I wrote and rewrote the start to this from four different directions, then finally one start clicked. ;) Here you are, @cinlat !
She talked in her sleep.
Not -every- night. Not even frequently. But Theron had to admit that he'd learned more about Selirah's past by listening to her random disjointed comments in the dark than he would ever have pried from her when she was awake. She loved to keep her secrets, that was certain. Not that he had a lot of room to point fingers at other people when it came to that particular habit.
He'd heard her speak of someone named Tremel – the fondness in her voice had seemed unfeigned, but another time she'd said something about killing him. Some nights she seemed to be remembering wars, commanding troops, taking the lead on assaults. Other nights she was mouthing off to Darth Baras, or trading playful insults with Pierce.
More often than not, the words made no sense at all in context, like the time she'd pushed him nearly off the bed and muttered something in Twi'leki that he'd translated later as a particularly inventive and foully descriptive string of profanity.
Theron had come to bed late tonight. The fledgling Alliance was proving to be a monumental and time-consuming effort for him as much as anyone else now that they'd found Selirah and begun to make waves of dissent against Arcann's tyranny over the galaxy. Exhausted and a little tipsy on the whiskey he'd been drinking while he worked, he slid into bed beside her, moving both slender lekku aside, then a splayed arm that had been stretched across his portion of the bed. While he was removing them, her leg inched across to his side, bent slightly at the knee, and he pushed that incursion back with one foot.
Clearing enough unoccupied space to lie down, he smiled in the darkness of the room as her hand crept across his stomach before stilling. Her blatant attempts to annex his territory ceased, and he turned towards her, stretching with a tired sigh.
“Theron.”
It was clear, perfectly so, but she lay sprawled close to him with her eyes closed, asleep. He could feel the delicate touch of her eyelids and lashes against his upper arm, her eyes moving back and forth beneath them. Dreaming.
“Not here?” Selirah's voice sharpened, impatient. “Where is he?”
He'd been about to answer, thinking that perhaps she'd respond to him and then sink back into a deeper sleep. But the question caught him off guard. Theron waited, holding himself still, her warm breath tickling his neck, and wondered what moment filled her dreams. Perhaps the rescue.. Lana said she'd asked where he was once she'd started to come out of the carbonite sickness.
Her hand flexed on his stomach, and he hissed an indrawn breath as her nails bit harshly into his skin, leaving red marks before her fingers spread out flat over his belly. Slowly they worked their way upwards, over his chest, and she moved closer to him, out of her characteristic sprawl. Selirah's legs twined with his, the warmth of her body pressing against him, curving to a perfect fit. The touch of her lips against his neck was feather-soft, and he felt her breathing, the simple act of drawing air into her lungs carrying the familiar scent of his skin into her mind.
The Twi'lek relaxed in unconscious recognition, melting against him. “Oh. You're here. Missed you so much,” Seli whispered, the soft, sad words barely audible. He heard her breathing slow as she sank into a deeper sleep, and he brought a hand up, stroking her back in long, gentle strokes. Theron's fingers brushed the still-tender, circular scar that went through her from front to back, the mark of the lightsaber that had almost taken her from him forever, before he'd even had a chance to see her. Not for the first time, he felt a twinge of regret that he hadn't been the one to free the warrior; hadn't been the first face she'd seen when she'd opened her eyes after five long years.
“I missed you too.” Theron pulled her closer, her head tucked under his chin. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to move his hand away from the scar that reminded him painfully of how close he'd come to losing her. He took a slow, shaky breath as he struggled with the unfamiliar weight of an emotion he hadn't wanted to acknowledge. It was a truth that he'd hidden even from himself when he'd believed her dead, along with Darth Marr and so many others. “Seli. I love you,” he whispered to the sleeping woman in his arms, knowing she wouldn't hear him.
Someday, he'd find the courage to say it to her openly. Someday.
@melissagt This got a little lengthy and idk here it is. ;) @rainofaugustsith I’m working on yours!
Things you said when we were the happiest we ever were.
Quinn woke up alone on the morning after their wedding, rich bedding tangled around his waist and legs. His new wife had obviously risen before him. He could smell the sweet scent of the floral oil she used on her skin where it lingered on the fabric of the sheets and on his own body, a delicate reminder of the previous night's pleasures. Unwinding the sheets, Quinn sat up, stretching. The dull ache in his shoulder proved to be a bruise that he knew matched perfectly with Selirah's teeth, and the memory of how he'd gained it brought a gleam to his dark blue eyes and a smile to his face.
Sliding on a pair of shorts, he rose and went in search of Selirah. The Kaas City penthouse had been purchased by her a few months previously, but she'd brought him with her when she'd first looked at it. She'd stood by the massive windows in the upstairs living space, looking out at the fierce storms lashing the dark city buildings, and glanced back at him with curiosity in her violet eyes.
Could you live here, Quinn? She'd asked him, laughing at the awed expression he'd worn that day.
Not alone, my lord. This is too much space for only me.
She'd only smiled enigmatically in answer, and then bought the place the very next day. It had been furnished by an expensive professional designer, with notes received remotely from Selirah while they'd been busy on other planets. The comfortable lounge had been outfitted, the upstairs living spaces. A perfectly equipped gym space with mats on the floor and walls had been laid in, and sleeping quarters for her guests and crew. There were plants everywhere: flowers, potted trees, ferns, and beautiful paintings of planetary landscapes hung on the walls.
The bedroom, however, they had elected to decorate together, with his possessions mingling with hers on shelves, and a massive storage locker holding both of their clothes. A huge, ornate fireplace dominated one wall, with a blanket-draped couch situated at a comfortable distance before it, and a fountain sang in a musical, liquid whisper on another wall. The luxuriously appointed bed stood near the windows, and they'd spent numerous nights tangled up together in the sheets. But last night was the first time that they'd stayed here as a married couple, their bond cemented with rings and promises.
… our lives entwined, for all eternity. I am yours, and you are mine.
The carpet was thick and soft beneath his bare feet as Quinn left the bedroom, heading down the hall to the lounge. The views were spectacular from every room of the apartment, and the lounge was no exception, sporting numerous floor to ceiling windows that looked out on the severe, rain-lashed vista of Kaas City and the mountains. A massive, curved seating arrangement filled the room, softly nodding ferns providing visual interest on either end of the couch. Intricately designed rugs lay scattered here and there, softening the floor and silencing Quinn's footsteps. Selirah stood near the wall of windows, her hands tucked together behind her back as she gazed out towards the cityscape.
“It's strange to think that I never saw myself as someone who would marry, you know,” she said aloud as he entered the room. Quinn crossed the room, looking at her framed in the cloudy daylight, her slender lekku trailing down her back, long and elegantly marked with the black tattoos that she favored. She was barefoot like him, wearing nothing but an enticing black silk negligee that bared nearly all of her back, the thigh-length hem edged in silver lace. “I didn't expect to meet anyone who would capture my interest the way that you did from the very first moment that I saw you. Did you plan to marry at some point? Produce fine Imperial children for the glory of the Empire?”
Quinn reached his wife, and his hands touched the silk fabric where it clung to her hips, fingers stroking lightly over it. He could feel her warmth seeping into his hands, the heat of her body soothing as he drew her back against his chest. “I suppose I thought it would be the proper thing to do, eventually. But with my career stagnating on Balmorra, the prospect seemed light-years away from ever happening.” Reaching up with one hand, he guided her tchin over her shoulder, bending to kiss the skin at the base of her neck. “It was impossible to think that someone like you.. a Sith, someone so far above me...” Quinn felt her palm come to rest over his left hand where it lay on her hip. “That you would ever see me as more than a brief amusement.”
Selirah laughed, her head resting back against his left shoulder. “It's not possible to see you as a brief amusement, Malavai. You are not a man who is easily forgotten or cast aside by those who see your value.” Her low, amused voice brought a flush of color to Quinn's pale cheeks, although it could have also been the way she was pressing against him, the curve of her barely-clad rear rubbing suggestively against him. “And yet, I could not resist. Perhaps it was those incredible, expressive blue eyes of yours.”
Quinn knew she loved to distract him, fluster him. Unfortunately for him, Selirah was extremely successful at nearly everything she put her mind to, including that. At least they were here, alone and on their wedding holiday, instead of at some stuffy society gala – she'd left him extremely uncomfortable more than once at an event where being in such an obviously aroused state would be immensely inappropriate. Which was, of course, exactly the reason she enjoyed doing it. “My lord.. you know such flattery is unnecessary.”
It was impossible to get used to the way that force users could move; with lazy, boneless feline grace one moment, and the next... Selirah spun in his arms, too quickly for him to even react, and her hands turned him with her, reversing their positions. She slammed him back against the window forcefully, and he could see a flicker of arousal light the depths of her violet eyes, a predatory gleam that he'd always reluctantly found extremely exciting. And slightly terrifying. Her nails bit into his upper arms, making him take a quick, inhaled gasp of air at the twinge of pain. His wife leaned in against him, her hands unyielding, and Quinn knew that trying to evade her would have been pointless, even if he had wanted to do it.
Which he absolutely did not.
“It isn't flattery.” Her lips brushed his, a fleeting touch that was only barely a kiss. “You're gorgeous. I was attracted to you almost instantly.. I'm not blind. How could I not be?” Selirah bit his lower lip, teeth sinking in, just shy of drawing blood. Quinn hissed in pain, his hands going to her waist, pulling her closer. His breath caught in his throat, and she released his lip, kissing him thoroughly. Her fingers slid into his dark hair, and she leaned up on her toes as his arms tightened around her. By the time she pulled back and broke the kiss, both of them were breathless, their eyes locked on each other. “I discovered very quickly that your face was the least of your long list of admirable qualities. I would never have come this far without you by my side or without your contributions, Malavai. You and I, together – we're unstoppable. We belong together. That's why I love you. That's why I married you.”
Quinn lifted her in his arms, and she wrapped her legs around him, her scrap of a nightgown riding up to her hips. “I don't know what to say,” he told her honestly. It was the truth. She almost never spoke like this to him, not even after they'd begun their relationship. Selirah was a Sith, and she hated to show any tenderness, lest it be used against her. Quinn had told her that he loved her first, on her ship, and he still remembered the shocked look in her eyes before he kissed her. The way she'd waited until they were alone in her quarters, the door locked, and then told him that she loved him too. For her to speak to him like this, even now after they'd gotten married... it made him tongue-tied with happiness in the best possible way. “I wish I could explain how much I love you, Selirah.”
Her lips curved into a wide, satisfied smile. “Take me back to bed and show me, husband.”
“Anything for you, wife.” Quinn carried her back through the lounge, heading for their bedroom with what would have felt like unseemly haste to him at any other time. Right now, with the prospect of stripping that silk fabric off her body and spending the rest of the morning in bed with Selirah, it didn't seem nearly fast enough.
