. These new chapters so far aren't my best. I'm simply trying to get anything down on paper for the sake of getting into a habit of writing. The quality of it still matters to me, but less than usual.

I'm thinking of doing another chapter with Ahsoka in it, but that might be a separate book altogether, so we'll see.

I want to thank everyone for supporting me thus far. Every comment makes me smile and I look forward to seeing people's thoughts and any ideas followers might have for me.