Minbari, Incense and Myrrh (2/4)
Title: Minbari, Incense and Myrrh (2/4)
Author: Rowen
Author's e-mail: rowen@netspeed.com.au
Fandom: Babylon 5
Rating: R
Spoilers: Season 2 episode "Confessions and Lamentations"
Synopsis: A piece I thought up after watching 'Confessions and Lamentations', where Sheridan, Delenn and Lennier have a meal Minbari style. Which got me thinking on other Minbari rituals...
Pairing: John/Delenn
Genre: Adult
Disclaimer: Babylon 5 and characters belong to you know who.
Notes: If you're not of appropriate age in your district, go away now.
This story was written somewhere between 1993 and 1997
Winner 1997 "John/Delenn storybook" award for best erotic story
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Part 2
Sheridan felt faint - as if there wasn't enough air in the room.
"Have sex?" he asked weakly. Maybe he'd misheard. Maybe she was really talking about a new trade agreement, and it was just his over-tired brain bringing some of his fantasies out in the open.
Delenn finished arranging his robe to her satisfaction and stepped back.
"Yes, sex," she repeated, then stopped as she noticed the pole-axed expression on his face. "Don't you want to have sex with me?" she asked in a small voice, her tone betraying her anxiety.
John felt as if he'd just stomped on her heart. Quickly, he gathered her into his arms, pulling her firmly against his chest, burying his lips in the softness of her hair.
"Of course I do, Delenn," he said softly into her hair. "I want it very much. I was just... startled, that's all. I never expected... I..." She placed her fingertips over his lips to still his apologies, then stood on her toes to replace her fingers with her lips. John made a small noise in the back of his throat, drawing her closer, noticing in the process that the robes they wore were much thinner than the clothes they normally wore and he could feel the heat of her skin as if she were naked. His hands caressed her back, sliding to her hips as he pulled her even closer. He could feel her responding, her breath harsh as he slid his lips down her throat.
"John," she gasped, arching away from him. "We must stop..." Her voice trailed off into a moan as his lips caressed the exposed swell of her breast.
Sheridan stiffened, and drew back enough to look at her. "Stop? But I thought..."
"There is a ceremony, John," Delenn said, her face flushed and her voice low and sexy. "Before their first joining, a couple must complete it."
John took a deep breath to try and restore his equilibrium. "OK, what do I have to do?"
"Come with me," Delenn said taking his hand and dragging him towards the door to his quarters. "I will explain on the way."
"Delenn," John protested, stopping and looking down at his aroused body, which extremely noticeable through the thin fabric of the robe. "I can't go out there like this."
"But we must hurry," Delenn said in a worried tone. "The time of the ceremony is as important as the ceremony itself. If we do not go now, the ceremony cannot take place until another year has passed."
"A year?" John's eyes widened. The Minbari sure took things seriously. And he was going to be dammed if he was going to wait another year before he consummated his relationship with Delenn. He took another deep breath, and thought unpleasant thoughts to bring his unruly body under control: Pak'Ma'Rah eating habits, Centauri Opera and meetings of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds featured strongly.
"OK, Delenn," he reassured her. "I'm ready."
---------------------
John expected Delenn to take him to the Minbari Temple, or perhaps the garden for the ceremony, but instead they arrived at the Zocalo. There seemed to be an inordinate number of Minbari clustered in amongst the stalls and traders. Sheridan's seasoned eye also picked up a heightened security presence, trying to stay inconspicuous as they moved through the civilians. Delenn had a slight smile on her face, and bowed or inclined her head to several Minbari. Some of them didn't look all that happy - although it was sometimes hard to tell with Minbari - but they returned her courtesy stiffly.
"Why are we here, Delenn?" John whispered to her.
"We are declaring before witnesses our intention to join," Delenn spoke without moving her lips, inclining her head to someone else.
"How are we doing that?"
"These robes we are wearing," explained Delenn. "By them, all Minbari know."
'Oh great,' John thought, 'Now the entire Minbari population of the station knows I'm about to do the wild thing with their Ambassador.' No wonder some of them didn't look happy. And the security... How had Garibaldi gotten wind...? He looked sharply down at Delenn. Wait, she wouldn't have...
"Did you ask Garibaldi to beef up the security?"
"Beef?," the petite woman repeated. "I requested Mr. Garibaldi post extra personnel." She guided him towards a group of Minbari blocking the aisle. "I wanted him to be watchful when the fighting started."
"Fighting!! What fighting??" Sheridan's hissed, as he watched an older Minbari woman make her way from the group towards them.
Before the Ambassador could answer, the woman was standing before them. She stood glaring at Sheridan for a moment, before her right fist lashed out and caught him squarely on the cheekbone. John staggered back slightly, but Delenn's steely grip on his arm prevented him from moving much. Before he could even blink, the older woman launched into a stream of Minbari, throwing her arms around and sounding for all the world like she was swearing at him. John maintained a polite expression, hoping to hell Delenn would translate when the woman's tirade had finished. He resisted the urge to reach up and rub his cheek. That had been no ineffectual tap the woman had bestowed, nor had it been a slap of irritation, such as the one Talia had once delivered. The lecture now seemed to be directed at Delenn, who would bow every so often, and murmur a response. John wished again, not for the first time, that he spoke more than a few Minbari words. The woman had launched into full throat, when Delenn did something strange. She took a deep breath, then yelled something at the top of her voice. The tirade was cut off in mid-syllable as the older Minbari woman looked at Delenn with an expression John interpreted as astonishment. He knew how she felt - he had never heard Delenn speak in anything but a pleasant tone. Even when she was arguing in Council meetings, she always kept her temper and voice pleasant. The crowd that had been watching also seemed to look at Delenn with surprise. Sheridan noticed that the security people had moved closer, alert, but not looking particularly worried.
Delenn finished whatever it was she was saying and bowed to the older woman. After a moment, her bow was returned. Then the woman reached out to Sheridan.
John almost flinched backward, expecting another punch, but instead was rewarded with a friendly pat on the shoulder. Then she shook her finger in Sheridan's face, and said something in what John interpreted as a scolding tone. The pressure of Delenn's finger's on his arm increased, and he realized she was giving him some sort of signal to do something. OK. What was the something, though? What would a Minbari do in this situation?
He bowed to the older woman, hoping that was what she expected. The pressure eased and he took that to mean he had guessed correctly. The older woman retreated to where the other Minbari still stood blocking the aisle.
"What the hell was that about?" John turned to Delenn, surreptitiously rubbing his cheek. He was definitely going to be sporting a bruise there tomorrow.
"That woman was representing my mother," Delenn explained quietly. "My own parents and family could not be here, so some of the Minbari on the station are taking there places in the ritual."
"What was the last thing she said to me?" Sheridan was curious - the tone had been different to the rest of the 'lecture'. He lifted his eyebrow as Delenn blushed. "Delenn?" he prompted.
"Ah..." she stalled for a moment, but John's expression was uncompromising. "In human terms, she told you to give me a 'wild night' and make sure I was well satisfied." Delenn's blush deepened, and John could feel his own cheeks warm: he was going to have to re-think some of his notions on Minbari sexuality: they didn't seem to be as repressed as he'd assumed
"So what's going on over there?" Sheridan nodded in the direction of the group of Minbari, who were engaged in a lively discussion, involving much hand-waving and raised voices. John was fascinated: he'd never seen Minbari behave in this manner before.
"My 'mother' will be telling my 'father' that she respects my choice, and that he should as well. If she convinces him you are acceptable, they will leave. If not, he will determine your suitability himself."
Delenn's 'father' was a powerful looking man from the warrior caste. Who didn't look very convinced, in John's opinion. The captain remembered Delenn's comment about fighting. Surely she couldn't mean...
"Am I supposed to fight him?" he whispered.
Delenn looked horrified. "Of course not! That would bring us both great dishonor." John's relief was short-lived, however, as she added: "He will send my brothers to fight you."
Sheridan looked beyond the couple and saw four younger Minbari males standing together. Glaring at him - obviously spoiling for a chance to honorably kick the stuffing out of 'Starkiller'. Great.
"Uh, Delenn. You do realise that Minbari males are significantly stronger that human males. If your 'father' sends them against me, they will probably be able to take me easily." It bruised his ego a little to admit it, but he had to be sure she realized what would happen. "If security think that I'm endangered..."
"The fight is only symbolic," Delenn reassured. "People are hardly ever injured seriously."
Hardly ever had a disturbing ring of frequency, John thought.
"My 'brothers' will fight you one at a time, until my 'father' is satisfied of your courage and honor," she explained further.
Glancing over at the group of Minbari it was obvious there was going to be a fight - this was too good an opportunity for the warriors to pass up.
"What are the rules?" John asked as the first 'brother' stepped forward.
"You may not use blows that may permanently cripple - such as at the eyes or throat. But apart from that, there are no other conventions." She pushed him forward towards his opponent. "Oh, and don't hit his crest," she added. "Minbari crests are sensitive to trauma."
'Great,' John thought moving warily towards the young man. 'You have to fight all their male relatives before getting to have sex with them. Why couldn't I have fallen in love with a boring, human woman?' His next thought was did the young Minbari men know enough about human physiology to know where not to hit so as not to permanently cripple him?
The two men stopped about five paces from each other and bowed. As he bent, John kept his eyes on his opponent - he remembered seeing movies when he was a kid, where the baddie would attack straight from the bow. Sure enough, the Minbari launched into a flying leap before he'd even completed the customary courtesies. John neatly side-stepped and surprised himself and the audience by flipping the fellow using an old martial arts trick. The Minbari rolled instantly to his feet, but looked at the human with a little more respect. Sheridan balanced on the balls of his feet, but making no move to attack as the pair circled. With a quick series of kicks and jabs the Minbari found his way past Sheridan's defenses, and this time it was the captain who landed on the ground. Moving in swiftly to press his advantage, he was startled by Sheridan's scissor kick that swept his feet out from under him. In an instant, the captain was straddling the younger man's chest using his greater weight to keep him pinned, arm drawn back to deliver a potentially fatal blow.
The 'brother' said something in Minbari, and held his hands palm-out against his chest.
"He concedes, John." Delenn's voice rang out across the silent plaza. John thought he could hear a note of smug satisfaction in her tone, although her face was neutral. John rolled to his feet, and offered a hand to the prone Minbari. For a moment, he thought his friendly gesture would be ignored, but then the two palms slapped together and he hauled the 'brother' to his feet. Sheridan winced as he bowed - the kid had gotten a couple of good blows to the ribs in. Then spotted the next 'brother' heading his way. Fan-fragging-tastic. What a wonderful way to spend an evening.
---------------------
'How much more is it going to take?' Sheridan thought as he reeled from another blow. The brothers had arranged themselves in order of increasing fighting skill, and now fighting the fourth, nursing God knows how many injuries, he was barely able to meet the highly skilled attacks of his opponent. John had no illusions about this fight - if this last Minbari had wanted to hurt or maim him, he could have done so a dozen or more times. He wondered if it was his imagination or did the brother want him to win? Taking a deep breath he threw the last of his energy into a punch to the jaw and saw the Minbari slide to the floor. Barely able to stand himself, he nodded to the fallen opponent as others crowded around. He felt Delenn sliding her arm around his waist, and gratefully leaned against her for support.
Her 'parents' approached, and John drew himself up to his full height, meeting their gaze coolly.
The father spoke in an almost friendly tone, his eyes lingering on John's visible contusions. 'Happy?' John challenged silently, but followed Delenn's lead when she bowed. He noticed Garibaldi in the background giving him a smirk and a 'thumbs up'.
He was momentarily confused by the signal, his thoughts still filled with the fight, but it all came rushing back to him in a second. 'Oh, that's right: sex.' He and Delenn were going to do the wild thing tonight.
'Assuming I'm still in working condition,' John thought wryly as she led him towards lift that would carry them to the Ambassadorial wing.
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Author: Rowen
Author's e-mail: rowen@netspeed.com.au
Fandom: Babylon 5
Rating: R
Spoilers: Season 2 episode "Confessions and Lamentations"
Synopsis: A piece I thought up after watching 'Confessions and Lamentations', where Sheridan, Delenn and Lennier have a meal Minbari style. Which got me thinking on other Minbari rituals...
Pairing: John/Delenn
Genre: Adult
Disclaimer: Babylon 5 and characters belong to you know who.
Notes: If you're not of appropriate age in your district, go away now.
This story was written somewhere between 1993 and 1997
Winner 1997 "John/Delenn storybook" award for best erotic story
------------------------------------
Part 2
Sheridan felt faint - as if there wasn't enough air in the room.
"Have sex?" he asked weakly. Maybe he'd misheard. Maybe she was really talking about a new trade agreement, and it was just his over-tired brain bringing some of his fantasies out in the open.
Delenn finished arranging his robe to her satisfaction and stepped back.
"Yes, sex," she repeated, then stopped as she noticed the pole-axed expression on his face. "Don't you want to have sex with me?" she asked in a small voice, her tone betraying her anxiety.
John felt as if he'd just stomped on her heart. Quickly, he gathered her into his arms, pulling her firmly against his chest, burying his lips in the softness of her hair.
"Of course I do, Delenn," he said softly into her hair. "I want it very much. I was just... startled, that's all. I never expected... I..." She placed her fingertips over his lips to still his apologies, then stood on her toes to replace her fingers with her lips. John made a small noise in the back of his throat, drawing her closer, noticing in the process that the robes they wore were much thinner than the clothes they normally wore and he could feel the heat of her skin as if she were naked. His hands caressed her back, sliding to her hips as he pulled her even closer. He could feel her responding, her breath harsh as he slid his lips down her throat.
"John," she gasped, arching away from him. "We must stop..." Her voice trailed off into a moan as his lips caressed the exposed swell of her breast.
Sheridan stiffened, and drew back enough to look at her. "Stop? But I thought..."
"There is a ceremony, John," Delenn said, her face flushed and her voice low and sexy. "Before their first joining, a couple must complete it."
John took a deep breath to try and restore his equilibrium. "OK, what do I have to do?"
"Come with me," Delenn said taking his hand and dragging him towards the door to his quarters. "I will explain on the way."
"Delenn," John protested, stopping and looking down at his aroused body, which extremely noticeable through the thin fabric of the robe. "I can't go out there like this."
"But we must hurry," Delenn said in a worried tone. "The time of the ceremony is as important as the ceremony itself. If we do not go now, the ceremony cannot take place until another year has passed."
"A year?" John's eyes widened. The Minbari sure took things seriously. And he was going to be dammed if he was going to wait another year before he consummated his relationship with Delenn. He took another deep breath, and thought unpleasant thoughts to bring his unruly body under control: Pak'Ma'Rah eating habits, Centauri Opera and meetings of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds featured strongly.
"OK, Delenn," he reassured her. "I'm ready."
---------------------
John expected Delenn to take him to the Minbari Temple, or perhaps the garden for the ceremony, but instead they arrived at the Zocalo. There seemed to be an inordinate number of Minbari clustered in amongst the stalls and traders. Sheridan's seasoned eye also picked up a heightened security presence, trying to stay inconspicuous as they moved through the civilians. Delenn had a slight smile on her face, and bowed or inclined her head to several Minbari. Some of them didn't look all that happy - although it was sometimes hard to tell with Minbari - but they returned her courtesy stiffly.
"Why are we here, Delenn?" John whispered to her.
"We are declaring before witnesses our intention to join," Delenn spoke without moving her lips, inclining her head to someone else.
"How are we doing that?"
"These robes we are wearing," explained Delenn. "By them, all Minbari know."
'Oh great,' John thought, 'Now the entire Minbari population of the station knows I'm about to do the wild thing with their Ambassador.' No wonder some of them didn't look happy. And the security... How had Garibaldi gotten wind...? He looked sharply down at Delenn. Wait, she wouldn't have...
"Did you ask Garibaldi to beef up the security?"
"Beef?," the petite woman repeated. "I requested Mr. Garibaldi post extra personnel." She guided him towards a group of Minbari blocking the aisle. "I wanted him to be watchful when the fighting started."
"Fighting!! What fighting??" Sheridan's hissed, as he watched an older Minbari woman make her way from the group towards them.
Before the Ambassador could answer, the woman was standing before them. She stood glaring at Sheridan for a moment, before her right fist lashed out and caught him squarely on the cheekbone. John staggered back slightly, but Delenn's steely grip on his arm prevented him from moving much. Before he could even blink, the older woman launched into a stream of Minbari, throwing her arms around and sounding for all the world like she was swearing at him. John maintained a polite expression, hoping to hell Delenn would translate when the woman's tirade had finished. He resisted the urge to reach up and rub his cheek. That had been no ineffectual tap the woman had bestowed, nor had it been a slap of irritation, such as the one Talia had once delivered. The lecture now seemed to be directed at Delenn, who would bow every so often, and murmur a response. John wished again, not for the first time, that he spoke more than a few Minbari words. The woman had launched into full throat, when Delenn did something strange. She took a deep breath, then yelled something at the top of her voice. The tirade was cut off in mid-syllable as the older Minbari woman looked at Delenn with an expression John interpreted as astonishment. He knew how she felt - he had never heard Delenn speak in anything but a pleasant tone. Even when she was arguing in Council meetings, she always kept her temper and voice pleasant. The crowd that had been watching also seemed to look at Delenn with surprise. Sheridan noticed that the security people had moved closer, alert, but not looking particularly worried.
Delenn finished whatever it was she was saying and bowed to the older woman. After a moment, her bow was returned. Then the woman reached out to Sheridan.
John almost flinched backward, expecting another punch, but instead was rewarded with a friendly pat on the shoulder. Then she shook her finger in Sheridan's face, and said something in what John interpreted as a scolding tone. The pressure of Delenn's finger's on his arm increased, and he realized she was giving him some sort of signal to do something. OK. What was the something, though? What would a Minbari do in this situation?
He bowed to the older woman, hoping that was what she expected. The pressure eased and he took that to mean he had guessed correctly. The older woman retreated to where the other Minbari still stood blocking the aisle.
"What the hell was that about?" John turned to Delenn, surreptitiously rubbing his cheek. He was definitely going to be sporting a bruise there tomorrow.
"That woman was representing my mother," Delenn explained quietly. "My own parents and family could not be here, so some of the Minbari on the station are taking there places in the ritual."
"What was the last thing she said to me?" Sheridan was curious - the tone had been different to the rest of the 'lecture'. He lifted his eyebrow as Delenn blushed. "Delenn?" he prompted.
"Ah..." she stalled for a moment, but John's expression was uncompromising. "In human terms, she told you to give me a 'wild night' and make sure I was well satisfied." Delenn's blush deepened, and John could feel his own cheeks warm: he was going to have to re-think some of his notions on Minbari sexuality: they didn't seem to be as repressed as he'd assumed
"So what's going on over there?" Sheridan nodded in the direction of the group of Minbari, who were engaged in a lively discussion, involving much hand-waving and raised voices. John was fascinated: he'd never seen Minbari behave in this manner before.
"My 'mother' will be telling my 'father' that she respects my choice, and that he should as well. If she convinces him you are acceptable, they will leave. If not, he will determine your suitability himself."
Delenn's 'father' was a powerful looking man from the warrior caste. Who didn't look very convinced, in John's opinion. The captain remembered Delenn's comment about fighting. Surely she couldn't mean...
"Am I supposed to fight him?" he whispered.
Delenn looked horrified. "Of course not! That would bring us both great dishonor." John's relief was short-lived, however, as she added: "He will send my brothers to fight you."
Sheridan looked beyond the couple and saw four younger Minbari males standing together. Glaring at him - obviously spoiling for a chance to honorably kick the stuffing out of 'Starkiller'. Great.
"Uh, Delenn. You do realise that Minbari males are significantly stronger that human males. If your 'father' sends them against me, they will probably be able to take me easily." It bruised his ego a little to admit it, but he had to be sure she realized what would happen. "If security think that I'm endangered..."
"The fight is only symbolic," Delenn reassured. "People are hardly ever injured seriously."
Hardly ever had a disturbing ring of frequency, John thought.
"My 'brothers' will fight you one at a time, until my 'father' is satisfied of your courage and honor," she explained further.
Glancing over at the group of Minbari it was obvious there was going to be a fight - this was too good an opportunity for the warriors to pass up.
"What are the rules?" John asked as the first 'brother' stepped forward.
"You may not use blows that may permanently cripple - such as at the eyes or throat. But apart from that, there are no other conventions." She pushed him forward towards his opponent. "Oh, and don't hit his crest," she added. "Minbari crests are sensitive to trauma."
'Great,' John thought moving warily towards the young man. 'You have to fight all their male relatives before getting to have sex with them. Why couldn't I have fallen in love with a boring, human woman?' His next thought was did the young Minbari men know enough about human physiology to know where not to hit so as not to permanently cripple him?
The two men stopped about five paces from each other and bowed. As he bent, John kept his eyes on his opponent - he remembered seeing movies when he was a kid, where the baddie would attack straight from the bow. Sure enough, the Minbari launched into a flying leap before he'd even completed the customary courtesies. John neatly side-stepped and surprised himself and the audience by flipping the fellow using an old martial arts trick. The Minbari rolled instantly to his feet, but looked at the human with a little more respect. Sheridan balanced on the balls of his feet, but making no move to attack as the pair circled. With a quick series of kicks and jabs the Minbari found his way past Sheridan's defenses, and this time it was the captain who landed on the ground. Moving in swiftly to press his advantage, he was startled by Sheridan's scissor kick that swept his feet out from under him. In an instant, the captain was straddling the younger man's chest using his greater weight to keep him pinned, arm drawn back to deliver a potentially fatal blow.
The 'brother' said something in Minbari, and held his hands palm-out against his chest.
"He concedes, John." Delenn's voice rang out across the silent plaza. John thought he could hear a note of smug satisfaction in her tone, although her face was neutral. John rolled to his feet, and offered a hand to the prone Minbari. For a moment, he thought his friendly gesture would be ignored, but then the two palms slapped together and he hauled the 'brother' to his feet. Sheridan winced as he bowed - the kid had gotten a couple of good blows to the ribs in. Then spotted the next 'brother' heading his way. Fan-fragging-tastic. What a wonderful way to spend an evening.
---------------------
'How much more is it going to take?' Sheridan thought as he reeled from another blow. The brothers had arranged themselves in order of increasing fighting skill, and now fighting the fourth, nursing God knows how many injuries, he was barely able to meet the highly skilled attacks of his opponent. John had no illusions about this fight - if this last Minbari had wanted to hurt or maim him, he could have done so a dozen or more times. He wondered if it was his imagination or did the brother want him to win? Taking a deep breath he threw the last of his energy into a punch to the jaw and saw the Minbari slide to the floor. Barely able to stand himself, he nodded to the fallen opponent as others crowded around. He felt Delenn sliding her arm around his waist, and gratefully leaned against her for support.
Her 'parents' approached, and John drew himself up to his full height, meeting their gaze coolly.
The father spoke in an almost friendly tone, his eyes lingering on John's visible contusions. 'Happy?' John challenged silently, but followed Delenn's lead when she bowed. He noticed Garibaldi in the background giving him a smirk and a 'thumbs up'.
He was momentarily confused by the signal, his thoughts still filled with the fight, but it all came rushing back to him in a second. 'Oh, that's right: sex.' He and Delenn were going to do the wild thing tonight.
'Assuming I'm still in working condition,' John thought wryly as she led him towards lift that would carry them to the Ambassadorial wing.
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