Another Night Only

by Alexandra Duvall (alexandra_duvall@yahoo.com)



Archive: Yes to all

Pairing: Q/O, O/f, Q/f

Category: Non Q/O, PWP, Mild Angst, POV

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: This story contains both m/m and m/f sexual situations. It also contains intimations of f/f sexual situations. Now that I've assured that no one will ever read this.... <g> While I hope everyone will give this poor story a chance, if you find any of those situations intolerable, be warned now.

Spoilers: Very mild for JA and TPM. You won't even know they're there unless you're looking carefully.

Summary: A Jedi ritual mating.

Feedback: Oh, yes, yes, please. Anything, really. I'm so sad and lonely. And I eat up constructive feedback with relish. And hollandaise sauce.



I walked silently through the quiet Temple halls, the floor strangely warm under my bare feet in contrast to the cool air currents against my ankles. The long dark robe I wore covered the rest of me, brushing maddeningly against my over-sensitized skin as I moved. I kept the cowl drawn low over my face to protect my privacy, although every person I met, whether Jedi or not, courteously turned their gaze away and let me pass undisturbed.

Their avoidance was not entirely motivated by courtesy; the role I assumed was not one openly acknowledged in the Temple, nor spoken of except between private parties. If it became widely known in the Republic, the whispers would swiftly build into an outcry of fear-motivated protest. The Jedi are viewed with as much dread as respect, and anything smacking of eugenics has long been a sensitive subject both within and without the Temple. But those who make the continuation and strengthening of the Order their business have also long known that Jedi ability is a genetic trait, and the children of two Force-strong individuals have a much greater chance of being exceptionally strong themselves.

I had known this fact in the most general way since my earliest childhood as an initiate in the Temple, but it was not until my thirteenth year that I ever considered it more than distantly relevant to my life. But when I stood before the Council, tears streaming unheeded down my face as I mourned the loss of my chance to become a Jedi Knight, it suddenly became the most important thing in the universe. The Force did not will that I would be a Padawan, but I could still serve it as well as the Jedi who had always been my only family.

I was a girl, and a girl with a higher concentration of midichlorians than average, which gave me an opportunity other did not have. Instead of joining the Agri-Corps or the military, I could remain in the Temple and train to become one of the creche masters who had tended me as a child--and eventually, to bear children from the best of the human male Knights in a ritual union so infused with the Force and the Light that a child of extraordinary virtue could result.

In my twentieth year, I experienced my first Force-enhanced encounter with a strong and willing Knight, to whom I bore my first daughter. She was a bright toddler in another woman's creche when I conceived my second child, a son, with a different man, and a few years later I went to the father of my third child, a handsome and distinguished Master named Qui-Gon Jinn. Our joining was as powerful as I had ever experienced, the pleasure extreme and my certainty of conception absolute. I did not see him again, and by custom he never knew the name of our daughter, although I thought of him every now and then when I heard of his great successes and battles with the Council. Although he was by nature a maverick, his blood was powerful, and I was not the only one delighted when word came that he had consented to father another child.

I rubbed my hand over my bare abdomen beneath my cloak, shivering with anticipation of the sacred act ahead. As I made my way to his quarters, the avoidance of my peers was fortunate for me, since I could imagine the muffled snickers that would follow me if they could see the excitement-and the smugness-on my face. So fortunate that I was at the most fertile point in my cycle; I would have done almost anything to be the one to go to him again. He had been so kind to me, even if I could not, in our brief hours together, touch the great sadness that lingered pall-like over what should have been a brilliant spirit.

"But he isn't so sad anymore," my bondmate had whispered in my ear that morning, her lips fluttering along my cheekbone. "Or hadn't you heard? He took another apprentice, finally."

"Did he?" I replied absently, my focus already moving into the beginning of my meditations. She should know I sought out little news of my past mates; to do so was to invite jealousy, greed and darkness.

Her arms tightened around me. "He did. Five years ago, maybe? No, closer to seven, I think. Obi-Wan Kenobi. The boy is a young man grown now, nearly twenty. I've seen him on the practice grounds--absolutely beautiful and as strong in the Force as Jinn, although he's still too young to sire children of his own. Completely devoted to his training, and his Master. Such a shame."

That piqued my curiosity, as she'd known it would. I could feel her smile against my temple even before I spoke. "What is?"

"As the gossip wheel runs, he's never taken so much as the most casual partner within the Temple. He's either sworn celibacy for his apprenticeship, or he finds his comfort in his Master's arms."

"Has it occurred to you, my love, that perhaps the young man is simply admirably discreet?"

Her soft snort told me better than words what she thought of that notion. "No one is that discreet. Besides, you do remember what Qui-Gon Jinn looks like, don't you? If I were sharing sleeping quarters with that man, I wouldn't waste a second."

I laughed, suddenly even more pleased that I soon would be doing just that, if only for an evening. "I remember Master Jinn quite well. And I'll find out about young Obi-Wan soon enough." I stilled her lips with mine.

The door opened at my approach, and a young man faced me. Serious green eyes held mine for a moment . "Lady," he murmured, and bowed. Dressed only in a loose white tunic and trousers, his apprentice braid falling across his chest, he made a powerful sensual impression, both visually and within the Force.

"You must be Obi-Wan," I said and allowed him to escort me through the door.

He smiled, a sweet expression on his solemn face. "Yes, I am. My Master is still in meditation. He has instructed me to serve you in any way you require until he can join you."

I returned his smile, and if my expression was a bit too smug, he did not seem to notice. My love had been right. Obi-Wan almost glowed with brilliant sexual Force energy, and the feel of Qui-Gon Jinn was heavy on him. Like me, Qui-Gon had been in meditation since dawn, building and preparing the living Force within him for the night to come. Ten years ago, he had jokingly envied me the aid of my bondmate; now he obviously did not lack in help of his own. Gracious of him to offer that help to me for my final preparations. "I am happy to accept you assistance, Obi-Wan. Thank you."

Another, smaller bow, then he led me through the dim and silent quarters to the bedroom that had been prepared. Soft light illuminated the simple furnishings, drawing my gaze to the wide bed, adorned only with simple linen sheets and pillows, but ample and strong enough to encompass the grappling of mating bodies. I inhaled deeply, feeling the lush, sweet scent that hung in the air flow through me, stimulating and soothing at the same moment.

"I hope everything is to your satisfaction." Obi-Wan watched me with open appreciation as I approached the bed and knelt upon it. His anticipation was palpable, although he demonstrated remarkable composure for one so young. I would not insult him by explaining the conditions of this brief liaison. He would know perfectly well the purpose of his service as well as what was to occur after, and would govern himself accordingly. I could not climax and neither could he, lest my readiness for Qui-Gon be destroyed, but any other indulgence would only make me more receptive to the ultimate conception, my lifeforce primed for true sexual union.

"Indeed it is." I let my robe fall from my shoulders, heard his sharp intake of breath, then turned and lowered myself onto the cool sheets, beckoning him to join me. He paused by the side of the bed and looked at me questioningly; at my nod, he undressed, the clothing slipping easily from his slender, muscular form, his impressive member already half hard.

I held out my hand to him and he took it, kissing my palm as I drew him onto the bed beside me. The fingers of his other hand brushed teasingly along my bare hip, and I sighed my delight. No celibate, this one. "I'm not the first woman to enjoy your touch, I can see," I said teasingly. "A shame. I was rather hoping."

He raised his eyebrows. "So is that what they're saying about me now?" I brought the hand I still held to my body, and he teased my stomach before moving up to cup my breast. His thumb stroked my nipple, sending an electric shiver through me. The fires I had built throughout the day, which had faded to a dull smolder during my long walk through the Temple, began to revive with even greater heat. A mischievous grin made his eyes dance and my breath catch again. "I have had my share of experience. My attentions have merely been... more intensely focused of late."

"Master Qui-Gon is quite a remarkable man, isn't he?" We shared a conspiratorial look, born of mutual carnal knowledge. I could never know Qui-Gon the way Obi-Wan did, but we both had an appreciation for the man's more intimate physical talents.

"He is. Quite remarkable," Obi-Wan murmured, his gaze drifting back to the breast he still caressed. I lay back against the pillows just as he lowered his mouth to trace the hardened flesh with his tongue. He nibbled and teased for a moment, then wet heat engulfed the spot. I moaned and rubbed my cheek against his soft brush of reddish gold hair. My lips dropped an encouraging kiss to the top of his head, and he began to work his way down my body.

I let my head fall back and closed my eyes as wet kisses tickled my ribs delightfully. His lips reverenced my belly, stoking the heat and pressure inside. My body's trained knowledge of its own fertility, augmented by my full day of meditative arousal, would before long turn normal excitement into frenzy, both for me and my partner.

The Force surrounded me, and I opened myself to it again, letting myself fall into the light trace state I needed. It flooded through me as it had during my private meditations, but this time the urgency gathered faster between my legs, spreading swiftly up into my abdomen, demanding more. When at last he parted my thighs to kiss between them, I arched up against his mouth, craving the pleasure of even the slight penetration of his tongue into my core.

"More," I gasped, and he obeyed me, sucking and tugging gently at my folds, then probing as deep into me as he could, over and over. It was not enough, but nothing other than full copulation to completion could be, and that Obi-Wan could not give me. The Force gripped me, urging me to mate; I knew Obi-Wan could feel the strength of it as he lifted his head from me, gasping and wild-eyed. He kissed and bit lightly at the inside of my thigh, looking to me dazedly for guidance.

A sudden flash of memory passed between us as I met his eyes, and I saw the last time he had been in this position, kneeling between legs that were much thicker and stronger than my own, with a taste very different from mine lingering on his tongue. Through his eyes I caught a glimpse of Qui-Gon as he must have looked this very day: more silver in his hair than ten years ago, but his face smoothed with an ecstasy I knew had been beyond my power to bring him, even in our Force-compelled mating. I had never seen a more erotic vision.

I seized Obi-Wan's arm and pulled him up my body. He came down on top of me with a soft huff of breath, his cock hard and pulsing against me. It pressed against me, but I urgently wanted it inside my flesh, filling me until I could be filled the way I needed to be. I took the smooth, hot length of him in my hand, stroking it until he groaned, then guided it between my thighs. He held back, locking his hips into immobility. "I can't... the risk...," he gasped.

"Yes," I insisted, pulling him inexorably closer until the tip of his cock was pushing into me. Did he think I didn't know what I was doing, that the Force would not protect what it had ordained? He only had to keep control, and his Master would never have allowed him here if he could not manage that much.

His resistance lasted only a moment, then he let out a long, shaky sigh as he sank into me. I echoed it and pushed up to meet each deeper thrust until the head of his cock nudged the entrance to my womb. "Oh," I said distantly, my voice a thin, reedy sound. The molten heat of Obi-Wan's arousal swept me effortlessly into the still, perfect place in the Force where I was supposed to be. My excitement plateaued into a stream of absolute pleasure that I craved like a drug. Obi-Wan buried himself again, and again, each withdrawal a loss, each return a blessed relief as the pleasure resumed.

At last he stilled deep inside me. Through the haze of ecstasy I could see his body arched above me, his jaw clenched, eyes squeezed shut as he fought against the orgasm he ached for. I surged against him instinctively, my body already missing the motion of his thrusts. He moaned and tried to still me. Finally he pulled himself away, withdrawing and lurching to the side, ignoring my whimper of pain at my emptiness. His breath came in short pants as he clutched at the sheets, still fighting his own desperate arousal. His body trembled and his cock jutted out, impossibly hard, still gleaming with my fluids. He had gained only a tenuous control when I felt an intense wave of carnal recognition. There was another presence in the room, and I knew him.

Qui-Gon stood near the foot of the bed, a tall figure swathed in a dark cloak that could not hide the pure erotic power that flowed from him, every wave resonating perfectly with my own energy. The Force called us together. Our meditations had connected us as the Force recognized and commanded us to mate, to create the new life into which it would pour its power. We had brought ourselves to the pinnacle of readiness for this act, to the point that we were utterly incapable of preventing our joining.

Obi-Wan seemed to feel it almost as much as I did. His soft moan harmonized with my labored breathing, and he leaned toward his Master as though compelled. "Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said, his voice hoarse with the same need I felt, and beckoned to his apprentice. Obi-Wan got to his feet and crossed the few feet that separated them. As Qui-Gon opened his arms to his Padawan, I saw the enticing lines of his bare form in the dim light; then he pulled Obi-Wan against his naked flesh, enfolding them both in the voluminous cloak. He rubbed the younger man's back as Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around his Master and buried his face against Qui-Gon's neck. Qui-Gon whispered to him softly, and Obi-Wan shuddered once, twice, and again before going limp in his Master's embrace.

Pressing gentle kisses to his face, Qui-Gon held him as Obi-Wan regained his composure, his pleasure still resonating in the Force. After a moment, Obi-Wan pressed a kiss of his own to his Master's neck, and Qui-Gon released him. Face calm again, though his body still shone with sweat, Obi-Wan went from the room without a word, leaving us alone.

Qui-Gon glided forward a few steps until he stood over me, his body calling silently to mine. His robe fell back, and he shrugged it off his shoulders. He caught a corner of it to clean his stomach, where the evidence of Obi-Wan's release still glistened, shadowed by the heavy cock that arced up against his belly, fully erect. He shivered as his fingers brushed the full organ and trailed through the thick come, then gripped the trailing fabric with his other hand. His eyes closed and his head tipped back, face smoothed in the same ecstasy I had seen through Obi-Wan's eyes, as his fingertips moved in small, tight circles, rubbing his Padawan's semen into his skin. He paused, lost in the obviously familiar moment, then sighed raggedly and wiped the remnants from his hand.

Then he smiled, dropping the cloak to the floor as he sank down onto the bed beside me. I met his eyes, the burning blue of his gaze searing through me, renewing the urgency of my need. "Hello," he said softly, almost affectionately, reaching over to cup my face.

I was suddenly acutely aware of my state: lying naked in his bed, legs spread, juices soaking the sheets, flushed and hot with desperate sexual need. For the brief time we lay together in this bed, my body was his to enjoy, to penetrate and fill with the sole purpose of planting his life within me. The Force commanded union and I could only obey, hooking my leg over his as he pulled me to him. His erection found the damp heat between my legs as though it belonged there, and with no more preamble than that, he slid into me.

Crying out, I clung to him. This was always the most intense, the first moment of joining when all the Force energy we had built separately coalesced inside me, having finally found its purpose. And I had forgotten his size. His arms held me tight against the solid, overwhelming mass of his body even as his swollen flesh impaled me, a demanding physical connection we could not break until we completed it.

When the first dizzying flash had passed, we began moving together, touching and caressing as best we could with respectful tenderness. We struggled to keep at least fleeting control over the pleading cry of our bodies so as to allow only the Light to be a part of our coupling. My breast fit perfectly in his cupped hand, and I spared a disjointed thought to wonder if he could feel Obi-Wan's touch on me as strongly as I could feel it on him. I found his lovemaking by necessity more powerful than Obi-Wan's; I could not imagine what I might feel like to him.

My universe narrowed until I knew nothing but the salty skin beneath my lips and the cock sliding wetly in and out of me. The head of his cock found the same spot Obi-Wan's had, and a breathy scream escaped me. Yes, oh, there was where I needed him to be, deeper and harder until I could draw him completely inside me. My grasping flesh craved his cock as frantically as my womb craved his seed. I writhed over him and against him, tangling our limbs until his enormous hands were trapped against my back and side, and my own could grip his strong, heavy flanks to grind him deeper into me.

His mouth sucked greedily at my neck and shoulders, beard scraping my skin, hands kneading me rhythmically in time with his thrusts. I keened softly as our mating, so wet and soft and hard and hot, approached the moment when the Force would wait no longer. It twined and sparked around us, binding us in union so intense I could never imagine feeling anything like it outside of this rite, this gift. He was all I could feel, all that existed, no distance at all between us, giving all that we were to the Force and each other, and suddenly, we shared a moment of mental communion as intense as our physical communion. I knew why he wanted to do this, why he had agreed ten years ago, and why he had agreed again now.

He felt the recognition with a tumult of emotion, and it broke through the last of our resistance. Control gone, we could only surrender to the drive for completion. Abruptly he turned me to my back, lifting my hips effortlessly and plunging fully into me. My grip on him broken, I closed my eyes and let the waves overtake me. I was floating, arms outstretched, body taut, my only anchor his hands and thrusts. My back arched to its limit, pushing me harder onto him, the Force within me crying for his essence.

His shaft seemed to expand, and I hazily wondered if he was swelling even further or if I was simply clenching him harder. I hoped for the former-I needed to come. I needed him to come. With a shuddering moan, I sent into his mind the imperative of the Force, that he spill his seed inside me, impregnate me within the cocoon of strengthening Force energy we had built between us. His body jerked, and I knew he had heard me.

Sweat from his thighs dampened mine as he buried himself in me with a choking gasp. Then his body convulsed over me, and he bathed my insides with warm, wet spurts. The heavy internal caress of his ejaculation was what my body had waited for. With a low groan of relief, I surrendered to the explosion of pleasure that wracked me until my entire body shook with the force of orgasm.

He echoed my groan as he collapsed on top of me, his sweat burning my skin. Erratic surges of electricity still crackled between us, and I had barely passed through my first orgasm when he began moving inside me again, seeking to dissipate the remaining energy with a second. Our lovemaking was less frantic this time, although my limbs still trembled uncontrollably. I took the time to enjoy what I had only peripherally felt before: the warm weight of his body; the heavy silk of his hair between my fingers and over my face; the texture of his skin, varying smooth and battle-scar rough, moving across my breasts and under my hands; the slim hips and hard muscles between my thighs.

Climax shivered through me in slow waves and left me limp with satiation, even as he gave a last shudder and pushed deep. He groaned, breath hot on my face, and his seed emptied from him in weak pulses. Softening at last, he levered himself off me and lowered himself to my side, laying his head onto my shoulder. I tried to stroke his hair, but the continued tingling in my lower extremities distracted me, and I arched and stretched to spread the feeling. The fingers stroking up my thigh and hip did not improve my concentration. He chuckled, but otherwise remained silent, allowing me the privilege of choosing conversation or not.

"I did not expect to see you again," I said at last. What I had seen in his mind just before our shared orgasm still weighed in my mind. "At least, not again in these circumstances."

He smiled against my breast, and his hand found its way between my legs, deftly touching my wet folds so as to make all the lingering pleasure converge in the perfect spot beneath his thumb. I would have accused him of distracting me to avoid the topic, but I was already beyond words again as he brought me to gentle release. I felt the mild, but insistent contractions in my pelvis drawing his seed ever further up into my body, adding to the satisfaction of my climax.

I had not expected him to answer; his voice, as his palm made soft circles over my stomach, startled me, low as it was. "I always had a vague intention of siring another child, someday. Certainly the Council has always been eager for me to agree to it, and I would not shirk my duty. But not until recently did I realize that it must be soon, or I would not be able to bring myself to do it at all."

His meaning was not lost. When a man like Qui-Gon Jinn gave his love, he gave it completely, and even duty would not be permitted to interfere with that commitment. "You were so sad when last I saw you." I turned my head and smiled at him just as he tilted his head up to look at me. I knew why he had done it then, too, and I was glad for the difference in him. "I'm so happy to see your soul healed."

He returned my smile, then returned to caressing my belly. "Do you ever see her?" he said after a time.

"Sometimes. Not often. She does not know who I am. Not yet." Our daughter would be a Jedi, and like every Jedi, like all my children, she would have little knowledge and no memory of her parents. She likely knew that her father was Jedi; if she wished, she could seek either of us out when she was grown. His acceptance filled the silence between us, and my thoughts wandered back to our earlier words. "Obi-Wan will be a strong Jedi. As strong as you, I don't doubt."

"Stronger," he replied with quiet confidence.

"You know, of course, that the Council will pressure him to father children of his own--probably as soon as he is knighted. His emotional ties will not deter them."

"Obi-Wan will have many years longer than I to fulfill his duty." His hand stilled, and I regretted pursuing the subject. I had almost forgotten what else I had seen in him; the light of new love was far more pleasant to contemplate. "The Council will wait for him however long it takes."

Tears stung behind my eyes, and I blinked against the heavy knowledge in his voice. "Qui-Gon--"

His fingers on my lips stopped my words. "I, too, have done what I must. And now I can give myself to him completely, for whatever time the Force allows. There is no regret, even if I have another night only."

"Jedi," I said with mock disgust, and he laughed warmly, lightening the mood for us both. I followed the same Code in my heart, but Jedi training gave him a serenity in the Force I could never attain completely. Another night I had had, and he would have. That much I could see in the Force, and it was from that I took my own comfort.

We fell silent again, until the afterglow shifted into a need for deeper meditation. I lay my hands on my abdomen, and he stirred, knowing his part was done and that I needed to be alone with the Force and my own body. "I'll go now, and leave you in peace," he said, still fondly, but with less regret than he had a decade before.

Already drifting into trance , I smiled absently as he kissed my hand, and then my stomach in farewell. He dimmed the lights, then redonned his robe and slipped quietly from the room. The last time he had left me, he had gone to lie alone and cold; this time, he could rest with contentment in his Padawan's arms.

I closed my eyes, and sought within myself the peace of Qui-Gon Jinn.

***

End