Celebration |
Title: Celebration |
Author: Iocane |
E-mail: iocane@crosswinds.net |
Summary: It's a special day for John. |
Rating: NC-17 |
Series/sequel: Part fifteen of "Dreams of Silence" This is the final part. |
Disclaimer: Galen, John, the Excalibur, and all related names, places, and people belong to JMS and many |
other people. The story itself is mine. |
Archiving: CDC, WWOBM, Selena's Galen Page, Lady May's Slash Archive, DM's Place, and the Crusade |
Fic Archive all have ongoing permission. Anyone else, please ask. |
Warnings: This story contains explicit M/M sex. |
Notes: First and foremost, thanks to Antoinette for her expert beta'ing, comments, suggestions, motivations, |
and generally beating me over the head until I finished it. :) |
Second, the following notations are used throughout the series |
... |
Single brackets [] around text indicate personal thoughts. |
Double brackets [[]] around words indicate telepathy. |
The character of Jessica Saunders is entirely my creation. |
Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated. This is my first planned out story of this scope, so any |
suggestions you have would be wonderful. |
Celebration |
John sighed and snuggled closer to the warm body next to him, not wanting to wake up yet. Galen's arms |
tightened around him and he felt himself being rolled gently onto his back. Galen's body covered his as John |
slid his hands around his neck. Their lips met in a slow kiss and John began to wake up, responding to Galen's |
gently probing tongue. |
After several minutes, Galen pulled away, leaning down to nuzzle John's neck. John sighed softly. "Good |
morning ..." |
Galen lifted his head and smiled. "Very good morning ... Do you remember what day it is?" |
John's brow furrowed. Something was happening today, if he could just shake the sleep off his mind and |
remember. "Tuesday." he replied, his brown eyes twinkling. |
"Very good ..." Galen teased. "Now, are you going to wake all the way up, or do I have to do it myself?" |
"You do it." John grinned, remembering what day it was. He felt like being bossy all of a sudden. He closed |
his eyes and lay back, pretending to be asleep. |
Galen smiled, he knew John had remembered, but enjoyed the game. "All right ... if you insist ..." Moving |
slowly, he kissed his way down John's chest. His tongue flicked over one of his nipples. Glancing upwards, he |
asked "Awake?" |
John didn't respond, but Galen could feel his pleasure. Sliding a hand down John's stomach, he stroked the |
other man's crotch through the sheets. Galen's teeth closed lightly around one of John's nipples at the same |
time and John moaned softly, arching from the bed, but his face remained impassive. |
Looking again at John's face, Galen moved his hand under the sheet, his strong fingers wrapping around |
John's cock. Stroking slowly, it grew to full hardness in Galen's hand. Shifting down on the bed, he breathed on |
the swollen tip, enjoying the shiver of pleasure he felt from his lover. |
In keeping with "being asleep", John tried to keep his face expressionless as Galen tormented him. His body, |
however, was unable to remain still. Arching upwards, he bucked lightly into Galen's mouth as he exploded, his |
eyes flying open. |
Sitting up, Galen licked his lips, looking like a satisfied cat. "Awake now?" At John's nod, Galen devoured his |
mouth in a kiss that was both tender and brutal. John moaned into his lover's mouth, tasting himself on his lips |
and tongue. |
Pulling away, Galen lay beside his lover, gazing down at him. "Happy birthday." He smiled. |
"Thanks ..." John sighed. "Why is it that that doesn't thrill me like it used to?" |
"Because ... You're getting older. Soon you'll be a decrepit old man, and I'll have to trade you in for a newer |
model." He ran his hand lightly over John's chest, his eyes fixed on John's face. He grinned as John slapped |
him playfully. |
John chuckled, turning to face Galen. "You're older than I am." he pointed out. |
Galen opened his mouth as though to protest, then closed it. "You know, you're right." He reached for John |
and pulled him closer. "I guess I get to keep you then." He murmured, before giving his lover a deep, slow |
kiss. |
Galen pulled away after a moment, laying on his back, John snuggled beside him. John rested a hand on |
Galen's chest, content to simply lay there, basking in the presence of his lover. |
A faint beep came from the floor, amidst a pile of John's clothes on the floor. Groaning, John rolled over onto |
his stomach, reaching for his link bracelet. "Matheson here." |
"John, look, I know it's your day off, but there's an emergency and we need you on the bridge." |
"All right." John deactivated the link and dropped it to the floor. Pressing his face into the mattress, he |
groaned loudly. |
He felt Galen's hands caressing his thighs, moving up to massage his back lightly. His lips slid up John's back, |
kissing the base of his neck. Galen's breath was hot on John's ear as he spoke, laying partially on top of him. |
"Come on John ... Let's get you dressed ..." |
------------ |
Gideon stuck his head out of his office "He's on his way!" |
At the captain's cue, the bridge staff, plus a few extras, hurried to their places. Max, Dureena, and Dr. Sarah |
Chambers, were on hand for the special occasion. Saunders, with her subtle skill, had seen to it that all of |
Matheson's friends were scheduled for bridge duty this shift. A few non-bridge crew had been invited as well. |
John had acquired a large group of friends in his time on the ship. |
The bridge was decorated festively, with streamers and balloons all over, and a bright banner proclaiming |
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY." Thankfully they were rather far from anywhere, so there would be plenty of time to |
remove the decorations before they had to show the bridge to anyone. |
The doors of the bridge hissed open, revealing Lieutenant Matheson. |
The young man was visibly touched at the party his friends had planned. Galen was clearly not surprised and |
John knew he'd been in on the secret. |
Over the next few hours, he was piled high with gifts and cards. Galen was present, but not active for the |
party. Everyone knew that this was simply his way, and a few winked that *he* would be giving John his |
present later on. Or had already, one ensign suggested with a friendly smirk that turned the nearby |
lieutenant's ears an interesting shade of pink. |
Dureena gave him a small box, telling him he couldn't open it until he got to his quarters. "Galen can tell you |
more about them." John saw her smile across the room at Max, who was chatting quietly with Saunders, Dr. |
Chambers, and a young ensign. "It's from both of us." Dureena said, her eyes shining. The archeologist |
returned her smile and gave John a small wave. |
"Thank you Dureena." He smiled warmly at the woman. |
Finally Gideon said it was time to wrap it up. John wanted to help take down the decorations, but Gideon |
wouldn't let him. He gave John a heavy package and sent him on his way. Thankfully Galen was there to help |
with the presents, otherwise he never would have made it back to his quarters in one trip. |
Back in his rooms, John went over the presents like a child at Christmas. At Galen's insistence, he took of his |
uniform top and tried on the shirt Chambers had given him. |
At first glance, it seemed to be an ordinary black shirt. When he picked it up, however, John could barely feel |
the fabric against his skin. Galen ran his hands over John's chest, confirming that it was one of the finest silk |
blends he'd ever seen. It writhed around John's upper body like a shimmering snake skin. |
Saunders had given him a plain data crystal, saying that she thought he would like the contents. Sliding it into |
the viewer, they were surprised to hear an ethereal music fill the quarters. For a moment they were |
mesmerized. [[It's beautiful.]] John said, not wanting to interrupt the music. |
[[Quite. I've never heard anything like it.]] |
The package from Gideon revealed an ancient hardcover book - the complete Shakespeare. John set it on his |
shelf in a place of honor. |
The only package yet unopened was the one from Max and Dureena. "She said you would tell me what was in |
here." He sat on the couch, turning to lean against Galen when the other man joined him. |
Galen wrapped one hand around John's shoulder, resting a hand lightly on his chest, his chin resting on John's |
hair. He watched John undo the delicate white paper with a care he hadn't demonstrated on the other gifts. |
"Oh, just rip it already will you?" Galen teased. |
"No. There's something special about this one, I could tell by the way she gave it to me. I'm being careful this |
time." |
Galen nodded and watched as John finally slid the paper off, revealing a box. Neatly separating the tape, he |
lifted the lid, revealing two small, carved stone figurines nestled in white tissue paper. John heard Galen let |
out a small sigh. |
"What are they?" |
"They're a Tokar pair." |
"That's helpful." |
"Well ... You know it's very rare for people to find each other without help. Often there is someone, or several |
someones who conspire to help fate; knowingly or unknowingly. Sometimes it's a simple introduction, and |
sometimes it's a more definite push." |
"All right." He lifted one of the figurines, which Galen promptly plucked from his fingers for a closer look. |
Chuckling, he picked up the other one. "But what does that have to do with these?" The figurine in his hand |
was almost identical to the one Galen was now holding. Both were small, about the length of his thumb and half |
the width of his palm. They were vaguely shaped, though whether that was deliberate, or the result of aging |
John couldn't tell. Idly he wondered how Dureena - or Max - had come across them. |
"Among Dureena's people, when two people find each other, they often know who it was who ... started it, shall |
we say." Galen paused and John could feel his quiet surprise, and his happiness. "I think that Max and |
Dureena have finally found each other." Galen handed John back the figurine, watching as the young man |
reverently replaced it and the other figurine and closed the box. "And they know they have you to thank. Now, |
to ensure a long and happy joining on their parts, you must keep the pair close to each other." |
"I'm glad they found each other. They deserve it. Both of them." John stood and walked around his room, |
looking for a place to display the figurines. Finally settling on the patch of shelf beside Gideon's Shakespeare, |
John set them together and turned to find Galen vanished. "Just like a technomage." He muttered, moving to |
straighten up his quarters. After finishing, he stood in the center of the living area, once again mesmerized by |
the music from Saunders' crystal. It was truly beautiful, unlike anything he'd ever heard. He couldn't even |
identify the instruments used. John made a mental note to check with the young woman on the music's origins. |
John was still standing, his eyes closed, listening to the music when he felt a pair of strong arms around his |
waist. Sighing happily, he leaned back against Galen's broad chest. Stepping away, Galen led him gently to the |
bed. |
Sitting in the center of the bed, Galen pulled John to sit in front of him, and slid forward, wrapping his arms |
around John's waist. Even through their clothes, John could feel Galen's heartbeat against this back. He |
rested his elbows on Galen's legs just as he heard him whisper "Close your eyes, John." |
John closed his eyes and a moment later he felt a light breeze on his face. Opening his eyes, he gasped. |
Before him lay forever. They were back on the rock on the nameless planet where Galen had first spoken his |
love aloud. Unable to speak, he leaned back against Galen, tilting his head to look at his lover's face. |
Galen smiled warmly at him, his lips brushing John's lightly in a brief kiss. |
John looked back at the endless, cracked horizon and felt Galen's hands moving slightly. He glanced down to |
see a small crimson box in Galen's hand. He was speechless, his heart in his throat. After staring at the box |
for a moment, he heard Galen whisper in his ear. "Happy birthday, my love." he whispered. John let out a long |
sigh. He never doubted Galen's love, but hearing it confirmed in words always sent tiny shivers throughout his |
body. "Open it." Galen whispered, nestling his chin against John's neck. |
With trembling fingers, John slowly opened the small box. Sitting inside was a small silver colored ring, etched |
with impossibly intricate designs that John suspected was writing. Setting the box down, he studied the ring, |
noting the way the metal glinted in a way that John was sure involved magic. It was a simple ring, save for the |
etchings. A simple silver band. His voice was full of awe as he sensed his lover's unspoken meaning behind the |
gift. "Galen ..." |
John felt Galen's hands cover his own, gently plucking the ring from his fingers. Galen placed the ring tenderly |
onto the third finger of John's left hand. "I love you." He said softly, running his thumb over the delicate |
engravings. "This is why I was away so long that time." Galen confessed. "I couldn't tell you at the time ..." |
"You made this?" John was in awe. The silver metal was warm on his skin, and felt as though it had been |
there all his life. |
"Yes. For you." |
Again, the young man was speechless. He could fell Galen's emotions as surely as if they were his own. Truly, |
John didn't know where his soul stopped and Galen's began. He wasn't even sure there was a line between |
them at all. His mouth formed words, but his throat refused to make sounds. [[What does it say?]] |
Galen's voice was quiet as he spoke, his breath light against John's skin, his strong arms tight around the |
younger man. |
"Within you I lose myself |
Without you I find myself |
Wanting to be lost again." |