Saga - PT Feel Safe at Night (MMM #3; Zeb/OC romance; pre-Rebels)

Author: Findswoman
Title: Feel Safe at Night
Era: Saga—PT (ca. 18 BBY, pre-Siege of Lasan)
Characters: Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios, Shulma Trilasha Orrelios (OC), other OC mentions
Genre: Mush, romantic vignette very short story
Contents: 1 (below) | 3
Summary: So, I thought I would try my hand at Zeb and Shulma’s wedding night on their honeymoon trip to Moonflower Springs...
Notes: Another previously written Lasan Series story coopted for Monday Mush Mania and specifically for MMM challenge #3, because the prompt (romantic vacation) fit. May eventually become part of a longer story about Zeb and Shulma’s wedding and honeymoon. This is also one of my first attempts writing, well, this kind of scene, and it may be just a smidge PG-13. Thus I ask you all to be gentle, and if I cross any lines, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Once again, I gratefully acknowledge the beta-reading assistance of @Raissa Baiard.

---

1

Gleaming moonlight bathed the forested cliffs surrounding the mountain retreat of Moonflower Springs. In the bridal suite overlooking the steaming, waterfall-fed pools that gave the place its name, a High Honor Guard dress uniform hung in the closet beside a flowing, draped gown of gold and red. Atop the dresser lay a variety of jeweled necklaces, earrings, anklets, and hair ornaments, among them a shamanic ring-medallion; nearby, on a footstool, lay several pieces of finely polished ceremonial armor. A large, inviting bed dominated the room, made up with sheets of red-purple satyn and strewn with colorful flowers.

And lounging on that bed, in a dark purple velvoid dressing gown with the light gray of a standard-issue Honor Guard microshirt peeking through, was Zeb, sipping Hoth chocolate from a large purple mug bearing the words HELLO HONORABLE in big gold letters—and waiting.

Waiting for Shulma, of course. She had now spent several minutes in the curtained dressing alcove at the far corner of the suite, “getting ready”—or so she said. Zeb was becoming impatient. Why the ever-living Bogan was it taking her so long? Was this one of those female things? Why did she even need to “get ready” for this, anyway? Karabast, I’ve been ready, he thought to himself. For years, now...

He took a deep breath and another sip of chocolate. Then he heard her voice from behind the curtain:

“Oh no… ai karabast’aka, no...”

“Shulma, what’s goin’ on?” he called over. “Aren’tcha ready yet?”

“Well…”

Zeb put down his mug and went over to the curtained alcove. “Well, what? Everything all right?”

“Yes, everything’s fine, Zeblove… it’s just…” He heard her sigh. “You know how Yhazi packed that… that bag for me?”

“What, the one with the pink pittins all over it?”

“Yes, that one.”

“With all the hairpins an’ headache pills an’ funny little... bottles an’ tubes o’ stuff?” Zeb grimaced slightly.

“Yes.”

“Well, what about it?”

“Well, she said she was going to throw in, er, something special for me to, um, wear for you tonight, and...”

“And?”

“And it’s… oh, Zeblove, I’m not even sure I want to come out in this…”

“Then come out not in it! Heh, heh!”

“Dearest, please…”

“C’mon, now, darlin’, what’s wrong with it? Funny color? Too much lace an’ ruffles? Too skimpy? Nothin’ wrong with skimpy…”

“No, no, it’s not that… it’s just… oh, I wish I hadn’t put my own nightgown in the other suitcase down in the speeder—”

“Aw, just come on out, won’t ya?” Zeb grumbled, crossing his arms querulously. “I’ve been waitin’ long enough out here.”

Shulma sighed again. “All right, fine... but you’ve been warned.”

The curtains parted and Shulma stepped out of the dressing alcove. Her long purple-black hair fell loose over her shoulders, and most of her figure was concealed by an oversized, knee-length white nightshirt that read:

Feel Safe
at Night
SLEEP WITH
AN HONOR GUARD​

At first Zeb’s eyes and mouth gaped in astonishment. Then he erupted in raucous laughter that lasted several moments. “AW KARABAST! ’S ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS! LOVE IT!” he roared at last, slapping his knee.

“Zeblove…”

“An’ it’s true, y’know, heh heh!” He slid his arm around her and pulled her close. “Because this Honor Guard’s ready to sleep with ya… hey, what’s wrong?” he added as he saw her sigh and lower her eyes.

“Oh, I don’t know… I mean... I guess I’d just hoped to be more... beautiful and alluring for my Zeblove on our first night. And instead I look like… this.” She looked down resignedly at the baggy nightshirt, then sighed and hid her face in his shoulder. “Oh love, I’m sorry...”

“Don’t feel bad, darlin’. Y’know, like I said...” He leaned down and spoke in her ear. “...it doesn’t have to stay on ya, heh heh.”

Shulma slapped her husband on the upper arm. “You are a tease, ai Garazeb.”

“Who, me? I wasn’t teasin’ at all.” He said it with a chuckle and with one hand starting to push the nightshirt upward at the hem. But Shulma sighed again, her eyes remaining wistfully downturned.

“Aw, c’mon, darlin’, cheer up. It’s our night, y’know. Here, er… um… try this.” He took off his robe and draped it over her shoulders instead, watching her as she wrapped it around herself, felt its softness against her, inhaled the manly scent that clung to it. “There you go. Now you look like a queen.” He nuzzled the edge of her ear. “My queen.” He kissed the stripes at the edge of her face. “My beautiful, alluring queen.” Each word was a kiss on her neck as he coaxed her over to the bed and sat down with her, his hand stroking her waist. “Now how ’bout my beautiful, alluring queen comes to bed so her Honor Guard can keep her safe all night long… AH HA HA ha ha ha… aw, karabast…” He burst out laughing again but quickly quelled it. “Sorry, darlin’, sorry. But really, won’tcha? Please?”

“Of course I shall… dearest...”

She trailed off, her eyes widening at what she noticed beside her. Zeb felt warmth fill his face. He had forgotten that he had been wearing nothing under the robe except his standard-issue microshirt and shorts—austere light gray, each stamped with the seal of the Honor Guard in a lower corner. And rather form-fitting, too, outlining all his muscular, masculine features...

“Aw, karabast, heh heh… y’see, I’m—I’m not wearing anything special either, darlin’... just, er, standard-issue Guard stuff… guess my, er, sleep pants got left in the other suitcase too, heh… er… ”

Zeb trailed off as he felt Shulma’s hand glide across his chest and down his side, tracing the landscape of his musculature. Though her touches were gentle, each of them sent blazing heat into his core, as if he were being pierced in the gut again and again with a bo-rifle. He’d felt it before: off and on during the wedding ceremony, during the feast afterward, during the drive out to Moonflower Springs—and all right, fine, pretty much every time this incomparable woman had ever given him the slightest touch, but now, now… He shifted a little.

“Er… whatcha doin’, darlin’...?”

“Just admiring my exquisite warrior. If he doesn’t mind, of course.”

“Yeah! I mean no! I mean… of course I don’t mind…” Zeb drew his bride closer, his hand moving on her too.

“Good. Because I was just going to say”—here she slipped a finger inside the waistband of his shorts—“that those standard-issue microgarments of yours don’t need to stay on, either.”

“Aw, you’re teasin’ me, now…”

“Not in the least, my mighty bristlecone…” Shulma’s lips brushed his cheek-stripes as her hand crept lower onto his thigh. “My Garazeb…”

What was it about the way she called him that, about the way she said his name? “Right...” It was less a word than a low, chuckling growl as Zeb pulled her down onto the satyn sheets and into the most passionate embrace they had ever shared, the most passionate kiss they had ever kissed. The robe slipped off her shoulders, once again revealing the baggy, silly nightshirt. Not that she now seemed to mind. Neither did he. How could he, now that she was melting and blooming and yielding in his arms as his bride, her spicy-sweet scent flowing over him? Aw karabast, does it matter what she’s wearin? What I’m wearin’?

“Heh, right,” he grunted again as his lips parted from hers. One strong hand guided her hand downward, the other peeled her nightshirt upward. “Fine by me.”

* * *​

Her lovely stripes really did go all the way down.

Wreathing around the tender, shapely breasts that had so often pressed against him, swirling down the graceful sides he had so often held close, wisping and dancing all... over... her...

“Karabast, you’re so beautiful,” was all he could say as he began to kiss them one by one. And he intended to kiss them all before the night was out.

* * *​

He truly was a most exquisite warrior.

His magnificent figure loomed over her like a mountain, like an ancient rock formation with its finely chiseled crags and vivid striations. He was like the Warrior in the days when it had towered over Lira Zel like a protector and lover.

That Warrior had fallen, but hers would not. Stalwart and fragrant, he was a bristlecone amid the shrubs of the timberline. He would stand tall through storm, wind, and disaster, and she would lie down in his shade and feel safe at night.

She drew him down to her, saying what she had said on the day he had plighted his troth to her beneath those rocky ruins: “I am yours, last warrior of Lasan!”

* * *​

And there, twined in union in each other’s scents and stripes, they both felt much more than safe that night. ¶

Spoiler: Notes

Yhazi: OC, Shulma’s mischievous friend and fellow shaman who appears in Calm after the Storm and Light of Lasan; also mentioned a few times in Shaman, Traveler, Oracle.

“That Warrior had fallen” and “on the day he had plighted his troth to her beneath those rocky ruins”: references to the events of Romance among the Stones. The rock formation called the Warrior was created by Raissa Baiard and first appeared in The Beginning of Honor.

 

Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed this—I definitely wanted to get that touch of humor in there, because (as diva rightly points out below) that's so much of what makes a moment like this memorable. I'm glad you enjoyed the silly nightshirt, too—it's based on a real-life one I saw reading "Feel Safe at Night—Sleep with a Marine." And I agree it's completely true in multiple ways; Zeb sees immediately that that's so!

Well, you are definitely very welcome—it’s been my immense pleasure, and I’m pretty sure it’s been hers, too!

Thank you so much—that’s a wonderful compliment to receive from such a seasoned and adept writer of romance as you are. That kind of shy-eager combination (and I just love my readers for insights like this!) has been one this couple’s trademark characteristics from the start, and I definitely see it as a characteristic that grows with them.

Thanks again, and I’m so glad that bit came off well to you, because that’s one of the places I was worried about sounding too silly or saccharine or cliché (as I often still do with my romantic scenes). I was kind of trying to express both her physical response and her emotional response at the same time, while keeping things (a) in character and (b) TOS-safe—so I’m glad it worked!

Exactly, very well said! Plenty of women here on Earth have that same concern—there can be so much pressure to have a moment like that go Just So—but it’s true that it’s those little idiosyncrasies and imperfections that make it memorable. And just being secure in the knowledge that you’re with someone you love makes such a huge difference, and indeed that is what they’ll remember most about this beautiful evening in the end.

Thank you both for your wonderful comments and for taking a chance on this!

 

Aw, no worries at all, at all! This comment was a real day-brightener and totally worth the wait, which I don't mean in a backhanded or PA way at all. I appreciate them whenever they come in, and I'm so glad you enjoyed this little attempt of mine at writing this kind of scene! <3

Thanks! I figured they deserved a beautiful, elegant, moonlit honeymoon before all that will happen down the road. This image of Zeb, plush robe and mug slogan and all (thanks for introducing me to that!), was one I simply couldn't resist. I bet he's quite the big purple looker in that ensemble! And naturally, being impatient is just part of being being Zeb. Especially about this!

Oh, of course. She definitely had a mental image of it being a certain way (I think a lot of women do... I sure did), and so it naturally kind of stymies her when it's not! But see below...

I have to say, this was rather fun to write—I was kind of joshing with both of them, but hopefully in a loving way—kind of the way Yhazi was, I guess, and I agree she really had Zeb's number here! Of course it's so easy to work oneself up to specific expectations of perfection for a moment like this—so much so that one can almost miss the perfections that are there. And Zeb draws her attention back to that just by being his sweet, loving, caring, sincere, earnest self. We know he is the sort to go above and beyond for his friends and family, and I definitely think he would have done the same for his true love back home on Lasan. I think you were the one who suggested he put his robe on her, and I'm so glad you did, because that really ended up being a big catalyst in the story—as this way, she gets to admire his handsome attributes, too! They both know that, ultimately, "it's not the underwear, it's the wares that are under."

Thank you, I really appreciate that, as I did go into that particular part of the scene with a good deal of trepidation. I was going for the right combination of passionate, tender, TOS-compliant, and in-character, so I am so glad (and relieved) that you felt it worked well.

Spoiler

And I haven't forgotten your suggestion that I try an "afterglow" scene at some point... I do have a few ideas in that direction!

Well, thank you so much, as always. I really enjoyed writing this and indulging myself a bit by letting these two indulge in some extra-special honeymoon loveys, so I'm very glad that you enjoyed it, too! As I said above, thank you, too, for taking a chance on this and on this couple.

 

So, I continued this! Once again, I have @Raissa Baiard to thank, as she was the one who (some months back) suggested I try writing an “afterglow” scene for Zeb and Shulma. It took me a while, but here one is! It’s mostly just mush, and still about PG-13ish; once again, please be patient as I navigate the ins and outs of This Whole Romance Thing, and do let me know if I transgress the TOS in any way.

Once again I’m exceedingly grateful to Raissa, whose invaluable suggestions and help during beta reading made this much, much better.

---

3

Zeb woke up first, which surprised him.

Early morning sunlight was filtering shyly into the Moonflower Springs bridal suite as he yawned, stretched, and shifted onto his side—carefully, because Shulma was still nestled against him, fast asleep.

Shulma! Yes, that incomparable woman—his incomparable bride—really finally was lying beside him, as naked as he was, her breath softly rising and falling. Her long, dark hair lay loose all around her, some of it partly covering her face, some of it sticking to her (and to him) in sweaty little tendrils, forming new, wispy, asymmetrical stripes on her back. Red panties (her favorite color) lay on the floor in a heap with his own light-gray, standard-issue Honor Guard microgarments. Not far off was that silly nightshirt her friend had given her, that she had been so embarrassed about: FEEL SAFE AT NIGHT SLEEP WITH AN HONOR GUARD. Zeb couldn’t help but chuckle remembering it.

And that scent of hers still lingered. In her fur, her hair, the sheets, everywhere.

Karabast, that scent… Zeb leaned closer, nuzzling and inhaling. Each deep draught of her sweet musk filled him with the feelings of the beautiful night before, their beautiful night before. The feel of her, the smell of her, her breath, so close to him, clinging to him, surrounding him, moving with him… even the sweet, er awkwardness there had been at first, even the sparks that had flown—well, she was his lovely storm-dreaming shaman, after all! But, oh karabast and karabast again, that feeling of her… like nothing else, like never before...

All his own want came rushing back, hitting him head-on like an HG-AT-R at full tilt. He planted a kiss in her hair, on her ear, on the stripes of her jawline, on her neck. (That hair! Those ears! Those stripes! And oh, that neck…)

“Mmmrrr…”

She shifted but did not waken. Zeb paused. All right, mustn’t get too far ahead o’ myself. She needs her rest after last night, heh heh! Er… maybe this’d be a good time for me to go clean up a bit...

He was about to hoist himself up when she shifted again, more heavily this time and onto her back. She stretched her arms. Her emerald eyes flickered open—

—then sparked into full awakening. “Zeblove...!”

“Heh heh, easy there with the Sacred Light, darlin’!” Zeb chuckled, pulling back.

“Oh dearest, I’m so sorry… you know how it is with me… it’s just so new, seeing you here… like this…”

“Yeah, I know… er, same… But darlin’...” He edged closer, nestling up against her and encircling her with an arm. “We’re husband an’ wife now, an’ together here, an’... aw, Shulma… darlin’...”

Zeb paused several moments, just enjoying feeling her against him. Again he nuzzled her hair. Then his eyes happened to fall on the nightshirt lying on the floor on the other side of the room—FEEL SAFE AT NIGHT SLEEP WITH AN HONOR GUARD—and he added, “You’re safe here, y’know.”

“Well, I did just sleep with an Honor Guard.” Shulma craned her graceful neck-stripes up toward him, smiling one of those smiles of hers that outshone the mountain sunrise. Her lips brushed his fringe. In response his hand slid down her side in a strong caress.

“An’ as an Honor Guard it’s my duty t’make sure you stay safe all night long…”

“Oh, then you had best not shirk that duty, my mighty bristlecone… my Garazeb…”

She melted into the musky strength of his embrace, and scents and stripes twined once again. ¶

Spoiler: Note

So, if this is labeled "3," you ask, where is 2? Well, you may have a guess as to what 2 might be about. If you would like to see it, please PM me. Though I have to warn you, in a way, not to get your hopes too far up: it's only six words long.

 

Thank you so much, Nyota! I'm so glad you enjoyed this scene, especially since this is my first attempt at writing an "afterglow"—I was a little nervous about how it would come out! (I have to say, it's kind of a fun feeling to have finally found a couple I can write this kind of scene for! Not that I don't greatly appreciate the wonderful writing that's been done by so many folks for other couples—it's just something I haven't been able to do much myself until now.) So it definitely is "nummy in my tummy," too, to know how much this is appreciated. Many thanks, as always, for being so supportive and such an inspiration!

 

Thank you so much, diva! I appreciate your taking the chance on this little attempt of mine and I'm so glad a romance expert such as yourself found it enjoyable. This is definitely an area where I could see Zeb's hotheaded nature coming out bigtime! And oh yes, you better believe there were sparks of all those kinds present during those sweet moments. For her, and for this couple, they all go together! Many thanks once again.