NEROON'S CONFESSION

A BABYLON 5 FANFICTION

AUTHOR: Djap

PAIRING: Shai Alyt Neroon of the Star Rider Clan x Anla'Shok Marcus Cole

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money with them. Promise.

LANGUAGE: English

BETA: Neenabluegirl – thank you for your work and your patience with my grammar :D

GENRE: Romance, Humor

RATING: PG13

…

Neroon's confession

a Djap story

…

Neroon had been bitchy all day.

Granted, that was probably hard to believe, but Mr.-Shai-Alyt-Warrior-Caste-of-the-Minbari-Alyt-of-the-Storm-Rider-Clan-and-Commander-of-the-Ingata really had been bitchy all day. Marcus had no idea what else to call the most recent mood swings of his betrothed.

Their formal courting had been progressing exceedingly well since they had reached the Star Rider estate. Things were as good as they probably ever would be now, so they should be enjoying themselves as long as they could.

The countless attempts of Neroon's family to kill their leader's spouse were not bearing any fruits yet and Marcus had finally stopped trying to be polite to Neroon's direct relatives. Frankly spoken, they just hated each others' guts and the Clan was anything but happy that their hero had chosen to court a 'mere' human.

Sometimes Marcus even wondered whether Neroon had chosen him just to spite his parents and with that his whole damn clan. Then again, when Neroon was alone with him, the surprisingly sweet and lovable creature returned and Marcus wondered why he'd ever doubted Neroon's honest affection. The Minbari was risking everything for the calling of his soul to a 'mere' human - to an old enemy.

And then again, there were days like these and Marcus just wanted to pop Neroon a good one. That arrogant, pig-headed idiot could be such an arse, really. It had been going on for the whole day now but the last straw had been when they had met for their appointed Denn'Bok spar. Usually both looked upon this time of the day with glee but not tonight though.

That stubborn … Marcus tried to come up with another curse but the only word his mind provided was… Minbari… had obviously wanted to vent some real aggression.

Back in Down Below, when Marcus had challenged Neroon to Denn'Sha, he had held back, because he did believe in the rules of the Minbari society. He had chosen to live as Minbari, so he tried to act as one. So he had to follow the Minbari-do-not-kill-Minbari-rule and with that there would be no choice for him except to let Neroon win the fight.

But even if he had tried to win the fight and fought with his whole heart in it, he would never have stood a chance. The Denn'Bok had been perfected for Minbari use in over ten thousand years and as much as Marcus wanted to live as Minbari, his body was still human. It meant that he could use speed and agility to defeat Neroon in a lot of martial arts (even Minbari ones), but he would never be able to beat Neroon with a Denn'Bok (although he could surprisingly enough hold his ground easily against many other members of the Star rider Clan, which managed to piss them off even more). Marcus had no problem with that revelation, the only flaw in the whole thing was that Neroon knew that fact too.

And most of the time he was too damn smug about it too.

Darn.

Although Neroon certainly never dealt any physical damage to Marcus, the damage Marcus' pride took at all those taunting and scathing comments was equally real. With Neroon being really angry and therefore being even harsher than usual, Marcus patience levels finally snapped.

…

So that is how they found themselves on the estate of the Star Rider Clan now. Marcus had arrived first in the quarters they shared over the time of the formal courting and had locked his spouse out.

At first Neroon had been raging mad and threatened to just break the damn door, but for once it was good that they were recently not on the best terms with Neroon's family. They just gave him that look that said 'We told you, hopefully now you'll come to your senses' when he asked for their help and left him alone.

In the end it was exactly this behavior of Neroon's relatives though, which compelled Marcus to change his mind and let his future mala in. They had only each other in this cave of wolves right now, so they would need to work this out together.

Finally Marcus let Neroon in and waited for the next explosion.

It never came.

Instead Neroon looked deflated and very apologetic (as much as that arrogant arse could look apologetic anyway) and sat on the couch in their common room. Although they shared the same quarters as it was tradition, they did not share the same bedrooms yet, as they did not indulge in their Shon'Fal. Marcus knew that it was lurking around the next few rituals though and perhaps it made him a little jumpier than usual. At least Minbari formal courting gave Marcus ample time to prepare for his deflowering.

Marcus sat beside Neroon and huffed annoyed as he poured two cups of soothing tea for them. It was the only thing Neroon and Delenn might have in common because it was both their favorite brand. Marcus did not like it that much but he acknowledged the effect it had on his usually far from disquieted body. He offered the cup to Neroon and both sipped it quietly before Marcus finally spoke up.

"Will you tell me what has upset you so much or do I need to ask for the help of Master Durhann?"

Neroon groaned a little at the mentioning of his former master's name and rolled his eyes. Durhann was one of his most dear friends, but the old Minbari sure could be a 'pain in the arse' as his spouse kept phrasing it. For once, Neroon had to completely agree with that. Durhann was also the reason why they had started courting after all. Everybody had been fed up with both of them mooning over the other since Denn'Sha and not even realizing they were doing it. Finally the old Minbari master had snapped and played matchmaker very successfully for them.

"That won't be necessary, Marcus." Neroon finally grumbled and added "Tonight we will have to accomplish another stage of the courting and we are supposed to be undisturbed for it anyway."

Marcus swallowed and nearly chocked on his tea. He had forgotten that this evening had been reserved for the next ritual, probably because of his annoyance over Neroon's behavior.

Now it finally occurred to him that Neroon might have been behaving so stupidly because of the next ritual. Contradictory to him, Neroon actually knew the right sequence of the rituals but kept refusing to tell his spouse. It was most infatuating but also very sweet as Neroon claimed it would be more romantic for Marcus that way.

Was it already time for Shon'Fal? Marcus wondered and grew nervous.

"The Shon'Fal ritual will follow this ritual." Neroon said and Marcus sighed relieved. So it had not come upon him yet "Tonight we are supposed to talk about our experiences with previous lovers." Neroon finally explained and the look on his face was absolutely unreadable.

Marcus swallowed hard and stared in shock at Neroon. He knew this talk had been overdue already, but with him still knowing so little about the proper way to behave as a future member of the Star Rider clan, he had willingly left the leading role in this to Neroon. To do this now, so mentally unprepared for it, was a blow to his stomach.

On the other hand… this was what had been making Neroon so nervous all day? Why in Valen's name would he be nervous about that?

As in answer to his unspoken question Neroon finally abandoned his supposedly soothing cup of tea on the table and started pacing.

"Neroon?" Marcus finally cracked after a while, wondering what was wrong.

The Shai Alyt sighed, looked at his mate and grimaced. He sat down again and forced himself to explain himself.

"Before I formally asked to court you I did some thorough research on human rituals and belief systems. Most of it was surprisingly positive, only a few things seemed really odd but a very few things I simply could not comprehend. At least it was this way for me, which is why I dreaded this conversation so much."

Neroon took a deep breath and sipped again on his tea. Marcus forced himself to smile reassuringly despite his own inner turmoil. His future mala needed him now and he would be there for him, two souls facing their fate together. Just like he had promised.

"Tell me Neroon. Please."

Neroon nodded absently already searching again for the right words.

"I never understood why your society is so approving of promiscuity. You expect each other to have sexual relations at a very early stage of your life and you are sometimes even cruel to those who do not wish to indulge so early. Why would a society put such a pressure on their youths about such a serious subject and expect them afterwards to be monogamous? How could youth keep looking for the right partner if their lust can be stilled so easily? It's the force that will keep you looking for your true mate, but without that how do you even manage to form any stable relationship? And further what made you agree to the terms of a formal Minbari courtship? This must be very hard on your libido."

Marcus was astonished, but the feeling was already being replaced with warmth. He associated this feeling with his future mala and again he was reminded why.

"So what you basically wanted to tell me is that you have remained chaste until this day?"

Neroon looked away and sighed. He nodded clearly expecting to be reprimanded or perhaps even ridiculed by his human lover for it. Marcus broke into a magnificent smile which spiked Neroon's curiosity. "What?"

Marcus knew no words just then, so he rose from his place, knelt in front of Neroon and pulled him into a very loving and chaste kiss. They had not kissed often yet, especially as this was a highly unusual practice for Minbari, but Neroon had grudgingly admitted to liking it and Marcus had been happy to indulge.

"What was this for?" Neroon whispered frowning when they broke apart.

"Let me ask you another question before I answer all of your questions?"

Neroon seemed not happy with that question and he was still obviously nervous and unsure, but he always gave in when Marcus looked at him like that. "By all means."

"If Minbari usually remain chaste until their official mating, why would this ritual be required in the first place?"

Neroon nodded, pleased with his mate's grasp of the situation. "Usually both parties ritually state that they have remained chaste and were unbounded before. But there always is the possibility, that one of them had not stayed chaste, either because he or she had been bonded before and lost her or his mate, or because they had not been able to control their lust. Either way they are supposed to reveal the whole truth of their nature so that their future mate can decide whether they will accept the gesture of honor and their mate's past."

"And with me being a human you probably already decided to accept my past and my failure in this matter." Marcus guessed with obvious mirth in his eyes.

Neroon nodded gravely. "It is the way of your people and I cannot judge you on that. I decided to court you, a human and the other half of my soul. I will accept you regardless of your past."

Marcus took a deep breath while his smile even broadened.

"Well, then let me tell you, Neroon of the Star Rider's and Shai Alyt of the Warrior Caste, of my sexual experience. It consists…" Neroon looked pained but determined to listen "…of a few, mostly chaste kisses with my betrothed and a few very intense erotic dreams about the same person and the intense wish for us to finally proceed to our Shon'Fal ceremony."

"Does that mean…" Neroon finally stammered blinking, which was a very becoming sight on the usually so arrogant warrior.

"Yes." Marcus grinned. "To this day I have heard many chiding from human friends, bore a lot of laughter and exposure, but I still have remained chaste, because I have always wanted to wait for the other half of my soul to experience this ecstasy with me. As for your question about why I accepted your request for a formal Minbari courtship? I like the guidance it brings to both of us. I would not have known how to do this otherwise…"

The rest of what Marcus wanted to say was muffled by a kiss, which for once had been initiated by his future mala.

He did not care though because his fluttering heart about the matters of Shon'Fal was finally at ease. They would go this way together, two souls traveling together, as it was the way of the Minbari. There was nothing that could defeat that.

…

Endless End

Finished 22nd February 2011