Star Wars One Shots

Countdown

Soulmate AU whereyou have a clock somewhere on your wrist that counts down to when you'll meet your soul mate

Due to the countdown attached her her wrist, Padmé always knew she'd be 14 when she met her soul mate. As a small child, she thought of that as being so grown up, but now as she only had hours left, she didn't feel old enough at all. She was still a child in many ways, and she had no idea what to do with a soul mate. She was queen for crying out loud! That didn't exactly leave room for romance. And the fact that she was supposed to meet her soul mate on Tatooine was certainly strange. The people in the Outer Rim were different than those in the Core Worlds. How would her people react if there queen fell in love with someone of such a different status? Padmé supposed the guy must be something really special.

As they walked through the streets of Tatooine, she rubbed at her wrist nervously. The rest of their group hurried on through the streets as it was urgent they find replacement parts for their ship, but Padmé lingered behind. Obi-Wan fell back when he noticed her alone.

"I can't help but notice," he said, "that you looked distressed."

Padmé nodded to her wrist. "Twenty minutes," she said quietly.

"Ah," Obi-Wan said with a smile. "Congratulations."

"I'm not sure I'm ready to meet him,"Padmé confided. "What will... What if the queen does not approve of my supposed soul mate?"

"Then you must decide where your loyalties lie," Obi-Wan said looking away.

Padmé titled her head as she looked at the Jedi Padawan. "Have you had experience with that?"

"I have, but the Jedi Code forbids romantic relationships." Obi-Wan smiled sadly. "And the order serves me well."

Padmé pursed her lips and didn't respond. If it came to it, which she was sure it would, she didn't want to make a choice between her duty and love. A person should be allowed to do as they pleased, love who they wanted, regardless of who they were.

Their group continued through the streets looking for the correct shop. Padmé laughed at Qui-Gon's attempts to keep Jar Jar from doing something truly foolish. It was a nice distraction, but by the time they found a shop with the correct parts, her countdown was at three minutes.

She tried to keep her breathing at a normal rate as she stepped into the building. A blue creature called Watto owned the shop, and he flew by and called a small boy to do some work. Qui-Gon and the others moved to a back room to search for parts. Padmé barely paid attention, though, as she was too busy spinning around, waiting for a man to walk through the door and introduce himself as her soul mate.

She was caught off guard when the young boy asked, "Are you an angel?"

Padmé laughed, "No, I'm not an angel..." She trailed off as she realized the countdown on her wrist had hit zero. Her jaw dropped. "Oh you've got to be kidding me." She looked around for support but everyone else had left the room. "No." Padmé covered her face with her hands. "This isn't happening. How old are you?"

"Nine," the boy answered with a confused look. He didn't seem to understand what was going on quite yet.

"Not even double digits..."Padmé muttered in amazement.

"Padmé!" Obi-Wan said coming back into the room. "Have you met-" He stopped short when his eyes landed on the kid. He looked at Padmé's distressed face and burst into laughter.

"Obi-Wan!" she hissed.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but this is hilarious. I didn't know you had a thing for younger men."

 Padmé felt her cheeks flush. "I don't!"

"What's going on?" the boy asked with scrunched up with eyebrows.

 Padmé sighed. "What's your name?"

"Anakin."

"Well, Anakin," Padmé said holding up her arm and gesturing to her finished countdown, "do you have one of these?"

Anakin's eyes widened. "You're my soul mate?" He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not an angel?"

Obi-Wan laughed but he managed to turn it into a cough. "Sorry." He met Padmé's eyes and murmured, "Cradle robber."

She sent a glare in his direction before turning back to Anakin. "How would you like to come with us, Anakin? Leave Tatooine."

He frowned. "I can't... I'm a slave..."

"A slave..." Padmé said taken aback. She met Obi-Wan's eyes who was no longer laughing. "We have to do something."

"Do something about what?" Qui-Gon had entered the room and was sending Padmé an accusing look.

"Nothing," she said after a moment's hesitation.

"Good. We're leaving."

He walked out with Obi-Wan and Jar Jar right on his tail, but Padmé lingered behind. 

She met Anakin's eyes. "I'll come back for you. Promise."

"I don't even know your name," he said.

"Padmé," she said with a smile.

Then she turned and left to catch back up with her group. It was strange to think that little boy was destined to be her true love. They were only five years apart, but that seemed like an outrageous gap at the moment. He was cute for a little kid, though. As Padmé caught back up to Obi-Wan, she supposed she would just have to wait and see what type of man Ani grew into.

Obi-Wan was sending her a sly smile when she walked up. He whispered, "Cougar."

She smiled and promptly kicked him in his shins. He grunted and Padmé said, "Are we done with this now?"

"If you insist," the Jedi Padawan said with crossed arms.

"You never know," Padmé said. "He could grow up to be a great person." She elbowed her friend gently with a smile. "He could become a great Jedi."

Obi-Wan laughed. "As if."

"He may be young now," Padmé said, "but I have faith he'll grow into something great. We'll just have to wait and see."